The characters receive a text message from Busybody saying, “Have info on Caustic. Meet 1 hr @ donut shop – coffee my treat”.
When everyone arrives, she tells them: “I’ve been feeling a little… lost, over the last few days, after what happened to my other selves. I went back to church this morning for the first time in a while, to do some soul-searching. I ran into the pastor’s daughter, Mary. Redhead, twenty-something, former track-and-field star – sound like someone we saw sprint away at an amazing pace just recently? She walked like she was sore, and she was kneeling in prayer at the altar in a mostly empty church… which she only does when she’s done something that really upsets her father and he’s assigned her penance.”
“Father Coughlin‘s a good man and I’m sure he’ll want what’s best for her. If we talk to him he might be able to help keep her out of worse trouble. Maybe we can even find out about who she’s working with and surprise Mr. Moomlerbar with information he doesn’t already have!”
“I’ll put on my costume but I can’t multiply myself yet… it’s like I can feel my duplicates growing back, inside me, but they’re not ready to come out yet. But we should all be there in case Mary sees us and goes Caustic on us.”
The team arrives at the main building of the church and are greeted at the doors by a nun who welcomes them and goes to look for the pastor in his office when BB asks for him. There are a few other nuns in the room praying, and an elderly couple lighting candles near the altar. After a minute the couple gets up and leaves. The nun who went looking for the pastor comes back in alone, and the characters hear the sound of swords being drawn as they are attacked by… Nunja! (Nunjas? Nunjai?)
(If any Nunjas are questioned using mind control or emotion, they will say the name “Deus Rex” before slicing own throat or biting poison tablet. Otherwise Emma, below, will mention the name.)
After battle, a church employee * (BB: “That’s Emma – she does the accounting.”) can be found hiding in the office space behind the altar area. “I didn’t have anything to do with it, I swear!”
When questioned, Emma says the pastor is away for one of his long meetings with some larger church organization – he usually goes away twice a month for a day or two each time, and comes back with a trunk full of holy water, wine, and communion wafers for the congregation. His calendar is showing on the wall of his office & shows him having attended the zombie political rally; if asked about it, Emma will say that the pastor supports that candidate’s political platform. In fact, the day before the event he even came back from one of his meetings with his car stuffed with as many cases of bottled water as he could fit, to give out at the rally.
As they exit the building, team is approached by Mary – without Jaggoleth & out of uniform.
Mary: “Please, I need your help! The Mother Superior is in her chambers in the school building, preparing to cast the spell that summons that demon my father uses to control me. Please stop her so I don’t have to go back to that hell! Stop her from casting it, and I’ll tell you everything I know about what my dad has gotten involved in!”
(As they walk toward the school building, Vinny hits on Caustic: “I know it’d be awkward, what with the whole hero/villain thing between us, but, uh… are seeing anybody right now?” Mary just shakes her head in disbelief.)
They approach the school building and Mother Superior comes out to meet them: “I thought I heard a commotion. Mary! What have you gotten yourself into this time, child? I swear, girl, your father is too easy on you!”
Mary: “I already told them about you. You can’t just play holier-than-thou and keep getting away with what you’re doing anymore.”
MS: “Hmph. We’ll see about that.” (She whistles and more Nunja emerge from the building behind her. From within her robes she produces dual-wielded pairs of… yes… nunchucks.)
During the ensuing battle, Mary runs inside the building, then shortly emerges carrying a silver cross glowing an eerie green color. “So long, suckers! Mama Supes wasn’t re-summoning Jagg, she was guarding the summoning relic Dad took away from me as punishment! She lobs an acid vial into the middle of the fight & runs back inside the building, locking door behind her. Players won’t find her if they go in to search – they can roll to find the trapdoor she exited through, but she’ll be long gone via a storm drain grate by the highway.
(If PCs think to have water/wine/wafers sent to Mor to be tested, results will indicate that they contain small amounts of the same substance used (in much stronger doses) at the political rally. It appears to be an attempt to gradually exert more control & diminish reasoning ability over time over the church congregation).
Notes
I honestly can’t remember what the red dots on the map were for. Candles maybe? In any case they didn’t factor into the scenario at all.
As is usually the case with henchmen, I created more than I though I would need and re-used as needed as the scenario progressed.
How It Played Out
The dice rolls in the first fight initially went in the Nunja’s favor fairly heavily and for a short time it looked like maybe there were going to be a lot of characters down or perhaps the need for a strategic retreat, but once the players finally got their actions in (and better initiative rolls in the 2rd and consecutive rounds), they were able to take down the ladies in black-and-white.
One of the PCs used mind control to get Mary to talk, so they already knew going into the second fight that her motives were not what she claimed. They asked her about her father’s activities as well, but the pastor hadn’t trusted her enough to reveal anything useful. She was still able to get away with her relic.
Lessons Learned
- Have a contingency plan in case of Mind Control or Emotion Control, to make the power still seem useful without giving away anything important to the story.
- “Nunja” and “nunchuck” were able to elicit groans of… approval? … from even my pun-jaded family.