This adventure is set on Beta Canum's French Continent, and assumes that one of the PCs has a serious Love Interest named Lacy Streltzan. Lacy comes to her PC Love Interest with the diary of one Hermann Boltzinger, the great grandaddy of Carmen, an old friend of hers. It seems that her friend is going to lose the old family home that she just inherited, because of the unpaid back-taxes. While having coffee together one day, Carmen Boltzinger (her friend) happened to mention that great grandpa's old diary was found in the attic, and showed it to her. Lacy recognized the ancient German dialect that it was written in, and her friend loaned it to her so that she could translate it. While doing so, she discovered that dear old great grandpappy made a fair fortune, and never seems to have spent any of it, except for some notes on buying land. Her friend knows nothing about any other land, and so Lacy comes to the PC, asking if he can help her track down any land transactions (hopefully finding the missing cash, or land bought with it - enough to pay off the Lv 100,000 in back taxes, and save the old homestead before the fast-approaching deadline, two weeks from today).
To locate any property purchased by Hermann Boltzinger in the land records: Routine. Information Gathering. Absolute (1 day in person or via computer, 5 days by mail). Referee: Using the computer requires Computer skill. Success reveals that there are no records, but that there was a fire in the records office roughly ten year's after Hermann's death, so the records of purchases prior to that may be incomplete. This same task will also work for Hermann's wife, Ellie, if anyone thought to ask Carmen about her, and check on land in her name. She has none, either. Failures only waste precious time.
The diary gives few clues, except to mention that the old man bought the land he could "...see from my hunting cabin in the hills". No one seems to know anything about that, though! The only option is to journey to the area, and wander through the hills, looking for a 100 year old cabin somewhere in the hills near the house!
If the PC doesn't want to help, Lacy will be miffed, but not enough to break up with him. Instead, she may decide to go off and spend the next two weeks with her old friend, and try to find clues, herself. If he does agree to help, both she and her old friend will be grateful, and will probably accompany him on the trip. Other PCs are welcome, too, of course. The old homestead is so far off the beaten path, that the path stops several day's travel before it gets there! Access by sea is much easier, and a hovercraft or boat will get everyone there in less than a day. The homestead is on the SE coast, several hundred kilometers south of Premiere.
Upon arrival, Carmen will lead the group up a newly-cleared path to the old homestead, which is weather-beaten, and rather run down. The house is large and spacious, however, and everyone will have a warm, dry place to stay while looking around. If no one else thought to, Lacy and Carmen will have brought enough food and drink for the entire party for the time remaining out of the two weeks. They will attend to cooking, etc, while the PCs are doing other things.
Having arrived in the afternoon, the group will probably want to search the house for clues, first (there are no outbuildings, other than an empty well-house). This is done via the following task:
To search the old homestead or cabin for clues: Routine. (Uncertain). Information Gathering + INT. 1 hour. Referee: Regardless of success or failure, there is nothing to be found in the house. See below, for the cabin.
A search of the old homestead turns up nothing more, except for some worthless old hand-made "frontier furniture" (at least the (N)PCs have something to sleep on), and a few old decorations, such as potted plants and an old painting of the house in its early days (with one of the mountains as the backdrop). Everything of any value (save the old furniture and decorations) has already been removed, at the same time the diary was found. Any paths from "the old days" are long overgrown, and an Impossible Tracking task to find.
To find a 100 year old trail: Impossible. (Unskilled). Tracking + INT. 1 hour. Referee: Daylight is required to look (thus, no more than 10 hours' worth of searching per day). On any Mishap, the (N)PC involved will be unwilling to try again, seeing it as a waste of time.
Failing that, the PCs may want to search the hills for signs of an old cabin. The group may search together (assumed), or split up, to save time. The time is the same if they all stick together, or have the NPCs doing something else. The time can be divided by the number of searchers working different areas of the hills, if the (N)PCs split up.
To search the nearby hills for a 100 year old cabin: Routine. (Unskilled). Hunting + Eyesight Modifier. 4 hours. Referee: Remember to keep track of time, as two weeks after the adventure begins, the government will foreclose on the property! Average time for this task (40 hours) will require four day's worth of searching.
Only a careful search of the area will (days later) turn up an old ruin of a cabin, half-covered by trees, in some hills halfway up the lower slopes of the mountain in the picture. The place is now a roofless ruin, but a careful search will reveal a formerly boarded-up rock passage (beside the chimney) going back into the mountain, where a large crack was used as a storage chamber. Among the many items of stored hunting gear on crude shelves are: worthless, rotted pelts and rope, old candles, a lantern, oil, rusted tools, an old cedar chest (with hunting clothes, papers and photographs wrapped in an old skin, and some crumbling bars of lie soap in it), an ancient broken-down vehicle (still in fair condition, but non-operable), rotted food stores and food drying equipment, butchering tools, a few old, rotten trophies that only an expert Biologist could guess the species of, and several bundles of oilskin, tied with twine that falls apart when touched. The players may investigate, as they like.
To identify the species of one of the trophies: Formidable. Biology + BC Local Knowledge. Instant. Referee: There are 2D6 trophies, mostly of lifeforms native to the French Continent (Banshee, Xeneornithomimus, etc). There is also the head of a Night Stalker from the German Continent.
The crack goes back maybe 20 meters, getting smaller as it goes, and eventually ends (way too small for PCs to fit into, by that point). It is 10 meters at the widest, narrowing as it goes back, and roughly leveled. The pelts, ropes, food, and trophies are all worthless. The candles are crumbly, but will still work, if treated with care. The oil is mostly evaporated, but enough remains for about an hour's light. The lantern's wick wheel is rusted stuck, but can be loosened with some oil (and elbow grease). The tools are well-rusted, but anything without a blade is still usable (if you don't mind risking tetanus, or wearing gloves). The cedar chest's hinges are rusted closed, but either they or the lid may be broken to gain access. Inside are hunting clothes long out of fashion, many illegible papers of no historical interest (toilet paper), hundreds of old photographs of hunters (a few of which are recognizable to Carmen as Great Grandpa, the rest of whom no one knows, assumed to be some of Great Grandpa's old hunting buddies), each of whom is holding the head of a dead animal native to the area, the skin of one, etc. One shows Great Grandad holding the head of a huge Night Stalker (a catlike lizardoid from the German Continent). The soap is worthless and unusable, as it will crumble into powder. The vehicle is not operable, the (alcohol) fuel tank is empty, and the oil is dried up, after a century of neglect. Despite that, a few hours of hammering, success in a Routine or Formidable Mechanics task, an oil change and some fuel will leave the PCs with a working antique that many would pay upwards of Lv 10,000 to possess (Carmen will not want such a rusty old thing, unless she learns of its value before giving it away). The butchering and food drying equipment is also rusty and generally useless. The oilskins contain 10 150 year old big game rifles, almost perfectly preserved (1D6 will be missing some parts, awaiting repairs when stored). Lacy and Carmen will both be very excited by this, as they know such antiques will be worth a pretty centime, at some auction house (these won't be given away)!
Still, the deadline is only a few days away, and there's not enough time to organize an auction and get the money to save the homestead... Only a careful examination of the photos will reveal any clue. One of the "skins" that Great Grandpappy is holding up is actually a scrawled land grant (which is nearly illegible in the photo (Difficult task, adding only the INT bonus and Eyesight Modifier)), but 24th-century photoenhancement could bring it out.
To recognize the significance of the photo: Difficult. (Unknown). INT + Eyesight Modifier. Instant. Referee: Roll this task for the player, or let them roll, but don't tell them what for, or even mention the picture, unless they succeed. If they do, tell them that the skin looks like there's something scrawled across it. If they examine it further, they will realize that it is upside-down, and will be able to make out the words "AR-I Land Grant", but little else. Only one attempt per (N)PC is allowed.
Once the PCs find this (IF they do!), they can have someone attempt a Difficult Bureaucracy task, and if successful, will be able to determine that such land grants were given by the AR-I to the earliest explorers of the planet (those who stayed, once the surveys were done) as a reward for their work. Since such land grants were supposed to be tax-free in perpetuity, an enhancement of this photograph would, in effect, totally wipe out the back-taxes, and save the old homestead!
To recognize the possible significance of the AR-I Land Grant: Difficult. Bureaucracy. Instant. Referee: Note that both Lacy and Carmen have skill level 3 in Bureaucracy. If anyone recognizes the significance, Carmen will insist on contacting a lawyer immediately, to confirm the grant. Superficial Mishaps mean the (N)PC doesn't understand the significance. Minor Mishaps indicate that they don't know that the photo would cancel the taxes, or that they don't know enough about photoenhancements to realize that it's even possible. Major Mishaps mean that the (N)PC believes that taxes have to be payed by the heirs of the person receiving the original grant.
Recognizing the significance of the old photo would satisfy Lacy and Carmen, but it still doesn't answer the question of the family fortune, and missing land... The truth of the matter is that the old skin that the papers and photos were wrapped in IS the old land grant, but it now so brown (from age and contact with the lie soap) as to be utterly unreadable. The Referee may allow anyone who inspects it to attempt the same task as used on the photograph, and if they succeed, tell them that it looks like the same type of skin as the one in the picture (same shape, too, but don't just give that away - only tell them if they ask). No writing will be visible, but a chemical analysis of the skin (done in a professional laboratory) would allow the skin to be returned to readability. If that happens, the original land grant number would be revealed.
If that number has been found, not only will Carmen's Great Grandad be revealed as one of the world's original colonists, but anyone with a background in exploration will know that the AR-I should have records of land transactions (if no one is from an Exploratory Career, the lawyer Carmen contacts will know). A check of dusty old databases not used in decades will reveal that not only did Great Grandad never sell his place, but that he later purchased almost every square centimeter of land visible from his old hunting cabin, and Carmen Boltzinger is entitled to a lot more land (once back-taxes on the additional purchases are paid), and will soon be VERY wealthy! The AR-I will forward copies of their records to the land office (replacing the ones lost in the fire).
If that happens, news of all of this will quickly spread (once the group arrives back in civilization), and the land grant photo will be a hot item. Everyone will want to interview "The Heiress" (who will happily comply, telling all about just how helpful her friends were). Reporters will then want to talk to her friend who translated the diary, the PCs who found such amazing clues, etc. If the skin was recognized, the AR-I and a local museum will all want to buy it. Lots of antique dealers and collectors will be interested in the rifles, and some in the vehicle (if the PCs repaired it and brought it back). When all are sold, Carmen will have enough to pay off all the back-taxes on the non-granted land that her Great Grandad bought, and still pay her new friends for all their expenses.
One thing still bothers Carmen, though... Great grandad's fortune still doesn't seem to be accounted for, even after deducting the price of all the additional land. What happened to the rest of the money? (Not that the new land baroness needs it, now, but maybe a 10% finder's fee would interest her new friends?) Also, might someone else be looking for the old man's money, now? Were those guys in the photos all other old explorers, too? (Well, okay, not ALL of them were!) If so, what are the photos worth, historically? (A LOT!) Would the PCs know? (Not unless they dig, but I bet the AR-I does!) What if one of the great grandkids of another old explorer recognizes one of those rifles as his ancestor's? Might (s)he try to steal it? Might they file a law suit to get it back? Has anyone been wanting that land that great grandpappy bought? Might they kidnap the new heiress in order to get it? What if some evil type KNOWS where the old man hid his missing fortune, and his family burned the records so that they could lay claim to the land after the old explorer died? What if they arranged for that, too?
As you can see, one simple scenario can become the basis for an entire campaign, if you want. Perhaps another photo shows a hidden drawer sitting open, or somesuch. When the PCs go back to investigate, perhaps they find a hidden "safe" with a keyhole, for instance. Only an exhaustive search uncovers the key, hidden in the once-soft wax of a crumbling candle. Inside the panel are the missing paper deeds to the purchased land, a paper copy of the land grant (with the number on it), receipts for the rifles and vehicle, and a map to some type of storage chamber on the then-newly purchased land. What's stored there, and why was Hermann Boltzinger such a secretive old hunter, anyway? Only the Referee even has a clue... and he's not telling!
Regardless of how good a jod the PCs did, don't allow them to get away with more than 5 XP and Lv 1,000 (unless you complicated the adventure). Reimbursement for all their expenses (boat rental, etc.) above and beyond that is okay. This adventure was pretty easy, overall, and with little risk to the PCs. If one of them was smart enough to repair the antique vehicle (an old-style model of the Scout Car), and researched the value, let them get the Lv 10,000. If they didn't price the value as an antique, give them a few thousand for it (and some collector got a real steal)! When the PCs get back to civilization (and find an auction, etc), these tasks may come in handy for determining prices. Some of them can be done by the PCs during play:
To evaluate the quality of one of the rifles: Routine. (Unskilled & Uncertain). Appraisal + EDU + (Combat Rifleman)/2. Instant. Referee: Round fractions UP. Failures may be retried, but Mishaps mean a working rifle is mistaken for a non-working one, or vice versa. No ammunition is present, in any case.
To evaluate the quality of the ancient Scout Car: Routine. (Unskilled & Uncertain). Appraisal + EDU + (Ground Vehicles)/2. Instant. Referee: Round fractions UP. On a Superficial Mishap, the car appears rusted, but okay. On a Minor Mishap, it appears in poor shape. On a Major Mishap, the appraiser sees it as a worthless hunk of junk.
To diagnose the damage to the ancient Scout Car: Routine. (Uncertain). Mechanics + INT. 6 seconds. Referee: No tools are required to perform diagnosis. Failures may be retried, but a Superficial Mishap means that the evaporated-oil problem is missed (it will smoke and grind, if fueled and started). On a Minor Mishap, the bent transaxle is considered unfixable (but replaceable). On a Major Mishap, the Scout Car is considered unfixable.
To fix the ancient Scout Car: Formidable. Mechanics + INT. 30 minutes. Referee: Repair is not possible until diagnosis (above) succeeds. The difficulty of this task assumes that the attempt to repair the car is made in the crack where it is found, with no spare parts, and with tools the PCs brought. If they have no tools with them, the task becomes impossible (using the rusty ones there). If the car is taken to a vehicle shop, the difficulty drops to Routine, but will cost Lv 584 (a shop may also fix it if the PCs try, and fail).
To correctly appraise the worth of the ancient Scout Car: Routine. (Unskilled & Uncertain). Appraisal + Beta Canum Local Knowledge + (Ground Vehicles)/2 + EDU. Instant. Referee: Round fractions UP. Characters without Beta Canum Local Knowledge, and those without any Ground Vehicles skill, have the task complexity raised to Difficult (Formidable, if they have neither, and Impossible if they also have no Appraisal skill). Success yields the true value of the car (Lv 10,000 to a collector, only). Partial Success or a Superficial Mishap yields an evaluation of Lv 9,000. Minor Mishaps: Lv 7,500. Major Mishaps: Lv 20,000 or 5,000, at the Referee's discretion.
To correctly appraise the worth of one of the ancient hunting rifles: Routine. (Unskilled & Uncertain). Appraisal + Beta Canum Local Knowledge + (Combat Rifleman)/2 + EDU. Instant. Referee: Round fractions UP. Characters without Beta Canum Local Knowledge, and those without any Combat Rifleman skill, have the task complexity raised to Difficult (Formidable, if they have neither, and Impossible if they also have no Appraisal skill). Roll once for each rifle, subtracting 1D10% from the prices of those with missing pieces (remember, 1D6 of the 10 are missing parts, but the (N)PCs won't know that, unless they succeeded in the evaluation task, above). Success yield the true value (the base value is Lv 10,000 to a collector, only, before subtraction for missing parts, if any). Partial Success or Superficial Mishaps are off by plus or minus up to 10%, Minor Mishaps by up to 25%, and Major Mishaps by up to whatever the Referee pleases!
Note here that sales of the rifles and vehicle, alone, could pay for the land, even if the (N)PCs never recognize the significance of the photo or the skin. It is unlikely that they could get an auction set up in time, however (the Referee may create a task to try, if desired). Enhancement of the photo and chemical analysis of the skin is left for experts to do. Once Carmen has returned to civilization and contacted a lawyer, (s)he will hire the necessary experts to do these tasks. An immediate legal motion to stop the government foreclosure will be filed, and the matter will be cleared up in 1D6 weeks (once the AR-I sends the Land Office their old records, and things have been pushed through court). If the Referee likes, William Baxter can be introduced as the lawyer handling the government's case.
As for experience, PCs who willingly helped Carmen and Lacy should get more experience than those who didn't. Those who provided needed skills should get more than those who did not. If the homestead was saved, each PC should get at least 2 XP. If the other land was found, give them at least 3 XP, plus a Reknown Point, as the local media attention gives them five minutes of fame.
The real bonus, here, is the friendship of Carmen (now a very rich young lady, and kindly disposed towards the PCs for their help!), as well as that of the lovely Lacy. At worst, the PCs know they have a friend with a lot of empty land, if they ever need a place to hide out. That 10% finder's fee on the rest of old Hermann Boltzinger's missing fortune might not be so shabby, either! Who knows, maybe Miss Boltzinger could become the group's sponsor and patron, if Lacy agrees with their plans! Having a girlfriend whose old college chum is a former Scientist (with her own GeoChemistry lab and computer workstation) and now an elite Diplomat could prove useful, if the campaign continues...