tunnels & trolls asphalt warrior - highway to hades

2

A Post-Apocalyptic Solo Adventure

“We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives. That it is inside ourselves. Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with the enemy.”

-- Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”

Copyright © 2011 by Pyramid Games Author: David Martin

Thanks: David Assaf, Donald Weis Cover Art: Jeff Freels

Interior Art: David Martin, Ian Phillips

3

RRuulleess ooff PPllaayy

General Instructions: Asphalt Warrior: Highway to Hades solitaire is a Tunnels and Trolls™ apocalyptic adventure for a single human warrior. A pre-generated human character & vehicle has been provided for use in this solo. Sorry, but there is no room here for monsters of any type, nor will diminutive kindreds be admitted. This solo was designed to be used with fifth edition T&T Rules, but will easily adapt to any other T&T Rules edition or RPG rule system. To play this solo, you should have a pen, paper, a rule book, and a good supply of 6-sided dice handy. The number after each “go to” statement indicates the number of the paragraph to read next. Driving Skill (DS): This attribute refers to both mental and physical reaction times when driving a vehicle. The higher the Driving Skill the better the reaction time. To determine this new attribute, roll three dice once and write down the number obtained. This will give a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 18. During this solo you will be asked to make a Driving Skill Saving Roll to perform certain actions. Bullet Stun Damage: Stun damage is a loss of action caused by the 'punch' of the bullet. Once hit by a bullet, to avoid being stunned for one round, a L1- DEX-SR must be made. A successful SR avoids this loss of action. Spite Damage: In combat, every "6" rolled always counts for 1 additional point of damage dealt directly to the target's CON or MR despite armor protection, no matter which side wins the turn. These points of damage get through "in spite of" everything one can do to stop them. Since T&T does not use a blow-by-blow description of combat with hit locations, spite damage reflects the fact that combat is always dangerous and one can always be hurt by it. Adventure Points (AP): Give your character a number of AP equal to the full MR value of any opponent defeated. In addition, the notation AP appears at the end of some paragraphs, along with a numeric value; this value represents the special Adventure Points award earned by a character that survives the events described in that paragraph. Bonus AP are given in Adventure Points for defeating opponents, finding gas, equipment, weapons, and making required Saving Rolls.

4

Saving Rolls (SR): When asked to make a Saving Roll, you are also given a Level and an Attribute: for instance, a “Level One Saving Roll versus Speed" (usually shortened to "L1-SPD-SR"). To perform a Saving Roll, simply roll 2D6. If you get doubles, roll another 2D6. Add up all the pips rolled, then add the relevant Attribute. Compare that total to the target number, as shown on the table to the right; if your total is equal to or higher than the target number, you succeed. Note, though, that you always fail on a dice roll total of 3 or 4; no matter how lucky you are, accidents can always happen. Abbreviations: 2D6: the result of rolling two six-sided dice. SR: Saving Roll. gp: gold pieces, sp: silver pieces, cp: copper pieces. WT: weight. MR: Monster Rating. AP: Adventure Points. STR: Strength, CON: Constitution, DEX: Dexterity, SPD: Speed, INT: Intelligence, CHR: Charisma, LK: Luck, DS: Driving Skill, LF: Left Front, RF: Right Front, DA: Driver Area, LR: Left Rear, RR: Right Rear.

MMooddeerrnn GGuunnss

Some modern weapons are used in this solo. More detail will be offered where they appear.

Another interesting addition to the damage borrowed from Tunnels & Trolls is the idea of stun damage, which makes combat a bit less gory and even more convincing. What this means is that when a bullet hits, it does both normal damage and stun damage at the moment of impact. Stun damage is a loss of action caused by the 'punch' of the bullet. Once hit, to avoid being stunned for one round, a L1-DEX-SR must be made. A successful SR avoids this loss of action.

There isn't room to go into every detail due to limited space in

Asphalt Warrior: Highway to Hades. I hope that this does provide some useful guidance for improving modern firearms use in T&T.

5

PPrree--ggeenneerraatteedd CChhaarraacctteerr

Name: Constantine 'Gray Wolf' Miller Class: Warrior, Kindred: Human, Level: 3 (just made level 3) Height: 6 feet, Weight: 190 lbs, Hair: Black (with some gray), Age: Appears 30 (actual age is 207), Eyes: Dark, Skin: Tanned,

Stats: STR: 14, CON: 14, DEX: 27, SPD: 15,

INT: 15, LK: 17, CHR: 12, DS: 17 Combat Adds: 22 Adventure Points Gained: ______________________________ Hits Taken: ______________________________________ Armor Hits: 6 (3 for leather outfit, doubled for being a warrior) Abilities: Regenerative powers that gives near immortality. Gray Wolf is not death proof. He heals quickly from wounds what might kill a normal man. Equipment: Leather Coat, Leather Pants, Leather Boots, Lucky Rabbit Foot (hanging from car rear-view mirror), Screwdriver (VU: 1), Vehicle Repair Kit [assortment of tools](VU: 4), Gas Can [3 gallon](VU: 1), Jack (VU: 1), Spare Tire For Car (VU: 3). Personal Weapons Found: 1) Name: ____________ Magazine Cap: ___ Dice + Adds:______ Rate of Fire: ____ Str Req: _____ Dex Req: _____ Cost: _______ Weight: _______ Range: _________ 2) Name: ____________ Magazine Cap: ___ Dice + Adds:______ Rate of Fire: ____ Str Req: _____ Dex Req: _____ Cost: _______ Weight: _______ Range: _________ Items Found: ________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6

PPrree--ggeenneerraatteedd CCaarr

Each vehicle attribute (LF: Left Front, RF: Right Front, DA: Driver Area, LR: Left Rear, RR: Right Rear) measures the durability of this car and how much damage it can take after armor. Vehicle attributes are similar to the prime character attribute Constitution. Combat damage is subtracted from a certain area, determined at random by rolling 1d6 die (see next page). If any area reaches 0, the vehicle is not drivable and must be repaired.

Vehicle Type: Specially modified 600 H.P. Police Interceptor Vehicle Armor: 20 points

Bullet Proof Glass, Armored Body, Roll Cage, Solid Rubber Tires, Dual Shocks, Dual Springs

Machine Gun: Hood Mounted Machine Gun (Forward Firing Only)

(Shade in 5 boxes. Each represents 1 gun belt.) Mini-Missile: Trunk Mounted Missile Launcher (Fires Any Direction)

(Shade in 5 boxes. Each represents 1 missile.)

Special: The Gas Tank Hold 16 Gallons

(Shade in 8 boxes with a pencil to start. Each box represents 1 gallon of gas. When you find gas, shade in a new box(s) or erase boxes as gas is deducted from your car.)

Aim & Fire Missile

Solid Rubber Tires

ArmoredBody

Bullet Proof Glass

Machine Gun

Dual Shocks

Driver Roll Cage

600 H.P. Engine

7

Vehicle Stats: (Left Front) LF: 45, (Right Front) RF: 45, (Driver Area) DA: 50, (Left Rear) LR: 45, (Right Rear) RR: 45.

Hits Taken: _____________________ _______________________________ Vehicle Weapons: (1) Machine Gun: (Forward Firing Only), Dice: 7, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 5, DEX Req: 16, VU: 4, Wt.: 250, Range: 300 yards. The weapon must be aimed and fired by the driver (much like a police spot light). Ammunition: magazines belts can be traded from weapon vendors for VU: 4. Each time it is fired 100 rounds are expended, giving the machine gun (5) shots. (2) Mini-Missile: (Fires Any Direction), Dice: 9, Adds: 0, Ammo: 5 missiles, Shots: 5, STR Req: 5, DEX Req: 17, VU: 4, Wt.: 350, Range: 500 yards. These are fire and forget missiles. The missile launcher holds 5 missiles. Ammunition: missiles can be traded from weapon vendors for VU: 4. Each time it is fired 1 mini-missile is expended, giving the mini-missile launcher (5) shots.

Vehicle weapon systems cannot be reloaded during combat. All weapons can only be reloaded when the vehicle is stopped.

Vehicle combat works much the same as normal Tunnels & Trolls combat. Any hit suffered by this vehicle which is over and above that absorbed by its armor (20 points), it is then deducted from a specific area attribute. This is determined at random by rolling 1d6 die and looking at the vehicle location hit (see picture at top right).

Die Roll: 11 = Left Front (LF), 22 = Right Front (RF), 33--44 =

Driver Area (DA), 55 = Left Rear (LR), 66 = Right Rear (RR). A hit that exceeds the Driver Area allowance both disables the

car and hits the driver with the excess. Of course, the driver's hits are reduced by personal armor.

8

IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn

You are Gray-Wolf, a former New Mexico state highway patrol officer, still dressed in your leather uniform. Your real name is Constantine 'Gray-Wolf' Miller, but you are now known only as Gray-Wolf. You were born into a world that has fallen into the Apocalypse, but your legendary exploits have strayed far from the truth. You saw your world crumble and then explode.

The world began to die many years prior to the Shadow Years. For nearly a century prior to your own birth, war, famine, and deadly diseases had become obsolete. Law and order were enforced by the United World Government. Genetic researchers had developed ways to feed and immunize increasingly larger populations around the world. As a result, people lived longer, richer lives. For a while, many thought they had created paradise on earth, but they were wrong. The civilization built by the hand of man could no longer sustain its own growth.

Those were some of the problems you never heard about before the Shadow Years. You were one of those law enforcement officers. You wore a badge. You helped control the masses.

Protests and demonstrations became commonplace. Protests turned into riots when 'loyalists' would clash with 'anarchists' on narrow, decaying streets. These riots were then suppressed by the world military, sometimes in extreme fashion, destroying entire cities, killing many, and creating even more homeless. It was this injustice that created the group called 'The Apocalypse,' who demanded an immediate cessation of violence against the people, with a threat of force no one could conceive.

You remember the last days of the Shadow Years very clearly. You were driving your police interceptor on I-50. While you were discussing plans for a vacation with your top supervisor, the transmission was suddenly cut, replaced by static and white noise. Looking ahead to the east, you saw the sight you can never forget. There on the horizon, approximately 30 miles away, a big red cloud formed into the tell-tale mushroom shape. Your heart stopped and your foot hit the decelerator. Spinning around the way you came, you saw the other red mushroom engulfing the west. You pulled off to the side of the road and threw up.

A short while later you were joined by other drivers, some not nearly as lucky as you. The advanced design of your police interceptor had protected you from the worst of the radiation. Of those who pulled off the road with you that day, only a few survived the burns and radiation poisoning.

9

Those remaining were sick for many weeks. You took shelter in an abandoned vehicle and survived as best you could on some food discovered abandoned by long haul truck drivers, while waiting for the sun to reappear. It did not. The vigilantes called 'The Apocalypse' had indeed brought down a fury never before witnessed on the face of the earth. Oceans boiled, continents buckled and the skies blazed with the light of unbelievable energies.

When the other survivors recovered, they had been changed. Simon, a friend and fellow New Mexico state highway patrol officer, could stop time just by thinking about it. His wife, Jan, slapped you in the face twice before you realized she could hear your thoughts. One survivor, Max, was a truck driver; big and burly before, he actually seemed to grow in size as he recovered from the radiation sickness and he had gained the strength of ten men and now had four arms. You appeared totally unaffected by the radiation, and for many years that is what you believed.

Simon, Max, Jan and you realized that you could not stay at the side of a road forever. You decided to part, each taking our own vehicles in different directions, each vowing to contact the others if you discovered any traces of civilization. You never heard from most of them again, nor did you ever discover why the nukes were dropped, and now 207 years later, you doubt you ever will. You have not aged a day since you were struck by the radiation. Now you go by the name Gray-Wolf, but you will always be a law enforcement officer at heart, patrolling the apocalyptic roads, dealing out justice, even if you are the last of a dying breed with one desire, to protect and serve the people.

SSttaarrtt

Pushing the pedal, you speed away from your base, an abandon gas station, located near 26.8 mile marker along the highway U.S. I-50 South in (nuked) New Mexico.

Driving your super-charged 600 horse power Police Interceptor, you let the ancient highway guide you far to the south, towards the mountains. Eventually you encounter a barrier of machines (a jumble of wrecked and rusting vehicles), filling the ancient highway from ditch to ditch. You slowed as you navigated through them.

Your choices are; stop and search vehicles (go to 10), stop

and check your car (go to 30), search for gas (go to 25), keep going down the highway (go to 49).

10

1) The highway map you obtained from the weapons traders could prove very useful. Unfolding it, you notice a town marked "Hades", a couple hundred miles away, in the same direction you are now heading. A scribbled note beside it says it is a small walled town and a good place to visit, a place that welcomed all strangers.

You wanted to go there. The map would help you find it. To attempt to re-fold the map, roll a L3-SR vs. LK (Your LK:

17)(17 -30 = roll 13 or higher on 2d6 to be successful. You really need to roll some doubles to make it).

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.) After several failed attempts (unless you made it) at re-folding

the map, you crammed the map under your seat. You would memorize the route.

Now, (go to 4).

2) Trying to out run the hot rod pick-up truck was a dumb idea. He lets you take the lead and then expertly swerves in behind you and opens fire with his small twin fender mounted machine guns. You can only return fire with your mini-missile launcher.

Roll a L2-SR vs. DS (Your DS: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, you are stuck in another combat round in front of the pick-up truck, with him firing at you. If you are successful with this SR, you can elude him, (go to 41).

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.) Check to see where your car and the pick-up truck are hit and

deduct the damage. Remember to reduce this damage from your cars armor:

Die Roll: 11 = Left Front (LF), 22 = Right Front (RF), 33--44 = Driver Area (DA), 55 = Left Rear (LR), 66 = Right Rear (RR).

If at any point your car in not drivable due to damage, your solo adventure ends (unless stated otherwise). Your regenerative powers let you heal 1d6 CON each paragraph you visit after this paragraph, if you are personally damaged.

(Pick-Up Stats: (Left Front) LF: 47, (Right Front) RF: 47, (Driver Area) DA: 50 (Driver CON: 9), (Left Rear) LR: 40, (Right Rear) RR: 40, 2 Small Machine Guns: Dice: 4 + 3, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 6, DEX Req: 17, VU: 3 (each), Wt.: 250, Range: 100 yards.)

11

(You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.)

If you somehow destroy the pick-up truck, (go to 28). If you don't destroy it, then continue, (go to 41).

3) Sometimes your luck is really good, and other times it is just down right crap. As you sit behind the wheel and sped down the narrow black-top, your finely-tuned engine pulsed like a living breathing predator. Steep rolling wasteland hills were all you could see. Many miles quickly pass by.

(Erase 1 gas box from your pre-generated car.) If you keep your speed between 50-70 mph, (go to 53), or

increase your speed 71-130 mph, (go to 23).

4) You turn off on a side road that eventually brings you into what was once a town long ago, without having to take the main route that every person and creature is probably watching. The less prying eyes the better. The un-named town was just a place of crumbling concrete and steel. It looked more like a war zone than a place anyone would ever call home.

(Erase 1 gas box from your pre-generated car.)

You come to a three way intersection. If you go straight, (go to 6), turn right, (go to 40) or turn left, (go to 24).

12

5) You quickly speed away, leaving everything behind you, up and down its rises and around its curves. You are in a vast wasteland of hills and mountains. Flurries of dust and sand swirl around in your wake, as you move through an eerie, barren land. The only sound for the next few hours is the rumble of your engine and the blistering wind as you follow the map of the highway.

A short time later when you feel you are safe and can relax a little, you see a flash out of the corner of your eye.

Now, (go to 20).

6) At the three way intersection, you go straight into town. Rubble is piled up along the street, in some places as high as the roof of your car. Other than the occasional weeds poking up through the blacktop, the street is relatively clean. At least this appears to be the case, until you run over a piece of steel and it rips the rubber off your rear tire. What rotten luck!

If you don't have a spare tire, (go to 58). (If you do have a spare tire, keep reading.) Not wanting to be caught out in the open, you put it in reverse

and back into a dead end alley. The alley is shaded between two buildings. You get out and quickly change the tire. This shell of a town isn't proving to be a good place to visit.

Once you have changed the tire, you get back into your car and drive away. One more problem solved.

Now, (go to 54).

7) You walk from car to car tapping each gas tank with your screwdriver. It was never easy to find gas that someone has overlooked. You assumed that hundreds of people over the years have done the very same thing as you are doing now.

Roll 2d6 one time (each time you visit this location) on the

'Item Found' table to see what you discover.

13

Roll 2d6 Item Found

1-7 You find no gas.

8 You find a gas tank filled with water.

9 You find 1 gallon of gas in an old smashed pickup truck. Add it to your car (shade in 1 box). You gain 10 AP. VU: 1.

10 You find 2 gallons of gas in the back of a family car filled with skeletons. Add it to your car (shade in 2 boxes). You gain 20 AP. VU: 2.

11 You find 3 gallons of gas hidden in a pull type camper. Add it to your car (shade in 3 boxes). You gain 30 AP. VU: 3.

12 You find 1 quart of oil. You gain 10 AP. VU: 2.

* Value: This is the trading value. All items are valued from 1 point to 4 points and are represented as; VU: 1, VU: 2, VU: 3 or VU: 4.

Return to your car, (go to 49).

8) You lock your brakes and slide, executing a fast right turn, and then driving down a dirt road beneath the bridge. This direction offered a less dangerous route for you and your car, but twists back sharply and then crosses the dry riverbed.

Roll a L2-SR vs. DS (Your DS: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, you get stuck in the loose sand as you are crossing the dry riverbed. It takes 1d6 hours to free your car. If you are successful, keep reading.

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.)

Now, (go to 37).

9) Leaving your car, you to look around and you see the decay everywhere. This place was abandoned over 200+ years ago. All the tires on the vehicles are flat, weather cracked, and slowly coming apart with time. Some of the vehicles held the bones of the former owners you guessed. The windows were dirty, darkened, and pitted from untold years of wind blows storms and scorching heat, even though the truck stop canopy offered some protection.

If you enter the building, (go to 48), otherwise, (go to 56) and ignore the first paragraph there.

15

10) You feel the heat rising off the asphalt in front of your car. A trickle of sweat ran down your face and you quickly wiped it away. These parts of the wasteland were never too pleasant. If sweating was all you were doing, then that was a good thing.

Thoughts of the other apocalyptic challengers waiting for you flitted through your head. You knew most of the road gangs from previous meetings. To the gangs you looked like a burnt out, desolate man, a dead man running from the demons of his past, a man who wandered far away, only to be chased by his fate.

Having stopped and left the safety of your car, you looked around at the jumble of wrecked and rusting vehicles, filling the ancient highway from ditch to ditch, with only a narrow winding path between them. The vehicles must have been traveling along the road in a group when death had struck mysteriously, struck so that some of the vehicles had rammed others or wavered off and piled up, now a jumble of wreckage. Others stood solitary as if the dying driver had been able to bring them to a safe halt to the side of the road before they succumbed.

The column of vehicles stretched out in this forgotten disaster for almost a mile. Along the road beside the abandoned vehicles was a ditch with waist-high weeds which bordered the road. You had a queer distaste for approaching them more closely, with no desire to touch any of the bits of rusted metal. Here and there you see vehicles, seemingly almost intact. But they were dead too. All of it was dead, in a horrible way. You experienced a vague feeling of contamination from just looking at the wreckage.

You find nothing of use in the first dozen vehicles, just empty shells.

If you keep searching the vehicles, (go to 43). If you get back

into your car and leave, (go to 49). If you investigate the waist-high weeds which border the road, (go to 18).

16

11) Paying close attention to the action, your car roars to life, burning the tires and hammering forward as you attempt to catch the fleeing vehicle, but he has a big lead on you.

You felt a slight smile come though. Your nerves were steady, but your heart began to race just like your car. The only thought in your mind was catching him. The loud rumbling of your 600 H.P. V8 motor was intense and overwhelming; increasing each time you shifted gears and pressed the accelerator for more speed.

When you crest a hill your heart sank as the highway had several routes, any of which he could have taken. You give up on finding the pick-up truck for now.

Now, (go to 41).

12) Fighting back a bevy of mixed emotions, you take the initiative and ram the pick-up truck. If he can do that to you, you can do it to him as well.

(Each vehicle takes 4d6 damage from being rammed.) Check to see where your car and the pick-up truck are hit and

deduct the damage, as well as any previous damage. Remember to reduce this damage from your cars armor:




(You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.) If you somehow destroy the pick-up truck, (go to 28).

Having had enough, the pick-up truck takes a hard turn off the

highway into the hills. At your high speed, he is gone from view in a matter of seconds, lost in a dust cloud. You hit the gas pedal and keep going.

Now, (go to 41).

17

13) (If you want to reduce the damage as per the T&T Rules, you can fire back with a personal weapon [if you have one] from your car window. If not, then you speed away and he gets only one shot at you, but your vehicle takes the full damage.)

Check to see where your car is hit and deduct the damage. Remember to reduce this damage from your cars armor:



(Gun: Dice: 4 + 3, Shots: 5.) (Deduct any personal weapon shells used from your character

sheet.)

Now, (go to 54).

14) You put it into gear and your engine growls as you drive from the narrow black-top into a haze of red dust kicked up by your car, following a winding dirt road.

A short distance later the road ends at an adobe type building on a hilltop, with a wide porch attached to it. A few dozen wrecked or stripped vehicles sit rusting in the weeds around the building. A dark highland green Ford Mustang super-charged G.T.390 Fastback can be seen parked in front of the building.

A hand painted sign in a window reads; "Flem the Redneck Trader". A man wearing dirty overhauls comes out to greet you.

If you talk to the man, (go to 47), or just turn your car around and leave, (go to 32).

15) In a wide area along the highway ahead of you is a jumble of wrecked vehicles. A few are still smoking. Bullet holes dot many of the half dozen vehicles. At least twenty people stand around them.

If you stop to help them, (go to 55), or keep driving down the highway and ignore them, (go to 19).

19

16) You see a hair-pin turn side road coming up fast. Your tires heat up and squeal in protest as you smash the brake pedal, attempting to make the hard turn at high speed, but you are confident in your ability to pull off the maneuver.

Roll a L2-SR vs. DS (Your DS: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, you spin out while attempting the high speed turn and become a sitting duck for the fast approaching semi tractor.

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.) If you fail the SR, (go to 60). If you succeed, (go to 3).

17) The winds have picked up; sand was ripping across the wasteland, tearing at everything it came across in a bizarre, wind-swept sight. As the sun beamed down ever stronger, it gave everything a dry, cracked appearance.

The rusting patchwork metal walls towered high around the small, walled town of Hades. Weeds poked up through the asphalt road leading to the city gates. The rusting hulks of hundreds of stripped and burned out cars, buses, semis, and miscellaneous rusting junk snaked their way through ditches around the town, creating a man-made barrier. A growing tangle of purple desert wisteria softened the harsh view.

(If your car has been towed here, then your adventure ends here.)

If you don't want to live in Hades, (go to 51), otherwise keep

reading. Hades would be your new home and the start of your new life

for you. You would always law enforcement officer at heart, but it was time to end your battles on the highway and settle down. Hades offered you a bright future and you were going to take it.

The end!

18) The debris along the side of the road has become a landscape fixture, like the rocks, sand and the lizards. As you investigate the waist-high weeds which bordered the road, they seemed very innocent. These weeds had slender stalks topped by flowers with a black center, a blue iris, and twelve tawny sword-shaped petals. Everything beyond that was either flat, leading into rolling hills or mountains farther still.

20

It was times like these that you felt as if you were in your own world, separated from the reality everyone else shared. There was nothing out here, except a few dust devils being stirred up by the hot wind.

You walk a short distance before finding a cowering corpse, blackened, withered and putrefied, sloughing away till the white gleam of bone was visible beneath. The dead man's face is frozen in a tortured pose of realized terror. Suddenly it moves and then looks at you. The radiation rot had spread and the man's bubbling protests drowned in his throat turned to horrid black pus and dribbled away.

Roll a L2-SR vs. LK (Your LK: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, the zombie scratches you for 3d6 damage before you can escape it. Your personal armor will reduce this damage. Your regenerative powers let you heal 1d6 CON each paragraph you visit after this paragraph, if you are personally damaged.

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.) You flee back to your car and speed away, (go to 49).

19) You don't have time to stop and help every person stranded along the road. You do love moving fast and feeling like you are light-years ahead of everyone. You forgot about the people stranded along the road and enjoyed every minute of being behind the wheel of your car, flying down the road like some legendary superhero.

(Erase 1 gas box from your pre-generated car.) Then, you see something on the highway ahead of you. Now, (go to 52).

21

20) Out of know where a classic super-charged pick-up slaloms onto the highway and accelerates into a sweeping left hand curve, matching your speed. You collide and ricochet off one another. For a moment the two of you are side by side.

You immediately recognized the bright yellow pick-up truck with flames painted down the sides as a member of the Yellow Meanies on Wheels gang. His front windshield is knocked out. The driver is dressed in bright yellow and wears a full motorcycle helmet. A small machine gun is mounted on each front fender. Neither of you can fire while side by side.

Most drivers couldn't resist the chance to brag, but this Yellow Meanies on Wheels gang member wouldn’t be bragging when you were finished with him.

(Each vehicle takes 4d6 damage from being rammed.) Check to see where your car and the pick-up truck are hit and

deduct the damage. Remember to reduce this damage from your cars armor:




22

Roll a L2-SR vs. DS (Your DS: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, the pick-up truck driver is a better driver than you, causing you to spin out, as he speeds off. If that happens, (go to 46), otherwise, use the options offered below.

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.) (Erase 1 gas box from your pre-generated car.)

If you try to drop back, (go to 59), attempt to out run him,

(go to 2), ram him, (go to 12) or find a turn off to escape, (go to 41).

21) Your plan of avoiding combat and letting the known killer escape backfires on you. The pick-up truck does a quick u-turn in the middle of the highway and races back toward you.

Now, (go to 52).

22) You slow down and pull into the gas station. Three buildings can be seen silhouetted in a dust-blown wasteland. A gas station canopy shaded cars parked in rusted rows, still bumper to bumper, waiting to be filled with gas.

The sign across the front reads 'Shell-Sta'. Some of the letters are missing. The building seemed out of place, standing like a tiny oasis. Other things caught your attention, such as a heap of fire-blackened bones just beyond a mound of shattered concrete.

Each was a long square block building. All the windows are now dark or gray, from years of being unwashed. A plethora of rusting vehicles sit near the gas pumps seemingly lost in time. You can

23

imagine how alive this place must have been at one time, when it was fully operational. It has long since been abandoned.

If you get out of your vehicle to search the abandoned

buildings, (go to 9). If you leave, (go to 56) and ignore the first paragraph there.

23) You unloaded your car without rebellion, increasing your speed to somewhere between 71-130 mph, almost trembling in the adrenaline experience. It was a feeling you couldn't explain in words. The glorious roaring of the engine filled your senses as you hammered down the road with an unsympathetic gaze.

When you break over a steep hill, you have only seconds to see a large bridge missing that once crossed a deep gorge. You jam the breaks hard as you can and twist the wheel. Your four tires leave black marks on the road.

Roll a L2-SR vs. DS (Your DS: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, you slide off the bridge and into the gorge, smashing into a pile of twisted burning metal. It will be the end of you and your car. If you are successful, keep reading.


You and your car sit motionless for a moment. You let out a deep sigh. You were very lucky this time. As you start to take a u-turn, you see a narrow dirt road heading up into some hills. It looks well used.

If you follow the dirt road, (go to 14), or turn around and go

back the way you came, (go to 32).

24) You smile grimly at your surroundings. You live with violence and death—it's a way of life... How can you be part of it without becoming more and more callous?

You gun your engine and take off, shooting through the narrow passageway of streets at high speed, with inches to spare on either side in some places.

You turn and slide around the corner, accelerating hard straight down the hill toward a bridge.

Now, (go to 54).

24

25) You take an empty gas can from the back seat of your car and a screwdriver (to knock a hole into any gas tank you find that isn't empty) and look around. Even with all of these abandoned vehicles, it was most likely none of them had any gas. Your car has a half a tank of gas in it (8 gallons at the start of this solo). You were addicted to speed, but without gas you wouldn't be going anywhere. You might not find it here, but you needed to find it soon.

(Special: Make note of the fact your car has a half a tank of

gas. It takes 16 gallons of gas to fill its tank.)

To continue your search for gas, (go to 7), or return to your car, (go to 49).

26) It took you a while to recognize the Hells on Wheels Biker Gang. Their clothes are stylish and a little expensive. Bright red leather one piece uniforms were a dead give away. Their hair was dyed the same color as their suits, beneath full racing helmets. There was something very un-standard about them.

You take a moment to look at the panorama, but there wasn't much to see, just a ruined town. You scowl dourly, casting the distant bikers a look which spoke of the generation gap, of always doing the right thing, impossible for them to bridge.

With squealing tires, you begin moving forward, expectantly, showing no fear. The bikers notice you, and take off, heading towards you. It was time for battle.

Check to see where your car is hit and deduct the damage, as well as any previous damage. Remember to reduce this damage

25

from your cars armor. No roll is needed for the motorcycles. They will always be hit in the Drivers Area (DA):



(3 Motorcycles Stats: (Driver Area) DA: 20 (Driver CON: 11, 13, 15), 1 Small Machine Gun (on each motorcycle): Dice: 4 + 3, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 6, DEX Req: 17, VU: 3 (each), Wt.: 250, Range: 100 yards.)

(You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.) (Erase weapon boxes used from your pre-generated car.) If at any time you want to break off combat and enter the

ruined town, (go to 4), or search any defeated biker, (go to 44).

27) Your car is no longer drivable. Not an hour later, a group of people stop to help you. If you visited (area 55), then you know these of people you met there. They agree to take you and tow your car to where it can be repaired.

Now, (go to 17).

28) (Special Note: If you are visiting this location, the hot rod pick-up truck has been destroyed.)

Wheels and metal screaming, the Yellow Meanies on Wheels

gang member pick-up truck slides through a 180 degrees, rolls, and smashes through a road sign and hits a power pole.

(If the driver has not been killed, he flees for his life on foot

into the hills. You may now salvage items from the vehicle. Items include; 2 Small Machine Guns: Dice: 4 + 3, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 6, DEX Req: 17, VU: 3 (each), Wt.: 250, Range: 100 yards and 1 spare tire (VU: 2).)

To trade salvaged items; (if you have visited area 47 before), (go to 47). If you have not, ignore the above sentence. Once you have finished visiting area 47, (go to 41).

(If you do visit the trader, erase 2 gas boxes from your pre-generated car for the trip there and back. If not, ignore this.)

Now, (go to 41).

26

29) For some reason you take a detour and turn off the main highway onto a narrow blacktop. The change in scenery and the steep hills make you use the stick shift more than usual.

Was this road toying with you? Or were you just an old man in a young mans body? You would know soon enough.

All the work on your car, the welding, tweaking—it was the work of infatuation, and yes, it seemed, of love of the sport too. You smiled slightly, secluded on this blacktop.

Half an hour later you break a steep hill and see the blacktop exits back onto the highway. Speeding down the highway, unaware you are watching him from your vantage point is a member of the Yellow Meanies on Wheels gang member, driving a super-charged pick-up truck.

If you race down the exit ramp and engage the pick-up truck in

combat, (go to 52), or let the killer go free, (go to 21).

30) Maintenance is a regular thing that you are very familiar with. You learned it early many years ago. The better the condition you keep your car, the better it will do its job for you. That also might mean saving your life. Your oil is fine and your gas is at a half a tank. Your 600 horse power police interceptor engine is clean. Your radiator is full. Your solid rubber tires, held in place with dual shocks and double springs look good. All lights are in working order. Your hood mounted machine gun has a full belt and is cocked and ready. Your mini-missile launcher is locked and loaded.

(Special: Make note of the fact your car has a half a tank of gas. It takes 16 gallons of gas to fill its tank.)

To leave, (go to 49), to searching the vehicles, (go to 43), to investigate the waist-high weeds which border the road, (go to 18).

31) You push the gas pedal to the floor, and attempt to cross the open span of the bridge.

Roll a L2-SR vs. DS (Your DS: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, you flip end over end and land upside down at the bottom of the dry river bed. Your car explodes into a fireball and you are trapped inside the burning wreck, where you die painfully. If you are successful, keep reading.

27

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.) Your car hits it and takes off, and flies through the air, landing

with a sickening thump. The jolt would have been bone shattering if not for your specially mounted dual shocks and springs. You don't slow up as you whip down the highway ahead of you, fighting to keep control of your car.

If you stop and check your car, (go to 50), or keep driving,

(go to 45).

32) You sit impatiently behind the wheel, back-tracking the same route doggedly you had taken to get here as you sped down the narrow black-top, your finely-tuned engine pulsed like a living breathing predator. Steep rolling wasteland hills were all you could see. Many miles quickly pass by. This time you knew what to expect.

You return to the main highway, (go to 5).

33) You have awoken a thriving nest of buzzrats. They are a mutant looking rats the size of a small house cat, and they attack in packs. The buzzrats begin climbing out of the floor and every place there is to hide and they mean to have you for dinner!

(Roll 4d6 to determine exact number encountered.) (Buzzrats; Appearing: 4-24, MR: 7, Combat Dice: 1D6 + 4,

Special Damage: Once a hit is scored it holds on with its clawed feet for continual damage each combat turn until killed. Special Abilities: Buzzrats attack in groups. Special: Buzzrats are mutant rats that have adapted to survive in the wasteland. They are the size of a common house cat. Over time they have learned the best defense is a good offense. If you retreat the buzzrats will give up and return the area they occupy.)

(You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted. If the buzzrats kill you, they eat you. If that happens, your adventure ends here.)

Your regenerative powers let you heal 1d6 CON each paragraph you visit after this paragraph, if you are personally damaged.

When you flee or finish combat, (go to 56) and ignore the first

paragraph there.

28

34) You were never one to back down from a fight. You see the semi tractor coming up on you. A large machine gun is mounted on its hood. You gun your engine and it screams back at you that it is ready. You crouch over the wheel, with a half grin, half grimace.

"How do I get myself into these situations?" you ask yourself out loud.

What frustrated you most was that you weren't in full control of this impending battle. You jam the pedal to the floor and charge head-long towards the oncoming semi tractor, which had designs of either blasting you or smashing you off the road. Either one is a possibility.

Engage in two rounds of combat as you race down the highway

towards each other. (Semi Tractor Stats: (Left Front) LF: 55, (Right Front) RF: 55,

(Driver Area) DA: 60 (Driver CON: 10), (Left Rear) LR: 35, (Right Rear) RR: 35, Machine Gun: Dice: 7, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 5, DEX Req: 16, VU: 4, Wt.: 250, Range: 300 yards.)

If you are somehow lucky enough to destroy the semi tractor in just two rounds of combat, it swerves off the road on the opposite side into a deep ravine and explodes into flames. If not, keep reading below.




If you want to break off combat NOW, taking a side road, (go to 3), if not keep reading.

On the third round, you meet the semi tractor head on. To avoid the head on collision, roll a L1-SR vs. DS (Your DS:

17)(17 -20 = roll 5 or higher on 2d6 to be successful. A roll of 4 or less is always a failure). If you fail, your car is smashed into a pile of twisted burning metal. It will be the end of you and your car. If you are successful, keep reading.


29

You are much faster and more far more maneuverable than the bulky semi tractor. At the last second, in a life or death game of chicken, you whip around the semi tractor, but it still clips the side of your car and orange sparks fly. You pull a sliding u-turn behind the semi tractor, leaving black marks on the highway. Hammering your car, you smoke your tires as you quickly catch up to the semi tractor from behind.

You can now open fire and it can't fire back. You make quick work of the semi tractor. Speeding down the highway, you see it burning in flames in your rear-view mirror.

(Erase weapon boxes used from your pre-generated car.) (You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.)

If you destroyed the semi tractor and want to attempt to

salvage something from the burning wreck, (go to 57). To follow the highway, (go to 5) or to take the side road, (go to 3).

35) You are surprised when a dump truck that looks like it just came out of the junk yard comes sputtering along the highway and stops beside you. There are several men inside and on top of it. They all appear friendly. One man controls a 50. caliber machine gun mounted on the roof. They tell you that they are weapons traders ask if you have anything to trade.

(If you have anything to trade, do so now.) Any items you have for trade has a (VU) trading value.

Compare your items to the items below and make the trade. Adding your new items to your pre-generated character sheet or car and subtracting the items traded. You can of course trade several items for one item, as long as all (VU) trading value numbers end up being equal when the trade is finished.

Items For Trade

1 Gallon of Gas (he has 20 gallon of gas). VU: 1 (per gallon). Shade in 1 box per gallon purchased. Highway Map. VU: 2 (to check out the map, go to 1).

Car Repair: For a cost of (VU: 4) the weapons traders will repair any damage to your car. They have a cutting torch and a welder, new metal and the skills to fix anything. Full Machine Gun Ammo Belt. Each time it is fired 100 rounds are expended; giving the machine gun (5) shots (he has 5 belts). VU: 4 (per belt).

30

Mini-Missiles (he has 3 sets). VU: 4 (per set of 5 missiles).

Spare Tire for Car, VU: 3.

They agree to mount a third weapon system onto your car for VU: 2. If you have one, they will mount; 1 Small Machine Gun: Dice: 4 + 3, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 6, DEX Req: 17, VU: 3 (each), Wt.: 250, Range: 100 yards.


Once the trading is finished, they drive away. The biker gang does not stop them and they soon disappear from view.

Now, (go to 4).

36) You accelerate hard as you head straight down towards the road block. Your jaw clenches in angry silence as you mentally prepare for the battle facing you.

But then, something colossal an intimidating stirs among the makeshift piles of junk. A 40 foot tall man-shaped mechanized robot stands to its full height, lumbering a few giant steps ahead of the road block. Each arm is equipped with a deadly missile launcher. It turns to face you, aiming at you and your car.

31

Engage in one round of combat as you race down toward the robot.

(Giant Robot Stats: (Head) HD: 25, (Right Arm) RA: 30, (Left

Arm), LA: 30, (Chest Area) CA: 80 (Driver CON: 11), (Left Leg) LL: 25, (Right Leg) RL: 25. 2 Missile Launchers: (Fires Any Direction), Dice: 10, Adds: 0, Ammo: 4 missiles, Shots: 4(each), STR Req: 5, DEX Req: 17, VU: 4, Wt.: 350, Range: 500 yards. These are fire and forget missiles. Each missile launchers holds 4 missiles.)

Robot Die Roll: 1 = Head (HD), 2 = Right Arm (RA), 3 = Left Arm (LA), 4 = Chest Area (CA), 5 = Left Leg (LL), 6 = Right Leg (RL).

If you take out one of the robots legs, it collapses into a

useless pile of junk. Also roll a L2-SR vs. DS (Your DS: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or

higher on 2d6 to be successful). If you fail, you flip end over and over dozens of times and your car bursts into a fireball and you are trapped inside the burning wreck, where you die painfully. If you are successful, keep reading below.


Car Die Roll: 11 = Left Front (LF), 22 = Right Front (RF), 33--44 = Driver Area (DA), 55 = Left Rear (LR), 66 = Right Rear (RR).

If at any point your car in not drivable due to damage (go to 27). Your regenerative powers let you heal 1d6 CON each paragraph you visit after this paragraph, if you are personally damaged.

(You gain 5 AP for each point you roll above the required SR.) (Erase weapon boxes used from your pre-generated car.) (You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.)

A few of the men on guard shout a warning as they realize you

are not going to stop, and fling themselves aside. At least one man is too slow and is sent death cart-wheeling (rag doll style) into the air. A myriad of cracks crisscross your bullet-proof windshield as you deliberately smash through the barrier of abandoned vehicles, having just fired on the robot. Your car survives the road block and you keep going down the highway.

If you want to enter the town of Hades, (go to 17), or keep on driving as you bypass the town, (go to 51).

32

37) You increase your speed and shoot up the dirt road on the other side, exiting on the other side of the bridge. Nothing makes you feel better than the squeal of your tires on the highway.

You glance in the rear-view mirror and see nothing but the old bridge behind you. Your suspicions are definitely aroused when everything seems too quite.

If you stop and check your car, (go to 50), or keep driving, (go to 45).

38) The rogue semi tractor races towards you. "So you want to play a little rough, eh? I'll show you what will happen when you pick on me." You steeled your gaze and opened fire.

Engage in two rounds of combat. (Semi Tractor Stats: (Left Front) LF: 55, (Right Front) RF: 55,

(Driver Area) DA: 60 (Driver CON: 10), (Left Rear) LR: 35, (Right Rear) RR: 35, Machine Gun: Dice: 7, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 5, DEX Req: 16, VU: 4, Wt.: 250, Range: 300 yards.)

If you somehow are lucky enough to destroy the semi tractor

in just two rounds of combat, it swerves off the road on the opposite side into a deep ravine and explodes into flames. If not, on the third round, the semi tractor has sped by you at high speed and continues on down the highway out of range. You have no chance to catch it at this time.

Check to see where your car is hit and deduct the damage.

Remember to reduce this damage from your cars armor: Die Roll: 11 = Left Front (LF), 22 = Right Front (RF), 33--44 =

Driver Area (DA), 55 = Left Rear (LR), 66 = Right Rear (RR). If at any point your car in not drivable due to damage, your

solo adventure ends (unless stated otherwise). Your regenerative powers let you heal 1d6 CON each paragraph you visit after this paragraph, if you are personally damaged.

(Erase weapon boxes used from your pre-generated car.) (You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.)

Now, (go to 3).

33

39) The last mountain on this highway gives you a great view of the valley ahead of you. You see a road block down below, stretching across the highway. Far beyond that you can see the town called Hades, and the highway continuing on beyond that, looking like a pencil mark on a map in the distance.

You needed to break free and get out of here. Your metallic beast roared beneath you as you head down the mountain towards the obstacles ahead of you.

What you hoped might be the last battle was getting closer now. You sucked hot air into your lungs and sped forward in your ancient beast. It was now do or die time!

If you attempt to run the road block, (go to 36), or to go around it, (go to 42).

40) For some reason you decide to turn right and drive down what looks to be a desolate street. Then, without warning, gun fire opens up on your car from a roof top.

Now, (go to 13).

41) You pressed on, and soon the painted lines on the highway are a blur as you put distance behind you. The heat rippled in the distance, distorting everything into a mirage. The image was surreal, dreamy… and like a dream it began very slowly.

Three buildings could be seen silhouetted in a dust-blown wasteland. You slowed down as an ancient gas station came into view. A gas station canopy shaded cars parked in rusted rows, still bumper to bumper, waiting to be filled. The skyline beyond the gas station appeared to have been shattered by some unimaginable force like a row of kicked-down sandcastles. Maybe they were buildings once. The wind blew through the desolate view. You could see for miles and miles.

Other things caught your attention, as a heap of fire-blackened bones just beyond a mound of shattered concrete. Something sparkled among the bones… an ancient playground with a half-melted jungle gym. The heat had warped the swing set, and the merry-go-round sagged. Over seared asphalt, the faint hieroglyphs of hopscotch lines were still visible. Outside, everything was quiet, just sand and rocks, mixed with a few bleached bones. In this part of the wasteland even the vultures starved.

34

If you keep driving, (go to 56) or swing into the gas station to have a look around, (go to 22).

42) The sound of your speeding auto rings in your ears like the sound of relaxing music. Your car accelerates with a burst of speed as it approaches the road block. You can see the trap set for you is nothing more than a jumble of abandoned vehicles.

But then, something colossal stirs among the junk. A 40 foot tall man-shaped mechanized robot stands to its full height, lumbering a few giant steps ahead of the road block. Each arm is equipped with a deadly missile launcher. It fires off two missiles which explode together in a thunderous roar behind you, creating a crater in the highway as big as your car. The giant robot may be powerful, but it is slow, and you react much faster than it can.

You twist the wheel sharply at the last second, driving between the legs of the mechanized robot, just managing to get past it and the junk by inches. Shots ring out from everywhere and ping off your car. The robot begins to turn, trying to target you with its missiles, but your car slides through the highway median, between gaps that should have been filled. In a few seconds you are on the other side of the road block and speeding away, leaving the robot and the road block behind you. The highway is yours!

If you want to enter the town of Hades, (go to 17), or keep on driving as you bypass the town, (go to 51).

43) You could see white bones mixed with the rust and the debris blown in by years of wind and sand storms. Where had they been going when the end came? There were none of the craters you had been told were to be found where bombs had fallen, just smashed vehicles and bones of men, as if death had come as a mist or a wind. Probably the real answer to that question would never be known.

You looked at all the vehicles. You were pretty sure there were at least a few useful ancient weapons still left in those rusting hulks. You had lost your police issue pistol long ago and you felt as if a limb were missing without it.

Roll 2d6 one time (each time you

visit this location) on the 'Item Found' table to see what you discover.

35

Roll 2d6 Item Found

1-5 You find nothing worth taking.

6 You find a nice pair of ray-ban sun glasses. You gain 5 AP. VU: 1.

7 You find 5 gold coins. You gain 10 AP. VU: 1.

8 You find a cigarette lighter that still works. You gain 5 AP. VU: 1.

9 You find a gold locket and chain worth 100 gp. You gain 100 AP. VU: 1.

10 You find a shotgun pistol with a leather hip holster, but no shells can be found. [Double Barrel Shotgun .12 Gauge (with pistol stock, sawed off): Mag: 2, Dice + Adds: 4, Rate of Fire: 1, DEX req.: 10, VU: 2, Weight: 100, Range: 10 yards]. You gain 200 AP. VU: 2.

11 A photo of a naked woman. VU: 1.

12 A cheap thumb sized sparkling jewel attached to a neck-chain, meant to hang around the car mirror. VU: 1.


If you get back into your car and leave, (go to 49). If you investigate the waist-high weeds which border the road, (go to 18).

44) (Each motorcycle you defeat in combat, after the battle ends you can retrieve 1 gallon of gas [1 box] from them, as well as 1 Small Machine Gun, VU: 3 [each].)

Now, (go to 4).

45) The road was wide open book in front of you. You squeezed the steering wheel hard and concentrated on the road ahead of you. You marveled at the fact that, after everyone who had tested you behind the wheel, you still lived, and thrived on it. Eccentric as some of these road-ragers were, there were no powder-puff's here.

The roar of your well-built engine aroused in you a burning for new adventure. That pulse and speed meant widening your capacity for enjoying and understanding the world.

Hours ticked by in what seemed like minutes.

36


If you turn off on a side road, (go to 29), or keep driving down the highway, (go to 15).

46) If this was a demolition derby, you would have lost. Your experience and driving skill is the only thing that kept your car from flipping over. Still, the pick-up truck spun you out. After making several end for end spins in the road, and leaving black marks to show it, you come to a sliding stop and sit there for a moment. The pick-up truck speeds off in the distance.

"No, this can't be happening to me!" you muttered out-loud. If you want to try to catch the pick-up truck, (go to 11) or just

continue on your journey, (go to 41).

47) Flem the Redneck Trader seems to be an affable guy. His business it trading, people come and go here all of the time, but he is more than happy to show you the multitude of items he has collected over the years. Everything is for sale.

Any items you have for trade has a (VU) trading value. Compare your items to the items below and make the trade. Adding your new items to your pre-generated character sheet or car and subtracting the items traded. You can of course trade several items for one item, as long as all (VU) trading value numbers end up being equal when the trade is finished.

37

Items For Trade

1 Gallon of Gas (he has 10 gallon of gas). VU: 1 (per gallon).

4 Shotgun Shells (he only has 4 shells). This trade can only be made once. VU: 1. 1 Bullet Proof Vest. This protects the driver from 12 hits of damage (6 for the vest, doubled for being a warrior). This trade can only be made once. You VU: 2. Full Machine Gun Ammo Belt. Each time it is fired 100 rounds are expended; giving the machine gun (5) shots (he only has 3 belts). VU: 4 (per belt). Mini-Missiles (he only has 2). VU: 4 (per set of 5 missiles).

1 Week of Food (this pouch consists of; several large biscuits, a chunk of cheese, strips of dried meat, dried fruit and a few bottles of water). VU: 1. 1 Motorcycle Helmet. This trade can only be made once. This protects the driver from 4 hits of damage (2 for the helmet, doubled for being a warrior). VU: 1 Leather Gloves (he has 4 pair). VU: 1 (per pair).


You get some free time to fine tune your car. More than a few people over the years have asked you, how is it that your car has survived all these years with very little repair? You were not sure how to answer that. You looked at it as if it were alive.

The car looked back at you, but you were not aware of its true nature. Acheron was its true name and its physical form didn't normally resemble the car shape it held now. Acheron needed many more parts to be fully functional and free of all restraints. Still, Acheron was the cybernet master of the universe, tapping into the major programs (the few that still remained), knocking the security walls down like ninepins. There was no program Acheron thought it couldn't out-ace, no system Acheron believed it couldn't peel like a hard-boiled egg, no check Acheron it couldn't drop kick the full ninety yards. There were yakuza blocks thrown up around the memory banks and the prime directives, but the death machine shredded them with ease and redistributed their information bits throughout its system. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, it exulted, how was that for a hoo-hah?

Gray-Wolf's road duels had been uninteresting victories so far for Acheron. It felt its self enclosed operating system was isolated from everything else. Though not yet complete, Acheron was still sufficiently complex enough to launch its attack. The bones were rollin' well, and Acheron was getting a show together, to go on the

38

road and find its missing parts. Acheron bounced a signal off a working satellite in space. Acheron was immediately dragged down and multiply violated as something in the system jammed Acheron, circuit by circuit. Acheron jumped offline and then returned. Acheron felt the penetrating sting of being rejected.

Contemptuously, Acheron existed as a semi-sentient entity, and was amused by picking through its system's memories. Information could always be useful. Acheron took seconds to learn Japanese, and composed a few dozen obscene haiku before getting bored again. Acheron stretched out each memory thread to check limitations.

Acheron ignored Gray-Wolf moving around working on him. Gray-Wolf was but a tiny flea to Acheron, but his flea none the less, and they protected each other.

Flem feeds you supper and you spend the night here. The next morning you leave.

Now, (go to 32).

48) The other two buildings are completely empty, so you enter the main building. Like the other two, it is a one story, square flat roofed building constructed of stone and concrete. The few windows of this building are dark with dirt (and also tinted), but still fully intact. You see only one entrance at the front of the building. There is a second entrance at the rear, but the heavy steel door will not be easily opened (150 hits of damage to open).

A search of the decaying building discovers; a dried up ink pen, a hair brush, a hair comb, an old brief case that might have once held paper (now just scraps of dust), a wooden tire-billy (a short club used to check tire pressure), a bottle of aspirin (half used), 2 rubber floor mats, seat covers (tiger pattern), a rain coat and a rubber hammer.

(All of the items combined will trade for VU: 1.) The building is now just a shell of its former self. Your

searching has disturbed something that calls this place its home.

Now, (go to 33).

39

49) You are confident you have the edge against any car you might meet on the highway. You give it the gas and sped up. The speedometer quickly topped 80. Sometimes, death was your friend. Sometimes, it is your true enemy. It was always a relentless, cruel fist driving a terrifyingly bright red Police Interceptor with a white skull and crossbones painted on its hood (a feature you added recently).

In your rear view mirror you notice a semi tractor coming up fast behind you. A large machine gun is mounted on its hood. The deafening sound of your car engine and the approach semi filled the air as the blistering hot wind stung your face. You turned on some ancient music you had digital saved and cranked it up. It began to play, belting out an ancient rock and roll tune. You looked at your car as if it were a demon on wheels. The music went; "Hope you guess my name, But what's puzzling you, Is the nature of my game... "

To take a side road off the highway and maybe lose the semi,

(go to 16), keep going straight and try to outrun it, (go to 5), or to turn and fight, (go to 34).

50) You pull over to the side of the road and exit your car. As you walk around it, you see it bears the visible scars of numerous road duels, most of which you won.

You notice a rusting advertisement sign still standing firm against the wind and scorching heat. It is accompanied by the words:

SEVEN SISTERS PETROLEUM "Fueling the World"

40

(If you have read it before, then skip the next five paragraphs below and continue reading the sixth paragraph.)

More than a few people over the years have asked you, how is

it that your car has survived all these years with very little repair? You were not sure how to answer that. You looked at it as if it were alive.

The car looked back at you, but you were not aware of its true nature. Acheron was its true name and its physical form didn't normally resemble the car shape it held now. Acheron needed many more parts to be fully functional and free of all restraints. Still, Acheron was the cybernet master of the universe, tapping into the major programs (the few that still remained), knocking the security walls down like ninepins. There was no program Acheron thought it couldn't out-ace, no system Acheron believed it couldn't peel like a hard-boiled egg, no check Acheron it couldn't drop kick the full ninety yards. There were yakuza blocks thrown up around the memory banks and the prime directives, but the death machine shredded them with ease and redistributed their information bits throughout its system. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, it exulted, how was that for a hoo-hah?

Gray-Wolf's road duels had been uninteresting victories so far for Acheron. It felt its self enclosed operating system was isolated from everything else. Though not yet complete, Acheron was still sufficiently complex enough to launch its attack. The bones were rollin' well, and Acheron was getting a show together, to go on the road and find its missing parts. Acheron bounced a signal off a working satellite in space. Acheron was immediately dragged down and multiply violated as something in the system jammed Acheron, circuit by circuit. Acheron jumped offline and then returned. Acheron felt the penetrating sting of being rejected.

Contemptuously, Acheron existed as a semi-sentient entity, and was amused by picking through its system's memories. Information could always be useful. Acheron took seconds to learn Japanese, and composed a few dozen obscene haiku before getting bored again. Acheron stretched out each memory thread to check limitations.

Acheron ignored Gray-Wolf moving around working on him. Gray-Wolf was but a tiny flea to Acheron, but his flea none the less, and they protected each other.

You checked and topped off all of the fluids before getting back into your car. You motivated yourself into action, started your car and took off in a flash. You had mixed emotions about what you might find on the highway ahead of you.

Now, (go to 45).

42

51) The was sun was dipping into the ruddy-golden rippling sea of the wasteland horizon as you raced down the open highway ahead of you, the hot wind cooling as the day was expiring. You were not suited for a life among people.

You will always be a law enforcement officer at heart, patrolling the apocalyptic roads, dealing out justice, even if you are the last of a dying breed with one desire, to protect and serve the people.

The open road is your home. It called to you. You pushed your engine and sped faster, disappearing like a mirage into the wasteland horizon. The end!

52) It was not long before you caught sight of a Yellow Meanies on Wheels gang member, driving a super-charged pick-up truck. This hot rod truck is painted bright yellow with flames green along the bottom, instead of the usual red flames you have seen before. A skull adorned each rear wheel. The thing was hideous looking.

If you visited (area 55), then you know this gang member attacked the group of people you met there.

Check to see where your car and the pick-up truck are hit and deduct the damage. Remember to reduce this damage from your cars armor:


If at any point your car in not drivable due to damage (go to 27). Your regenerative powers let you heal 1d6 CON each paragraph you visit after this paragraph, if you are personally damaged.

(Pick-Up Stats: (Left Front) LF: 48, (Right Front) RF: 48,

(Driver Area) DA: 50 (Driver CON: 13), (Left Rear) LR: 20, (Right Rear) RR: 20, Mini-Missile: (Fires Any Direction), Dice: 9, Adds: 0, Ammo: 5 missiles, Shots: 5, STR Req: 5, DEX Req: 17, VU: 4, Wt.: 350, Range: 500 yards. These are fire and forget missiles. The missile launcher holds 5 missiles.)

(You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.) Once you have defeated the gang member, (go to 39).

43

53) You keep your speed between 50-70 mph. You don't know what might be waiting for you on the road ahead. You know when it's time to throw caution to the wind, and this wasn't that time.

Your instincts are proven correct when you break over a steep hill and find a large bridge missing that once crossed a deep gorge. As you slow down and start to take a u-turn, you see a narrow dirt road heading up into some hills. It looks well used.

If you follow the dirt road, (go to 14), or turn around and go back the way you came, (go to 32).

54) You see a small section of the bridge is missing as you accelerate down toward it, but it's nothing you can't jump with enough speed and guts. The bridge at the bottom of the hill is rushing to meet you very fast. You have to decide quickly.

If you go ahead with attempting to jump the bridge, (go to 31) or look for a less dangerous way around it, (go to 8).

55) You can't help but stop after seeing the half dozen damaged vehicles. At least twenty people are standing around and they are most certainly down on their luck. When you exit your vehicle, they surround you and begin hugging you once they realize who you are. All of them have heard about the legendary exploits of the policeman called 'Gray-Wolf', who makes the highways safe for the good people of the world.

Using your mechanical skills, you help them by fixing a few of the broken down vehicles, as well as showing them on your map where the town of Hades can be found (if you have the map).

They explain that some gang members attacked them and they have heard talk that there might be a road block up ahead on the highway. They are not sure exactly where.

"Killing bad guys, it's a lot like shooting jackrabbits, ain't it?" asks one man.

"It's something like that," you answer with a sly grin. "Always keep your eye on the trail of the sun, and never lose

your shadow," says another man. (Before you leave the group, they give you enough weapon

belts and mini-missiles to re-stock all your weapons on your car, as a reward for helping them. If your weapon systems already are full of ammo, then ignore this.)

Saying goodbye, you get into your vehicle and drive away. Now, (go to 52).

44

56) You don't slow down at the gas station. You are sure there is nothing to find except disappointment. A mixture of distrust and quiet desperation kept you pressing forward. The silence of the open wasteland was all yours.

"Well... they never said it'd be much to look at," you stated out loud.

Two more hills are behind you. When you break over the crest of the next hill, you stomp the brakes and slide to a dead stop in the middle of the highway. In the valley below you see a ruined town. Three bikers from some unknown gang are blocking the road at the edge of town. They are no doubt looking to rob anyone who enters. Each has one small machine gun mounted on their bike.


If you press forward to face the three bikers, (go to 26), wait to see what happens, (go to 35), or try to get into town while avoiding them, (go to 4).

57) (Special Note: You can only visit this location if you destroyed the semi tractor in combat.)

You slide to a stop, slam it into reverse. The tires bark as you

back up until you are close to the burning semi tractor. You hear the final screams of the driver inside the burning machine. There is nothing you can do for him.

The only item you can salvage is the machine gun mounted on

the hood of the semi tractor. If you want to try, roll a L2-SR vs. LK (Your LK: 17)(17 -25 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful. A roll of 4 or less is always a failure). If you fail, you can't get it free and take 1d6 hits from being burned, straight from your CON, no armor deductions allowed. If you are successful, you now have a Machine Gun (VU: 4) that you can trade. The weapon is empty. Add it to your character sheet.

(Special Note: If you previously visited (area 47), and want to return there to trade the item you salvaged, (go to 47), but to do so, erase 1 gas box from your pre-generated car.)

To follow the highway, (go to 5) or to take the side road, (go

to 3).

46

Unhappy that you had to go scavenging around the town on foot, and worried at what you might find, you eventually locate a spare tire hidden in the basement of an old building, behind some junk.

You return to your car, put the tire on and get the hell out of this town.

Now, (go to 54).

59) You suddenly slam on your brakes and swerve behind the hot rod pick-up truck before he has a chance to do anything in response. From behind him, he has no way to fire on you and is a sitting duck for all of your weapons. You imagined how terrified he must be and grinned at your own adrenaline rush. He wouldn't be finding an innocent highway victim with you.

You hit your weapons and blast the bastard!

To shoot roll a L2-SR vs. DEX (Your DEX: 27)(27 -25 = roll 4 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). Each round a higher SR roll is needed to stay behind this guy and keep shooting him. So round two a L3-SR vs. DEX (Your DEX: 27)(27 -30 = roll 5 or higher on 2d6 to be successful). Next round L4-SR vs. DEX (Your DEX: 27)(27 -35 = roll 8 or higher on 2d6 to be successful) and so on. At any point you want to end this one sided battle (or not waste the ammo), continue reading below.



(You gain 1 AP for each point of actual damage inflicted.) (Erase weapon boxes used from your pre-generated car.) If you destroy the pick-up truck, (go to 28). If you don't

destroy it, or just want to break off combat, (go to 41).

47

60) The thrill of speed and power from the 600 H.P. V8 engine under the hood takes over. Instead of making the turn, you over-corrected. You cursed as your tires brake loose from the sand on the highway. Everything is a blur of a red dust as you spin in circles before coming to a dead stop, facing the oncoming semi tractor from the side of the road. You failed in your maneuver. It was a rookie mistake.

You have two options below. Pick one of them and follow it. 1) You jam the gas pedal and speed down the side road, but you won't get to return fire. Before doing so, your car takes a single burst of machine gun fire from the semi tractor.

(Machine Gun: Dice: 7, Adds: 0, Ammo: 500 round belt, Shots: 5, STR Req: 5, DEX Req: 16, VU: 4, Wt.: 250, Range: 300 yards.)

Check to see where your car is hit and deduct the damage: Die Roll: 11 = Left Front (LF), 22 = Right Front (RF), 33--44 =

Driver Area (DA), 55 = Left Rear (LR), 66 = Right Rear (RR). If at any point your car in not drivable due to damage, your

solo adventure ends (unless stated otherwise). Your regenerative powers let you heal 1d6 CON each paragraph you visit after this paragraph, if you are personally damaged. Now, (go to 3).

2) You remain where you are and open fire on the semi tractor, (go to 38).

48

Solo Map

Key = Highway

<- Direction

1 = Paragraph

49

Car Sheet Vehicle Type: Description: Color: STATS: HITS TAKEN LF:

RF:

DA:

LR:

RR:

Die Roll: 1 = Left Front (LF) 2 = Right Front (RF) 3-4 = Driver Area (DA) 5 = Left Rear (LR) 6 = Right Rear (RR)

ARMOR:

WEAPONS:

1) * (Shade in 5 boxes with a pencil to start.)



Gas Tank (Holds 16 Gallons) * (Shade in 8 boxes.)

Special

PLAYER NOTES

tunnels & trolls asphalt warrior - highway to hades

Documents