Tower of Babel
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Author: Steve Kellams
Homepage: http://www.io.com/sjgames/gurps/books/Cliffhangers
System: GURPS
Type: Scenario
Category: Fantasy
Requirements: Cliffhanger Adventure

INTRODUCTION

This is an adventure for GURPS Cliffhangers. The story takes many elements of fact. Add a gratuitious helping of fiction, and it is just down right fun. It can be added into an existing campaign or be played as a stand alone adventure. If used to supplement an adventure game the GM will need to make several changes. This game starts in San Francisco, in 1937. When possible I will give examples of our playtest session, including character ideas and reference material.

GM's may find it helpful to have a copy of the Bible. You will also need a map of the world and a map of Easter Island. There are several sites on the internet that give detailed maps and history of Easter Island, as well as Gurps Places of Mystery. Information on the discovery of King Tut's tomb will also be invaluable.

Now the whole earth had one language and few words. And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortear. Then they said "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth." And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Behold they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not undersand one another's speech." So the lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earh, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. -GENESIS 11-

On Dec 1, 1922, Lord Carnarvon discovered King Tut's tomb. Along with all the other marvels of the tomb, Carnarvon found a plaque made from an unknown metal. The plaque was unlike anything else in the tomb. It was 6' by 3', and 1' thick. It was covered with pictographs that were very different than the Egyptian hyrogliphics. In the center of the plaque there was a large hole, 6" in diameter. Fascinated by the plaque, Carnarvon had it shipped home immediatly and did not report the find to anyone else. Carnarvon also took with him his other favorite piece, a small golden coin. Before his mysterious death Lord Carnarvon gave the plaque and the coin to his son Victor Carnarvon. Victor took the items with him when he moved to San Fransisco, and had been studying them in secret.

One of Adolf Hitler's scientists, Eric Von Dannen had learned of Carnarvon's unreported discovery. Von Dannen had been studying the Occult for many years, and with the rise of Hitler to power he now had a powerful patron. Von Dannen sent Nazi agents to track down the plaque and bring it back to him. The agents inadvertantly killed Victor Carnarvon before he would reveal the whereabouts of the plaque. Victor's wife Laura Carnarvon escaped the Nazis and fled for her life. Laura carried with her the small Egyptian coin from King Tut's Tomb. She had been told by her husband to guard the coin with her life and escape with it if anything happened to him. The Nazis pursued her into a small alley in downtown San Fransisco and strangled her. Before the agents could search her body for the coin a bystander noticed the murder and yelled for help. The police were on the scene within minutes.

Von Dannen

Von Dannen is a large man 6'3" tall and roughly 300 lbs. He is completely bald. He dresses in gray tailored suits and never wears a hat. His eyes are the most unusual shade of dark green. Von Dannen appears to be approximatly 50 years old. He is not. Von Dannen is actually a 2000 year old Alien. He is descended from a race of creatures who colonized this planet at the beginning of civilization. His race was known as the Karn. The Karn came to Earth and found it populated by early humans. The Karn built a large temple and on top of the temple placed a transmitter. The transmitter sent out a signal which communicated directly with the human mind and controlled it. The Karn used this device to enslave the people, forcing them to begin construction of the Karn colony. The enslaved humans eventually developed enough intellect to momentarily shake off the effects of the device and destroy it, along with many of the Karn. When the device was damaged a spatial rift occurred and flung not only the riotis humans but the temple itself across space. The temple disappeared and reappeared half way across the world, on Easter Island. The surviving Karn were forced into hiding until such a time as they could attempt to find and regain control of the temple.

The first thing that needs to happen is for one or all of your characters to get their hands on the Egyptian coin. The characters could witness the murder of Laura Carnarvon themselves and try to help. They may be members of the Police Department and have to investigate the death. Or they could be experts in the occult called in to assist in identifying of the coin. In our playtest session one character was a nightclub owner and the murder took place directly behind his bar. Another character was a professional boxer and his trainer found the body (The police suspected the trainer and arrested him, motivating the boxer to try and find the truth.). A third character was a medical examiner and was investigating the death. The fourth character was an attorney hired to defend the trainer. You get the picture.

Once the PC's discover the coin they should have a lot of questions. If they go to a library they will discover a picture of the coin. The books will describe the discovery of King Tut's tomb as well as the mummy's curse (that should give them something to think about). The books will say that there were five coins discovered in the tomb and all five of them are located in the London Mueseam of Egyptology. A check with the museam will tell them that all of the coins are still accounted for. An investigation of Laura's body will reveal that she was wearing very expensive imported clothing. Only one shop in San Francisco carries this type of clothing. The store is FOUNEL'S and if given a description of Laura the staff will be able to provide her name, but not her address. The only Carnarvon in the phone book is Victor and his address is near the Prisidio. On the second page of the San Francisco Chronical is an article about the mysterious death of Victor Carnarvon. He is to be interened in the San Fransisco cemetary in two days. The article also mentions the disappearance of his wife.

During the investigation the PC who has the coin (or the one who hid it) will be approached by two Nazi thugs. They will accost the character while he/she is seperated from the group. They will demand the coin and will not hesitate to use force to get it. The Nazis will flee if it appears as though they will be caught.

Victor Carnarvon's lived in a large mansion seperated from his neighbors by an iron and wood fence. The mansion is empty and the grounds are quiet. It should be a simple matter for the PC's to break into the house. Once inside, the characters will see that the entire house is filled with archealogical items and equipment. Victor was a collecter of antiquities. A search of the house will reveal that someone has ransacked it. There are items obviously missing, and there are no Egyptian pieces in his collection. On the top floor of the mansion is a small study. The study belonged to Victor and it has also been searched. On the bottom of one of the desk drawers is a torn corner of paper and some tape. Whatever had been left here was found. If the PC's search through the papers strewn on the floor they will find funeral papers from the San Fransisco cemetary. The papers show that 18 months ago Victor purchased 14 cemetary plots. These plots are arranged in a large square.

The players should by now see that all the clues lead to the cemetary. The cemetary is not fenced or guarded and it should be a simple matter to get in at anytime. Once at the cemetary they will have no problem locating the Carnarvon site. Even if the characters don't take the cemetary papers from Carnarvons house with them they will stumble across it. On top of a slight hill is a very small building made of stone. The building has an iron gate and door. Stenciled into the stone over the door is the name Carnarvon. Looking closely at the building will show that it is not large enough to house a body. It is only 4' by 4'.

The PC's will need to get into the tomb. The best way will be at night since the graveyard will be empty. They will need a crowbar and bolt cutters to open the door because there are no windows. Once inside, the little building appears empty. An examination of the room will reveal nothing. While one (or all) of the characters is in the building, the floor will suddenly tilt and the PC will be thrown off his/her feet. The character will then slide down a shoot approximatly 50' and land in a heap on a stone floor. This should not cause damage unless the poor character lands on his head. The other PC's can follow simply by sliding down the shoot or lowering themselves by rope. The trap floor will reset itself after 10 minutes. There is no clear way to open the trap door from inside either. At the bottom of the shoot a corridor made entirely of stone leads to the north. The walls are unadorned except for empty torch scones. The corridor runs 50' north then turns sharply to the right, revealing a large chamber. The chamber is filled with scrolls. Each scroll contains a series of numbers that do not repeat. There are nearly a thousand scrolls in this room and they all appear to have been made by the same person. An archway leads out of this room to the south. The archway reveals a second hallway identical to the first, but running 50' to the south. The hallway ends in a sharp left turn, opening into another large room. This room is filled with ancient Egyptian artifacts. In the middle of the room is a large desk with a reading lamp (electric). If the players turn on the lamp it will cast an eerie glow throughout the room. On the desk is a picture of Victor and Laura Carnarvon. There is also a ledger. The ledger is filled with numbers however the last 10 pages have the same thing written on them: 27 10 0 109 20 00 (this is a mathematical number that corresponds to 27û 10' S, 109û 20' W. Area Knowledge will tell someone it is a longitude and lattitude, as well as cartography, orienteering, or mathematics.) On the north side of the room is a large sarcophagus. If it is opened the characters will find a recently deceased, but quickly rotting corpse (Fright Check). The corpse is unidentifiable. It is only there in an attempt to hide the secret passage at the bottom of the coffin. This secret passage leads to a large room. In the center of the room is an exact replica of King Tut's sarcophagus. When the PC's open the Sarcophagus they will find it empty with a flat bottom. The only imperfection is a small slit, just big enough for a coin. Hopefully The players will figure out they need to put the coin in the slot, and unfortunately for the designer, the Egyptian coin is the same size as a quarter. When the coin is placed in the slot the bottom of the coffin slides out to reveal a hidden compartment. In the compartment is Carnarvon's Plaque. Also in the compartment is a Bible. The Bible has been marked on Genesis chapter 11. Scawled in the margin is the words Von Dannen.

The sarcophagus room has an obvious exit to the north and after climbing a short flight of stairs the PC's find themselves exiting from a grave covered with a stone slab. The slab is balanced for easy opening. Waiting for the characters are twice the number of Nazi thugs as PC's. Standing with the thugs is Von Dannen. The thugs are armed with luger pistols, Von Dannen is apparantly unarmed. Von Dannen tells the PC's that he is delighted they found his property and wants to thank them for returning it. If the PC's turn over the goods (Von Dannen is not interested in the Bible, only the Plaque) Von Dannen will warn them to stay out of things they don't understand. The PC's may decide to fight, if so they will need to be lucky. If Von Dannen's people win they will leave the characters where they lay, but not execute them, they are in to big a hurry. If it looks like the characters are going to win then Von Dannen will flee. If it looks like Von Dannen will be caught then he will disappear using his holographic projector.

If the characters look at a globe, or map, with longitude and latitude lines it will be a simple matter to locate the island. 27 degrees 10' S, 109 degrees 20' W is the location of Rapi Nui, or Easter Island. The library gives very little information on the island, only saying that Chile owns the tiny barren rock and there is a small refueling station located there. If the PC's look up 'Von Dannen' in the library's database they will find several books written by him. The books all deal with life from outer space. He also talks about the first visitors to our planet and how their technology may still be hidden among us.

Players will need to make arangments to travel to Easter Island. There are several ways this can be done, but here is probably the quickest. The players can get a commercial flight from the San Francisco Airport to Mexico City, Mexico. The flight would be aboard a DC3 airplane. The DC3 will be a rough and loud ride. The flight will last approximatly 12 hours. There will be a brief layover in Mexico City, just long enough for the plane to refuel and restock supplies. Players may wish to stretch their legs and get a bite to eat, but don't drink the water! The next leg of their journey will be another 12 hour flight from Mexico City to Bogota, Colombia. The last leg will be a 15 hour flight from Bogota to Santiago, Chile. The players will need to book transport on a tramp freighter headed for the Polonysian Islands. Valparaiso, Chile is the nearest port city to Santiago.

While searching for a ship the players will run into a very nice elderly gentleman. The man will intoduce himself as Sir Henry Pratton. Sir Henry is an Englishman and a merchant in South America. He will point the characters to a boat for hire. If the characters take Sir Henry up on hs offer they will find a small tramp steamer, dirty but in good repair. The name of the boat is the MOURNING STAR, and it's captian is a smelly Greek named Estovar. Capt. Estovar will give the characters the best price in Chile, and won't ask any questions. He will take the players wherever they wish to go and will provide them with whatever they need (for a small price, of course). He seems to be in desperate need of money.

Any ship headed towards Easter Island from Valparaiso will take 8 to 10 days, depending on the weather. If the characters still have the plaque, they may notice (perception roll -5) a reflection of light behind them in the dusk every night. Otherwise the trip will be uneventful. In our playtest group I spiced up the voyage by adding a nightly card game with Capt. Estovar, and a heavy squall that nearly sunk the ship. Finally the ship will arrive at Easter Island.

The steamer sits off the rocky island and Capt. Estovar begins lowering a landing boat over the side. All of the characters on deck make perception rolls at -2. If the characters fail then a seaman will shout and point. The PC's will see a long wake in the water heading towards the ship, and moving very fast. It's a torpedo! The players will only have seconds to dive off the boat before it explodes in a fireball. Capt Estovar also leaps from the ship and they will all have to swim for shore. As they pull themselves onto the Island they will see a Nazi submarine surface. If the characters stay to watch they will see several men in diving gear begin searching through the wreckage of the freighter. Other Nazis will begin unlimbering the deck gun of the U-Boat and firing artillery rounds at the characters until they flee from sight. Capt. Estovar will tell the characters that the refueling base is only 2 miles away and it has a radio. He suggests that they should go there for help. Capt Estovar is actually a Nazi spy and will lead the characters into an ambush from which the characters cannot escape. If the players refuse to follow him to the station then he will wait and try to signal his fellow Nazis at the first opportunity. In any event, the characters should be captured.

The refueling base is actually a small Nazi camp. The camp contains approximatly 100 workers, mostly technicians. However, there are 30 trained Nazi SS soldiers as gaurds. There are 5 large trucks, and two jeeps. One of the buildings is an ammo dump. In addition to the jeeps and trucks there are 4 motorcycles. A small airfield is located just south of the camp. There are two small planes parked in a small hanger next to the airstrip. After the characters have been captured, they will be led into the Nazi camp. They will see the U-Boat sitting just off shore. Several officers are walking up the beach towards the camp. They have the plaque with them. If the players hid the plaque, the Nazis located the hiding spot and retrieved it. If the players gave the plaque to Von Dannen then they will still see the officers carrying it, however they will not see the divers attempting to recover the plaque after the torpedoing.

The characters will be led into a building and there they will be greeted by Von Dannen. He will compliment them on their determination, but chastise them for their foolishness. Von Dannen will then explain that the Fuhrer is very interested in items of the occult. He will ask the players if they are familier with the story of the Tower of Babel. He will relate the story of the Tower and then go on to explain the truth. The tower was actually built by aliens to control the minds of the primative humans. Von Dannen has discovered the remains of the Temple on Easter Island. The plaque not only contains the formula for finding the site, but is also the final piece in rebuilding it. The plaque is the dish array needed to transmit the mind control beam across the world. With this final piece Von Dannen will be able to activate the device and thus rule the world...for Hitler of course. The characters are to be used as guinea pigs. They will be the first victims of the mind control beam. The characters are then led to small seperate cells.

The cells are actually small rooms within the large building. The rooms are made of wood. There are no windows and the doors are barred from the outside. Two SS soldiers stand guard in the hallway. If the players are able to devise an escape they will probably want to commandeer one of the vehicles. There is only one road that leads from the camp. The road heads inland for approximatley ten miles then begins to climb a steep hill. At the top of the hill the players can see a large Myan style pyrimid. At the base of the pyramid is a small guard shack. There are 4 guards on duty here at all times. There is a parking area behind the guardshack and an ammo dump used to store explosives for excavating. At the top of the pyramid are several large pieces of electronic equipment. There is also what looks like a dish array with the center piece missing. The characters can destroy the equipment easily but it could be repaired with minimal effort. They will need to use the explosives to blow up the array. The explosives will cause a tremendous blast and the temple itself will glow with an eriee light. several minutes after the explosion the pyramid will melt away and disappear. Anyone left on the temple will also disappear.

If the players cannot come up with an escape plan then the next day they will be taken to the temple with Von Dannen and the rest of the Nazi camp. The players will be bound and forced to watch as the Nazis finish construction of the dish array. It should be obvious that the players have little time before the world will be under the influence of the mind control beam. If the players don't act now then the world will be under control of the Karn once again.

Once the Tower is destroyed there will be a tremendous amount of confusion among the Nazis. The characters can try to make their way to the airfield and steal one of the planes and escape. Von Dannen will escape on the U-Boat. If any of the players are on the pyramid when it disappears then they will awake several hours later with a terrible headache and a strange feeling of dislocation. Where they end up is up to you. The pyramid, as it did the first time, has caused a rift in space and has now appeared somewhere else on earth. Somewhere isolated and deserted. The players could have a whole new adventure just getting home.

Throughout this adventure remember to have fun with the players and build some suspense. Give the players a feeling that they are being followed, because they are. Interspers e innocent people with Nazi spies and make the players roll a lot of perception rolls. Pretty soon they will be completely paranoid. In my group the gamers were convinced that at any minute a mummy would appear, just because I said King Tut's tomb. If your group are more militant then you may want to beef up the combat encounters a little bit and give them a challange. If you have a bunch of weenies then you will probably want to tone down the combats, or get rid of them altogether. Another important aspect of the game should be fright checks. Dead bodies, disappearing mad scientists, possible aliens, possible mummies, and torpedoes should give the characters plenty of reason to be frightened. Encourage the group to seach the graveyard at night. The setting alone should be enough to have them looking over their shoulders at the slightest sound. Finally, the game is broad in concept and location. Don't skimp on the descriptions. Give the players a feeling that they are actually there. The internet has thousands of travel locations with pictures and maps. Also any travel agent will supply you with free material of the areas, as long as they think you are going on a vacation.

I ran this adventure as part of an ongoing campaign and my players didn't have some of the necessary skills for finding out alot of the information. They followed the clues perfectly but didn't really know what was going on. They were also too competent at killing off my bad guys so they never got captured. Instead they raided the Nazi camp and caused alot of havoc. I needed to add an NPC to tell them the background so they new what they were doing. They also needed some help escaping the island. I threw in Indiana Jones and they loved it. Indy was able to supply them with all the anthropological, and scientific background as well as a way off the Island. Jacque was waiting with an airplane, and his pet snake reggie, to fly them all to saftey.

VON DANNEN

ST:16 DX:10 IQ:18 HT:14

ADVANTAGES: Damage Resistance 10, Doesn't Breath, Doesn't Sleep

DISADVANTAGES: Megalomania, Intolerance of Humans, Fanaticism

SKILLS: Anthropology: 18, Archaeology: 20, Astronomy: 18, Biochemistry: 18, Chemistry: 18, Computer Programming: 18, Electronics (Holographics): 20, Electronics (Communications): 20, Electronics (Computers): 20, History: 18, Mathematics: 22, Occultisim: 18, Physiology: 20, Savoir-Faire: 18, Diplomacy: 17, Acting: 19, Electronics Operation (Holograph): 21, Computer Operation: 22

GADGETS: Von Dannen uses a mini holographic projecter to make himself "disappear". See Gurps Ultra high Tech for details if necessary.

CAPT. ESTOVAR

ST:13 DX:11 IQ:12 HT:13

ADVANTAGES: Combat Reflexes, High Pain Threshold

DISADVANTAGES: Odious Personal Habits (smells)

SKILLS: Sailing: 16, Navigation: 16, Leadership: 16, Mechanic (Steam engine): 14, Gambling (Poker): 12, Acting: 16, Swimming: 16, Brawling: 18, Pistol (Luger 9mm): 14, Axe/Mace: 12, Area Knowledge (South Pacific): 20, Holdout: 13

NAZI THUGS AND SOLDIERS

ST:12 DX:12 IQ:10 HT:12

ADVANTAGES: None

DISAVANTAGES: Fanaticism

SKILLS: Brawling: 14, Pistol (Luger 9mm): 15, Submachingun (MP38): 15, Thrown Weapon (Hand Grenade): 14, Knife: 12, Driving (Auto): 12, Motorcycle: 12, English: 9, Military Savoir-Faire: 14

EQUIPMENT: Nazi thugs in the United States will use primarily the luger 9mm. They will be dressed in drab suits and dark overcoats, and be generally forboading. Nazi soldiers will be dressed in the appropriate uniforms and carry MP38 submachine guns (It is the same as the MP40, only an earlier model)

NOTES ON SPY'S: The Nazi's responsible for following the characters have the same stats as those above except for these additions.

ADDVANTAGES: Alertness +4

SKILLS: Stealth: 14, Shadowing: 16