XCrawl Running Man
Concept: Take
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Uncanny461.jpg
Mojo, Lord of the Mojoverse. Demon God of Scopophilia and Voyeurism. Think of Videodrome and Running Man. Mojo feeds off of viewers, and is the source of XCrawl's aptly named Mojo pool.
Cross with
http://www.arthistory-archaeology.umd.edu/courses/ARTH250/FA04/zapotec%20xipe%20totec.jpg
"Xipe Totec - Our Lord the Flayed.
Ruler of earth and fertility, patron of the springtime, ruler of the East. In honor of Xipe Totec warriors, men and women, are sacrificed in gladiatorial combat. When they've given their service, their bodies are flayed (skinned) and a priest then wears the skin; this is called the "Garment of Gold."
Add a little of the Mayan custom of competing to become gods, and of sacrificing the loser of the competition.
Contrast with the heroes of XCrawl having their names and faces printed on billboards, Tshirts and limited edition coffee mugs.
So you've got the metaphysical backstory and the theme. Scopophilic Mesoamerican Blood God. Awakened by Emperor Ronald Augustus's games, Mojo is the heart of the American Empire's broadcasts, feeding off of every glazed stare, and meting some fraction of his essence out to encourage ever escalating displays of savagery.
He has, I think, also possessed Ronnie.
So I'm thinking of a series of encounters to be shuffled in with 'normal' XCrawl events, which should culminate in the big climax where the PCs storm the oval office and get to shoot the emperor in the face, only to have a big fat leering Mojo Totec wriggle out from under Ronnie's skin.
1. Get your Mojo Working.
The PCs are tapped for an exciting new Dungeoncrawl opportunity. A recent earthquake in South America has unearthed a buried temple.
http://www.3dallusions.com//images/stories/articles/2006_Content/building1idol.jpg
Local farmers are dissapearing. Clarivoyance reveals legions of undead warriors with obsidian spears.
They are to be inserted via a HALO jump from a helicopter. Special new levitating orbs will track them and televise their progress. This is exciting, it's a real dungeon, and their agent had to pull a lot of strings to get them the gig.
The PCs get run through a brief boot camp, can each take d6 ranks in the 'Parachuting' skill (Dex), and the adventure should start with them jumping out of a plane, landing on top of the ziggurat, defeating the swarm of zombies, and getting through a dungeon crawl. It's a search and destroy, kill them all and take their stuff. Remember, there should be a *lot* of Gold there. Huge golden statues. Gem-studded walls. Priceless antiquities.
The Adventurer's Guild, Local Authorities, the Heritage Foundations who had to allow the broadcast, the broadcasting companies, the US Government, and a slew of other people all take their shares. But the PCs keep their fame.
2. Getting the fix in.
The PCs' fame increases - the Jungle Crawl was incredibly popular. The head of the adventurer's guild sends an emissary to the PCs on the eve of their next event, quietly urging them to get themselves DQ'ed. If they do, they are flown back to the Jungle, this time without publicity or cameras (and hence without Mojo). They will be run through another brief training program (Or the AG will cast some Matrix-esque "I know Gun-Fu" spell on them), then sent undercover, by truck and train and boat, down the river to the temple of Mojo.
There was an idol to Xipe 'Mojo' Totec, shown briefly on the screens as the PCs moved through the temple. The Adventurer's guild wants that idol, and they don't want the government to know they have it.
This will be like the previous 'crawl, except it's not publicized, it's night time, and the PCs have guns.
