The Borealis (Fallout Supplement)
These are EXTREMELY rough, taken directly from my notes back when I ran this campaign. They WILL be updated. --Yossarian (talk) 22:54, 21 February 2015 (MST)
What follows is the exact set of missions and adventures I used, modified for the wiki (so, it's not really exact). Details are kept sparse, as is my custom, so that GM's may change it to suit their players. In my game, the players worked for Aperture Science, as part of "Initial Field Testing and VIolent Affairs (IFTVA)". In my specific campaign, Aperture is a subsection of the Music Appreciation Society. The players had worked their way through the ranks of initial field testing, and were allowed on the Borealis, a massive research vessel sent to explore the remaining world. Note that there were three players, so you made need to change the vote ratios.
The SNC Borealis[edit]
The Society Navy Craft Borealis is the largest research vessel known to man. An ocean-going vessel, it is meant to explore the wastelands in greater distance, to learn what became of the rest of the world. Aperture Science has loaded the Borealis with the latest defensive and information gathering technology, as well as the most advanced laboratories. It is a mobile Enrichment Center, a self-contained research and testing facility. It is fully capable of developing and testing technology, as well as transcribing information and data to the GLaDOS network. The Borealis is also equipped with the defenses to survive a small nuclear explosion with no damage whatsoever.
The Borealis will forge its own path through the world, following its own whims. It is granted the full autonomy of an Enrichment Center, and is entrusted to uphold the ideals of Aperture Science Laboratories and the Music Appreciation Society. The characters are asked to transfer from the Kamloops Enrichment Center to the Borealis Enrichment Center, though it is completely their decision. As the chiefs of “Violent Affairs and IFT,” the characters will be part of the Borealis’ Council, a body of experts who decide upon major issues.
Los Angeles, U.S., North America, Ruins[edit]
L.A. has been quarantined by the NCR for some time, due to large amounts of super mutants, ghouls and radiation. The area was deemed useless by the new MApS government, and has been kept under quarantined. The area is flooded with nuclear radiation, and super mutants. This is an ideal place to field test the Recall Teleport (See IFT Entry).
La Paz, Mexico, North America, Ruins[edit]
The city is still standing, though the population died long ago. A search of the city finds logs that the people died during the first nuclear summers. On a DC 15 Search, they find evidence of the Panama Wanderers. On a critical success, they find a transmission from China, dated two years ago.
The primary purpose of this visit is to test the zero-point energy cannon, a large scale version of the zero-point energy manipulator. It is capable of obliterating entire islands, and is in fact tested for its ability to create a new canal near La Paz.
Council: China or Panama[edit]
In the characters’ first council, a vote is taken to see if the ship should continue on the original path towards China, or divert towards Panama. The crew leans towards Panama (2/3 vote to override).
Panama City, Panama, Central America, Tresor 67[edit]
The home of the Panama wanderers, there is little of interest here. The characters learn here the fate of Central America, that it died during the nuclear summers. The Panamanians are willing to let the Borealis destroy the canal.
Council: South America or Cuba[edit]
The characters must vote whether to blow up the canal and head towards Cuba, or continue down the coast towards South America. The crew leans towards Cuba (2/3 vote to override).
Havana, Cuba, Caribbean Sea, Tresor 29[edit]
Cuba, while self-sustained, has no technology to offer the characters. However, they will inform the characters of what they had heard from the Capital Wasteland.
Washington D.C., U.S., North America, Brotherhood of Steel[edit]
The Capital Wasteland has seen better days. The Jefferson Memorial is the last bastion of human life in the wastes, surviving the massacres of Legion. A DC 15 Gather Information check finds out about Vault 101, and a critical success opens up questioning about William McAllister. After a short time, Aperture will track down Legion’s location, giving the characters the opportunity to take down the demon.
If the characters travel further north, they may find the Teleport Station south-west of old Olney. If they evade the security, they will find a teleport to the Tallahassee, where they will be met by the Terran Starship Command.
Halifax, Canada, North America, Ruins[edit]
Vault 330 is the only pristine Vault on earth. It was never occupied, likely due to a malfunction in the vault’s door. The characters will have to teleport into the vault, by cutting the standard teleport procedures. Inside, they find evidence that Vault-Tec had established vaults in almost every country on earth.
Posod, France, Europe, European Union[edit]
This is the capital of the European Union, a nation which spans all of Europe. Posod is the center of trade and technology in the EU. Recently, though, the city has been locked down. Theories range from disease to unrest, but none include what has actually happened: an alien invasion.
The aliens have invaded the core of Posod, and are expanding rapidly. The EU has locked down the city to prevent a continent wide panic. They will allow the Borealis to dock on the condition that the vessel will help them in a current predicament. The characters will be authorized for emergency lethal weaponry, AR3 Pulse Rifles.
If the characters help the EU, then the Europeans will ratify the Treaty of Vancouver, Independence Ruling. Furthermore, if the character haven’t contacted the Tallahassee, they will meet them now. In the event of failure, the event will snowball, as the aliens push further into the country. This will pose a major threat to humanity, and the Kamloops Enrichment Center will send reinforcements via teleport immediately.
Tallahassee, Upper Orbit, Earth, Terran Starship Command[edit]
The Tallahassee is a large interstellar starship. It has been painstakingly modified for human dimensions and needs. The basis of the ship, before the recent extreme modifications, was captured by William Joseph McAllister, the captain of the Tallahassee and founder of the Terran Starship Command. This is a wealth of information for Aperture Science.
Upon their arrival, the Tallahassee has detected a large space ship incoming towards Earth. An attempt to hail the ship is met with weapons fire and boarding teleports. The characters are asked to help repel the internal invaders. They are armed with alien blasters, unless they have the AR3s. If they care to check, the Neutrinos are effective against the invaders, though very weak.
Once the attack is fended off, the characters will have completed the main quest of the area. When the characters are ready, they may play the next phase of the game.
Shanghai, China, Asia, People’s Republic of Asia[edit]
The Chinese are hostile to the Borealis, so the crew needs the characters to do two things: board the Chinese defense vessel and shutdown the fusion beam, then negotiate a cease fire with the PRA on the mainland.
The Borealis can teleport the characters to the boat, where they will have to find the generator and use a modified Neutrino to turnoff the targeting and control panel. They will find many PRA guards aboard the boat.
When the characters reach the mainland, they will have to head towards Beijing, the purported capital of the People’s Republic of Asia, several days travel north of the characters’ position. Their travel is compounded by interception by PRA Defensive Units. After a day of travel, the Borealis will translate the Chinese language, allowing the characters to negotiate with the Chinese. A DC 25 Diplomacy check successfully negotiates a cease-fire, which will allow the Borealis to work on negotiations.
At the conclusion of the negotiations, the People’s Republic of Asia will ratify the Treaty of Vancouver, under the Independent Faction ruling. If the characters recall, then they will find the Borealis had to retreat due to heavy fire from the shore.
Santiago, Chile, South America, The Domain of Argentina[edit]
An area of relative peace, they will accept the Treaty of Vancouver, independently, of course. They don’t have anything to offer the characters, though a DC 15 Spot check lets the characters notice that a large amount of bets are being paid, opening up questioning about the Ross Party.
Base Camp, Tundra, Antarctica, Ross Party (Deceased)[edit]
The home of the Ross Party, the famous story tellers of Antarctica. They were known for weaving tales of horror, giving accounts of monsters released from the ice, creatures which roamed the mountains, beings from the stars who created the human race. Those who listened to the stories figured they were just fiction, since the monsters described were beyond the scope of what is known or imaginable.
The broadcasts stopped two weeks ago, after a particularly chilling tale of creatures formed out of a compilation of man’s worst nightmares, one of which the party found frozen in the wreckage of some interstellar ship. The last transmission was a screech of metal being crushed, as someone yelled to “stop” in the background. All of the transmissions were recorded, for nighttime stories.
When the characters arrive, they will find a band of 32 survivors, all telling tales of star demons they had released from some sort of starship, which was destroyed due to a large thermite explosion. They are extremely anxious and pushy about leaving the island. A DC 10 Spot check notices a large, locked door. A DC 15 Sense Motive notices they are exceptionally pushy, while DC 10 Research shows the people have never wanted to leave before.
Unbeknownst to the characters, they are actually disguised Star Doppelgangers. These are a particularly intelligent group, capable of maintaining their disguises long after the 24 hour standard. They are trying to board the ship to spread to the rest of the world. If the characters fail to find out about the Star Doppelgangers, they will find out when one of them is attacked aboard the ship. From there, they will have to cooperate with the Aperture scientists to find a way to cure those infected. Fortunately, the Star Doppelgangers are vulnerable to Neutrinos while they are impersonating humans.
Once the crisis is over, the characters will have access to the records of the Ross Party, including knowledge of the Ronne Party. If the characters meet them, they will gain a valuable source of knowledge about the Antarctic extraterrestrials.
Cape Town, South Africa, Africa, South African Union[edit]
They will tell the characters about the Ross Party. However, they do have an issue the characters could help them with. Vault 786-C was closed years prior, due to advanced radiation containment leaks. However, the Africans need the G.E.C.K.. If the characters are willing to retrieve it, the Africans will supply the Borealis with workers and researchers. Once the characters delve into the vault, they will find the vault’s computers have been damaged by the radiation, synthesizing an artificial intelligence in a race to develop a complete spectrum of the human physiology, by placing humans in extremely dangerous situation and recording their responses.
The Africans are unaware of the computer’s evolution. They will inform the characters of an advanced AI in the vault. They will say the previous people who entered the vault probably died due to radiation. In reality, they died because of the AI’s experiments. As the characters progress into the vault, the AI will offer them the G.E.C.K. if they will “Help me help you help us all.” If they refuse, the A.I. will try to capture them. If they accept, the testing will quickly escalate to potential danger, forcing the characters to flee the AI. They will start at 200 yards underground, but the G.E.C.K. is at 400. The characters may wish to try to get it, but they will have to progress up to where they can contact the Borealis for emergency recall.
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