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This is a straightforward slug-a-thon adventure, easy to inject as a transition
between more complex vignettes. The primary purpose of the vignette is to
introduce the sinister and esoteric Norse "cultural society" known as the Kommer
Aska to the Hunters.
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Summary
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The Hunters are transporting a captured Monster or Artifact to a somewhat remote
regional Section M holding facility, and are hijacked / ambushed by a strike team
of the shadowy Norse esoteric cabal known as the Kommer Aska intent upon taking
the Hunter's prize for their own use.
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Setup
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The Hunters have wrapped up another Hunt in which they have either captured one
or more Monsters and / or acquired one or more artifacts, and have been asked by
Section M to transport their prize to a regional facility to turn it over and receive
their bounty.
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Section M maintains about a dozen regional facitilites scattered strategically around
the United States. These facilities are situated in semi-remote locations within
30 to 45 minute drives of large urban areas allowing for a good tradeoff between
accessibility and security.
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Kommer Aska includes seers and Norns among their membership, and consequently have
an excellent "intelligence" capability, which allows them to become aware of various
matters of interest to them via supernatural means. For some reason, they want whatever
it is the Hunters are transporting and have the means to acquire it.
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The Carrot
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If the Hunters manage to fight off the Kommer Aska and deliver their quarry from
the last job, they will receive their payout. If they manage to tag and bag Rollo
Fjor and also deliver him, they will receive a massive bounty payout in the neighborhood
of a couple million dollars. The Dwarven bikers are also worth about five thousand
each. Additionally, the Hunters might gain some valuable information about the
Kommer Aska that will serve them well on future Hunts.
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The Stick
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If the Hunters just give up their prize or fail to take effective action to respond
to the ambush, they lose out on their previous job's bounty, and also suffer whatever
collateral damage Kommer Aska inflicts upon them.
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The Setting
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A remote stretch of highway between the nearest urban center and the Section M facility,
ideally at least 15 minutes away at typical driving speed from the facility itself.
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The People
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- Rollo Fjor: a dangerous, powerful Troldfolk with an extensive background
in an elite Norwegian special forces unit, Rollo is a dangerous field commander
for the Kommer Aska. He has conducted operations on behalf of the Kommer Aska in
many nations. He currently has a UN backed bounty worth roughly 2 million dollars
American.
- Goran: is the leader of a Dwarven "bikers club" that is aligned with the
Kommer Aska.
- Harjal: the gang's mechanic and Goran's right hand man.
- Ogmi, Aron, Bruid, Brula: for the purposes of this vignette, these Dwarves
are minions. They follow Goran's lead, or Hajarl if Goran is disabled.
- Agent Pryce: a Section M Agent the Hunters are put in contact with at the
facility they are driving to.
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NOTES
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The Dwarves are not 100% happy to be working with a Troldfolk, but the overaching
goal of the Kommer Aska makes for strange bedfellows. The Dwarves follow Rollo's
lead competently, but keep their own counsel. If push comes to shove they'll cut
and run and leave Rollo to his fate. They are grudging allies, not pals.
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Bruid wants to be leader of the bike gang and is somewhat passive aggressive with
Goran, second guessing and balking at decisions he does not agree with, but never
in the midst of a crisis.
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Brula is Goran's woman, but she is the sort that just attaches herself to whoever
is in charge; she has no real loyalty. She subtly plays Bruid agains Goran when
she can get away with it.
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The Spiel
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This is a 3-Act Play starting when the Hunters finish some other Hunt:
- Act 1: The Road - The Highway Between The Location Of The Last Hunt And The Section
M Facility - The Hunters, Agent Pryce (via phone)
- Act 2: The Ambush - A Remote Stretch Of Road Along The Way - Rollo, Goran and Dwarf
Biker Gang
- Act 3: The Destination - The Section M Facility - Agent Pryce
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Act 1: The Road
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The Highway To The Section M Facility
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In the aftermath of a previous Hunt where the Hunters have captured one or more
Monsters and / or acquired one or more artifacts, the Hunters call it in to Section
M. They are transferred to an Agent Pryce, who informs them that he will be handling
their case file for this hunt.
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Agent Pryce gives the team the location of a secret Section M facility (matching
the needs of the adventure as described in the Setup), and instructs them to immediately
transport their prize to the location. He will be on site to meet them to tag and
bag, and will also pay out whatever bounty the Hunters have coming to them on the
spot.
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It's left to the GM to place the location in relation to the wherever the Hunters
currently are, and what road(s) are viable. The facility should be at least an hour
away from where the Hunters currently are. The GM should be careful to choose a
location that will be useful for future scenarios if they are running a campaign
with continuity.
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Act 2: The Ambush
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A Remote Stretch Of Road Along The Way
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Once the Hunters vehicle or caravan has left highly trafficed areas and entered
a remote stretch of road, the Dwarf bike gang and Rollo (on a borrowed motorcycle)
will pull onto the highway from a rest stop where they have been lingering. Half
of the Dwarves will merge in front of the Hunters, and the other half from behind.
They will immediately take action to force the Hunters to stop, pull over, or at
least slow down enough for Rollo to spring onto the vehicle containing the prize
they are after.
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If the Hunters are skilled and clever, they may be able to avoid being stopped in
which case this becomes a moving battle. Otherwise, it turns into a static fight.
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Whether the fight is mobile or static, Rollo will get up close and personal. He
will fight in human form preferentially, but if the Hunters pose a real threat he
will shift into Troll form...ideally in a dramatically appropriate and memorable
way. Unless the Hunters are unusually experienced, a Troll "hulking out" in their
midst should be a frightening experience; a Presense Attack with some extra dice
should be part of the transformation.
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In the case of a static fight, Goran, Hajarl, and Ogmi, and Bruid will dismount
and fight on foot, but Aron and Brula will remain on their motorcycles. Brula will
park and shoot her machine gun, but Aron will stay mobile and engage in strafing
runs. If any of the Hunters try to run, Aron will try to run them down.
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Act 3: The Destination
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The Section M Facility
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Once / if the Hunters reach the facility, it is a walled and gated compound with
a small footprint above ground. Once they clear the gate, they are directed to pull
directly into a large garage with secure rollup doors which are closed behind them.
Once the garage door is closed, a tactical team enters from a shuttered ramp down
and sets up a perimeter around the Hunter's vehicle(s).
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Once the tactical team calls all clear, Agent Pryce emerges and and debriefs the
Hunters. If the Hunters were defeated, they file a report and thats the end. Otherwise,
they hand over the payload and get paid.
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Either way, if this is the Hunter's first encounter with the Kommer Aska, Agent
Pryce can give the Hunters as much expositional information on them as the GM wishes
to impart.
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Outcomes
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The outcome of this vignette is very straight forward; the happy path is the Hunters
manage to defeat or fight off the ambush, and the sad path is they fail to do so.
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Either way, Kommer Aska becomes a potential long-term reoccuring opponent for the
Hunters. Whether the Hunters decide to be proactive and seek to bring vengeance
to the Kommer Aska or not is fodder for future adventures.
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Failure to Launch
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The impact of Kommer Aska succeeding depends upon whatever it was the Hunters were
transporting. If the Monster or artifact is obviously dangerous the impact is rather
obvious. Otherwise, the GM should be able to suggest some fear uncertainty and doubt
as to what exactly the Kommer Aska plan to do with their prize.
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Origin Story
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A new Hunter could be one of the Dwarf bikers, or a young (deluded?) protege of
Rollo's who has a change of heart and helps the Hunters. Alternately, one or more
new Hunters could have coincidentally dropped off something at the Section M facility
a little earlier and are on the road back to civilization; seeing the altercation
en route they get involved in the fight and thus are introduced to the team.
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