Marauders on the move
Pivotal in the plans of Fixxit, is the acquisition of the weather satellite that is to be traded to the Soviets. Fixxit sent his second-in-command, Faust, along with another twenty men, to perform this task.
GM note: Use of the mini-adventure “Shutterbug” is perfect for this part of the adventure. If you don’t have the mini-adventure, read below for a description of the layout.
The group of marauders under the command of an evil man named Faust has set up a temporary camp atop a small rise. They’re only a short two days journey from Fixxit’s camp, and once they reach that fortified place, any attempt to relieve them of their precious cargo will be a hard fought battle. Currently they are 21 men strong, yet they are slightly weary from their journey. They spent nearly a month looking for the downed satellite, and the journey back has lasted almost a week and a half. If it weren’t for the fact that they know they’re close to “home”, they’d be almost comatose. Instead, the knowledge of where they are has raised their hopes a bit and sharpened their alertness a bit more than what it would be after such an arduous journey.
The traveling camp that the Marauders have set up resembles a gypsy encampment. There are 5 wagons with peaked tents providing cover for the contents or occupants. Scattered in an area about 40 meters wide are 8-9 tents. The tents are full of patches, giving them a oddly cheery look. There is a single large campfire in the middle of the encampment, which provides good light within 10 meters, shadowy light within most of the camp, and very poor light beyond the tents. The whole encampment rests on a small rise overlooking the edge of a forest. The trees and bushes of the forest climb almost to the base of the rise, but the area where the camp is doesn’t have any appreciable ground cover.
On the far side of the camp, there is a small herd of horses that are used to pull the wagons. These horses are well trained and are essentially let loose at night to graze nearby. There is almost always one, armed guard near the horses to make sure that nothing happens to them. On either side of the camp, there are two, armed guards on lookout. They stand outside of the area of firelight, so they keep their night vision. Due to the nature of these men, if they see anyone approaching their camp, they will open fire first and ask questions later.
If the group of adventurers scouts the camp, they will hear murmured talking, with an occasional burst of laughter. In another area of the camp a musical instrument will be heard playing…a guitar. As a whole, the camp seems peaceful. If any shooting occurs, all of the men in the camp (not the guards) will fall prone initially, trying to determine what is happening. After an initial round to sum things up, they will begin to crawl or run in a crouched position to the wagons or tents where their weapons are. It’ll take a full round for them to move to their weapons and arm themselves. The following round they may take action.
The Marauder guards are armed as follows:
The Marauders that are initially unarmed have the following equipment when they make it to the wagons or tents:
The leader of the group, Faust, carries a Remington 870P pump shotgun with a bandolier containing 25 loads of buckshot. He also keeps hidden in his gear, a Walther PPK pistol with two clips of ammunition. When he arms himself with his shotgun, he always slips the pistol into his boot to be used in case of emergency (or opportunity).
Half of the marauders present are relative amateurs in regards to combat. The other half has been in firefights before and could be considered Trained. Faust, of course, is an old hand at combat and knows how to fight dirty. Initially the marauders will attempt to simply intimidate whoever attacks them with the sheer amount of firepower. If Faust realizes, however, that the attack is well coordinated, he’ll order three men to stay in position around the wagon containing the satellite. He’ll then order another man to stomp out the fire so that the enemy can’t use the light to pick targets. Faust will then go to ground, using his fairly good skill in moving silently to position himself near the wagon so that anyone making a move for the satellite will take a barrel full of buckshot at close range. He may even feign death to allow the enemy to move in close to the wagon. He has no qualms about shooting people in the back or any other sort of “dirty fighting”, so he’ll take advantage of that fact.
Faust’s attributes are as follows:
Faust’s skills include Thrown Weapons, Melee Combat (armed and unarmed), Leadership, Observation, Interrogation, Small Arms, Horsemanship, Stealth, Wheeled Vehicle, and Navigation.
Most all of his skills are around 4, but he has 6 in Stealth and 8 in Interrogation.
Faust’s initiative is 6.
© 2000 grimacePCH@aol.com