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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Iron Sky" data-source="post: 7842601" data-attributes="member: 60965">IngredientsLaconic Sphynx Thieving Caravan Astral Jaunt Last CrownbearerAffluent Troll Crystal Seal Fountain of Love Arrow, by VersaceA modern supernatural adventure.IntroductionThe gods are dying, entire pantheons eliminated as Ragnarök nears completion. Though skewed by interaction with other faiths and mythologies Ragnarök proved the Twilight of the Gods, but not of mankind. Our world hosts proxy battles in the shadows; echoes of the real war ravaging realms perpendicular ours.The PCs play agents at the periphery of the struggle, whether freelancers or working for some faction.They have a job to do and it starts in Athens.AtticaInside a dead-dropped manila envelope: an Attica Zoological Park visitor's guide, Angola Lion circled. Underlined variously throughout: 1 3 0 a m. Also, a flier for a poetry reading in two days, the address smudged out.After breaking into the zoo and arriving at the lion pen at the date and time, their contact is late. About the time the PCs begin to expect a setup, the huge lion "sleeping" on a rock in the pen raises its head and unfurls its wings. The sphinx says:    "Your contact, Phix, am I    Listen close lest you die.    In riddles must I speak ever on    Cursed legacy of my father Typhon,    From my words your answer must flower    Lest part of you must I... (devour)."Phix can only speak in riddles, leaving out the word in (parenthesis) for the PCs to answer. First wrong guess or too long without an attempt, she raises an eyebrow. Second, she unsheathes her claws and snarls, her canines growing. Third, a furious attack, unceasing until she's has devoured part of an involved PC or is beaten unconscious. She'll try for an ear or finger, if possible, but generally speaks as little as possible in hopes of avoiding such working complications entirely.As a supernatural being, she'll regenerate from anything short of dying.    "Ragnarök hit Greece harder than Kratos of Playstation,    Once twelve now zero; the pantheon of our nation.    So desperate we for a deity near us    We resort now to your Cupid, our (Eros)."    "Last resort am I, all previous failed,    Seeking to uncover how Hellas' last Scion's jailed.    Unknown prisons contain our lost divinity    Though in visions a crystal seal is (key)."Pushed for more detail, she adds:    "When a vision visits from the great RNG    It comes as .txt, not (.png)."...or (.jpg) as alpha channels lie outside sphinges' purview.Phix absolutely insists on accompanying the group wherever they go, thus largely restricting the PCs' travel to vehicle convoys since she lives and travels in a large, heavily-modified RV. Additional challenges arise from satisfying her ravenous hunger for meat. “Redder is better, but living's the (thing).”The saddlebag always slung over her side blazes like a beacon to arcane detection, radiating from a Zeus' vacant olive-wreath crown.CluesDigging for info about crystal seals and/or Eros reveals clues. Each has a difficulty and is related to one investigation:• Investigation Alpha.♦ Investigation Beta.▲ Investigation Kappa.Casual•Recent art exhibits all over the world feature exquisite crystal animal and human sculptures – complete with “3d etched” layers of bone, muscle, skin, and organs.•The sculpturist, "Gorgo," has never been seen or photographed.    •Gorgo Artwork Incorporated offices reside in Ayvalik, Turkey.♦Numerous ancient gem seals called intaglios exist in museums and private collections.Moderate•A fur seal sculpture stands out in the background of a few, rare pictures from inside Gorgo's workshop.    •It's not in any of the exhibits.•Any first-hand arcane analysis reveals sculptures are victims of petrification.    •By medusa curse.♦On display at the Louvre: an intaglio featuring Eros, carved by Dexamenos of Chios.Arduous•Gorgo's actual workshop address... in Sadha, Libya.▲Eros ran Catch Cupid, Incorporated(CCI) until a few months ago when he vanished.    ▲CCI runs dating websites, porn rings, and sells adult toys.    ▲In a partnership with Versace, CCI just released “Arrow” perfume and cologne.         ▲Early reviews report legit aphrodisiac effects.    ▲CCI recently started making huge donations to the Norwegian Polar Institute.        ▲Which funnels into “Troll”, an NPI research station in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.▲Eros dealt and dabbled with hard drugs.•AlphaIf the PCs head to Ayvalik, they must first get their vehicle caravan into Turkey. Finagling a meeting with Spheno – the reclusive head of Gorgo Artworks – takes effort and finesse.In person, Spheno appears as a olive-skinned woman of indeterminate age wearing a hijab. If accused of being Medusa, she laughs: “everyone knows Perseus' story”. She admits to being one of Medusa's sisters; Spheno runs the business while her other sister, Euryale, handles “sculpturing” in Sadha, Libya where she can “utilize” imported animals and human subjects from Sabha's slave market.If shown pictures of the seal sculpture: “you'll have to talk with Euryale in person about that.”If she's attacked, deadly-venomous scarlet snakes writhe out of Spheno's hijab. She's also a demigod with millennia of wile and cunning, but no petrification ability.Bypassing some solid security to break into Gorgo Artwork's warehouse proves the the seal's not there. Cargo manifests list Libya as country-of-origin.LibyaA drive to Sabha across a country in ruins after a nearly-decade-long civil war. If PCs don't ship their vehicles in, they face border crossings or smuggling their convoy across Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.Navigating militia roadblocks, IEDs, extremist hostility, destroyed infrastructure, and harsh deserts takes them to Sabha. Deep in the ruins of the oasis city, Euryale's workshop proves a hardened compound complete with guard dogs, concertina wire, paid local militias and private security forces.Euryale – a loud, confrontational version of Spheno –  meets with them but won't part with the seal for any reason as it was first “sculpture” she made after learning to crystallize instead of petrify.Phix pushes for theft.Security: vaults, arcane and physical security systems, guards, a hostile demigod with a deadly gaze.If/when they secure the sculpture, it's useless though its ear tag reads "NPI, Trl, AQ".♦BetaDriving their vehicle caravan across Europe to Paris is the easy part. Lifting the intaglio, however...Casing the exhibit at the Louvre reveals the exhibit bears supernatural wards buttressing extensive physical security befitting a Treasures of Antiquity exhibit.The finely carved rock crystal definitely bears arcane ties to Eros. Experimentation (and/or dangerous hints from Phix) after stealing it determines that stamping a wax imprint from the ring onto paper sends it flying towards Eros – towards Antarctica.▲KappaA trip to Antarctica. Complications: hostile weather, attacks by Somali pirates, a black helicopter assault by Them.Reaching Antarctica's shores enables the next step: driving a convoy of tractor trucks 235km to Troll research station. Though small, much more lies under construction. They are met by Jötunn Risi, head of Antarctic Research for NPI and also the new CEO of CCI.Having tracked their progress online, he invites them to tour the luxuriant office-cum-palace below. The blinged-out Jötunn takes delight in subtly mocking them and asking provocative questions while showing CCI's extravagant new HQ.The glass-walled hub of the wheel-shaped facility: a tall chamber featuring a fine jet of water aerosolizing to swirling mist. Jötunn brags the room performs commercially and aesthetically: genuine Antarctic meltwater mist in every bottle of Arrow.Savvy PCs – or those he finds entertainingly reactive – find themselves invited to party later with Jötunn. As they part: "Wash up first.” A baggie of crystalline fragments slips to them during a handshake.The TruthJötunn is a troll capable of taking a human form; also the “netorious” hacker [Goon]Grendel.While waiting out Ragnarök in Antarctica (he also chaired the station's naming committee), Jötunn uncovered Eros' narcotic predilections while harassing him on the internet. His extensive Internet contacts led Jötunn to a strain of crystal meth so strong that consciousness blasts amps up into the Astral.Hooking the God of Desire wasn't difficult, nor was signing the now-junkie god out of his corporation.Eros now floats in a special bath below CCI's offices. Circulating water sluices essence of desire from the god while he Astrally trips, his constant meth IV-drip trapping blocking his attempts to find his way back to reality.CompletionFreeing Eros:○Assault: If security is tripped, Eros' intoxicating mist swirls into the compound while filter-masked guards converge. Add an ancient, rapidly-regenerating troll in true form accompanied by swarms of drones piloted by internet cronies taunting PCs and loudly broadcasting their locations.○Theft: freeing Eros during the party first requires distracting Jötunn – he's especially fond of arguments and mockery, even if aimed at him – then quietly bypassing security to Eros' room and covertly extracting him.○Awakening: “bumping” the meth briefly jaunts the user into the Astral. There they might track down Eros, guiding him back to his body. This is the quickest, easiest option, but regular meth addiction's a horror and this stuff hooked a god.Jötunn, no dummy, immediately flees by snowmobile if the PCs awaken Eros, likely culminating in a chase across storm-blown Antarctica towards Jötunn's waiting boat.</blockquote>

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