Escape Dino Island Game 1

Game Master: Sarah
Game Edition: D20 Modern
Players: Jeff, Andrew, Dave, Elijah
Starting Level: 4
Current Level: 4

Quote of the Evening:
"I am just going to start moaning in fear." -Jeff describing his character's actions.

Introduction

Douglas Genoro Esq (Jeff), Captain Jeremiah Jones (Andrew,), Captain Fritz (Dave), and Dr. Bartholomew Smith (Elijah)

For Sarah's first run at GM she came up with a fantastic idea for the boy's at JADE. We would be trapped on a island with dinosaurs and have to find our way off. The party would have to contend with the dangerous prehistoric animals on the island, starvation, infection and other problems associated with surviving in the wild.

But Sarah needed a reason for us to be there. And a good explanation as to why this island was populated with dinosaurs. In short, she needed a story.

Without the plot holes Spielberg!

This is what she came up with:

"Uteni Biogenetics was founded in 2003 following a breakthrough by a small group of scientists, (that had nothing to do with removing DNA from amber) which allowed for the genetic engineering of Dinosaurs. To avoid competition (as the only market value of dinosaurs stems from their rarity), all research and production facilities of Uteni Biogenetics were located on a small island purchased in South East Asia. After 10 years of development, Uteni was able to successfully clone several species of dinosaurs.

Two years later, a tsunami caused a power outage on the island that lasted for three days, while continuing aftershocks rendered the island inaccessible to the outside world. When a rescue team was finally sent, they discovered that almost everyone on the island (including the entire genetics team) had been killed. Due to strict confidentiality agreements, no complete record of the incident exists, though it appears that the dinosaurs escaped from their enclosures and attacked the survivors.

The destruction of their facilities and the lawsuits from the grieving families of the killed Uteni employees caused Uteni Biogenetics to go bankrupt two months after the incident. The CEO and owner killed himself one month after that.

The last two years have seen constant legal battles between several parties hoping to gain access to the confidential research. One of the leading participants in these preceding is Ben Wu, who was a major stakeholder and investor in Uteni and one of the few people alive with a full understanding of Uteni's operations on the island.

He lost $230 million in the collapse of Uteni, and is desperate to reclaim his losses. Further millions spent in legal fees have allowed him to acquire much of the Research as his legal property, but he is still missing a small but important component of research.

Wu has been trying to gain access to this research legally but is being filibustered by opposing parties. With his remaining fortune running out, he faces imminent bankruptcy if he cannot gain the complete formula. Desperate to save himself from financial ruin, he decided to act on information he received from a survivor of the incident: that some of the research may be recoverable from hard drives left on island.

The Mission:

Despite the illegality, Wu had one of his lawyers hire a team of professional mercenaries to go to the island and retrieve the hard drives from the main research facilities. The team was to be dropped directly on top of the research building and would have 25 minutes to grab as many hard drives as possible before being airlifted out. While the mercenaries were on the ground, a combat doctor and Wu's lawyer would remain in the aircraft as it circled the island.

As Wu is neither evil nor stupid, the mercenaries were fully informed that there were dinosaurs on the island, and armed with the best weaponry money could buy. The doctor on the other hand, was given information on a need to know basis."

Scene 1 Crash Landing.

While on route to the island, the Helicopter suffered a massive mechanical failure and crashed into the sea killing almost everyone on impact. Out of the 20 people on board, only four survived: Ben Wu's Lawyer Douglas Genoro, The Groups Medic Dr. Barty Smith and two of the mercenaries. One was named Jeremiah Joseph, the other simply Fritz and both had the annoying habit of referring to themselves as chaplains and each other as brother.

Most the groups gear was missing well, having gone down with the crash. The mercs only had the rounds in their guns, the medic only the most basic of supplies and the lawyer his trusty pen and note pad.

Sarah rolled to see how much gear we retained. It didn't go well.

Taking a quick survey of their equipment and making sure no one was injured, Brother Joseph rallied Fritz and the others.

"We continue with the mission." He stated with a gruff tone.

Brother Fritz nodded in agreement and Mr. Genoro also agreed: His client had paid handsomely for this mission and he was going to make sure that it was successful, no matter what it took. Hwever, Doctor Smith was less certain. He hadn't wanted to come on this mission in the first place, and only agreed on the assurance that he was only there as a precaution. He didn't even know what was on this ridiculous island, only that he would need to be prepared for jungle diseases, dehydration, and animal attacks.

He was about to speak out, but a cold stare from Brother Joseph shut him up. The mercenaries frightened him, and the lawyer annoyed him, but these three were still his best chance for survival.

Leaving the beach they had washed ashore on, the four head towards the nearest road to examine their map and get their barrings.

Scene 2 Crossing the Field.

The grass along the edge of the beach was thick and long, blocking the view of the field that their map told them stretched from here to the road. Pausing for only a moment to listen, Fritz drew his knife, cutting his way through the brush and onto the open field.

Weapons raised, Broth Fritz and Joseph entered the field. Seeing no danger they then signalled the others to follow, and Mr. Genoro and Dr. Smith stepped onto the green. Mr. Genoro had see all this before, but to Dr. Smith the sight before them was an absolute shock. Dinosaurs, real live dinosaurs wandered and grazed about the field!

Cue Jurassic Park Theme Song.

Brother Joseph and Fritz surveyed the field. Keeping a sharp eye out for any predators. When they were sure that the path was safe, they moved quickly, keeping to the edge of the field and towards the road. When they reached it, they retreated just into the forest to check their maps. If they continued into the forest, they would soon reach a helipad, if they followed the road across the field they would reach another forest and the research station that was their mission.

Despite the direction of their goal being so close, the group decided that they would investigate the helipad. Perhaps it would prove a quick method of egress from the island.

Scene 3 The Helipad.

The forest that hugged and spilled on to the ill maintained road was a dense an thick jungle. Though the plants were native and very much contemporary to the island, the calls of a thousand different extinct animals filled the humid air with an unfamiliar and disquieting sound.

Scary.

The road ended abruptly, opening up onto a large concrete pad. The painted Helipad lines had been worn from the harsh weather, but were still plain to see. The helicopter, on the other hand, did not fair as well. It's hull was smashed and its pieces lay scattered around the edge of the forest and the pad. The Helicopter had certainly been destroyed by the tsunami, but there were other signs. Huge bite marks and claws raked across some of the painted scraps. Something big had tried to take a bite out of it, and thought twice.

I think we all know what happened here.

As they were searching the wreckage, Brother Joseph encounter a small dinosaur. It cooed at him as he studied it, summoning forth another five of its kin from the brush. Slowly Brother Joseph tried to back away from the beasts but one of them lunged at him, biting his leg!

No one in the party could identify them as Compys.

Switching the safety of his Daewoo USAS-12 Shotgun to full auto, Brother Joseph let off a burst of four rounds, mutilating one of the attacking creatures and causing the others to flee into the forest.

Fritz ran over to help, looking down the long barrel of his Stoner LMG and into the forest. For a long few minutes the pair stood, weapons aimed into the bush, but nothing stirred. It would seem the creatures had been sufficiently repelled.

Scene 4 It Won't Start. Sleeping in a Tree.

The group was about to leave the pad when Mr. Genoro called them over.  He had been uncovering some brush and found the remains of Jeep. It appeared mostly intact, and the keys were even still in it!

Great...

Excitedly the lawyer sat in the front seat and turned the key... It didn't even stuttered. The group spent over an hour trying to figure out why the Jeep wouldn't start, but it turned out there were too many problems to list.... It was out of gas, it had a bad spark plug, some of the fuses were blown, there was considerable water damage throughout the vehicle, etc., etc.

Deciding it was a lost cause, the party headed back down the road towards the research station. They would continue their mission and worry about getting off the island later.

The research station was deceptively far away, and night fell before they were half way there. Lacking any equipment for an over night stay, Brother Fritz recommended that they climb a tree and sleep up there. It would help keep the creatures at bay for the night.

Unless you count those veggiesaurs.

While waiting for sleep to take them, Brother Fritz read aloud several passages from his bible, while Brother Joseph smoked one of his 10 cigarettes that had survived the crash. He hoped to be off this island before he ran out.

Dr. Smith and Mr. Genoro found the smell of cigarette smoke nauseating, but Fritz's readings calmed even the two secular men into a peaceful slumber.

Scene 5 A Meeting with the Tyrant King.

The next morning the party awoke, stiff from an unusual sleep in an unfamiliar place. Taking a moment to gather their senses and survey their surroundings, the four clambered down the tree and onto the road. The sun was just rising, but already they could tell it was going to be a hot day.

They each took a sip from their canteens, and a small portion of the limited field rations they had brought with them. It was going to be a long march, they would need to find food soon.

Breakfast of champions.

After their meagre breakfast, the four followed the road as they had done the day before: heading towards the research station. They had been walking for  a few hours, when the usual sounds of the jungle fell silent, and a loud roar split the air.

The group stopped in their tracks. The loud booming of a giant's footsteps shook the ground, and an instinct long forgotten took hold of each of them. They had to run and hide!  Each of them rushed for the covered of a group of trees and waited. moments alter,  the Tyrannosaurs Rex burst through the tree line and onto the road. It sniffed the earth, and stalked over to the cluster of trees. Its deep gruff snorts, filling its snout with the scent of any prey that may be lying in wait.

Oh Shit.

And this is where we get out quote of the evening. As The Tyrannosaurs sniffed around where Mr. Genoro was hiding, Jeff described his character's actions:

"I am just going to start moaning in fear."

It wasn't the best decision to make at the time, but it was some excellent roleplay. Mr. Genoro started moaning softly, and the Tyrannosaurs snorted, moving closer to where the lawyer was hiding. Seeing the danger, Brother Fritz shifted over and clapped his hand over the lawyers mouth. It muffled the sound enough, that after a few minutes the Tyrannosaurs lost interest. But, just before it left, it turned and sprayed the trees with its scent glands; covering them in a foul smelling and slightly sticky fluid. Then it slowly walked back into the forest.

The four held their position for almost an hour before they were ready to press on again. When they finally felt it was safe, they returned to the road. Brother Joseph, scouted the area ahead, while Brother Fritz gathered some of the scent gland excretions with his knife and an empty canteen. He figured it would help them fend of anything smaller then that beast.

The smell was noticeably even through the sealed canteen, but the group ignored it and pressed on. They had a mission to complete.

And that was where we left off for the evening. 

Conclusion 

Sarah's first run at GM gave us a fantastic game and Escape Dino Island was a huge hit, with everyone loving it! The island presented us with interesting challenges and battles that made up for the game's lack of NPC interaction. I also thought that everyone's roleplay was really on point which always leads to a great game!

I look forward to continuing the adventure in Escape Dino Island Game 2!

Written by: Andrew Gregory