Destroyed Jail
RoomDCC 72 · p.30
Open source p.30Area 7 – Destroyed Jail
Half of this room lies in ruin. Its crushed cells, dead bodies, and bloody tables indicate that it was used for detention and interrogation. Across from the entrance sits a steel vault with four numbered dials. A dull gray monstrosity, with seven 10’-long arms ending in saws, needles, and pincers, stands motionless beside it. A voice announces throughout the ship, “CLEANSING PROTOCOL INITIALIZED! SELFDESTRUCT IN THIRTY AERETH MINUTES!” The metallic monster jumps to life and attacks!
If the party mistakenly deactivated the fuel cell’s containment field (see area 4), the ship’s “voice” says, “WARNING! FUEL CELL CONTAINMENT FIELD MUST BE ACTIVATED!”
The computer AI has deemed that there is no chance for the ship’s inhabitants to be recovered. The ship implodes in 30 minutes of real time. The judge is encouraged to give the players audible updates every 5 minutes, “SELF DESTRUCT IN TWENTY-FIVE AERETH MINUTES.” This builds tension and makes the upcoming fight more frantic. Repeat the fuel cell warning if applicable. Players may com-
Sky Joust Mighty Deed Table
Deed Die Sky Joust Result
3 Shield destroyed! Opponent takes additional damage and suffers to AC for the rest of the passes. Magic shields receive a Fortitude save vs. DC equal to total damage done.
4 Wing Clip! Opponent’s wing or accelerator leg is damaged. He takes additional damage and suffers a cumulative -1d to damage rolls for the rest of the passes.
5 Shoulder wound! Injure opponent’s lance arm for additional damage. She suffers a cumulative -1d penalty to attack rolls for the rest of the passes.
6 Head wound! Gouge opponent’s head for additional damage. He suffers cumulative -1d penalties to attack and damage rolls for the rest of the passes.
7+ Torso rip! Lance rips through opponent’s torso, doing additional damage. She suffers cumulative -1d penalties to attack and damage rolls for the rest of the passes. She must also pass a DC 14 Fortitude save, or die.
plain that the countdown doesn’t make sense (e.g. a combat round is 10 seconds game time, but it takes a lot more real time to run a round); if this occurs, shrug and suggest that the ship’s timer may be broken, something may be altering the passage of time, etc.
If replacement PCs are needed, then some of the dead bodies in the crushed cells are not quite dead yet.
Unlike other robots, the interrogator bot does not have an off switch. However, if it takes electrical/shock damage, there is a 1% chance per point of damage that it deactivates due to a short circuit.
Interrogator Bot: Init ; Atk buzz saw melee (, 10’ reach) or needle-gun missile fire ( plus hallucinogen) or pincher melee ( plus holding, 10’ reach) or stun gas (special); AC 16; HD ; hp 43; MV 20’; Act ; SP stun gas (once per encounter, DC 14 Fortitude save or fall helpless for 2 rounds, 20’ radius), hallucinogen (DC 12 Will save or -1d cumulative penalty to rolls for 1 hour), holding (victim grants bot +1d to attacks until released, DC 14 Strength check to break free), electric vulnerability (1% chance per point shock damage to short circuit and deactivate), immune to mental effects; SV Fort , Ref , Will ; AL N.
The PCs may use torture tables as cover from the needle gun (-1d to hit).
The vault contains gear from prisoners; it is locked and almost impossible to pick (DC 35 pick lock), but may be opened with the correct combination. There are four dials aligned in a row, each with numbers 1, 2, and 3. The four dials start with each having a “1” in the up position. There are four rows of runes above the dials; the first row has two rune-words, the second has one rune-word, the third and fourth have three rune-words each. These are in the Tahlmohlian language (DC 13 read language for thieves, DC 12 spell check for comprehend languages). The runes say:
Prisoners’ Belongings
Restricted
Authorized Personnel Only
Do Not Open
The correct combination is the number of rune-words per line, 2-1-3-3. (Kudos to those who recognize this Flash Gordon reference!) Because of the real-time countdown, players may be stressed when they deal with this puzzle, and may try random combinations without thinking. It takes one round (10 seconds) to try each combination; there are 81 possible combinations.
Inside the vault is a silvered two-handed sword, a suit of mithril half-plate armor, miscellaneous gear (roll six times on Table 3-4 in DCC RPG rulebook, p. 73), and four pouches of 50 gp each. The judge may wish to insert items from other worlds (e.g., DCC #84 Peril on the Purple Planet), and quest items or hooks at her discretion.
Conclusion
The ship implodes after the 30-minute countdown. The fastest way to escape is through area 6, sliding down the ship’s side. Each PC that takes this route suffers falling damage. Otherwise, if there is time, the party can hastily retreat the way they came.
When the ship implodes, any PCs remaining inside are crushed to death. The implosion flings matter-dust for miles, leaving a 20’ cube of an immensely dense alloy. Due to its weight, it may sink into the ground. If the party deactivated the containment field of the fuel cell (see area 4), then there is a nuclear explosion that annihilates the region.