a Ce ae cee oe eT PS al onaaa ORL ‘SCIENCE FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING GAME Alpha Factor By Kim Eastland Credits: Table of Contents Urea hetavers Random Loot Table inside rone cover Caer y Keith Psion INTRODUCTION 2 latetior art by James Holloway Backg a Cartography by Dennis Kath, Keith Puskinson Mave ac : ‘Typography by Beaty Elmore and Carolyn Vanderbilt Gening 4 Graphic Deg by Collen O'aley ee : sine A Reed Where Go 6 GANA WORD ieee demon by TS. Random Eacouniers 7 Disb he kate Say Rand Hse Iain Gata ‘EE Protammed Encounters i Dn ie a cs tl Shae w ia Sb dh i Snake eococdo dc Utd Ringtone The Vilage of Ost 5 MINDKEEP 6 Pini eA See i Mindkeep Phicas Fi is Si oh ts tp is ne ees Se ate rah ESAs hep sand a SES Soe naa Ninakeep isan 5 Mindkeep Encounter 5 eds concise icaebiataamiagpeicinays ME Mp ae lend, Any, Gevcipuons lachding sealares wo. peteas living ce dead ate tet) indkecp Type A levels ¥ coincdenn. — ee . Mindkeep Type B Levels. 16 Mindkeep Type C Lees h oc Ping ogo Mindkeep Roof Level » NindkeepSubremnea Levels » Plt ny penn st hit CANA WORLD ven: Tae cranks i AOI ose Lae 2 cere ie B ee ‘Wapping Up Mindesp 2 ie Sen ws MISCELLANEOUS ENCOUNTERS 2 {THe QUEST FULMILLED % Pen inci a selEaddrsed, amped envelope with your questions ane a NW rieNS % NEW RACES 36 NON-PLAVER CHARACTERS 3 NEW CREATURES 8 Random Encounter Tics ie bik over 7509X20K1501 ISBN 0-88038-294-5,INTRODUCTION ‘Welcome to the first module designed for the newly revised GAMMA. WORLD® Science Fantasy Game. Within these pages is 2 com: plete adventure, starting points for many ‘other adventures which the GM can develop, ‘extensive maps for use in both this and other adventures, new items, races, non-player characters, and cteatures. This adventure can be ran alone, worked inco a present campaign the GM is cunning, or used as the starting poine for an exciting new series of GAMMA WORLD modules coming from TSR. Loca: tions on the large area map, the Flower Lands, will be briefly covered when they pertain co ‘upcoming adventures. Ifthe GM wishes 10 ig- note them, he can pick up the adventuce series later on from other maps that will be provided with those modules. The advencure in this module isan “open” adventure; that is, itis not designed for spe- cific player characters. No predetermined player characters are provided for your use. ‘The GAMMA WORLD character player nor- mally uses is perfect for the adventure, While there are some preprogrammed encounters tnd a basic cheme to the adventure, much of the Flower Lands map is unexplored and ready for the GM to develop, using his talents for his ‘own unique scenarios. Some of the fucure GAMMA WORLD module maps will connect with the Flower Lands map. providing the GM with a large, defined atea in which he can base his campaign So buckle on your blaster and keep an eye cout for the dreaded bu'daan. You ate about to cross the decidedly unpastoral Flower Lands to discover the cruch behind che Alpha Factor, the reason mutants came co exist in Gamma World. Only the staunchest, fastest, and luckiest will survive. BACKGROUND The adventures in this module take place in 8 section of Gamma World called the Flower Lands, This vast area can be placed anywhere the GM desires in his campaign The land is a bizarre mixcure of a variety of flora and fauna which excends well off the southern end of the map. The main focus of the adventure takes place on the small plateau nica the junction of the old highways, called Mindkeep Plateau. all other encounters take place on the map. Some of the information and clues provided by preprogrammed en- counters help in this advencute: other pieces ‘of information exist to further clarify the cause ‘of Gamma World and the teal dangers that still exist within it. Sull more information is provided as intioductory clues to future GAMMA WORLD modules planned for re- lease by TSR; these will always be listed as such, And, of course, there are always some undefined details, rumors, and names pro- vided that the GM can develop into his own adventure. Inppreparing thisadventure, the GM should firs study the maps. MAPS Map of lower Lands: The latge map included ‘with this book represents an aerial photograph that is supplied to the player characters (see ‘The Advencure Begins). This map can be shared between the players and the GM. Note that there is no scale on the map, no way for the players to figure our how far they can go in cone day. This is done on purpose, because dif ferent types of terrain require different amounts of time to cross. All eraveling times meotioned in the following text are for a hhuman-sized, bipedal character in reasonably good health in good weather. The GM should {ake into account the weather, the character's size and mode of transportation, etc., when adjusting the movement rate. The rate is ale ways listed as how many minutes or hours it takes to move an inch on che map. ‘Anyone wishing to play in this campaign should noe tead any further than this para- graph in this booklet. Flowerland Terrain Types River or Lake: This term includes the shoreline surrounding the river or lake. The travel rate for the shoreline is 30 minutes per inch. The rivers un from east to west in this part of the country. Anyone traveling against che current travels at 45 minutes per inch, Anyone travel ing with the currene travels at 10 minutes an inch. Characters on the lake move ata rate of 20 minutes per inch Al rivers and streams are considered rapid and sciong for purposes of calculating the tdme needed to cross them and figuring che chances of drowning (sce the advanced GAMMA WORLD rules). The riversand lakes ate inhabited Ancient Freeways: These long stretches of road ate remnants of the civilization that ex: isted here before the holocaust. They are the equivalent of modern four-lane-wide high- ways, but ate made out of some strange ceramic! meral alloy chat resists weathering. ‘Ac one time there was coating over the road, ‘bur thac has long been chipped away or eaten. ‘off by the local denizens. The road now ap- pears to be metal. It has rusted and appears from great heights to be a dull, red ribbon that runs through the valley. Ifthe weather is clear, the road heats up within an hour after suntise and becomes hot enough 10 cook ot bake om within a few hours. Aayone walking fon the toad duting the middle of the day (noon to four p.m.) receives 246 of damage for every minute they areon iif they are walk- ing in bare feet. I they are weating some type cof normal footwear, damage is reduced co 1d6, but the foorwear will be destroyed after an hour ofthis type of weatment. Only special heat resistant footwear is capable of traversing this road with no ill effects, ‘Travel time along the road is 10 minutes pee inch. North of Mindkeep Plateau are the re mains of the intersection of all of the old toads. ‘The intersection has been flooded ‘many times and is in shambles, many pieces being dislodged and cartied away by roaring floods. The tivers have now cut theit way through the intersection, making continued travel along the road difficult. The western 2 end of the Old Road goes into an old tunnel, but the tunnel collapsed some time ago. The Old Road passes through a radioactive blast area, That strech of coud has a permanent ra diation intensity level of 16, The northern end. ‘of the North Road is lost co the shifting fields fof the plains, bue actuslly is picked up again farther north, off che map. The easter end of the Wer Road once went down a hill, into ‘what is now a lake, and cannot be found. The southern end of the South Road bas myster ‘ously disappeared altogether. Nota trae of it «an be found in the Ice Forest, the Hot River, for East Neverdark (it was scavenged by peo” ples to the south of the Hower Lands long, age). Cliffs & Plareaus: There are three plateaus in the Flower Lands: The Last Friendly Lands, to the west, Mindkeep Plateau, and Blue Food Flas, Mindkeep is an arcfiial plateau, man- made co add co Mindkeep's security, The Last Friendly Lands isa natural plateau and even- tually Ieads to a mountain range to the west, ‘off the map. Both plateaus take three hours to climb. An extension of the South Road leads up to Mindkeep. This toad cakes only 15 min: utes to ascend. A twisting foorpath, safe from rockfalls or slides, descends from che Last Friendly Lands plateau. Characters can de scend this in one hout. Blue Food Flats is the tallest acura steucture inthe Flower Lands. It takes four hours to climb (there is no other ‘way up), and is covered by blue mushrooms. ‘There is acave in the very center of the flat, in hhabited by Ermon the hermit (see New NPCs section)