Dinocalypse Now Hell Comes to Hollywood - A Spirit of the Century Adventure

8/12/2019 Dinocalypse Now Hell Comes to Hollywood - A Spirit of the Century Adventure

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SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY PRESENTS...

HELL COMES TO HOLLYWOOD

AUTHOR

BRIANENGARD

ILLUSTRATOR

JAYNAPAVLIN

EDITOR

JOHNADAMUS

SYSTEMDEVELOPER

LEONARDBALSERA

2012 EVIL HAT PRODUCTIONS, LLC
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Explain , Attach Gonga. Some of the Centurions, a rare few Some of them what. A rare few remain, ahhh, unaccounted for, though we are

sure that Gorilla Khan backhanded the albino ape hard enough

to knock the attach off the side of his mount. Te fool hit the ground and scrambled to once more gain his footing.

Who? Khan asked.Im sorry? I said, who! Who has escaped our grasp? Ahhh. Gonga stood, dusting himself off. Amelia Stone.

Mack Silver. Benjamin Hu. Jet Black. Sally Slick. Ahhh. Reports are coming in of others. Just a few! Just a few . . .

Gorilla Khan and Attach Gonga,in a conversation atop a Gigantosaurus.From the pages o Dinocalypse Now.


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WHAT IS THIS?Tis is an adventure orSpirit of the Century based on the events o

Chuck Wendigs novel Dinocalypse Now. Te events within this adventuretake place concurrently with those in the novel, but they happen on theother side o the country in a region not covered in the novel. Tis meansthat you (the GM and the players) have a lot o room to play in when youuse this adventure.

o play this adventure, youll need to have a copy oSpirit of the Century (or, at the very least, access to theSotC SRD). It would help to have read Dinocalypse Now, but thats not strictly necessary. You should though; its

an awesome book.Youll also need some characters. You can make your own characters,tying them into the events and people presented in this adventure. I you want to jump right in though, there are some partially pregenerated char-acters at the end o this adventure. Tey provide a good starting point withties to whats going on in the adventure and they also allow some room ordevelopment during play, using the rules or creating a hero on the y.

Well, what are you waiting or? Go out there and punch a dinosaur inthe ace!

WHATS GOING ON?Mere hours ago, a worldwide invasion started. Te simian despot

Gorilla Khan, with the aid o an army o warrior apes, dinosaurs, and psy-

chic saurian humanoids, launched an assault on virtually every major cityo the world, bringing human society to its knees. o make matters worse,the Centurions were targeted rst, taken out o commission so that theycouldnt aid in the worlds de ense.

Tough New York City (er . . . New Khan City) was hit hardest by thedinosaur invasion, Gorilla Khan sent his orces all over the world. Khan wanted his capitol to be on the East Coast o the United States, in the great-est monument to humankinds dependence upon there concrete boxes, buthe was smart enough to know he needed bases o power all over the world.Even within a single country like the United States he knew he would needmore than one place rom which to rule, so he sent many o his orces to LoAngeles under the command o one o his most trusted lieutenants, Margh.


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Los Angeles ell quickly, as did themajority o the Century Club, duringthe initial attack. A ew, however, escaped.

It started with the Projector. Tough outnumbered and outgunned( rom a psychic standpoint) by psychosaurs, the small man had a last-ditch

effort, a Hail Mary pass that, though hed never actuallytried it be ore, would work . . . in theory. Luckily ( or him), it did. When he woke severalminutes later he was surrounded by the same trio o psychosaurs but they were standing stock-still, their eyes vacant, their jaws slack. He ought re with re, and using his great psychic powers, sent their minds elsewhere.

He knew he had a precious opportunity here. Not only could he escapethe psychosaurs, he might actually be able to study them and nd their weak-

ness. Further, he quickly discovered that there were still a ew Centurionslef in the clubhouse that he could bring back . . . you! Te chapterhouse inLos Angeles was no longer sa e, though. Te ragged scraps o the CenturyClub would have to nd somewhere else to plan their counter-offensive . . .

DINOS TAKE LOS ANGELES!Tough not hit quite as hard as the ormer New York City, Los Angeles

has certainly seen its share o troubles. Not only that, but youre caughtright in the middle o it! Tere are a variety o different plots going on inLos Angeles right now: Marghs dinosaur invasion orce, the psychosaurattack on the Century Club, Neanderthal scouting groups around the city,and the machinations o the Black Baron! Who will you de eat rst?

Te rest o this document is a description o a series o problems that theheroes have to solve and goals or them to accomplish. Its likely that yourgroup will play through some o these but not others. Tose that you do play through might not occur in the order presented here; thats ne! Tese problems and goals are all just potential or adventure, things that may ormay not happen depending on whats important to your players and theircharacters. ASpirit of the Century adventure is at its best when its player-

driven, when the players are the ones making the decisions and steering the plot in directions that interest them. Embrace that and have un!


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ENCOUNTER GROUPSTroughout the adventure portion o this document youll nd side-

bars containing encounter groups or the various problems presented.Tese groups are divided into easy, moderate, and hard encounters; eel

ree to grab one o these whenever you dont have something specic inmind.

An easy encounter is a good way to showcase how skilled and awe-some the PCs are, a moderate encounter will challenge them, and a hardencounter will require them to really work together and nd clever solu-tions in order to succeedor to run away!

You can also modi y the encounter groups listed, adding or removingenemies to scale the difficulty or more or ewer players. Te encountergroups below assume three or our Centurions, so add another bad guyor two or more, and remove one or two or ewer. You can also addencounter groups together to create mixed encounter groups (thoughthatll increase the difficulty o the encounter, too). Generally speaking,

two easy groups added together is equivalent to a moderate group, twomoderate groups is a hard group, and two hard groups will almost cer-tainly be too much or your group.

PROBLEM: ESCAPE FROM THE CENTURY CLTe players awaken in the Century Club headquarters o Los Angeles,

the Projector standing over them and urging them to get up and come withhim. He explains in hushed tones that the Century Club was attacked bystrange psychic lizard-men and that most o the Centurions ell to their psychic attacks. Te Projector was able to ght off the ones that came orhim and, as he was eeing the headquarters, he stumbled across the PCssupine orms, unguarded. Afer some trial and error he was able to rousethem rom their slumber, but now they must escape!

Make it clear to the PCs that the Century Club is overrun and that stayingis not an option. Tey are hopelessly outnumbered and it would be to theiradvantage to retreat somewhere else, regroup, and plan a counter-attack o


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some kind. Dont let the PCs sit around and talk too long; i things gettoo talky, throw some bad guys at them! Feel ree to do the same as theyremaking their escape, but be sure to vary the encounters somewhat. Its unto have a knock-down drag-out ght rom time to time, but its also just as

good to sneak past a group o inattentive apes or even play through an excit-ing chase scene as the psychosaurs bear down on them.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?o help get the players into the action and invested in whats going

on, you can ask them to narrate how they were taken down by the psy-

chosaurs prior to the start o the adventure. Use this material to generate plot hooks and story odder; or example, i a PC was taken down tryingto save a group o civilians, thats youre cue to endanger more civilians in

ront o that same PC later!

ENCOUNTER GROUPS FOR THE OPENING SCEEASY ENCOUNTERS

A warrior ape and six to eight warrior ape minions A single velociraptor A single psychosaur

MODERATE ENCOUNTERS wo warrior apes and eight to ten warrior ape minions wo velociraptors wo psychosaurs A velociraptor and two warrior apes wo warrior apes and a psychosaur

HARD ENCOUNTERS Four to six warrior apes

A pack o our velociraptors wo velociraptors, two warrior apes, and a psychosaur


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THE PROJECTORTe Projector is a moderately power ul psychic whose ampli ying hel-

met boosts his modest mental powers to truly heroic levels! Both a psychicand a gadget-man, the Projector built his helmet himsel . Hes not mucho a ghter though, so the PCs will have to do the lions share o punchingand shooting.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

F M P ! | I E ! |M M M W | B P V | S |M A H | I . . . |

N ! | F I W -R , W -B , W -E

SKILLS

Superb MysteriesGreat Academics, Engineering Good Alertness, Empathy, InvestigationFair Drive, Gambling, Pilot, Rapport Average Art, Athletics, Guns, Leadership, Resolve

STUNTS

Mysteries Mesmerist, Psychic, Words on the WindEngineering Personal Gadget x 2

GEAR

Amplication Helmet: Unbelievable, Crafsmanship (Mysteries),

Alternate Usage (Mysteries instead o Alertness).SPECIAL RULESPsychic De ense: I only one psychosaur is present, the Projector can

keep it locked down, preventing it rom using its Psychic Whammy. Itwo are present, he can impose a -2 penalty on their Psychic Whammy powers. I three or more are present he can place a Psychic Distractionaspect on every psychosaur present, but itll have to be invoked to getany benet rom it. I the Projector does any o these things, hes usinghis action to do so.

STRESS

Health Composure FATE POINTS: 5


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CHOOSING GOALSSo the PCs have escaped rom the overrun Century Club and are out on

the streets o Los Angeles. Now what?

At the time o their escape, Los Angeles is in bad shape. Dinosaurs, war-rior apes, and psychosaurs are everywhere. Citizens are being hunted downand rounded up, taken to who knows where. Worst o all, all o the otherCenturions in the city have been taken captive and there seems to be noorganized de ense or resistance; the city was taken so much by surprise thattheres simply nobody to oppose the invaders!

Now the heroes need to gure out what their goals are. Tey might want

to spend time gathering together and getting them out o the city, or themight decide they want to raise an army to de eat Gorilla Khans proxy inthe city. Tey might want to do both! Here are some goals you can suggesti they seem to be oundering a bit. Tese goals are not mutually exclusive;the PCs can try to accomplish as many o these as theyd like to!

Get civilians sa ely out o the city. Build an army to retake the city rom the invading orces. Inltrate Marghs stronghold and de eat the ape. Free the Centurions that Marghs orces have taken captive. Retake the Century Club rom the apes occupying it.

I WANT TO RUN!Some PCs may decide that the orces arrayed against them are too

great and that theyd rather run and live to ght another day. Tere area number o problems with that. For one, its not very heroic. Tere arestill people in Los Angeles to be saved, and their ellow Centurions aredepending on them. Let them know that running is a temporary solu-tion at best; i they run now, sooner or later the dinosaur army will catchup with them.

I the PCs are intent on leaving the city, give them a goal that willlead them back into the city later when theyre in a stronger position.Mentioning Fort Liberty ( page 11) as a place to get trained, equippedsoldiers to help them ght off the apes might be enough to convincethem to stay and ght rather than turning tail and taking off !


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GOAL: FINDING A HEADQUARTERS!Te heroes cant just stay out on the streets; they need to nd somewhere

relatively sa e and de ensible so that they can plan their next move. Tere

are any number o houses or apartment buildings they can take as theirheadquarters, but theyll most likely have to share these with re ugees and

ormer citizens o Los Angeles. Tis may wind up being to their advantage.A populated building offers the possibility o many hands to make light work, and the heroes may even be able to train the citizens into some sorto ghting orce in order to make striking back easier.

Tere are disadvantages though to commandeering a house or apartment

building. For one thing, its unlikely to provide much o a vantage point orsurveying the whole city. For another, houses and apartment buildings arerarely built to withstand any sort o attack, much less an assault by rampag-ing dinosaurs. In addition, the people taking shelter in these places are likelynot trained soldiers or even untrained ghters. Tey will need protectionand training, and the density o population will likely draw the attention othe invaders or the Black Baron.

APARTMENT ASPECTS M H , L W L W I O W -S F A H , N F

A second option is to take shelter in the sewers. Te sewers make itmuch easier to stay under the radar, but they present their own dangers (see page 15 or dangers and scene aspects). Tey also have the disadvantageo offering no ability to see whats happening on the sur ace; i the PCs holeup under the streets, theyll likely lack or intel.

Office buildings can make or good headquarters. Tey tend to be tall,

commanding a good view o the city and offering plenty o early warningshould enemies start converging on the building. Many citizens are also tak-ing shelter in the offices o Los Angeles due to the space they offer; thismeans that they have some o the same advantages and disadvantages ohouses and apartments. Tey tend to be a little bit easier to de end, though;more choke points, more places to hide and maneuver.


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OFFICE ASPECTS G V P C P

N P L R

Another option is the military baseFort Libertyjust outside thecity. (We know, its not actually there in real li e. Who cares about historicalaccuracy in a pulp game? Go with whats un!) A military base makes or aexcellent headquarters or the Centurions. Tere are even Army personnel

on-hand whom the heroes can try to lead as their very own army againstthe apes, dinosaurs, and other threats o the city. reat these military per-sonnel as minions o Good (+3) or Great (+4) quality. Some might evenbe henchmen or lieutenants who could ollow the heroes or a short time without needing to spend a stunt on them, though theyll need convincing(Rapport, Deceit, or Intimidate) to be convinced to ollow the Centurions.

FORT LIBERTY ASPECTS D W -S F G

PROBLEM: DINOSAURS EVERYWHERE!Marghs invasion orce is everywhere, mopping up the last o the resis-

tance in LA. Tey are everywhere on the streets, and the heroes will have tocontend with them requently as they move around.

Dinosaurs are the most signicant and dangerous threat the PCs willrun into. Start with an easy encounter, but escalate quickly the closer thePCs get to their goal. Velociraptors and -Rexes are ound out hunting,

while a beast like a triceratops will be ound guarding something impor-tant (like the exaco Building). Any o these threats has the potential or aght but, unless the PCs are well-equipped or exceptionally lucky, theyreunlikely to last very long against such beasts. Running might be the sa ersolution, which could (should?) lead to even more trouble! Dinosaurs are


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ofen set as guards or important locations, too; a triceratops in particularmakes an excellent guard beast. Such a creature will de end its charge but isunlikely to pursue eeing heroes due to behavioral constraints.

Te PCs will also run into one o the many roving bands o psychosaurs

in Los Angeles. Tese creatures walk a deliberate and thorough patternthrough the streets, making sure to cover as much ground as possible. Tey will pursue PCs that they see, using their Psychic Whammy to try to subduethem. Tis is another straight-up ght. Winning it will allow the Projectorsome time to study the psychosaurs and determine a possible counter totheir powers (such as a brass crown), while losing can allow or an oppor-tunity to put the PCs in ront o Margh himsel albeit very likely be ore

theyre ready.Closer to Marghs seat o power (the exaco Building, chosen or its

height), the PCs will nd nd groups o ve or six warrior apes, some even with dinosaurs accompanying them. Tese apes have instructions to huntdown survivors and rebels and capture them or, ailing that, kill them. Its possible that the PCs could parlay their way into an audience with Margh ithey were to awn enough and be as obsequious as possible.

INVADING ARMY ENCOUNTER GROUPSEASY ENCOUNTERS

A mob o eight to ten warrior ape minions wo warrior apes A warrior ape and a psychosaur A velociraptor

MODERATE ENCOUNTERS wo psychosaurs and our to six warrior ape minions Four warrior apes wo or three velociraptors

HARD ENCOUNTERS wo psychosaurs and our warrior apes Five or six velociraptors A -Rex or triceratops


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PROBLEM: NEANDERTHALS!Te Neanderthals o the

Hollow Earth, led by the crafyGarrok, can be ound all over thecity. Tey have instructions toobserve and gather in ormationthat could be used when the main

orce attacks the west coast, butthat doesnt mean they wont getinvolved in sticuffs i the oppor-

tunity presents itsel .Te Neanderthals are trying toescape notice; however, Garrokis the kind o Neanderthal who will use the Centurions presenceto his advantage, playing his ene-mies against each other. Groups will strike quickly and retreat, only to strike

again later. Te Neanderthals have a code o honor that they adhere to,but Garrok hand-picked scouts or their moral exibility and willingness toght dirty when necessary.

Once hes sofened the PCs up a bit, Garrok will approach them with adeal: an alliance to de eat the invading army. What hell try very hard not totell the PCs is that he ully plans on betraying them at some point, probably when it would cause the maximum amount o chaos to both Centurionsand Marghs orces. Ten he and his scouts will quietly slip away, reportingback to Atok.

ENCOUNTER GROUPS FOR THE STREETSEASY ENCOUNTERS

wo NeanderthalsMODERATE ENCOUNTERS

Four NeanderthalsHARD ENCOUNTERS

Five Neanderthals plus Garrok


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PROBLEM: THE BLACK BARON!Shortly afer emerging rom the Century Club, while the PCs are deal-

ing with the invading orces and the Neanderthal scouts, the Black Baronsthugs start to harass them. Tese are minor problems at rst, but shouldescalate to become real threats as the Baron becomes more and more awareo the potential threat (and the potential opportunity) that the PCs rep-

resent. Te Baron is not trying to kill the PCs, though; hes testing them,testing their abilities and their personalities so that he can determine howbest to approach them or an alliance.

BLACK BARON ENCOUNTERS

Always throw at least eight minions against the PCs, and as manyas twelve or ourteen or truly difficult encounters. Start them atAverage (+1) quality or easy encounters, Fair (+2) or Good (+3) ormoderate encounters, or Great (+4) or really tough ones.

o put the screws to the players, throw William Cutter into themix, too.


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Eventually, the Baron will send some o his thugs with an offer o alli-ance. Itll be a large group o highly trained thugs and, should the PCsre use, theyll simply attack and try to subdue the heroes anyway so theycan bring them back to the Baron.

Te Black Baron is an incredibly wealthy man with a vast network ocriminals and conspirators and access to cutting-edge (and in some cases,

uture) technology. His goal is to put all o Los Angeles under his thumb,then all o Cali ornia, then the United States. Hes unlikely to stop there.Tough a minor threat in the grand scheme o things now, i lef uncheckedhe could be every bit as dangerous as Gorilla Khan is.

I the PCs decide to deal with the Baron be ore he escalates things too

ar, its possible theyll get the drop on him. During the invasion hes pre-occupied with ghting apes, learning how they control their dinosaur warmachines, and gathering more thugs to his cause. As such his organizationcould be easy to inltrate and his distraction could prove his undoing. odo so, though, theyll have to get into his lair in the sewers.

SEWER SCENE ASPECTS D , D , D N R S L M -L C R R E S E

All o the Barons thugs are minions o Average (+1) to Great (+4)quality, and are ound in groups o at least eight; use the encounter groupsin Under the Streets, above. In addition, the Baron has C ES and a M -L F to discourage people rom takihim on directly. Tese two things usually allow him a signicant amount o warning be ore he has to deal with intruders and, at that point, hes usuallygathered at least twenty o his best thugs to help ght them off.

Tat said, its possible that Centurions skilled in Stealth, Burglary,Deceit, Rapport, or Intimidate could get past the bulk o his security todeal with him more privately. Doing so is not easy. Tere are ve checkpoints between the entryway to the Barons hideout and his inner sanctum.


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Sneaking past these checkpoints with Stealth starts at a difficulty oFair (+2) and increases by one or every checkpoint closer to the Baronthat the PCs get. Yes, that means the difficulty is Fantastic (+6) closest tothe Baron. Security systems can be disabled to make the job easier; there

are security consoles at the rst, third, and fh checkpoint. Disabling eachrequires a Burglary roll at Good (+3), and lowers the difficulty o Stealthrolls by 1 or each console disabled.

O course, the PCs could always take the direct approach and simplydemand an audience with the Baron. Tis will take very little convincing,but the guards will insist on disarming the heroes be ore taking them to seetheir leader. Unless they can convince the thugs otherwise or hide weapons

and tools on their personDeceit at Good (+3)theyll nd themselvesace to ace with the Black Baron, twenty o his thugs, and possibly William

Cutter, with nothing to de end themselves with should things turn sour.Te Black Barons most dangerous level o protection is the assassin

William Cutter. Cutter is intelligent, observant, and highly lethal. Hespends most o his time acting as a bodyguard and second-in-commandto the Black Baron, and hes very difficult to ool. When the Barons early warning systems ail him, Cutter rarely does. I Cutter can be separated

rom the pack and dealt with on his own, it would be signicantly easier totake down the Baron.

Te good news is that, i the Black Baron is de eated, his thugs will swearealty to whoever took him down. Tey respect strength and are also a raid

o a world ruled by apes and dinosaurs; these two things working together

can create a loyal, i volatile, army.I the heroes use the Barons help rst and try to deal with him later,theyll have a much harder time o it. Hell be stronger, hell have morehenchmen, he wont have the threat o the invasion to worry about, and hemay even have gured out how to control the dinosaurs. In this case hellbe much less likely to trust the PCs and much more likely to simply try todispose o them out o hand. In addition, his thugs may be less inclined to

switch sides i hes de eated. Teyll know that the law is back in effect, andmight instead run or even try to take the Centurions down so that theydont have to deal with the consequences o their masters de eat.


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PROBLEM: WE NEED A LAB!Shortly afer de eating their rst or second group o psychosaurs, the

Projector decides that hed like to do some research on the creatures in order

to discern their weaknesses. Te problem is that he needs a good lab. Telab in the Century Club is the best bet, and hes amiliar with it; however,a military lab (such as the one at Fort Liberty) could do the job in a pinch.

I the PCs manage to get the Projector to a lab that he can use or a dayor two, hell come up with the idea o using a brass helmet to counteractthe effects o the Psychosaurs psychic whammy ( page 38). Given a ewmore days, he can even gure out a way to take down all o the psychosaurs

at once: i a live psychosaur can be captured and brought to the lab, theProjector can use his own psychic powers to cause a eedback loop withinits mind. Since all psychosaurs are psychically linked, this eedback loop will take down all the psychosaurs in the city within a ew minutes, render-ing them comatose!

GOAL: RETAKE THE CENTURY CLUB! Whether the PCs get this idea rom the Projectors prodding above orthey simply decide that the Clubhouse makes or the best headquarters, itheyve waited a day or two to launch a counteroffensive on it, then thingshave gotten signicantly easier. Afer a ew days, once its become clear thatthe all o the Centurions have either been captured or have escaped, Margh pulls most o the psychosaurs and some o the apes out o the clubhouse

He leaves some guards behind in case people get any ideas, but not nearly asmany as there were be ore. . Use encounter groups rom the opening scene

or the guards lef behind. Tough the PCs are still outnumbered by theguards, its possible that they could gather some support or use clever tac-tics to take the guards out. I they do, they once again have control o theCentury Club and have access to its resources. However, unless they cap-ture or kill all o the guards, at least one o them will go back to Margh andreport whats happened. Margh is not going to be pleased.

Te other option is to try to sneak in and take a ew important things,then sneak out and go back to whatever temporary shelter the PCs have setup. Tis is probably the easier o the two options; the guards arent expect-ing anyone to be oolish enough to try to sneak back into the Century


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Club, so theyre not as attentive as they should be. Te PCs can use Stealth versus the guards Alertness to try to sneak past them, but a ailed roll or ascuffle will quickly wake the others. Moving silentlyor even taking theguards down silentlycould prove an incredibly effective strategy.

CENTURY CLUB SCENE ASPECTS S C G E H D S S W -S , L


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GOAL: RAISE AN ARMY!Te PCs may be able to get into the exaco Building and de eat Margh,

but de eating one ape does not de eat the entire invading orce. Teyre

going to need some way to kick the army o apes and dinosaurs out othe city, and thats going to require more than just our or ve people,Centurions or not! Teyre going to need allies.

Te easiest allies to recruit are the soldiers o Fort Liberty (see above).Teyre trained, equipped, and seeking someone with the gumption tolead them against an army o dinosaurs. Tere are only about fy o them,though, which limits their ability to be effective.

Troughout the city, though, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands,o civilians who have not yet been captured by apes or eaten by dinosaurs.Many o these people are rightened and incapable o ghting, but someo them will be able to help, and some o them will even be eager to doso. Finding groups o civilians isnt hard, but convincing them to rise upagainst the invaders is a Rapport roll o at least Good (+3) difficulty.

Equipping them using extra supplies rom Fort Liberty or supplies scav-enged rom the city can make them a somewhat effective, i not ormidableghting orce. Use a Resources roll with a Good (+3) difficulty to allow thePCs to equip the civilians; scene aspects could easily be invoked to increasethe odds o success.

Among these untrained citizens will be a ew, though, who can help leadthe army. Police officers, government agents, and other highly trained peo-

ple can be quite use ul! Finding highly trained citizens is not easy, though;it requires a Contacting roll at Fair (+2) difficulty. A Rapport roll at thesame difficulty can convince these individuals to help; they may be harderto nd, but theyre better equipped to handle whats going on right now.

An exceptionally effectivethough also exceptionally dangeroussource o help could even be the Black Baron and his own army. He com-mands a sizeable orce o trained henchmen and minions, and his numbers

swell every day as he recruits more criminals to his cause. His rst priorityis to de eat the apes and repel the invasionafer all, he cant rule the cityi Margh beats him to it! He wont help the Centurions or ree, though.Te Baron has all the money he can use, but avors rom power ul individuals are very interesting to him. He will target particularly honorable


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Centurions when negotiating, ensuring that the ones in debt to him are theones most likely to make good on those debtseven i they hate the idea odoing so. Any alliance with the Baron will be short-lived, though. As soonas the immediate threat is overcome, the heroes will nd themselves with

a power ul enemy who is more than willing to betray them, particularly itheyre unwilling to pay their debts.

A nal place that the heroes may nd aid is by reeing the otherCenturions, the ones captured by Marghs orces. Tey are currently beingheld on his agship, the Eagle of error . Te Eagle is a massive zeppelin hov-ering above the city, several hundred eet above the exaco Building. I theheroes manage to board it and de eat its crew (more on that later), they may

nd themselves able to liberate as many as orty Centurions held in mentalstasis. Tis could provide a serious advantage to the heroes!

PROBLEM: THE CAPTURED CENTURIONS!Marghs agship, the Eagle of error hovers above the city, near the

exaco Building. Tis was how the ape and many o his soldiers got into Los

Angeles so quickly, but Margh took up residence in the exaco Building,and lef a skeleton crew aboard the Eagle to guard the comatose Centurions.Tis does not mean, however, that it will be easy to sneak aboard and reethe Centurions.

Te rst obstacle is actually getting aboard the zeppelin. A biplane or jetpack is the most likely way o getting onto the massive airship, but eithermethod poses two problems. First, its difficult to be stealthy while ying

a vehicle with a jet engine; a Stealth roll at a Great (+4) difficulty can beattempted, but eel ree to compel aspects rom Te Skies (such as O

O to make things . . . interesting. Second, apes riding pterosaurs patrol the skyways around the Eagle watching or just such a thing. Anyassault on the Eagle of error is likely to be just that: a head-on assault.

Te PCs will also have to gure out how to dock with the Eagle. A skilled pilot can get into the docking bay with minimal damage to his or her craf;a Pilot roll at Great (+4) will do it smoothly, while each shif below willcause stress to the craf in question. Te difficulty or a person on a jetpackis much lower, at Average (+1); small size, in this case, is an advantage.


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Once on the ship, though, things get easier. Margh doesnt expect anattack on his airship. Hes taken the airport and he thinks thats enough tokeep the Eagle sa e. As a result, the Eagle is not particularly well-guardedon the inside. Tere are ten apes aboard the zeppelin standing guard and

maintaining the ship; throw them at the PCs in groups o two or three(theyre spread around the ship). Tere are also three psychosaurs, whoseonly job is to keep the Centurions in their bliss ul ignorance o the worldaround them; theyre unlikely to respond to anything short o an attack onthe actual holding cells.

Te Eagle of error itsel is a huge airship with a number o rooms. ItsB W , but the balloon holding it alof is F . Tis may or

may not be use ul to the heroes. Either way, its A L W D .

ENCOUNTERS AROUND THE EAGLE OF TERROR Te skies around the Eagle are patrolled by apes riding pterosaurs and

wielding Atlantean weapons that unction as guns. Both the apes andthe pterosaurs can participate in the ght, though taking out a pterosaur

will also take out the ape riding it.Trow large numbers o enemies against the PCs; the Eagle is well-

guarded. Start with two or three, then amp it up to ve or six. Keep the pressure on until the PCs are able to dock with the zeppelin.

SKIES ASPECTS O O R M L W D


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PROBLEM: AN INVASION TO STOP!In order to stop the invasion o Los Angeles the heroes have to accom-

plish two things. First, they have to de eat Margh in some way, whether its

single combat or during a massive reght. Margh will not allow the inva-sion to stop while hes still in charge and his mener, apesrespect and

ear him enough that they will not surrender until he is de eated. Seeinghim de eated, however, could be massively demoralizing to the ape invasion

orce.Margh is most likely to be ound in the exaco Building, on the top

oor. He chose this building or its superior vantage point and he keeps

the top oor guarded by apes and psychosaurs at all times; the rest o thebuilding is empty. Use medium or hard encounters or these, and include anencounter group with Margh; he will not be ought alone.

TEXACO BUILDING SCENE ASPECTS V H U L W S I

I the PCs have decided to ree the rest o the Centurions, you can easilyset the climactic battle against Margh there. In this case hes on the airshipinspecting things, and hes brought his elite guard with him. In addition tothe encounters specied under Freeing the Other Centurions, add a hardencounter group rom this section and put Margh in it.

De eating Margh alone is not enough, though; Margh is but one ape,albeit a power ul one with a lot o authority. Te heroes will have to gathera orce large enough to repel the invaders or otherwise nd some way toturn the tide o the invasion. Right now the humans o Los Angeles are onthe run. Marghs orces are not superior numerically, but each ape is physi-cally more power ul that a single human (or even two or three humans).

Plus, dinosaurs. And psychosaurs. Tings arent looking good.Te psychosaurs are really the key to dealing with the invading orce. Without the psychosaurs, theres nobody to control the dinosaurs andkeep the local population in line. I the PCs were to somehow disable the


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psychosaurs under Marghs command (some sixty in total), it would verylikely break the back o the invaders, turning the tide. Tis is an opportu-nity or the PCs to do some research and try to nd some clever way to takethem all out at once. Teyre psychically linked to each other afer all, and

that makes them vulnerable to some sort o psychic attack. Te Projector isnot power ul enough on his own to pull off such an attack, but the heroesmight be able to nd some way to ampli y his power. Tis might be anopportunity to steer them toward retaking the Century Club.

BIG FINALE ENCOUNTER GROUPS

MEDIUM Four warrior apes wo warrior apes and ten ape minions wo warrior apes, a psychosaur, and six ape minions

HARD Six warrior apes Four warrior apes and twelve ape minions Four warrior apes, a psychosaur, and six ape minions

CONCLUSION With the material above, its possible this could stretch out into multiple

adventures as the PCs gather an army, ree their captive ellow Centurions,

take on the invading army, then deal with the new threat o the Black Baron.Once theyve gotten Los Angeles back into relative sa ety, theres the wider world to consider.

Te attack on Los Angeles (or New York City, or that matter) is simply one prong o an assault with many ronts. Apes and dinosaurs attackedevery major city in the world in one night; thats a huge orce with someserious clout behind it. Los Angeles may be sa e or now, but the PCs willlikely have to quickly turn their sights to de ending the city and mountingsome sort o resistance movement in a world already taken over by dino-saurs and apes.

It seems like an impossible task. But hey, thats what heroes do!


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MOOKS, CRITTERS, & NEER-DO-WELLos Angeles during the Dinocalypse is home to quite a ew dangerous

creatures and individuals. Dinosaurs, psychosaurs, soldier apes, even a ew

Shadow Centurions and Neanderthals!

THE BLACK BARONOnce merely another new money upstart in the Hollywood Hills,

Archard Cole was not satised at being looked down upon by the true aris-tocracy o Los Angeles, despite his vast wealth and the act that he was aCenturion. Cole made his money in the booming motion picture business,but that garnered little respect amongst the old money elite. His woundedego, lack o moral ber, and are or the dramatic drove him to assume the persona o the Black Baron, criminal mastermind o Los Angeles. WhenKhans invasion started, Cole sensed an opportunity to make his one-timerivals beg aid. Which he would be too happy to provide, or the right price.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

F D | V R | D E| M ! | C -E G |, D , EVIL | I . | B

V | I .SKILLS

Superb ResourcesGreat Contacting, LeadershipGood Academics, Deceit, IntimidationFair Athletics, Fists, Guns, Rapport Average Alertness, Empathy, Investigation, Mysteries, Weapons

STUNTS

Leadership Minions (SotC 168)Resources Headquarters, Lair,

Stately Pleasure Dome (SotC 188-190)STRESS



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GARROK, CONNIVING NEANDERTHAL LEADTough Atok is war leader o the Neanderthals o the Hollow Earth, he

could not be in two places at once. He needed someone to lead the scouting

team into Los Angeles, someone who would be able to observe and reportback when his group rejoined the army. Garrok was known or being cleverand intelligent and, though he sometimes played ast and loose with honor,nobody doubted his loyalty to the Hollow Earth. So said the Elders, and soAtok chose him.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

C C | L R | A D U | H E . | I NO

! | I A . . . . | B E| R L | O G | H F

SKILLS

Superb AlertnessGreat Investigation, Stealth

Good Deceit, Empathy, FistsFair Athletics, Endurance, Leadership, Mysteries Average Intimidation, Might, Rapport, Resolve, Survival

STUNTS

Alertness On op o It (SotC 119)Deceit Te Honest Lie, Clever Faade (SotC 137-138)Stealth In Plain Sight (SotC 197)

STRESS



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MARGH, APE COMMANDERTough Khan does not share power lightly, he had to delegate command

o parts o his offensive to other apes i he wanted to attack every major city

simultaneously. He entrusted the assault on Los Angeles to his most trustedand capable lieutenant, Margh. Margh is a massive gorilla, his ace missingone eye and adorned with deep, craggy battle scars. He has little in the wayo mercy or a sense o humor and is completely loyal to Khan.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

B | K M M |I . | D |

J D C | M B , M S |S -M F | H . |

S A | S SSKILLS

Superb WeaponsGreat Endurance, Fists

Good Athletics, Might, ResolveFair Alertness, Intimidation, Leadership, Mysteries Average Empathy, Investigation, Rapport, Stealth, Survival

STUNTS

Athletics Acrobat (SotC 126), Climber ( page 38)Might Herculean Strength (SotC 171) Weapons Weapon o Destiny (SotC 206)

GEAR

Sword o Atlantis: Sword withcrafsmanship andarcane.STRESS



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NEANDERTHAL WARRIORShortly afer Khans invasion succeeded a second invasion hit: the

Neanderthals o the Hollow Earth unleashed themselves upon the sur ace

world. Tough the primary orcelead by Atokattacked what was onceNew York City, Atoks second in command, Garrok, was dispatched to the West Coast to lead the secondary orce. Tis orce was much smaller and was to per orm scouting missions, aimed at gathering in ormation on theapes strength and that o the remaining humans.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

P H | F H E ! |F H | W R

SKILLS

Superb WeaponsGreat Endurance, MightGood Alertness, Fists, SurvivalFair Intimidation, Resolve, Stealth

STUNTSEndurance Last Leg (SotC 144)Fists Brawler (SotC 150), Fists o Fury (SotC 152)

STRESS



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PSYCHOSAURTough they can pass or human when they want to, psychosaurs are

reptiles that walk on two legs. Worse than that, they have power ul psychic

abilities able to rend your mind rom your body and launch it back in time!SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

L G | JUS LE GO | P H . . . B |S K | P L

SKILLS

Superb MysteriesGreat Fists, Endurance

STUNTS

Mysteries Psychic Whammy, Psychic Disguise ( page 38)STRESS


PTEROSAURUsed or aerial support and scouting, Margh has a number o ptero-

saurs under his control (though not quite so many as Khan does). Tesecreatures, while not particularly grace ul in the air, are swif and their long,sharp beaks can be deadly to eshy targets.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

C G | S B | E H SKILLS

Superb Athletics, AlertnessGreat Fists, InvestigationGood Might, Endurance

STUNTS

Athletics Flier ( page 38)STRESS



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TRICERATOPSTough a riceratops is an herbivore, the creature is basically a walking

siege engine. Once provoked, these behemoths will charge through virtually

anything in their path, goring and hurling whatever they come into contact with. Teir armored neck- rills also make them hard to hurt head-on.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

W S E | V |A N -F

SKILLS

Superb Fists, EnduranceGreat Athletics, MightGood Alertness, Investigation

STUNTS

Endurance Huge ( page 38)Fists Charge! ( page 38)

STRESS



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TYRANNOSAURUS REXOne o the deadliest predators to walk the earth is now in Los Angeles

ghting or the apes! A -Rex is big, hungry, and dangerous. Teyll eat

anything that moves and theyre ast enough once that they get going itsunlikely youll get away on oot. Good luck!SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

H H , L A | B , H , S |A P

SKILLS

Superb Fists, EnduranceGreat Athletics, MightGood Alertness, Investigation

STUNTS

Endurance Huge ( page 38)Fists eeth ( page 38)

STRESS



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VELOCIRAPTORTough they dont have the size o a -Rex or the ability to swallow

a person whole, velociraptors are every bit as dangerous. Teyre smaller,

aster, and hunt in packs. Teyre extremely intelligent and requently learnrom their mistakes. Worst o all, they have claws capable o gutting some

one in one swipe.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

P H | S L | DSKILLS

Superb Athletics, FistsGreat Alertness, InvestigationGood Might, Endurance

STUNTS

Fists Claws ( page 38)STRESS



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WARRIOR APEKhans orces in Los Angeles are legion and, even on their own, a single

warrior ape is more than a match or your average human (though maybe

not a Centurion!). Warrior apes are ound all over Los Angeles, ofen in thecompany o dinosaurs or psychosaurs.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

F K ! | M | W S | W D B

SKILLS

Superb FistsGreat Endurance, AthleticsGood Intimidation, Might, WeaponsFair Alertness, Investigation, Resolve, Survival

STUNTS

Athletics Climber ( page 38)STRESS

Health Composure

MOBS OF APES!Te Warrior Ape provided here is a single, ormidable opponent.

Tis might be per ect or a massive gorilla with a sword or or a highly-trained soldier. But what i you want to model a bunch o grunts, a mobo apes who are not individually power ul but threatening as a group?

I you want a mob o apes, use the minion rules romSpirit of theCentury. A mob o apes would probably be at least Good (+3) minions(they are still apes afer all) with the Climber stunt, and could easily bethrown in with one or two more potent Warrior Apes. Do what eelsright or the scene at hand.


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WILLIAM CUTTERA Centurion born, William Cutter was only ever good at one thing: get-

ting to people and things thought to be untouchable. A spy, assassin, and

sometimes thie , Cutter was reelance in Los Angeles until the Black Barondiscovered him (stealing one o his priceless treasures, no less!) and offeredhim a better deal: work exclusively or the Baron, and live a li e o luxurCutter, being an opportunistic man, accepted. At least, until a better offercomes along.SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS

U , U | M F W |R P | S C K |I . | L H |

O | U C P |S H L | C G E

SKILLS

Superb Stealth

Great Burglary, WeaponsGood Alertness, Empathy, InvestigationFair Athletics, Contacting, Fists, Resolve Average Deceit, Endurance, Intimidation, Mysteries, Sleight oHand

STUNTS

Fists Martial Arts (SotC 152)Stealth In Plain Sight, Master o Shadows (SotC 197) Weapons Flawless Parry, Riposte (SotC 203)

STRESS



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SAMPLE PLAYER CHARACTERIts possible that your players will want to jump right into the action

without spending a lot o time coming up with characters be orehand.Tats ne! I thats what you and your group want to do, here are three partially generated characters. Each consists o three aspects, three skills,and a single stunt. I you need more than three, eel ree to modi y these tocreate even more!

Note that these characters are a little more detailed than an on-the-ycharacter usually starts out. I youd pre er to cleave a little closer to that

method o character creation, drop one aspect, both o the Great skills,and the stunt. Remember to reduce starting ate points by 1 or each aspectdropped. Presto!


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THE TWO-FISTED DETECTIVETe two-sted detective is

good at tracking people down

but tends to mix things up rstand ask questions later. She jumpsright into the ray with littleregard or her own sa ety and shecan more than hold her own whenshe does. It does tend to get herinto trouble rom time to time,

though.ASPECTS

M U ! | I . |IWILL W C !

SKILLS

Superb Investigate

Great Endurance, FistsSTUNTS

Fists Brawler (SotC 150)STRESS



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NEW STUNTSATHLETICS

Climber: Apes can climb sur aces that humans cannot, and can do so with

great speed and alacrity. Tey get a +2 bonus to any Athletics rolls madeto climb and can do so one time increment aster. Tis may also allowthem to ignore certain borders, like short ences or low walls.

Flier: Tis dinosaur can y. Tough not particularly agile, they are capableo swif ight in a straight line. While ying, they can ignore any borderson the ground when moving rom zone to zone.

ENDURANCE

Huge: Tis dinosaur is pretty damned big. It can attack anyone in its ownzone or an adjacent zone with a Fists attack. It can also take an additionalmoderate physical consequence.

FISTS

Charge!: Once it gets its ire up, theres no stopping it! Tis dinosaur cancharge through enemies, making an Athletics roll to sprint and then

making a Fists attack against every creature in every zone the dinosaurenters.Claws: Whenever this dinosaur deals Health stress, it deals +1 stress.Teeth: Whenever this dinosaur deals Health stress, it deals +2 stress.MYSTERIES

Psychic Disguise: Psychosaurs can project an illusion that makes themlook kind o like a human, though not quite. Te psychosaur rollsDeceit. Any human that comes into contact with a psychosaur can makean Alertness or Investigation roll to pierce the illusion, though by thenits usually too late.

Psychic Whammy: A psychosaur can make a Mysteries attack against ahumans Resolve in order to deal Composure stress. Ataken out resultmeans that the humans mind has been separated rom his or her body,leaving the human effectively comatose. Tis power doesnt work onapes, Neanderthals, dinosaurs, or any creatures other than humans. Brassoffers protection against this effect: i a human has brass protecting hisor her temples, all stress inicted is reduced by 3. Additionally, distanceoffers some protection: or every zone between you and the psychosaur, you get a +2 bonus to your Resolve roll.


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Dinocalypse Now Hell Comes to Hollywood - A Spirit of the Century Adventure

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