The Black Scorpion 1957 film Atomic Horror Adapted To The Barrows & Borderland Rpg

 Adapting Edward Ludwig’s 1957 atomic-horror classic The Black Scorpion for Barrows & Borderlands means merging 1950s creature-feature panic with a dark, radioactive fantasy frontier.

Rather than treating the monsters as generic giant bugs, we preserve the film’s unique surreal atmosphere—inspired by Willis O'Brien's jerky, nightmare-inducing stop-motion animation—and weave them into the radioactive, black-powder sandbox of the Borderlands.

The Hook: The Volcanic Fracture of San Lorenzo

In the Borderlands, a sudden, violet-tinted volcanic eruption clears away an ancient ridge, exposing a gaping fissure into the deep Underworld.

• The Surreal Atmosphere: The ash doesn't just block the sun; it casts an obsidian, dream-like haze over the landscape. Local livestock are found entirely drained of fluids, leaving behind ruined, overturned caravans.

• The Rumor: Superstitious border-dwellers whisper that a "Demon Bull" has been unleashed by the volcano. In reality, it is a brood of prehistoric, irradiated horrors.

Monster Statistics: Grand Black Scorpion

These aren't ordinary arachnids. They are colossal, twitching engines of hunger that move with an uncanny, staggering gait. Their faces are frozen in an eerie, unblinking grimace, and they secrete a highly toxic, glowing obsidian venom.

• Hit Dice: $9+3$ (Large)

• Armor Class: 3 [16] (Thick, chitinous exoskeleton)

• Attacks: 2 Claws ($1\text{d}10$ each), 1 Stinger ($1\text{d}8$ + Lethal Venom)

• Move: 120 feet (40 feet)

• Special Abilities:

  • Irradiated Stinger: A target struck by the stinger must make a Save vs. Poison. Failure results in agonizing, immediate death as the blood turns to black sludge. Success still inflicts an additional $2\text{d}6$ radiation damage and triggers a minor mutation roll on the Gamma tables due to the toxic glow.

  • The Fatal Flaw (The Throat Spot): The creature's heavy plating is nearly impenetrable. However, when it rears up to strike or roar, it exposes a small, pale, milky-white membrane right on its throat. Attacks targeted specifically at this spot are made at -4 to hit, but a successful strike bypasses all Armor Class (treating it as AC 9 [10]) and deals double damage.

  • Chitinous Shield: Normal black-powder flintlocks and standard cold steel deflect harmlessly off its carapace unless hitting the Fatal Flaw. Only heavy siege weapons, psychics, or high-tier sorcery deal full damage to the main body.

The Obsidian Trench (Dungeon Ecology)

If the party descends into the volcanic rift, they don't find a sterile cave. They enter a vast, echoing subterranean ecosystem cut off from time—a surreal dreamscape of bizarre horrors.

1.The Ash Fissure:The Descent.

The characters must descend a jagged, glass-walled chasm choked with warm, sulfurous gas. Falling requires a Save vs. Death; surviving the air requires a constitution check or gas masks.

2.The Silk Pit:The Spider's Lair.

Before reaching the scorpions, the path winds through massive, oily webs. Here dwells a predatory Colossal Black Spider (a nod to the lost King Kong spider pit sequence used in the film). It hunts by vibration and drops from the ceiling.

3.The Boiling Slime Pools:The Worm Den.

Deep in the cavern, giant, pale, segmented prehistoric earthworms writhe in pools of boiling mud. They are actively hostile to both adventurers and smaller scorpions, creating a chaotic three-way battlefield.

4.The Apex Hatchery:The Mother's Chamber.

The heart of the cavern holds the Grand Black Scorpion—the largest of the brood. It is fiercely territorial and will actively slaughter its own smaller kin to assert dominance if the party can trick them into fighting.

Tactical Encounters & Set Pieces

1. The Lightning Spear Strategy

The local military or tech-scavengers have devised a desperate weapon: a ballista firing a massive iron harpoon trailing a thick copper cable. If the party can anchor the harpoon directly into the vulnerable white throat spot, a Sorcerer or Psychic can channel an elemental lightning spell or kinetic surge directly down the wire, bypassing its hit points entirely to fry it from the inside out.

The Risk: Handling a highly conductive wire while an irradiated titan is thrashing creates a massive hazard. Anyone within 10 feet of the cable when the spell is cast must save or take a portion of the electrical backlash.

2. The Train Ambush

If the scorpions escape the Borderlands and head toward a major settlement, they will target infrastructure. A spectacular encounter involves the characters defending a heavy, black-powder armored locomotive as a pack of scorpions stalks it through a narrow canyon, tearing open the iron roof cars to reach the passengers inside.

Here is a d20 encounter table for the San Lorenzo Volcanic Fissure, blending old-school Barrows & Borderlands danger with the surreal, stop-motion-inspired cosmic horror of 1957 atomic sci-fi.

Encounter Table: The San Lorenzo Fissure (d20)

d20	Encounter / Hazard Type	Description & Game Mechanics
1–2	The Apex Chitin (Encounter)	A lone Grand Black Scorpion stalks the shadows. It hasn't spotted the party yet; it is busy tearing apart and drinking the luminescent fluids of a giant cave worm. If the party remains perfectly still, they might slip by, but metallic noises (like clanking armor) attract it instantly.
3–4	Brood Swarm (Encounter)	2d6 Scorpion Hatchlings (each the size of a wolf, 2 HD, 1d6 damage + saving throw vs. poison at +2) burst from a sulfur vent. They are driven by a frantic, twitching hunger and move with uncanny, jagged speed.
5–6	The Lost Survey Team (Encounter)	The party finds 1d4 crazed, irradiated survivors from a local military or academic expedition. They wear cracked brass hazmat suits, babble about "the clicking in the dark," and are highly paranoid. They might fire their black-powder muskets at shadows—or at the party—out of pure panic.
7–8	Oily Web Stalker (Encounter)	A Colossal Black Trapdoor Spider (5 HD) leaps from a silk-lined crevice in the basalt wall. Its face is eerily human-like in its stillness. A random character must make a Save vs. Paralysis or be dragged into the dark recess to be slowly digested.
9–10	The Tremor & The Slime Worm (Hazard)	A sudden volcanic tremor rocks the cavern. Everyone must make a Dexterity check or fall prone. The shaking rouses a Prehistoric Segmented Earthworm (4 HD) from the boiling mud below, which blindly lashes out at anything nearby.
11–12	Violet Ash Outflow (Hazard)	A geyser of toxic, violet-glowing volcanic ash erupts from a nearby fissure. The air becomes a heavy, dream-like haze. Characters must make a Save vs. Poison or suffer 1d4 Constitution damage from the radioactive soot and experience vivid, terrifying auditory hallucinations of clicking mandibles.
13–14	The Carnage Site (Discovery)	The wreckage of a stagecoach or military supply wagon dragged down from the surface. A thorough search yields 2d10 gold pieces, a crate of dry black powder (30 shots), and a functional, oversized Pneumatic Harpoon Gun (requires 2 rounds to reload, deals 2d6 piercing damage, treats giant carapaces as AC 5 [14]).
15–16	Obsidian Resonance (Hazard)	The party enters a cavern lined with jagged, glass-like obsidian spires. The subterranean wind whistling through them creates a bizarre, high-pitched droning frequency. All spellcasting or psychic checks are made at a -2 penalty due to the intense mental interference.
17–18	Molten Sulphur Mire (Hazard)	The path gives way to a shifting field of boiling, neon-yellow sulfur pools. Navigating the treacherous ledge requires careful movement. Heavy armor increases the risk; any character who slips takes 2d6 fire/acid damage and their armor's effectiveness is permanently reduced by 1 point.
19	The Giant Crying (Encounter)	The cavern echoes with a bizarre, high-pitched wailing that sounds almost like a human baby, but amplified a hundred times. It is a Giant Tentacled Gastropod (6 HD), a pale, blind mollusk slick with radioactive slime that corrodes metal on contact.
20	The Mother's Shadow (Encounter)	The temperature suddenly spikes, and the ground rhythmically thumps. The massive, towering silhouette of the Matriarch Black Scorpion passes overhead on a higher rock ledge. She ignores the party unless provoked, but her sheer presence requires a Save vs. Fear to avoid fleeing back up the chasm.

Blood On The Beaches - A Mutant Future Encounter Or An Encounter For Any Old School Campaign

The PC's are brought into the ruins of Daytona Florida by South Winds Society of 'Merica to collect a blood sample and data from the schools of Sand Sharks who have moved into the area several centuries ago. The communities around the area have tried to get rid of the land going sharks. The species is highly adaptable, breeds frequently, and has resisted very near every single effort used to exterminate them.
To the extent that the ruins of Daytona are now a land shark breeding area. The waters have swallowed up a good deal of what was once beach front property during the time of the apocalypse and the events afterwards. The waters have retreated making this area a very rich source for 'reclaimable materials'. Some of the super science nanite manufactured materials and high end micro miracle bots that still collect in tide pools. The sharks have an almost diabolical sense of those who deal in such salvage attacking in double school numbers.
The South Winds Society is a group of super scientists who have over the centuries studied the various species of sand shark from the desert variety( See Gamma World First Edition) of the Mexican and South Western desert to the various adapted species of the East and West coast of 'Merica.
The PC's are called in because the South Winds Society employs mercenaries every two years to collect data, blood samples from the sand sharks, and get a selection of high end micro miracle bots from some of the tide pools. The society is willing to pay 275 gold pieces and a minor artifact. They'll provide a special collection kit for the samples which includes a field generator for the nanites so that they don't effect the PC's. The kit has enough power for two days. A data record which will take three days worth of film, has a science sensor suite that a child can operate, and enough computing power to handle the collecting

The sharks are highly resistant to the nanites and miracle bots of the waters of Daytona. Anyone infected by the bots will have to make a save vs poison or they could be affected by the hellish machines. 

1d10 Miracle Bots Of The Waters of Daytona Encounter Table

1. There are 1d10 dissembler bots that will do 1d4 points of damage per round to PC's. Their flesh will seemingly unravel in ribbons of living rolls before they're eyes. The bots if collected in a small force shield enclosure can be used on most ordinary materials to break them down into their individual molecular blocks. 
2. Flashers - These micro bots will collect and store many different types of energy solar, radiation, etc. and release it in a dazzling burst of energy. These bots will explode in burst of light temporarily blinding anyone caught within a forty yard radius of them. If captured and commanded with a special artifact these bots can be used to form complex patterns of holographic like energy. They can also be used to form semi solid illusions with audio and visual elements that will last four to five hours. 
3. Forgotten  Memory bots these bots will have 1d8 random memories stored within them from preholocaust times. Those exposed to them will be at a - 3 for all actions of 1d4 rounds as the ancient lost memories etch themselves within their minds. There is a 20% chance per exposure that the location of a minor artifact will be known to the character. 
4.   Alien Knitters - These bots will knit interesting, alien, and sanity shattering patterns into random bits of the flesh of the user. They will cost him or her 1d4 charisma points as bizarre and hideous patterns form on random patches of skin. These patterns will hurt the eyes of those who look at them. They seem to almost move across the flesh from the corner of the eye of the observer. 
5. Uneasy Growers - These mico bots will grow 1d4 random useless organs across the body of the victims. There is a 40% chance of the organ having a limited and some what evil intelligence about them. These organs will horrid and slightly unnerving to those who look at them. They will often times be on the outside of the body. 
6. Passages bot - This robot will randomly write some dark passage from a novel, play, or other pre holocaust work across the skin of the user often on the face of a handsome man or lady. Those who receive this bot often have weird nightmares and visions of distant and strange lands. 
7. Gut tracers - These bots will cause an explosive eruption from the internal small intestine. The microbes will expand up to 160 times there original size and explode from the interior body of the victim for 3d6 points of damage. They will quietly slink away and make their way to the ocean if possible. 
8. Gill makers - These bots will cause the victim to grow gills, long for the sea, and add two beneficial mutations. If a pure strain human however save vs death or have on random limb converted into a white pasty goo. 
9. Telepathic rewire - This group of bots will cause the brain of those who taste them to be completely rewired for telepathy. The victim will immediately be tuned into a colony of Mi Go on Earth's moon who have decided to invade. The PC will be subject to the most sanity shattering secrets at night and take 1d4 points of damage as their body is wrecked by visions that border on the physical. 
10. Recreation Bots - The victim's internal organs are slowly turned into alien Lovecraftian worm things. Over the course of eight days the victim's internal organs become separate lifeforms and will begin to feed strange horrid thoughts and dreams to the PC. The PC each day must make a Wisdom check or be driven into the brink of horror and madness. Finally on the eighth day, the organs will try to burst forth from the facility. 

The PC's will be driven or sailed into the Daytona area and released at a safe spot for three days. They have that time to complete their tasks. The communities surrounding the area know of these expeditions and some bands of mutant raiders take full advantage to gain free artifacts and slaves. Other mutants will try to sacrifice particularly attractive mutants to certain horrible 'Shark Gods' truly twisted mutant sharks that ply the waters around Daytona. These give the Land Sharks a run for their existence.

1d10 Random Mutant Raider Encounters of Daytona 

1. 1d6 mutant Deep One raiding party with two beneficial mutations each 30% chance of a Lovecraftian artifact. 
2. A group of mutant bounty hunters(2nd level fighters) in search of an escaped criminal from a nearby community. 
3. An escaped mutant princess who was to be a sacrifice for the land shark. Has a laser pistol with 3 charges left. Scared and shaken but still brave. 10% chance of a reward if returned to her tribe. 
4. A gang of mutant ratoids 3rd level fighters looking for artifacts and trouble. Armed with spears, short swords, and crossbows. These guys are in a small boat plying the ruins. 
5. Land Shark on the hunt! Hungry and very dangerous! 
6. A group of 1d6 pure strain human 1st level fighters after an escaped prisoner armed with fully charged laser pistols in a motor boat. Very dangerous and they hate mutants. 
7. Mutant Sea zombies floating  along with some ship remains. 
8. 1d8 mutant Gillmen warriors on the hunt 
9. A school of glowing mutant sea carp worth 100 gold pieces each because of a special organ that they possess . Very fast and there is only a 20% chance of capturing any. 
10. Sea going Ecology bot from a nearby wizard's lab. Will attack immediately, any melee has a 40% chance of attracting a school of sand shark! 

Sand Sharks 

More information available on Chris Van Deelen's blog
HERE

No. Enc: 1d4

Alignment: Neutral

Movement: 240’ (80’)

AC: 6

HD: 25

Attacks: 1 bite or 1 bite and 2 claws

Damage: 5d6 or 5d6 / 1d8+3d6 / 1d8+3d6

Save: L20

Morale: 7

Hoard Class: None.

Mutations: Aberrant From (new body parts, natural weapons), echolocation, gigantism, increased senses (smell), neural telekinesis (modified), unique senses (sense vibration)

Source: Sand Sharks

Basilisk's Lair - A Mutant Future Encounter or An Encounter For Any Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaign

In the Altered States of 'Merica, the Artimus Group is a corporation of super science mercenaries who employ some of the best raiders, adventurers, cut throats, thieves, and killers on the planet.
They're after a small community of Palm Meadows California. A peaceful walled city state of Neo traders who are sitting upon a very deadly treasure.
Palm Meadows was once the United States military's bio weapons division and responsible for the creation of the Basilisk species of mutant warriors.  The Artimus Group employs a unit of those mutants as part of its power armor division out in California. They're going to be attacking Palm Meadows in five days, the Mutant Underground has had advanced warning from within  the Artimus Group.Alfred E. Cautee a mutant coyote humanoid makes contact with the PC's, he will provide them with maps, inside help, and three gold bars as partial payment. Along with a fully charged stunner and laser pistol to deal with some of the interior Artimus Group resistance. 
The PC's are contacted to recover a very special cargo from an  Artimus Group facility.  the Artimus Group's cryo/medical hospital. This location employs close to forty regular employees and a variety of robotic assets to insure that their mercenaries get the best care and recovery time.  The Artimus Group spends far too much money on training, up keep, and weaponry to allow their investments to go south. 

The facility is lightly guarded because many of the super science mercs personnel have been shifted to the base nearest the attack.
 The facility is build into the interior of an old box canyon and used as a hidden military hospital during the Shadow Years. The PC's will be met by an Artimus Group mutant nurse named Nancy an attractive green skinned reptilian with psychokinetic powers and light telepathic abilities.
She will take the PC's through the underground level of the facility. There is a 70% chance of finding several minor artifacts here. There will be 1d6 medical robots and at least one police robot with heavy stunner capabilities.  The Artimus Group likes to capture and mind lock potential assets for future missions. Getting captured would not be a good idea.
The PC's are lead through a twisting maze of corridors until they find a partial baby ward/ cryo sleep facility. There are row after row of mutant humanoid babies in incubators. These are all employee children held hostage by the Mercs as insurance of loyality.
The PC's will be shown six leathery eggs within special cryo containers and will then find out who their real employers are. The Basklisk warriors working for the Artimus Group have hired the PCs to recover the eggs and will meet the PC's to give them the rest of their payment.
The PC's may want to wreck facility but this may damage any future employment opportunities. The PC's are to meet the warriors out in the desert out in a secure location. A map is provided by one of  the Artimus Group doctors. The PC's also have a chance to stop the attack on Palm Meadows. This is part of an upcoming encounter. 

The Basilisk  Mutant Race 

For more information on this species of Mutant kind go over to Chris Van Deelen's Blog 

HERE 

No. Enc: 1d6

Alignment:  Neutral

Movement: 90' (30')

AC: 3

HD: 12

Attacks: 1 weapon or 2 claws and one bite

Damage: regular damage +3d6 (if physical attack), or 1d6+3d6 / 1d6+3d6 / 1d4+3d6

Save: L12

Morale: 8

Hoard Class: I, II, IV (x10 each category), VIII (80%), IX (70%), XII (double chance), 1d4-1 high tech weapons, and 50% chance of 1 artifact suit of armor.

Mutations: Aberrant form (natural weapons), bizarre appearance (d), increased physical attribute (Dexterity and Strength), neural telekinesis, optic emissions (modified), regenerative capability (modified), teleport

Source: Spider-Man comics

The Clinic - An Encounter For Mutant Future or Any Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaign

The PC will be contacted by the Mutant Underground once again, this time they are looking for a mutant named Reggie Whitecombe. The Whitecombes are a rather unique and well known family in the Altered States of 'Merica. They are a family of gene spliced mutants whose DNA includes lizard, shark, and various other regenerating species. The Whitecombes patented their rather unique DNA and genetic heritage and produce a line of medical products based on this legacy. The family's corporations gives out free medical help to mutants and creates a special line of medical products that works twice as fast on mutant injuries. They also supply the Underground with free medical care and safe houses up and down the East and West coasts.And now the youngest member of the clan is missing. There is a five hundred gold coin reward and a life time supply of Regerator X. This super science drug temporarily doubles a user's hit points, and constitution points and puts the subject into a healing coma allowing the user to heal at three times the normal healing rate for injuries.
 A check of the various local underworld contacts will reveal that the Clinic has been inquiring about the teen as well. The Clinic are a super science medical  enigma wrapped in a sealed up germ free medical wrapper. The clinic are a group of traveling doctors who perform incredible miracles. Limbs are knitted and regrown, staggering mental trauma is healed, fingers are made dexterousness, and the list of medical cures is endless. And now their asking about Reggie's where abouts.
The last known flat of Whitecombe kid, is on the former state of Maryland's border. The house is a rambling stone edifice and door is open. The place is a shambles as various folks have been raiding the place since the security bots went down three days ago. There is a 20% chance that a careful search will turn up some minor artifact or a nest of mutant leeches.
 In an abandoned hostpital Reggie is being held prisoner by seven security bots and their mercenary handlers. Every two days bits and piece of his regenerating skin is being surgically removed and studied in the hopes of making a profit. Reggie has been better. The building ringed by a wide variety of sensors and magnetic landmines to deal with unexpected robotic presences and complications. There are 1d8 second level fighter mercenary troops guarding the place . There are also 1d8 super science science flunkies who are working on cloning the kid's skin and his unique gene pattern.
 The clinic is funding this operation while, promising virtual serial immortality. Who are the clinic? They're actually a group of Cassaobries super scientists who have been watching the profits sink and are close to cracking Whitecombe's genetic structure. They employ extreme solutions to problems. They see Reggie as the wave of the future due to his regeneration abilities. In a subbasement of the abandoned hospital that the 'Clinic' is using the kid is 'resting' within a sleep pod. A gathering of the general council has begun. The point here is that the same council has been dealing with profit margins off its various projects for well over two hundred years. A careful search of the place will reveal 200 gold pieces worth of stolen artworks. A blow to the council of Cassaobries will cripple the secret organization. At least for awhile but the possessing horrors will try to infect and possess others should their host bodies have been hurt,.
 The Clinic will react to any threat to their organization with a show of force. A death squad of highly trained mercs lead by a bounty hunter will hunt and kill the PC's. The mutants are trying to maximize profit and are quite ruthless as well as greedy.
 Should the PC's come to the mutant medical nightmare's attention. They have a further trick up their sleeve. Potion number nine is a pre holocaust cocktail of telepathic nanities and mind inhibitors. Should a PC be injected with this stuff they must make a save vs death or be taken over by a member of the clinic. For seven days the poor victim will be a puppet of the Clinic. Once the Clinic is done with their tool they will reveal another dark secret. They are actually organ leggers selling victims to the elite for a form of surgical immortality. 

The Clinic operates a series of weird hospitals in the ruins of abandoned medical facilities throughout the West and East coasts. Their looking to expand East coast operations as they act through a number of double blind agents for day to day operations and to recruit new clients. The Clinic also operate as influence peddlers and information brokers in the fields of black medicine and transplantation of organs. They are incredibly dangerous and have no plans to return Reggie Whitecombe until all his secrets are laid bare for the taking. 

For even more information about these mutant horrors consult the newest entry from Chris Van Deelen's blog right
 HERE

 No. Enc: 1

Alignment: Chaotic

Movement: 150’ (50’) Fly

AC: 3

HD: 6

Attack: See description

Damage: See description

Save: L6

Morale: 8

Hoard Class: VII, IX, X, XII and always 1d4 high tech melee weapons or high tech weapons (when using a host), and 1 suit of high tech armor.

Mutations: Bizarre appearance (d), possession (modified) psionic flight, toxic weapon.

Source: Doctor Who

The Palace Of Blue Glass - An Encounter With The Dregs From The Outlander Books For Mutant Future Or Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

 The Palace Of Blue Glass is a location of myth and legend that rolls down the myths  of the Great Salt Lake region.  A time haunted place of the ancients where the last samples of the ancient Earth are stored and demons guard those secrets.
 There are rumors,myths, and legends that speak of the palace in hush whispers. They talk of the stones of blue that make up  the buildings of the place.Created from the souls burned up in the atomic fires of the holocaust.  Of the great medical miracles that were worked there and of the incredible technological artifacts that were once housed in it's walls. Those wonders are still there.
They also talk of the giant rats that guard the palace and  they will tear a man to pieces in the moonlight. Rumors of the tribes of Dregs that haunt the palace's grounds grow in scope everyday. The Palace is near the former site of  Salt Lake City, now a twisted ruin of chaos and horror as well.
 The  lights of  the Palace Of Blue Glass stands beckoning salvagers, adventurers, and madmen alike but none have returned from its grounds. Fewer still sampled its delights and treasures and almost none have seen its blue spire up close and lived. 

The grounds, building, and area are maintained by hundreds of bots but the place is surrounded by tribes of Dregs who haunt the sewers of the Palace of Blue Glass. They raise mutant vermin to guard what they feel is a religious shrine to the ancients. 

Find Out More Right Over
HERE
No. Enc: 1 or 4d6 (common)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement: 60’ (20’)
AC: 7
HD: 12 or 4 (common)
Attacks: by weapon or 1 bite and two fists
Damage: by weapon +3d6, or 1d6+3d6 / 2d4+3d6 / 2d4+3d6
Save: L12
Morale: 11 or 4 (common)
Hoard Class: Always 1d3 melee weapons, I, II, III, VIII, IX, XVIII (artifacts only)Mutations: Aberrant form (natural weapons), bizarre appearance (d), dietary requirement change (cannibalism, carrion or vampirism) (d), immunity to disease and toxins, increased physical attribute (strength), increased will power, mind reflection, possession (modified) toxic weapon (transmit disease), 1d4 additional random drawbacks.Source: Outlanders series by Mark Ellis.
There are certain groups of super scientists who would be willing to pay the PC's weight in trade goods or gold for the treasures of the palace. The Apex has been trying to gain access to this place and its vaults for over twenty five years. A combination of the Dregs, a laser generator security system as well as a series of security and combat bots, and a very dangerous A.I. named Legion have made this next to impossible. 
The palace contains a treasure beyond compare in the post holocaust world. 
The palace has within its vaults the complete and unaltered models of the genome of the human race complete  along with gene samples and the genomes for all the life of the ancient Earth. The Dregs remember this as part of their religious rites and legends. They guard the palace with their very existence for they are the descendants of the old staff of the palace altered by an escaped 'recombiner virus' bio-weapon in the early part of the war. 
 There are always giant mutant rats of max hit points roaming the woods near the ground. The sewer system is guarded by Dregs and mutant Trolls (as trolls from Labyrinth Lord but immune to radiation, bio weapons, and other biological agents) they act as body guards for the more important Dreg overlords. A laser grid system protects many of the more important buildings slicing anything up for 1d4 points of damage per round when the A.I. directs the beams to the point.
There are also 1d6 security bots around the parking areas, garages, and smaller grounds. A special stage I.D. badge or bracelet pass will allow one access. Some of the Dregs wear these as religious trinkets.  

Local tribes of mutants know the Palace as the 'Temple of Blue Death' and give it a wide birth and consider it taboo to go there. The place also has a reputation as being haunted and dangerous for children, the old, and the foolish vanish from nearby when the moon is full. It is only recently that bounty has been posted for the treasure of the Palace and the cycle of violence and horror has begun again in the place's shadow. 

Encounter With The Neo Caravans of The Scalies - A Scalies Encounter From The Deathland Series of Books For Mutant Future Rpg & Your Old School Post Apocalypse Games

This is part of a series of encounters others in the series include the following:
Here

The Neo Caravans of the Scalies are a common sight across the vast American deserts from the Ruins of Vagas through what remains of California. Scales move across the desert sands on mutant camels bringing trade goods, mail, and seeking trade. PC's who encounter these master traders are likely to be in for a treat as Scalies set up tent cities just outside of post apocalyptic settlements and often they will be advertising for adventurers and salvagers. Often times these traders collect information, artifacts, legends, and vast networks of contacts. Neo caravans are often the only sources of new information to isolated or distant desert communities.
Whole families sometimes make their living by seasonal journeys with Neo Caravans. Scalies pick up and drop off specialty workers who use these caravans as safe travel methods from place to place. 

There are often a ton of job opportunities for adventurers within Neo Caravans.
 

1d10 Random Job Opportunities The Neo Caravans of The Scalies

1. A scaly warlord is looking for adventurers to help him with the recovery of some military weaponry from some ruins. He is willing to pay in trade goods or gold. 
2. A matron scale mother is looking for a mate for her daughter. She wishes an adventurer to prove himself with the recovery of a familial treasure. There is also a small gold reward for those who might help in this adventure.
3. A team of scaly adventurers has been lost in the desert and a recovery team is being gathered perhaps you can join there is a reward of services upon recovery of the party. 
4. A pack of mutant demon wolves is slaughtering cattle along the Mexico border and hunters are needed. Trade in food animals is being offered. 
5. A group of scaly warrior women has found a brand new ruin in the South West desert and is offering to split anything found. 
6. A group of mutant missionaries has gone missing and a band of outlaws is threatening a nearby village. A group of 1d4 mercenary warrior women is looking for others to help them as well as mates among the strongest adventurers. There is a small sum of gold and a chance for honor among them. 
7. A gang of scaly cut throats has blackened the name of a local tribe and adventurers are needed to put things right. A small cache of pre holocaust items is being offered as a reward. 
8. A mutant sheep herder who trades with the local scaly tribes is being threatened by purists and a group of adventurers is needed to help bring his herd to market. 1d6 gold pieces is being offered for services. 
9. A group of scaly scouts and advanced traders is going into unknown lands and caravan guards are needed. A split of trade rights is being offered. 
10. A cult of scaly Lovcraftian entity worshipers is looking for mates and sacrifices  under the guise of adventurers needed for the exploration of ruins. Fabulous rewards are being offered. 

The Dark Side Of The Neo Caravans 

The Umshafal  are groups of renegade scaly caravans who specialize in slave trade, black market goods, and have a very evil reputation among mutant kind. They often trade for live slaves which become prey,breeding stock and the most vile of ancient weapons.
These reptilian bastards train and use mutant terrorists of the worst stripe to act as terror troops for acts of sabotage and terrorism. They have very bad reputations among their own kind and are hunted down whenever found. They often operate within some of the most dangerous parts of the Great Salt Lakes region and there are standing bounties among legitimate  Neo Caravans for proof of the destruction of these beings who bring shame and dishonor to the name Scalies among the wastes. 

The Umshafal prey upon their own kind and others. They are prime opportunists who use the cover of the Neo caravans to spread terror, horror, and depravity among the wastelands. 

A Ton of Information Here

No. Enc: 2d6 or 16d10 in communities

Alignment:  Neutral

Movement: 120’ (40’)

AC: 4 or by armor

HD: 9

Attacks: by weapon or bite, claw, claw

Damage: by weapon or 2d6, 1d8 / 1d8

Save: L9

Morale: 11

Hoard Class:VI (100% coins), VIII, XIV, always 1d3 weapons (melee or primitive firearms), 75% if 1d2 high tech weapons, and 50% 1 artifact armor.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (natural weapons), bizarre appearance (d), dietary requirement change (living food) (d), natural armor (modified), regenerative capability (modified), vulnerability to cold (d)

Source: Deathlands series    

1d30 Mysterious Mechanical Monstrosities For Menacing Your Old School Space Opera

1d30 Mysterious Mechanical Monstrosities For Menacing Your  Old School Space Opera

 

1. A clock work sphere with alien glyphs stops time for 1d10 rounds & whispers a doom to a PC
2. 1d3 Metallic canisters with alien electronics inside  handing them will cause 1d4 points of electrical damage 
3. A set of two 10 foot tall crystal pylons capable of creating a dimensional gate 3 times a day 
4. 1d6 monsters frozen in carbonite walls with the mechanisms working but they may fail within 1d4 rounds 
5. A chest filled with an alchemist's machinery for storing odd chemicals 1d8 damage from explosion & unsettling results will occur 
6. An alien communication device to commune with the dead 3d6 times per day. No control over which dead seek to communicate with the living. 
7. Wreckage of alien flying machine with 1d4 corpses..
8. 1d4 energy weapons cracked & broken two are salvageable. One may have a leaky fuel cell within. 
9. Collapsible dimensional gate way & cube of force combo. Throws random gates within a 40 yard direction when activated 
10. A wrist rocket unit with the wrist still attached. 1d4 damage 50 yard range.. 4 rockets 
11. Alien surveillance gear 12 pieces, with contact poison on some of the dials 
12. A Fully automated chess playing machine in the form of a humanoid in Eastern garb. Each move on the board will create a random disaster within 100 miles of the activator. There will be 1d4 major events resulting 
13. Antigravity orb operationally & fully functional 4 hit points & 1d4 random energy weapons 
14. Alien robot 1d8 appendages metallic humanoid capable of creating an anti magic shield as the spell 1d3 times a day 
15. 1d6 random lenses part of a strange machine capable of showing nearby dimensions. There is a 40% of 1d6 alien parasites waiting nearby 
16. Giant Energy cannon capable of 1d10 X100 damage with 49 different dials that must be turned in the correct sequence to activate. The operator had the correct number of appendages 
17. Mechanical baboon combat robot 4 hit points 1d4 bite & 1d3 claw attack. Will turn on owner if not given oil baths every 5 days of operation 
18. Alien projectile weapon with Type 2 demon possessing it. Very angry & trapped within for a round unless handled. Will attempt possession 
19. 1d4 alien robotic mines with inferiority complexes,1d8 damage, very sensitive 
20. Fusion pile generator 1d10 charges 40% of critical explosion 1d10 damage. Mostly in working order 
21. Alien engineer droid 1d8 star ship types stored within memory. Slight attitude problem. Bad motivator unit 
22. 1d6 alien blades within chest. Mostly plastic blades, damage as per sword. There's a monocular sword in the pile however. Needs fuel rod. 
23. 1d4 random pieces of wreckage 20% chance of radiation leak in fuel pod. There 1d3 random star ships parts available. One A.I. that can be salvaged. Will try to take over ship & kill crew however. 
24. Ruined mech with 1d4 salvageable weapons & zombie pilot 2 hit points ready to attack. Now! 
25. Weird half organic half machine power suit. Fully operational but cursed! 
26. Half buried star sail ship in rough shape but with a fully knowledgeable A.I. aboard goes by the name Ishmael 
27. 1d8 ruined, hooked chains attached to glowing machinery. 1d4 damage from various hooks 
28. 1d4 wind up alien toys or religious figures. One will resemble a PC powers vary up to DM 
29. Space Time Drive half organic 1d4 charges & self aware. Cranky & cantankerous attitude 
30. A phone booth time machine registered to someone called Rufus. Very rough shape but workable.  1d8 charges. Dimensional door abilities & gets slightly smaller after each use. 

Inner City Urban Encounters Table - Classic Post Apocalypse

Inner City Urban Encounters Table

Day light hours 

1. Morlocks Scouting Party 1d20 1-3 hit points(Day light goggles) 
2. 1d4 gangers (count as barbarians) 1-4 hit points 
3. Church of Center Intelligence Missionaries 1d6 
4. C.H.U.D 1d6 20% of random mental mutation -Storm Drain Hunting Party -3 all daylight rolls 
5. Travelling Merchants 1d10 50% of ancient vehicle & or horses 
6. 1d3 Flaming Telepaths 
7. Mutant Gangers 5% chance of psychics 
8. 1d20 rats or 10% chance of giant rats max hit points 
9. 1d10 hawkoids flock 
10. 1d20 child gangers hopped up on Muscle max hit points 

 

When The Lights Go Out 

1. Mutant Party Goers 1d3 for twilight hours or 1d6 for late night 40% of illicit substance 
2. 1d6 giant rats or mutant coyotes 
3. 1d20 morlock scouting party with machine guns 
4. 1d4 Giant Slugs 
5. 1d10 zombies hungry & max hit points 
6. 1d6 giant leeches hanging from nearby buildings 
7. 1d6 mutant ladies of the evening or alien sex workers 
8. 1d20 gangers pure strain humans max hit points 
9. 1d8 cultists looking for sacrifices & trouble 20% of mutations 
10. 1d20 Carnivorous plant mutants hunting party 10% of mental mutations or artifacts 

1D30 Space Bar Encounters - For Use With Your Retro Future Space Opera

1D30 Space Bar Encounters

1. Alien Synithoids working the crowd. Posing as prostitutes but will sell information for the right price 
2. Space Truckers having come in with their pay day checks. 1d6 looking to start a fight. Willing to talk about the long haul hyper planar space routes for a few credits 
3. A very nervous psychic with flaming telepathic abilities on the lamb from the Imperials willing to part with credits to get off world 
4. 2 star crossed lovers from rival guild families who want some protection from the Empire Authorities.
5. 4 assassin bots disguised as waiters looking for their targets. Will serve the clients in the bar & kill off folks discreetly 
6. 1d6 Press Gangers looking to roll a few new crew members for a deep  long space haul of 1d20 years
7. 1d4 Martian Panths looking for mercenary work. Good with energy weapons & swords. Searching for their long lost monarch 
8. The Space Patrol blowing off some steam. They're looking for new recruits & collecting the space tales of the bar patrons for an academy project. They may have some leads. 
9. A one eyed spacer looking deeply into his drinks as moves some of the spice shakers around telepathically. A failed psychic deep in his cups may impart some words of wisdom or might be looking to recruit a crew 
10. Synoziod assassin between assignments looking to free lance for a couple of days. 50% chance of betraying employer
11. A group of out of work bards looking for a gig. They're capable of 3 more planar jumps but they're saving those up. Desperate, alone, & non human. 
12. A shape shifting alien serial killer moving through the bar patrons as a human woman. Very deadly & also psychic. 3 hit dice & spell like abilities. 
13. A desperate spacer willing to sell a treasure map for 200 credits. A con man actually with a really nice map that does show what he's trying to pass off. 
14. 1d3 star ship captains who have encountered a star dragon & are making a blood pack to hunt it down . Willing to hire a party for 2d100 credits. 
15. A trio of professors from the stellar university who are part of  cartographic guild. They are mapping some of the new planar hyperspace lanes. They're guild head has gone missing. They're getting drunk & are willing to talk 
16. A group of entertainers who are actually imperial spies searching for a secret heir to the throne. Very deadly but sort of clueless as well on matters of the street. They can entertain however. 
17. A member of the jester's guild looking for a space ship captain. His nephew & niece need to get off planet as soon as possible. 4 level jester with a cybernetic imp as an implant. Willing to exchange services as well as pay. 
18. A group of alien prospectors who have struck it rich. They are being very cagey about the claim. A rival is after them. 
19. A group of  empire escapees who have disguised themselves as Prophets of the Open Eye. The real prophets have a bounty on their heads after the murdered the head of a chapter house. 
20. A group of warrior nuns The Sisterhood of  Combat are looking for employment & romance. They will hit on any female member of the party with a charisma of 5 or better. They may set up a diversion & create an opportunity for employment. 3 level Amazon warriors. 
21. Cougaroid mercenaries looking for employment & lunch. 2 level warriors armed with flamers & leather armor. 
22. Washed up space captain getting drunk & feeling sorry for himself. Willing to do anything to get his self respect back. War hero 5 centuries ago. Must be sobered up 
23. The head of the Space Scorpions gang out to recruit new members by way of a blaster. Sits quietly drinking for now. 
24. A spacer sits quietly in a corner while his telepathic shadow twin scans the bar for "business opportunities" 
25. A group of wormoid tourists are looking for a few folks to infect to sight see from the inside. They sit quietly & are scoping out the action 
26. A group of 1d10 orcs are playing darts & talking about the last human raid. They are still wearing their spacer leathers & their armed. Will start a rumble at the drop of a hat 
27. A lone prospector sits with a small god that no else can see accept you. Is looking for adventurers for a dangerous mission. 
28. A group of alien bar patrons. They're ordinary patrons drinking 
29. A band of warrior monks is tying on  & is looking for trouble. They're a chaotic lot & very dangerous 4 th level fighters. 
30. Another dimensional bar reflection which you just wandered into. This is the flip side universe. Start at the top & re roll. Or your party is now inside the mouth of a giant creature prepare for melee. Now!