Dark Continent Redux: Inner Station

Dark Continent Redux

A Fantasy Core Adventure

© Jerry Harris 2016

Published here as Open Game Content.

(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Playtest Rules.)

Dark Continent Index

Interior Index

Inner Station

Possessed Natives and Witch Doctors

The Marine Company

The Decision

The Light Watchtower

Docks

Warehouses and Tent City/The Alleys/Sheriff’s Tower

Military Pier and Estates

Banana Bar and Port Town Inn/Temple

Mine/Keep/Afterward

Hellion

General Description

Inner Station is a port town located on a small lake near a large set of falls.  In peaceful times, Inner Station is hustling and bustling with cargo coming and going into this natural harbor.  Inner Station is a hub point for many colonial estates and villages in the Interior.  Unlike Central Station, the population here is highly transitory, even the native laborers are just temporary occupants.  Resident colonists are scattered and few here.  This has had the effect of retarding various needed civic improvements, most notably, a defensive wall. 

While the various interested parties dicker amongst themselves during this uprising, Inner Station has been forced to rely on their Keep and the two forts upriver for its protection.  Aggressive patrols and waterborne interdiction have been used extensively, but unfortunately, they were not prepared for a well-planned invasion.

The Plan of Attack

Kurtz and his loyal natives scouted out the town pretty thoroughly in preparation for an eventual attack.  Unfortunately for him, this caused Kurtz’s allies to back out of the attack.  Even the promise of significant air support (there’s an understatement) and being lead by the Demon Host, could not entice them to attack a fortified colonial position. 

Kurtz went with Plan B: convert several tribes of natives into demonic servants, who won’t question his orders.  These are by and large terrible troops, only good for mass attacks with high losses.  Further, it’s alienated the rest of his native allies, who have either fled from him (and reinforced Kurtz’s unseen native enemy, Satha, who we’ll meet later), or put them in open rebellion to him.  Regardless, the attack proceeded. 

After effectively cutting off the twin forts up river, Inner Station would have no quick reinforcements.  Even with the town on alert, it was unprepared for such a coordinated assault to come.  The Light Watchtower was taken first by stealth at night.  It is the high ground over the harbor.  Taking it cuts off escape and prevents sea-borne reinforcements.  The Sherriff was identified as the strongest fighter in town and leader of the militia.  A group of disguised natives allowed themselves to the taken into custody the same night before in separate incidents.  They escaped confinement with magical aids and assassinated him and his deputies right before the fighting started.

At dawn, the Keep, with most of the military personnel, was openly assaulted by a dragon, Hellion.  Attacks by dragons are not something Commonwealth troops drill for, nor was the fort designed to withstand an aerial attack.  Simultaneous with this attack, suicide arcane bombers attacked the nearby mine.  The cave-in trapped many of the miners, who are also militia members, inside, taking them out of the fight for now.

The fort and virtually all of its troops fell, denying the town any immediate military reinforcement.  But Hellion was badly wounded in the fight and survivors escaped into town.  Messages, by various mundane and magical means, have also gone out to all of the surrounding communities and to Central Station.  Help will be coming, but not for several hours at the quickest. 

The dragon’s attack was the signal for waves of Possessed Native troops to swarm down on the town from all directions.  Ideally, the inhabitants, being attacked from the north, south, and east, would be herded to the docks and then taken prisoner.  From the north, those at the warehouses fell immediately, but the numerous native residents have run into in the jungle instead of to the docks.  Possessed troops have been scattered trying to capture them. 

From the east, some pockets of resistance have congregated at the town’s most defendable structures, while the dock area and fleeing colonists are being protected by Marines, who had just landed there in the morning.  The southern attack was badly blunted at the private estates, which were designed to be fortified compounds.  The Possessed have only been able to surround them and pin down the mercenaries there.  However, center of town has been overrun and troops are massing there to take out the remaining pockets of resistance.  

Kurtz’s plan has been brilliant, but no military engagement goes as planned.  The troops at the Keep went down, but went down swinging.  Hellion is licking his numerous wounds in the ruins, unable to re-engage in the fight.  The townspeople and various mercenaries, while badly outnumbered, have been way more resourceful than Kurtz’s mindless troops and refuse to be overrun.  The appearance of an unexpected company of Marines has made it virtually impossible to end the fight quickly before more reinforcements arrive from downriver. 

And then the Characters show up.