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=== 102 Pen and Paper Adventure | Beta Age | Hunting an Unknown Hunter ===

====== SCENE 4f — LOCAL GUARDING TROOPERS STATION OF MORNINGSTAR ======

{{:local_community_b_center_courier_station_guarding_troopers_morningstar_scenic2d.png?direct&400|}}
===== 1 | Scene Overview =====
  * **Location:** SE Civic Ring Road 1, [[morningstar|Morningstar]]
  * **Type:** Bureaucratic Wall (Proactive) · Prison Break (Reactive)
  * **Era:** [[beta_age|Beta Age]]
  * **Tone:** Rigid · heavily armed · deceptively orderly · quietly corrupt

**Atmosphere & Sensory Cues:** The smell of pine timber and sharp gun oil · the low hum of quantum fusion batteries · the heavy thud of combat boots on metal-reinforced floorboards · the unblinking red optics of Guarding Bots · a stifling sense of bureaucratic indifference

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===== 2 | Read-Aloud Descriptions =====

==== Initial Read-Aloud (Exterior) ====

The Guarding Troopers Station looms over the Civic Ring like a fortress disguised as a pioneer’s cabin. 

Massive, interlocking timber logs form the walls, set atop rough river-stone plinths. Broad overhanging eaves protect reclaimed shuttle-glass windows from the constant drizzle. But the illusion of frontier simplicity shatters when you look closer: a retractable shortwave antenna extends from the roof, and the perimeter is continuously swept by the multi-terrain treads of a heavily armed Guarding Bot, flanked by a hovering Combat Drone.

A carved wooden plaque above the heavy reinforced door bears the emblem of the Guarding Troopers. It is a place of absolute, unbending order in a town made of mud and fog.

{{ :read_aloud_hauh_local_guarding_troopers_station_m.mp3 |}}
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==== Staged Read-Alouds (Progressive Descriptions) ====

| **Trigger / Timing** | **Read-Aloud / Narrative Insert** |
| **PCs enter voluntarily (Proactive)** | You step inside, and the damp chill of Morningstar vanishes, replaced by dry, climate-controlled air. The interior is a masterclass in functional efficiency. Walls of interlocking timber are lined with duty rosters and shifting-shade maps. Troopers in dark uniforms move with deliberate purpose, racking Laser Guns in an iron-strapped Armory Alcove. At the Reception Nook, an Investigator sits behind a sliding timber shutter, stamping forms without looking up. "State your business," he says flatly. "And keep it brief." |
| **PCs are locked in their cells (Reactive)** | The heavy steel doors slam shut one by one with a terrifying, magnetic finality. Each of you has been shoved into a separate cell in the attic mezzanine. There are no windows, no natural light — only the dim, sterile glow of a ceiling fixture. Your cell contains a bolted-down stool, a narrow cot, a centralized air vent, and an [[aurorasan_system|AuroraSan]] dry-toilet unit humming faintly in the corner. Through the narrow viewing slit in the door, you can see the red optical sensor of the Cell-Guard Bot pacing the corridor. You are isolated, unarmed, and trapped. |

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===== 3 | Scene Intent =====

| **Scene Type** | **Player Intents** | **DM Function / Story Link** |
| **Investigation or Survival** | Gather information legally · hide gear · investigate the cell · orchestrate a prison break | __**Proactive:**__ Demonstrates that the law in Morningstar is blind and bureaucratic. __**Reactive:**__ Traps PCs in a high-stakes escape scenario where they must rely on their wits, hidden items, and environmental storytelling to survive a staged execution. |

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===== 4 | Key (N)PCs + Dynamic Cues =====

| **Name** | **Role / Affiliation** | **Motivation / Function** | **Dynamic Cues — How They React in Play** | **Wiki Link** |
| **Commander Kaelen** | Station Commander | Maintain order · profit quietly | Pragmatic and corrupt. He values quiet over justice. Will gladly take J.W.'s money to stage an "escape attempt" execution for meddling PCs. | [[guarding_troopers|Guarding Troopers]] |
| **The Investigator** | Front Desk Officer | Process paperwork · dismiss complaints | Bored, cynical, bureaucratic gatekeeper. Oversees the processing and stripping of prisoners. | [[local_guarding_troopers_station_of_morningstar|Local Guarding Troopers Station of Morningstar]] |
| **Processing Trooper** | Law Enforcement | Search and disarm | Methodical and rough. Checks for weapons, comms, and hidden tools. | [[local_guarding_troopers_station_of_morningstar|Local Guarding Troopers Station of Morningstar]] |
| **Mustafa "Mu" Metzger** | J.W.'s Errand Runner | Deliver bribes · ensure silence | Appears only if the PCs are arrested. He delivers the bounty to Kaelen to ensure the PCs never leave Morningstar. | [[Mustafa Metzger|Mustafa Metzger]] |
| **Guarding Bots (6) ** | Automated Muscle | Enforce laws | Unbribable, lethal, and strictly rule-bound. 2 bots guard the attic cells 24/7. | [[guarding_bots|Guarding Bots]] |

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===== 5 | Triggers, Clues & Consequences =====

{{:102_map_guarding_trooper_station_morningstar.jpg?direct&200|}}

=== Phase 1 — The Front Desk (Proactive Investigation) ===

//This phase occurs if the PCs walk into the station voluntarily to ask questions or report crimes.
//
| **Trigger / Cue (Player Action)** | **Immediate Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
| 🗣️ **PCs try to report the Highwaymen, Arr, or Honga** | The Investigator sighs, pulling a blank form. "Outside the town limits. File a wilderness hazard report. It'll go to New Kourou next month." | The Troopers do not care about the wilderness. No action is taken. |
| 🕵️ **PCs ask about J.W., his compound, or the Errand Runner** | The Investigator stops writing. His eyes harden. "There is no registered compound north of here. If you're chasing ghost stories, do it at the pub." | Requires a WIS (Insight) probe (DC 13). Success reveals the Investigator is deliberately lying. The Troopers are either terrified of J.W. or paid to ignore him. |
| 🚨 **PCs are WANTED and undisguised** | The Investigator glances at a screen, then casually taps a button under his desk. "Let me check the records. Wait right there." | The silent alarm is triggered. 1d4 Troopers and a Guarding Bot emerge from the Guard Room with Stun Guns drawn. "Hands on your heads. Now." If PCs surrender, proceed to Phase 2. If they fight, it is a deadly, enclosed battle. |

---

=== Phase 2 — Processing & The Search Sequence (Reactive Detention) ===

//If arrested, PCs are brought to the Guard Room. Their hands are bound with magnetic restraints. They are ordered to face the wall in a line. The Investigator states they will be shipped to New Kourou tomorrow. The Processing Trooper then searches them ONE BY ONE, moving down the line.
//
| **Trigger / Cue (Player Action)** | **Immediate Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
| 🗣️ **A PC causes a distraction (talking back, resisting)** | The Trooper pauses the search to deal with the disruptive PC. | Requires a CHA (Deception/Intimidation) probe. Success: Buys the PCs further down the line an extra moment, granting them Advantage on their attempts to hide items or slip restraints. Failure: The disruptive PC takes a blow from a baton. |
| 🥷 **PCs down the line attempt to hide small items (lockpicks, Tinkerer pods, Kourou)** | The PC must physically conceal the item while restrained, before the Trooper reaches them. | Requires a DEX (Sleight of Hand) probe opposed by the Trooper's WIS (Perception) of 14. Success: The item is successfully smuggled into the cell. Failure: The item is found, confiscated, and the PC takes a stun baton strike. |
| 🔓 **A PC attempts to slip their magnetic restraints** | The PC twists their wrists to break or slip the binders before the search. | Requires a DEX (Acrobatics) or STR (Athletics) probe (DC 15). Success: The PC's hands are free, though they must pretend to still be bound until they are in the cell. Failure: The restraints tighten painfully, causing 1d4 bludgeoning damage. |
| 🔒 **The search concludes** | The Trooper gathers the confiscated gear (armor, weapons, belts). "Lock it in the Armory. Take them up to the attic." | PCs are marched upstairs and locked in the cells. (Trigger the Cell Read-Aloud). |

---

=== Phase 3 — The Cell & The Execution Order ===

//The PCs are locked in separate Attic Mezzanine cells (numbered 1 through 4). They must investigate their environment and find a way to communicate before the night sets in.
//
| **Trigger / Cue (Player Action)** | **Immediate Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
| 🗣️ **PCs attempt to talk to each other between cells** | Voices are muffled by the thick steel and timber. | If they shout, the Cell-Guard Bot bangs on the doors and threatens a stun-shock. If they whisper through the central air vents or under the door slits, they can communicate safely but cannot pass physical items. |
| 🗣️ **PCs ask the Cell-Guard Bot about food, rules, or the daily schedule** | The bot pauses its patrol at the viewing slit. Its red optical sensor fixes on the PC. | In a flat, synthesized voice, it recites the Detention Cell Operational Rhythm: "13:00 Midday Lockdown. 17:00 Circle Walk. 19:00 Late Meal and corridor heating activation. 22:00 Late Cycle. 02:00 Automated bot diagnostics and firmware update. 06:00 Wake-Up." This provides the exact timing needed to plan an escape. |
| 🔍 **A PC searches Cell 1 or Cell 3** | The dim light makes it hard to see, but the timber walls are deeply scarred. | Requires an INT (Investigation) probe (DC 12). Success: The PC finds nothing of physical use, only graffiti carved into the logs: "My family traveled three generations through space and all I got was a detention cell in Morningstar" and "Burn down Saw's End!" |
| 🚽 **A PC searches Cell 2** | The PC inspects the cot, walls, and the humming AuroraSan dry-toilet system. | Requires an INT (Investigation) probe (DC 14). Success: Feeling around the back of the AuroraSan unit, near the thermochromic heating coil, the PC finds a tiny matchbox taped to the casing. Inside are three functional matches. |
| 🗡️ **A PC searches Cell 4** | The PC inspects the bolted-down stool, the narrow cot, and the floorboards. | Requires an INT (Investigation) probe (DC 13). Success: Wedged deep into a gap between the metal floor strip and the timber wall is a sharpened timber splinter. It is hardened with old resin, making it tough enough to be used as a makeshift shiv, a crude screwdriver, or a lockpick. |
| 👂 **A PC listens through the door slit (Nighttime Event)** | Voices echo up the stairs from the Interrogation Alcove. Commander Kaelen is speaking to a man with a low, raspy voice. | PCs overhear the bribe. Kaelen says: "The bots go offline for a firmware update at 02:00. If the prisoners manage to pick their locks in the dark and get shot by my troopers on the stairs... well, it's a tragedy. Is the payment verified?" The other man (Mustafa) replies: "J.W. sends his regards." |
| ⏳ **The Real Ticking Clock Begins** | The public threat of "New Kourou tomorrow" was a lie. The PCs realize they are scheduled to be executed at exactly 02:00. | They must break out before 02:00, or they will be gunned down by waiting Troopers. |

---

=== Phase 4 — The Breakout (Enabling the Escape) ===

//To survive, the PCs must utilize the rigid detention schedule and their specific cell resources. ..At 19:00, hot stew is served in heavy, crude clay bowls with fragile polymer spoons. Simultaneously, the corridor heating system engages... //
| **Trigger / Cue (Player Action)** | **Immediate Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
| 🔥 **A PC uses the hidden MATCHES** | Igniting the cot's bedding, clothing, or the AuroraSan's dry waste fills the confined cell with thick smoke, triggering a localized fire alert. | The Cell-Guard Bot immediately overrides the lock and opens the cell door to extinguish the flames. The PC must use this distraction to slip past the bot (DEX Acrobatics/Stealth) or ambush it, then manually unlock the other cells from the corridor terminal. |
| 🗡️ **A PC makes use of the TIMBER SPLINTER** | The resin-hardened splinter acts as a versatile makeshift tool for sabotage or violence. | __Ventilation Grate:__ INT (Tech) or STR (Athletics) DC 13 to remove the grate, then DEX (Acrobatics) to crawl through the shaft to another cell or the corridor. __Electronic Lock:__ INT (Tech) or DEX (Sleight of Hand) DC 14 to pry the AuroraSan maintenance panel and cross wires, popping their magnetic cell door. __Weapon:__ Functions as a makeshift shiv (1d4 piercing) if they ambush the Guard-Bot. |
| 🍲 **A PC utilizes the 19:00 MEALTIME (Acoustic Cover, Clay Bowl & Spoon)** | The corridor heating system's loud hum masks noises, while the meal provides a heavy clay bowl and a fragile polymer spoon. | __Acoustic Cover:__ The loud, ambient hum grants advantage on all DEX (Stealth) and INT (Tech) checks to pick locks or pry grates without triggering the Bot's 3D acoustic mapping. __Crude Sabotage (Spoon):__ Can be used to attempt the Vent or Lock bypasses, but imposes disadvantage due to its fragility. __Desperate Distraction (Bowl):__ Smashing the clay bowl can lure the Bot to the viewing slit. Attacking the 145kg, heavily armored Bot (AC 16) with a jagged piece of clay is nearly suicidal and will likely result in the PC taking a blast from the Bot's Stun Beam Emitter. |
| 🥷 **A PC utilizes SMUGGLED GEAR** | Standard tools bypass improvised penalties. The biological Tinkerer items (if successfully smuggled and unused) have highly specific, unpredictable effects against the cell's hardware and the mechanical Guarding Bot. | __Standard Tools/Lockpicks:__ Grants Advantage on INT (Tech) checks to hack the door terminal or unscrew vents. __Shiver-Thorn Capsule:__ Biologically useless against the Bot, but crushing it creates a dense herbal cloud. Can be used to momentarily obscure the Bot's optical sensors, granting a 1-round window to slip past it without triggering an attack. __Spineback Flicker Pod:__ The spines cannot pierce the Bot's armor (AC 16). __Rootcoil Snare Vine:__ If deployed at the Bot's legs as it enters a cell or passes in the corridor, the Bot must make the DC 13 STR save. Despite its gyroscopic balance, a failure tangles its bipedal gait, Restraining it for 1 round — buying the PCs exactly enough time to sprint for the stairs.|
| 🏃 **PCs exit the cells and move to escape the station** | The ground floor is not empty. The PCs must bypass the night-shift staff, decide whether to risk reclaiming their confiscated gear, and flee into the settlement. | __Ground Floor Staff:__ Before 02:00, 1d2 Troopers and the Investigator are present. Escaping PCs have the element of surprise (Advantage on DEX Stealth DC 14 or Initiative). If they wait until exactly 02:00, they walk directly into Commander Kaelen's prepared, heavily armed execution squad. __The Armory (Optional):__ Retrieving gear is optional but highly risky. Requires STR (Athletics) DC 15 to pry the iron straps quietly, or INT (Tech) DC 14 to pick the lock. Failure instantly alerts the ground floor staff __The Manhunt:__ Once outside, the station's silent alarm triggers a full lockdown. Troopers and Guarding Bots begin a grid search of Morningstar. If the PCs linger in the settlement, they will be spotted and recaptured within 1–2 rounds. They must flee the town limits immediately. |

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===== 6 | DM Notes =====

  * **The Corrupt Law:** The Guarding Troopers here are not the good guys. They are overworked, underpaid, and easily bought by J.W.'s vast wealth. Make the Investigator dismissive and Commander Kaelen ruthlessly pragmatic.
  * **The Line-Up Tension:** Make the search in Phase 2 sequential. Describe the trooper moving from PC 1, to PC 2, to PC 3. Ask the players at the end of the line what they are doing while they wait their turn. This turns a simple "you are stripped of gear" moment into a thrilling mechanical puzzle.
  * **The Isolation Puzzle:** Because useful items are scattered asymmetrically (matches in Cell 2, a timber splinter in Cell 4), the PCs should communicate their discoveries to each other through the vents to formulate a unified escape plan. If one PC pops their door open, they must risk exposure to free the rest of the party.
  * **The Dual Clock:** The Investigator threatens them with transport to New Kourou to make them complacent. Overhearing Kaelen and Mustafa shatters that complacency. It changes the context of the arrest from a "timeout" to a "death sentence." 
  * **The Reality of the Guarding Bot:** Remind players (through visual description) that the Guarding Bot is a 145kg, tungsten-reinforced machine. Attacking it head-on with a clay bowl or a wooden splinter is suicidal. They must use distractions, stealth, and their smuggled Tinkerer gear to bypass or disable it.
  * **The 19:00 Acoustic Cover:** Emphasize the loud metallic hum of the corridor heating system. Reward players who patiently wait for this window by granting them the Advantage on their sabotage and stealth rolls. 
  * **The Manhunt (Transitioning to [[hauh_morningstar_manhunt|Scene 4g]]):** The escape from the station is the point of no return. Once the PCs are out, a town-wide lockdown begins.

==== DM Tutorial: How to approach the scene ====

{{ :dm_briefing_hauh_local_guarding_troopers_station_m.mp3 |}}
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===== Related Pages and Further Information =====

  * ↑↑ **Start:** [[hunting_an_unknown_hunter|Hunting An Unknown Hunter]]  
  * ★ **Overview:** [[All Scenes of Hunting An Unknown Hunter|All Scenes of Hunting An Unknown Hunter]]  
  * ☞ **Resolution:** [[hauh_case_resolution|Case Resolution and discoverable Backstory]]
  * ← **Previous Scene:** [[hauh_arrival_in_morningstar|Scene 4 - Arrival in Morningstar]] or any other scene of the Hub.
  * →** Next Scene:**  When the PCs escape from the station, the story continues with [[hauh_morningstar_manhunt|Scene 4g - The Manhunt]]. When the PC leave the station without being pursued, please use the Morningstar Hub Overview to continue …


==== Morningstar Hub Overview (Playable Locations & Opportunities) ====

| **Location** | **Type / Activity** | **Primary Opportunities** | **Tone / Difficulty** | **Leads To Scene** |
| **[[django_s_diner|Django’s Diner]]** | Food · Pressure · Investigation | Prevent Sagan from harming a civilian · recover J.W.’s torn voucher · ask Roxy about the receipt found on the Hand and his henchmen | Warm · Cramped · Volatile | → [[hauh_morningstar_djangos_diner|Scene 4a]] |
| **[[saws_end|Saw’s End]]** | Lodging · Social Risk · Rumor Hub | Secure the only accommodation in Morningstar · gather guarded rumors about “J.W.” and his operations · risk visibility through drinking or playing [[twenty_one|Twenty One]] · encounter Sagan Belmont in forced proximity | Loud · Smoky · Volatile · Consequences enforced | → [[hauh_morningstar_saws_end|Scene 4b]] |
| **[[morningstar_food_market|Morningstar Food Market]]** | Supplies · Barter | Replace basics · buy trail food · observe who watches newcomers and who avoids them | Practical · Neutral | → [[hauh_morningstar_food_market|Scene 4c]] |
| **[[medical_station_of_morningstar|Medical Station of Morningstar]]** | Healing · Recovery | Treat injuries · stabilize conditions · receive prescriptions for medication or painkillers (to be filled at the [[pharmacy_of_morningstar|Pharmacy of Morningstar]]) | Clean · Functional · Moderate cost | → [[hauh_morningstar_medical_station|Scene 4d]] |
| **[[hale_and_hook_outfitters|Hale & Hook Outfitters]]** | Investigation · Trade | Ask shop owner [[garrick_hale|Garrick Hale]] about hunting gear, fur trade practices, and Hale & Hook–branded notes or items found on the Hand and his henchmen · gear up | Polite · Guarded · Transactional | → [[hauh_morningstar_hale_and_hook|Scene 4e]] |
| **[[local_guarding_troopers_station_of_morningstar|Local Guarding Troopers Station of Morningstar]]** | Risk · Records · Pressure | Ask procedural questions · report incidents · risk scrutiny or arrest if wanted | Bureaucratic · Dangerous (if wanted) | → [[hauh_morningstar_guarding_troopers|Scene 4f]] |

  * **Note:**  Morningstar contains many additional locations beyond the hubs listed above (see the full [[morningstar|Morningstar]] wiki page). Player characters may freely visit any of these sites. As they are not directly tied to the core investigation, interactions there should be improvised using the respective location articles — focusing on atmosphere, local routines, and consequences rather than new plot-critical clues.