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BLACKFIRE — The Crusade of Darkforce

by Kenneth M. Webb (hbphy009@huey.csun.edu)

Prologue: The Establishment

Alexander Thomas glanced at his Cesium 13 clock, then at his hand crafted forest clock. Good, he thought. Alexander despised technology but he had a respect for it. Whenever possible, he used it to his advantage. The forest clock had been adjusted to be as accurate as the Cesium 13 clock. It gave him a thrill that in five minutes, he was leaving for the day. Today is the day I have been waiting for. No more of being a mundane. Today I get real power. He couldn’t wait anymore. He hurried out of the office. He daydreamed during the drive to Stephen’s house.

“Good evening, Alexander.”

“Hello Stephen. If you’re ready, let’s begin.” Alexander said as he entered the house and walked straight into the living room. He noticed that Stephen had set up the room to look almost exactly like the drawing in the book. They sat down at the table. Stephen opened the book and began to chant. Slowly, Alexander began to feel a presence come into existence floating in the middle of the table. The black flame in the two torches grew in size. As the chanting continued, the presence became visible. It was a large fire of black flames. Stephen stopped chanting and the two of them stared at it. First, a tendril of flame came out and touched Stephen. He almost passed out from the sensation. Then another flame came out and touched Alexander. He was ready for it and kept his wits about him. The tendril grew in size and soon Alexander was engulfed in flame. He could feel the power pour into him. Words that he didn’t understand filled his head. He knew what they were for. The fire dissipated from around Alexander.

Just then, there was an explosion and one wall of the room had a one meter hole in it. One at a time, four people dove through the hole into the room. Alexander stood and laughed at the puny mundanes. Two of the invaders raised their guns while the other two ran to where the torches were. Alexander raised his hand and spoke a few of the words he didn’t understand. Fire erupted on his hand, formed a ball, and shot toward the two gunmen. It was a dazzling spectacle. The core of the fireball was pure black. It smacked into the gunmen with such force, it blew a hole right through their bodies and hit the wall behind them. Alexander stood there shocked. He had never killed anyone before, let alone with that much power. The last two invaders each grabbed a torch and ran toward the hole in the wall. By the time Alexander could do anything, they had already escaped. He turned back to the table in time to see the presence disappear, leaving a message burned into the table.

He shouted, “Damn it Stephen, why didn’t you help me stop the fraggin’ thieves!” No answer came. He walked around the table and say Stephen’s body lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He had three bullet wounds in the chest and one in the head. Alexander looked down at his clothes and saw that he had been shot at also, but he wasn’t wounded. Alexander laughed with the feeling of power. He walked around the room, systematically ransacking the place. There, he thought, that will make it look like an ordinary robbery. He looked again at the message on the table, it was written in a language that he didn’t understand. He knew what it said though, “It” told him before It left.

Prologue Supplement

Stephen Forester is a corporate exec. who enjoys his hobby of antique collecting. He was in a pawn shop one day and found an interesting oil lamp/torch. He bought it. A few weeks later he started to have dreams of having magical powers. He had always been a mundane and always regretted it. In his dreams, someone — something promised him power of magic craft. Then one night he found himself sprawled out on his living room floor with bloody fingers wrapped around an old lock box. Confused and disoriented, he quickly pulled himself together and carried the box over to his workbench. He went to the kitchen sink and washed the blood off of his hand and bandaged his fingers. Then he examined the lock box and saw that the locks had deteriorated. He smashed the locks with a hammer, but they didn’t budge. It must be magically locked. He thought to himself. Frustrated, he went to sleep. Tomorrow, he would have to go to the hospital to have his hands looked at and then seek magical assistance in opening the locks.

He quickly fell asleep. Yet another dream of magical power, only this time, it was just out of his reach. He knew that it must be close. He woke in the morning and the first thing that caught his attention was the old oil torch from the pawn shop. He walked over to where it was hanging and picked it up. He had often admired the craftsmanship of the torch, but when he picked it up this time, he felt a surge of power through his arm and hand. Suddenly, the torch flared to life. The black flame danced out the top and whisked toward the workbench. He carried the torch over to where the lock box was. Once again, he felt another surge of power through his body. The flames grew out of the torch and bent in an unnatural path to engulf the lock box. Stephen was so enthralled by the spectacle, he scarcely noticed that the torch he was holding was producing very little heat. Nor did he notice the fact that his hands had completely healed. There was a sudden gust of strong wind around Stephen and the torch, but the torch remained lit. Soon the flames from the torch returned to normal. The lock box continued to burn for a few minutes then died suddenly as the locks turned to powder. He opened the box and found a leather bound book and a torch that matched the one he was holding. He picked up the other torch and it instantly sprouted flames identical to the first torch. He set the torches down and picked up the book. The text of the book was hard to decipher and would take him some time, but the sketches and drawings were clear. Stephen couldn’t even begin to guess how old it all was.

Stephen soon translated some of the book and told his friend Alexander Thomas about his discovery. They decided that they would perform the ceremony described in the book. It promised them power in exchange for service. They performed the ceremony. Incidents that occurred during the ceremony left Stephen dead, Alexander filled with power, two thieves dead, and the two torches stolen.

Now the crusade has begun.

Cast of Characters

DARKFORCE

Alexander Thomas: A semi-powerful corporate executive with a limited knowledge of magic. That is, until his friend and fellow exec. Stephen Forester found some antique torches with a book of summoning. They performed the ceremony and his life has never been the same since.

During the ceremony, Stephen was found unacceptable to accept the seed of magical knowledge and subsequently killed during the ensuing robbery of the torches. Alexander, however, was found to be an acceptable host for the presence.

B:4  Q:4  S:5  C:5  I:4  W:6  Reaction:4

Skills:               Spells:
Armed CBT:     4      Fireball:           5     Cyberware:
Firearms:      4      Urban Renewal:      4     None
Sorcery:       4      Manablast:          5
Corp Etiq:     5      Stun Bolt:          4
Conjuring:     4      Combat Sense:       4
Leadership:    5

VICTOR ALLEN

A vampire. Stats not really necessary for play.

BLACKFIRE

Free spirit fire elemental conjured by a toxic mage.

ALL FOR A BOX?

INTRODUCTION

The pieces of the puzzle are on the table and it is up to the characters to put it together before the crusade gains momentum. The objective of Darkforce is to become an individual power in the world. Ultimately, Blackfire will strive to control the world.

In the beginning, the characters are offered a job to protect a closed box in the middle of a hermetic circle. The characters do not know this, but in the box is one of the torches from the ceremony at Stephen Forester’s house. The mage who hires the runners is going to an important meeting with authorities in the hermetic tradition to discuss what to do and how to stop Darkforce. The mage cannot take the box for two reasons: he didn’t want to risk transporting the box (it is safe enough for now in the circle) and Blackfire would have knowledge of everything around the box if not for the circle.

The characters will find it easy to guard the box. They will have company show up and offer them an insane amount of money to hand over the box. The visitor will act totally friendly to the characters.

STARTING OFF

If there is a mage in the group, he/she will be contacted by an associate or fixer and make the offer. If there is no mage in the group, someone with a mage contact will receive the phone call. If none of the above exists, then the fixer will contact the street samurai. The last in line to get the call is a shaman because Mr. Johnson requested either a mage or muscle (due to hermetic nature.)

The offer: 40,000 nuyen each for up to five characters to guard a box in a house for an evening, 4:00 pm to 1:00 am.

Use the usual negotiation test to get a higher price. Every extra success by one side is plus or minus 1,000 nuyen. The appropriate character is contacted at approximately 9:00 pm on the night before they are to guard the box. If the characters accept the job, they are to meet with Mr. Johnson at 3:00 pm on the day of the job and are given directions to the house.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The house is located in a semi-secluded plot of land in the Brier district of Snohomish (see Seattle Sourcebook). The characters can examine the house until 3:00 pm or they can try to get information out of contacts (see Legwork). If they case the house, make a roll for Perception-5:

  • 0 successes — Nobody home.
  • 1 success — You see a person. He looks like he’s meditating.
  • 2 successes — You see a man performing some kind of magic.
  • 3+ successes — A male mage is casting a spell on a hermetic circle. You see a box with a strange magical aura about it.

When 3:00 pm rolls around, either the characters will go into the house or Mr. Johnson will come out and look for them. Mr. Johnson will be kind to the characters, but he will look quite anxious. He is very nervous about having the box and the power it contains. He wants to go to the meeting and get it off of his hands into another, more powerful mage’s hands. Mr. Johnson escorts the runners into the house and tells them to make whatever preparations they need to get ready to protect the box. He will give the runners 20,000 nuyen now and 20,000 when the job is done. He stresses to the runners how important it is that no one gets the box. He cannot tell them what is in it or why it is so important. He was sworn to secrecy.

When Mr. Johnson leaves at 4:00 pm, he is very nervous and keeps looking around to make sure everything is secure and safe. Once he leaves, the runners will find food and “all the comforts of home” at their fingertips. They will find the first six hours of watching the box uneventful. As the GM, don’t give this away. Have the hours pass by, making fake secret perception rolls. Keep the runners guessing and nervous.

Finally, around 10:00 pm, a stranger pulls up to the curb in front of the house and honks the horn twice. He then gets out and addresses the runners. Something like:

“Hello in there. I would like to propose a business deal. I realize that I am an unwelcome guest to you but please listen to my deal and if you don’t like it, I will leave immediately. You are in the possession of a box, I am willing to offer you a flat 200,000 nuyen for it. What do you think?”

If the runners try to get more nuyen for it, he will up the offer to 400,000 nuyen for it, but that’s tops. The man the runners see before them is a servant of Blackfire working in conjunction with Alexander Thomas to retrieve the torches. The servant is a free fire elemental (not Blackfire of course) working for Alexander Thomas in exchange for karma. If the servant gets attacked, he will vaporize to the astral plane and leave.

If the runners accept the deal, the servant will add the stipulation that they must take the box and put it on the front porch. The servant will ask them to go into the house so he can pick up the box and leave. He has 400,000 in fake (blank) credsticks Perception-8 to detect. When he gives them to the runners, the credsticks will burst into flames (free spirit fire elementals can do neat tricks). The servant will use the distraction to try to make off with the box. The servant can cast two fireballs, and after doing so, must retreat to the astral plane.

If the runners don’t accept the deal, the servant will leave peacefully.

DEBUGGING

If the servant gets killed, no harm done. He is expendable to Darkforce. If the runners accept the deal, NO PROBLEM. Darkforce will get this torch one way or the other. Of course the runners will have to deal with Mr. Johnson if they stick around and at best, their reputation will be stained in the eyes of everyone involved thus far in the adventure.

If the runners didn’t accept the deal, go to A JOB WELL DONE.

If the runners accepted the deal, go to A BRIBE WELL TAKEN.

A BRIBE WELL TAKEN

BEHIND THE SCENES

This part of the adventure is a little break for the runners to do whatever they want, probably heal after the encounter with the servant. It may seem to some that the adventure is now tragically derailed. Not true! Let them wander or do whatever for at most half a day.

Then the runners will be ambushed in an attempt to silence (kill) them. Go to MISSILE-ANEOUS.

Then one of the runners will then be contacted by an agent of The Commune of Protectors (see end of HOME AT LAST then go to MISSION CONTROL).

A JOB WELL DONE

BEHIND THE SCENES

At approximately 11:00 pm, Mr. Johnson will show up in a calm and relaxed state. He will thank the runners for their work and dismiss them from their duties. The only problem is that it isn’t Mr. Johnson. It is a servant with a mask spell making him look like Mr. Johnson. The servant is not a powerful mage but he can mask his aura. Astral perception-7 test to see through the disguise. The only physical evidence that this is not Mr. Johnson is that he is so calm. The servant will respond to most questions accurately except for anything discussed specifically between the runners and the real Mr. Johnson during their dealings. The servant will give poor answers if the runners bring that up.

If the runners believe that the servant is Mr. Johnson, he will request that the runners move the box into the other room for him. This should make them suspicious, but he will make it seem like a last favor before releasing them from their duties. This is because the servant cannot get through the magical barrier set up by the real Mr. Johnson. The servant will have the money to pay the runners; The servant doesn’t know how much the agreed amount was so he will give the runners 40,000 each and hope he is right (or at least close). This is, of course, more than the agreed sum (20,000 when the job is finished), but the runners probably will not make a stink about it. It might make them suspicious though.

If the runners do not believe that the servant is real and start to get too suspicious, the servant will attack a first blow then try to retreat. If he gets killed, no problem. It’s just another corpse.

If things go well for the servant, he will take the box, get in his car and leave (after the runners have left). If the runners don’t leave, the servant will leave first and make sure none of the runners follow him.

If the servant gets the box, the runners will probably go on with life as if nothing were wrong, or they will investigate something. The morning after the day of the job, one of the runners will be contacted by an agent from The Commune of Protectors (see end of HOME AT LAST and go to MISSION CONTROL).

If the servant is foiled somehow, go to HOME AT LAST.

DEBUGGING

The GM should play a convincing role for the servant as Mr. Johnson. It is a good disguise and he is a convincing actor. If there isn’t a mage in the party, give one of the players a one time perception-11 test to tell this might not be the real Mr. Johnson. The chance of the servant getting away with the box should be good at first (75%) and decrease with time. If an hour goes by, his chance is down low (15%).

HOME AT LAST

BEHIND THE SCENES

At precisely 12:59 am, Mr. Johnson (the real one) pulls up to the house. He looks like he’s close to having a nervous breakdown. He is very tense and has been for a long time. He thanks the runners and pays them for the job. If the house is clean and bullet free, he will give them a 8,000 nuyen each bonus. He tells them that he has to deliver the box to a private address. If the runners offer their further services, he will forbid them. He has to do it himself.

The runners should leave peacefully once they see him enter the circle and retrieve the box himself. He will take the box to a deserted intersection and climb down into the sewers. The runners will be seen by Mr. Johnson if they try to follow. Once he climbs down and is out of sight for one minute, he is killed and the box gets taken from him. If the runners persist on following him, after he is dead they will see a man fleeing the scene. The can get a rough description but he will disappear if they chase him. The attacker is Victor Allen. He will escape by using Mist Form.

If the runners don’t follow Mr. Johnson, they will not know what is described in the previous paragraph. One of the runners will either see the article in the newspapers, or they will be told by the person who initially contacted them.

This event should alarm the runners into thinking that whoever is behind all of this is quite serious. From here the runners will either: (1) try to track down the box, (2) investigate Mr. Johnson using a description, (3) investigate (any) of the servants with a description, or (4) not know what to do.

The runners will have to use their contacts to get information, see Legwork. If they choose option (1), they will eventually get a piece of information on Alexander Thomas and his whereabouts. If so, go to KEEPER OF THE TORCH. If they choose option (2), they will find out about The Commune of Protectors. If so, go to MISSION CONTROL.

For options (3) and (4), the runners will be contacted by an agent of The Commune of Protectors. The agent will tell them:

“You and your team were hired to protect a box. Last night, the box was stolen and Mr. Harris was murdered in a gruesome fashion. We would appreciate it if you would come to our meeting place and discuss what you know about this case and what happened. There is a secondary benefit to coming with me. We tracked you down by ritual sorcery with a link to you (taken from Mr. Johnson’s home), the enemy can do the same. While you are in our meeting place, you will be safe from being traced. You are indeed fortunate that we got to you first.”

If the runners agree, go to MISSION CONTROL.

If they refuse, go to MISSILE-ANEOUS.

DEBUGGING

Everything should be covered in the above section, if you run into problems, make an equitable solution that you can live with. The GM should make it impossible for the runners to get their hands on Alexander Thomas. They can find out some past information, but nothing is current including his whereabouts. Any information the runners dig up will only confirm what the Commune already knows.

MISSION CONTROL

BEHIND THE SCENES

Getting to the operations base of The Commune of Protectors is an uneventful task. The runners will notice almost no security around the place. The runners with escort will walk right in without even being asked for identification. If the runners suggest that they don’t feel safe in this place, have their escort say something like, “We were identified and cleared before we got close. The best security is one that cannot be seen.” etc. In truth, magic security is tight. The whole building has an astral barrier sufficient for most trouble. There are also elementals on guard. the GM should adjust the number and forces appropriately. There are only four agents inside when the runner’s group arrives with escort. They are busy and will not pay attention at first. The escort agent will take the runners into a separate room and discuss the situation with them.

DISCUSSION

This section is up to the GM to roleplay. The following information may be given to the runners in any order, but it is recommended that the agent try to get information out of the runners and not just give it. Information in a two way street.

  • The box contained a magical old oil lantern/torch.
  • The Commune interrupted an evil ritual ceremony of some kind and stole the two torches.
  • One member of the ceremony survived, two agents were killed by an unknown magical power.

From the prologue, the story continues (do NOT read to players):

The two agents who made it out alive from the ceremony with the torches never made it back to the Commune. The torches were lost, the agents’ fates were unknown. Indications showed that neither the Commune nor the evil ones had the torches. It would no doubt be a chase to find and acquire them. The Star were immediately dispatched to the scene. They found the ransacked house that Alexander left for them, with one exception: looters had stolen the table. The carvings made the table look like a valuable antique. It’s only value, however, is as a necessary part of the ceremony. The carvings on the table are the translated text for the updated ritual. Alexander was so amazed by his power that he forgot the table. He plans to get it back.

When the discussion starts winding down, go to INTERRUPT.

DEBUGGING

The GM should try to control the scene so that it plays through as described above.

INTERRUPT

BEHIND THE SCENES

Another agent knocks quickly and enters before anyone can say anything. He looks at the escort agent and says, “Sir, we believe we found the location of the table.” “Outstanding, we must leave at once.” The escort agent turns to the runners, “The table is another piece of the ceremony. It is vital that it doesn’t fall into the hands of our enemies. It is your choice, you can go with us to get the table, or you can stay here in the ward.” Let the runners mull it over for a few seconds, then he says, “We will divide our forces equally, half will stay here.” Whether the runners go or not, the escort goes with the away team.

If the runners go, go to TABLE-DASH.

If the runners stay, go to WARD, SWEET WARD.

GM INFORMATION

Brief outline of things to come: If the runners go, TABLE-DASH is where the runners and Commune agents go to a location and they will find a group taking the table out of a warehouse. The Darkforce agents will be ready for them and will get away with plenty of magical support. The good guys will have to follow far behind. They will eventually show up at Stephen Forester’s burned out house. The adventure will proceed to SCENE OF A NEW CRIME.

If the runners stay, the events in TABLE-DASH will take place without the runners and eventually they will go to SCENE OF A NEW CRIME.

MISSILE-ANEOUS

This is an open encounter in which a GM selected group of NPCs attack the characters in order to keep them in the adventure. The group of NPCs should be appropriate for the level of the PC team. The PC should be able to infer that they cannot just “drop the subject.” They should learn from this that they are a loose end to be tied up unless they do something to stop Darkforce.

KEEPER OF THE TORCH

The runners have learned through legwork the location of the company Alexander Thomas works for. They can go in and ask to see him, but they will be told that he is not in the office and probably won’t be in for a few weeks (for presumably unknown reasons.) The secretary really doesn’t know anything more. When they leave, the runners will be approached by a member of the Commune of Protectors who has been watching for Alexander to show up. He will be their link to get to MISSION CONTROL.

TABLE-DASH

BEHIND THE SCENES

It is the runner’s choice whether they ride with the agents or take their own transportation. The agents (4 including escort agent) have nondescript Ford Americars (enough to transport the runners also if necessary) to get there. If they take their own cars/bikes, they will have to follow the agents to the place. Of the four agents, two appear to the runners to be magical. The GM will have to run the battle ad lib making sure that the enemies have enough firepower to leave the scene with the table and evade pursuit. A mage with a ram spell should take care of any cars that don’t get fireballed or otherwise blown apart.

This is your standard “Show up at the warehouse, catch the bad guys at the END of the act (of stealing the table) and unsuccessfully try to stop them while expending massive quantities of ammunition.” After they get away, one of the Commune agents is able to astrally locate the table before it is taken inside a ward (erected by Alexander Thomas.) With this information, the runners and some (GM discretion) agents can make the final stand (assault) in SCENE OF A NEW CRIME.

SCENE OF A NEW CRIME

BEHIND THE SCENES

The house is a mansion of sorts. It is in a somewhat isolated neighborhood. There is a wall around the building, guards occasionally patrolling the grounds, various security systems (external and internal,) and the magical ward (astral barrier.) It is mostly up to the GM to design a place suitable for his PC’s abilities. The best time to go in is just before dawn. Some suggestions are:

  • Have a security shack the runners can (SILENTLY) neutralize and have a decker go in and shut down (most) security systems.
  • The astral barrier should tough but not impossible to break.
  • Alexander will be in the process of re-summoning Blackfire when the runners get to him.
  • Blackfire is summoned, but at a weak force due to poor conjuring and distraction of Alexander (alarms going off.)
  • Have security show up in force of the runners are taking too long after Blackfire is defeated.
  • The Commune agents will take both lanterns and destroy the table.

The original book from the prologue and prologue supplement is nowhere to be found. The Commune agents are not too worried though since the ceremony can only be performed with the torches that they have secured.

LEGWORK

Do any runners do legwork anymore?

They can find out where Alexander Thomas works if they ask around any corporate circles. He works at Sukitso Enterprises. They have their hands in a lot of places. No one can say what they really specialize in.

The GM can add other hints in here if things are not going so well.