Unknown Armies NPC - Three Bear

 

A man must have a hobby. Three Bear’s hobby is killing powerful occult underworld figures and making Dipsomancy significant vessels out of their skulls. This makes him a lot of enemies, but also a Robin Hood figure for the enemies of his victims. You don’t get to the top without stepping on people, and those people are usually happy when you get your comeuppance. And Three Bear is generous with the spoils.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Prep For Session 5

GIANT BIRDS

Cortez the Orc says he saw a pair of giant birds flying over the mountain. Way bigger than the giant crows that live in the old keep. They were too high in the air to shoot, even with his rifle.

 

IRENE AND THE LAB

Irene the Vivisectionist may be lawful aligned now, but that won't stop her from getting the old lab up and running, if someone goes in there and shuts off the smog vent so she can actually work. It'll cost 1,000 silver pieces to get smoke production back online, granting a daily supply of dragon drugs.

ISHIZAKA'S GENTLY USED SPELLBOOKS

Ishizaka the Genie is selling gently used spellbooks at rock bottom prices. 1,000 silver pieces gets you a tome guaranteed to contain a single random spell, which you can add to your own spellbook for later memorization and casting. All sales are final.

THE MUTOIDS

Gowonry the Bear Headed Man has taught the Centipede Headed Woman the basics of reading and writing. Her name is Ai, but everyone just calls her Grit. 

THE STORY OF THE BERSERKERS

Eric's gang of Berserkers came to the Mountain of the Mad Marquis because a shaman told them it was going to give birth to a supreme evil that would leave the dungeon and inflict itself on the world. The Berserkers were trying to stop it by cleansing the dungeon of life.

 

Unknown Armies NPC - rudeMechanical

What would you do to visit another world? What price would you consider too high to get to the other side? To live in a place made from dreams and pure will? Would you feed it with your own blood?

 

Would you kill someone? 

 

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Gods of the World

A handful of deities from the world of ANGUISHEDWIRES, The Manor of the Giant Arminius, and the Mountain of the Mad Marquis. If your character has at least one Soul Die, it might be fun to pick a God from this list. They don't have any special effects, yet...

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 4

Day four of the Mountain of the Mad Marquis. The adventurers made good progress last time, and with the berserkers out of the way were ready to push forward and get the Duck Signet Ring from the tomb of the Mad Marquis so they could reach Level 3 of the dungeon.

This time, five adventurers showed up to dig into the dungeon.

• Al-Hafiz, Level 2 Fedayeen
• Jack Fatherd, Level 5 Survivor
• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Protesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 2 Acolyte
• Wakefield, Level 1 Burglar

They brought Eric the Barbarian along with them as an extra pair of hands to hold weapons and treasure. Several adventurers sported plate armor formerly worn by the skeletons, refurbished at Ishizaka's shop.

By Stepan Alekseev

The giant crows were back in the surface keep, watching Jack Fatherd to see if he would give them more treats. One of the beasts approached him and let him stroke its feathers. It dropped a shiny trinket for him: a small blade of prismatic obsidian, attached to a wooden hilt. He rewarded the bird with a silver coin.

The group descended the excavated stairs at the Southwest end of the old keep, and from there went down through the smashed floor in the Holy Mountain room to the Necropolis.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 3

Another day, another descent into the Mountain of the Mad Marquis. This time four adventurers left the camp to delve the ruins.

• Al-Hafiz, Level 1 Fedayeen
• Jack Fatherd, Level 5 Survivor
• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Protesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 1 Acolyte

They were accompanied by Gowonry and the centipede woman, two Mutoids recruited on a previous delve into the dungeon. Laguna had some boards to cross the broken bridge in the bone pit, and the group hoped to retrieve the duck signet ring from the Marquis' tomb so they could progress to the next level of the dungeon. They decided to go down the fast way, using the one tun barrel and the rope around the tree. They all hopped into the barrel and left the centipede woman on the surface to lower them into the pit. It was a risky move, with their combined weight she could just barely lower them into the pit without dropping them. She wouldn't be able to haul up more than a couple people at a time.

The gang saw before they got to the bottom that something wasn't right. The plants in the cemetery sinkhole were trampled and the doors of the makeshift inn were smashed open. Whoever wrecked the place went through the South door, and the gang followed their footsteps to see what was going on.

Temple of the Crying Buddha Masterpost

Temple of the Crying Buddha is an Unknown Armies oneshot inspired by a couple episodes of the 33.3 FM show. Players take the role of Imperial Japanese soldiers during the Rape of Nanking, sent to pillage an ancient temple full of dangerous secrets. A cheap trick, I know, setting the scenario during an atrocity to immediately grab the players' attention. Everyone will get what they deserve. 

• Scenario Folder including pregens and a new avatar path
  
• First Playtest
• Music Post

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 2

The adventurers were not eager to spend two days hiking back to the nearest town, but they had treasure to sell and items they needed to purchase to improve their odds of survival. They descended the mountain along the old cart path, overgrown with trees and bushes.

 

An Orc came up the road, clad in garish armor, wearing rose colored glasses and carrying a muzzleloading rifle. He didn't make any special effort to stay hidden, nor did any of the mercenaries following him.

 

By me

The adventurers observed from stealth as Cortez the Orc placed an iron flask on the ground, waited about a minute expectantly, then gave it a kick. A cloud of smoke emitted from the vessel, resolving into a genie. The spirit theatrically fell on his hands in mid-air and vomited up a whole tent and market stall. Ishizaka's market was open for business.

The concept was simple. Ishizaka the Genie knew there was treasure in the dungeon, and he was the only person within a week's travel who had the capital to buy it all with currency. He'd take whatever the players brought up from the Mad Marquis' mansion, and they could use the coin they earned to buy supplies to bring up more treasure. And if they died, there would be more adventurers to take their place. All he had to do was wait, and sell useful items at market rates.

Two adventurers took him up on the deal.

• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Zigar Kneecapper, Level 1 Thug

They picked up rope, spikes, a hammer and a wax writing tablet for Gowonry the Mutoid, so that he could communicate more complex ideas than just "yes" and "no".

Then they went back to the ruined keep, for another crack at the Mountain of the Mad Marquis.

Unknown Armies NPC - Jamaldin

By Tim O'Brien

 

Jamaldin is a Neanderthal from the Caucasus. He escaped from a mountain game preserve where his tribe was selectively bred and hunted for thousands of years. He isn’t going back to help his tribe because he hates them. They were all cowards who never lifted a hand to fight the hunters who killed, skinned and ate them, but they eagerly ganged up to hurt him whenever they got the chance. He’s got a whole world to explore and he’s not going to waste a second thinking about people who don’t deserve his help.

Unknown Armies NPC - Peppino Spaghetti

By McPig

Serious occultists call the ‘03 conflict the Whisper War. For Peppino Spaghetti, it was the Pizza War. He was just some schlub working the kitchen at his dad’s restaurant. He wasn’t ready to take on Nico Ambrosio and his crew of Sicilian-American hoods when the Sleepers turned the Five Families loose on the mages of New York in a desperate rearguard action. He wasn’t prepared to fight his way up the Empire State Building and put the hurt on Death Wish, the last handful of Sleepers holding the line against a new generation of mages flooding into the city.

He hasn’t been right ever since.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 1

At the very edge of the Commonwealth, six adventurers made the difficult hike up to the DeCavalier estate, an abandoned ruin from the defunct Monarchy's failed colonization effort. They were hot on the tail of the  bandit Gorrister the Great, and they intended to claim the 15,000 silver piece bounty on his head.

 

The adventurers in question:

• Ivaqirax Obus, Level 1 Mage
  
• Jack Fatherd, Level 5 Survivor
  
• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Protesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 1 Acolyte
  
• Wakefield, Level 1 Burglar
  
• Zigar Kneecapper, Level 1 Thug
  

By Throneseeker

The DeCavalier estate was still impressive, despite its dilapidated state. It occupied a commanding position in the mountains, atop a peak that dropped right down to sheer cliffs. The road up through the hills was partially overgrown, terminating in a drawbridge that hung open without chains to articulate it. The view of the surrounding mountain range was breathtaking.

The whole thing would be picturesque if it wasn’t for the Orc crucified over the entrance.

2022 Delta Green Shotgun Scenario Reviews

The 2022 Delta Green Shotgun Scenario Contest wrapped a few weeks ago. I've largely lost interest in Delta Green over the last year or two, but I sent in three scenarios anyway.

 

Reviews of all 53 submissions under the cut.

Unknown Armies Play Report: You're Not Alexander! Part 2

Continued from Part 1.

Pseudanor ran up the hill, quickly scaling the ruined foundation of the Citadel and vaulting the wall into the sacred precinct of the Temple of Athena. He ran around to the portico of the temple, and was about to shake Jocasta awake before he thought better of getting within arm's reach. He tossed a small pebble and she instinctively lashed out with a foot, before realizing where she was. Pseudanor explained that soldiers were coming up the hill, and one of them was among the four who attacked her last night.

By Peltast

Pseudanor was interrupted by the Priestess Tritogenia, second in command at the Temple. She told Pseudanor to get the hell out, then told Jocasta that the place had better be spotless because the Hipparch of Hellespontine Phrygia was on his way to the temple. Jocasta got up to make sure the sanctuary was clean, but was interrupted by a shout from the High Priestess' hut. The old lady Atrytone needed help getting ready to receive a visitor, and her demands trumped those of the younger Tritogenia. Atrytone's mind was still sharp, but her failing body necessitated Jocasta's assistance as a mobility aid. Atrytone needed Jocasta's help dressing quickly, but refused to be carried out to meet the Macedonians, using a staff to support herself.

The Hipparch, clad in a robe and cape and wearing a flat cap over his mostly gray hair, entered the precinct with eight of his elite soldiers.