Ruins of the Encampment The Iron Shelter When the Axe Tribe members return to their encampment, they find it in ruins Several members of the tribe lie dead, and many of the buildings are burned or otherwise damaged The encampment fell victim to an attack by Mr Fix-It and his band of slavers They attacked during the night They tried to subdue the women and children, but killed any able-bodied men who resisted (and many who did not) The fate of featured NPCs depends on their description Any NPCs who were able-bodied warriors are injured and incapacitated, but still alive Any NPCs that aren’t warriors were taken by Mr Fix-It, and are being held at Fix-It’s headquarters (see page 65) As the heroes search the bodies they find that a little more than half their community are among the fallen, and these are mostly able-bodied men Their injuries seem to come either from crossbows (there are several bolts still left in bodies and in the surrounding area) or from slashing and bludgeoning weapons The other membes for the tribe are unaccounted for The characters also discover the bodies of three men who don’t belong to the Axe Tribe All three are clad in leather They all have multiple facial piercings, though there is no uniform pattern Survivors: Among the dead, the PCs also find 1d6 survivors plus the featured NPCs All of these survivors are stable, but at negative hit points, and will die if the PCs not manage to help them Each unconscious NPC currently has negative 1d10 hit points If the PCs can restore them to zero or more, the NPC regains consciousness Conscious NPCs tell the heroes about an attack that came from nowhere Men they did not recognize burst into camp in the middle of the night They killed many of the warriors in their sleep They tied ropes around many of the women and children and started hauling them away Many of the tribesfolk resisted, but they were quickly overwhelmed The NPC begs the heroes to save those who were taken before slipping back into unconsciousness The surviving NPCs need natural healing to recover, leaving the PCs in a conundrum about what to If left in the camp with negative hit points, the NPCs will likely die If they can all be brought up to zero or more hit points, they will be able to at least feed themselves from the encampment’s supplies, but that might not last long The PCs might also try to find somebody else to care for the injured NPCs, such as by bringing them to Wright Town (page 106) Tracking the Attackers: The PCs can find the attackers’ tracks with a DC 10 Survival check If the PCs check the incoming tracks, they find that the group stopped some ways from the encampment, and then fanned out to surround the Axe Tribe As with most tracking checks in Broken Earth, a successful check allows the PCs to track the group through one 12-mile hex Other NPCs: The Axe Tribe encampment is a good place for groups of PCs to encounter each other, as PCs from other communities might also be tracking the slavers, or could see the smoke coming from the camp If the other PCs arrive first, the PCs from the Axe Tribe might suspect the others of being part of the attack If all the PCs are united at this point, it might also be a good opportunity to run the first combat (see page 67) When the Iron Shelter was constructed, the first generation assumed the people surviving there would one day return to the surface to resettle the surface world As the original settlers died off, this goal started to fade from many people’s minds, and they focused on perfecting their little world below the earth Several recent events rekindled interest in returning to the surface The shelter included equipment to monitor radiation levels on the surface, and they have now fallen to levels compatible with human life They’ve also started picking up radio signals, including the mysterious Phoenix broadcast Finally, they’ve monitored their power reserves, and the elders estimate they have roughly five years of power left at their current consumption rate After much debate among the ruling council (and many rumors among the populace), the council decided to send a small team up to explore the surface world The council selected the members of this group, and gave no explanation about why they chose who they chose The exploratory group includes all of the featured NPCs from the Iron Shelter (unless it is a very young child, in which case another member of the child’s family is chosen), along with Chelsea Vang, Abdi Johnson, John Malina, and Kim Olsen None of the heroes are chosen The heroes say farewell to their featured NPCs and then wait And wait The Waiting The group sent to explore the surface was supposed to just scout the immediate surroundings for three days, and then return to the shelter the next day But they never came back The group ran afoul of Mr Fix-It’s band, and are now prisoners As the days go by, concern builds among the residents of the Iron Shelter Family members of the missing citizens talk about sending somebody up to look for their loved ones, and they encourage the heroes to the looking The council is divided, some believe that this is just proof of how dangerous the surface world is On their own, the council does nothing If the PCs talk to the council, they can attempt a DC 15 Diplomacy check to convince them to authorize a rescue mission, however if they fail, the council refuses to support such a mission Even without council approval, other NPCs encourage the heroes to sneak out of the shelter to find the missing group If anybody has a young child as a featured NPC, that character begs the heroes to go out and find the missing people, and if the PC refuses, the child runs off trying to find them on his own Exploring the Surface One way or another, the PCs from the Iron Shelter need to leave the Iron Shelter to search for the missing expedition Once they do, narrate how strange the world above appears, reinforce just how isolated the Iron Shelter is Plants stretch to the sky, and tiny flying creatures bite the heroes Tracking: The PCs can find which way the missing group went with a successful Survival check, which has a base DC of 14, +1 for every 24 hours since the first group left These tracks lead at first to the Axe Tribe’s encampment, and then further south towards Highway 169 65