SESSION 08 - ALL-AMERICAN CITY
General Summary
Previous Session: SESSION 07: TROUBLE IN BRAHMIN TOWN
Next Session: SESSION 09: GRAVESTONE Players: (The Heroes of St. Louis): Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Mouse, Zero *May 13th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 19)
The sun was rising over Higginsville. The group needed to reach Proton in Gravestone, but while traveling there were many opportunities for adventure. RAM of the Reavers had mentioned both pre-war plays being performed at the Farris Theater and All-American City being cursed by "SatanSoft." The party were enticed and headed north.
A five-hour walk took them to Waverly Bridge. And when they arrived, they were stopped by a small family. Dave, Rhonda and Timothy Johnson were lean and haggard. The parents carried firearms, but made an attempt to look friendly.
"Hold up," Dave said. "This is a toll bridge. It's, um, two caps to cross... Each."
The group were unimpressed, not looking to pay for the privilege of walking across a bridge.
"Listen," Zero said, "If you need some caps, you need caps. But demanding a toll isn't the way to go about it."
"We need some caps," Dave said desperately. "And maybe some food for the kid?"
The party dug through their gear, offering up a batch of food and caps. Mouse set to hunting for meat to give. Dave and Rhonda explained that they were a family from Gravestone, and Dave had been a lab technician at Eddie's Chems. Dave had used Buffout to boost his endurance in order to keep up with the long hours of focused work. And after months of using the chem, he had become addicted. Once his substance abuse was detected, Eddie promptly fired Dave. And as humans in ghoul-dominated Gravestone, they found it impossible to find work.
Linda asked the family if they were Children of Atom. Young Timothy was confused. "Mom?" he asked. "She's a Grand AND one of the Children?" The parents shrugged, equally puzzled. Zero explained that in Gravestone the terms "ghoul" and "super mutant" were considered derogatory. Ghouls were "lights" and super mutants were "grands." They had their own religion, similar to but distinct from the Children of Atom.
Mister Man used his superior senses to evaluate the family, still suspicious. But upon inspection, he determined that the family were indeed significantly malnourished. At the same time, Dave revealed that the family worked daily to restore and maintain the bridge - the toll was not a con. The party were compelled to give even more. As Dave was a chemist looking for work, Mouse recommended that the family head east to Booneville where Cody had a lab that might need chemists. Zero suggested they keep heading east all the way to Emancipation, where the friendly citizens were known to be helpful.
They wished the Johnsons luck. The family left eastward and the group crossed the bridge and headed north.
It was 4pm when they reached the entry to All-American City. They found themselves in a sleek train station, where two clunky-looking robots ambled around the monorail's train. The city itself was a suspended construction, hung within the trench of a deep canyon. The structure could be accessed by monorail, or an extremely treacherous climb across the complex's metal beams.
"Welcome to All-American City!" the robots exclaimed, "the community of tomorrow! Arthur Schlockett built a better way and it's here to see. Just take a ride on the monorail to visit our info center and gift shop! Say hello to any SchlockettBots you see; they're happy to make new friends!"
The group were filled with misgivings and every clue they gathered made it worse. They questioned the greeting SchlockettBots thoroughly, discovering that the city contained 47 SchlockettBots and zero living beings. Apparently, billionaire industrialist Arnold Schlockett had built a model city, where opportunity was plentiful and religion was banned. Linda was unimpressed. Over 300 humans had entered the city in the past 242 years, 11 in the past 10 years. There were footprints in the dust around the monorail at its entrance, but none at its exit. The SchlockettBots explained that the entire city, including the monorail, were powered by an experimental resonance generator, taking electricity directly from the earth's magnetic field.
Seeing that they could be trapped in the suspended city, they asked the SchlockettBots to run the monorail, proving that it went both into the city and came back out again. The robots complied, and the ancient train did its job. Sensing that these robots were going to be trouble, Mister Man tried to evaluate them for modification or reprogramming, but found that they were custom-built by Arnold Schlockett and shared no parts, programming or design with standard RobCo or General Atomics robots. He couldn't make heads or tails of them. And it was clear that though the two greeters were unarmed, the SchlockettBot chassis was designed to implement both energy weapons and powerful limb attacks.
It was painfully obvious that this city was dangerous, but also presented a unique experience. So, the group walked into the monorail, resolved to explore. The SchlockettBots engaged power from the resonance generator to the monorail and it began to move. Immediately, Lex winced and gripped her head. Mister Man was concerned, and Lex reported that she was experiencing an intense headache. The train rushed into the city quickly and stopped at a station inside. The group stepped off the monorail and it rushed away. As soon as the train was gone, Lex's headache disappeared completely.
Mouse theorized that it might be the magnetism, but no further investigation was done because 11 SchlocketBotts poured in, shouting, "Kill! KILL! Snakes in paradise!"
"So much for no religion," Mister Man noted, and they drew their weapons.
A fight ensued. The group discovered that the SchlockettBots were fairly easy to destroy, but their hammer fists delivered brutal damage. Mouse hid within the shadows of the rail tracks, launching javelins from darkness. Zero flanked around, going toe-to-toe with them using his sharp knuckles. Linda and Mister Man kept the robots busy up front, applying a variety of explosive, energy and melee attacks. Mister Man took a significant strike from a hammer fist, injuring his main body, but it was quickly repaired.
The SchlockettBots were defeated and Lex was able to access a nearby computer terminal. It indicated that power to monorail had been shut down at the main office. In order to recycle the train and leave, they would have to access the terminal there. Sparing no resource, they salvaged the remains of the robots, retrieving many fusion cells and some useful materials.
They next came to a strange little grocery store. Three pink SchlockettBots greeted them, all saying, "Hello. I'm Betty Bagger. How can I help you?"
The group looked around and noted that all of the "food" on display was fake. The wax fruits and vegetables had melted and reformed many times over centuries of seasonal changes.
They asked the three Bettys how to restart the monorail and only one responded. She said, "Hmmm. You'll need to see Mr. Bauer in the main office. That might be tricky, though, what with the poison gas." The group, understandably, inquired further and Betty explained, "When Mr. Schlockett died, we didn't take it well. But Mr. Bauer stood up to lead us. I'm afraid he's still very upset. In fact, I think he moved the main office back there specifically to make it inaccessible to humans."
The party knew they had a pair of gas masks for Lex and Mouse, that Linda was very tough, that Zero was somewhat poison resistant and Mister Man had no lungs. But they still would rather avoid poison gas, especially when Mister Man detected that it was contact poison. The substance was as deadly to open skin as if it were breathed in. So, they sent Mister Man into the back alley to hopefully repair the pipes that were constantly expelling the toxic substance. The one chatty Betty Bagger joined Mister Man, offering whatever assistance she could.
The moment Betty and Mister Man stepped back there, they awakened a hostile SchlockettBot in the alley. And at the same time, the two other Betty Baggers sprang to violence, their eyes glowing red with hostility. Betty and Mister Man were able to defeat the alley robot fairly quickly, but the fight in the store was slightly more contentious. Linda took a deep swing with Pam, her spiked board, hitting a hostile Betty, but sending the weapon flying out of her hands. Zero and Mouse were able to destroy the two enemies, but with some effort.
The area clear, Mister Man and Betty set to mending the poison gas pipes. But, as luck would have it, they failed. It made the situation much worse, the pipes totally irreparable without days of work. The group had no choice if they wanted to get to Mr. Bauer's terminal. They had to dash through the gas and drop down a duct, emerging immediately in the office. One at a time, they rushed through the gas, many of them taking damage, especially Mouse.
Mr. Bauer's office had once been the town library. It was now his creepy little lair, filled with burned books and his six goons.
The insane SchlockettBot saw the newcomers and screeched, "Poors! Proles! Peons! Filth in the temple!"
Mouse was hurt from the constant fighting and exposure to poison gas. He mustered all of his charm and deliberation and attempted to calm Mr. Bauer. In an engaging speech, Mouse explained that he was Arnold Schlockett's relative, and therefore the rightful heir to All-American City, come to rescue the SchlockettBots from their lack of direction. The originally hostile Mr. Bauer listened carefully, his little mechanical mind hopeful beyond hope that a Schlockett had returned to give his existence meaning. But Mouse could not overcome the robot's logic circuits. Mr. Bauer was enraged, ordering his minions to attack.
Already weary from the previous two fights, the party set to battling the robots. Mouse moved tactically, avoiding combat until he could be healed by Lex. Mister Man set to healing Linda. Linda charged forward with her Flamer, spraying fire on the SchlockettBots as they grouped together. Zero's wounds supercharged his body with a boost of adrenaline. He pursued Mr. Bauer with focus, which was a dangerous proposition as Bauer's arm was equipped with a powerful energy weapon. Betty Bagger had her own laser finger and fought her fellow robots in order to protect the visitors.
Soon, many of the SchlockettBots had fallen and Zero stood face-to-face with Mr. Bauer. Zero's hefty blows had ruptured Bauer's inner workings and it was just a matter of time before the robot collapsed. But Bauer was capable a unit, and set to repairing himself. Zero wasn't having it. He interrupted the repair procedure, shattering Bauer's chassis with a devastating punch. With the lead SchlockettBot destroyed, the remaining units changed countenance, throwing themselves at Betty Bagger with ferocity. Betty was overwhelmed and she was knocked to the ground with grievous damage. Linda, Mouse and Mister Man dispatched the remaining robots as Lex rushed to Betty's aid. It was a close thing, but Lex was able to patch Betty Bagger's vital systems before she fell offline forever.
With Mr. Bauer gone, the group thought it would be appropriate to put Betty in charge of the city, leading the SchlockettBots to be more benevolent. They thought that perhaps the robots could learn to exist independently, living for themselves instead of being trapped in the service of a long-dead billionaire. But Betty explained that her basic programming did not allow this, that she knew nothing but service to Arthur Schlockett. Mister Man and Lex set to reprogramming Betty Bagger, trying to give her the autonomy that would give her life meaning. Tragically, Betty's strange code was beyond their skills.
The robots overcome, the group salvaged more fusion cells and materials. The room contained a storage chest which contained a Tesla Science Magazine, a single fusion core and 36 strange devices. The devices were dark metal electronics, about the size of a hockey puck, with strange wires and protrusions. Each one was clearly marked with "Vault 44." Mister Man studied them carefully while Lex set to hacking Mr. Bauer's computer terminal.
Lex easily broke Bauer's password and gained control over All-American City's mainframe. It was a simple thing to reestablish power to the train and secure their exit. She also discovered that from the terminal she would able to power-down all of the city's SchlockettBots, putting them into the slumber of standby mode. Unable to reprogram the mechanical beings, the party decided it was best to put the city to sleep. Perhaps one day they could return to free the SchlockettBots.
Having been through a grueling day, the group decided it was time for them to sleep as well. They made camp within the isolated safety of the hanging city. While they ate their evening meal, Mister Man revealed that he had determined the function of the strange Vault 44 items. These were medical devices, cybernetic implants which could deliver an electric charge directly to the medial forebrain bundle. This would cause the carrier to experience a single moment of incalculable pleasure, but would then be immediately fatal. Implanting a device would be a complicated process involving delicate surgery. Whether these implants were used for control, euthanasia, execution or recreation, Mister Man couldn't say.
The group pondered the behaviour of RAM and the Reavers. Did they warn of SatanSoft to protect the party from the crazed robots? Were the Reavers looking to loot All-American City for themselves? Could they have known about the Vault 44 devices? Could this have anything to do with Lex's train-induced headache?
Whatever the truth, the wasteland was a strange place...
Next Session: SESSION 09: GRAVESTONE
Next Session: SESSION 09: GRAVESTONE Players: (The Heroes of St. Louis): Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Mouse, Zero *May 13th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 19)
The sun was rising over Higginsville. The group needed to reach Proton in Gravestone, but while traveling there were many opportunities for adventure. RAM of the Reavers had mentioned both pre-war plays being performed at the Farris Theater and All-American City being cursed by "SatanSoft." The party were enticed and headed north.
A five-hour walk took them to Waverly Bridge. And when they arrived, they were stopped by a small family. Dave, Rhonda and Timothy Johnson were lean and haggard. The parents carried firearms, but made an attempt to look friendly.
"Hold up," Dave said. "This is a toll bridge. It's, um, two caps to cross... Each."
The group were unimpressed, not looking to pay for the privilege of walking across a bridge.
"Listen," Zero said, "If you need some caps, you need caps. But demanding a toll isn't the way to go about it."
"We need some caps," Dave said desperately. "And maybe some food for the kid?"
The party dug through their gear, offering up a batch of food and caps. Mouse set to hunting for meat to give. Dave and Rhonda explained that they were a family from Gravestone, and Dave had been a lab technician at Eddie's Chems. Dave had used Buffout to boost his endurance in order to keep up with the long hours of focused work. And after months of using the chem, he had become addicted. Once his substance abuse was detected, Eddie promptly fired Dave. And as humans in ghoul-dominated Gravestone, they found it impossible to find work.
Linda asked the family if they were Children of Atom. Young Timothy was confused. "Mom?" he asked. "She's a Grand AND one of the Children?" The parents shrugged, equally puzzled. Zero explained that in Gravestone the terms "ghoul" and "super mutant" were considered derogatory. Ghouls were "lights" and super mutants were "grands." They had their own religion, similar to but distinct from the Children of Atom.
Mister Man used his superior senses to evaluate the family, still suspicious. But upon inspection, he determined that the family were indeed significantly malnourished. At the same time, Dave revealed that the family worked daily to restore and maintain the bridge - the toll was not a con. The party were compelled to give even more. As Dave was a chemist looking for work, Mouse recommended that the family head east to Booneville where Cody had a lab that might need chemists. Zero suggested they keep heading east all the way to Emancipation, where the friendly citizens were known to be helpful.
They wished the Johnsons luck. The family left eastward and the group crossed the bridge and headed north.
It was 4pm when they reached the entry to All-American City. They found themselves in a sleek train station, where two clunky-looking robots ambled around the monorail's train. The city itself was a suspended construction, hung within the trench of a deep canyon. The structure could be accessed by monorail, or an extremely treacherous climb across the complex's metal beams.
"Welcome to All-American City!" the robots exclaimed, "the community of tomorrow! Arthur Schlockett built a better way and it's here to see. Just take a ride on the monorail to visit our info center and gift shop! Say hello to any SchlockettBots you see; they're happy to make new friends!"
The group were filled with misgivings and every clue they gathered made it worse. They questioned the greeting SchlockettBots thoroughly, discovering that the city contained 47 SchlockettBots and zero living beings. Apparently, billionaire industrialist Arnold Schlockett had built a model city, where opportunity was plentiful and religion was banned. Linda was unimpressed. Over 300 humans had entered the city in the past 242 years, 11 in the past 10 years. There were footprints in the dust around the monorail at its entrance, but none at its exit. The SchlockettBots explained that the entire city, including the monorail, were powered by an experimental resonance generator, taking electricity directly from the earth's magnetic field.
Seeing that they could be trapped in the suspended city, they asked the SchlockettBots to run the monorail, proving that it went both into the city and came back out again. The robots complied, and the ancient train did its job. Sensing that these robots were going to be trouble, Mister Man tried to evaluate them for modification or reprogramming, but found that they were custom-built by Arnold Schlockett and shared no parts, programming or design with standard RobCo or General Atomics robots. He couldn't make heads or tails of them. And it was clear that though the two greeters were unarmed, the SchlockettBot chassis was designed to implement both energy weapons and powerful limb attacks.
It was painfully obvious that this city was dangerous, but also presented a unique experience. So, the group walked into the monorail, resolved to explore. The SchlockettBots engaged power from the resonance generator to the monorail and it began to move. Immediately, Lex winced and gripped her head. Mister Man was concerned, and Lex reported that she was experiencing an intense headache. The train rushed into the city quickly and stopped at a station inside. The group stepped off the monorail and it rushed away. As soon as the train was gone, Lex's headache disappeared completely.
Mouse theorized that it might be the magnetism, but no further investigation was done because 11 SchlocketBotts poured in, shouting, "Kill! KILL! Snakes in paradise!"
"So much for no religion," Mister Man noted, and they drew their weapons.
A fight ensued. The group discovered that the SchlockettBots were fairly easy to destroy, but their hammer fists delivered brutal damage. Mouse hid within the shadows of the rail tracks, launching javelins from darkness. Zero flanked around, going toe-to-toe with them using his sharp knuckles. Linda and Mister Man kept the robots busy up front, applying a variety of explosive, energy and melee attacks. Mister Man took a significant strike from a hammer fist, injuring his main body, but it was quickly repaired.
The SchlockettBots were defeated and Lex was able to access a nearby computer terminal. It indicated that power to monorail had been shut down at the main office. In order to recycle the train and leave, they would have to access the terminal there. Sparing no resource, they salvaged the remains of the robots, retrieving many fusion cells and some useful materials.
They next came to a strange little grocery store. Three pink SchlockettBots greeted them, all saying, "Hello. I'm Betty Bagger. How can I help you?"
The group looked around and noted that all of the "food" on display was fake. The wax fruits and vegetables had melted and reformed many times over centuries of seasonal changes.
They asked the three Bettys how to restart the monorail and only one responded. She said, "Hmmm. You'll need to see Mr. Bauer in the main office. That might be tricky, though, what with the poison gas." The group, understandably, inquired further and Betty explained, "When Mr. Schlockett died, we didn't take it well. But Mr. Bauer stood up to lead us. I'm afraid he's still very upset. In fact, I think he moved the main office back there specifically to make it inaccessible to humans."
The party knew they had a pair of gas masks for Lex and Mouse, that Linda was very tough, that Zero was somewhat poison resistant and Mister Man had no lungs. But they still would rather avoid poison gas, especially when Mister Man detected that it was contact poison. The substance was as deadly to open skin as if it were breathed in. So, they sent Mister Man into the back alley to hopefully repair the pipes that were constantly expelling the toxic substance. The one chatty Betty Bagger joined Mister Man, offering whatever assistance she could.
The moment Betty and Mister Man stepped back there, they awakened a hostile SchlockettBot in the alley. And at the same time, the two other Betty Baggers sprang to violence, their eyes glowing red with hostility. Betty and Mister Man were able to defeat the alley robot fairly quickly, but the fight in the store was slightly more contentious. Linda took a deep swing with Pam, her spiked board, hitting a hostile Betty, but sending the weapon flying out of her hands. Zero and Mouse were able to destroy the two enemies, but with some effort.
The area clear, Mister Man and Betty set to mending the poison gas pipes. But, as luck would have it, they failed. It made the situation much worse, the pipes totally irreparable without days of work. The group had no choice if they wanted to get to Mr. Bauer's terminal. They had to dash through the gas and drop down a duct, emerging immediately in the office. One at a time, they rushed through the gas, many of them taking damage, especially Mouse.
Mr. Bauer's office had once been the town library. It was now his creepy little lair, filled with burned books and his six goons.
The insane SchlockettBot saw the newcomers and screeched, "Poors! Proles! Peons! Filth in the temple!"
Mouse was hurt from the constant fighting and exposure to poison gas. He mustered all of his charm and deliberation and attempted to calm Mr. Bauer. In an engaging speech, Mouse explained that he was Arnold Schlockett's relative, and therefore the rightful heir to All-American City, come to rescue the SchlockettBots from their lack of direction. The originally hostile Mr. Bauer listened carefully, his little mechanical mind hopeful beyond hope that a Schlockett had returned to give his existence meaning. But Mouse could not overcome the robot's logic circuits. Mr. Bauer was enraged, ordering his minions to attack.
Already weary from the previous two fights, the party set to battling the robots. Mouse moved tactically, avoiding combat until he could be healed by Lex. Mister Man set to healing Linda. Linda charged forward with her Flamer, spraying fire on the SchlockettBots as they grouped together. Zero's wounds supercharged his body with a boost of adrenaline. He pursued Mr. Bauer with focus, which was a dangerous proposition as Bauer's arm was equipped with a powerful energy weapon. Betty Bagger had her own laser finger and fought her fellow robots in order to protect the visitors.
Soon, many of the SchlockettBots had fallen and Zero stood face-to-face with Mr. Bauer. Zero's hefty blows had ruptured Bauer's inner workings and it was just a matter of time before the robot collapsed. But Bauer was capable a unit, and set to repairing himself. Zero wasn't having it. He interrupted the repair procedure, shattering Bauer's chassis with a devastating punch. With the lead SchlockettBot destroyed, the remaining units changed countenance, throwing themselves at Betty Bagger with ferocity. Betty was overwhelmed and she was knocked to the ground with grievous damage. Linda, Mouse and Mister Man dispatched the remaining robots as Lex rushed to Betty's aid. It was a close thing, but Lex was able to patch Betty Bagger's vital systems before she fell offline forever.
With Mr. Bauer gone, the group thought it would be appropriate to put Betty in charge of the city, leading the SchlockettBots to be more benevolent. They thought that perhaps the robots could learn to exist independently, living for themselves instead of being trapped in the service of a long-dead billionaire. But Betty explained that her basic programming did not allow this, that she knew nothing but service to Arthur Schlockett. Mister Man and Lex set to reprogramming Betty Bagger, trying to give her the autonomy that would give her life meaning. Tragically, Betty's strange code was beyond their skills.
The robots overcome, the group salvaged more fusion cells and materials. The room contained a storage chest which contained a Tesla Science Magazine, a single fusion core and 36 strange devices. The devices were dark metal electronics, about the size of a hockey puck, with strange wires and protrusions. Each one was clearly marked with "Vault 44." Mister Man studied them carefully while Lex set to hacking Mr. Bauer's computer terminal.
Lex easily broke Bauer's password and gained control over All-American City's mainframe. It was a simple thing to reestablish power to the train and secure their exit. She also discovered that from the terminal she would able to power-down all of the city's SchlockettBots, putting them into the slumber of standby mode. Unable to reprogram the mechanical beings, the party decided it was best to put the city to sleep. Perhaps one day they could return to free the SchlockettBots.
Having been through a grueling day, the group decided it was time for them to sleep as well. They made camp within the isolated safety of the hanging city. While they ate their evening meal, Mister Man revealed that he had determined the function of the strange Vault 44 items. These were medical devices, cybernetic implants which could deliver an electric charge directly to the medial forebrain bundle. This would cause the carrier to experience a single moment of incalculable pleasure, but would then be immediately fatal. Implanting a device would be a complicated process involving delicate surgery. Whether these implants were used for control, euthanasia, execution or recreation, Mister Man couldn't say.
The group pondered the behaviour of RAM and the Reavers. Did they warn of SatanSoft to protect the party from the crazed robots? Were the Reavers looking to loot All-American City for themselves? Could they have known about the Vault 44 devices? Could this have anything to do with Lex's train-induced headache?
Whatever the truth, the wasteland was a strange place...
Next Session: SESSION 09: GRAVESTONE
Missions/Quests Completed
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
19 Jun 2021
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