TEXT: The Heroes help a fellow Neo Champion and discover a tale of love and betrayal.  For use 
  with the Dawn of Legends setting.
  Player Handout
  Before the One-Sheet Adventure begins, the 
  GM should make sure all of the players have 
  read the Arbor Globe report on: Mysterious 
  Deaths Grip City of Legends!
  Neo Crime Bureau Liaison
   As reports of another mysterious death, the victim’s chest 
  seemingly melting away and leaving only a cauterized hole, 
  breaks on the afternoon news, the Heroes receive a call from 
  Special Agent Gerard Beaumont, their contact and liaison at the 
  Neo Crime Bureau.  Gerard is also the liaison for a Neo Champion 
  known publicly as the Blue Knight and is in need of the Heroes’ 
  help.
   Someone close to the Blue Knight has gone missing, and from 
  what he’s learned so far all of the gathered Forensic Evidence is 
  pointing toward the Champion as the culprit.  There hasn’t been 
  enough for an arrest . . . yet . . . but Special Agent Beaumont isn’t 
  convinced the Blue Knight is actually behind it.  As the Champions’ 
  liaison, he can’t be allowed to take part in the investigation, and he 
  isn’t privy to the specifics of the evidence or details.  He asks that 
  the Heroes meet with Blue Knight at Colonial Park in Mayfield 
  Square, and try to get to the bottom of the case.
  Who is the Blue Knight?
   Any Hero that succeeds at a Common Knowledge roll has heard 
  of the Blue Knight.
  The Blue Knight has been operating in the City of Legends for 
  the past year.  Serving mostly the low-income neighborhoods of 
  Liberty Heights in an escalating war against the street gang known 
  as The Riggers, the Blue Knight has crossed paths several times 
  with Mech-Daddy of the Sentinels of Society.
   Once an engineer living in Salvation City whose life was forever 
  changed by The Purge Invasion, the man that would become the 
  Blue Knight used his advanced scientific knowledge to create a 
  hammer capable of smashing through reinforced steel, and a shield 
  able to withstand attacks from all conventional weapons (and even 
  some Neo attacks).
   After attempting to hold Salvation City together following 
  the invasion, the growing corruption in the State legislative and 
  judicial branches resulted in a hit being placed upon the Neo 
  Champion.  After an attack by a team of powerful Neos known as 
  the Osirian Agenda, the Blue Knight was hospitalized and spent 
  over 2 months in a coma.  Following his recovery and release, he 
  left Salvation City and moved to Autumn Arbor, where he hoped 
  to gain enough contacts within the Neo Community to eventually 
  put together a team of his own and return Salvation City to its once 
  former glory.
  The Investigation
   The Blue Knight tells the Heroes that his best friend and 
  roommate, Jerry Foley, went missing two weeks ago.  He shows 
  them a photograph of a sandy-haired man in his mid-twenties with 
  a GQ smile.  At first he thought nothing of it.  The two of them 
  had had an argument and when he’d come home from patrolling, 
  Jerry was gone.  He assumed Jerry had gone out for a bit to get 
  away from him.  When Jerry didn’t come home the next day, he 
  assumed he’d gone to see family or something.  However, when 
  Jerry didn’t come home that night, the Blue Knight had attempted 
  to call his cell-phone.  No answer, and no call back even after 
  several attempts.  After 3 days had passed, he filed a missing 
  
  persons report.
   The AAPD got involved immediately, and Dr. Robert MacIntyre, 
  himself, and the rest of his Scientific Investigations Division 
  worked the apartment.  He doesn’t know what they found, but 
  from what he’s learned evidence is pointing to the possibility that 
  he might have done something to Jerry.  He didn’t.  He has no 
  idea where Jerry went, but he’s starting to get worried, especially 
  given who Jerry’s family.  Jerry is the nephew of Mayor Edward 
  Foley.  Obviously, because the case now has a Neo suspect, the 
  Neo Crime Bureau and the AAPD are working in conjunction.
   Any attempts to find out the nature of the evidence meets with a 
  series of dead ends.  Because the investigation is on-going, neither 
  the AAPD nor the NCB are willing to discuss details.  Robert 
  MacIntyre is very polite toward the Heroes- after all, he works 
  with Neos on a daily basis and has absolute respect for them- but 
  unfortunately cannot discuss with them anything regarding the 
  evidence or how it might be pointing to Blue Knight.  All he can 
  tell them is that given the relationships of the victim, there’s a lot 
  of pressure from City Hall to find the culprit and to do it quickly. 
  Any accusation- veiled or otherwise- that the AAPD, SID, or NCB 
  might be rushing the case due to political pressure gets a very 
  serious look from MacIntyre.  Regardless of political pressure to 
  solve the disappearance, the evidence will say whatever it says, 
  and doesn’t lie.  Nor can it be influenced by personal feelings.
  Family Ties
   If the Heroes don’t think of it on their own, Blue Knight 
  suggests they talk to Mayor Foley.  Maybe Jerry had contacted his 
  uncle before he disappeared.  If the Heroes suggest that the AAPD 
  and NCB probably already thought of that, Blue Knight agrees. 
  Unfortunately, though, neither agency is being a lot of help toward 
  any of them.
   The Heroes can get a meeting with Mayor Foley with a 
  successful Persuasion roll (getting in to see the Mayor begins with 
  a Neutral reaction).  Unfortunately, the Blue Knight cannot go into 
  City Hall with them.  Given the investigation and his placement as 
  a suspect, security doesn’t let him enter to see the Mayor.
   Depending upon the result of the Persuasion roll, Mayor Foley 
  is either a little cool toward them- viewing them as Neos helping 
  their own- or friendly as he sees them as a group of Neos personally 
  interested in finding his nephew.  Whichever the case, during the 
  conversation the Heroes learn the following information:
   The truth of the matter is, Jerry and Blue Knight weren’t just best 
  friends and roommates, they were lovers.  Mayor Foley isn’t happy 
  about it, but Jerry is an adult and able to make his own decisions. 
  Despite his nephew’s lifestyle, however, they remained close and 
  had dinner together twice a week.  About 2 months ago, Jerry and 
  Blue Knight started having personal problems.  Jerry wanted to 
  go public with their relationship, and use it as a public message to 
  same sex couples to not live behind closed doors.  According to 
  Jerry, Blue Knight was against this, as he felt going public that he 
  was homosexual would result in a loss of Public Image and ability 
  to do his job, especially amongst the more conservative citizens 
  and politicians.  Blue Knight and Jerry had gone back and forth 
  on the issue for some time, and last week Jerry had informed the 
  Mayor that he had scheduled an interview with Channel 7.  The 
  interview was to take place the day after he vanished, and he was 
  going to go public with his relationship with Blue Knight.
   Before the meeting can continue, the Mayor suddenly screams 
  and holds his shoulder.  As he drops to the ground in pain, the 
  Heroes see not only a cauterized hole in his shoulder, but also 
  one in the window.  Neither the attack, nor the window, had made 
  a single sound.  A Notice roll shows a glint of sunlight off of 
  something metallic from a rooftop across the street.
  The Mysterious Serial Killer
  No doubt the Heroes burst into action.  So does the enemy . . . in 
  an attempt to escape.
   Fortunately for the Heroes, the villain (calling himself 
  Blindside) is inexperienced and panics when the Heroes rush after 
  him.  Instead of using his limited teleportation pack to escape the 
  scene, he opens fire on them.  If any of the attacks miss, or fail to 
  take the Heroes down in one-shot, he turns to flee.
   During combat, Blindside starts to use his teleportation pack, 
  but the jumps are in short bursts only (12” max) and still within 
  view of the Heroes on a Notice check at –2.  A Notice roll at –4 
  will also reveal a wispy after-image from the point of Blindside’s 
  last teleportation.  Stepping into the after-image will automatically 
  teleport the Heroes to Blindside’s jump point.  After first 
  discovering the after-image, no further Notice checks are required 
  to continue following him.
   His only weapon is the hi-tech rifle, and the moment the Heroes 
  disarm him, and neutralize his teleportation ability (ripping the 
  pack from his back will do), Blindside is done.
   Removing his mask, the Heroes learn it is none other than Jerry 
  Foley.
   Jerry grips his chest and falls to the ground, conscious and 
  extremely weak as Blue Knight arrives at his side and asks one 
  question: Why?
  
  The Origins of Blindside
   Several months ago, the Blue Knight apprehended a villain 
  known as Shadow Jumper following a string of late night bank 
  robberies throughout the Cedar Valley area.  Both the AAPD 
  and NCB knew a Neo Rogue had been committing the robberies 
  when no signs of entry or departure were visible.  Determined 
  to apprehend the villain, Blue Knight operated on stake-out at a 
  branch of the First Arbor National Bank.  Five days later, the villain 
  appeared via teleportation.  Discovering the after-image left behind 
  after the villain escaped their brief confrontation, Blue Knight 
  stepped through and followed the subsequent series of portals to 
  the criminal’s lair in a high-rise apartment in Cedar Valley.  After 
  apprehending the villain, the news and media outlets were quick 
  to pounce on the story of the son of a wealthy businessman in 
  Autumn Arbor turning to crime.  Exactly where Shadow Jumper 
  got his high-tech teleportation device, since manufacturing it was 
  beyond his own scientific abilities, was never determined.  
   Jerry Foley was intrigued by the story, and eventually made his 
  way to the apartment under the cover of night.  With the case over 
  and the residence empty in an attempt to re-lease it, he had no 
  trouble at all making his way inside.  As luck would have it, a 
  careful search of the apartment turned-up something that even the 
  NCB had missed: a secret compartment in the floor of the bedroom 
  closet within which was a spare suit and teleportation pack.
   Jerry took them as his own and, heady with his new power, 
  began a series of robberies of his own.  Addicted to the feeling of 
  power the suit gave him, he eventually came into contact with Blue 
  Knight when the Hero was on patrol.  Although Jerry, now calling 
  himself Blindside, managed to escape by eventually teleporting 
  into the reservoir in Hyde Park and nearly causing Blue Knight to 
  drown when he followed him, he knew he had two choices.  The 
  one was to let go of the suit and give-up his new life and the sense 
  of empowerment it gave him.  The other was to eliminate his best 
  friend and lover before he could be captured.
   Jerry orchestrated his own disappearance, manipulating their 
  relationship to serve as motive, and prepared for the NCB to take 
  Blue Knight down for him.  He grew-up in a political family, after 
  all, and knew how to play the game and manipulate the system.
   Several days ago, a VanCorp security team apprehended 
  Blindside as he attempted to break into the VanCorp R&D division 
  in search of tech to sell on the black market.  VanCorp, though, is 
  not to be crossed.  Instead of turning him over to the Neo Crime 
  Bureau, they would have secretly executed him and destroyed the 
  body.  Alexander Ramirez, however, offered him an alternative: he 
  would field test for them a new piece of equipment.  Something 
  that would give him great power.  In exchange, VanCorp would 
  ignore his little indiscretion against them.
   The weapon was a new Nano-Field Generator designed for 
  the Federal Government to fire bursts of control Nano-beams at 
  a target, unseen.  Capable of instantaneously punching through 
  reinforced steel, the weapon had one, small flaw: radiation leak.  A 
  point VanCorp conveniently failed to reveal to Blindside.
   Over the next several days, Blindside’s mind was slowly eroded 
  away by the intense radiation the gun emitted.  He grew delusional 
  and more, and more immoral.  After a series of tests against people 
  that, in his mind, looked down on Homosexuality, he decided 
  to turn his attention to the true power within Autumn Arbor: the 
  politicians who made sure his lifestyle was never, fully accepted 
  by the system.
  Wrap-Up
   Blue Knight is devastated that Jerry, who was the world to him, 
  had allowed himself to become something so absolutely evil.
   Jerry falls unconscious as the Neo crime Bureau arrives on the 
  scene.
  A Notice check at –2 to examine the weapon shows a very small 
  VanCorp symbol on the underside.
  Aftermath
   Jerry is in critical condition.  The hospitals seem unable to help 
  his condition, and even Neo Healing abilities seem ineffective. 
   Blue Knight goes public about his lifestyle.  
   Meanwhile, VanCorp claims the gun is being designed under 
  Government Contract, is classified, and was stolen.  A report is on 
  file with the NCB (who require the gun to be returned).  Due to 
  their intense government contacts, the Neo Crime Bureau doesn’t 
  open any type of investigation against the company.
   
  Blue Knight                        
  Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d12, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor 
  d8
  Skills:  Fighting Dd0, Investigation d6, Knowledge (Science) 
  d12, Notice d8, Repair d12, Stealth d8, Shooting d8, Streetwise 
  d8 
  Charisma: 0    Pace: 6    Parry: 7 (15)  Toughness: 6 
  Mental Resistance: 8   Spiritual Resolve: 6   Wealth: 6
  Hindrances: Cautious, Responsibility to Others (Jerry Foley, 
  Major), Trouble Magnet (Minor), Unable to Heal
  Edges:  Arcane Background (Neo), Close Fighting, First Strike, 
  Power Development, Wealthy
  Powers:
  Power Network 4  (Hammer of Justice, Gadget [EPN], Power 
  Source: Technology)
  • Daze 8 (Stunning Strike, ES)
  • Environmental Manipulation 8 (Ground Smash, Knockdown, 
  ES)
  • Melee Attack 8 (Hammer Strike, 8d6, ES)
  • Range Attack 7 (Shockwave, 7d6, ES)
  Power Network 3  (Shield of Protection, Gadget [EPN], Power 
  Source: Technology)
  • Deflect 8 (Limited: Must be Facing Attack, ES)
  • Envasion 6 (Limited: Must be Facing Attack, ES)
  • Hyper-Parry 8 (+8, Limited: Must be Facing Attack, ES)
  
  Blindside                      
  Attributes:  Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor 
  d6
  Skills:  Knowledge (Politics) d6, Notice d6, Stealth d4, 
  Charisma: +2   Pace: 6    Parry: 3  Toughness: 5
   Mental Resistance: 5   Spiritual Resolve: 5   Wealth: 6
  Hindrances: Vengeful, Yellow
  Edges:  Attractive, Wealthy
  Powers:
  Power Network 1  (Jump Pack,  Gadget [EPN], Power Source: 
  Technology)
  • Teleportation 10 [linked to] Teleportation 10 (Gateway, ES)
  Experimental Nano-Field Rifle
  Toughness: 10
  Powers: 
  Power Network 3  (Nano-Field Rifle,  Gadget [EPN], Power 
  Source: Technology)
  • Drain 5 (Radiation Leak, Vigor, Permanent, Death Touch, Per-
  sisent (Power Enhancement), Full-Power, ES)
  • Range Attack 8 (Nano-Field Blast, AP 10, Unnoticeable)
  • Super-Toughness 5 (Object Only Toughness, ES)
  
  The Arbor Globe
  Mysterious Deaths Grip
  City of Legends!
  EX T RA  E D I T I O N
  FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2009
  VOLUME 264
  NUMBER  236
  50 cents
  75 cents beyond
  30 miles from
  Autumn Arbor 
  BOILING POINT
  Today: Mostly sunny, high 
  about 56
  Tomorrow: Rain, high in 
  the low 40s
  High Tide: 6:20a.m., 
  6:40 p.m. 
  The Body Count 
  Continues!
  By Ralph Michaels
   What began four days ago
  as yet another unfortunate
  incident within our great
  city, has turned into a panic
  inducing epidemic. Another
  murder occurred last night,
  the fourth in as many
  days. The victim, James
  Carson, suffered the same
  lethal wound shared by the
  previous victims. Witnesses
  state that Mr. Carson fell face
  down after leaving a local
  restaurant.
   Sheryl Cain, an accountant
  who was on her way to a
  dinner date, saw Carson fall.
  “He smiled at me and then
  his suit seemed to melt in
  the chest area and he cried
  out. I saw the crowd
  behind him through the hole
  in his chest before he fell. It
  was absolutely horrible.”
  Other witnesses gave similar
  statements, saying Carson
  cried out and then fell to the
  ground, a cauterized hole
  burnt completely through his
  chest and back.
   It is unknown at this time
  if Mr. Carson was linked in
  any way to the previous three
  victims. Those victims, two
  of which were killed in public
  like Mr. Carson, suffered the
  same smoking wounds in their
  chests. While police have yet
  to admit it, it would seem that
  Autumn Arbor may have a
  serial killer on the loose- a
  Neo serial killer.
   At this time, no connection
  can be found between the
  victims and no pattern has
  evolved. Authorities fear that
  the killer may start targeting
  police or political figures, since
  many of the killings thus far
  have happened in public and
  the killer has yet to even be
  seen, much less identified.
  Roger Delany, author of
  the novel “Neos Among Us”,
  volunteered his expertise to
  the Globe on the matter.
  “I believe this is just the 
  beginning,” Delany
  states. “Neo abilities grant
  individuals a tremendous
  amount of power, and with
  that power comes an inflation
  of sense of self. It is a simple
  matter to slip into the frame
  of mind where you are above
  and beyond humanity. This is
  especially true for teens just
  discovering their abilities.”
  Delany states that he
  believes the killer possesses
  the ability to become invisible
  and inflict tremendous
  damage. “This is a highly
  volatile individual who is
  probably suffering from
  emotional displacement due
  to the onset of Neo abilities.
  I suspect the killer is a young
  person, probably a male, and
  with ties to a local gang. If
  not stopped soon, I fear this
  could escalate into something
  far worse than what we’ve
  seen thus far.”
   Authorities urge anyone
  with information to contact
  the NCB immediately.
  The fourth murder in as many days has police baffled.  As of yet, there are no suspects.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Photo by Sara Stone
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dawn of Legends/Dawn of Legends Blindsided.pdf