Missive 21: South American Excursion
Welcome back Directors. This mission takes place while in the background Dante Russo is manipulating things from behind the scenes to gain control of Valente’s team. He has arranged a hearing to investigate Valente’s actions and her mission plan of not informing him of an assassination attempt on one of his major assets. Nora is nervous about this, but manages to keep up a strong demeanor, and only tells any of the agents of it if they make Notice rolls to discover that she is not herself lately.
But…missions continue. The next mission for our team of intrepid agents is an Assassination mission. So I generate a Target, Location, Plot Type, Complication, Ally, and a Main Enemy.
The Target is a Corrupted Ally. Remember this is someone who was once an asset, but is now changed by magic, demonic entity, alien technology, or some other evil and has extra abilities or powers.
The Location is an Urban Center and the proximity is Global. Good, get the team out of its normal environs. Somewhere in South America.
The Plot Type is a Pursuit. The agents must track down the villain at all costs.
The Complication is an Escalation, so the villain is striking back against the team.
The Ally is an Author, and the Main Enemy to be overcome is a Legendary Agent! Wow, okay, this guy is also the Target. He has his own team of cultists in play as well which is the Escalation.
So, the target is a Tainted Legendary Agent who has his own followers working for him. I’m going to make him a Native of Brazil and his name is Jaco Paje. He broke with Oblivion three years ago, and has only recently been found hiding in Parintins, Brazil. He is attending the Boi Bumba Festival in Parintins, Brazil. (http://www.boibumba.com/index.htm) He is there to invoke the true soul of the beast. This year it is the Cobra Grande, which is actually a demonic entity. The Shamanism normally manifested during this festival will be magnified by his own rituals, and the results will be terrifying and may cause the deaths of thousands. Paje plans to gain control of the entity to support his own rise to power
So let’s generate our big bad guy. Now to add the Corruption. Jaco receives 2 extra Hindrances, 5 extra Edges, 3 Minor Taints, and 2 Major Taints. I generate Mean and Overconfident for the Hindrances. Hard to Kill, Wheelman, Sponge, Level Headed, and Filthy Rich for the Edges. I roll Hardy, Immunity to Fire, and Razor Claws for Minor Taints. I generate Dark Pet and Maximize Strength d12.
Jaco Paje (WC)
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d10
Skills: Boating d4, Climbing d4, Driving d6, Fighting d8, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Investigation d4, Knowledge (Divine) d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d4, Repair d4, Shooting d10, Stealth d8, Streetwise d6, Tradecraft d12
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 9/10 (1/2)
Hindrances: Mean, Overconfident
Edges: Ace, Arcane Training: Sacred, Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Deadly, Fast Strike, Filthy Rich, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved Dodge, Jack of All Trades, Level Headed, Marksman, Quick, Silent Kill, Sponge, Unarmed Combat (Advanced), Wheelman
Minor Taints: Hardy, Immune to Fire, Razor Claws Str+d4
Major Taints: Dark Pet, Maximize Strength d12
Powers: Burrow, Puppet
Rituals: Ritual of Summoning Cobra Grande
Languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian
Gear & Equipment: 9mm pistol, 2 clips of ammo
Dark Pet: Lancehead snake three feet long named Vermelho Barba (Red Beard) due to it’s rare rustic coloring.
Vermelho Barba- WC
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d4
Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d12
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 2
Natural Tools: Bite (Str)
Special Abilities:
Fleet-Footed: Pace is +2 and can run at d10.
Intelligent Linked Creature: Vermelho may communicate telepathically with Jaco Paje up to 60 yards distance and has limited intelligence (not animal).
Poison: Anyone bitten must make aVigor roll -2. With success the bite swells and becomes numb causing character to be Exhausted until healed. If failed, the victim is Incapacitated and must make a second Vigor roll or die.
Spit Attack: Str x2 distance. 2d6 damage contact poison.
Stretchy: Can squeeze through spaces ¼ of size at ½ Pace.
To protect Paje he has gathered six cultists who are sworn to serve him even unto death. They are convinced of his powers and believe he is a reborn Shaman of ancient Native American lore.
The cultists are basically Native American hunters and have the following statistics:
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Survival d8, Tracking d8 Charisma: –2; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Outsider
Edges: Woodsman
Languages: Portuguese, Native American, English, Spanish
Gear & Equipment: First aid kit, fishing line, hooks, rifle, survival knife
The Ally author is a lady named Holly Straps, an American working for Time magazine. She is a minor Oblivion asset and was the one that stumbled onto Paje in Parintines while preparing a story on the ancient festival. The team is to meet with her and she shares that Paje owns a private stilted mansion overlooking the Amazon River, north east of the city. She knows that he has a cult-like following, but does not know of his plans to summon the cobra grande demonic entity during the festival.
The team may attack him directly in his home, or follow him into the city where there is a huge gathering in a local stadium for the reenactment of the killing of the ox and the resurrection ceremony. It is here that Paje joins the celebration as the honored guest and priest, but the ceremony he leads is real and if completed, the demon rises through the stadium floor and begins devouring festival attendees. The demon is huge, and should be difficult to kill, though it does answer to Paje, at least for now. Can the team kill him? This could be tough. I recommend sending Nora with the team on this one, though she lets them do the planning. She considers herself backup if things go badly. The intel they receive on Paje is that he served the agency for over twenty years, but disappeared three years before. Many feared he had been killed or captured by Pandora, but the truth was that he was seeking personal power and had become consumed by it. The demonic snake pet is unknown to the intel, though when they meet with Holly, she describes the snake that he always has with him. The cultists provide security for Paje and there are always two on security detail at his home, which is raised forty feet from the jungle floor due to seasonal flooding of the Amazon.
Sounds fun! Send in those After Action Reports and tell me what you think of Roma Bellica. Want me to continue or go in a different direction?
Till next time,
Beware any Festivals! Music, Dancing, and Magic are always a deadly combination.
