There's been a request for more stuff from some of my players, so I'm going to throw out the Prelude that another GM did before tonight's session. This is for a new adventure he's made that's more or less a follow-up for "The Sands of Time" (from FGU).
Enjoy!
“Precurser”
The Guardians receive a message from Kensai.
For some time now, the ORC facility at Sendai has been experiencing some difficulties. At first, it was minor, some glitches with the Maintenancebots, some minor electrical shocks. Later, the computer network was repeatedly hit by hacker attempts and denial of service attacks. Minor annoyances became moderate challenges. Still, our automated systems dealt with the problems, and our investigations didn’t identify any specific internal or external threats. It all seemed random….
Finally, on the advice of an old friend, I hired some outside consultants to investigate more… unusual… theories. They reported we were under massive mystical attack. Unfortunately, they could only generally identify the problem, and suggest minor fixes. They did not know how to deal with the menace. I know the Guardians have great expertise in this area, where technology meets the supernatural. Though this problem does not seem demonic, and probably is not the TechDemon the Guardians fought before, I’m hoping the Guardians can isolate and defeat whatever is attacking us.
30 minutes into the past… flashback.
The debut of the latest model of Kintetsu is a great success. To the surprise of the media, ORC broke with tradition, displaying not only the new model of Kintetsu, but two other prototypes in development. Before, there has always been only one Kintetsu, with the famous robot rebuilt or upgraded from the previous version. Any visiting Guardians, of course, know the real reasons for the change…
The demonstration takes place at the Sendai ORC construction facility, not the better known Tokyo skyscraper. ORC likes to keep their Engineers some distance away from the distractions of Corporate and marketing…
In Sendai, there are more robots than human personnel. Polite multilingual Guardbots patrol the grounds. Maintenancebots keep the grounds and building immaculate. Robots build the new robots in the factory.
Any VIP visitors get the full tour, which includes a full look at the various build and testing areas. ORC builds robots for everything from medicine to cooking. There is only one exception. ORC does not build military robots, or even policebots. ORC Guardbots are built to reflect the corporate pacifist philosophy, and have only non-lethal restraint options.
Historical note: When the JSDF first authorized Milbots in 2010, ORC was a subcontractor for the design phase. However, ORC was only willing to design the first draft, ‘toshu kakuto’ capable.
15 minutes into the past…
I met Rune in Paris. He isn’t an easy man to find these days. It takes a lot of patience. I’m very persistent though, and Rune was the best researcher around.
We ran through the social stuff as he looked through the photos. ‘Attacked by giant robots lately? Giant bugs?’ The usual small talk.
Rune finally looked up and spoke. “This is a fascinating insight into ‘The hoard of the false Pharaoh’. Ramses was briefly driven from his throne, but escaped his imprisonment. He gathered his remaining followers, and, while the false Pharaoh was distracted by mercenaries, crushed the armies of his enemies and regained the throne. Ramses then gave great gifts to those who had remained loyal. These gifts came from the hoard of the false Pharaoh. They ranged from a chariot of gold to an hourglass of sand.”
“What of the mercenaries?” I asked.
“Not mentioned again. Not really important. They were only a bit player in the legend”
I thought about this. Apparently the secret of not impacting history was helping out the egomaniac who wrote the history…
“I’m still looking into artistic impacts” said Rune. “The Guardians didn’t impact historical narrative, but cultural contamination is harder to see. There are some unusual artifacts in Luxor around this time. Excavation is ongoing. I’ll keep an eye on it. Now, tell me about this curse.”
“Um, something about how the Pharaoh would get us, and our little dog too? I wasn’t actually there. Does it matter? We’re now, then then.”
Rune looked stern. “A death curse is powerful! Don’t underestimate it. Look for unusual events, potential triggers. It might manifest anywhere.”
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