TEXT: 1 
   
   
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
   
  written by: M. Sechin Tower 
   
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City is a 
  Hollow Earth Expedition surface world 
  adventure 
  featuring 
  rules 
  from 
  the 
  expansion book Secrets of the Surface World. 
  It is a good way to introduce both new 
  and veteran players to surface-centric 
  features such as vehicle combat, secret 
  societies, sorcery, and weird science (not 
  to mention insurance fraud—you don’t see 
  a lot of that inside the Hollow Earth). 
   
  NB: The story sequence is somewhat 
  non-linear, which some players and GM’s 
  prefer, while others do not. For this 
  reason, it can be challenging (but far from 
  impossible) 
  to 
  run 
  as 
  a 
  one-shot 
  adventure. Alternately, with the right 
  group, Bugswallow could serve well as the 
  home base or stopover in a longer 
  campaign. 
   
  Player’s Preview 
  In the sleepy town of Bugswallow, a 
  mysterious murder thrusts you into the 
  middle of a war between powerful secret 
  societies. Now you must utilize weird 
  science and uncover ancient magic in a 
  race against time to save the unbelieving 
  townsfolk from an inconceivable fate. All 
  in a day’s work! 
  GM’s Plot Overview: 
  Bugswallow is a little town with some 
  big secrets. One secret is that after a 
  decade of conflict and harassment, the 
  corrupt leaders of two secret societies—
  Dr. Chase of The Order of Prometheus and 
  Mayor Feldspar of The Hermetic Order of 
  the Rose Cross (HORC)—have combined 
  their powers to attempt the creation of a 
  monster capable of destroying much of the 
  town. Each of these two leaders have 
  purchased and triple-insured many of the 
  buildings in the town, and they are going 
  to cash in… unless a group of meddling 
  outsiders puts a stop to their wicked 
  scheme. 
   
  Where is Bugswallow? 
  Bugswallow City looks like the kind of 
  place 
  featured 
  in 
  Norman 
  Rockwell 
  paintings. There are flower boxes in every 
  window, children chase hoops down 
  streets with sticks, all the dogs are well 
  behaved, and all the men tip their hats to 
  passers-by. Bugswallow is a miniscule 
  town Out West that would not appear on 
  any map if it did not happen to be a 
  stopover for a minor train line. (Maybe it 
  is located in the same state as Springfield 
  and Shelbyville.) It is surrounded by rural 
  farmland and ranches, which are in turn 
  surrounded by boundless scrubland. It is 
  the perfect place for those seeking to go 
  unnoticed by the rest of the world. 
   
  Archetypes 
  To help get you started, some of the 
  Archetypes best suited for this adventure 
  are listed below: 
   
  • 
  Scientist: Professor Mortimer would 
  naturally have sought to hire a 
  colleague, and a scientist would have 
  the 
  opportunity 
  to 
  utilize 
  (or 
  neutralize) some of the local Order of 
  Prometheus resources. 
  • 
  Adventurer, Soldier, Criminal, Spy: 
  This mission might require a variety of 
  skills in both combat and information 
  
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
   
  2 
   
  gathering. Unorthodox methods are 
  welcome. 
  • 
  Lawman: It would be good to have the 
  law on your side, not to mention 
  investigative acumen. 
  • 
  Occultist: An occultist could provide 
  valuable 
  insight 
  into 
  the 
  local 
  members of the HORC, and might be 
  able to learn a thing or two of value 
  from the locals. 
   
  Motivations 
  The adventure’s major Themes and 
  Motivations are listed below. 
   
  • 
  Justice: I won’t let them get away with 
  this! 
  • 
  Duty: I will stay true to the job I was 
  hired to do. 
  • 
  Fame: In a small down like this, it will 
  be easy for me to get noticed. 
  • 
  Truth: What is going on in this crazy 
  little town? 
  • 
  Mystery: Who cares what’s going on? 
  We just need to keep the public from 
  finding out about it. 
   
  The Hook: All Aboard! 
  Professor Mortimer (of Burroughs 
  University 
  in 
  Bugswallow 
  City) 
  has 
  contacted the player characters and has 
  offered them $250 each to use their 
  uncommon expertise to safeguard his 
  cargo and experiments. He may be 
  personally acquainted with some of the 
  PC’s (especially if any of them are 
  members of the Order of Prometheus), or 
  he may have learned of them through 
  mutual associates. In any case, he offers 
  few details except to say that his research 
  may be “dangerous if it falls into the 
  wrong hands.” He instructs them to be on 
  a certain train at a certain time, where 
  further information will be revealed. 
   
  Once the group is assembled, they will 
  be approached by Bugswallow’s lawman, 
  Sheriff Dudley, a slow-witted yokel who 
  has never had to deal with any crime more 
  serious than a parishioner showing up 
  hung over to a church service. He will 
  explain that the cargo is some kind of big 
  egg for Professor Mortimer and his 
  partner Professor Chase, and it is safely 
  sealed in an Icebox car that was hooked up 
  to the train at the last depot. (An icebox 
  car is essentially a big cooler on wheels, 
  packed with ice to keep its contents cool. 
  Not even the Order of Prometheus had 
  invented refrigeration in 1936.) The car is 
  locked, the conductor has the only key, 
  and the cargo is being guarded by a grad 
  student, so the sheriff assures them that all 
  is secure. 
   
  If that’s not enough to cause the 
  players to stampede to check the safety of 
  the cargo, let them ride the train in 
  complacency a while longer before a 
  woman come screaming through their 
  cabin, shouting for help because she saw 
  someone being killed in the icebox car. 
   
  Scene 1: Murder in the Boxcar 
  The icebox car is indeed locked and 
  secure, but a glance through the tiny 
  window in the door reveals the figure of a 
  young man in arctic gear sprawled out on 
  the floor. The sight will cause Sheriff 
  Dudley’s eyes to roll up in his head as he 
  nearly passes out from shock. The players 
  can go get the key from the conductor, or 
  pick or shoot the lock off. Inside they find 
  the dead grad student (a Medicine roll 
  with a Difficulty of 2 or Investigation roll 
  with a Difficulty of 3 will reveal purple 
  bruises 
  at 
  his 
  throat—clearly 
  strangulation). There is also a 2 x 2 x 2 
  wooden crate smashed open, its contents 
  gone and the straw packing material 
  scattered across the floor grating. The 
  packing slip is addressed to “Pffsrs 
  Mortimer 
  and 
  Chase, 
  Bugswallow 
  University” (the return address reads 
  only: 
  Scrumtumbler, 
  Little 
  America, 
  Antarctica). On the metal shelves around 
  the walls, the other crates (about 2 x 2 x 7 
  feet) seem undisturbed, and are marked 
  “Anatomy Lab, Burroughs University.” 
  There is no conceivable way anyone could 
  have broken into or out of the car to kill 
  the student and take the egg, and yet that 
  is what appears to have happened. 
   
  In truth, the other crates contain 
  cadavers 
  being 
  sent 
  to 
  Burroughs 
  University, and these cadavers were 
  animated by 
  a 
  black-hooded HORC 
  necromancer before the arrival of the egg, 
  who used them to dispatch the grad 
  
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
  3 
   
  student and take the professor’s egg. But 
  the door was locked and his zombies 
  couldn’t open it, so he was forced to wait 
  on the roof of the train, where he remains 
  now. When the PC’s arrived, he began his 
  Levitation ritual (Secrets, p. 51. Note the 
  errata on sorcery—the cultist would be 
  able to prepare this ritual in under a 
  minute by taking his average). Now that 
  the PC’s have opened the door, he will 
  have the zombies burst out of their 
  containers (there should be one per PC. 
  For stats, see Secrets, p.50), and then on his 
  turn he will levitate the egg out the door 
  and up to the roof, shouting “glory to the 
  Supreme Leader!” 
   
  If the PC’s take the time to 
  finish all zombies, the cultist will 
  use his head start to lead the 
  players on a rooftop race from car 
  to car. If the heroes swarm up and 
  mug him before he gets away, the 
  zombies will collapse as soon as he 
  is 
  KO’d 
  or 
  killed. 
  If 
  they 
  interrogate their prisoner, they 
  might be able to force him to spill 
  that the cult’s meeting place is the 
  Vaudeville Theatre. If he gets away 
  with the egg, the characters will 
  have to investigate Bugswallow to 
  uproot the HORC.  
   
  Scene 2: Welcome to 
  Bugswallow 
  The train pulls into Bug-
  swallow Station a little after 6am, 
  when the sun is just beginning to send 
  orange and red rays over the distant 
  mountaintops. 
   
  Almost as soon as the engine hisses to 
  a stop, Mayor Feldspar bursts aboard, 
  calling to the sheriff. He hands him a letter 
  that was delivered to city hall last night 
  and 
  demands 
  that 
  the 
  sheriff 
  “do 
  something to protect the citizens, and, 
  above all, protect my investment!” He then 
  notices the players and shifts into his 
  politician persona, offering them empty 
  pleasantries. If they mention Professor 
  Mortimer, he will break the news that the 
  professor passed away last night from a 
  heart attack, and proffer several platitudes 
  by way of condolence. 
   
  The sheriff is too stunned to react, but 
  can explain later that it is common 
  knowledge that the mayor’s investment 
  consists 
  of 
  two 
  square 
  blocks 
  of 
  downtown Bugswallow, which he plans to 
  renovate to restore the local economy. It is 
  a simple thing to get the note out of the 
  sheriff’s hands (the sheriff is about to faint 
  again) and see that it is a ransom note 
  demanding 
  ten 
  thousand 
  dollars 
  or 
  someone called the Supreme Leader will 
  destroy the town. Ten thousand dollars is 
  a ridiculous amount—the sheriff knows 
  that it exceeds the sum of all the city 
  coffers.  
   
   
  As the mayor’s Duesenberg roars 
  away from the station, he calls back to the 
  sheriff 
  “and 
  remember 
  to 
  keep 
  it 
  SECRET!” Half a second after he is gone, a 
  paperboy walks through with the morning 
  edition, calling “Extra! Extra! Madman 
  Blackmails Bugswallow! Read all about 
  it!” It seems that the Supreme Leader sent 
  a copy of his letter to the Bugswallow 
  Times as well as to City Hall. 
   
  If 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  characters 
  seem 
  interested in helping investigate, the 
  sheriff will happily swear them in as 
  deputies. He is not perfectly clear on the 
  words, but the oath as he recalls it runs as 
  follows. “Repeat after me: I, state your 
  
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
   
  4 
   
  name (pause) do solemnly swear to 
  protect and serve Bugswallow City and its 
  citizens from all threats foreign and 
  domestic (pause)  and to uphold the law 
  until such time as, uh, I don’t want to do it 
  any more and officially quit.” Deputies 
  have access to the sheriff’s armory (3 
  shotguns and 12 shotgun shells) and, more 
  importantly, to the Bugswallow Police and 
  Fire Truck, which will likely become the 
  character’s main means of transportation. 
  He also furnishes them with a hand-
  drawn but reasonably accurate map of the 
  city. 
   
  Before the characters leave, a man in a 
  horrible suit approaches the least likely of 
  them. He asks if they are new in town, 
  then launches into his pitch: “I’m Chuck, 
  Chuck 
  Wagon, 
  of 
  Chuck 
  Wagon 
  Insurance, and I can see you are a person 
  of too much intelligence to go another day 
  without an insurance policy. Why should 
  you trust me? Why, the mayor has a large 
  policy with me, and if the mayor trusts me 
  then you know you can, too.” The mayor 
  has indeed insured his city property with 
  Chuck Wagon, and it is indeed a large 
  policy. 
  That 
  might 
  get 
  the 
  players 
  thinking. 
   
  Scene 3: High Speed Cultists 
  After the train station, the characters 
  are welcome to stop to eat breakfast or to 
  explore the town (see Scene 4). When they 
  are ready to move to Burroughs Uni-
  versity Science Lab, begin this scene. 
   
  The science lab is on the ground floor 
  with windows facing the parking lot, and 
  all its walls are bedecked with shelves 
  containing tanks full of all imaginable 
  insects, arachnids, and every other creepy-
  crawly imaginable. Even at this early hour, 
  the lab is abuzz with activity as Professor 
  Chase and his two grad students work on 
  their invention. Chase, confined to a 
  wheelchair, will wave characters in and 
  inform them about Professor Mortimer’s 
  demise last night. It seems he was 
  inspecting cadavers at the cemetery last 
  night when he suffered a fatal heart attack. 
  (Anyone who knows Prof. Mortimer can 
  confirm that he did indeed have a heart 
  condition, but in truth his heart attack was 
  caused by zombies re-animating in front 
  of him.) 
   
  If the players ask about the mystical 
  cult, he will explain that for more than a 
  decade a local enclave of backwards 
  primitive superstitious magicians have 
  been trying to drive out the forward-
  thinking and benevolent Order of the 
  Prometheus. Mostly, the aggression has 
  amounted to idle threats and vandalism, 
  perpetrated by both sides. 
   
  Chase then asks eagerly to see the egg, 
  setting it excitedly down on a stainless 
  steel table (or in a safe if the players seem 
  paranoid about its presence). He explains 
  that the fetal reptilian within is long dead, 
  but will be used with his invention, the 
  Titano-Machina, which looks a little like a 
  giant microscope dominating one wall of 
  the room. He explains that this device will 
  revolutionize modern understanding of 
  evolutionary biology and entomological 
  anatomy through focused plasma-induced 
  cellular hypertrophy. Even better than an 
  explanation, he will demonstrate. 
   
  The professor takes a handful of 
  insects, places them under the Titano-
  Machina, then throws switches, and looks 
  content. The machine begins to glow green 
  in its charge-chamber, and he suddenly 
  remembers: “Goggles! Goggles, quickly! 
  And maybe lead aprons too, but only if 
  you have time and want children!” In a 
  flash of green, the insects grow to 
  enormous proportions (make up stats for 
  cool giant insects of Size 1, go on the 
  forums to find good ones, wait for the 
  Mysteries of the Hollow Earth expansion 
  book, or just use the stats for the Giant 
  Spider in the core book). The bugs, though 
  now gigantic, appear stunned, and the 
  professor explains that it is a trying 
  process, and quite fatal for any creature 
  more complex than an insect. 
   
  Around this time, the door to the lab 
  will slam open, and in rush three cult 
  minions, all brandishing shotguns and 
  wearing hoods that look like modified 
  pillow cases (if the party is particularly 
  adept at combat, add two or more 
  zombies). The cultists will announce that 
  
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
  5 
   
  the Supreme Leader sent them to claim the 
  Professor and his mystical egg. 
  While the professor shouts threats and 
  taunts, the grad students will go for their 
  various weapons (a stun gun and a jet 
  pack, neither of which are going to be 
  useful in this battle). The giant insects also 
  recover to join any ensuing fray, attacking 
  whoever seems convenient, or simply 
  wandering off if it seems appropriate for 
  them to do so. On their turn, the cultists 
  will throw a smoke pellet down at the egg; 
  when the smoke clears, the egg has 
  disappeared! Perception difficulty 2 or 
  more will reveal that a Model A pulling 
  through the parking lot at that moment 
  also contains a few cultists. Just as their 
  buddies inside drop the smoke pellet, 
  those in the car flourish a sheet to reveal 
  that the egg seems to have re-appeared in 
  their car. Magic! At that moment, they 
  speed off, and any remaining cultists 
  inside break through a window to head 
  for the parking lot. The Bugswallow Fire 
  Truck is conveniently parked right next to 
  the lab windows, so the real action can 
  now ensue. 
   
  Use the Vehicle Combat system for car 
  chases (Secrets, p. 145). The Bugswallow 
  truck is big enough to carry 6 people in 
  back (plus the driver and up to two more 
  in the cab), but it is not nearly as quick as 
  the Model A. If the party contains an 
  expert driver, give the bad guys 150 to 200 
  foot head start. If not, 50 or 100 feet might 
  be appropriate, and fire from the truck 
  will 
  slow 
  the 
  Model 
  A 
  through 
  performance degredation. 
   
  However, the Model A is not alone. It 
  is accompanied by two pickup trucks, 
  each of which carries a gaggle of zombies 
  and some kind of strange contraption. The 
  trucks will drop back to flank the hero’s 
  car, then reveal that the contraption is, in 
  fact, a steam-powered catapult used to 
  fling two zombies each round into the 
  hero’s car! (This might spark some 
  suspicion—this is the kind of contraption a 
  Promethean would come up with, and not 
  at all what one might expect from the 
  members of HORC.) Characters struck by 
  the zombie-pult take 3N wounds (minus 
  the player’s Defense). Zombies may soon 
  pile up in the back of the truck, but keep 
  in mind that the tight space can work to 
  the 
  player’s 
  advantage 
  as 
  well: 
  a 
  knockback effect of only 5 or 10 feet is 
  ample to send the ghoul cart wheeling 
  along the asphalt behind the truck. 
   
  The likely conclusion is a nasty wreck 
  of the Model A (and maybe some of the 
  other cars as well). This will attract quite a 
  crowd 
  of 
  gawkers—including 
  a 
  representative of Farmland Insurance, 
  who will try to sell the heroes anything 
  other than auto insurance, citing that the 
  mayor has a property policy with them. 
  Searching the car will reveal that the egg 
  in the back seat is a Papier-mâché fake! 
  When the smoke hit, the real egg dropped 
  through a false bottom into a safe 
  compartment, where it remained until the 
  moment the players sped off, when a 
  second wave of cultists captured it and 
  Professor Chase. Duped by a cheap parlor 
  trick! 
   
  Scene 4: Pounding the 
  Pavement 
  Now the players will want to do some 
  investigation to find the HORC, the egg, 
  or the professor. Most likely, they will 
  have pummelled one of their prisoners 
  into telling them that the Vaudeville 
  Theatre is the cult hideout, but there is 
  plenty of Bugswallow to explore. Here are 
  some sample locations: 
  
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
   
  6 
   
   
  Burroughs University: Aside from the 
  Science Lab, there isn’t much of interest 
  here today. The PC’s may meet students 
  who are in the Army officer training corps 
  who might mention that there is a military 
  base out in the nearby scrublands (actually 
  an Army Intelligence depot), but it has 
  nothing to do with what the players are 
  looking for. 
   
  Bugswallow 
  Café: 
  Offering 
  more 
  kinds of pies than anything else on the 
  menu combined, PC’s can get a good meal 
  here for a reasonable price. While they are 
  dining, a man tries to sell them Country-
  wide Insurance, assuring them that the 
  mayor trusts Courtrywide enough to have 
  a substantial property policy with them, 
  will approach them. 
   
  The Cinema House: The good news is 
  that they are playing Embrace of the Zombie. 
  The bad news is that the first showing isn’t 
  until this evening. 
   
  Campus You Bug-Em Steak-N-Cone: 
  Very popular with the college students, 
  this is a split ice-cream parlor and burger 
  joint. Anyone who is a member of the 
  Hermetic Order of the Rose Cross, or who 
  rolls 3 or more on their Academics: Occult, 
  or who scores 4 or more on a Perception 
  roll, will notice a few mystical symbols 
  back in the kitchen. The proprietor is 
  kindly man and a former member of the 
  local Order, but he dropped out years ago 
  as the lodge got a new, more aggressive 
  leader (known only as The Supreme 
  Leader) and moved into dark magic. Now 
  the proprietor summons fire spirits and 
  frost spirits to save on his business 
  expenses (coal and ice are not cheap). He 
  knows the identities of a few HORC 
  members—mostly local farmers—and that 
  they meet at the vaudeville theatre, but he 
  does not know who the Supreme Leader 
  is. 
   
  City Hall and Police Station: The 
  Mayor is out today, but here the players 
  can research to find that he had purchased 
  two 
  square 
  city 
  blocks 
  and 
  filed 
  paperwork for renovation, but has hired 
  no contractors. Careful investigation will 
  also reveal that Professor Chase has 
  recently purchased a great number of 
  buildings in the city. Players who looking 
  into the mayor’s past will also discover 
  that he got his start as a vaudeville 
  magician, and that he is currently the 
  major financial backer of the local theatre. 
   
  If the characters are deputized, they 
  may use the police station freely. It is 
  equipped 
  with 3 
  shotguns (and 12 
  cartridges), and a jail cell big enough to 
  hold two. 
   
  Bugswallow Books: This little shop 
  sells both new and used, and has a 
  surprisingly decent occult section. The 
  proprietor is a meek but friendly little man 
  who shakes the hands of each of his new 
  customers politely. In fact, he is a member 
  of the Foundation for Research and 
  Enlightenment, 
  and 
  he 
  himself 
  is 
  telepathic and uses his handshake to read 
  the minds of each of his customers. He 
  won’t volunteer any information, but if 
  players make an ethical appeal for the 
  need to find and disrupt the HORC, he 
  can tell them that they meet in the old 
  Vaudeville theater. 
   
  Rodeo and Fairgrounds: Few people 
  are present unless there is an event. If 
  some of the giant insects escaped from 
  Professor Chase’s lab, one of them is here 
  now and a couple of rootin’-tootin’ 
  cowboys are attempting to rope and/or 
  ride it. This will also be the location of the 
  final showdown (see Scene 5), but the 
  villains do not arrive until later. 
   
  General Store: This sells most every 
  common item and features a large hunting 
  section (including a Tommy Gun, which 
  was originally marketed to farmers for 
  “vermin control”). The proprietor also 
  happens to be a low-ranking Terra 
  Arcanum agent who monitors his ledger 
  for unusual sales (such as large quantities 
  of ammunition). He is ostensibly assigned 
  to keep an eye on the saloon owner, who 
  is a suspected Thule cultist. 
   
  Bugswallow Church: This appears to 
  be a regular church in every way, and 
  that’s just what it is. The junior priest, 
  however, has dreams of one day joining 
  the Ordo Spectare, and talk of zombies 
  
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
  7 
   
  will cause him to trip over his own feet 
  with excitement for the investigation. 
   
  Saloon: 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  oldest 
  establishments in town, this is where 
  cowboys get their rotgut after a long day 
  of roping steer. The building even features 
  the classic wild-west swinging half-doors 
  at its entrance. It is by Otto Blitz, an old 
  German who immigrated before World 
  War I and goes to great lengths to present 
  himself as a cowboy despite his thick 
  accent and complete ignorance of some of 
  the finer points of American culture. 
  Underneath it all, he is fanatically loyal to 
  his Teutonic heritage, and serves as a spy 
  for the Thule society, often offering free 
  drinks to local military personnel in order 
  to loosen their tongues. 
   
  Hospital 
  and 
  Sanatorium: 
  The 
  physician on call is Di Huangdi (Dr. Di), a 
  highly competent Chinese man of some 
  fifty or sixty years whose chief hobby 
  seems to be inscrutability. No one in town 
  knows that in Shanghai he was on the 
  wrong side of a crime war with the Green 
  Gang, and fled to Bugswallow because it is 
  as far off the Tong map as possible. Dr. Di 
  keeps his head down and does everything 
  by the book - unless he is offered better 
  cover (“we’ll officially fix your status with 
  immigration”) or threatened (“I know 
  some people who would be very interested 
  to hear that such a distinguished doctor is 
  hiding 
  out 
  here 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  nowhere”). Then he could be encouraged 
  to break the rules, such as fudging 
  paperwork, providing access to hospital 
  records, or even sedating and detaining 
  people for short periods. 
   
  Vaudeville Theatre: This is the HORC 
  hideout, and many of the current members 
  are performers. When the players enter, 
  the place is deserted except for the back 
  room behind the stage. When the players 
  approach, however, they discover that the 
  entire stage is a trap door, dropping them 
  into a death-trap. 
   
  When they drop in, a few cultists will 
  run 
  out from the 
  back 
  room 
  and 
  congratulate each other on catching these 
  meddling outsiders. Then one will say, 
  “let’s get out to the rodeo grounds so we 
  can see the Supreme Leader put the big 
  plan into effect!” As soon as the players 
  escape and go to the Rodeo grounds, 
  move on to Scene 5. 
   
  Vaudeville Deathtrap 
  Originally designed as a means to 
  dispose of unsatisfactory performers, the 
  trap door opens into a chute that is rapidly 
  filling with water. The players land on a 
  rickety metal platform ten feet down, and 
  they can see that a school of mean looking 
  piranha with nasty, snapping teeth swirl 
  and circle below. Up above on the wall are 
  twelve levers and a plaque which reads: 
   
  There is a lever, which will set you free. 
  The prime result of pulling levers is death. 
  Try to get even and you will end up wet. 
   
  Tell the players that they have exactly 
  3 minutes before the water fills to their 
  level, and start a watch. Once players have 
  the answer, they must throw the switch, 
  which could be done with a lasso, 
  telekinesis, a human pyramid (Athletics 
  roll of 3 required for each member), a 
  carefully called shot (-8 penalty), or any 
  other clever means. Flipping the wrong 
  switch accelerates the rate at which water 
  pours into the chute (take 15 seconds off 
  the clock). The correct answer is 9, and 
  when that switch is flipped, a ladder will 
  drop down from above to offer a means of 
  escape. 
   
   
  Scene 5: High Noon Showdown 
  The villains have accelerated their 
  plans due to the meddling outsiders, and 
  the sun beats down from almost directly 
  overhead when the players arrive at the 
  rodeo grounds (If the heroes are not at the 
  rodeo grounds at noon, then they will 
  probably hear the sound of crashing as the 
  monster begins the destruction of the city). 
   
  When the heroes arrive they see a 
  green flash emitting from within the 
  grounds, and they can recognize it as the 
  Titano-Machina in action. They must 
  break down the gate, pick the lock, or 
  scale the stadium walls. There, in the 
  
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
   
  8 
   
  center of the arena, is a commercial truck 
  rigged to carry a second Titano-machina, 
  and beside it is the T-Rex, grown to full 
  proportions through the power of the ray, 
  re-animated through dark magic, and 
  even modified with broad iron plates 
  riveted to its sides and other locations. It is 
  vast and tall, with grey scales and bright 
  steely 
  patches 
  and 
  pistons 
  showing 
  through breaks in its skin. The milky-
  white eyes gaze vacantly out at the arena 
  while and long ropes of saliva dangle from 
  its limp lips. 
   
  Riding atop the monster is a man in a 
  black robe who is clearly the Supreme 
  Leader. Surrounding its feet is a gang of 
  cultists and Professor Chase sitting in 
  what appears to be a beefed up, diesel 
  powered wheel chair. (If the players 
  manage to sneak within listening distance, 
  they can hear that the Leader and Chase 
  are having a professional disagreement as 
  to whether to call their monster a Cyber-
  Zombiesaur or a Reanimated Rex.) 
   
  When the villains become aware of the 
  players, Chase will point to the monster 
  and 
  shout, 
  “Behold—the 
  ultimate 
  combination of Magic and Science!” Then 
  he will hit a button on his chair to reveal 
  that it is a heavily armed autogiro. The 
  Supreme Leader will throw back his hood 
  to reveal that he is Mayor Feldspar. The 
  mayor then cocks his Tommy Gun and 
  shouts, “I’ve triple insured half this city, 
  and no meddling outsider will stop me 
  from cashing in on my policies!” On their 
  turns, the mayor will attempt to strafe as 
  many characters as possible; Chase will 
  use 
  his 
  grenades 
  (on 
  the 
  heroes’ 
  automobile if they are driving one) before 
  switching to his pistol while the cultists 
  and Zombiesaur will attack whoever is 
  closest. If the fight proves overwhelming 
  for the PC’s, the mayor will spur the 
  Zombiesaur 
  out 
  into 
  the 
  streets 
  of 
  Bugswallow 
  and 
  have 
  it 
  focus 
  on 
  destroying buildings while the panicking 
  populace flees before its feet. 
   
  The Resolution 
  If the characters played their cards 
  right, they may receive a hero’s parade for 
  saving the city and one of them might 
  even be elected to replace the mayor. 
  Alternatively, they might all be blamed for 
  the death of the beloved previous mayor 
  and be run out of town. Most likely, the 
  players will simply want to move on to 
  bigger and seemingly more exciting cities. 
  Still, for anyone wanting to settle down, 
  there is plenty to do here… the HORC is 
  down but not out (possibly looking for a 
  new leader)… one of the other secret 
  societies might use the town as a staging 
  ground for schemes of a different sort… 
  Army 
  Intelligence 
  is 
  testing 
  drilling 
  machines in the surrounding scrublands… 
  strange creatures are wandering up out of 
  caves in them thar hills… 
   
  It’s Bugswallow City. Anything can 
  happen here, and it usually does. 
   
   
  Hollow Earth Expedition ™ and © 2006 
  Exile Game Studio, LLC 
   
   
   
  Additional Credits 
  Photographs: Kate Masters, Krista Porch 
  Layout and Town Map: Andrew McColl 
  Map Images: Found on Google 
  
   
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
  Player Handouts 
    
   
   
  1. 
  The Letter 
    
     
  Citizens of Bugswallow: 
  Deliver 10,000 dollars to 
  the Cemetery today at Noon. 
   
  If you fail to do so, we, the 
  Sorcerers of the Cult of the Rose 
  Cross, will bring your town to 
  RUIN! 
   
  Sincerely, 
  The Supreme Leader 
    
   
   
   
  
  2. 
  Bugswallow City Map 
  
   
  The Secrets of Bugswallow City 
  NPC and Vehicle Stats 
    
   
  Scene 1 
  Murder in the Boxcar 
   
  Cultist Sorcerer 
  Archetype: Occultist 
  Style: 2 
  Motivation: Power 
  Health: 6 
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 3 
  Charisma: 2 
  Dexterity: 2 
  Intelligence: 3 
  Strength: 2 
  Willpower: 3 
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 5 
  Move: 5 
  Defense: 5 
  Perception: 6 
  Stun: 3 
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Athletics 
  2 
  3 
  5 
  (2+) 
  Drive 
  2 
  3 
  5 
  (2+) 
  Firearms 
  2 
  3 
  5 
  (2+) 
  Larceny 
  2 
  3 
  5 
  (2+) 
    Sleight of 
  Hand 
   
   
  6 
  (3) 
  Melee 
  2 
  1 
  3 
  (1+) 
    Knives 
   
   
  4 
  (2) 
  Necromancy 
  2 
  4 
  6 
  (3) 
  Talents 
  Magical Aptitude 
  Resources 
  Rank 1 (Hermetic Order of the Rode Cross 
  Flaw 
  Fanatical 
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
  (Average) 
  Special .38 
  2 L 
  0 
  7 L 
  (3+) L 
   
   
   
   
  Scene 2 
  Welcome to Bugswallow 
   
  Bugswallow Police and Fire Truck 
  Size 
  Def 
  Spd 
  Hnd 
  Strc 
  2 
  6 
  55 
  -2 
  12 
   
  Structure 
  Effect of Damage 
  12 – 7 
  No effect 
  6 – 4 
  Hnd: -4; Spd: 40 
  3 – 1 
  Hnd: -6; Spd: 25 
   
   
   
  Scene 3 
  High Speed Cultists 
   
  Cultist Minion 
  Archetype: Occultist 
  Style: 0 
  Motivation: Duty 
  Health: 4 
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 2 
  Charisma: 2 
  Dexterity: 2 
  Intelligence: 2 
  Strength: 2 
  Willpower: 2 
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 4 
  Move: 4 
  Defense: 4 
  Perception: 6 
  Stun: 2 
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Occult 
  2 
  2 
  4 
  (2) 
  Athletics 
  2 
  2 
  4 
  (2) 
  Drive 
  2 
  2 
  4 
  (2) 
  Firearms 
  2 
  2 
  4 
  (2) 
  Melee 
  2 
  2 
  4 
  (2) 
  Talents 
  Alertness 
  Resources 
  None 
  Flaw 
  Fanatical 
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
  (Average) 
  12-gauge 
  shotgun 
  3 L 
  0 
  7 L 
  (3+) L 
   
  Ford Model A 
  Size 
  Def 
  Spd 
  Hnd 
  Strc 
  2 
  4 
  65 
  0 
  8 
   
  Structure 
  Effect of Damage 
  8 – 5 
  No effect 
  4 – 3 
  Hnd: -4; Spd: 40 
  2 – 1 
  Hnd: -6; Spd: 30 
   
  Chevrolet Series FB Pickup 
  Size 
  Def 
  Spd 
  Hnd 
  Strc 
  2 
  4 
  65 
  -2 
  10 
   
  Structure 
  Effect of Damage 
  10 – 6 
  No effect 
  5 – 3 
  Hnd: -4; Spd: 40 
  2 – 1 
  Hnd: -6; Spd: 30 
   
   
  
  Scene 4 
  High Noon Showdown 
   
  Zombiesaur 
  Archetype: Abomination 
  Style: 0 
  Motivation: Survival 
  Health: 12 
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 8 
  Charisma: 0 
  Dexterity: 0 
  Intelligence: 0 
  Strength: 8 
  Willpower: 0 
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 4 
  Initiative: 0 
  Move: 8 
  Defense: 4 (8*) 
  Perception: 2 
  Stun: 8** 
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Brawl 
  8 
  4 
  12 
  (6) 
  Talents 
  Alertness 
  Skill Aptitude: Brawl 
  Resources 
  None 
  Flaw 
  Bestial (Character cannot communicate or use tools) 
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
  (Average) 
  Bite 
  4 L 
  -4 
  12 L 
  (6) L 
  Stomp 
  4 N 
  -4 
  12 N 
  (6) N 
  * Zombiesaur’s armor plating grants +4 passive defense 
  ** Zombies cannot be stunned and do not suffer from non-
  lethal damage 
   
  Supreme Leader (Mayor Feldspar) 
  Archetype: Occultist 
  Style: 4 
  Motivation: Greed 
  Health: 7 
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 3 
  Charisma: 4 
  Dexterity: 4 
  Intelligence: 4 
  Strength: 2 
  Willpower: 4 
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 8 
  Move: 6 
  Defense: 7 
  Perception: 8 
  Stun: 3 
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Con 
  4 
  5 
  9 
  (4+) 
  Diplomacy 
  4 
  3 
  7 
  (3+) 
  Drive 
  4 
  2 
  6 
  (3) 
  Firearms 
  4 
  2 
  6 
  (3) 
  Larceny 
  4 
  3 
  7 
  (3+) 
    Sleight of 
  Hand 
   
   
  8 
  (4) 
  Melee 
  2 
  1 
  3 
  (1+) 
    Knives 
   
   
  4 
  (2) 
  Necromancy 
  4 
  3 
  7 
  (3+) 
  Ride 
  4 
  3 
  7 
  (3+) 
  Talents 
  Magical Aptitude 
  Resources 
  Rank 2 (Hermetic Order of the Rose Cross) 
  Followers 1 
  Flaw 
  Phobia: Insects 
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
  (Average) 
  Tommy Gun 
  (burst fire) 
  4 L 
  0 
  10 L 
  (5) L 
  Tommy Gun 
  (full auto) 
  6 L 
  0 
  12 L 
  (6) L 
   
  Professor Chase 
  Archetype: Scientist 
  Style: 4 
  Motivation: Power 
  Health: 7 
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 3 
  Charisma: 3 
  Dexterity: 3 
  Intelligence: 6 
  Strength: 2 
  Willpower: 4 
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 9 
  Move: 1* 
  Defense: 6 
  Perception: 10 
  Stun: 3 
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Con 
  3 
  3 
  6 
  (3) 
  C:Engineer 
  6 
  4 
  10 
  (5) 
  C:Mechanics 
  6 
  4 
  10 
  (5) 
  Firearms 
  3 
  2 
  5 
  (2+) 
  Autogyro 
  3 
  3 
  6 
  (3) 
  S: Biology 
  6 
  4 
  10 
  (5) 
  S:Engineer 
  6 
  4 
  10 
  (5) 
  Talents 
  Weird Science: Biology 
  Weird Science: Engineering 
  Resources 
  Artifact 1 (Autogyro Wheelchair) (see below) 
  Rank 1 (Order of Prometheus) 
  Flaw 
  *Crippled 
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
  (Average) 
  W&S RIC 
  Bulldog .455 
  4 L 
  0 
  10 L 
  (5) L 
   
  Autogyro Wheelchair (Artifact 1) 
    Personal Pack. This appears to be a 
  clunky, smelly, diesel powered wheel-
  chair, but it has the capacity to sprout 
  rotor blades and attain low altitudes  
  Enhancements: Special motion: ground 
  travel (+2); weapon mount: twin grenades 
  (+1); improved handling (+2) 
  Limitations: Decreased speed -25% (-1 
  enhancements); 
  requires 
  maintenance 
  difficulty 3 (-2 enhancements) 
   
  Autogyro Wheelchair 
  Size 
  Def 
  Spd 
  Hnd 
  Crew 
  Pass 
  -1 
  4 
  45* 
  0 
  1 
  0 
  * Ground speed: 25 
   
  Requires a Mechanics (difficulty 3) roll 
  each day to remain operational. 
  Armament: Two rocket-propelled 
  grenades (Pilot roll to aim, damage: 8L, 
  area of effect: 5 feet) 
   
  
  Gamblin’ Fool Soldier 
   
   
  You were a darn good soldier, but not 
  quite as good a gambler. You convinced 
  your buddies to bet on everything from 
  cat races to hand-grenade tosses, but 
  when you won the bet that the colonel’s 
  dress uniform could be dyed pink, you 
  got yourself drummed out. Since then, 
  you’ve become a bit of a hobo. To make a 
  few dollars, you signed on with Professor 
  Mortimer of Burroughs University in 
  Bugswallow City, who was seeking extra 
  security 
  for 
  a 
  “very 
  dangerous 
  experiment.” To your surprise, the boys 
  from Army Intelligence also got in touch 
  with you, promising that they could re-
  instate you if you reported back to them 
  about 
  the 
  activities 
  of 
  “certain 
  organizations 
  which 
  may 
  possess 
  technology, weapons, and/or information 
  that could be used by or against the U.S. 
  Military.” 
   
  Motivation: Duty 
  You earn Style points when your character 
  acts responsibly or convinces someone to 
  keep their word. 
   
  Flaw: Addicted to Gambling 
  You earn a Style point when your 
  character’s gambling costs something 
  valuable, causes him to do something 
  foolish or reckless, or causes someone else 
  to do something foolish or reckless. 
   
   
   
  Special Talent: Snapshot 
  You may gain -1 bonus to the Action Speed of any ranged attack. Spend 2 Style to get -2 bonus 
  for one scene. Spend 4 Style to get a -3 bonus for the remainder of the scene. 
   
  Special Talent: Diehard 
  You cannot be knocked unconscious from dropping below 0 health. You do not die until -7 health 
  (most other people die at -5). At 0 health or below, you are Exhausted (may either move or act or 
  actively defend, but not all three at the same time) and you suffer a penalty to all actions equal to 
  your health rating. Spend 2 Style and for one scene you will not die until -9 health. Spend 4 Style 
  and for one scene you will not die until -11 health. 
  Archetype: Soldier 
   
  Style:  
   
  Motivation: Duty 
   
  Health: 6 
   
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 4 
  Charisma: 2 
  Dexterity: 2 
  Intelligence: 2 
  Strength: 3 
  Willpower: 2 
   
   
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 4 
  Move: 6 
  Defense: 6 
  Perception: 4 
  Stun: 4 
   
   
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Athletics 
  3 
  3 
  6 
   (3) 
  Brawl 
  3 
  2 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Drive 
  2 
  2 
  4 
   (2) 
  Firearms 
  2 
  4 
  6 
   (3) 
  Melee 
  3 
  1 
  4 
   (2) 
    Knives 
   
   
  5 
   (2+) 
  Survival 
  2 
  2 
  4 
   (2) 
    Tracking 
   
   
  5 
   (2+) 
   
   
   
   
   
  Talents 
  Snapshot 
  Diehard 
   
  Resources 
  $1 pocket money 
   
  Flaw 
  Addicted to Gambling 
   
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
   (Average) 
  Colt M1911 
  3 L 
  0 
  9 L 
   (4+) L 
  Fighting Knife 
  1 L 
  0 
  6 L 
   (3) L 
  Hand Grenade* 
  0 L 
  0 
  6 L 
   (3) L 
  *Hand grenades explode with an area of effect 
  dealing 8L damage 
  
  Granny Gone Bad 
  “Of all the gin joints, in all the world, trouble always walks into mine.” 
   
  In the early days of Prohibition, you 
  racked up 198 counts of bootlegging, 
  smuggling, and reckless driving, but the 
  eighteenth amendment was repealed 3 
  years ago, and you were expected to stay 
  on in prison. So you busted out. You 
  really are a sweet lady at heart, but you 
  can’t get over the feeling that society owes 
  you a big one. You figure your best bet for 
  a happy retirement is to settle down in 
  some backwater town, muscle out the 
  leading 
  underworld 
  figure 
  to 
  earn 
  yourself a reputation, and then set up a 
  modest little criminal empire, which you 
  will rule with an iron apron. When 
  Professor 
  Mortimer 
  of 
  Burroughs 
  University in Bugswallow City contacted 
  you 
  about 
  transporting 
  something 
  dangerous and probably illegal, you 
  realized your opportunity might be at 
  hand. 
   
  Motivation: Fame 
  You earn Style points whenever your 
  character does something noteworthy or 
  increases her reputation. 
   
  Flaw: Compulsion: Break Rules 
  You earn a Style point when your 
  character causes trouble by breaking rules 
  or laws or when she convinces another to 
  break the rules. 
   
  Special Talent: Reckless Driver 
  You may gain +2 to any Drive maneuver (such as stunts, car chases, etc) if you perform the 
  maneuver in a reckless manner. The strain of a reckless maneuver causes 1 point of structural 
  damage to the vehicle. 
  Spend 2 Style to get +4 Drive skill when performing a maneuver recklessly (lasts until end of 
  scene). Spend 4 Style to get +6 Drive skill when performing a maneuver recklessly (lasts until end 
  of scene). 
  Archetype: Criminal 
   
  Style:  
   
  Motivation: Fame 
   
  Health: 4 
   
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 2 
  Charisma: 3 
  Dexterity: 4 
  Intelligence: 2 
  Strength: 2 
  Willpower: 2 
   
   
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 6 
  Move: 6 
  Defense: 6 
  Perception: 4 
  Stun: 2 
   
   
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Con 
  3 
  3 
  6 
   (3) 
    Fast Talk 
   
   
  7 
   (3+) 
  Drive 
  4 
  4 
  8 
   (4) 
  Firearms 
  4 
  1 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Larceny 
  4 
  2 
  6 
   (3) 
    Lock-picking 
   
   
  7 
   (3+) 
  Stealth 
  4 
  2 
  6 
   (3) 
  Streetwise 
  3 
  2 
  5 
   (2+) 
   
   
   
   
   
  Talents 
  Reckless Driver 
   
  Resources 
  Wealth 1: $250 pocket money 
   
  Flaw 
  Compulsion: Breaking the rules 
   
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
   (Average) 
  .357 Magnum 
  1 L 
  0 
  5 L 
   (2+) L 
   
  
  Lunkhead Boxer 
   
   
  You’re a good boy because you do what 
  Grams tells you. Grams asks you to fix he 
  car, and you do. Grams tells you to get the 
  cookie jar off the top shelf, and you do. 
  Grams tells you to rough up a shopkeeper 
  so she can extract protection money, and 
  you do. Then one day the cops came and 
  put you both in jail. That wasn’t so bad for 
  you—the other guys left you alone after 
  you 
  won 
  some 
  prison 
  boxing 
  tournaments. But you were very happy 
  when Grams busted you out so you could 
  get back to work. 
   
  Motivation: Duty 
  You earn Style points when your character 
  acts responsibly or convinces someone to 
  keep their word. 
   
  Flaw: Gullible 
  You earn a Style point whenever your 
  character is taken advantage of because of 
  his trusting nature. 
   
  Special Talent: Staggering 
  Blow 
  Your boxing attacks have an increased 
  ability to knock back or knock down your 
  opponent. +1 bonus to knockback  
  Spend 2 Style to gain +2 knockback; 4 
  Style to gain +3; 6 to gain +4. These 
  bonuses remain in effect until the end of 
  the scene. 
   
  Special Skill: Boxing 
  +1 to punching (already calculated), +1 to blocking; -1 to grappling and throwing 
   
  Archetype: Criminal 
   
  Style:  
   
  Motivation: Duty 
   
  Health: 7 
   
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 5 
  Charisma: 2 
  Dexterity: 1 
  Intelligence: 1 
  Strength: 5 
  Willpower: 2 
   
   
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 2 
  Move: 7 
  Defense: 6 
  Perception: 3 
  Stun: 5 
   
   
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Athletics 
  5 
  2 
  7 
   (3+) 
  Automechanics 
  1 
  2 
  3 
   (1+) 
  Firearms 
  1 
  3 
  4 
   (2) 
  Intimidation 
  2 
  3 
  5 
   (2+) 
  MA: Boxing 
  5 
  4 
  9 
   (4+) 
  Melee 
  5 
  1 
  6 
   (3) 
   
   
   
   
   
  Talents 
  Staggering Blow (+1 knockback) 
  Strong (+1 Strength) 
   
  Resources 
  $5 pocket money 
   
  Flaw 
  Gullible 
   
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
   (Average) 
  Colt M1911 
  3 L 
  0 
  7 L 
   (3+) L 
  Punch 
  0 N 
  0 
  10N  
   (5) L 
  Thrown Rock 
  0 L 
  0 
  7 L 
   (3+) L 
  
  Melodramatic Magician 
   
   
  Not only is your life far more interesting 
  than anyone else’s, you also have amazing 
  powers which you have used to perfect a 
  vaudeville magic act which has been 
  dazzling audiences for more than a year. 
  Your innate ability to detect mystical 
  occurrences and sort out true magic from 
  mere malarkey led you to discover the 
  Hermetic Order of the Rose Cross 
  (HORC), which is a (usually) benevolent 
  organization dedicated to the research and 
  development of mystical knowledge. As 
  an initiation task, they have sent you to 
  Bugswallow City to assist Professor 
  Mortimer of Burroughs University. There 
  was a chapter of HORC in Bugswallow, 
  but 
  some 
  kind 
  of 
  recent 
  shake-up 
  occurred and now the Bugswallow Lodge 
  seems to have fallen into charlatanism 
  and/or black magic, which would drag 
  down the good name of the organization 
  as a whole. Your job is to pull the curtain 
  on 
  the 
  pretenders’ 
  little 
  act—either 
  discredit them or drive them out, or both. 
  After all, you are far more deserving of 
  center stage. 
   
  Motivation: Fame 
  You earn Style points whenever your 
  character does something noteworthy or 
  increases his reputation. 
   
  Flaw: Melodramatic 
  You earn a Style point when your 
  character’s need for attention causes trouble or when you steal the spotlight from a rival. 
   
  Special Ability: Magical Aptitude 
  See Secrets of the Surface World for Theurgy rituals. 
  Archetype: Occultist 
   
  Style:  
   
  Motivation: Fame 
   
  Health: 5 
   
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 2 
  Charisma: 4 
  Dexterity: 3 
  Intelligence: 3 
  Strength: 1 
  Willpower: 3 
   
   
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 6 
  Move: 4 
  Defense: 5 
  Perception: 6 
  Stun: 2 
   
   
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Academics:Occult 
  3 
  3 
  6 
   (3) 
  Investigation 
  3 
  2 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Larceny 
  3 
  3 
  6 
   (3) 
    Sleight of Hand 
   
   
  7 
   (3+) 
  Melee 
  1 
  1 
  2 
   (1) 
    Knives 
   
   
  3 
   (1+) 
  Firearms 
  3 
  1 
  4 
   (2) 
  Theurgy 
  4 
  4 
  8 
   (4) 
   
   
   
   
   
  Talents 
  Attractive 
  Magical Aptitude 
   
  Resources 
  $5 pocket money 
   
  Flaw 
  Melodramatic 
   
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
   (Average) 
  Double Derringer 
  2 L 
  0 
  6 L 
   (3) L 
  Ritual Dagger 
  1 L 
  0 
  4 L 
   (2) L 
   
  
  Paranormal Investigator 
   
   
  Professor 
  Mortimer 
  of 
  Burroughs 
  University in Bugswallow City contacted 
  the FBI to request extra security for his 
  experiments due to the presence of a 
  secret organization of self-proclaimed 
  sorcerers. Your superiors have assigned 
  you to the task, but with the following 
  addition: the professor is also suspected of 
  being a member of a separate, secret 
  organization. Your mission is to collect 
  information on all potentially subversive 
  organizations in the vicinity and to 
  prevent the public from becoming aware 
  of any paranormal activities. Provide 
  plausible explanations where possible, 
  coerce or purchase silence as necessary, 
  and 
  confiscate 
  evidence 
  at 
  every 
  opportunity. 
   
  Motivation: Mystery 
  You earn Style points when your character 
  protects a secret or convinces someone not 
  to go looking for the truth. 
   
  Flaw: Fanatical 
  You earn a Style point whenever your 
  character’s devotion causes harm or he 
  converts someone else to his way of 
  thinking. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Special Resource: Amnesia Gun.  
  Score more successes than target’s willpower to erase recent memory. Roll more than twice as 
  many successes to erase memory as far back as you choose. 6 shots. 
   
  Special Resource: FBI rank. 
  +2 social bonus within the law enforcement community. 
  Archetype: Spy 
   
  Style:  
   
  Motivation: Mystery 
   
  Health: 4 
   
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 2 
  Charisma: 3 
  Dexterity: 2 
  Intelligence: 4 
  Strength: 2 
  Willpower: 2 
   
   
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 6 
  Move: 4 
  Defense: 4 
  Perception: 6 
  Stun: 2 
   
   
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Academics: Law 
  4 
  1 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Brawl 
  2 
  2 
  4 
   (2) 
  Con 
  3 
  2 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Drive 
  2 
  1 
  3 
   (1+) 
  Firearms 
  2 
  3 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Intimidation 
  3 
  2 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Investigation 
  4 
  3 
  7 
   (3+) 
  Streetwise 
  3 
  1 
  4 
   (2) 
   
   
   
   
   
  Talents 
  None 
   
  Resources 
  Artifact 1: Amnesia Gun (6 shots)* 
  Rank 1: FBI 
  $5 pocket money 
   
  Flaw 
  Fanatic 
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
   (Average) 
  Amnesia Gun 
  2 L 
  0 
  7 L 
   (3+) L 
  W&S MP 9mm 
  3 L 
  0 
  8 L 
   (4) L 
   
  
  Promethean Scientist 
   
   
  You are a member of a semi-secret 
  organization 
  called 
  the 
  Order 
  of 
  Prometheus. Some people call you mad 
  scientists, but you are visionaries who 
  seek to build a better world through 
  technology, and you believe that the 
  future will see human kind lifted from its 
  barbarous behavior and primitive systems 
  to a new, golden era. When Professor 
  Mortimer (a colleague of the Order of 
  Prometheus and a researcher at Burroughs 
  University in Bugswallow City) contacted 
  you because a group of unscientific and 
  unethical people was trying to steal his 
  research, you immediately agreed to help. 
   
  Motivation: Hope 
  You 
  earn 
  Style 
  points 
  when 
  your 
  character’s optimism is justified or she 
  convinces someone not to give up. 
   
  Flaw: Merciful 
  You earn a Style point whenever your 
  character shows compassion to an enemy 
  or refuses to retaliate when wronged. 
   
  Special Resource: Rank in the 
  Order of Prometheus 
  +2 social bonus when dealing with 
  scientists of the Order. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Special Ability: Weird Science: Biology 
  Given time and resources, you can make all kinds of wild things. Today you come prepared with 
  several injections. Each injection requires one action and the effects last for 1 minute (10 combat 
  rounds). The effects of multiple uses stack. These injections may be used with the dart gun. 
  Select six doses of any combination of the following: 
   
  • 
  Hypo-Stim (Strength +1, Body +1, Intelligence -1) 
  • 
  Neural Accelerator (+1 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity, -1 Willpower) 
  • 
  Pheromone Serum (+1 Charisma) 
  • 
  Fortuna Virum: (+2 to any one roll of player’s choice) 
  • 
  Trauma Vaccine (cannot be knocked unconscious due to health level; no wound penalties 
  until health = -3) 
  Archetype: Scientist 
   
  Style:  
   
  Motivation: Hope 
   
  Health: 4 
   
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 2 
  Charisma: 2 
  Dexterity: 2 
  Intelligence: 5 
  Strength: 2 
  Willpower: 2 
   
   
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 7 
  Move: 4 
  Defense: 4 
  Perception: 7 
  Stun: 2 
   
   
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Craft: Medicine 
  5 
  3 
  8 
   (4) 
  Diplomacy 
  2 
  3 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Firearms 
  2 
  1 
  3 
   (1+) 
  Investigation 
  5 
  1 
  6 
   (3) 
  Medicine 
  5 
  3 
  8 
   (4) 
  Science: Biology 
  5 
  3 
  8 
   (4) 
   
   
   
   
   
  Talents 
  Weird Science: Biology 
   
  Resources 
  Rank 1: Order of Prometheus 
  $5 pocket money 
   
  Flaw 
  Merciful 
   
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
   (Average) 
  Dart Gun* 
  2 L 
  0 
  5 L 
   (2+) L 
  * Ammunition: 6 special darts (see text), 6 tranqulizer 
  darts, and 6 antiseptic darts (heals 2 lethal wounds). 
  The dart gun has a Range of 50 and a Cap of 1. 
  
  Rootin’ Tootin’ Cowboy 
   
   
  You’ve got a reputation as the craziest 
  rodeo dude ever to hog-tie a critter or grip 
  the saddle of a bucking bronco. But now 
  you’re finding it a little harder to pull 
  new, 
  wild 
  stunts 
  to 
  further 
  your 
  reputation, so when Professor Mortimer of 
  Burroughs University in Bugswallow City 
  contacted you about working with some 
  extremely rare, dangerous animals, you 
  strapped on your ten gallon hat and hit 
  the trail. 
   
  Motivation: Fame 
  You earn Style points whenever your 
  character does something noteworthy or 
  increases his reputation. 
   
  Flaw: Overconfident 
  You earn a Style point when your 
  character’s bravado gets him in over his 
  head. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Special Talent: Quickdraw 
  You may ready a weapon as a reflexive action (does not take an action to draw a weapon). 
   
  Special Ability: Lasso 
  Make a melee attack, range 10 feet. Target may use only Active Defense (dexterity). If you net 
  more successes than target’s strength, then target is immobilized for a number of turns equal to 
  your net successes. If you net more than double the target’s strength, the target is stuck 
  indefinitely. 
   
  Archetype: Adventurer 
   
  Style:  
   
  Motivation: Fame 
   
  Health: 5 
   
  Primary Attributes 
  Body: 3 
  Charisma: 2 
  Dexterity: 3 
  Intelligence: 2 
  Strength: 3 
  Willpower: 2 
   
   
  Secondary Attributes 
  Size: 0 
  Initiative: 5 
  Move: 6 
  Defense: 6 
  Perception: 4 
  Stun: 3 
   
   
  Skills 
  Base 
  Levels 
  Rating 
  (Average) 
  Athletics 
  3 
  1 
  4 
   (2) 
  Brawl 
  3 
  2 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Firearms 
  3 
  2 
  5 
   (2+) 
  Melee 
  3 
  5 
  8 
   (4) 
    Lasso 
   
   
  9 
   (4+) 
  Ride 
  3 
  4 
  7 
   (3+) 
  Survival 
  2 
  2 
  4 
   (2) 
    Tracking 
   
   
  6 
   (3) 
   
   
   
   
   
  Talents 
  Quickdraw 
  Skill Aptitude: Melee 
   
  Resources 
  $5 pocket money 
   
  Flaw 
  Overconfident 
   
  Weapons 
  Rating 
  Size 
  Attack 
   (Average) 
  Colt Peacemaker 
  3 L 
  0 
  8 L 
   (4) L 
  Lasso 
  1 N 
  0 
  10 N 
   (5) L 
  Punch 
  0 N 
  0 
  6 L 
   (3) L 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Hollow Earth (ubiquity) [multi]/Hollow Earth Expedition The Secrets of Bugswallow City.pdf