Moments after Windsor escapes, the video recording he was attempting to watch finally begins playback.
The video is security camera footage from The Archive, a facility run by people who collect and worship advanced technology and robotics. The footage shows Windsor, who is clearly an archivist, walking the halls, accompanied and protected by Defendomax. On the exterior of the building, a cloaked figure breaches the outer walls and enters the Archive. The facility is put on alert, and Defendomax rushes toward the disturbance while Windsor retreats to safety. The cloaked figure plants a heavy load of explosives and begins destroying security cameras. The explosion rocks the building and sends Defendomax shooting through the sky, only to land in a sand dune many miles away. The cloaked figure continues destroying cameras. The figure walks toward the final camera, looks up at it, and shoots it. In that final moment of video, the cloak falls to the ground, revealing the face and identity of the assailant - Vagabot 2.0.
The party watches the video, stunned. Neither Vagabot nor Defendomax has any memory of this. There is no indication of why Vagabot broke into the archive. They stand in the ruins of the decommissioned dildobot factory floor, wondering what kind of people they've been traveling with, and planning their next moves.
Cooly, as if nothing is the matter, Duke returns from parts unknown and rejoins the party.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Shutdown, Part 3
When the party, led by the befuddled guard, enters the secure room, they come face-to-face with Big Red, the leader of the rabbit mercenaries. Big Red sees that the party has taken advantage of the mentally feeble guard, and prepares for battle. He and another guard grab a badge off of a shelf and retreat through a field of powerful lasers. With the badges equipped, they are not harmed by the lasers. The befuddled guard is dragged along with them, but without a badge, he is vaporized by the lasers. Big Red then activates a terminal that begins releasing poisonous gas into the party's side of the room.
At this point, Duke quietly leaves the party and sneaks away into a different section of the factory. The party didn't notice him leaving, and he didn't tell them where he was going. Again, Windsor mocks the team through the PA system.
The party deduces that they need one of the medallions, a Franklin Badge, to cross the lasers safely. Luckily, Vagabot had found one in the foyer. By walking through the lasers, then tossing the badge back to their teammate, they safely cross the lasers. On the other side, however, is Big Red and an elite guard. At first, Big Red knocks the players around with his baseball bat fairly easily. However, as the team crosses the laser field, they begin to outnumber them. After dispatching the guard, the team surrounds a wounded Big Red and attempt to interrogate him. They learn that Windsor is just through the next door, in the factory floor. Although Big Red is defiant to the end, the party learns that Windsor has some kind of fixation with robotics. When Big Red attempts to attack the party again, Cuddlepunch snaps and swiftly finishes Big Red with her trusty dumbbell.
The party enters the factory floor, where they find Windsor ranting and raving about some thief and trying to get his computer to playback a recording. When he sees the party enter, he immediately recognizes Defendomax. "You've come back!" Windsor shouts. "Come back to papa and help me destroy these fools!" The party asks about Windsor's motives. Windsor replies that he's trying to recreate his robot empire, but that all he could find was this sex toy factory, and he has to work with what he has. Having heard enough, the team springs into action. Defendomax and Vagabot fight through the factory floor and disable the dildobot manufacturing machines while Cuddlepunch and Nyridius engage Windsor and his elite guards. All manage to dodge Windsor's telekinetically-animated ceiling-mounted crane arm. Just as the party nears victory, Windsor escapes out a trap door, promising vengeance on the team in general, and Defendomax in particular.
At this point, Duke quietly leaves the party and sneaks away into a different section of the factory. The party didn't notice him leaving, and he didn't tell them where he was going. Again, Windsor mocks the team through the PA system.
The party deduces that they need one of the medallions, a Franklin Badge, to cross the lasers safely. Luckily, Vagabot had found one in the foyer. By walking through the lasers, then tossing the badge back to their teammate, they safely cross the lasers. On the other side, however, is Big Red and an elite guard. At first, Big Red knocks the players around with his baseball bat fairly easily. However, as the team crosses the laser field, they begin to outnumber them. After dispatching the guard, the team surrounds a wounded Big Red and attempt to interrogate him. They learn that Windsor is just through the next door, in the factory floor. Although Big Red is defiant to the end, the party learns that Windsor has some kind of fixation with robotics. When Big Red attempts to attack the party again, Cuddlepunch snaps and swiftly finishes Big Red with her trusty dumbbell.
The party enters the factory floor, where they find Windsor ranting and raving about some thief and trying to get his computer to playback a recording. When he sees the party enter, he immediately recognizes Defendomax. "You've come back!" Windsor shouts. "Come back to papa and help me destroy these fools!" The party asks about Windsor's motives. Windsor replies that he's trying to recreate his robot empire, but that all he could find was this sex toy factory, and he has to work with what he has. Having heard enough, the team springs into action. Defendomax and Vagabot fight through the factory floor and disable the dildobot manufacturing machines while Cuddlepunch and Nyridius engage Windsor and his elite guards. All manage to dodge Windsor's telekinetically-animated ceiling-mounted crane arm. Just as the party nears victory, Windsor escapes out a trap door, promising vengeance on the team in general, and Defendomax in particular.
Shutdown, Part 2
Alerted by the sounds outside, the guards inside the factory have had time to prepare a proper defense. When Cuddlepunch breaks down the door into the large foyer, they fire on the party with their battery guns. In the back of the foyer, a massive beetle with arms like swords stirs.
Under heavy fire and taking significant electrical damage, the party members force their way into the foyer and unload on the guards with their ranged weapons. Disturbingly, every gunshot or howl of pain from the guards agitates the beetle further, and it begins smashing at its cage. The noise level increases as the party continues engaging the guards. Their task is made even more difficult by a large patch of grabgrass in the center of the foyer that ensnares anyone who walks over it. Just as the guards are defeated, the sword beetle breaks free from its cage and belts out a terrifying roar. Without an opportunity to rest and still injured from their foyer fight, the party now faces its first massive enemy.
The beetle attacks everyone in sight. The party fights the beetle, but the beetle fights back hard. They receive some savage blows from the sword-arms, but they fight on. Finally, Cuddlepunch delivers the killing blow with her melee weapon, a heavy dumbbell. Although the beetle stops moving, the fight is not over for Cuddlepunch. Blinded by rage, Cuddlepunch continues smashing and smashing at the bug with her dumbbell until she is pulled off by her teammates.
After the fight is over, the factory's PA system is turned on. A proud voice announces "You'll never stop me!!" Clearly, Windsor is in the building, and he knows that the party is coming.
The party discovers a rabbit-guard in a backroom who hid after he heard the beetle's roar. Defendomax utilizes his charisma to con the guard into believing that Defendomax is a fellow rabbit-man. The guard happily leads the party deeper into the factory, into the secure room.
Under heavy fire and taking significant electrical damage, the party members force their way into the foyer and unload on the guards with their ranged weapons. Disturbingly, every gunshot or howl of pain from the guards agitates the beetle further, and it begins smashing at its cage. The noise level increases as the party continues engaging the guards. Their task is made even more difficult by a large patch of grabgrass in the center of the foyer that ensnares anyone who walks over it. Just as the guards are defeated, the sword beetle breaks free from its cage and belts out a terrifying roar. Without an opportunity to rest and still injured from their foyer fight, the party now faces its first massive enemy.
The beetle attacks everyone in sight. The party fights the beetle, but the beetle fights back hard. They receive some savage blows from the sword-arms, but they fight on. Finally, Cuddlepunch delivers the killing blow with her melee weapon, a heavy dumbbell. Although the beetle stops moving, the fight is not over for Cuddlepunch. Blinded by rage, Cuddlepunch continues smashing and smashing at the bug with her dumbbell until she is pulled off by her teammates.
After the fight is over, the factory's PA system is turned on. A proud voice announces "You'll never stop me!!" Clearly, Windsor is in the building, and he knows that the party is coming.
The party discovers a rabbit-guard in a backroom who hid after he heard the beetle's roar. Defendomax utilizes his charisma to con the guard into believing that Defendomax is a fellow rabbit-man. The guard happily leads the party deeper into the factory, into the secure room.
Shutdown, Part 1
The party travels north, following the trail left by the dildobots. The four approach what was at one point a factory. The sign on the building reads "Crazy Steve's Sex Toys," but the building is very old and badly dilapidated. "Crazy Steve" is no longer the owner/proprietor.
They find Nyridius, another traveler who was embarrassingly assaulted by the dildobots the night before, and is looking to dish out some payback. Seeing that their goals align, Nyridius joins the party. They find the exterior of the building guarded by four angry-looking rabbit-men. The party sneaks forward, but are spotted by the guards and combat ensues. The guards are well-armed, wielding battery guns that arc electric bolts from the barrel, but they are overpowered and defeated by the group. One is incinerated by a blast from Nyridius, and another is kicked into a handy pit of radioactive goo, where he promptly dissolves. Another is struck down with a stop sign by Duke.
The party accepts the surrender of the final guard, whom they grill for information. They learn that the guards are mercenaries hired to defend the factory by someone named Windsor. The guard admits the factory is the source of the dildobots. The party finds that the door into the factory is electronically locked. Unfortunately, the guard who just dissolved in the pit of goo was the only one who knew the code.
After some careful consideration, Cuddlepunch breaks the door down.
They find Nyridius, another traveler who was embarrassingly assaulted by the dildobots the night before, and is looking to dish out some payback. Seeing that their goals align, Nyridius joins the party. They find the exterior of the building guarded by four angry-looking rabbit-men. The party sneaks forward, but are spotted by the guards and combat ensues. The guards are well-armed, wielding battery guns that arc electric bolts from the barrel, but they are overpowered and defeated by the group. One is incinerated by a blast from Nyridius, and another is kicked into a handy pit of radioactive goo, where he promptly dissolves. Another is struck down with a stop sign by Duke.
The party accepts the surrender of the final guard, whom they grill for information. They learn that the guards are mercenaries hired to defend the factory by someone named Windsor. The guard admits the factory is the source of the dildobots. The party finds that the door into the factory is electronically locked. Unfortunately, the guard who just dissolved in the pit of goo was the only one who knew the code.
After some careful consideration, Cuddlepunch breaks the door down.
New In Town
Alone, Professor Cuddlepunch travels the barren, windswept landscape. Because of her telekinetic abilities, she was ousted from her colony of fellow yetis in the Valley of Sorrow. Now, she begins a search for a new home. As Cuddlepunch trudged across the sand dunes, she discovered a robot, upside-down and half-buried, in a sand dune. After unearthing it, she discovered that its chest plate read "DEFENDOMAX," and it was still operational. In fact, this robot had developed sentience and self-determination, and decided to join Cuddlepunch. Vagabot 2.0, amnesiac and aimless, also joined the party when they discovered her wandering the dunes.
The group reaches the edge of the dunes and approaches the ramshackle farming village of Dusttown. The locals have been able to survive by raising catdogs, a surprisingly noisy animal. As soon as the travelers arrive and begin knocking on doors, the warning siren goes off. Confused, the group wonders if they have set off an alarm. The villagers retreat into their homes and barricade the doors, stranding the group in the town square. However, the travelers are not the cause of this alarm; three dildobots approach the town from the north and begin an assault on anyone in sight. The dildobots initiate combat with the travelers, striking them with weaponized sex toys and firing phallic rockets at them. The party, aided by a half-cockroach half-man, defeat the dildobots.
Ricardo, the mayor of Dusttown, angrily confronts the travelers for destroying the dildobots. Ricardo fears that their actions will bring more trouble to the village, and only instigate the dildobots further. The travelers learn from Ricardo that the dildobots started coming to Dusttown last month, but have been coming more frequently. Ricardo asks the party to investigate their origin and stop them. In exchange, he offers them unnamed gadgets and weapons that he has collected in his junk pile. Seeing an opportunity, the party accepts Ricardo's quest and heads north, backtracking the dildobots' tracks.
The group reaches the edge of the dunes and approaches the ramshackle farming village of Dusttown. The locals have been able to survive by raising catdogs, a surprisingly noisy animal. As soon as the travelers arrive and begin knocking on doors, the warning siren goes off. Confused, the group wonders if they have set off an alarm. The villagers retreat into their homes and barricade the doors, stranding the group in the town square. However, the travelers are not the cause of this alarm; three dildobots approach the town from the north and begin an assault on anyone in sight. The dildobots initiate combat with the travelers, striking them with weaponized sex toys and firing phallic rockets at them. The party, aided by a half-cockroach half-man, defeat the dildobots.
Ricardo, the mayor of Dusttown, angrily confronts the travelers for destroying the dildobots. Ricardo fears that their actions will bring more trouble to the village, and only instigate the dildobots further. The travelers learn from Ricardo that the dildobots started coming to Dusttown last month, but have been coming more frequently. Ricardo asks the party to investigate their origin and stop them. In exchange, he offers them unnamed gadgets and weapons that he has collected in his junk pile. Seeing an opportunity, the party accepts Ricardo's quest and heads north, backtracking the dildobots' tracks.
Orientation
Over 100 years ago, The Big Accident collapsed all parallel dimensions and alternate universes down into one. The result was a world that resembled a mishmash of all possible worlds.
The world where exponential technological innovation allowed robots to take over the world? It's here now.
The world where Darwinian evolution took a different path, resulting in sentient bipedal cats and dogs? It's here now.
The world where aliens gifted humans with gadgets based on a technology we don't understand? It's here now.
The world where the zombie apocalypse finally came? It's here now.
Remnants from these worlds litter the post-apocalyptic landscape. Survivors of the Dimension Wars eke out a hardscrabble life among the ruins. The most vicious and opportunistic species of a thousand worlds make the environment a dangerous place. Waves of powerful radiation wash across the land, relentlessly altering the DNA of adventurers and modifying their abilities.
This is the world that the adventurers find themselves in. The campaign is based off of Gamma World by Wizards of the Coast.
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