"I think it's primordial."
"Pri-whatial?"
"Primordial. Like before humans ever existed kinda thing. Under the Earth, waiting, then boom the bombs wake it up"
"Nah no way Franky. Gotta be some freaky experiment. It's Poseideon. Gotta be."
"Personally, I think it's from outer space."
"You would. What do you think, Phil?"
"I think that where it came from or what it even is doesn't matter. What does matter is that now we know it's dangerous, tough and it's the only thing between us, and the money. So we find a way to kill this damn thing, or we find someone else who can"
Burham Springs
OST Atmosphere:
Surface
Mines:
The Sheol:
Poseideon Lab:
Pre-War History:
Poseideon Energy in the late 21st century established a number of projects, titled HADES, in eastern Utah. What we'd recognise in our own world as oil sands they utilized state-of-the-art technology to try and strangle any remaining domestic oil left.
Most of these projects were ecological disaster with little result, the exception being HADES-FOUR, a facility in the western fringes of Colorado. Named "Burham Springs" for the workers town that surrounded it.
Reports came in of a strange, unknown substance found within the rock at this site. Early chemical reports resulted in PE totally focusing their efforts on investigating and exploiting this potential resource. Drilling into the site and opening a full mine to retrieve samples. A major drill was the center of the pit - where they believed the greatest amount of the substance potentially lay.
An advanced scientific research lab was established at the depths of the mines to examine what was simply referred to as "HADES-Substance"
Research revealed it as a pre-Devonian bacterial lifeform. Practical application yielded in experiments with chemical hardening. Methods for vastly increasing the effectiveness of the space-age alloys on Powered Armor. Additionally, Poseidon began a novel project named "HADES Light Combat Armor", effectively allowing for much cheaper and lightweight standard combat armor for infantry troops with chemical hardening providing ample protection that would compensate for the loss in material in other areas. Blueprints and schematics were created and ready for exportation along with controlled chemical versions of the substance in the lab, but then the Great War occured.
As it did so, the earth shook and quaked. The workers began fleeing into the mines ,- heading for the vault-like research lab. The two scientists realising they only had limited provisions, sealed the door before they got there. As they did so, the quaking earth caused an eruption - a flood even, of the substance in the main drill pit, oozing from the ground.
The scientists listened to the frantic pounding on the airlock door - until it ceased. After a year in isolation, one scientist committed suicide. The year following, the remaining scientist did the same.
Post-War History:
The Tar Walkers, a group (later a tribe) living amongst the Utah Oil Fields began to infrequently encounter monstrous mutant creatures formed by some black ooze. Mostly twisted and contorted wildlife, the worst that provoked action was the appearance of what would later be labelled by the New Canaanites as Gehennas - shambling bipeds that would attempt to grasp and bring their victims to a place unknown. Tracking this - they found Burham Springs, and in the deep pit below a pool of bubbling, contorting ooze that was being fed wildlife and human bodies by the creatures that had wandered out into the Wasteland. Their arrival provoked an intense response, a unified, inhuman shriek:
As dozens of shambling Gehennas emerged from the entrances of the circular mine pit. They responded quickly, setting the pool of ooze alight in attempt to burn it out. The entire pit exploded in flame and the Gehennas and various monstrous "pods" weakly retreated into the mine shafts - but the pool never stopped burning.
The Tar Walkers fortified the surface entrance to the pit - segregating the mine from the town with a great junk wall and established an outpost to keep watch. In decades to come, it became a mythological site for the Tar Walkers - they would bring offerings of dead animals and their own dead to throw into the pit as tribute to keep the evil spirits of the Great War at bay.
2253
By the time the players arrive, Burham Springs has been overtaken by a crew of prospectors from Phoenix under the leadership of Phil, they're called Phil's Crew cause they ain't tribal. They turned up with guns to the Tar Walker outpost and forced them out - without any bloodshed. But the Tar Walkers have made repeated violent attempts at retaking the place, leading to the Prospectors layering the entrance canyon with a field of landmines. They made an initial attempt to breach the mines but lost two of their crew and retreated back into the town.
Upon arrival, Phil will emerge from a rooftop with a megaphone to tell the players if they're tribal or interested in claiming this place - they'll get their assholes blown up through their eyesockets. If they're traders or mercs then, uh, well come on in.
The Prospectors - Phil, Frank, Sparky, Plug and Measles, have set up their homes in the ruins of the old worker houses, and have an office where they've got a pretty cosy setup going.
Phil: A Kurt Russell esque character who leads the band. He found Poseideon Energy data in Phoenix in which Burham Springs is listed as having an advanced lab under this spot. He usually keeps himself topped up with whisky and carries a Super-Blowtorch.
Frank: A former Follower of the Apocalypse turned money minded prospector - he's their "tech guy" and whilst not feeble, isn't a fighter by any means.
Sparky: Part of a duo with Plug, he's the group's "muscle" and carries a Double barreled shotgun and set of Heavy Leather Armor. He's a little antsy to get down there and try again.
Plug: The other half of the muscle duo, an expert in explosives. Such expertise has rendered him completely deaf - he communicates with Sparky in sign language. He carries a Grenade Pistol and Leather Armor.
Measles: Measles is...Measles. A Ghoul and extra hand for the crew. In truth he's a secret scout to report to Colonel Green at the Rebirth. He will approach Ghoul PCs and give them the verbal brochure for life at Rebirth in private.
In the Prospectors Office they'll give the players the skinny on the history and situation of Burham Springs and the job. This will be interrupted by a loud bang from a closet. "mop must have fell over again". This bang will repeat again, and a third time. The Prospectors will go awkwardly quiet and continue the conversation.
If the players open the closet, a man bound with ducttape will fall out and fall to the floor wriggling around before measles kicks him. His clothes identifying him as a New Canaanite.
If the players inquire why they have a tied up Mormon in their closet, they'll reveal he turned up and they'd heard the New Canaanites supported the tribes in these parts - and he didn't want him rallying for any backup or causing any trouble. Though he hasn't given them any and they're not really sure what to do with him.
If unbound, the New Canaanite will reveal his name as David and that he was just coming to preach to the Tar Walkers - not whatever in the sam heck Phil thought he was doing. He'd also like Phil to give his .45 back, please. Tensions will rise with David wanting to leave but Persuasion PCs can mediate the argument and convince him it was a genuine misunderstanding.
Anyway, the job is as such: get to the lowest level of the mine to reach the lab. Share the loot and the party get a fistful of Copperheads for their troubles on top. Franky will provide the crew with a gizmo that should crack basic PE security.
Complications: The mine tunnels are full of smoke and toxic fumes, meaning they need environment suits, which they only have enough of for the party + two of the crew. Phil and Plug will join you. Also, the ooze monsters are incredibly hard to kill.
The mines are labrynthian - made only worse by the new tunnels formed by Sheol Pods. Full of dead ends and pitfalls to lower levels.
Each Sheol monster is immune to ballistics, unarmed and melee damage. Only flame, explosive and energy will work. With explosives you have to be careful, as it could collapse the mines.
Gehennas don't deal much damage on impact - the real problem is poison (resisted per hit via poison resist rolls) and radiation that their smacks deal. They will try to grab the players and hoist them over their shoulder to carry lower into the mines, dealing constant poison damage.
The Sheol Pods are more dangerous - statistically ported gelatinous cubes from DnD, if a player is absorbed and escapes, they will have to make a roll on the Mutation Table.
It's possible - but difficult to use stealth to hide from the shambling Gehennas and slithering pods to avoid fighting them.
It becomes impossible however when players reach the final level and discover the vast "new" Sheol surrounded by Molochs, who can use ranged spitting attacks to inflict poison damage. It's possible to rush to the lab with finesse and luck, but it'll just mean Sheol pools outside the entrance trapping you inside.
The Sheol will continually produce Pods until you've burnt, bombed or atomized it to death. If it dies by fire it'll become a pool of endlessly burning jelly.
Inside the lab the party will find two vials of the controlled HADES Fluid along with the schematics for the HADES Combat Armor and the Power Armor hardening method. Phil will offer them a pick of either one as they take the other. The lab itself is also good stock for advanced sciency-components and a crafting station for scientific PCs.
The AGRICOLA bots in stasis at the facility will be ready to deploy but their priority order is Fire Suppression before Contamination Control- which would be disastrous as it would effectively revive the Sheol in the pit and the one in the caves (if it died by fire). Only a Computer Science PC can override this.
Contamination Control means the bots will spread about searching for HADES-Substance and projecting a continued blue beam to effectively deconstruct it into harmless but useless black fluid. It will do this to all Gehennas, Molochs and even the Sheol. Finally putting an end to the threat.
From there, the remaining hooks in Burham Springs are negotiating with David to organize a trade deal with New Canaan and negotiating a trade deal with Boulder Dome.
Many thanks to
@Hardboiled Android for his creativity with the Sheol - this version of Burham Springs would not exist without it!
