TEXT: M.H.P.
  Copyright 1997
  By: Chris Van Deelen  chrisv@nucleus.com
       This adventure originally started out as a minor nuisance encounter for
  my players.  Since my last mini adventure seemed to do so well, I thought that
  I would write this one up.  I have expanded greatly on the original concept
  (as I did with 'thy flesh consumed and 'eyeburn').  I hope you (the reader)
  like the results.
       I've written this adventure with two possible ways of running it.  The
  PD can either run the Badges as cruel, manipulative S.O.B's, as they are
  described in TMP TM 1-1 (pg. 50), or as people who are actually trying to up
  hold the law, as their ancestors did.  If the PD runs the adventure as the
  latter, it may turn out to be rather dull.
       Over the years the inhabitants of the upper peninsula (such as the
  finnlanders, and the other small communities) have been harassed by the Cons
  (as described in Damocles pg. 4-5).
       So far, the farmers, elk herders and other families have been able to
  handle the situation.  With the arrival of Recon team G-9, the threat of the
  Cons has been greatly reduced.
       A group of badges has come into the picture.  This group consists of
  nineteen men and seven women.  They travel via five old, but well maintained
  highway interceptors.  They also have two old pickup trucks which they use to
  carry extra fuel, food, and their personal belongings, which also includes a
  fairly large collection of old law text books.  The Badges carry a variety of
  weapons, but mainly old .38 revolvers, 12 gauge shot guns (see a description
  at the end of the adventure for stats), and four M-16's (see pg.14 TM 1-1). 
  They also have a half dozen M26A1 fragmentation grenades (pg. 19 TM 1-1).  The
  pride and joy of their weapon collection are M72A2 law rockets (pg. 17 TM 1-1
  one rocket per MP vehicle).  They all have hand held communication gear, and
  each vehicle has a built in radio system.  Finally, as for communication gear,
  they have an old, but well maintained AN/PRC 70 backpack communicator.
       In the early spring, this group of Badges, who have been traveling the
  country, stopped in Marquette to talk to the locals, and check out the
  university.  Their hope was to stock up on food, fuel, ammunition, and to find
  actual 'law books', in the hopes that they will be able to learn more pre-ruin
  law so they can properly 'uphold' the law.  It is here that they discovered
  about the Cons.  The group decided that they should investigate this
  situation, and see what they can do to remedy it.
       Once the roads were passable enough to travel, they traveled into the
  upper peninsula in hopes of finding a suitable location to set up a 'sheriff's
  office'.
       The ruined town of McLeods corner on highway 28 proved to be the perfect
  location.  The majority of the buildings had all but collapsed over the years. 
  However, enough of an old hotel, truck stop survived that with a little effort
  on the Badges part, was just what the doctor ordered.
       Several weeks and several trips to Marquette later, they completed the
  repairs and opened the first highway patrol station in the upper peninsula in
  one hundred fifty years.  They then have decided to travel to all the local
  communities and farms to talk to the people, and set up a 'payment' system for
  the protection they are to offer.  What they asked for wasn't much, just fresh
  vegetables, livestock, and raw materials (such as hides, metals, manufactured
  
  goods, and milled wood).  The raw materials they used for upkeep of the
  station, and the manufactured goods and livestock as trade material so they
  could purchase both alcohol and fuel for their interceptors.
       Nearly everyone agreed to pay the relatively small fee.  But, of course,
  there were a few who figured that they wouldn't need to.  'Why pay?'  They
  would ask.  'We've been able to handle the cons over the years on our own. 
  So, tell me, why should we pay a total stranger to take care of us?'  The
  badges didn't hassle them.  Instead, they simply said that if the cons ever
  attacked, don't call on us.  We will not help.  That was the end of the
  situation.
       During this time, the Badges will have stopped in Wittsend, and they
  will explain their plans to the locals.  Of course, they will notice the
  party, if they are wearing standard issue coveralls, or driving around in the
  commando scout.  They will not ask questions, but they will most definitely be
  interested, especially if the team flaunts their weapons.  The people of
  Wittsend will decided to hold a town meeting and discuss the offer.  They ask
  the Badges to return in two days and they will give an answer then.
       The people have no intention of agreeing to this.  After all, why would
  they need their help when the project has set up shop here.  It is a unanimous
  decision.  The party can offer their own opinions if they wish, but unless
  they really want the townspeople to take the help, they will stand by their
  choice.
       Now, if the PD is running the badges as law enforcers, they will abide
  by the townsfolk's decision.  End of story.  Just add this group to your
  campaign world.
       Now, if the PD is running this adventure with the badges as an evil
  group, the badges will stage a night time raid on the dissidents.  They will
  destroy what ever they are able to, and they will kill a couple of people from
  each farm and community.
       They will leave the town of Wittsend alone, if the party appeared to be
  well armed.  They don't want to risk a confrontation with such a group. 
  However, if the party attempted to blend in with the finnlanders, a raid will
  be staged.
       Just after midnight, a dozen of the Badges will park their two
  interceptors approximately two kilometers away from the town proper.  Two
  members of this raiding team will be left behind to watch over the cars.  The
  remaining members of the raiding party will then don ratty clothing in the
  attempt to appear as raiders, or possibly Cons.  One of the ten remaining
  members will then stay approximately two hundred fifty meters away from the
  town to watch the events unfold.  The remaining nine will then move into the
  town to attack.
       They will use torches and melee weapons for the most part.  They will
  enter the town and spread out.  At the leaders signal, they will then begin to
  set some of the buildings on fire, and anyone who comes out to try and douse
  the fires will fall under attack.  The Badges are carrying their hand guns
  (.38 caliber revolvers with one speed loader and 3D6 loose rounds), and two
  are armed with scatter guns (12 gauge 00 buck as described below with 2D12
  shells) , but they will not use them unless the townsfolk brandish their own
  firearms.
       The attack will last only a few minutes, and the damage they cause will
  be relatively light, with only a couple of injuries or deaths.  On the other
  hand, if the team joins in the defense of the town, the battle will be far
  more bloody.  As soon as a firearm is drawn, the Badges will pull their own
  blasters.  Anyone with a gun will be hunted down and killed.  Due to their
  
  superior weapons and skills, the team should be able to beat off, if not out
  and out destroy the raiding party.  The PD should play the badges as at least
  somewhat intelligent.  If it becomes obvious that they are heavily outgunned,
  or if they have taken heavy losses, they will use the chaos and confusion to
  escape into the surrounding woods.
       The Badges were smart enough not to send in any of their members on the
  raid who had visited the town earlier, just in case somehow they were beaten
  off, or any of the members were captured.
       If the team manages to capture any of the raiders, all the captive(s)
  will tell them is that they are Cons.  They will refuse to say anything else,
  in the hopes that their comrades will stage a rescue raid.  The only way the
  team will be able to learn the truth is if they use interrogation, or torture. 
  By doing so, they will learn who they really are, and where they are based. 
  The PD should do what ever he/she can (in all fairness), to prevent the team
  from doing this, as it will make things too easy.  The PD should feel free to
  allow the captured Badges to escape if the team sets up inadequate holding
  facilities.  If they turn the captives over to the finnlanders, they will be
  executed on the spot as they normally do with Cons.
       The Badge who is watching will see how badly things are going for the
  raiders.  He will wait for the survivors to make their escape, and will then
  meet up with the survivors.  Together, the watcher, and any of the survivors
  will then make their way back to the parked cars and retreat to their base. 
  They will inform the others what happened and about how heavily armed the team
  is.  On the other hand, if any of the badges fail to escape, the watcher will
  inform the two who are guarding the cars about what happened and they will not
  stick around waiting to be discovered.  They will drive the vehicles back to
  their base.
       The next day, the Badges will drop a single member five kilometers away
  from the town.  He will be dressed in buckskins, and will have a hide backpack
  filled with food and minor personal belongings.  As for weapons, he will be
  given a knife and a crossbow (with a bolt case filled with 20 bolts).  This
  man will head into Wittsend, pretending to be a nomad, looking for a hot meal
  and a place to sleep.  He will spend the day talking to the locals, sharing
  news he has learned along his travels, and trying to find out what happened in
  the attack, if any of the raiders survived.
       Even with the night time attack, the people will give the nomad a meal
  and let him stay the night.  In the wee hours of the morning, he will slip out
  of the home he is staying in and will attempt to locate any of the survivors
  held by the project.  If he learned that all the raiders we're killed in the
  attack, he will slip out of the town and head off to the Badges home base to
  make his report.  If any of the raiders survived, he will try to contact them,
  and find out what they told the team (if at all possible).  The PD should make
  it possible for this spy to escape the town successfully.
       The next day the remaining Badges will return to Wittsend to
  'investigate' what happened.  They will say that they heard about the raid
  from some of the local farmers.  Of course this isn't the case.  If the PD
  allowed the spy to escape, they will know what happened to the raiders, and
  where the survivors are located.  However, they will do nothing to help their
  captured friends escape, as the danger is far too great at this time.
       They will instead offer to take the surviving captured 'Cons' off the
  teams hands, but will not insist on it if the team refuses.  They have no wish
  to reveal their true nature.  They will use this time to scout out the town
  again, and try to find out more about the team.
       The captured Badges will pretend not to recognize their friends, as that
  
  would give the whole operation away.  They may be cruel and manipulative, but
  they are not stupid.
       The Badges will once again offer to add Wittsend to their patrol route. 
  If the team helped beat off the raiders the night before, the Finnlanders will
  refuse.  If the team didn't help, they will accept the offer and pay a small
  fee of several live elk, and some raw building materials, and alcohol.
       Don't even think that this is the end.  The Badges are quite upset at
  the losses the team inflicted on them.  They are out for revenge, and wouldn't
  mind capturing the teams equipment to use as their own.
       Once the Badges leave they will head back to their home base.  To plan
  their next course of action.  For the next few days, they will have one member
  stationed in the woods near the town to keep an eye on the team.  He will be
  armed with one of the M16 rifles, 3 fully loaded magazines, and one of the
  hand held communicators.  This is done so the Badges will be able to learn the
  teams pattern, and how often they leave the town.
       The spy will radio his fellow Badges at the first sign that the team is
  ready to head out.  This will give the Badges enough time to set up an ambush. 
  See below.
       Of course, if the team is living in Damocles base, the spy will at least
  know how often they visit the town, and which road they travel on.  This will
  lead to an ambush.  The spy will wait until the team heads into town, and then
  he will call his friends and they will set up an ambush on the road back to
  Damocles.
       The badges will use two of their interceptors and they will attempt to
  completely block the roadway.  One Badge, armed with the Law rocket will take
  up position in the woods, fifty meters off the road.  The man who was watching
  the town will set up in the woods another 150 meters away from the road.  He
  will attempt to use the M16 as a sniper rifle.  Not a good choice, but the PD
  should feel free to give him a sniper rifle if he/she is so inclined.
       A total of seven Badges will be standing around the vehicles.  Two are
  armed with M16 rifles, and a fragmentation grenade.  The others are all using
  .38 caliber handguns and shot guns.  Each Badge is carrying enough magazines
  or loose ammunition for three reloads.
       When the party approaches the road block, the Badges will keep their
  weapons pointed to the ground.  It is assumed that the team will be traveling
  by their vehicle(s).  It should be obvious that the Badges will want them to
  stop.
       At this time, the encounter can go several ways.  The team may decide to
  open up on the Badges.  They probably will even manage to kill several, if not
  all of the Badges.  But, the PD should then use the Badge armed with the Law
  rocket.  Odds are the vehicle will be severely damaged, and it will force the
  team to bug out.  Have fun with the sniper.
       If the team stops without opening up, the badges will ask them to leave
  their vehicle with their hands in the air, and leave the weapons in the
  vehicle.  If the team asks why, they will be told, that they are under arrest
  for carrying restricted weapons.  This, of course is simply a ploy to bring
  the team out into the open.  It all depends on how the team reacts.  The
  Badges have every intention of killing the team without damaging the vehicle,
  or the teams equipment.  I hope who ever is running this adventure that
  his/her players are smart enough to conceal weapons on their bodies, or
  pretend that everyone is out of the vehicle when in reality someone was left
  behind to man the weapons.
       The Badges will send two members to check out the interior of the
  vehicles.  It is assumed that this is when the fire fight will break out.  The
  
  two Badges will be killed attempting to take the vehicle (unless the PC's are
  totally incompetent).  At this time the people (if any were survived) should
  open up on the Badges.  The confusion will give the team time to run for
  cover, and then the battle will begin in earnest.
       If the entire team exited the vehicles, the battle could go against
  them.  The Badges will not allow the team to come any more than five meters
  from them.  They will then tell the team to lay down on the ground.  At this
  time, unless the team has concealed weapons, they are in serious trouble.  If
  they do comply to the Badges orders, the team members will be shot in the back
  of the head.  So much for that team.
       When the battle is finished, if the team is victorious, they will have
  two highway interceptors (unless they were destroyed in the fight), and
  several weapons.  If the sniper and the Badge with the law rocket survive the
  fight, they will attempt to escape and join the remainder of the Badges back
  at their base.
       Now, if the team managed to capture any of the Badges, see above for
  interrogating the survivors, and the information they will receive.
       I can see one of two things happening now.  The team may decide to
  travel to the Badges home base in the ruins of McLeods.  The team, if they are
  totally insane, or were unable to successfully interrogate the any survivors,
  will return to the town of Wittsend.
       If the team chooses the former, and the teams vehicle(s) survived the
  battle, they will easily beat the two who were hidden in the trees (if these
  two managed to survive).  The remaining Badges will be here, awaiting the
  return of their friends.  The team should be able to defeat the remaining
  Badges with little or no trouble, as the main body of their force, and the
  majority of their weapons are now in the teams hands.
       In the case of the latter, whether or not the team failed the
  interrogation, or their were no survivors, the team returns to Wittsend.  The
  team can still find out where the Badges are based if they go around to the
  other communities and ask.  They will be told where the Badges live.  They can
  then go and attack the remaining Badges, but any survivors of the ambush will
  have made it back and they will be warned about what happened.  The remaining
  badges, if enough survived (at least six members), they will plan a late night
  raid as revenge.  If fewer than six Badges survived, they will pack up and
  beat a hasty retreat out of the upper peninsula.  That is the end of the
  Badges.
       Within hours, the last of the Badges will mount up in the vehicles they
  still have, load their weapons, and prepare molitov cocktails for their
  revenge attack on Wittsend.  They will travel to the town, and without
  warning, will come in with guns blasting.  They will fight savagely, and will
  attempt to inflict as much damage as possible, and they will use any
  information they have to make sure that the team receives the worst of the
  attack.  If the Badges are successful at defeating the team, they will then
  continue to attack the town people, killing as many as possible.  Should the
  team kill the remaining Badges, that's all folks.  Either way, this will be
  the end of the Badges in Upper Michigan.
  Badges Highway Interceptor
  Based on the Crown Victoria LX 4-Door Sedan
  Length:  5.39 Meters
  Height:  1.44 Meters
  Width:  1.98 Meters
  
  KPL: (Gasoline)  6.7 Km per Liter, (Alcohol) 3 Km per liter 
  Tires:  All season BSW
  Body:  4-Door Sedan
  Cargo Capacity:  .58 Cubic Meters.
  Passenger:  6
  Fording Depth:  40 Cm.
  Verticle Obstacle:  18 Cm.
  Armor Class:  65 (Armor plates in door panels), 16 (Windows)
  Engine Type:  .6L OHC SEFI V8
  Maximum Speed:  (Gasoline) 200 Kph  (Alcohol)  125 Kph
  Tank Capacity:  75 liters.
  Maximum Range (Gasoline) 500 Km. (Alcohol) 225 Km
  Badges Transport Pickup
  Based on the Ford Ranger SuperCab SPLASH 4x4 125WB
  Length:  5.12 Meters
  Height:  2.21 Meters
  Width:  1.76 Meters
  KPL:  (Gasoline) 10.2 Km (Alcohol) 5 Km
  Tires:  All Season BSW
  Body:  SuperCab Truck
  Passenger:  2-6
  Fording Depth 140 Cm.
  Verticle Obstacle:  65 Cm
  Armor Class:  65 (Armor plates in door panels), 16 (Windows)
  Engine Type:  3.0L  V6  (140 horsepower)
  Tank Capacity:  77.6 liters
  Maximum Range (Gasoline) 792 Km (Alcohol) 388 Km
  Note:  I had to guess the reduction in performance when the vehicle is running
  on alcohol.  I also had to guess the vehicles top speed, fording depth, and
  vertical obstacle for both the interceptor, and the truck.  As for the Truck
  Height, I had to guess once again, as the data was unavailable.
  Name:  .38 Caliber Revolver
  CAL .38 Special
  E-Factor:  7
  Weight:  .86 kg
  Effective range:  25 meters
  Max Range:  2012 meters
  Type of Fire:  Single shot repeater
  Rate of fire: 18 rpm
  Feed Device:  6rd cylinder
  Feed Device Wt. n/a
  Features:  The .38 caliber revolver is a pistol in which a rotating cylinder
  presents six loaded chambers to the barrel for discharge in succession.  There
  are several models with 2-inch and 4-inch barrels in service.  At least one of
  each barrel length is made by Colt, Ruger, or Smith and Wesson.  The 2-inch
  barrel weapons are used by CID and counterintelligence personnel and police
  forces around the world.
       All revolvers are cylinder-loaded, exposed-hammer, selective double-
  action, hand weapons.  The revolving cylinder with 6 chambers permits firing 6
  
  shots without reloading.  The action of cocking the hammer causes the cylinder
  to rotate and align the next chamber with the barrel.  At the full cocked
  position, the revolver is ready to fire in the single action mode by a light
  squeeze on the trigger.  If the hammer is not in the full cocked position, the
  revolver may be fired double action by a longer, heavier squeeze on the
  trigger.
       Please note.  I had to guess the maximum range of this weapon, as the
  data I found didn't list it.
  Name:  12 Gauge pump shot gun (Based on the Joint service combat shotgun)
  CAL . 12 Gauge
  E-Factor:  8
  Weight: 3.86 kg
  Effective range: 50 meters
  Max Range:  510 meters
  Type of Fire: Single shot
  Rate of fire: Pump Action
  Feed Device:  6 round Tube magazine
  Feed Device Wt.  n/a
  Features:  The Joint Service Combat Shotgun will be a compact, lightweight,
  semi-automatic, 12 gauge weapon configured with a standard magazine with a
  minimum capacity of six 2 3/4 inch cartridges. The Combat Shotgun will be
  capable of firing 12 gauge 3.0 inch magnum ammunition and will be
  interoperable with standard 2 3/4 inch ammunition without adjustment to the
  operating system.  It will be constructed of lightweight polymer materials and
  corrosion resistant metal components. To enhance mission performance and
  provide increased operator flexibility, it will be equipped with modular
  components such as modular stocks in various configurations and modular
  barrels of various lengths.
       Please note.  I had to guess the maximum range of this weapon, as the
  data I found didn't list it.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Morrow Project, The/Unofficial/The Supply Bunker/Adventures/M.H.P.pdf