Blue Giant:Scenario Brain Food

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Synopsis

One of the corporations has accidently bred a new, sentient type of Longhorn cow so that the cattle can better defend themselves against predation by the indiginous life forms of the planet. The cows learn their purpose in life, and go into hiding. The corporation blames the settlers they lease the cattle ranches from of rustling. The settlers blame the local predators called Agrosaurs. The PCs have to resolve the situation.

Setting

The story is set on Cesity Too, a planet orbiting a star called Cesity on the edges of the Damocles cluster. Cesity Too is the only planet in the star system. Our planet, it's called Cesity too. Cesity Too has a rich variety of terrains but no seas larger than a four hundred kilometres across. It was settled one hundred and five years ago by a group of independant settlers, who, frankly haven't made much of it. When the Otherworld Ranching Corporation wanted to leased whole continents from them twenty years ago, the settlers accepted a reasonable offer and let the ranchers in.

The scenario takes place on a vast plain in the southern continent bordered on the north and south by two small seas, on the east by an arid super-canyon and the west by mountains. The settlers live to the east on a peninsula surrounded by canyon, the corporate headquarters sit in the lea of the western mountains. The plains in the middle are perfect cattle country.

The planet has a number of native life forms most of which can consume organic chemicals in one form or another.

The settlers have had some genetic enhancement in the past and all of them have a natural affinity for new languages.

Main Characters

Jaamal Riddle is the spokesman for the settlers who are backsliding Camby. He wants a quiet easy life which is being spoiled by the corporation. He is a lazy, indolent complainer who doesn't take well to accusations.

Alexander P. Dutton is the corprate troubleshooter sent from head office to solve the problem of dissapearing profits, err, cattle. His first duty is to the bank balance. His future career depends on it.

Frankie McGill is the general manager of the ranching facility. She has a strong work ethic and she doesn't like the settlers, but she will, eventually listen to reason. Although Dutton is from head office, McGill calls the shots.

Benjam Panzani is a nine year old settler kid who knows the cattle are sentient and can talk to them.

The Longhorns are genetically enhanced Longhorn cattle the size of Indian elephants. They are tough and intelligent, they know when to fight, when to run and when to play stupid. They are more intelligent than the corporation suspects but have only recently developed their own language.

Agrosaurs : An Agrosaur is an one hundred and eighty foot long crocodile with a bucket scoop mouth, eyes under its jaw and has armour of almost impenetrable four foot thick elastomers studded with chunks of bauxite. It eats cattle, vehicles, PCs, anything it wants to really.

Theme

The theme of this scenario is responsibility. The PCs must sort out this mess before anger and recrimination turns to violence, even though they may want to simply walk away.

Events

Action

Stampede; Soon after the PCs arrive at the corporate base, the base will receive a distress call from a downed flyer. The cattle are stampeding and the flyer is in the way. This is to give the PCs a first sight of the size of the cattle. If they rescue the cowboys or investigate the stampede, they will discover that there was no obvious reason for it to occur. There are no Agrosaur tracks and no sign of settlers. The reason for the stampede is that the cattle didn't want to be rounded up for slaughter.

Agrosaur attack; During the investigations, either near a sea or in the canyons, an Agrosaur will attack the PCs. The PCs can solve this in the usual manner or run, hide or outwit it.

Cowboys V Settlers; The settlers make a tidy profit selling liquor to the cowboys. (The company has a strict no alcohol policy.) The cowboys get mean and drunk and decide to have a go at the rustlers. ie any settler in town and in their blurry field of vision.

Sabotage; If the PCs are going out onto the plains, the company will obviously provide appropriate vehicles, which for reasons of poor maintainance or sabotage will break down at least half a days hike from the nearest 'barn' with a transmitter.

Agrosaur V Cows V PCs V Cowboys V Terrain; The cattle are hiding out in caves in the canyons near the settlement. When the PCs discover their location, three Agrosaurs will be closing in for a meal, the cowboys will be coming to get the herd back and the cattle are going to make a run for it. All at the same time.

Role Play

The Settlers viewpoint; Jaamal Riddle speaks for the town, his brother is the sherriff and his cousin is the barman. As far as he is concerned, the settlers do not steal cattle anymore, while there were a couple of incidents in the past, he put a stop to it. He blames missing cattle on either drunken cowboys, canyons, Agrosaurs, mismanagement or offworld pirates. He has no proof of any of these things, and indeed he doesn't think he needs any. He will switch from one excuse to the next whenever the PCs disprove his current theory. Jaamal doesn't want the cattlemen to leave, it would set the settlement back, but things are getting iffy and it is his signature on the lease.

The Offworld Ranching Corporation Managers Viewpoint; Frank McGill insists that cattle cannot just up and dissapear, something or someone must be taking them. Agrosaurs are the only indiginous wildlife big enough to do this and the cattle have been enhanced to be smart enough to avoid them. There are 'barns' - Agrosaur proof domes scattered across the ranch and the cattle make for them at the first sign of trouble. All the Agrosaurs in the area were tagged and the cattle herds receive transmitted warnings whenever one comes near.

If the PCs don't think of it then a minor company official or ranchhand will suggest that an untagged Agrosaur could have strayed into the territory, but the management will not consider this until the PCs go out and find such a beast.

The Offworld Ranching Corporation Troubleshooter Viewpoint; 'This facility has a substantial investment behind it, manpower, time, research, genetic research. My analysis shows that if this company were to leave this planet the local economy would collapse...' yada, yada, yada, money stuff. Dutton will argue from law and insist the PCs investigate and catch/exterminate the thieves. He may even offer the PCs a bribe if he thinks he can get away with it.

A big boy did it; Benjam Panzani has been hanging around the cattle herds nearest the settlers home, just doing kid stuff. He noticed that the cows seemed to be talking to each other, and with his genetic aptitude for languages soon began to understand them, then talk to them. It was he who let slip what happens to the cows when they go to the corporate slaughter yards. Benjam doesn't want the cows to be eaten and will lie, dissuade and obfuscate the facts as well as any 'nearly ten' year old can. Favourite lies include; 'I saw two cowboys there'. 'Ol' snaptooth - the big grey agrosaur was here', and the perennial 'A big boy did it and ran away.'

The cattle are what???; Once it is discovered that the cattle are sentient, what do the PCs do with them?

Problems

Forensics; There is no forensic evidence to prove any conflicting theory whatsoever. A search of the town shows nothing, a search of the corporate base, including computer records shows nothing, all the agrosaurs in the region are accounted for. Sensor scans show nothing because the corporate sensors are rubbish, the cattle hid themselves under a mile of rocky caves.

Benjam has been taking foodstuff to the cattle, they can't graze in a cave.

Tracking is impossible because the grass the beasts feed on grows rapidly, obscuring tracks after an hour or two.



Flexibility

Understudies; If the PCs kill off a main character in a fit of pique, don't worry too much. Managers have assistant managers and colonists have political rivals. Simply introduce a vary cautious or grateful replacement and get on with the story, but dock the CP reward at the end of the story, no-one needs killing in this scenario.


Resolution

Rewards

Scenario Order

  1. All introductory events.
  2. All start events.
  3. All second group events.
  4. All next group events.
  5. All finale events.
  6. All wrap-up then all epilogue events

Statistics

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