Act Two
Synopsis
The town of Bleakford is a one-horse town along one of America’s old highways. Even before the Great War, Bleakford was in the middle of nowhere and had a small population, mostly supported by military families connected to Joint Base Lewiston to the east.
Upon arrival in Bleakford, the PCs will discover a graveyard of the old world, populated by ghouls and wild Wasteland fauna. They will have to find the source of a broadcast controlling the robot attackers: a custom-made signal booster designed and built by Akiva Trestridge to extend the range at which her mechanical soldiers can operate.
Over the course of Act Two, the players will have the opportunity to:
- Explore the ruins of an irradiated ghoul town.
- Locate and disable a mysterious transmitter responsible for coordinating robot attacks.
- Learn the history of the town and what happened to its unfortunate citizens.
Bleakford
Bleakford is several miles northeast of Beriday Gulch across irregular, difficult terrain. Traveling on foot to Bleakford takes the better part of a day for the PCs, if they keep a moderate pace. Depending on how long they took to reach the crash site and deal with the robots there, the PCs might have to camp overnight in the wilderness.
To increase the sense of danger as they approach, the Overseer can add a wandering pack of 4 dogs or a pair of mongrel dogs as a random wilderness encounter. If the PCs are low on resources or wish to pick up some supplies, they can encounter a wandering trader caravan.
After walking the wastes, the PCs eventually reach their destination. Read or paraphrase:
Bleakford Random Encounters & Loot
As the PCs explore the town, they might encounter some of its irradiated inhabitants.
When players enter a new area, like Brisbee Mobile Homes or Henley Chapel, roll a d20 and consult the Bleakford Random Encounter Table. Any creatures indicated at a location, such as the elderly ghouls in Bleakford Apartments, are in addition to results rolled on the table below.
If the PCs take time to move cautiously and scout out locations, you can let them make a PER + Survival test with a difficulty of 1.
Success lets a PC spot threats in the region prior to entering and have the option to initiate combat.
Failure means the PC does not spot a threat in advance. The NPCs initiate combat.
Bleakford Random Encounter Table
| ROLL (1d20) | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | No Encounter |
| 6-10 | Weak Feral Ghouls |
| 11-15 | Feral Ghouls |
| 16-18 | Putrid Glowing One |
| 19-20 | Toughened Glowing One |
Weakened Feral Ghoul
Level 1, Mutated Human,
Normal Creature (10 XP)
| BODY | MIND | MELEE | GUNS | OTHER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 2 | - | 2 |
| HP | INITIATIVE | DEFENSE | ||
| 5 | 9 | 1 | ||
| PHYS. DR | ENERGY DR | RAD. DR | POISON DR | |
| 0 | 0 | Immune | Immune | |
ATTACKS
- UNARMED: BODY + Melee (TN 8), 2dC6 Radioactive Physical damage
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The feral ghoul reduces all radiation damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer any damage or effects from radiation.
- IMMUNE TO POISON: The feral ghoul reduces all poison damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer any damage or effects from poison.
- FERAL: The feral ghoul is unintelligent, driven purely by feral instinct. Feral NPCs cannot be persuaded or influenced by Speech tests. Feral NPCs will move towards and attack the nearest enemy. If they cannot detect an enemy, they will move towards the nearest source of bright light or loud noise. Failing that, they will move around randomly or simply lie down and do nothing.
- GHOUL: A ghoul is healed by radiation. It regains 1HP for every 3 points of Radiation damage inflicted upon it.
- PLAY DEAD: A feral ghoul which is prone and not moving is difficult to tell apart from a corpse. It takes a PER + Survival test, difficulty 2, to spot a ghoul which is currently ‘playing dead’. They often use this to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.
Inventory
2dC6 junk items can be found on a dead ghoul’s body, which can be salvaged as normal.
Putrid Glowing One
Level 4, Mutated Human,
Mighty Creature (62 XP)
| BODY | MIND | MELEE | GUNS | OTHER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 4 | - | 3 |
| HP | INITIATIVE | DEFENSE | ||
| 22 | 12 | 1 | ||
| PHYS. DR | ENERGY DR | RAD. DR | POISON DR | |
| 2 | 1 | Immune | Immune | |
Attacks
- UNARMED: BODY + Melee (TN 11), 4dC6 Radioactive Physical damage, plus see Putrid, below.
Special Abilities
- RADIATION PULSE: Once per combat, the glowing one may unleash a pulse of radiation. This inflicts 5C6 radiation damage to everything within Range C. If it inflicts 3 or more damage, then any defeated ghoul within that range is restored to 1HP and returns to the fight.
- IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The glowing one reduces all radiation damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer any damage or effects from radiation
- IMMUNE TO POISON: The glowing one reduces all poison damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer any damage or effects from poison.
- FERAL: The glowing one is unintelligent, driven purely by feral instinct. Feral NPCs cannot be persuaded or influenced by Speech tests. Feral NPCs will move towards and attack the nearest enemy. If they cannot detect an enemy, they will move towards the nearest source of bright light or loud noise. Failing that, they will move around randomly or simply lie down and do nothing.
- GHOUL: A ghoul is healed by radiation. It regains 1HP for every 3 points of Radiation damage inflicted upon it.
- PLAY DEAD: A glowing one which is prone and not moving is difficult to tell apart from a corpse. It takes a PER + Survival test, difficulty 2, to spot a ghoul which is currently ‘playing dead’. They often use this to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.
- PUTRID: The glowing one is crawling with a blanket of glowing, irradiated blood bug maggots. If a PC is damaged by the putrid glowing one’s Unarmed attack, they must make an END + Survival test with a difficulty of 1. On a failed test, the PC contracts the Rad Worm illness.
Inventory
- 2dC6 junk items can be found on a dead glowing one’s body, which can be salvaged as normal.
Toughened Glowing One
Level 4, Mutated Human,
Mighty Creature (62 XP)
| BODY | MIND | MELEE | GUNS | OTHER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 4 | - | 3 |
| HP | INITIATIVE | DEFENSE | ||
| 22 | 12 | 1 | ||
| PHYS. DR | ENERGY DR | RAD. DR | POISON DR | |
| 3 | 2 | Immune | Immune | |
Attacks
- UNARMED: BODY + Melee (TN 11), 4dC6 Radioactive Physical damage
Special Abilities
- RADIATION PULSE: Once per combat, the glowing one may unleash a pulse of radiation. This inflicts 5C6 radiation damage to everything within Range C. If it inflicts 3 or more damage, then any defeated ghoul within that range is restored to 1HP and returns to the fight.
- IMMUNE TO RADIATION: The glowing one reduces all radiation damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer any damage or effects from radiation
- IMMUNE TO POISON: The glowing one reduces all poison damage suffered to 0 and cannot suffer any damage or effects from poison.
- FERAL: The glowing one is unintelligent, driven purely by feral instinct. Feral NPCs cannot be persuaded or influenced by Speech tests. Feral NPCs will move towards and attack the nearest enemy. If they cannot detect an enemy, they will move towards the nearest source of bright light or loud noise. Failing that, they will move around randomly or simply lie down and do nothing.
- GHOUL: A ghoul is healed by radiation. It regains 1HP for every 3 points of Radiation damage inflicted upon it.
- PLAY DEAD: A glowing one which is prone and not moving is difficult to tell apart from a corpse. It takes a PER + Survival test, difficulty 2, to spot a ghoul which is currently ‘playing dead’. They often use this to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.
- TOUGHENED: The glowing one is more resilient than normal and has increased Damage Resistance (included above).
Inventory
- 2dC6 junk items can be found on a dead glowing one’s body, which can be salvaged as normal.
No Encounter
The wandering ghoul inhabitants of Bleakford are not currently in the region the PCs are about to enter.
Weak Feral Ghouls
The region the PCs travel to is occupied by a group of 4 weak feral ghouls. The ghouls are emaciated and injured from a recent encounter with a hungry pack of dogs that has left them tattered—more so than usual. Each of the ghouls has half its normal HP.
Feral Ghouls
The region the PCs enter is currently occupied by a trio of feral ghouls.
Putrid Glowing One
A glowing one is in the region the PCs are about to enter. It is currently playing dead and crawling with a blanket of glowing, irradiated blood bug maggots. If a PC is damaged by the putrid glowing one’s Unarmed attack, they must make an END + Survival test with a difficulty of 1. On a failed test, the PC contracts the Rad Worm illness.
Toughened Glowing One
A swollen glowing one is in the region the PCs are about to enter. This bloated ghoul has layers of radiation-hardened skin and fat protecting its organs and gains the Toughness perk.
Remains Of The Day
In addition to loot noted in specific locations, the entire area of Bleakford can be scavenged for supplies. It is a Large Area that has been Mostly Searched. Due to the high concentration of radiation in Bleakford, it has an Ongoing Radiation hazard with an interval of 10 minutes.
Its Item listing is as follows: 2-4 Ammunition, 0-1Armor, 0-1 Beverages, 2-4 Clothing, 1-2 Chems, 3-4 Food, 4-6 Junk, 0-1 Oddities/Valuables.
Locating The Signal Boost
Dr. Trestridge will have placed the signal booster atop the Slocum’s Joe statue, assuming the WKAK Radio Tower would be too obvious, but you’re free to place it wherever they like. If the PCs search Slocum’s Joe too quickly, consider placing it elsewhere in town.
Many of the potential locations require some climbing to reach, like the Water Tower or WKAK Antenna. Climbing these locations to reach the signal booster requires an (AGL or STR) + Athletics test with a difficulty of 3 and can be completed over multiple attempts.
After locating the booster, deactivating and removing it is a simple task. Once this is completed, the PCs get new information from Galen (see “Leaving Bleakford”).
Exploring Bleakford
Players can explore the town at their own pace, choosing whichever locations they want in whatever order they choose. Their ultimate goal in Bleakford is to locate and disable the signal booster somewhere in town, but the approach is entirely up to them.
Bleakford Apartments
Bleakford Apartments is a concrete, three-story building on the east side of town near the road. Each unit has a small kitchen, bathroom, living room, and single bedroom. A Nuka-Cola machine with one nuka-cola bottle stands outside the manager’s office. Noteworthy units in the apartment building are:
Ground Floor, Unit 4: Unit 4 contains a skeleton wearing a pre-war suit. On the table in the living room is a functioning camera, and a notepad. The notes within indicate that the occupant believed his neighbor was a communist spy sent to Bleakford to gather intel on “Real Americans.”
Ground Floor, Unit 5: The ill-fated neighbor of the communist-hater, the occupant of Unit 5’s skeleton hangs over the sink in the bathroom. A discarded pipe gun lies on the bathroom floor.
Second Floor, Unit 2: The door to unit 2 is locked but can be opened with a PER + Lockpick test with a difficulty of 1 or broken down with a STR + Athletics test with a difficulty of 1. If the door is broken down, roll on the Bleakford Random Encounter table to determine what, if any, ghouls are drawn by the noise. Home of the assistant to Bleakford’s mayor, the bedside table in her bedroom has several opened boxes of mentats.
Third Floor, Unit 3: This unit contains Mr. and Mrs. Pickwell, an elderly pair of feral ghouls. Mrs. Pickwell has only recently become feral and still wears a patchwork dress and apron and can growl the words, “stay for tea.” The last meal she prepared herself, some grilled radroach, is plated in the kitchenette. The Pickwells stay inside their unit and do not leave it to investigate a disturbance elsewhere in the apartment complex.
Brisbee Mobile Homes
The mobile home park northeast of town is home to 3 feral ghouls. The five trailers are in poor condition, rusted out, and some contain errant radroaches. Roll a d20 when the PCs enter a trailer: on a 11 or higher the trailer contains a radroach.
The first mobile home a PC enters contains a chemistry station and 1 dose of jet.
Henley Chapel & Cemetery
The chapel and cemetery on the west side of town contains no notable items, but the steeple is highly likely to contain the signal booster.
The main chapel downstairs has a few scattered skeletons amid the pews, some of which have pocket watches and jewelry worth a total of 10 Caps.
If the signal booster is here, a PC can make a PER + Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to spot the device within the church bell, which is rigged to use the metal of the bell as an ad-hoc antenna.
Houses
There are a dozen houses clustered in the heart of Bleakford and on the west side of town. Of these, five have collapsed from disrepair.
Mayor’s House: The largest house house, which belonged to Bleakford’s mayor, has a safe in the upstairs bedroom that can be opened with a PER + Lockpick test with a difficulty of 3. Inside the safe are several stacks of prewar money, (earned after the Mayor struck a deal to stow radioactive material within city limits), a .44 pistol, and 3 shots of .44 magnum ammo. There is also a contract from Triton Material Disposal, subsidiary of Poseidon Energy, that outlines the terms of the agreement with the mayor.
Irradiated Dump
The irradiated dump east of town is responsible for the high rads and numerous ghouls in Bleakford. A pile of festering refuse that barely conceals the worst toxic waste in town. Enterprising PCs can pick through the refuse for salvage, however: it is a Large Area that has been Untouched. However, the pockets of radioactive waste are a greater danger to those who explore it.
Its Item listing is as follows: 2-3 Clothing, 1-2 Food, 1-2 Beverages, 5-8 Junk, 0-1 Weapon (Melee), 0-1 Chems.
Radioactive Waste: The waste is an Occasional Hazard that is triggered by a failed PER + Survival test made to search the dump, causing 4dC6 radiation damage.
Dumpyard Dogs: A group of dogs, descended from the town’s original pets, reside in the irradiated dump.
Do not roll for a quick encounter in the dump. If the PCs enter it, they encounter 3 dogs led by a mongrel dog.
Red Rocket Station
On the highway that leads southeast from the town, the Red Rocket station is in shambles. A shipping vehicle has rammed through the front doors before going critical, leaving the coolant area a scorched wreck. Of note, a billboard outside the station has the faded message: “Burn in Hell, Slow-Joe.”
Slocum's Joe
On the south side of town across from the Red Rocket station, Slocum’s Joe is a donut and coffee shop. On its roof, a fiberglass sculpture of the smiling mascot has been battered by the wind and is almost entirely reduced to its skeletal frame.
Inside, a chalkboard display announces:
If the signal booster is here, a PC who examines the statue can make a PER + Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to spot it strapped to the metal framework, which acts like an omnidirectional antenna.
Water Tower
The water tower stands on a small hill in the south-west part of town. A patchwork chain-link fence surrounds it, and weeds have overtaken the area.
A small service shack at the tower’s base contains a simple toolkit and a RobCo terminal that monitors the condition of the water tower. While it is password protected, the forgetful serviceman has helpfully taped the password above the monitor: HYDROHOMES.
A successful INT + (Medicine or Science) test with a difficulty of 1 allows a PC to identify the chemical contaminants as byproducts of tissue decomposition, suggesting that there is a body inside the tower… and there is. If the PCs ascend the tower, a glowing one has fallen through a hole in the reservoir’s top to float in the water remaining within, turning it into a rancid, irradiated soup.
If the signal booster is here, a PC can make a PER + Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to spot the device rigged to the water tower’s metal sides, using it as an ad hoc antenna.
WKAK Radio
In the northeast part of town, WKAK Radio (serving the tri-county area!) is a small building with a front office and producer’s booth.
The producer’s booth is barred from the inside. A PC can make a STR + Athletics test with a difficulty of 1 to shove the barricade aside to enter. Within, the skeleton of the DJ lies sprawled over his desk. Next to him is the following note:
If the signal booster is here, a PC can make a PER + Sneak test with a difficulty of 1 to spot the device rigged to the radio antenna.
Leaving Bleakford
When the PCs deactivate the booster, Galen updates them.
Galen’s broadcast becomes static for a moment, and when it returns is distorted by significant interference.
Galen gives the PCs the location of the broadcast’s origin, a short distance east of their current position.
