The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

[Pizza Man]

This began as just a rationalization for a hunted I wanted to take and now its becoming an adventure. Feel free to add minions. All the stats I present will be in 6th edition. If you are still working 5th that fine, go right ahead.

 

 

It all began in an obscure rural region of India. The globetrotting masked avenger “the Shield,” stumbled upon a grisly scene: a back alley, a mutilated body, and a monster. A gigantic snake with the head of a man rose from its feast and for a moment locked eyes with the Shield. Twin guns blazed, and the monster was dead.

The mystery man soon left the country with a souvenir. A vest of black scales, taken from the monster. He had no idea it was genuine naga-hide.

 

But the story did not end there for the monster had a mate, who swore revenge. The pair were part of a Kali worshiping cult of nagas and their human minions. The snakes had used their ability to take the shape of any human being to replace a local rajah. They had grown very rich, powerful, and fat ruling this obscure province. But this death was an insult to the cult and must be avenged.

 

Kala, the aggrieved mate took three nagas and 10 human cultists and traveled to New York where this mystery man was frequently sighted. Using their shape-shifting abilities, the crew killed the owners of a nightclub, and took over the place. The club had extensive cellars and was perfect to establish a base. All the workers were fired and the Satin Siren club closed its doors.

 

Enter the gangsters. Garry “Gunner” Thompson was the head of a mob that was losing territory fast. He was being squeezed out of New York city. The Satin Siren was one of his best paying customers (as he called the extortion racket). Closing the doors meant no money, so he paid a little visit.

Long story short, he made an alliance with monsters. They would help him regain his power if he and his gang became Kali worshipers. The deal was signed in blood, and the cult now has more than a hundred human members. A brief gang war followed with Gunner’s gang supported by winged monsters, laughing skeletons with tommy-guns, and mysterious spies who seem to be able to enter anywhere undetected. The police have heard the rumors, but discount the whole thing as criminal superstition.

Gunner is on top of the world now. He regained all his territory and more. He is feared and respected. Flushed with power, he plots to take over the city.

The snakes on the other hand, have discovered a vast new avenue of wealth. While still maintaining the ruse of the Rajah, two more nagas have been sent to New York to investigate the possibilities. The Satin Siren has reopened to better disguise the comings and goings of the cultists.

 

More importantly, the nagas have learned a good deal about the elusive Shield. He has friends. Adventurers, dangerous in their own right, have been seen with the Shield in several exotic locations. Further they are all known to be members of the Empire Club: a prestigious (and exclusive) club on the 70th floor of the Empire State Building.

 

Now things are beginning to unfold. The nagas have come up with an astounding plan, They intend to make New York a permanent base, expanding the power of Kali into the US. It will all begin with an elaborate magic ritual to open a portal to the Indian Netherworld, allowing the infernal agents of Kali free access to the city. It’s a very precise undertaking and must be kept secret, as it will likely kill half of New York. At least one year of rituals, sacrifice, and artifact theft must precede the ceremony. Will the heroes discover the plot in time?

 

GM Notes: the Nagas all need some good skills to compete with the heroes. While they are familiar with many ancient weapons, the New York branch will have gained a small arms weapon familiarity by this point. One of the snakes needs the 60 points of magic option with necromantic spells (to create the machine gunner skeletons).

 

 

--All the run of the mill cultists here use the gangster template in the back of the Pulp book.

[Pizza Man]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

 

Upper Naga is Kala, the aggrieved mate. She is surrounded by her magic flying swords.

The lower naga is ______, the head of the New York Kali cult and chief necromancer. The cultists are gangsters assigned to serve the monster.

[Prometheus]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

I've been looking at the several posts you've put up, and while I think your take on Pulp Hero is a little different than what most people would come up with, you're definitely putting together something pretty interesting here.

 

Are you familiar with either Whisper A'Daire from DC Comics or Benisato from the anime Ninja Scroll? If you haven’t already nailed down a concept for Kala, both characters are worth looking at (fair warning should you look to do any research online- Ninja Scroll is most certainly rated R, and Benisato is in no small part responsible). Michael Surbrook has a write-up for Benisato, and Whisper A’Daire is pretty easy to find info on, but long story short, they both have some snake-based abilities that would be right at home in the weirder and wilder pulps.

 

Also, while the serpent-lady may be a little clichéd, I think that in this case having the female of the couple seeking revenge for her mate would be a little more interesting. And who’s to say she might not suddenly feel conflicted when encountering the square-jawed hero? It would certainly complicate things.

[Nothere]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

Baring the mobsters this reminds me of a movie. It was black and white, and the cult members were only in the begining. A group of army servicemen overseas bribe a guy who turns o8ut to be a member of the cult to sneak them into the ceremony. A fight breaks out, and the servicemen escape. If I recall right they take some important relic. Then the snake takes human form and follows them to New York. She starts killing them off one by one but is never called a Naga. If anyone can think of the name of the movie, it might give you ideas.

 

And on the subject of ideas. What sort of minions are you interested in getting. And in what point range. And any assistance I provide in this regard would have to be 5th edition. Still haven't bought any 6th ed books.

[Badger]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

I've been looking at the several posts you've put up, and while I think your take on Pulp Hero is a little different than what most people would come up with, you're definitely putting together something pretty interesting here.

 

Are you familiar with either Whisper A'Daire from DC Comics or Benisato from the anime Ninja Scroll? If you haven’t already nailed down a concept for Kala, both characters are worth looking at (fair warning should you look to do any research online- Ninja Scroll is most certainly rated R, and Benisato is in no small part responsible). Michael Surbrook has a write-up for Benisato, and Whisper A’Daire is pretty easy to find info on, but long story short, they both have some snake-based abilities that would be right at home in the weirder and wilder pulps.

 

Also, while the serpent-lady may be a little clichéd, I think that in this case having the female of the couple seeking revenge for her mate would be a little more interesting. And who’s to say she might not suddenly feel conflicted when encountering the square-jawed hero? It would certainly complicate things.

 

Well, I'd say if she encounters the hero and he is wearing the vest made from her mate. chances are she goes in berserk mode.

 

Thinking about it, any naga would probably be creeped out and insulted by the vest, I know most humans would be repulsed by a vest made of human flesh. Just saying.

[Badger]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

Baring the mobsters this reminds me of a movie. It was black and white, and the cult members were only in the begining. A group of army servicemen overseas bribe a guy who turns o8ut to be a member of the cult to sneak them into the ceremony. A fight breaks out, and the servicemen escape. If I recall right they take some important relic. Then the snake takes human form and follows them to New York. She starts killing them off one by one but is never called a Naga. If anyone can think of the name of the movie, it might give you ideas.

 

And on the subject of ideas. What sort of minions are you interested in getting. And in what point range. And any assistance I provide in this regard would have to be 5th edition. Still haven't bought any 6th ed books.

 

Sounds like SyFy made movie maybe.

[Pizza Man]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

And on the subject of ideas. What sort of minions are you interested in getting? And in what point range. And any assistance I provide in this regard would have to be 5th edition. Still haven't bought any 6th ed books.

I'm thinking 5th ed skeleton minions like the minion pages in the back of the Pulp Hero book. They would be far cheaper than the skeletons in the Beastiary, but would have some off defense that would help them last longer in a gun fight.

 

That and normal gangsters with a twist, something they would pick up in a cult. Maybe a magic dagger. some strange ability.

I intend to add some more 6th ed versions this weekend. Just remember a 150 pt character in 5th is 175 in 6th, so the points will be off.

 

One character I've been toying with is a gangster named Mr Bones. He's a skeleton with eyeballs in a zoot suit and fedora. He's a major player and has ambitions of his own, mainly to return to life so he can enjoys life's pleasures again. Like a lich, he is hard to kill as he has a phylactery, destroy one body, and he'll still come back. The PC's must discover and destroy this little device too.

He's not necessarily loyal to either the snakes or the gang, and he just might survive the adventure...

[Pizza Man]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

Oh, are there any published pulp adventures available?

[Nolgroth]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

Oh' date=' are there any published pulp adventures available?[/quote']From HERO? Yes. Try the Dordogne Zodiac. It is written for 5th, but as in all similar things, can be easily converted.

[Kharis2000]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

That cobra-cult movie would, I believe, be the unusually named 'Cult of the Cobra.'

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047966/

 

1955, starred one of Howard Hughes' many lady friends, Faith Domergue.

[Escafarc]

Re: The Sinister Secret of the Silver Serpent.

 

That cobra-cult movie would, I believe, be the unusually named 'Cult of the Cobra.'

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047966/

 

1955, starred one of Howard Hughes' many lady friends, Faith Domergue.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdgrYKzVIos