Unity, Chimeric Superhero wrote:
The officer, startled by Unity, fires back at the tires of the van. attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Henri almost avoids hitting the man, but it’s the horn that puts it over the edge. The man flinches to safety and the Party van roars past. The freed prisoners are babbling noisily. They are more scared of angering the Party than they seem to have been scared of death. Henri can pilot the van onto the main street or down a narrower street, his choice.
Everyone, freed prisoners included, have jumped onto the truck. The truck is driving towards four Thought Police who don't look like they're going to jump out of the way. Nissa yells in New Englandish. Opposed by BB Conditioning: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
Despite years of conditioning, a moving vehicle is hard to face down. Three of the Thought Police jump out of the way. One stands resolutely, and draws a weapon, aiming for the driver. He holds his fire to see if Henri stops. Inside the truck prisoners are yelling things like, "I didn't tell them. I didn't tell them anything.", "Hahaha. 2+2=4. Freedom!", and "I'm sorry. I see five lights. I'm sorry."
I’ll make this an opposed Strength check. She is weak from having been tortured for months in the place where there is no darkness. Strength: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12 She is dragged screaming to your stolen truck. Small black vans surround Victory Square, Sector 27. Four people dressed entirely in black step out of each one. All exits are blocked. The Thought Police have arrived. Driving out of here means driving over people.
The witnesses to the execution are beginning to scatter. They're not sure what is happening, but most were eager to go home and sit in front of a screen so they couldn't be accused of being out causing trouble. There are five prisoners. Unity and Theo each take one. Nissa tries to persuade others. I'll let her Diplomacy check of 31 stand opposed to three conditioning by Big Brother checks for each of them. Big Brother's smiling face is frozen on the screen. A voice--not Big Brother's--is shouting, "Comrades. Do not move. You are the victim of a terrorist event. The Thought Police will be there soon to assist you." Do the prisoners move?
One of the prisoners, one of the women, falls to her knees and calls out hoarsely, "No, don't follow her. Can't you see it is another test! Stay strong. Big Brother is watching!" Big Brother Moore's frozen face smiles on a 12-foot-high screen behind them. The other two prisoners follow Nissa. Okay, guys, big decision, get in the truck, abandoning the prisoner who won't follow or hold up and someone goes and gets her? A delay means trouble. The Thought Police are coming. The other four have come more willingly.
Nissa and Unity bring down the last remaining party member. Nissa is suffering from the toxic effects of the mushroom spores both from when she exited the gun and now as she flies through the spores in her blazing orbit. Nissa takes the full 21 points of damage from the spores. The fight is over and Nissa was the only group member injured. Henri shoots his target, who falls to the ground unconscious. Henri has control of the truck. Someone is calling through the radio. "... pre audio reception doubleplus ungood. Restate sit rep. Over." The crowd is confused and has barely stopped chanting; they have not yet had the good sense to run.
The three Inner Party members are surprised by the attack. Despite the rhetoric of enemies from within constantly attempting to undermine the Party, in truth, no one has attacked the Party in a very long time. The toxic mushroom spores start them chocking and clawing at their throats. Nissa’s punch breaks the jaw of her Party member; she falls, dead or unconscious. Theo takes another down with a tremendous blow. Unity fails to get a grapple on the final Inner Party member who now points his gun at Unity and fires. Attack; damage: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 161d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 Henri misses with his pistol. The driver of the truck scrambles to the front and hits a button on the controls. He starts to shout an explanation but forgot to pick up a mic. He’s holding it now. Henri has one chance to stop reinforcements from being called in. On stage, only one Party member is standing; he has moved out of the toxic area. Nissa, were you in the Inner Party member’s space when the toxic spores hit? DC 19 saveFort save.
When the prisoners profess their love for Big Brother, some in the crowd praise Big Brother, chanting "B B ... B B"; others, such as the girls from the Junior Anti-Sex League, scream "Liar! Pervert!" at the prisoners. Some go back and forth between shouting their love and screaming their hate. The prisoners beg, weep, and profess their stupidity. The three inner party members on stage position themselves behind two of the men and one of them women; they put their hands on their guns. Nissa is getting in a gun; Henri is positioning himself by a truck while being watched. What do the others do? Things are going to happen very quickly when they happen.
Execution: Zellgato: the image of Moore seems like a video, perhaps on a loop. Moore does look healthier, and better groomed, leaner, and at least a year older.
Z notices that the party members are each armed with a pistol. Henri’s attempts to stealthily scope out the scene from a distance attract the attention of one of the two flanking party members on the stage. Henri notices a truck parked beside the stage. The prisoners were probably brought in it. The driver stands beside it but is focused on the stage and screen. Unity has a bird’s eye view of the stage and is above the focus of the cameras. ”Comrades,” calls the woman from the stage. ”The party knows that, when properly introduced to the brilliant teachings of Big Brother that even the most recalcitrant of traitors eventually recognize their mistakes. Would you like to hear them reflect on their errors?” The woman nods to the roar of approval from the crowd and barks at the five prisoners to confess. The prisoners, three men and two women, all start shouting their love for Big Brother and their stupidity for turning away from his love.
Heading in the direction of the large white building and heading in direction of the horns blaring the summons to the executions takes you in the same direction. Going to the execution:
Zellgato’s disguise consists of blue overalls and a cotton shirt, stained despite repeated bleaching. Everyone you have seen so far has been dressed the same.
A crowd, including the couple you saw earlier, are gathered around a stage in an open square. By the time you arrive, the speeches have started. A woman with short dark hair in a black suit—the first person you’ve seen not wearing blue overalls—stands on the stage, flanked by two men also wearing dark suits. Five prisoners, with their hands cuffed behind their backs, stand on either side. When one of them slouches, another prisoner hisses something and he stands up straighter. Moore’s face appears on a very large screen behind them. He looks better than he ever has and the lighting of the room he is in gives him a bit of a halo. The camera is so close you can see every pore, but every pore looks perfect. ”Comrades,” says the woman in black. ”Thanks to the Party leadership, production of all necessary goods has risen an amazing 5% in the last year, exceeding all quotas. Clothing, food, and daily necessities are being produced in great quantities. Praise Big Brother.” Big Brother Moore smiles while the crowd chants ”B B … B B … B B …” ”Only deliberate sabotage by counter-revolutionaries prevent the people from enjoying the fruits of their labour, nurtured under the party leadership,” the woman says, gesturing to the captured prisoners. ”Corrupted by the evil doctrines of those who would destroy our lifestyle and return us as slaves to the capitalists of old, these five former party members have intentionally undermined our economic recovery.” The crowd explodes in boos and hisses as Moore’s face disappears from the screen and another man’s face appears. This man’s face is as repulsive as Moore’s was attractive. He looks rat-like and untrimmed. He looks both like he has sucked all the fat that life has to offer and, yet, still looks poor somehow. His face is intellectual and unmistakably jewish. He is twitchy and snide looking. The crowd roars its disapproval at the face of the enemy; you hear the name ”Goldstein” muttered by some. After a solid minute of shouting and roaring at the face of this man, the screen shows the faces of the five prisoners on stage, one at a time. The crowd’s shouting shifts from the enemy, Goldstein, to each of the five men in turn. The hatred of the crowd is fluid; it is summoned by the face of Goldstein and then redirected to the prisoners. Obviously, the woman on stage is building up to something. Anyone wanting to stop the execution? There are 30 people in the crowd, 3 party members on stage, 5 prisoners. If there are police, you do not see them.
Looking for a pub: Nissa and Theo get a look at the crowd gathered for the execution but slip away before they are noticed. The white building is further down the main road. It looms over what used to be Willingdon. Nissa and Theo are almost in its shadow when they see a small pub. A faded sign painted on the side shows it used to be called ‘The Red Lion’. A painting of a red lion is almost visible in the alley. The new name, apparently, is ‘Victory Bar’. It looks almost empty, as if anyone inside has headed for the execution other than the bartender and a single familiar looking customer.
Slouched over a half-litre of beer is a tired, worn-down, familiar face. Wearing a dishevelled black pants, a torn black suit jacket sits Ogilvy … the same Ogilvy you met in War of the Worlds. He looks up when you enter, but does not seem to recognize you.
Is Nissa still riding the drone? I assumed she jumped off in the alley near the graffiti. Are you all about to be arrested for loitering? If Nissa is still riding the drone::
The drone is large and clunky. It's a bit advanced for the 1980s, but a society that didn't invest in health care and practiced continuous war clearly would have had better drones. After circling around for a while it turns towards a building and slides in through a drone-sized port. If Nissa goes with it, she finds the drone in a docking station, recharging. The drone goes where you cannot follow. You are now standing on the street in a group, which is very suspicious behaviou--the kind of thing thought-criminals and counter-revolutionaries might do. You can (1) exit, back to Animal Farm, through the gate; (2) skulk in alleys, (3) explore the sewers, (4) go to an execution, (5) visit a pub, or (6) get arrested for loitering.
The woman looks frightened and the man looks confused. ”I’ve never noticed the colour,” says the man. ”I thought it was colourless. … You’d better hurry if you’re going to the execution, comrades, gas or not.” The couple rushes off towards the center of town, and, apparently, some executions, which may or may not involve gas.
An alert sounds again, in a series of short annoying bursts … the kind that say ”Hurry up, now.” A couple burst out of one of the apartment blocks. He’s holding her hand and leading her urgently. She’s trying to keep up. ”Do you think they’ll use gas?” she asks him, a look of cruelty on her face. They both look at you all standing around as they pass. Standing around in a group not doing anything is obviously a rather suspicious activity.
Adam Daigle wrote:
So, will we get to see the colony ten years on? I'm excited for all of these upcoming adventure paths. They all sound great.
Nissa, the Subatomic Bombshell wrote:
Nissa: With that Culture check, Nissa would remember that the Ministries are in London. She could also decode the drone's newspeak message "Sec 27 Block-C untext upsub miniluv anterectify" as "Reporting that in sector 27 Block C there is an inappropriate message (untext). Submit this up the chain (upsub) to the Ministry of Love (miniluv) before (ante) rectifying the situation (rectify)."
Nissa does not know how far Willingdon is from London.
Five people standing around in the street chatting looks a bit too much like counter-revolutionary activity. The drone circles back to make sure the party isn't loitering and, once it sees Nissa gone and Henri moving, it heads off, satisfied. The drone heads down an alley between the old firehall and one of the brutalist apartment blocks. On the wall of one of the alleys someone has painted the words "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness" it is signed only with the tag "M". The drone slows and moves back and forth along the length of the graffiti, beeping quietly. Somewhere, someone receives a message on their screen that says "Sec 27 Block-C untext upsub miniluv anterectify". The drone continues down the alley and out the other side. Who is following Nissa Drone-Rider and Henri?
Unity, Chimeric Superhero wrote: Unity frown to themself. "Do you see any buildings that look more important than others around here?" they ask, looking around for themself as they do. A tall silver building towers over the others. It looks like a series of cubes stacked on each other, each cube 20% smaller than the one beneath it, but none perfectly aligned. It's twice as tall as the next tallest, and can be seen from a distance.
Nissa, the Subatomic Bombshell wrote:
Nissa doesn't have enough information to link it with the story. She doesn't remember a Sector 27 in the story, so it may be that the book 1984 is ONE story of this world, but not the whole story.
The party hears a fairly inoffensive siren. It isn’t too loud, but loud enough to get your attention. It blares and pauses and blares and pauses. It comes from the direction the girls went. Two people rush out of the apartment buildings as if summoned by the siren. They too rush in the direction the girls went.
Nissa, the Subatomic Bombshell wrote:
The girls laugh when she asks where she can find Big Brother, like it's a joke. "Come on girls," says the primmest of the 'officers'. "Can't you see what kind of girl she is? Just look at who she's with." The girls turn away from Nissa and resume walking, giggling as they go. Nissa hears the word "Prostitute" and "I bet they're thought criminals!".
Nissa, the Subatomic Bombshell wrote:
Nissa:
5 girls are rushing down the alley between the old firehall and the apartment block. They are straightening their clothes and looking serious and hurried. On a signal from one of them, they all start laughing again. Their facial expressions show the laughter is fake.
Five teen girls pop out of an alley in front of the party. Each of them wears a sash that says "Junior Anti-Sex League". Each also wears a tight white dress shirt and a skirt that ends just below the knee. Three of them have the word 'Officer' on their anti-sex leagues sashes. The remaining two have the word 'Virgin' on their sashes. One of these two has pulled her skirt up so high her knees show. They see the party and giggle and head the other way.
Unity doesn't see an ambush. He does see a woman come out of one of the buildings with a large basket of loaves of bread. She heads off into town quite quickly, not even looking at the party. A light goes on in a building on the other side of the street too. And you hear girls laughing not far away breaking the silence that had been rather ominous a moment before. The sleepy little street seems to be suddenly waking up.
Henri Patineur wrote:
When Henri turns to ask the question he sees a poster on the wall behind the guard. The poster reads "Big Brother is Watching". Above the text is a familiar face. Henri only met Dr. Moore once, but he recognizes the face.
You can enter 'Sector 27' formerly known as Willingdon if you wish. From where you are standing, you can see a bit of Sector 27. You see apartment blocks stamped on top of what was probably once a nice little farm village. Everything is both clean and grey. Anything attractive about Willingdon is diminished, suppressed by the brutalism of Sector 27. The old fire station, a brick building from the 1900s, would have made a nice postcard. It's now in the shadows of two 5 story apartment blocks and has no clear purpose. You can see this from the gate to Sector 27, where you are being watched by a nervous old guard and a keen-eyed young guard. Do you enter 1984 or head back to Animal Farm?
Henri:
When Unity attempts to bluff, Henri notices the younger guard look up at a camera tucked in a corner. A small red light flashes three times. The younger guard nods to the camera. The younger guard nods to the older guard who stands aside. ”’ave it your way then,” he says. ”Welcome to Sector 27.” The gate opens automatically without either guard appearing to press a button or even signal for it to be opened. The younger guard steps into a booth and puts on a pair of headphones with a connected microphone.
”WIllingdon? I haven’t heard that name …” the older guard begins. The younger guard looks at him out of the corner of his eye. The older guard trails off. He seemed like he was about to say “I haven’t heard that name in a while” but left it at “I haven’t heard that name.” The younger guard finally turns to you and asks if you have a permit for being in a restricted area.
You start walking. As you near Willingdon, the road becomes pavement, you see some factories in the distance. Chainlink fences and concrete barriers rise on the sides of the road. This isn’t looking like the little farming community the book referred to. It smells like industry. You finally come within sight of Willingdon. It’s more modern than you expected, bigger than you expected, and grayer than you expected. A pair of guards watch the gated entrance to the fenced in village. Over the gate is a sign that says ‘Freedom is Slavery’.
Henri Patineur wrote:
Rex does not come back. Rex runs far and fast, behaving very much like a frightened dog running from the source of its fright.
Henri Patineur wrote:
Not aware of a reroll mechanic. The truck slams into the ditch. Everyone takes damage: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6 worth of no-seatbelt bludgeoning damage, but worse, the truck is now in need of repair before it can be used. Rex whimpers very much like a dog and jumps out the driver side window and starts running back towards Animal Farm. You are two miles from Willingdon, the nearest town.
Rex looks over at Henri and grins wolfishly. He pushes his right rear paw into a prosthetic attached to the gas. And the truck accelerates to what was probably an impressive speed in 1945. There’s another prosthetic attached to the brake. He seldom touches that one. The truck passes a weathered sign that says “Willingdon, 2 miles”. Rex turns to say something to Henri but, before he can, something changes. He appears suddenly confused and jerks his paws out of the prosthetics that he used to drive the truck. The truck begins to swerve towards the side of the road. DC 20 Reflex check to keep the truck from going into the ditch; DC 25 to get it under control without bouncing the four superheroes in the back about.
Rex guns the engine of the truck. He has a pair of crude prosthetics that hook over his paws and allow him to grip the wheel. As the truck roars out through the farm gate a dozen humans leap out of the way. They carry clubs and guns towards the farmhouse. Rex looks back like he’d prefer to drive over them again, but obeys his orders. He turns left at the end of the driveway and heads towards Willingdon, the nearest town. Down the road a bit, you pass a farm with a burning house. On the barn is painted “Four legs good, two legs bad.”
Animals bleat and blurt and recite "Four legs good, two legs bad" but without clarifying what they thought of Unity. Dozens of animals are walking out of the barnyard where the shooting occurred. The dogs are armed. The pigs are in charge. Everyone else is scared. The truck, which you were invited to board, begins to pull down the driveway of Animal Farm. Any actions on Animal Farm before the truck pulls away with, I assume, you all in it?
Henri Patineur wrote: Henri can keep up… he runs to the driver’s side of the pickup, unsure why they are suddenly hurrying and what was up with the gunshot. Henri finds the driver’s seat is occupied by a border collie. ”Get in, comrades!” orders the dog sitting in the driver seat. ”I’m driving.” There is plenty of room among the straw bales in the back of the truck. As you get in a couple of goslings flap and leap out of the truck honking ”Four legs good, two legs bad. Four legs good, two legs bad. Four legs good, two legs bad.”
Outside, in the farm yard, the voices grow louder but a bit panicked. "Soon or late the day is coming
"Rings shall vanish from our noses
Near the end, someone starts coughing and then a cacophony of animal sounds burst out. Someone screams "No, no, no, no." A round of gunfire bursts on the word "Crack" and then there is silence.
Nissa: "Oh, you won't be staying," smiles the pig. "This is just a way-station on your voyage. Get your men in the blue farm truck out front. Rex will take you to the drop-off point. We will take care of the counter-revolutionaries whom Comrade Moore said would be following you. The 'Canonites' he called them. And, tell Comrade Moore this fulfils our part of the bargain."
Nissa:
The pig puts down his newspaper and looks Nissa over with neither curiosity nor surprise. ”As Comrade Snowball once said, ‘A bird’s wing is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation. It should therefore be regarded as a leg’ and, thus, the doctrine ‘Four legs good, two Legs Bad’ was made to apply to the geese as well. I’m sure the windbag would have found some way to include you, should it have served his interest. You would be one of the Americans that Comrade Moore spoke of, I assume.” Outside the farmhouse, the singing continues,
The voices stumble a bit on the word ‘die’ and someone starts to yell. ”No! No! No! Not enough enthusiasm comrades! This is your last chance. Remember, your commitment to the revolution is in question! From the top!” The voices start again, even louder than before,
You see Nissa’s glow disappear as she approaches the window. You then see her glow reappear on the other side of the glass. Nissa:
A pig dressed in overalls smokes a pipe while reading the newspaper. It has not yet seen you. The singing continues from somewhere beyond the farmhouse. ”Riches more than mind can picture,
Bright will shine the fields of England,
Thin lace curtains are drawn together on the greasy farmhouse window. Nissa can see somebody sitting in what could be a kitchen, smoking a pipe, but is not able to make out much of their features through the curtains and somewhat dirty glass.. From beyond the farmhouse Nissa hears the singing continue. It sound a bit like an anthem or a marching song. Nissa catches the next stanza. ”Rings shall vanish from our noses,
What do the others do when Nissa flies off towards the farmhouse?
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