Part Two: Base Siberia
Note: Check the maps section for a complete layout of Base Siberia.
After the long, exhausting trek, the characters find themselves at what looks like little more than a small concrete bunker. A long, flat snowcovered approach leads up to a set of steel doors big enough to accomodate a small car. There is no sign of life anywhere, RDF or otherwise. Without the power armor, opening the doors would be impossible, but with a little bit of effort, the characters can slide the doors apart wide enough and long enough to gain entry. Inside the building is complete darkness. Anyone without nightsight or other optics will be completely blind. Travel will be extremely difficult..."obstacles" litter the floor...things that feel both hard and soft. By feeling along the walls, the characters will determine that the hallway extends to the left and right, and anyone "feeling" their way forward will come to the somewhat painful conclusion that a stairwell exists. Characters with nightsight will still have difficulty seeing due to the near complete absence of light, but they will be able to determine that hallways run left and right, and the passage in front continues to a stairwell. Objects on the ground include bits and pieces of walls (some large chunks, some small) as well as a few dead bodies. The bodies, while softer to the touch than the concrete rubble around them, are still very much frozen...no decay has taken place due to the temperature, and the frozen expressions of death are quite frightening. Characters may open the door for light, but someone would need to hold it, as nothing can be moved or placed in the doorway to hold it. One person would need to "wedge" themselves in the door, and would then need to be pryed out. While the light would help the characters, it would only be a marginal improvement due to the amount of snow blowing in from outside. For a bit of excitement, the GM may wish to add the sound of approaching mecha (maybe from a past encounter from part 1).
Obviously, the characters need light. Even characters with nightsight optics will only be able to see basic passageways, no detail of any kind can be seen. Characters may encounter switches, but none do anything. Aside from that, nothing can be found. It is simply too dark to see anything. Eventually, the characters should find themselves on the lower floor of the building in front of an elevator. Time to climb!
At this point it may be best for the group to split; espically for characters who don't have a climbing skill. Scaling down a dark elevator shaft is hard enough (-%15 on climbing skill), and even in the power armor a long fall would kill the character. Fortunately, after a farily short time (maybe 20 minutes of climbing or so), the lights come on! Unfortunately, this means that someone on one of the lower levels activated the reflex furnace. The characters in the elevator shaft will be able to see just how deep the shaft goes (characters with a ME of 13 or lower must make a saving throw to avoid panicking and falling, 10% chance plus 3% for each number under 13 (13% for a 12, 16% for an 11, etc.) Characters left on the top level will be able to explore the building much better. There is much debris, and more than a few dead bodies in RDF uniforms. It looks as though a pretty good fight may have taken place. As the characters approach the main entrance, a red light can be seen flashing off to the right, indicating that the "magnetic lock" has been activated. There will be no escape through there. (See the maps for a detailed room by room description of the entire complex)
There are many options from this point, and I leave those decisioins up to the GM. The only thing certain at this point is that the characters are not alone at the base. Trodell has in fact beaten them to the base, though the characters should not be made aware of this right away (after all, it could be other RDF members from the VC-27 that shipped out before they did, or E.B.S.I.S...be sure to play that mystery up). The characters have alot of ground to cover, it's up to the GM weather or not they find a map of the place, but either way the possibilities are almost endless. Study the maps and use your imagination!
Part 3: Conclusion
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