Mists of Mosney Session 3

The party got word from Avalanche that one of his boys was captured. Nimble had found a route to Mosney and was on his way back when the Monk’s Bandits ambushed him and took him prisoner. Avalanche asks the party to rescue Nimble before the Bandits murder him or get his info.

The reward is a path through the mists, to the promised land of Mosney. Every stalker dreams of making it past the Brain Scorcher radar in Dublin Airport, but no one has made it yet. This could be the start of something big… Between missions, they tooled up with grenades, conibear traps with 300lb of force, one set of night vision goggles and they trained their fighting skill for an additional +5.

The party began by scoping out sites for a more permanent base. Their first site was on the fringes of Bandit territory: the Pumping station opposite Clontarf village and right beside the sea. There was a poisonous mist creeping in from the sea as the party snuck in, finding a firepit, an empty stash and lots of empty Bavaria cans. Visibility was poor. The tag on the wall marked it as the Monk’s territory. The party set to fortifying it against an attack, but out of the fog came 7 bandits who were seeking shelter. The party hightailed it out, figuring they were outnumbered. Disaster struck: Darragh Treacy tripped on the stairs and his new steel-jawed traps jangled against the railings. This alerted the Bandits. MC Geist blew his whistle to draw attention and took a few pellets of buckshot in return which bruised him beneath his new ceramic plates. A few stray pistol rounds clipped Aódhán and Geist until Darragh was able to get out. The party decided to retreat, but MC Geist stayed put to watch the bandits while the others regrouped at the rally point 800m away.

The toxic fog rolled away, replaced by rain. MC (Most Caliphate) Geist began to creep forward to try infiltrate the bandit’s hideout. At great risk to himself, he snuck close and played dead. When a suspicious bandit on watch attempted to loot his body, Geist stabbed him in the dick and muffled his screams. Geist then planted his plastic explosives on the stairs. He was unsure how to detonate it however, and mashed the buttons until a timer read 6 seconds. He ran in panic, and the rest of the party heard thunder rolling across the bay as the explosives went off. He looked back into the rain to see the front of the building blown off, and the bandits inside likely dead or seriously injured. With the party now wet and injured, they set off back to St. Paul’s school to the free stalker camp to rest and gather info.

On the way, they came across the ruins of the CRC building and saw several pings on their PDAs of nearby stalkers. A man named Wolfgang warned them of the rat swarms in the area, and to avoid the burner anomalies which had turned the car parks into an inferno. He also asked for assistance as his group of mercenaries had dwindled from 15 to just 5 thanks to anomalies, bandits and Zone mutants. The party, while initially wary, though they could recruit the Mercs to help rescue Nimble. They triggered 3 large swarms of rats while moving through the ruins, but were able to get to the door of the shelter where Wolfgang met them. They offered them some dogfood from MC Geist’s stash and had a rest. Then they began to formulate a plan to fill the corridor with CO2 from the fire extinguishers, which Darragh knew ought to scare the rats off. Then MC Geist would lure the rats into the burner anomaly field, and the party would mop up the rest.

The plan went flawlessly, but MC Geist tried to hurl a grenade at the Mercs in the shelter. Thankfully this exploded harmlessly short. But something was up with MC Geist – he began talking of epiphanies from god above and to not trust the Mercs as they were aligned with the EU. The Mercs replied they only served their buyer, who asked them to retrieve documents and a device from under St. Pauls.

They got a tip off that the bandits held prisoners in St. Anne’s park in the ruins of the GAA club. Spudgun and Wolfgang’s Mercs closed in on the building, taking positions that would let them approach safely while bringing as much firepower as possible to bear. They popped the sentries posted at the entrance, and closed in to rescue Nimble. From inside, they heard shouts and threats from the bandits. An American voice said the bandits were in over their head, and broke away from he building. Darragh saw a flash of a EU army uniform. At this MC Geist asked his accompanying Bulgarian Merc if he was a religious man. And the Merc replied in a firefight, you pick a god and pray. This sent Most Caliphate Geist into a religious rage and he attempted to slash the Merc with his axe. He missed thankfully, and the merc shot him and began backing up, telling him to drop the axe. Wolfgang ordered his men to drop Geist if her took another step. The Mercs moved to flank Geist, while maintaining overwatch on the last room containing Nimble.

Geist made a break for it, and the Mercs got spooked again. They drilled him with two shots center mass, one hitting him low in the kidneys and taking him out of action. The party had just moments to clear the building and stablise Geist. Darragh and Aódhán simultaneously killed two bandits guarding Nimble, Aódhán with a shot from behind and Darragh through the crumbling walls with a .308 from his rifle. He saw blood running down the two Addidas stripes of his target and knew he got his man.

The party managed to stabilize Geist just as he was on the cusp of death. Nimble himself was in a bad state: much of his teeth smashed out, his fingers broken and his eyes swollen shut. Nevertheless, they had succeeded in their mission, and returned to the free stalker camp in St. Pauls. They brought two prisoners from the raid, and set them free on the condition they left the Zone forever. In return, they received several new rumors about the Bandits and the Clontarf area.

 

Nimble’s info:

A way to the North, to Mosney –  through the Port Tunnel. Any one traveling that way will need certain items:

Psi-protection to get past the Brain Scorcher at the airport once they escape the tunnel. There are probably labs in the fallen town of Maynooth that could supply either drugs or a replica of the headgear they picked up in St.Pauls. But it would mean fighting whatever caused the town to fall.

Closed cycle breathing on your suit – a gasmask will not be enough to survive the carbon monoxide in the tunnel. Some kind of positive pressure suit will greatly help. The Ecologists in Howth have the best equipment for the purpose.

Some way of sneaking past the SAFE EU special forces or of avoiding the machineguns of the outposts overwatching the M50.

Tunnel schematics – much of them are been sealed off by rubble, crashes and welded shut once mutants made lairs there. But there is always a way around. There could be pockets of clean air – but only a proper site analysis could determine this.

Several days worth of food and a way to transport all this gear without being encumbered. There will need to be a new basecamp set up and a new chain of logistics to supply stalkers heading for Mosney.

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Stalker isometric maps

I printed these on A3 or A4 sheets with no border and stretched them to fit the page. Lots of space for the 1cm tokens I use. As far as I know, these were taken from in game, at a high angle, and with a filter applied.  They have proved excellent game maps and have fired the imaginations of my players. While the game is set in Ireland, they could reasonably be anywhere temperate and green.

There is a full album here, well done to the original stalker who made them: https://www.flickr.com/photos/161164965@N07/sets/72157690025508254/

help computer

This is a really good article on why otherwise intelligent people can’t use a computer. The author estimates only 5% of the population in developed countries has high computer-related abilities, and only a third of people can complete medium-complexity tasks. For reference, one of the difficult tasks was to schedule a meeting room in a scheduling application, using information contained in several email messages.

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/computer-skill-levels/

I am somewhat insulated from this in a software company, but I remember the dark days of helpdesk in an architecture firm.  I helped people under 25 put a CD in a tray.

Stalker: Mists of Mosney Session 02

This was played over 3 “maps”, over about 4 hours total.

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Two rookie stalkers, MC Geist and Snake Diaz joined experienced stalkers Aódhán O’Ríórdán and Darragh Treacy on a mission to hunt down a bloodsucking monster terrorizing Clontarf last week. The Duty base in Eastpoint had a contract out for the monster’s head. They came across a dead stalker by the name of Eli from Red O’Neil’s group who had already been sucked dry by the beast. Eli had holed up in a tower, hoping to pick it off as it approached him. They covered the body with a scrap of plywood, took his food and vodka, and picked up his PDA as it would guide them to a stash in Marino. Darragh Treacy picked up the scope on Eli’s rifle.

They went to the nearby Duty base in Eastpoint Business Park, where Sergeant Voodoo gave them more details on the monster they were hunting: larger than a man, strong and agile, and possessing some kind of natural camouflage in addition to its bloodsucking ability. The hint of its approach was loud, ragged breathing. He wished them good hunting, and updated their maps. Their best route was through Marino, as much of Clontarf was under control of the Bandits, and Eastwall closer to the city was a sniper’s alley of rival factions.

They were attacked by blind dogs in Marino, and had to scale the scaffolding fortifications there to avoid being savaged. MC “Most Caliphate” Geist, the crazed Beowolf in direct provision, nearly fell while he did battle alone on the ground, but concentrated fire from the party and their allies drove off the pack. MC Geist slayed 4 with a mighty axe swing. Accurate rifle fire from Darragh Treacy felled the pack leader, and impressed Red O’Neil’s band. The party had a short rest, for the end of daylight was approaching.

In the ruins of Westwood Gym, they encountered high radiation, dangerous anomalies and the mutated, gelatinous mass of a former FF politician. That ex-client of the ex-personal trainer Snake Diaz attacked them in an attempt to drink their vodka. They fought him off, and encountered the beast they were hunting training as hard as it could in the gym upstairs. They discovered a pile of drained bodies beside the power racks the beast was using for post-workout feeds.

They cornered the beast in the shadowy Dracula Exhibit, stunning it for a moment with funhouse mirrors that made it appear insanely jacked. Stunned, it began posing as if hypnotised. The party wasted no time filling it with lead, and finished it off as it crawled away.

Their hunt was successfully, earning each of them €1000 from Duty. In the lair they found several dead stalkers of different factions, and an AR-15 in good condition. They also found stacks of creatine, steroids and Jacked 3D, of great interest to Snake Diaz.

It was a good hunt, easy loot, and strong reputation gains for Spudgun, this group of stalkers.

Trigger jerkin’

Went to Bulgaria over the Easter period with friends to meet a friend studying there. We flew into Sofia and then got a ride to Plovidiv – roads were a bit scary with craters and gravestones every 10KM or so after recent crashes.

Plovidiv was way nicer than I was expecting –  good weather, no sketchy areas  in the main town, lots of Czech beer, prices about 30% of Ireland. As it’s builtThe settlement was a one point capital of the Roman empire, and the ruins beneath the city are only being excavated now. At the same time, the city will be European Capital of Culture in 2019, and you can see the EU money coming in fixing roads. The city seems to be run by the mafia, but there was no street crime, no public disorder

I arranged a basic AR-15 competency course for my friends while we were there – it covered safe operation of a firearm, fieldstripping and reassembly of the AR-15 and then drilling in loading, aiming, shooting and then ensure the weapon is safe. We shot about 100 rounds each standing, kneeling and prone. Everyone had a great time, no  unexpected BANGS or muzzle sweeping, and people who were initially nervous shot well. Only downside was it was very windy on the day – this pushed the muzzle around a bit when standing and kneeling.

Some thoughts on the AR-15 or at least the Sig M400:

Direct impingement is much more complex than a bolt action rifle! It sounds obvious, but a semi-automatic rifle is a different beast altogether. There are much more buttons to operate, and checking the breach, changing magazines and charging the rifle made it more like driving a car than shooting. I am glad I started shooting a .22 to begin with to work on sight picture, breathing and trigger pull. I imagine the AR-15 was a lot to take in for new shooters. Changing magazines was really fun compared to working a bolt and loading every shot.

The trigger pull was a good bit heavier than the Anchutz 54s I used to shoot: probably 4lb v 1lb. I don’t think this caused any issues shooting, but the light trigger is very easy to shoot with.

The AR-15 itself is much lighter than then Anchutz 54 and comfortable to hold. The pistol stock is more stable to shoot standing and kneeling. The rifle we shot was ambidextrous. I would even say that .223 Remington has less felt recoil because of the buffer tube compared to .22 rifles.

.223 out of a 16″ barrel is hella loud and sharp sounding. I used earplugs and muffs on the day. I would love to shoot it at longer ranges than 50m-100m. Less drop than a .22LR.

I was definitely the best shot standing and kneeling, but I should have shot prone more.

The instructor said afterwards we had basic competency and had shot safely. He reminded us that in a tactical situation, our groups would be three times as wide and to choose your stance so you can maintain a tight group according to your distance and stress. He briefly took us through the AK-74 for a comparison with the AR-15, and recommended we shoot both to be familiar with the most common platforms.

 

STALKER: Mists of Mosney session 1

5 room Dungeon for Stalker Game – Session 01. Lab beneath St Pauls’ School. Time will progress at about an hour per scene, and you’ll roll on the weather table every hour:

Weather tables – roll 1d6

Mist for -10 to awareness

Fog -20 to awareness. Max range 50m.

Chemical fog. As above, but take 1d3 damage per hour your exposed.

Rain – test toughness if you get wet.

Rain – test toughness if you get wet.

Clear and Calm.

 

Game should take about 4 hours.

 

Threshold – Scene 1

 

See a dead body, partially eaten. In a Stalker Suit. Get a PDA if they search – his name is DRIP. Dead dogs. And a trail of blood. Bullet casings, tracks… and an overgrown shipping containter. Looks like this was once a football field. The footprints lead to a small cluster of buildings.

As the party is walking along, they come across a wounded stalker, near death. This is NIMBLE. He was attacked by wild dogs on the way back from a raid, and the rest of his team had to leave him there while they went for aid. He’s on a raised platform, like one of those storage containers, or on the second floor of the house. He will call for aid.  The wild dogs return while the party decide what to do with him. If they are good stalkers, they’ll heal him. They may kill him, or ignore him altogether otherwise. The dogs attack at the next junction, or if a lot of noise is made. After 5 rounds, or a suitable junction, AVALANCHE and his 2 stalkers arrive back.

12 blind dogs. 6 hit points. Their bite does 1d6 damage. They move fast. They will flee if you kill or injure 50% of them, as they are beasts. Play up their strange senses. Should be lead by a bigger, scarier looking one.

 

Learning points

• Wildlife is dangerous.
• Code of the Free Stalker – help your brothers, get rich.
• Friendly stalkers will give you advice and trade.

Leader of NIMBLE’s group is an experienced stalker with an assault rifle and modified Stalker suit called AVALANCHE.

He warns about the cordon ahead, the bandits in Clontarf. Leader of the bandits is a guy called MONK.  He will lead the party some of the way, and demonstrate some of the effects of anomalies and artefacts. But only if they aid NIMBLE.

RP, or puzzle – scene 2

Corrupt military have set up a roadblock beneath a collapsed railway bridge. The party must talk their way through, pay them off, fight their way through or go around. They want about €200 a head. At a tense moment, a helicopter will pass overhead, heading deeper into the Zone.

About 5-6, in cover. Pissing them off will trigger the SAFE raid on the players.

They have 10 hitpoints each, do 1d10+2 damage, and their stats are same as a Fighter’s profile. They will be hard to shift, as there is nowhere to retreat to for them.  They may surrender if outmanuevered.

Learning points

• The military are not friends of free stalkers, and won’t hesitate to shoot if you try funny stuff.
• There is always a way around.
• There is a special forces unit by the name of SAFE – Synchronised Armed Forces Europe. They are ambushing and killing stalkers.

Going above exposes the party to a high level of radiation and an encounter with an anomaly. They must trace out its active range. This introduces bolts, artefacts and anomalies if they did not encounter AVALANCE.

 

Setback or Twist – scene 3

They reach their location, the School, but the poltergeist in the building makes it almost impossible to get in. There are some free stalkers camped out. There are some artefacts in the nearby buildings: Pellicle can be harvested if they can find a way to get it off the chemical anomalies.

The other stalkers will leave after a 3 hour rest – they are trying to rescue their friend from the Garbage in St. Anne’s Park, who is being kept as a slave by MONK’s bandits. They give clues about the monster – active only in the building, it screams “BRING IT BACK TOGETHER” and attacks by hurling items and with psychic phenomena.

Once they enter the building, a ghostly wind sweeps through the building and their Geiger counters spike. Small objects at first rise from the ground, hover for a round, then hurl themselves at the players. Especially heads of stalkers and monsters. The monster is only active within school itself. Looking in the window, the players will see lots of effigies of headless creatures. And scattered heads. Lots of spook value, play up the horror element. The poltergeist can be pacified by finding the art room and putting heads on the decapitated statutes.

They should test their willpower or be stunned for several rounds in fear if they fail badly.

Poltergeist: 15 HP. Throw small item like a head or bottle 1d6, large item like a or chair table 2d6, enormous item like a locker 2d10. 1 turn to levitate the item, thrown next turn. Can be parried with fighting skill if you have a close combat weapon drawn. Can be shot,  knocking the floating item to the ground. Incorporeal, so can’t be directly targeted. Can see through walls.

 

When the players approach the art room, a Snork should appear from the basement. 12HP. It can leap several meters and attack at +20 Fighting. After that, it can attack for 2d6, twice per round. It will attempt to dodge using agility, but cannot parry. When heavily wounded, it will retreat to the lab. Killing it and looting the body will give the players a dog tag of a missing Irish soldier from the initial evacuation.

The poltergiest will continue to pelt the party with stuff throughout. If they are clever, they might try dodging the items and letting the snork take the blows.

 

Climax.

If the players can solve the mystery, they will get access to the basement below. They discover a prototype psi-protection helmet and lots of research. All of this is very valuable. If players wear the helmet, they can see the poltergeist.

• Poltergeist itself is about 15 wounds, incorporeal. Will throw 2 items for 1d6. Or throw a large item for 2d6, or a giant for 2d6! The items can be shot to knock them down.

If they did not pacify the monster, they will need to face it as they emerge from the dungeon. Killing the monster reveals it to be a legless, mutated man.

Note that if the heads are knocked off the statues, the poltergeist will be enraged! My players used this to delay the military strike team

 

 

Reward, revelation.

As the party leaves the basement lab, they hear the helicopters again. A military raid by SAFE special forces on their position has begun! If they helped the stalkers earlier, the other Free stalkers will assist them to escape the area.

If they did not annoy the military, the bandits will ambush the party as they head back through the village. The Free stalkers will aid them if they assisted them earlier.

• The party will not be able to kill the military, but they should be able to run.
• The bandits are lead by a man named Sultan, they can talk, but will be entirely hostile. You can walk away if you are able to convince them.

 

Standard stats:

 

		Survivor		Fighter		Criminal	Technician
Fighting		40		45		40	35
Awareness		45		40		35	45
Fitness		35		45		40	40
Agility		45		40		45	40
Charisma		45		35		45	40
Intellect		35		35		35	45
Willpower		40		45		35	40
Zone	*		*		*		*

 

 

 

Anomalies and Artefacts:

Mosquito: a 3m wide graviconcentrate that flings items thrown into it in a random direction at high speed, but rarely back in the direction of the thrower. Almost definitely lethal. Occasionally captures debris, flesh of victims and crushes them into an artefact.  Generates Wrenched, which looks like a lump of coal, flecked with gold. Gives off high radiation, but makes bullets more likely to miss the user.

Hints: a mosquito buzzing sound, a divot in the ground, fluttering grass and trees that bend towards the anomaly.

 

Electrostatic: A lightning storm that strikes whatever enters for lethal damage. Can be triggered with thrown bolts. Unknown what artefacts it generates.

Hints: your hair stands on end.

 

Chemical Fog: Much of Dublin Bay is now a giant chemical anomaly, and the breeze blows a corrosive fog over the city. A warning siren will sound – you should seek cover if you hear it.

 

Fruit Cordial: a liquid chemical anomaly that dissolves whatever it touches. Not detected by most detectors – but usually confined to flooded areas. Generates Pellicle, a rubbery skin artefact that seems to protect from chemical burns.

Hints: sounds of hissing and popping.

 

Pins and Thorns: two radiation-sapping artefacts that are pressed into the skin. Makes you bleed from your ears, and doubles the bleeding damage you take. But will take you down a level on the radiation scale within an hour. Stalkers usually find them amidst old needles. If they are dropped on their sharp point, they bounce back to the exact same height, seemingly violating physics.

 

Black Sprays: a black glassy substance in demand for jewellery. Light is delayed when passing through, making them sparkle with a red light. Very valuable, and safe to handle.

 

STALKER: Mists of Mosney setting

[These are some of the places, people and adventures we have come up with so far]

A nuclear disaster in post-Brexit Britain made the eastern part of Ireland unlivable, but what survived in the Exclusion Zone was changed forever. From the epicenter in Mosney came waves of mutated creatures, deadly radiation, and a strange, anomalous energy. The Zone was cordoned off by the military, who would shoot on sight anyone foolish enough to brave the horrors within.

It is now 2029 – man has ventured further and further into the heart of the Zone driven by reports of strange ‘artifacts’ imbued with anomalous energy. Mercenaries and bounty hunters compete to recover these artifacts, which command extortionate prices on the black market. Others seek to find the truth behind the Zone, while some merely revel in the desolate lawlessness of the place. Whatever their motivation, over time these individuals – Scavengers, Trespassers, Adventurers, Loners, Killer, Explorers and Robbers – have become known as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s.

You play stalkers raiding the Exclusion Zone of Dublin, including the Red Forest of St. Anne’s Park, the Dead City of Killester, the M50 Cordon and the dreadful, mistshrouded Mosney Holiday camp.

GM Note: each player will contribute 4 rumors to the setting. As it’s based in Leinster, you should have plenty of ideas for your local area. These could be NPCs, a location, an encounter with an anomaly, or a monster. You can also expand on any of the ideas below or propose a revision.  Your rumors are mandatory! They form the world for you and your friends.

The Setting

A strange, radioactive mist has spread over the neoPale, stripping the colour from the world. The city of Dublin is lost to the Exclusion Zone, but you remember what it was like before the accident. Plus, you hear rumours from other stalkers back at the bars – tales of the deep Zone, betrayals and alliances, wonders and horrors, and of artefacts that sell for a fortune.

 

About You

You are not rookies, but you are not experienced enough to join a faction or lead a gang yourself. You escaped the Zone after the accident, or you’ve been on brief trips inside. You are all motivated by different things: some of you are here for money, some for adventure and some because the Zone is the only place you feel alive.

About the Zone

The Zone is constantly changing. The old maps aren’t necessarily right any more: they don’t show the invisible anomalies that can rip a man apart, the high radiation that will kill you in minutes, or the turf of the factions that control the Zone. But you’ve heard some things…

Cordon: M50 and parts of the M1: these form a 5m high neo-Pale around Dublin. But this time, the walls are to keep the inhabitants in. The EU military holds the line, but the frontier is increasingly porous. It takes a bribe or a skilled guide to get you in, but you’re on your own getting out.

Eastpoint Business Park: a Duty base here protects the Port Tunnel exit. A grounded warship provides cover from periodic Emissions. Mutants and monsters emerge from the tunnel, and only Duty say they can keep them back and preserve the world from the Zone’s terrors. They are actively recruiting stalkers to join them, and they are mostly ex-EU military who have gone rogue. They are at war with the Freedom faction and Bandits.

Clontarf: <Player> knows it was once the jewel of the Northside, and thanks to Clontarf Castle it is an oasis of stability from mutants and the Duty/Freedom faction war. However, this peace comes at a price: Bandits control the area and extract a toll for safe passage from any stalker who passes through. They want money, drugs and artifacts. These Bandits are led by a gangland boss by the name of Monk. Monk’s criminal family live like feudal lords in the castle. They are known to keep slaves and eat lavish meals brought in from the outside world every day. Monk’s slaves are used to search for artifacts in the wastes of St. Anne’s Park and haul goods from Bull Island. These Bandit faction is at war with Duty, and preys on free stalkers.

There is a small trading post at Nolan’s Supermarket, and a stronghouse just opposite. Some of the wealthy families have sent mercenary teams in to secure their properties against raiders, or to recover valuables and sentimental items.

Marino Park is a former residential area, but the green areas are now infested with packs of wild pseudodogs. A group of free Stalkers lead by Red O’Neill are retaking the area and trying to exterminate the pseudodogs so free Stalkers have free passage to Mosney. They have built elevated platforms from house to house. There is a rumoured secret entrance to the Port Tunnel below. Red O’Neil has big plans…

Marino Casino: a Freedom encampment here uses the hill to overwatch the Zone. Their medics are top notch, and they are the best in the Zone at using the strange artefacts for human benefit. They think the fruits of the Zone should be shared with the world, and feel the Zone is the only place a man can be truly free. This brings them into conflict with the Duty and military faction, who want to contain it.

Killester: a warren of tunnels and lanes. Several temporal anomalies make it a maze where you can get in, but not always out

St. Anne’s Park: The trees here were killed quickly by fallout, but the red forest still stands. Lots of heavy machinery was dumped here in the initial attempt at a cleanup of Dublin, either buried or left in the open. Very high radioactivity. The mutated wildlife of the zone has reclaimed the park. Also goes by the name “the Dump”. <Player> heard there’s dead men walking in the park, for the given value of “dead” and if the term “man” can still be applied.St. Paul’s College: <Player> heard rumors of a good spot in Raheny. Overlooking St. Anne’s Park/Garbage is St. Paul’s College. The sports field out back is an ideal spot to safely scout St. Anne’s Park and the bike compound is defensible camp site. It’s possible that the dilapidated building still houses some lab equipment and supplies, perhaps a few boxes of Chikatees remain, maybe one of its many computers still work, hell there might even be a few bikes left in the compound. But all stalkers avoid the Annex of the main building due to violent poltergeist activity. There is rumor of an amazing stash inside, but no one can get past the flying objects. From the camp outside, a soft sobbing can sometimes be heard, rumoured to be an art teacher long driven mad by one of his students. Long before the Zone, it’s said that the student stole the teacher’s clay heads and he won’t be whole again until he replaces them, whether with heads of clay or flesh. His cry of rage sounds almost like a name..

Bull Island: the nature reserve has dozens of rotting cruisers beached on it. In the rush to clear Dublin port, no one even bothered to unload their millions of Euros of goods. Now warred over by Bandits and free Stalkers. An excellent place to get weapons and barter for goods

Howth: the EU-sponsored Ecologist faction is encamped on top of the hill and uses the helipad to fly out the mutant samples they collect. These eggheads pay the best price for artefacts and mutant parts, and have the most advanced protective equipment in the Zone. Rumour is they are under siege from the foot of the hill. Some say their attackers are mercenaries.

To the North: it’s only passable via the railway bridge. Bandits blockaded it with crashed DART trains, and extract a toll for each passage. The railway is otherwise passable with a handcart and is anomaly free apart from the mist.

<Player> heard a rumor of a new smuggling group of hardened smugglers, from the former northern Irish border who are trying to break into the exclusion zone for more loot. Initial reports state they’re using gear that was supposedly deactivated after the Good Friday agreement. They have been trying to reach Mosney from the North.

Swords and Airport: don’t go to Swords. Host to an unending tide of zombified stalkers, turned mad by emissions from further North.Gormanstown Camp: the former airfield was used to host refugees from the fighting in the North in the 2022 Reunification. Though some were rescued by determined family members, many were lost forever to the strange emissions of the Zone.

Murphy’s Concrete Quarry west of Mosney: rumoured location of a strange artefact that grants wishes. Heavily guarded by a mysterious, fanatical faction. Constant rain and mist blocks any aerial surveillance

Mosney: the fading holiday camp was long since shutdown, and the chalets were used to house refugees from the conflict in Europe and the North. Even before the accident, there were dark rumors about missing people. Now the camp is once again empty, yet haunted by creatures that walk through the mists. The epicenter of the strange energies since the accident. No one has returned after setting out to

Maynooth: <Player> knows the university town was used by the Ecologist faction for the research of Zone phenomena. Anything bought in the neoPale first made its way here for the scientists to classify and study. It was a world-leading institution… up until about 6 months ago. There were rumors of strange lights hovering over the campus, beasts spilling out of containment and weird obelisks appearing on the rooftops. Since then the flow of scientific papers to the outside world from the former seminary has halted altogether. And a military cordon has blockaded any routes in or out. Some stalkers say there’s men in black robes coming from the city preaching the end of the world. One thing is for certain – the Zone may be expanding.

National Botanical Gardens: <Player> has heard it’s overgrown into a dense and dark jungle, spreading along the Tolka valley. Few stalkers who enter emerge again. Those who have traveled with their Northside guides talk of man-eating plants lumbering around. But these may just be tall tales. In any case, the Ecologists are trading food and medicine with survivors in Broombridge for samples of the changed plants. If you have a guide, the Dark Gardens are a useful route into the center of Dublin City.

Dublin City: <Player> heard there’s a group basing themselves out of the former National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks who’ve been raiding places of historical interest. They’ve been seen wearing retro uniforms and using extreme violence on those who attempt to stop them. Rumour has it they’re being led by the mysterious “Director” clad in a white lab coat and officer’s cap.

The Doctor bases herself out of a tattoo studio on Ormond Quay, she offers service for a minimal fee, but not everyone returns from her clinic…