'Just Another Stinking Bughunt'

by: Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Note: Regrettably the characters sheets were lost last century in a hard drive crash.

If you want to use this you will have to create new character sheets.

Ok, you may have read STRANDED (it is up right?) This is the SCENARIO. The original scenario was written to 'shock' the PC's in a game I once ran and has been printed, in another form, in CLOCKWORK HERO (a CHAMPIONS APA). Another form? Well, I sorta crashed a flippy. Actually, my four year old son 'washed it clean in the water'. Sigh......

INTRODUCTION

This scenario was sent for a 225 - 325 point game. If your game is a higher point total simply add more Hunter Squads. If it is smaller reduce it by one. This should work in almost any HERO campaign as long as the GM takes time to balance the odd powers, or ignore some of them.

Notice that the QUNBINERS do not surrender, they fight to the death and if captured they will find a way to suicide. They are blood thirsty, mean, nasty, and downright ugly little brutes. They also breath chlorine. Nasty stuff that.

The Hunters only job is to locate the anthropomorphic female snow leopard known as SNOWATERS, kill her and get away (not forgetting the pelt their Commander demanded). Anyone who gets in their way is dead, no matter the reason.

SNOWATERS will most likely be in some sort of medical facility considering the injuries she sustained during her flight for life. She has one weapon, a bulky rifle like ‘thing.’ Other than that she has only her limited bodyguard training and your players support.

Not a good start.

THE PAST

Sometime several hundred years ago the STELLAR FREE STARS (SFS) slammed head-on into the QUNBINER IMPERIAL REPUBLIC (QIR). There followed several generations of out right war followed by a few generations of peace (while both military forces regrouped, rebuilt and otherwise got ready for the next round). A cycle of peace has just ended with the QIR attacking in still another direction, near our solar system. Actually the Terrain system is just at the outermost fringe of the battle, unless you want to use it in a STAR FORCE campaign of course.

A small picket force was surprised near BANARDS STAR and routed. One cruiser was chased into our system with SNOWATERS scout craft the sole surviving craft. The QIR rarely takes prisoners, and then only those it feels would make 'good sport' in their slave pens (such as superheros, super agents, legendary captains, etc). The two shuttles launched by the QIR ship each contain a single attack squad and associated probe drone. This of course makes the QIR forces on Earth rather weak yet still more than enough to deal with any locals as well as an ill SFS bodyguard.

EVENTS UNFOLD

Snowaters is under military guard in a local hospital suffering from shock, burns, broken bones, and what can only be vacuum induced trauma. Left alone she will probably heal quite rapidly (like all CHAMPIONS characters). However, like all scientists the doctors just have to poke, prod, test, sample, and 'treat'. Snowaters is going to take a long time to heal, several weeks at least as long as she is under a doctors 'care'. Until she has learned the language and healed she will act like a meek little girl, afraid of everything and everyone.

In the meantime the QIR forces will be digging in, monitoring all communications bands, tapping into phone lines and picking up random 'samples' for interrogation. It will take their computers several hours to learn your major language. Persons 'interrogated' will be found in remote areas quite dead, and obviously by some crazed manic as each will have been dissected quite thoroughly as well. Usually while still alive.

The QIR have two semi-intelligent probes. They will release these probes only at night to search the nearby city and surrounding area. These probes, although under commands, have a wide discretionary ability. Thus if commanded to 'find the worm' they will tap into phone lines, tv signals, radio, and whatever else comes to mind. Once either has physically located Snowaters it will signal the other and the QIR assault forces. If it feels that it has the chance it will then assault the location and attempt to 'terminate' the target. Note that the probe cannot tell the difference between Snowaters and a shape-shifter in her form (nor a disguised human). It will accept any living cat-like being as a valid target, even a trick-or-treater in a cheap Halloween costume.

Once a probe has signaled locating Snowaters one of the shuttles will launch to the attack, the other will fly as high guard watching for flying attackers. The probes will also act as delaying units after the QIR shuttle arrives.

If Snowaters is killed the QIR forces will blow up the building she was in and depart into high orbit with her pelt, awaiting recovery. While awaiting recovery they will be monitoring Earth communications. Each shuttle has a rudimentary cloak ability as well as enough life support to maintain the squads for a year or so.

If the QIR squads are eliminated the probes, should they survive, go into hiding. Either tunneling or diving into a large body of water then slipping away. There they will wait for the return of a QIR ship, randomly surfacing to sample the communications channels for further information on their target.

SNOWATERS

Snowaters is a twenty-four year old female intelligent feline. She is trained as a pilot, both space and atmospheric, and as a bodyguard. She is not trained to contact new races and is out of her depth in this field. Her alien nature gives her a small natural defense against mental powers as well as a slight awareness of such powers (somewhat like a tickling in the brain). Her sense of smell is greater than the normal human but not as good as a 'real' cat. If blinded she has an eleven or less chance of maintaining 'target lock on' through use of her smell.

Her larger than normal eyes allow her to see in the ultraviolet range but make her susceptible to flash attacks. As well her over large ears cause sonic based attacks to be more painful than normal. She has an absolute hatred of canines and canine based heros. This is an ancestral hatred and it is doubtful she would ever get over it.

She only wants to contact the SFS, notify them of Earth and herself as well as the QIR forces she is aware of. To do this requires faster-than-light (FTL) communications. Otherwise a powerful radio telescope along with a very long wait of twenty or so years. The QIR shuttles contain such equipment that she can modify if your campaign does not have such, but only if one or both are captured intact.

If she is able to contact the SFS Earth will be offered membership. Forces and resources are getting short and everyone is welcome. If not, then eventually the QIR forces will return intent on taking another world while eradicating and/or enslaving the rabble currently inhabiting it.

Snowaters has an extreme dislike of killing. Capable of such she will still do her best to capture than to kill. Her primary attack is her rifle. Bulky, it is difficult to hide. She is very good with it however and very accurate. If her weapon is damaged or lost she can resort to her limited martial arts to continue a fight or escape one.

Her world does not know or believe in Magic. If confronted with such she will assume that it is simply very advanced technology and will pester the Magic User to show her their equipment. It will be quite impossible to explain to her that Magic is not advanced Science. PSI powers are known but they are rare. So much energy has been put into the war effort that most PSI powers have been pushed back into the background. Warriors with PSI powers tend to live longer and are credited with extreme luck. The Great God Glitch and the Goddess Lady Luck are well known (by other names) and homage is paid to both, normally by the warriors while the average population consider them jokes.

Snowaters physical characteristics are as follows; Her fur/hair is a light Amber/Brown, fading to a pale amber on her stomach and chest. She is about five feet tall, her eyes are dark brown, she weighs between 100 to 105 pounds, and she is obviously feline in ancestry. Her attitude is quite, rarely excited, very self assured. She is soft spoken, can purr but only when she wants too. Her native language is feline. She could learn to talk with the common house cat but only barely, when she speaks human tongue she will tend to soften even the harshest words. Her religious worship is somewhat like Shinto (Japan), an ancestor worship to which she is very dedicated.

QUNBINERS

Unlike Snowaters the Qunbiners live only to kill and eat. These hunter groups are pure combat troops and are thus a 'lower order' of Qunbiner. The QIR could care less wither they live or die as long as they succeed in their mission. Though there are male and female units within each squad the possibility of a viable colony occurring is zero as, like ants these females are sterile.

The average 'Grunt' has less intelligence than a full probe. Once ordered to an action they will do that action unless countermanded or killed. Each grunt depends on their energy blaster to break through any forces facing them. They are smart enough to use single shots even though the weapon is capable of autofire. This is because each weapon is limited to thirty shots per day and autofire is normally a waste of power.

The 'Officer' Qunbiner is a different breed. Highly intelligent, fast and with advanced armor. These two are quite capable of leaving their squads behind and escaping either by riding a probe or using the advanced armors powers to slip away. They are highly loyal only to their mission, then to the QIR, then to themselves. They could care less about their troops.

QIR forces are Chlorine breathers. They cannot survive in Earth atmosphere without breathing apparatus. With such they can pass for humans if they cover themselves up well. Exposure to oxygen will burn out their lungs, killing them within a turn. This damage cannot be healed by their normal body process and their shuttles are too small to carry an auto-doc. They are sadistic and achieve great satisfaction of torturing their victims after they have the information they need.

QIR Officers have the limited ability to mind link with two other QIR minds. Normally these will be the Sergeant and fellow officer. This allows them an extremely efficient coordination in their attacks.

QIR Officers carry no weapons, they feel that as officers, and minor nobility such things are below them. Instead they use retractable claws in combat, their armor is built to allow their claws to extend and retract through the gloves. These claws are a simple physical attack and have no special additional attack.

As stated above the QIR mission is to locate, kill, and retrieve the pelt of the SIS 'worm' that crashed on the planet (Snowaters). Once this mission has been accomplished they will withdraw to space, as far as the nearest chlorine planet, and await the return of any QIR ship. While waiting they will use their probes (left on Earth) to scout their prize, Earth. If the QIR forces are defeated the probes will attempt to hide and await the QIR recovery ship. If all forces are destroyed then gee, everything rosey!

QUNBINER PROBES

The QIR Probe is a nasty little fellow. While linked with a functioning shuttle (captured or not) these probes have a high intelligence and mental defense. Should the shuttles be deactivated the probe will lose half its intelligence and all its mental defense.

While fully functional both probes can be nasty opponents. Although they have a a low power laser they use this to attempt to get their enemy to fire upon them, giving their enemy a nasty surprise with their reflection ability. The laser is ment to cut through barriers, kill normals and start fires. Amazingly these probes are faster in fluids than in the air. This is due to the way they 'swim', spinning causes their body to act as propellers.

Each probe is a crystal cylinder about five feet long, dark translucent green and gives of a soft thrumming sound that gives a plus one (+1) to hearing perception rolls within six inches of the probe.

A probe will observe all communications looking for information on Snowaters. Once such information is located the probe will attempt to physically locate her, after transmitting the data to the QIR shuttles. Once Snowaters has been physically located the probe will notify the shuttles then each other and normally await sufficient forces to complete their mission. The probes are very obvious in the day and in highly lighted areas, thus they are normally used only at night.

IN CONCLUSION

This scenario can be a short, single session, a long continuing affair or anything in between. The enemy will not give up or surrender, it is not in their make-up. This may cause problems for those 'I can always talk anyone into surrendering' characters as well as the 'Don't kill anything' players. The problem is, if captured a PC is in real trouble. PC's knocked out and left behind have a high mortality rate. That will cause problems for other PC's who have the opinion of 'Don't worry, nothing can kill Captain Brick' when Captain Brick is found stuffed in some forgotten corner minus a few pieces, like their brain.

Built for a Base 225 game with experience these characters were ment to have a high chance of killing Snowaters and getting away. Then having them tracked down by vengeful PC's in their highly experimental space ship, leading to new horizons. They almost did, and would have except one PC sacrificed his life with a Flight Move Through the surviving shuttle as it started to take off with Snowaters on board. Bad news, the QIR forces did not have their helmets on. Neither did the PC.

If a player wants to come into your game (or change PC's) using Snowaters it should be relatively easy to add to her stats. She landed in a toxic waste dump, some doctor used and experimental drug, etc. There is always the (gasp) RADIATION ACCIDENT!!!

Those probes are nice little nasties to harass your PC's with at odd times (cheap hunted). Popping up in the middle of the night (what's that unluck again Proton?), disrupting communications, attacking a costume party given by the Mayor. The ideas are endless. Snowaters marries PSIman, probes arrive for the Honeymoon....

Just remember that the Probes, as well as the Hunter Squads, are not replaceable and use them sparingly. After all, the Hunters have at least a year before recovery so they can plan their attack. Of course the sooner they get it done the better it looks on their APR/OPR's. The probes attack from long range or from hiding. The QIR forces usually just sort of shoot their way in and make a big nasty mess.

Of course, you could always have the ship break down and land on the back side of the moon, sending down forces as needed.