Dark Conspiracy - Drowning Pool

THE DROWNING POOL By Linden Dunham

INTRODUCTION THE DROWNING POOL is a short DARK CONSPIRACYTM adventure that involves the characters in one man’s obsessive quest to exact revenge on a Darkling who was responsible for the death of his brother. Nominally set during the English summer, it can be located in any region where granite quarrying has taken place (e.g. Dartmoor, the Malvern Hills or the Soar Valley). This adventure was written using the D20 die version of the 1st Edition DARK CONSPIRACY™ rules, and requires that the characters are a) an active group of Minion Hunters and b) have access to their own transport (be it car or truck).

THE OPENING SCENE The adventure’s opening scene is set during the late evening, and sees the characters travelling through countryside near the village of Bishop’s Morton. The reason for the characters presence in the area is for the referee to determine but possibly they are returning from a previous adventure, or are en route to a place where they suspect minion activity activity..

DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURE  This is a DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURE written by Linden Dunham and maps by Norm Fenlason. This document was originally sourced from www.darkconspiracytherpg.info, the home of Dark Conspiracy 3rd edition. Visit this site for more information about this great game of post-modern conspiracy horror. Dark Conspiracy is licensed by The Gamers’ Conglomerate Limited, a New Zealand based Role Playing Game company. Visit us at www.thegamersconglomerate.com The Gamers’ Conglomerate, the TGC logo, and all associated materials and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Gamers’ Conglomerate Limited © 2006. Dark Conspiracy TM and all associated text and graphics is trademarked by their owner ©2006.

The road takes a straight course across a gently rolling landscape of fields, hedgerows, and trees. It is a peaceful, old fashioned pastoral scene, a world away from the dirty cities and featureless prairies built as a result of agri-corp farming. The bucolic mood is suddenly shattered, however, when, out of the growing darkness, an unkempt figure staggers in front of the characters vehicle. The driver must make a Difficult: Vehicle Use roll to avoid hitting the pedestrian and ending up in a roadside ditch. Failure means the driver manages to avoid striking the pedestrian but the car receives a minor damage hit as it swerves off the road. A catastrophic failure results in two minor damage hits. As the characters compose themselves after their near miss, the person responsible for the accident starts running along the road towards them. He is a young man, dressed in army surplus fatigues and is shouting “Help! Please! They’re after me!” On reaching the characters he falls to his knees, gasping for breath. When questioned he is only able to say, “They’re coming”, and he points down a single lane metalled track that leads off the main road. As if somehow summoned by this gesture, at this same moment, two men appear from the darkness of the track. Both carry stun-sticks and are dressed in similar uniforms. The characters may initially take the men for police officers, but an Average: Observation roll is sufficient to recognise them as corporate security guards. Any character rolling an outstanding success notices their shoulder patches emblazoned with a logo that reads G-TEK.

The security guards make no secret of their intentions towards the young man, demanding, that they “Give us the crusty so we can give him a good panelling”. If the characters ask why they should give him up, the largest guard answers, “Because. That’s why”. The guards are belligerent towards the characters believing them to be ordinar y citizens whom they 1

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believe can be easily intimidated, and it should be clear to the party that they are dealing with a pair of obnoxious bullies. As it is unlikely that the characters will give the young man up for a beating, the guards will back off (their retreat will be especially hurried if the characters produce firearms) warning them that, “You’ll be sorry. Just wait until Mr Barlow hears about this”. Once the guards have left, and he’s got his breath back, the young man thanks the characters profusely. He tells them his name is Kevin Johnson and that he is camped “a couple of miles down the road” with the rest of ‘us‘”. Kevin answers any questions the characters might have to the best of his ability and it soon comes clear that he is part of a travelling commune called the Direct Action Collective. DAC, as they call themselves, are engage in protests against activities which they consider damaging to the environment (e.g. road and airport construction as well as “Prescotting” - the building of huge swathes of low quality housing on green belt land). The group is headed by Alison Taylor, a former corporate lawyer who formulates much of the group’s strategy and characters who make a Difficult: Intelligence roll will remember seeing DAC on a news bulletin. Their usual modus operandi is to park their vehicles in front of a threatened piece of real estate, while Taylor tries to obtain an injunction or other legal remedy against the putative developers. The collective has so has enjoyed some success, most notably in the case of the M4 motorway widening scheme where several engineering companies and local government officials had to resign after Taylor uncovered a bribery scandal. Kevin explains that DAC are in the Bishop’s Morton area because G-Tek Global Mining have purchased Quarry Pool, a local beauty spot sited on old granite workings, and are planning to start extracting stone from the quarry again. Taylor believes something underhand has gone on between G-Tek and the former owner of the site for it to be acquired in the way it was, and so DAC have taken up residence next to the pool until she can find out what has happened and take the necessary action. If the characters ask Kevin how the security guards came to be chasing him, he will say that he was bored hanging around the camp and decided to explore the area. He had hoped to find a pub or perhaps make the acquaintance of some local young women, but instead ran into the G-Tek thugs. Kevin asks the characters if they will give him a lift back to camp - if their car is damaged he points out there are collective members who can probably repair it - and directs the group to turn right down a lane which heads towards a range of hills. As they reach these lower slopes ,they come upon a rag-tag encampment of tents and campers, the latter a mixture of Winnebago nomads, VW Kartoffeln passenger vans, plus a converted Roadrunner bus, as well as a couple of Harley Davidson motorbikes. Once in the camp, the characters are met by a crowd of people led by a raven haired woman in her mid thirties. The DAC members are suspicious of the new arrivals at first, but once Johnson tells his comrades about how they saved him from the G-Tek goons they quickly become much friendlier towards the group. The dark haired woman, whom the characters will probably have guessed is Alison Taylor, thanks them and directs them to two fearsome looking men, dressed in leather jackets, and complete with beer guts and old testament style beards, who offer to give their car the once over and repair any damage it might have. The only sour moment is provided by Taylor who rounds on Kevin saying “What the hell were you doing leaving camp? Thinking with your dick again I‘ll bet. Believe me, that’s going to get you into big trouble one of these days.” Despite her evident anger, Taylor is grateful to the characters for returning Johnson safely, and asks them to accompany her to her nomad so that they can “Discuss matters further”. The interior of Taylor’s Nomad is a miniature home/office. As well as the usual furniture, there is a writing desk, a small filing cabinet and a Zenith FX2 portable computer linked to a Tojicorp VHC13 cell phone. Taylor uses the computer for research purposes and filing legal papers, made easier by the fact that since the e-government initiative introduced by the early 21st Century Labour administration, most courts accept documents submitted by e-mail. Taylor goes on to explain the collective’s presence in the area, which allows the referee to recap any details not supplied by Kevin Johnson, as well as add some additional information about the DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

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quarry and DAC. Quarry Pool is a small artificial lake sandwiched between the hills and an open expanse of grassland. On summer weekends the pool and its environs are frequented by picnickers and sunbathers, as well as numerous walkers, horse riders, and mountain bike enthusiasts accessing the hills via The Gut, a wooded pass that runs beside the pool. The area around the pool is a calm rural oasis popular with families of Mikes, Wage Slaves and Gnomes eager to take a break from their busy urban lives. In the last few weeks this has all changed, however, as the pool has been purchased from its previous owner, Julian Hargreaves, by G-Tek Global Mining. Hargreaves is a local landowner with a reasonably profitable organic beef and lamb farming business, who has found a niche market amongst Gnomes and well heeled Mikes willing to pay a little extra for meat that tastes better than the bland pap churned out by the agri-corps. He has also been content for sizeable tracts of his land to be used by the public for leisure purposes as long as they didn’t interfere with his farming. Two weeks ago Hargreaves sold Quarry Pool and some of the surrounding land to G-Tek, and almost immediatety, the company declared its intention to drain the pool and start using the site as a quarry again. Taylor believes G-Tek’s proposals may be a breach of some of the still valid 20th century planning and environmental laws. These were traditionally enforced by local government, but Taylor’s experience has taught her that in today’s modern world, local authorities are too lethargic and inefficient to carry out their legal obligations in transactions such as this. By the time the proper authorities would get around to prosecuting G-Tek, the company will probably have been on site for several months. Furthermore, the courts tend to take a lenient view where there is a fait accompli, especially if the alleged offender has brought much needed jobs into an area, and one of G-Tek’s senior UK officers, James Barlow, has already appeared in the local media saying that the recommencement of quarrying at Bishop’s Morton will provide “significant amount of employment for local people.” Taylor intends to take legal proceedings against G-Tek herself, but, in the meantime, the Collective has parked itself in front of Quarry Pools as physical barrier should the company try to get on site before the courts can hear her case. Johnson’s encounter with the security guards suggests that G-Tek has indeed already arrived in the area and that they are planning on proceeding with their plans regardless. Taylor is mostly concerned with the blatant illegality of G-Tek’s behaviour, but she is also aware that their Quarry Pool acquisition doesn’t make any economic sense - G-Tek are a big mining corp that focuses on large scale mineral extraction projects. Even allowing for the smaller scale of their British operations, a site like Quarry Pool can only be of marginal value to them. Taylor believes the company has a non-economic interest in the site, especially when she discovered that James Barlow, the G-Tek official quoted in the press, lived the early part of his life in Bishop’s Morton, and that his brother, John, drowned in Quarry Pool while supposedly trying to save a woman who had got into difficulties while swimming there. Barlow claimed that the woman pulled his brother under the water, but his account was uncorroborated and no trace of the woman was ever found. Taylor is certain that Barlow and G-Tek’s interest in the pool stems from this incident. Taylor asks for the characters help in protecting DAC’s camp while she puts the legal challenge together, especially as, given the presence of the security guards, she thinks it likely that G-Tek will do anything in their power to remove the Collective. She puts it in no uncertain terms that they need people like the characters, who are capable of standing up to heavyweight corporate bully boys, to keep them safe. Although she can offer them little in the way of money as an incentive, they will be fed and given accommodation in a reasonably well appointed Winnebago while they stay.

REFEREE’S BACKGROUND Alison Taylor is correct in thinking that James Barlow’s interest in Quarry Pool has nothing to do with mineral extraction, and everything to do with the death of his brother. The pool is home to a WAILER , which took up residence shortly after the old quarry was flooded in 1999. Since then, the creature has been responsible for a dozen deaths including that of James Barlow’s brother.

 About James Barlow   James Barlow was born in Bishop’s Morton, and spent his childhood in the village. His parents were 3

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farmers, descended from folk who had lived in the area for generations. Both James and John fully expected to follow in their footsteps, but that all changed one summer evening when James was 15 and his brother 17. The two teenagers had gone to Quarry Pool to drink a couple of bottles of cheap cider procured from the local shop. Normally they would have done this somewhere on the family farm, but they’d recently been caught by their father who didn’t approve of their underage drinking, and so James suggested Quarry Pool as an alternative venue. Both knew the pool’s reputation due to a number of drownings that had occurred there, but the Barlows weren’t concerned. The pool was only dangerous if you were stupid enough to go in the water, and they knew better than to do that, moreover, the people who had drowned there were non-locals, who had probably made the mistake of thinking the deep water was ideal for taking a swim or doing some skinny dipping. So, the brothers positioned themselves on a high bank on the pool’s northern side overlooking the water, and settled down to some serious drinking. Soon after, and now a little tipsy, they became aware of a commotion in the water below them - a young woman was struggling in the water and calling for help. John, who was under the Wailer’s empathic spell and wasn’t inclined to listen to his  younger brother’s pleas for him to wait, paused only to strip off his outer clothing before plunging into the pool. James, on the other hand knew something here wasn’t right - how had the woman appeared in the water? He and John had a good view over the pool from the high bank and neither had seen anyone approach the pool let alone get in the water. Watching from the bank, James saw John reached the woman, and then a brief struggle before both of them vanished beneath the water. James hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to jump in after his brother or go to the farm for help, and then, with a decision he would regret for the rest of his life, ran to fetch his father. When father and son returned to the pool, less than ten minutes later, they found John’s lifeless body floating at the pool’s edge, with no sign of the woman he had tried to save to be seen. James’s father never forgave him for John’s death, and on more than one occasion told him, “You should have gone in after your brother”. Mr Barlow never really believed James’s tale about John trying to save a drowning woman. He always thought this was a story James concocted to c onceal his guilt in the matter, and his eldest son’s death was probably the result of drunken horseplay, almost certainly initiated by James. As well as dealing his father’s anger, James also had to endure malicious gossip around the village. People in Bishop’s Morton didn’t believe the drowning woman story anymore than Mr Barlow had, with some suggested that the fact James alone now stood to inherit the family farm was more than enough motive for foul play. The fratricide theory came to be accepted as fact by many of the villagers, and James rapidly found himself the object of a great deal of hostility - local shop owners refused to serve him, he was beaten up in the pub, and was generally harassed whenever he appeared in public, often by people his own age whom he had considered his friends. It soon became clear to James that he couldn’t stay in Bishop’s Morton any longer, and when a chance to leave came via a place on a Business Studies Course at university he took it.  James excelled at this further learning and graduated with honours. Around the same time, his parents died in a car crash, and this severed his last connection with Bishop’s Morton. With nothing left to return home to, he sold the family farm and moved to London to start a career in business. Ensconced in the city, he secured a junior manager’s job with G-Tek’s British branch where he again excelled, rising quickly to the post of Operations Director. Company management were impressed by his ruthless efficiency in carrying projects forward to completion, particularly controversial ones such as sitting quarries in countryside areas. Barlow always found a way to get things done and wasn’t squeamish about using illegal methods if he felt the situation warranted it. Barlow’s success also attracted the attention of the insectoid ETs, who had infiltrated the management of G-Tek’s British subsidiary. The ETs decided that Barlow could be more usefully employed if working under their direct control, rather than through G-Tek management. Barlow was summoned to a top level meeting at company HQ in London where the ETs revealed themselves to him and explained who the true masters of the Earth were. Now, Barlow had the chance to serve those masters, and in so doing secure is own power and wealth. The ETs vision of the future appealed to the sub-Nietzchean streak Barlow had developed as he was fighting his way up the corporate ladder, and he accepted the ETs’ offer on one condition - that he be allowed to take revenge on the thing that killed his brother. The ETs were amused at their new minion’s impertinence, but soon began to listen with genuine DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

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interest as Barlow explained how Quarry Pool near his old home had seen several drownings in the past two decades, and how many of the witnesses had reported seeing an attractive woman in the pool, although she was never seen subsequently. Many of these witnesses were unable to clearly recall what they had seen, and this suggesting that their minds had been interfered with. Barlow told his new masters that he believed the woman was some kind of supernatural being who drowned people for its own inscrutable purposes, a fact the ETs were able to confirm. They agreed to assist him in hunting the creature down, with one qualification: The Wailer, as they termed it, should be captured alive so that it could be ‘examined’. The cruelty of this idea, particularly the idea of inflicting a kind of experiment on the creature pleased Barlow immensely, and it seemed a more than suitable revenge for his brother’s murder. At the newly promoted Barlow’s direction, G-Tek allocated a considerable amount of resources to what became known as the Bishop’s Morton project - the acquisition of the Quarry Pool site and reopening its granite workings. Several weeks after meeting the ETs, Barlow and his Bishop’s Morton project team acquired Quarry Pool from its owner Julian Hargreaves, and one week later G-Tek security personnel arrived in the area to cordon the site off, and prepare it for the capture of the Wailer. Barlow’s plan, once the site is secure, is to offer himself as bait to the creature. He will be accompanied by Thomas Berger, a senior G-Tek security guard and expert marksman, who will remain hidden in the woods by the pool. Berger is also largely immune to the creature’s empathic powers due his being an empathic sink (see his description at the end of the adventure for more details), and so, when the Wailer rises from the pool, he will attempt shoot it with a tranquilliser dart. The unconscious Darkling is then to be transported back to London for dissection in the bowels of G-Tek’s HQ. Unfortunately for Barlow, he reckoned without the presence of the collective, and, of course, the characters.

EVENTS The following events will unfold over the next day, and act as motivation for the characters to further explore the village and quarry.

The Police The characters are woken early by the sound of DAC members moving round the camp and preparing breakfast. As the group are eating someone spots a single vehicle coming down the road. As it nears the camp it becomes apparent that the vehicle is a Range Rover II with police markings. It stops in front of the camp and a police officer gets out. He introduces himself as Constable Nicholas Read and asks to speak to whoever’s in charge. Alison Taylor steps forward and the two engage in an animated conversation with numerous interruptions from DAC members and in all likelihood the characters. Read points out the collective is trespassing on land belonging to G-Tek. Although this isn’t in itself a criminal offence, Read thinks it would be in the best interests of all concerned if the collective moved on thus avoiding any possible breaches of public order. As an example he may refer to the confrontation between the characters and the security guards the previous evening. Read goes on to explain that G-Tek have the legal muscle to obtain a court order within 24 hours to evict the collective, if required, and that while they can then use the police to enforce the order, they are much more likely to give the job to their own security personnel. Read makes the point that corporate cops tend be less disciplined than proper ones. Taylor counters this by saying that she believes G-Tek’s acquisition of Quarry Pool was itself illegal. She intends to take legal proceedings of her own with a view to getting an injunction preventing the company from going on site until their underhand behaviour has been thoroughly investigated and any applicable criminal charges brought. Read hesitates at this. He gives the impression of being not unsympathetic. “Look,” he says. “I agree something stinks about this whole business but these corporate types are good at getting the law on their side and they don’t mess about. I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.” 5

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Read departs after having said his piece.

The Company  At 10.00am a VW Kartoffeln passenger van in G-Tek livery approaches the camp. Stopping just short of the camp, a man and a woman get out, both of whom are wearing suits and are obviously company management types. They are accompanied by two security guards. The man introduces himself as James Barlow, and the woman as his colleague Gill Greenwood. Barlow apologises for the “incident” the previous night and any over zealousness on the part of his staff. However, the fact remains that the collective are currently trespassing on company property and Barlow is within his rights to insist that they leave. Taylor refuses point blank and accuses G-Tek of buying the site in order to commence an illegal quarr ying operation. Barlow maintains a reasonable tone (characters making a Difficult: Psychology roll will realise this quite an effort for him) and, in order to avoid any further unpleasantness, offers the collective £5,000 if they quit the site by noon. Taylor considers this for a moment, and it almost seems as if she is about to accept but then she shudders, points at Greenwood and yells, “It’s her! She’s in my head! Trying to make me do what he wants!” Empathic characters or those who have had prior experience with empathic powers will realise that Taylor has experiences some kind of psychic assault. There are angry murmurings from the collective and one or two members take steps towards Barlow and Greenwood. The G-Tek people retreat to their vehicle and drive off. “You’ve got twenty-four hours!” shouts Barlow as he slams the door of the van. Although shaken Taylor insists on returning to her motor home so that she can work on the legal papers for the action against G-Tek. If the characters ask her about Greenwood she will say that it was if the lawyer was there in her mind urging her to agree with Barlow. Somehow, she found the will to resist. In reality the characters and the DAC have a lot less than twenty four hours before G-Tek makes a more serious effort to remove their camp, and have only until late evening to make enquiries, look around the area, and figure out exactly what’s going on.

FURTHER INVESTIGATION Kevin Johnson has a similar computer/communications set-up to Alison Taylor, which he allows the characters to use for research purposes, if they need it. The referee should allow the characters to make one Difficult: Computer Operation roll per half hour with a success eliciting one of the pieces of information below: G-Tek Global Mining - Since being founded by Robert Istrian. G-Tek has developed into a highly successful corporation specialising in ore and mineral extraction. The company is a true multinational with offices and operations worldwide. It is rumoured that G-Tek even has a mining installation on the moon.  James Barlow  - Head of Operations and board member, G-Tek UK. He has earned a reputation as a hard nosed businessman after overseeing several controversial projects, including the opening of several open cast mining operations on green belt land. Place of birth: Bishop’s Morton, UK. Brother, John Barlow, died in a drowning accident while in his teens. James questioned about the incident but no charges brought. Parents killed in car crash some years later, under no suspicious circumstances. Quarry Pool - Various news reports from the last ten years relating the drownings at the pool. All of the fatalities have been men aged 16-35. According to the few eyewitnesses some of those who drowned apparently died trying to save a second person, invariably female, of whom no trace is ever subsequently found. The Siren - The characters come across recent tabloid article headlined “Siren Strikes Again” dating from the most recent death at Quarry Pool. Written in typically excitable tabloid style it lists the drownings to date and comments on the woman seen by some eyewitnesses. The article dubs the woman the Quarry Pool Siren, a reference to the female monsters from Greek myth who enticed sailors to their deaths with their beautiful song. Characters that make an DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

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Average: Education roll realise that there are similar legends from other cultures that also fit the profile of the Quarry Pool Siren e.g. the Lorelei of Germany and the Rusalka of Russia. DAC  - The group has had its fair share of media coverage, and the characters can be given the details contained in the penultimate two paragraphs of the “Introduction” above.

THE VILLAGE OF BISHOP’S MORTON Bishop’s Morton is a dispersed village with a population of around 250 souls. The inhabitants mostly work in agriculture, with Julian Hargreaves’s farm being a major employer, while visitors to the hills also contribute substantially to the local economy. Bishop’s Morton folk have always had the reputation for being insular, and the regular influx of pleasure seekers at weekends has done nothing to diminish this. Although the villagers need the money outsiders bring they don’t really like ‘townies’, or other strangers. Apart from the named residents mentioned below, the referee should treat the majority of Bishop’s Morton residents as Dobies and Gidgets, with skills and attributes at an Experienced level. Most households have access to a shotgun, equivalent to a Savage 311R, which they will use if the feel threatened. Furthermore, given the villagers’ sullen dislike of outsiders, any characters attempting to use Charisma based skills (e.g. Act/Bluff, Bargain, Persuasion) must make a task roll at one level of difficulty higher to be successful. Locations relevant to the adventure are marked on the above map and are described below:

1. G-Tek Compound Temporary fencing surrounds two portakabins and three Kartoffeln vans of the type used earlier by Barlow and Greenwood. A fourth van, of the same type, is painted white with prominently displayed red crosses, evidently it is an ambulance. The Portakabins provide office space and accommodation for Barlow, his personal staff and a detachment of G-Tek security guards. The compound is patrolled at all times by two security personnel armed with stun sticks and sonic stunners. In the unlikely event that the characters gain access to 7

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Barlow’s suite in the executive portakabin, the main item of interest is a Zenith FX2 portable computer. The computer is password protected and it requires an Impossible: Computer Use roll to access (one roll per five minutes trying) the records relating to the purchase of Quarry Pool. There is nothing relating to the reasons for Barlow’s personal interest in the site but some of the e-mails to head office in London are illuminating: An e-mail dated a week ago confirms the successful purchase of Quarry Pool and surrounding land from Justin Hargreaves. It notes that “Miss Greenwood was every bit as persuasive as you said.” An e-mail from the previous evening informing G-Tek that “we are now in situ. Access to the recovery site blocked by encampment of travellers. Will take appropriate steps to deal with them in the morning.” Finally, am e-mail from 11.00pm the current (or previous) day stating that “the travellers are eco-protestors and not amenable to reason. Please send additional appropriate personnel with equipment to deal with approximate 40 persons and twelve vehicles. The terse reply reads: “Acknowledged. The requested resources are being sent to your location. ETA 19:00 tonight.” The other portakabin houses 10 security staff. Equipment lockers contain stun-sticks and sonic stunners. One especially large locker holds 10 MP7 SMGs with 90 magazines, plus an AR-12 shotgun with 6 magazines (3 buckshot, 3 solid slug). Thomas Berger’s personal equipment (see below) is also stored in a separate locker.

2. Lacey’s Garage/Post Office This building combines the functions of the village filling station and general store. It is run by Mike and Jane Lacey, a financially astute couple who make a good living from providing a range of services that wouldn’t normally be available in a place like Bishop’s Morton. Jane runs the shop, while Mike handles the garage. If the characters car was too badly damaged for the collective to repair, Mike will be happy to tow it to the garage and fix it for them. Of course, running a business out in the country has its overheads and the characters will find that most of the Lacey’s goods and services are just that little bit more expensive than their city purchased equivalents (typically 15 -20% higher).

3. Police House A dwelling house with a small police station attached. Constable Read lives here with his wife Helen and their two young sons. The police station is fitted out with an office and two cells, as well as having a computer and the appropriate police communication equipment. When he is not on duty, Read stores his shotgun and ammunition in a locked cabinet in the office. If the characters wish to talk with Constable Read here, see the section on Constable Read in Encounters in Bishop’s Morton below.

4. The Green Dragon The local pub. A sprawling, ramshackle building of indeterminate age that is definitely past its best; rendering flakes off the outside walls, and the painted pub sign has peeled and faded so as to be illegible. A new handwritten sign attached to the front door simply says: “No Gypsies”. The interior is just as unwelcoming. And although large, the main bar room contrives to be dark and pokey; hardly lit and crowded with furniture placed at awkward angles. The Green Dragon stays open all day in an effort to attract passing trade from the road, and if the characters visit it in the late morning or early afternoon they find the place empty apart from a single low level corporate executive (not employed by G-Tek), who has stopped for a drink and an indifferent lunch while on his way somewhere else. In the later afternoon or early evening the bar is populated by a number of locals, who, while happy to discuss the situation at Quarry Pool amongst themselves, are less so with strangers. The pub’s landlord is Tom Morgan. He will take the characters for members of the collective and will refuse to serve them (a Difficult: Persuade or Act/Bluff roll is needed to convince him otherwise). Failure means that Morgan asks the characters to leave. If they refuse he calls Constable Read who arrives in about 10 minutes. DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

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5. St Wulstan’s Church A small church dating from Saxon times with the characteristic square tower, and surrounded by a slightly overgrown graveyard. Characters searching the grounds discover the graves the Barlow family, including that of John who died at age 17. Characters spending more than five minutes in the church grounds will be accosted by the Reverend  Joanna Young, who tries to persuade the characters to make a donation to the church restoration fund. Generous characters find her very willing to talk about village affairs and she can provide plenty of information about Bishop’s Morton and its recent history. If asked whether she thinks James Barlow killed his brother she replies, “I honestly can’t say. Before my time I’m afraid. What with the drownings in the pool since Barlow left there’s a fair few people in the village who think he’s innocent. Mind you there’s still plenty who think he did it. I’d say it’s about a 50/50 split.”

6. Hargreave Hall The family seat of the Hargreaves, located in picturesque rolling parkland grazed by sheep, cattle and a herd of deer. The hall itself was extensively modified by one of Julian Hargreaves’s nineteenth century ancestors, and it currently resembles a fairy tale castle, as designed by a particularly fervid gothic imagination. There are several other buildings on the estate, and these house the tenant workers who look after the lands and livestock. Hargreaves took the hall over on the death of his father, giving up a successful army c areer to return home to Bishop’s Morton and tend the family property. He usually works on his estate during the day, and the property is criss crossed by public footpaths so getting to meet him isn’t overly difficult. He will be suspicious of the characters at first (thinking that they are collective ruffians), but once they make it clear they wish to discuss the Quarry Pool situation, he becomes more forthcoming. Hargreaves explains that he was first approached by G-Tek about a month ago. The corporation offered to buy Quarry Pool from him at a price well in excess of what the land was worth. At first, he turned them down point blank, but G-Tek was persistent. Eventually, however, he agreed to meet with the company’s representative and legal counsel, especially as the drownings in the pool had led to Hargreaves being sued for negligence on more than one occasion, and he was now beginning to wonder if the pool wasn’t more trouble than it was worth. Accepting G-Tek’s offer would make the place someone else’s problem, and would also turn him a handsome profit. He met with the G-Tek delegation, which consisted of James Barlow and Gill Greenwood – although, was surprised to encounter Barlow, whom he knew had been hounded out of the village some years previously. He says he was aware of the rumours surrounding Barlow and his dead brother, but hadn’t paid them much attention. Not so much because he didn’t believe them but rather because the incident had little to do with him or the people he associated with. As a result, he was probably more inclined than most other Bishop’s Morton residents to give Barlow a fair hearing. Barlow tailored his presentation of G-Tek’s offer by stressing the similarities between himself and Hargreaves; both men had left the village to make their way in the world, but had returned so they could put something back into the community. G-Tek wanted to provide local jobs just like Hargreaves had done, and would bring further investment into the community. Hargreaves explains to the characters that “the way he spelled it out, I’d have been silly not to sell. I just felt I had to give him what he wanted. I signed the papers right there”. “An hour after they’d gone I began to have second thoughts. I spoke with my solicitor who was bloody livid I hadn’t consulted him first, but he said there wasn’t much he could do.” What Hargreaves doesn’t realise is that he signed the papers while under the empathic influence of Gill Greenwood, a fact the characters may well have guessed. Hargreaves now bitterly regrets selling Quarry Pool and asks the characters if there is any way to stop G-Tek.

7. Barlow’s Farm This ruined farmhouse and outbuildings is the former home of the Barlow family. After his parents died James sold the farm in lots to adjoining landowners - his neighbours may have despised him, but they definitely weren’t too proud to proud to do business with him. There is nothing of interest to be found in the ruins, but if the characters investigate the site the referee may like to have their visit coincide with Barlow’s. This might give them the chance to question him 9

DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

about his history and motives. If the referee chooses this option run the following the encounter: As the characters approach the farm they see one of the ubiquitous G-Tek VW vans parked in the  yard. Barlow is standing about ten yards from the van looking at the ruined buildings. A security guard with sergeant’s stripes (Thomas Berger) stands alongside the van watching over Barlow. A second guard sits in the van’s driving seat. As the characters approach Berger moves to block their way, but Barlow tells him to let the char-

acters through, pointing at the remains of the farmhouse and saying, “I was born here. Spent my childhood here. Until they drove me out”. By now, Barlow has realised that the characters aren’t part of the DAC, and he is curious as to what they’re doing in Bishop’s Morton. Outright dismissive of any conservation or environmental arguments the characters might have, and will want to know the real reason they are there. Barlow, with a slight case of paranoia, thinks the characters might be here because of the WAILER in the pool, and before long openly states that, “there’s a monster in the pool. It killed my brother, now I’m going to kill it. Neither you or anyone else is going to stop me”. He refuses to explain further, and soon returns to the van to be driven back to the G-Tek compound.

8. Quarry Pool A small lake created by flooding the granite workings cut into the side of the hi ll. It is surrounded by a low wire fence and there are numerous signs warning people not to swim in the water. Quarry Pools is the home of the WAILER. It usually lurks hidden beneath water’s surface, only attacking when there are one or two people in the immediate vicinity. The creature uses its empathic powers to coerce victims into the pool where they can be drowned. Its favourite tactic is to use Project Thought to appear as a swimmer who has got into difficulty so as to lure would be rescuers to their doom. If the WAILER is lucky (i.e. it obtains a Stage 6 Project Thought success) it dispenses with this subterfuge and commands victims to hurl themselves into the pool. The Wailer won’t show itself to the characters unless they are few in number, or weakened in some way, and will swiftly retreats underwater if they produce firearms or use empathic attacks against it. DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

10

If the characters follow the WAILER into the pool they find that the water is very cold and visibility beneath the surface is no more than a couple of metres. The pool has an average depth of 10metres, and the referee should call for Swimming skill rolls and CON checks as deemed appropriate. Quite obviously, the WAILER has a natural advantage in the water, and will attack any characters that get into difficulty in the pool. If the characters visit Quarry Pool at 16:00 hrs or later they are the first people to discover Kevin  Johnson’s body, floating in the shallow water at point X on The Quarry Pool (see also MISSING below).

RUMOURS Characters who manage to strike up a conversation with one or more of the locals can be fed any of the following items of information/gossip as the referee sees fit. 1. James Barlow murdered his brother John by drowning him in Quarry Pool so he could inherit the family farm. There wasn’t enough evidence to convict him, but nobody believed his story about John being pulled under the water by a mysterious woman. James was ostracised by the village after his brother’s death and nobody was surprised when he left Bishop’s Morton. 2. As 1. above but the speaker mentions that there have been several drownings in the pool since Barlow left. Maybe he didn’t kill his brother after all. 3. James Barlow has come back to Bishop’s Morton to take revenge on the village (only partially true). 4. The Gut was used for executions in the old days. Criminals were hanged from the trees on either side of the path. Perhaps the vengeful spirit of one of those criminals still haunts the pool. 5. Julian Hargreaves has done his best to discourage people from swimming in Quarr y Pool. He’s fenced the place off and put up warning signs. Some people won’t be told though, and it’s no surprise that all of the drowning victims have been young men. Sometimes lads are foolish, diving in the water to impress their girlfriends or mates, and if they’ve had a bit to drink then that just makes them all the more silly. 6. Hargreaves agreeing to sell the pool to G-Tek immediately after his meeting with Barlow and the company lawyer was a surprise. Maybe he was blackmailed into selling?

ENCOUNTERS IN BISHOP’S MORTON As the characters travel around Bishop’s Morton the referee may like to stage the following encounters to give them additional information or just add local colour.

Security Guards These may be found within a few hundred metres of the DAC camp where they’re “just keeping an eye on things”, or alternatively, as off duty officers found frequenting the Lacey’s shop or the Green Dragon. They won’t necessarily know that the characters are associated with collective, but nonetheless a Formidable: Persuasion roll is needed to get them to talk about their assignment in Bishop’s Morton. The security guards are mostly ex-military types who are deployed by G-Tek in situations where the company expects to encounter serious trouble. The guards are puzzled as to why they should be needed to secure a fairly small, innocuous site like Quarry Pool, especially even the protestors down the road could be cleared off with an order enforced by the local law. Barlow seems to have been expecting trouble even before ‘the crusties’ turned up. The characters don’t get very long to talk to the guards, as after a couple of minutes Thomas Berger appears and tells his troops to “stop fraternising with the locals. This isn’t a day trip”. Berger isn’t in any mood to talk to the characters, and orders his subordinates to accompany him back to the compound.

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DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

Constable Read If the characters haven’t already met Read for a second time at the police house, or possibly after a drunken fracas at the Green Dragon or elsewhere (see “3. Drinkers” below), then they run into him at whatever juncture the referee feels is appropriate. The constable recognises the characters from his visit to the DAC camp, and he repeats his advice that the collective should leave the area. Legally they don’t have a leg to stand on, and G-Tek are within their rights in having the entire encampment removed. Read is in a reflective mood and quite willing to discuss the current situation at the pool. He has little liking for the corporations, but he wonders if the revival of quarrying might not be a bad thing after all. He certainly won’t be sorry to see the pool drained, as in the two years he’s been in the village he’s had to pull three corpses out of the water “all young lads with their lives ahead of them”. Something in Quarry Pool keeps killing people and Read hopes that G-Tek will get rid of it, whatever it is.

Drinkers At some point in the late afternoon the characters meet a group of local people engaging in Bishop’s Morton’s main leisure pursuit: Getting drunk. The venue for this encounter and the make up of the local party is at the referee’s discretion. If met in the Green Dragon the locals will be middle aged male regulars, while a younger (mid to late teens), mixed gender, set can be found outside the Lacey’s shop, waiting for the eldest of their number to emerge with a couple of two litre bottles of white cider. Characters making an appropriate Charisma based skill roll can engage the drinkers in conversation and will obtain various snippets of gossip and information for their trouble (see the Rumours sidebar). Alcohol has made the drinkers less cagey then usual and they tend to spout the more outrageous and fantastical rumours from around the village. Any character making a catastrophic failure of this roll, finds that the inebriated locals quickly turn nasty, and accuse the characters of being from the ‘hippy camp by the pool’. This may be a prelude to violence, and if the characters get involved in a fight, Constable Read arrives in about 10 rounds to break things up.

G-Tek Reinforcements Some time in the late afternoon (nominally at 17:30 hrs but the referee should adjust to suit the character’s movements) the sound of heavy traffic will be heard on the main road. A minute later two Ramtech P-320 APCs bearing G-Tek insignia come down the road heading in the direction of the company compound. These are the additional resources requested by Barlow, and their arrival should make the characters realise that G-Tek isn’t going to wait the twenty-four hours prescribed by law before dealing with the DAC camp.

RETURN TO THE DAC CAMP When the characters return to camp they find the collective in a state of some consternation - Kevin  Johnson has disappeared. Taylor tells the characters that his absence was only noted a few minutes ago when someone went to call him for the evening meal. Taylor thinks he might be “trying to get to the pub again or anywhere else there’s likely to be girls”. Taylor is right. Johnson sneaked out of the camp and up the Gut hoping to find a back way to the village. Being a young man on his own made him fair game for the Wailer and he was lured into the water and drowned. If the characters think to check the pool they will find his body. Otherwise a group of DAC members led by Taylor make the grim discovery. The emergency services are called. An ambulance takes Johnson’s body away to the nearest town hospital. Constable Read takes statements from the DAC members who were the last to see Johnson. The pool is cordoned off with crime scene tape although it is clear that the authorities are going to treat the matter as just another tragic accident. The collective is devastated by Johnson’s death. Some members want to abandon the camp and move on, especially as the Quarry Pool doesn’t seem worth saving now that it’s taken the life of one DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

12

of their own. Taylor manages to keep a lid on the discontent, just, and announces that she has filed her papers with the court and is hopeful of getting an injunction to stop G-Tek within the next few days. It would be an insult to Kevin Johnson’s memory to quit now, she adds, and furthermore it’s now getting late and there’s no practical way the collective can get mobile and find another place to camp before dark. Taylor finishes by suggesting that everyone sleeps on it and then sees how they feel in the morning, if a majority want to quit the site then that’s what the collective will do. There is some muttering at this, but in the end everyone agrees to this proposal.

The Attack  At 22:30 the characters hear the sound of heavy vehicles coming down the lane towards the camp. The two APCs they saw earlier are approaching, followed by an extended line of some 20+ G-Tek security guards armed stun sticks. G-Tek’s plan to secure Quarry Pool is simple and brutal; the APCs will bombard the DAC camp with water cannons and tear gas grenades, and once softened up, the security personnel will wade in with their stun sticks and chase every one off the site. Anyone incapacitated by water cannon or gas will dumped in a heap by the lane until they are well enough to move, and then be “encouraged” on their way. Any DAC vehicles left behind will be driven off site and disposed of. Once the site has been secured Barlow and Berger will put their plan to capture the Wailer into effect. The DAC’s best hope of stopping a rout at the hands of G-Tek lies with the characters. If they can knock out the company APCs the security personnel will retreat. Of course if the characters use illegally heavy weapons to do this they will attract the attention of the authorities. Similarly, if the characters use firearms to kill large numbers of G-Tek personnel, they will make the company retreat, but should also expect the police to come after them. If the attack is broken up, a furious Barlow issues the surviving personnel with MP-7s and orders them to destroy the camp “by any means necessary”. The characters may be able to enlist the help of Constable Read. He won’t take kindly to G-Tek removing the camp without due legal process, especially now that Quarry Pool is a crime scene. Read can call for assistance from regional police headquarters, but this will take time to arrive. In the meantime a mixture of Act/Bluff and Persuade rolls are needed to keep the G-Tek goons from running riot.

CONCLUSIONS The characters should be awarded one experience point each if they manage to stop the assault on the DAC camp. Another point can be awarded if they kill the WAILER, although this will earn the enmity of James Barlow if he survives the adventure. The G-Tek executive will be angry at having been cheated of his vengeance, and may take his frustration out on the characters at a later date. Once they’re aware of the Darkling presence in the pool the characters might be tempted to ally themselves with Barlow in order to destroy the creature. This may be successful in the short term but a permanent alliance is unlikely due to Barlow himself being compromised by the Dark Ones. Provided the confrontation at the camp doesn’t end in a bloodbath the DAC will be grateful to the characters for their help. Alison Taylor could be a useful contact in the future if the characters require any legal help.

SUGGESTED VARIATIONS If the characters party is highly experience or empathically gifted the GM can use the following options to make the adventure more challenging:

 WAILERS: Quarry Pool is inhabited by several of these darklings. Barlow saw only one woman in the pool with his brother, and believes he is dealing with a single creature. Is Berger’s sink ability enough to counter a sustained empathic assault by several WAILERS at once? Gate: There is a dimensional gateway sited at the bottom of Quarry Pool. The WAILERS use it to travel to and from their home dimension. Characters who pass through the gate find themselves in a proto-dimension composed largely of water. There are numerous sub-aquatic gates to other locations 13

DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

on Earth. Bishop’s Morton is just one of the creatures’ many terrestrial feeding grounds.

THE NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS Kevin Johnson, Male, 19 Strength - 3 Constitution - 5  Agility -  6 Intelligence - 6 Education - 7  Charisma - 6

hicle Use (Wheeled) 5 Motivation - Eight of Hearts (Sociable), Queen of Skills - Computer Opera- Diamonds (Lust) tion 7, Electronics 6, Mechanic 4, Persuasion 5, VeEmpathy - 2 Initiative - 1 Move -  2/8/15/30

Kevin Johnson is a sociable young man who especially enjoys the company of the opposite sex. He thinks of himself as a smooth ladies’ man, but to most people he comes across as an overgrown horny teenager. Taylor and the more senior DAC members find his antics embarrassing, but tolerate them because Johnson’s technical skills are an asset to the collective.

 Alison Taylor, Female, 36 Strength - 4 Constitution - 6  Agility -  5 Intelligence - 9 Education - 8 Charisma - 8

Empathy - 5 Initiative - 2 Move -  2/8/15/30

7, Persuasion 7, Psychology 3, Vehicle Use (Wheeled) 4,  Willpower 8 Skills - Admin/Legal 8, Bar- Motivation - Ace of Hearts gain 6, Business 5, Compu- (Just), Ace of Spades (Charter Operation 4, Leadership ismatic)

Alison Taylor is a former in-house lawyer who became disillusioned with working for the corporations. Much of her work involved unethical takeovers and defending product liability claims or environmental actions. After helping to cover up a particularly egregious pollution scandal she quit in disgust, abandoning her comfortable life in Dreamland and taking to the road. Seeking to undo some of the harm she had caused in her previous existence she became involved in environmental activism. Taylor used the money she had earned as a corporate lawyer to bring actions against companies with poor environmental records, often supplemented with direct action. She continues to use this double pronged strategy to this day. Taylor is a natural leader: Decisive, charismatic and a compelling speaker. People naturally gravitate towards her. Over the years she has collected a rag bag group of followers which she has moulded into the DAC. The DAC may call themselves a collective but when it comes to decision making they nearly always agree with whatever Taylor thinks is best. Equipment: Winnebago Nomad, Zenith FX2 portable computer, Tojicorp VHC13 cell phone

Nicholas Read, Male, 34 Strength - 5 Constitution - 7   Agility -  7  Intelligence - 6 Education - 6 Charisma - 6

Small Arms (Pistol) 7, Small  Arms (Rifle) 4, Vehicle Use (Wheeled) 5 Skills -  Admin/Law 3, In- Motivation -  Ace of Hearts terrogation 4,Observation 6, (Just), Three of Clubs (VioPersuasion 6, Streetwise 6, lence) Empathy - 1 Initiative - 3 Move -  2/8/15/30

Constable Read is a former Metropolitan police officer. He transferred out of London in the hope of finding a better life for his family in the country. He finds the insularity of Bishop’s Morton hard to DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

14

take though and sometimes wishes he was back in the city. Although he has ambivalent feelings about the Quarry development he will be outraged at G-Tek’s circumventing the legal process. Witnessing their assault on the DAC encampment might be enough to persuade him to throw his lot in with the characters. Read accepts that violence is often a necessary part of a police officer’s job and will not hesitate to use force if he feels the situation requires it. Equipment: Range Rover II, Glock 20 Pistol, Mossberg M500 Shotgun (in Range Rover), Baton, Kevlar Vest (AV:1), Milltech Ltd 50km Secure Vehicle Radio (installed in Range Rover).

 James Barlow, Male, 37 Strength - 6 Constitution - 5  Agility -  6 Intelligence - 8 Education - 7  Charisma - 7 

5, Persuasion 7, Psychology 4, Willpower 6 Motivation - Ten of Spades Skills - Act/Bluff 5, Bargain (Ambition), Queen of Clubs 6, Business 7 Computer Op- (Stubborn - fixated on the eration 3, Leadership 6, Luck  Wailer) Empathy - 2 Initiative - 3 Move -  2/8/15/30

Barlow is a man eaten up by hatred. He wants revenge on the Wailer and has entered into a Faustian bargain to ensure that he gets it. Nothing is going to get in his way. Anyone who impedes him will be swept aside using any means necessary. Barlow’s experiences when young hardened him and gave him the toughness necessary to succeed but also made him distrustful and contemptuous of people in general. He has little regard for others and is a true psychopath. His only passions are self-preservation and a sentimental attachment to the memory of his dead brother.

Gillian Greenwood, Female, 27 Strength - 3 Constitution - 6  Agility -  6 Intelligence - 6 Education - 7  Charisma - 6

Empathy - 8 Initiative - 2 Move -  2/8/15/30

ing 5, Human Empathy 6, Persuasion 5, Project Emotion 7, Project Thought 5 Skills -  Admin/Legal 5, Motivation - Six of Spades Bargain 6, Business 4, Com- (Ambition), Seven of Hearts puter Operation 2, Forebod- (Sociable)

Greenwood is fully aware of her empathic abilities and has used them to great effect on numerous occaisions when negotiating on behalf of her employers. This has earned her rapid promotion within G-Tek UK’s in-house legal department. Amongst her colleagues she has a reputation as a persuader who can get deals done. Company management and their ET masters know that she is an empath and are making plans to exploit her abilities more fully. Although ambitious Greenwood isn’t without a conscience. Recently she has found herself questioning the morality of some of the things the company does. Bishop’s Morton is a case in point. Greenwood can’t see the sense in deploying corporate security personnel to carry out the forced removal of a traveller encampment. She knows the proposed action is illegal and doesn’t understand why G-Tek is prepared to go to such trouble over a disused quarry. For the present Greenwood remains a loyal corporate employee but that loyalty is wavering. Successful Persuasion rolls by the characters or Alison Taylor might be enough to make her turn against the company. Greenwood dislikes Thomas Berger for some reason she can’t quite fathom...

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Thomas Berger, Male, 27 Strength - 8 Constitution - 7   Agility -  7  Intelligence - 5 Education - 6 Charisma - 5

Empathy - 4* Initiative - 4 Move -  2/8/15/30

Combat (Knife) 6, Small Arms (Pistol) 4, Small Arms (Rifle) 7, Tracking 6, Stealth 6

Motivation - Six of Clubs Skills - Climbing 4, Language (English) 5, Leadership 4, Melee (Violence), Five of Diamonds Combat (Unarmed) 5, Melee (Greed)

*Berger is an empathic sink. All empathic effects originating or targeted within his immediate vicinity have their power level reduced by his EMP rating e.g. an empath is trying to form a mental link with Berger using their Human Empathy skill. They achieve a Stage 5 success. This is reduced to Stage 1 after subtracting Berger’s EMP. As a former German army sergeant who has found gainful employment as corporate mercenary, Berger still regards himself as a professional soldier. He carries out his employer’s orders with a high degree of competence and is paid well in return. To Berger’s mind this is entirely right and proper. He has little in the way of politics or ideology. Money is at the core of his belief system. G-Tek knows of Berger’s unusual empathic capability. The company has sent him on several ET-initiated missions, hunting down and killing empaths whom the aliens regard as dangerous. G-Tek don’t tell Berger why the targets have to be removed, just that they’re a threat to corporate interests. Berger himself is unaware of his special ability. Equipment: Colt Krait, Tranquilliser Rifle, MP7 SMG, Knife, Kevlar Vest (AV:1)

DAC Members These are mostly standard Mother Earthers with a sprinkling of Gizmoids and reformed Bikers (the latter two groups keep the collective’s hardware and vehicles running). They are sincere well meaning people. Being unaware of the true situation at Quarry Pool they may strike the characters as misguided, or worse. If the characters suspect that they are Igors a reminder of the good work the collective has done in the past to restrain corporate excess should be enough to make it clear that they’re not working for the Dark Ones.

G-Tek Security Guards These are the standard security guards detailed in the Dark Conspiracy rulebook. However, as they represent the cream of the G-Tek’s security division they should be treated as Elite Ncharacters. The company uses these men in situations where there is likely to be violence. Although often thuggish and cruel the guards aren’t stupid; they won’t blindly attack the characters if outgunned. If they come off second best in a fight they will retreat in good order, regroup and rearm if necessary before returning to the fray.

THE WAILER  Strength - 6 Constitution - 4  Agility -  7  Intelligence - 5 Education - 4 Charisma - 9

Empathy - 8 Initiative - 5 Move -  2/8/16/32 Skill/Dam - 5/1D6+2 Hits - 8/16 # Appear - 1D6+2

 All WAILERS have the following Empathic skills at twice the listed Empathy  Attribute - Human Empathy, Project Emotion, Willpower Drain

As noted above the WAILER has an established modus operandi of pretending to be a drowning swimmer. It does not employ the hypnotic song of the Greek Siren or German Lorelei. It uses its empathic powers to coerce would be rescuers into the water where they are rapidly dragged into the depths of Quarry Pool. DARK CONSPIRACY ADVENTURES - THE DROWNING POOL

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The WAILER prefers to prey on solitary men, but if eager for a kill it may risk appearing in front of a group.

NEW SKILLS AND WEAPONS SKILL - Admin/Legal (EDU) The individual has experience with rules and legal assumptions of how administrative, and legal agencies work, as well as an understanding of the requirements of dealing with and managing them. Characters with this skill may function as lawyers.

Glock 20 The standard pistol of the Metropolitan Police and several other UK police forces.

- Recoil  Ammo ROF

Dam

Pen

Bulk

Mag SS Burst Range

10mm SA

2

1-Nil

1

15

3

n/a

12

Baton US style police officer’s baton. Replaced the traditional British police truncheon in the late twentieth century.

Melee Range Short

Hit Modifier +1

Damage 1D6+1

Sources/Acknowledgements The main inspiration for this adventure came from the novels of Phil Rickman (aka Will Kingdom). The clash between a local supernatural presence and malevolent and/or ignorant outsiders is a common theme in Rickman’s work. I’ve borrowed the same basic conceit for this adventure. G-Tek Global Mining originally appeared in “The Istrian Affair” by John H Godsland, a Dark Conspiracy adventure published in volume 2, issue 3 of the long defunct “Roleplayer Independent” magazine. Information on police weapons came from “London” by Lee Williams (see “Demonground” issue 6). Also my thanks to Lee for suggesting the use of the G-Tek corporation. Berger’s special empathic ability comes from “Sources and Sinks” by Norm Fenlason (see “Demonground” issue 12). The chapter headings were, in part, inspired by those in “The Cruel Sea” by Nicholas Montsarrat. The Admin/Law skill as originally used in the MegaTraveller rpg was suggested by Speedbump920’s Dark Conspiracy Site at http://members.tripod.com/~speedbump920/index

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