A Rifts RPG Adventure
The adventurers find themselves outside New Lazlo, near the fictional factory city of Belwatch. Belwatch’s population is estimated to be around 300 people, with human making up 60% of the population. Belwatch is owned and operated by Arnie Shipler, a wealthy industrialist, and technocrat from New Lazlo. His factories make cybernetic implants and bionic limbs. Acting as the town’s Mayor, Shipler is more interested in the day-to-day operations of his factories and less interested in the quality of life of his workers and their families. As a consequence, the town is lawless without any real law enforcement. Belwatch is built around a pre-collapse government building that’s been converted into Shipler’s laboratories, factory, warehouse, and shipping/distribution center.
Belwatch shops accept Universal Credits and welcome all except non-human-looking D-Bees. An open secret is that Belwatch has a larger-than-normal Cemetery, complete with several mausoleums.
Occultists are taking over Shipler’s town, but does he even know it?
Strange-robed people have been seen roaming the streets and through the local Cemetery of late. When confronted by the locals, the encounters always devolve into a major brawl, often seeing locals being murdered in the streets. Without any law in Belwatch to push back against the robed fanatics, the town’s people are quickly forced to shelter from fear of further aggression.
Trixi is well intentioned, but is she prepared for this fight?
A hero named Trixi comes to the rescue of the town’s people. She manages to fight off many of the robed fanatics. They send more to ambush her, but she manages to fight them off. A local Rogue Scientists and Cyberneticist for Shipler’s factory named Joris Aldrich begins to assume that Trixi isn’t what she appears to be. He proposes that she could be something supernatural or magical, with the ability to disguise herself. But many of the townspeople of Belwatch ignore him.
After a few weeks of Trixi fighting back regular assaults on Belwatch, a group of monster minions roam into town. Led by a Thornhead Demon named, Dareris, a group of four ‘Tolkeen’ Black Faeries and two augmented Brodkil capture a large group of townspeople from Belwatch and other surrounding hamlets to draw Trixi in.
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The adventurers are ambushed by the Occultists.
The Adventurers are mistaken for bounty hunters hired to hunt down the Demon Worshipers. They are ambushed by a group of robed people (Adventurers and Men at Arms) who are joined by a Brodkil. The Brodkil is arrogant and boastful, declaring himself as a conqueror of worlds here to enslave the weak humans that defy his majesty. Trixi, stalking the Brodkil named Igroth, The Conquerer, is nearby and upon finding the group of worshipers and Igroth, helps the adventurers. But she is injured. She was hiding to recover from her injuries.
Trixi, a snow lizard dragon hatchling herself, is posing as a small-framed young woman with long white hair and crystal blue eyes. after defeating the demon worshipers and the Brodkil Igroth, she returns to Belwatch. But not before helping tend to the injured adventurers and giving them a rough rundown of the issues plaguing Belwatch.
The adventurers arrive at Belwatch under inclement weather – a torrent rainstorm threatens to flood out the town. Finding the Grosse Point Mill Tavern, they will learn from locals about Trixi’s heroism. But the minions of Dareris do not rest and serve his every whim. Being ordered to raid Belwatch again, robed demon worshipers raid Belwatch forcing the Adventurers to confront their ambush that sees the abduction of more townspeople.
The Adventurers are forced to make a decision, either step up and help or flee.
Stepping up, they will learn that the robed worshipers and the four Dark Faeries are believed to reside in the large Cemetary near town. Arriving to investigate, with the help of a few other locals led by Joris Aldrick, they will quickly find a stone statue of a small framed woman, headless – but with the same markings that give the impression that it is of the Trixi they met a few days earlier. Pieces of her head shattered on the ground around the feet of the statue. (Petrification.) Strewn throughout the Cemetary are other ‘statues’, petrified remains of the abducted family members and colleagues from Belwatch, and other nearby hamlets.
The Adventurers, along with the mob that accompanies them, will have to clear out the Cemetary of worshipers. It is here that the Adventurers are likely to learn of Dareris. Following the defeat of the worshipers, the adventurers will have to confront the four Dark Faeries along with the last remaining Brodkil.
But before they can defeat the last Black Faery, Dareris will appear. A Thornhead Demon. Dareris will be able to fight off many of the townspeople, chasing off many of the mob who lose their courage upon seeing so many being decimated or turned into statues. Dareris can only use his Petrification Power twice in an 8-hour period.
New Lazlo is 70 miles North East of Belwatch with a cleared road joining the two counties.