Shadows Over Las Vegas – Wayward Flock (#Shadowrun)
This job was centered on one of the characters who was called “Father”, as he moonlighted as a local priest.
Scene 1 – Church on Sunday
The Father is in his Church, preaching to his congregation as is his Sunday tradition. However, at the end of his sermon, one of his congregation approaches him, his eyes downcast and sad. When the Father approaches him, he speaks low and almost too quiet to hear.
“Forgive me Father, if I overstep my bounds, but there are rumours that you actively protect your flock from the dangers of the real world using more than just your faith. I… I don’t know where else to turn…”
Assuming Father is willing to hear from the man, he continues, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed that several members of your congregation have gone missing. It’s not too unusual for people to miss Church on Sunday, so I wasn’t sure if you’d notice… but several people in our neighbourhood have gone missing. They aren’t just missing Church… no one has seen them in days or weeks. People are starting to get scared. I just wanted you to know, in case there was something you could do about it…”
If asked, the man (Declan Griffin) tells them that at least three people are missing: Ashton Turner, Rosie Morgan and Sarah Bryant. He knows where they all live and can give the team the addresses for the people, if required.
Scene 2 – Lost Souls
The homes of the missing people all tell a similar story. The homes may differ and the lifestyles may vary, but there are similarities in every home that the runners visit. Their immediate neighbours don’t recall seeing anything unusual. There’s no sign of a struggle, or abduction… in fact in every home, it looks like the residents packed a day trip bag and just left. Each house also has a pamphlet displayed prominently in their kitchen, where most other residences simply threw it out.
The pamphlet talks about a new Church that is starting up in the area called The Church of the Risen Martyr. Calling the number on the pamphlet goes to a message system that provides an address for the new Church.
Scene 3 – New Faith
The address turns out to be a vacant lot where a gang is currently squatting. If the runners approach, the gang outnumbers them 2 to 1 and they approach with smiling faces and open posture. If the runners ask about the Church they are eager to ask them if they’d like to join and if one of the runners expresses interest, the lead ganger offers a handshake. His aura gives off strong vibes of duplicity and if someone does take the offered handshake, an injection tip will pierce the runner’s hand and pump them full of a drug that makes them very suggestible.
The ganger will suggest they head home, pack a bag and come for their initiation camp. The runners can choose to play along or opt to fight their way through the gang. If they play along, when they return for the initiation camp, the gang will knock them out with a tranq patch and move them while they’re unconscious (unless the runners resist).
If the runners fight, it is out in the open and likely in broad daylight, so it won’t be long before PuebSec comes to investigate. But one of the defeated gangers will quickly spill the beans under the spotlight of professional runners. He tells the runners that the Church is set up in an old derelict community center.
Gangers
Scene 4 – False Prophet
The old Community Center looks abandoned, unless you know what to look for. While there are several gutted vehicles in the parking lot, there is no loose debris in the lot. The windows are boarded up, but the doors aren’t chained. Despite city records showing the building having been decommissioned years ago, the building is heated and has limited power.
Rooms have been set up with cots and the congregation seems to live in this compound that has been set up. In the largest conference hall is the main Church… where a man in an expensive suit stands behind a pulpit, preaching to rousing cheers of “Amen” from his congregation. The scripture is directly from the Bible without any seeming insidious extra interpretations being woven within it, yet the congregation seems to be almost chomping at the bit with energy.
If Father enters the Church, one of his former sheep points him out as a “false prophet” and that he doesn’t truly know the word of God. Any other runners are welcomed into the Church and invited to come down to the prayer rail, where they will be introduced to the priest and the archangel that has blessed the Church.
The priest is a Christian Theurgist mage, but looking at him shows him to be gaunt and malnourished, despite the nice suit. The congregation is also showing signs of malnourishment. On the astral plane is a powerful spirit that has adopted the visage of an angelic form made of pure white light. When the runners look on it, they will need to make a Composure roll to resist the enthralling draw of the Muse Spirit. If they can breach the appearance of the spirit, they see a thin, dark humanoid form who feeds off the fervor of those it inspires. Ultimately, the only evil one in the room is the Muse.
The Mob
Priest … Make it up… name is Mason Harris.
The Muse is powerful from feeding and is Force 7.
If the Muse is destroyed, those it has enraptured are free from their obsessions and are appalled by their actions. Many are empty without their inspiration, but some will offer thanks for freeing their minds. If the runners seek payment, they will be given a couple grand in thanks, but if they don’t seek any monetary gain, Father will gain more loyalty from the locals and more Karma can be rewarded.
>> Hiring runners because people changed congregations? What is this world coming to?
>> Skeptik
>> It’s more than that. Others went missing too, who aren’t attending Church. Not even religious. It’s only because popular congregates went missing that this popped up on radar.
>> Leviticus
>> There’s definitely something weird going on in Vegas… and not the usual weird. Something tells me you’re going to need a mage on this one. The astral plane feels off…
>> Revenge
The Data Haven 