Escape from Williamsburg - The City at the Edge of the Universe, Chapter 1

 

You regain consciousness. 

You look around. You’re in some kind of shipping container filled with high school sporting equipment and groundskeeping supplies. Everything is knocked around like something picked up the shipping container and tossed it. There are some other people with you, themselves slowly regaining consciousness.

Your ears are ringing and you’ve got a terrible headache. You do a quick self-assessment. No broken bones or bleeding wounds. You check on the others and they, like you, are shaken but otherwise uninjured. 

What happened? You’re not sure. The last thing you remember was- 

That’s right. It was Monday morning, January 10th, 2029. You and the rest of the small town of Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, had just met at the high school to hear from the mayor, the commander of the nearby Air National Guard base, and the head scientist from Pennsylvania National Laboratory. They were going to explain the weird lights and windstorms from the day before. Something about multiple dimensions. 

Suddenly, an unknown enemy flew up in a dart-shaped air-craft and demanded that the town surrender. That’s when the blasting started. Everybody ran for cover. You and the others found shelter in this shipping container. You all must have been knocked unconscious.

How long have you been out? You check your watch. It was stopped at 10 am. It must have been damaged by whatever knocked you out. 

It is only a matter of time before the enemy - they called themselves the ARES Consortium Security Force or something - their leader said his name was General Clopis - discover your hiding place. 

Suddenly the metal doors of the shipping container are thrown open. It’s daylight outside. One of the armored shock troopers is standing in the doorway, weapon ready. 

He pauses when he sees you. He immediately stows his weapon and holds up his hands. He looks nervously over his shoulder to ensure he is not seen by any of his cohorts. 

He tells you, “It’s okay! It’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you. I’m an undercover double-agent with the Earth Resistance! I’m not going to turn you in. Consortium shock troopers are going structure-to-structure trying to root out any of you who might be hiding. We have orders to stun you and capture you. All the captives are being taken to that education complex back there. They’re going to be sent back to the detention center in Manhattan Island Complex to be interrogated. I don’t know why. I honestly have no idea who you people are or from where you’ve come. Yesterday, this area was a barren waste called the Iron Uplands. Now it’s covered in trees.”

“Whoever you are, it’s not safe for you here. You need to get out of this city. Get what food, water, and survival equipment you can. Be quiet and avoid Consortium patrols. Get away while you can. There’s a wasteland trading post about forty miles north of here. Watch out for bandits and nomads and be careful of the mutoids that wander the hills. When you get to the trading post, ask for Mister Gibbons. He can help you out.”

“Quickly, while no one is looking. Go. I’ll tell them I never saw you.”

He backs away, turns, and moves out of sight. 

Chapter 1 - Escape from Williamsburg

What follows is a play-through of an adventure scenario I'm writing for Overlords of Dimension-25. The scenario is a survival hex-crawl where the player characters and their entire town are transported to a strange new dimension, only to be attacked by armored invaders intent on rounding up the townsfolk for a mysterious and nefarious purpose. 

This scenario is heavily inspired by the following sources:

1. City at World's End by Edmond Hamilton
2. Red Dawn (1984)
3. Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1983)
4. Buck Rogers comic strip
5. Buck Rogers movie serial
6. Buck Rogers TV series
7. Buck Rogers XXVc RPG

What Do You Do?

Officer Bocephus "J.T." Tucker, one of only seven police officers in the entire Williamsburg police department - four of them part-time - was on duty and in uniform when the attack caused everyone to scatter. He looked around the storage container. There was the construction worker he recognized from church, an old man in a tweed coat, and the juvenile delinquent he'd seen around town. They were all regaining consciousness. No one was injured. 

Rex Werthy was a construction worker and carpenter from nearby Buck's Head, a few miles east of Williamsburg. He had come to the town meeting with his girlfriend. They had been separated in the attack and he had no idea where she was. His elderly mother was back at her trailer home in Buck's Head. He rubbed his throbbing head, "Aw, HELL no!"

Professor Thadeus K. Putnam, retired teacher of anthropology, had attended the town meeting with his housekeeper. They had been separated during the attack. Now he finds himself in the company of an assortment of individuals, a cross-section of society. This should be interesting.

Felix Silva-Rossi was a skinny fifteen year old kid from Philadelphia. His father left the family when he was five and his mother died after being struck by a drunk driver last year. He had been sent to Williamsburg to live with his grandmother Gilda . He liked his grandmother but he hated this backwater town. He spends most of this days skipping school and hanging out with his friends Misty and Skeezer. 

The storage shed was an old shipping container that was used to store sports equipment and grounds keeping tools. 

The storage shed was located behind the football field near the trees by the railroad track. During the initial attack, a nearby explosion knocked the storage shed over and it rolled into the trees. 

The doors to the storage shed pointed toward the trees in the direction of the train tracks. 

Officer Tucker took a quick look towards the high school to assess the situation. He saw what appeared to be a rocket-plane parked in the football field behind the school only four hundred feet away. The rocket plane was surrounded by men and women in yellow lab coats assembling equipment. 

He could see a handful of armored troopers moving around the school. They were escorting captured townsfolk inside. 

All of the vehicles were still in the parking lot. However, large armored vehicles blocked both exits. Any escape attempt using a vehicles would be immediately spotted.  

There was another rocket plane parked in the field in front of the school about 1200 feet away. It was surrounded by soldiers in red armor.

He suggested to the others to look around for what weapons and equipment they could scavenge from the container. Rex donned some football pads and picked up a shovel. Professor Putnam likewise donned some football pads but took a high school archery bow and some arrows. Felix put on some shin and fore-arm pads and took an archery bow and some arrows. 

Officer Tucker said to the others, "We should get a vehicle and get out of here. Lets stick to the trees and work around the high school to the north. We'll cross the highway and head towards the car dealership." The others nodded in agreement. 

DM - This part of the module is played in ten-minute turns as the castaways navigate the town of Williamsburg in search of weapons and supplies while avoiding detection from the mysterious armored troopers of the Consortium. At the beginning of each turn, I roll to see if they were spotted by a patrol - the chances of which are based on what they did last turn. Generally, if they move cautiously to avoid deteciton, they can travel one hex per turn and the chance of detection is ten percent. It  goes down to five percent if they stick to the trees. I used the map below and a spreadsheet to keep track of each turn. They started behind the high school by the railroad. They stuck to the trees and went north. They cut across the highway, which temporarily increased their chance of detection, and ran across the dealership lot, around back, and into the garage. 

They moved cautiously and stealthily through the trees north of the high school. They took a chance and darted across the highway towards the auto dealership. They moved through the lot, staying low and using the cars for cover, and went around back into the garage.

The late afternoon sky was getting dark. The clock inside the garage said 4:20. They had been unconscious behind the high school for four hours. The dealership looked like it had been ransacked - whether by looters are armored troopers was uncertain. They searched the dealership, taking note pads, snacks, and some pens. Along with some other random items, they found a toolbox, a tank of gasoline, and and a small portable power generator the size of a car battery. All three would be handy but they were heavy and would be difficult to transport through town on foot. 

DM- This was the first indication that the system I intended to use - where they roll for looted goods on a random table - didn't work and wasn't realistic. First, they wanted to search for specific things that a car dealership was likely to possess - snacks and tools. In my system, snacks and tools were on the loot table but if they didn't roll it they didn't find it. That just made no sense given the items they were looking for. We kept the random tables for the rest of the night but I have since updated the rules for scavenging abandoned buildings. Now you get xd6 items from the table. Each item has a percentage chance of being found in a ten minute search. Many items are 100%. You can just take as many of those as you want, up to your die roll. If you want an item with less than 100%, you have to make that percentage in order to find it in a ten minute search. If you find it, you can take one. If you don't find it, you can search again for another ten minutes and hope you roll better.

Red Dawn

They thought about stealing a car but they realized they were in full view of the roadblock. They'd be spotted for sure. Officer Tucker suggested they leave the dealership, head north around the self-storage facility, across the highway, between the motel and into the old residential neighborhood. 

They stopped at the self-storage facility. The gate was locked. Rex took some wire cutters out of the toolbox he took from the auto dealership and began cutting through the chain link fence. It was arduous work and took twenty minutes. They got into the lot. Felix used some of the tools to pick the padlock off one of the units. Suddenly they heard a voice amplified by an electronic helmet, "Stop! Surrender!" 

Rex shouted, "Aw, Hell no!"

The group split up and fled around the rows of storage units. They made it outside the fence. They ran quickly across the highway and into the woods where they stopped. Professor Putnam had to catch his breath. Felix smiled.

They took a moment to rest and catch their breath. They introduced themselves to each other and exchanged some chit-chat, speculating on what was going on and who the red-armored troopers were.

Rex said, "Isn't it obvious? They're Russians! Like in Red Dawn!"

Felix said, "No man. They're not Russians. They said they were from the ARES Consortium. I figure they're from Mars or something."

Rex said, "Same thing."

Felix replied, "How are they the same thing?"

Rex explained, "Duh! Mars is a Red planet!" 

Gareth Frank

It had become dark though the night sky was strangely scintillant with glowing aurorae, illuminating the darkened town with a dim yellow glow. The unlikely band of survivors noticed another road-block by the industrial section on the east side of town. They cold air above them reflected the brightness of their illumination. More lights reflected from the sky above the sports fields up ahead. 

The band decided to enter some houses on the wooded outskirts of the old residential neighborhood. They grabbed some parkas and blankets.

As they exited the house and cut through a nearby yard, Professor Putnam noticed a rifle barrel sticking out of a boarded up window in the house next door. Professor Putnam told the others. He and Felix quickly found cover. 

Officer Tucker drew his sidearm and found cover behind a nearby garage. Werthy joined him, his shovel ready. He knew the man who lived in the house - Gareth Frank. Gareth Frank was a doomsday prepper with a large collection of firearms and ammunition. He was notoriously anti-authoritarian and had had many run-ins with the Williamsburg PD. 

Tucker whispered as loud as he could, "Frank! This is Officer Bocephus Tucker! Put that gun away! We're not Martians! We're all in this together, and if you fire that rifle at us you'll just bring them to us! We're just passing through. We won't bother you. Just DO NOT OPEN FIRE!"

DM - Tucker's player rolled a 01 on his Leadership skill, leveraging his authority as a police officer to gain compliance. He scored a critical so Frank complied.

The gun barrel retreated into the window. No shots were fired. Tucker and Werthy left the yard and rejoined the others.

Through the Forest

They decided to try their luck scavenging a house a few blocks away. They entered the house only to find it occupied by a frightened family. Tucker told them to be quiet and stay hidden. On their way out they spotted several red troopers at the end of the block. They were regrouping and headed north towards the sports field.

They headed back out into the woods around the community sports fields. On the way Felix tripped and broke his bow. They took a look at the fields from the trees and saw an armed rocket-plane parked in the field. It was surrounded by several dozen red troopers with their helmets off, some were eating. They were setting up camp for the night. Good, it would be easier to move around the town.

They heard a woman whispering as loudly as she could from behind them in the trees. They checked on her. It was Vera, a local woman in her seventies. She had fallen and broken her leg. She was stranded and needed help. Professor Putnam did his best with to provide first aid with no medical training but his services were in vain. Instead, Rex offered to carry Vera on her back.

DM - Carrying Vera meant Rex could not run away if they were spotted by red troopers. 

They continued through the dark forest. Professor Putnam has found a flashlight in one of the houses. He kept it low to the ground. They reached the highway leading north. There was another roadblock set up. The survivors were about a thousand feet away, however, and quickly darted across the highway before they were spotted.

They were now moving west towards the supermarket. They were suddenly ambushed by two local meth addicts who lived in the woods. One swung a baseball bat at Felix. Officer Tucker punched him in the face until he fell down while Rex attacked the other with his shovel, knocking him to the ground. 

Save-a-Bunch

They emerged from the trees and moved towards the back entrance of the town's primary supermarket. The Save-a-Bunch supermarket on the northern outskirts of town was constructed in the 1960s. The store was a typical older small-town medium-sized supermarket with harsh fluorescent lighting, faded paint, and aging fixtures. There were a handful of smaller independent retail stores and restaurants sprinkled around the edges of the gravelly parking lot. The survivors entered the darkened supermarket and spent thirty minutes scavenging food, water, soda, bottles of alcohol, rice, flour, and other items necessary for survival and barter.

From the Save-a-Bunch they could see another roadblock on the highway leading west. The red troopers were using the hospital as another base for the night. 

The survivors moved across the highway towards a local security services company. They found the door open and heard three people ransacking the interior. Officer Tucker heard one ask another to check out the sound from the front. Officer Tucker quickly moved back outside the entrance and told Rex to put down Vera and prepare for an ambush. 

A moment later a woman wearing the leathers of a biker gang emerged. Officer Tucker knocked her unconscious and allowed Felix to drag her aside. The other two looters were now aware of their presence and were more wary. Tucker and Werthy entered the building and quickly knocked them unconscious as well. The three looters were bound with security zip ties found within the office. Felix tried to sneak a look down the woman's shirt as he bound her with the zip tie. Professor Putnam spotted him and immediately scolded him. Officer Tucker and Rex followed suit and tried to teach the boy about consent. Felix was annoyed at being caught and was sullen thereafter.

The survivors continued searching the offices and found more useful items such as heavy toolboxes and small power generators but decided to leave them in favor of more portable prizes.

The survivors crossed the train tracks and went to the new shopping center. They entered the sporting goods store and marveled for they had hit the mother lode!

The survivors spent the next fifty minutes gathering camping equipment, compasses, hiking boots, cook stoves, propane tanks, and other survival essentials. They also hit the convenience store and electronic store in the strip mall for good measure. 

It was now ten o'clock. They were becoming tired. Officer Tucker wanted to cut through the small section of forest to go to the sawmill where they could steal a truck or a car. The sawmill was outside the road block so they'd be able to make an escape attempt. 

Felix asked if they could make a quick stop - he and his friends liked to hang out in an abandoned run-down house in the woods behind the sawmill. He wanted to stop there and pick up a few things. They agreed.

As they entered the old house, they were suddenly ambushed by more members of the biker gang - intent on taking their supplies. 

To Be Continued!

DM- I kept track of each turn in a spreadsheet. I had also pre-rolled all the random encounters for the night. I forgot to record my roll to see if they were spotted during the 5:20 turn.

Time	Action	Chance of being spotted		random encounter
4:00 PM	loot shipping container		-
4:10 PM	move cautiously to auto dealership		-
4:20 PM	search		7
4:30 PM	move cautiously to storage	32	15
4:40 PM	cut through chain link fence	67	6
4:50 PM	open storage units	20	15
5:00 PM	search storage units	0	1
5:10 PM	run away	na	15
5:20 PM	search house		5
5:30 PM	gareth frank	na	11
5:40 PM	through woods	2	20	5. Frightened Townspeople
5:50 PM	search house	5	9
6:00 PM	search house	6	1
6:10 PM	search house	37	7
6:20 PM	move	100	12
6:30 PM	move past sports field	4	19	1. Injured Townsperson
6:40 PM	failed first aid	33	19	6. Accident or Breakdown
6:50 PM	pick up vera move through forest	72	7
7:00 PM	cross road	15	6
7:10 PM	forest	55	17
7:20 PM	forest	70	8
7:30 PM	forest	46	7
7:40 PM	forest - hostile townspeople	49	19	4. Hostile Townspeople
7:50 PM	outside supermarket	30	16
8:00 PM	search super	51	3
8:10 PM	search super	68	13
8:20 PM	move over to building	81	4
8:30 PM	fight security building + search	67	16
8:40 PM	search security building	56	7
8:50 PM	move across the train tracks	91	3
9:00 PM	move to sporting goods store	74	17
9:10 PM	search sporting goods	49	2
9:20 PM	search sporting goods	30	3
9:30 PM	search sporting goods	51	8
9:40 PM	search sporting goods	68	10
9:50 PM	search grocery store	81	1
10:00 PM	search electronics store	67	16
10:10 PM	head into woods		5

Be sure to check out Overlords of Dimension-25 for the game rules.  I have only just finished writing City at the Edge of the Universe. Now I begin laying it out.