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Emerald City Knights EMERALD CITY KNIGHTS PROLOGUE: THE SILVER STORM THIRD EDITION MUTANTS & MASTERMINDS EMERALD CITY KNIGHTS INTRODUCTION “The Silver Storm” is designed for six to eight Mutants & York Stock Exchange) by the flamboyant plutocrat and Masterminds heroes in the power level 8 to 10 range. It techno-wizard Maximilian Mars. As MarsTech and other can accommodate a power level 12 hero as part of the high-tech companies flourished, so did Emerald City, trans- group, but any more such powerful do-gooders are going forming the once-sleepy burgh into a leading center for the to require the Gamemaster to ratchet up the opposi- computer industry and other high-technology businesses. tion, either in numbers, power level, or both to provide a diverting enough challenge to the heroes. GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD This adventure is set in Emerald City during the present day. Nothing marks Emerald City newcomers more than It can, however, be used in the campaign city of the Game- making a Munchkin joke in public. They think it’s clever, master’s choice simply by changing the proper names. but to longtime residents (and in truth) they’re just being The adventure contains everything you need to run it using punch-ably obvious and annoying. It’s all an understand- just the Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook. Players able offshoot of the city’s 70-year-long love/hate relation- intending to participate in this adventure should read no ship with The Wizard of Oz. There are many businesses and further. The rest of the text is for the Gamemaster only! organizations that work overtime to avoid any association with the classic stories and legendary film, while others WELCOME TO THE BOOMTOWN embrace the eponymous association wholeheartedly. Those who revel in the city’s L. Frank Baum connection with Its founders dubbed Emerald City “the City of Destiny,” the enthusiasm of flying monkeys successfully lobbied to because for them it was the last stop on the continent’s have the open-air walking mall in the downtown shop- edge. With nothing but the deep blue sea beyond, a man ping district dubbed the Yellow Brick Row. There, the street had no choice but to meet his fate there—whatever it was. is indeed bricked just as advertised, duly painted yellow Even in the present age of supersonic jets and a shrinking every year on the official birthday of the city, August 27th. globe, Emerald City remains the last stop for most who journey there, both for reasons joyous and tragic. Now, it’s the heroes’ turn to come face to face with their destiny. A GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND For years, things in Emerald City were stable, depend- IN THE CITY able. Sure, times were tough when the lumber and paper industries took a hit, and again when fishing and Emerald City is located in the Pacific Northwest of the farming suffered, but they got better when the tech boom United States near the Atlas Mountain range, a quiet, arrived, and companies like MarsTech, USNet, and Brande humble neighbor of Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland. Management brought new jobs and new opportunities. Founded on Malory Bay, it’s been best-known to fish- Rapid development brought its own growing pains but, ermen (by trade and by hobby) and lumberjacks through still, Emerald City didn’t have alien armadas filling the sky, most of its history. or mad gods trying to turn it into a Hell on Earth. The anglers and all others who venture there find a Unlike Freedom City, Emerald has never had more than a cosmopolitan place, befitting a gateway to the Far East, few scattered costumed champions over the years, and including a large, old, and influential Asian population none that stuck around long enough to make much of who sought refuge from other, increasingly exclusionary, an impact. To most local residents, it’s just one of those areas of the Pacific Northwest during the late 1800s. A things–-like how the city’s never been able to attract an century later, Emerald City is still graced by a large Eastern NBA franchise. When it comes to capes, however, the truth District and a “Jadetown” area sizable enough to rival San is far more sinister than David Stern considering Emerald Francisco’s Chinatown. “too small market.” Today, first-time visitors are greeted by twin giants: one Emerald’s skies were free of flying figures, but also of aerial a monument of God’s creation, and the other of man’s. battles. There were a few costumed types now and again, The dormant volcanic peak of Mount Stanley has framed but not so you would really notice. Things were stable... the city skyline from the start, and in 1968 was joined by until the Silver Storm. the Emerald Tower, looming impressively towards the heavens (check out the cover of the M&M Hero’s Handbook CHANGES for a shot of the Tower). In the last two decades, Emerald City has grown almost The “Silver Storm” explosion tears Emerald City’s facade of exponentially, becoming a true boomtown. The city proper normalcy and unleashes a flood of dangerous super-crim- is quite large, surrounded by a number of expanding inals and monsters. This one incident upsets the delicate suburbs and bedroom communities. Driving this growth balance and changes everything. was the establishment of MarsTech, Inc. (MSTI on the New 2 PROLOGUE: THE SILVER STORM PROLOGUE: THE SILVER STORM MUTANTS & MASTERMINDS EMERALD CITY KNIGHTS Criminal masterminds cast aside years of fragile peace, ready to go to war to settle old scores and claim the throne GETTING THE HEROES INVOLVED of the city’s underworld. Up-and-coming stormers, drunk with power, are ready to take what they want. Secrets and Potentially the most work for the Gamemaster lies in strange things stir in the shadows, and a terrible threat getting previously unacquainted heroes together at the to the entire world looms in the depths. Emerald City scene of the action. Depending on the players character becomes a city in crisis. concepts, their alter egos might be shopping, dining, or working in a building in or near the disturbance. Heroes It’s a city that needs heroes. on the move might be driving, walking, biking, or riding a bus close to the area. PEACEFUL EASY FEELING Plugged-in, media savvy types almost certainly hear about the disturbance on TV, radio, or internet news sites. Sociable The heroes begin writing their own chapter in Emerald types (especially those with the Relationship complication) City history on an otherwise pleasant day. There’s enough receive chat windows and phone calls from friends or loved sunshine to make most anyone glad to be alive, and ones near the explosion (landlines only, though—the area seemingly all of Emerald City has ventured outside to cell phone and wireless networks go down within minutes). take advantage of it. Every downtown street is lined with And of course, any superhero actually doing something like people out roller-blading, walking their dogs, people- patrolling the streets or skies of Emerald City notices some- watching at sidewalk cafes, or doing a little shopping. thing’s amiss, as does any character with an applicable Bargain-hunters are preeminently drawn to Yellow Brick danger sense or super-awareness. Row, and most local merchants have sidewalk sales set up A Gamemaster’s key consideration is to orchestrate events to greet them. Food and beverage carts aren’t hard to find, so all the characters are within a reasonable distance of and city newcomers are bound to notice the Row’s restau- the disturbance, but not smack dab in the thick of things. ranteurs offer cuisine with an Asian flair. There are plenty of For reasons soon apparent, it’s vital the characters aren’t burgers and fries to be had, but just as many good spots to at ground zero when all heck first breaks loose. The only grab some pad Thai, teriyaki, and other Eastern delicacies. exception is for any heroes who aren’t yet super. More Before any of the characters can sit down and grab their on them in a bit, but suffice to say they’re about to be chopsticks, however, the deafening sound of trouble inter- super, and thus get a front-row seat for this chapter’s big rupts their good times. Time to go looking for a phone booth! happening. PROLOGUE “With the metallic clouds rushing out and those weird bolts of blue-white lightning and that howling wind, it was like some kind of silver storm.” -Daniel Kwan, Emerald City resident, interviewed live on KLST-TV Once the characters’ Convenient to the Next Scene loca- tions are established, Gamemaster, read the following panicked crowds and hopelessly jammed roads aloud to the players: make you all the only first-responders available for the critically injured now. The loud, heart-stopping sounds of an explosion This interval allows the characters to band together and and shattering glass along with the accompa- establish themselves as bonafide heroes—no small consid- nying shock strike you all without warning. Within eration, since they are most likely unknown to each other and moments, a strange cloud of silvery mist blankets the rest of the world. It also pauses the action long enough the surrounding area. Just as panic and flight for any stragglers to reach the scene (with plenty of time to are about to take hold, the cloud begins to swirl spare for them to show off their do-gooding skills as well). without any evident prompting from the wind.
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