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Seed Tracks: Ganging Up on the Sun by Guster

Ganging Up on the Sun is Guster’s 5th studio album and was released in 2006. It was re-released on vinyl in July 2019 and quickly added to my growing record collection. The 12-track album provided easy inspiration for a number of adventure and world seeds.

Welcome to the first Seed Tracks feature on Attercap.Net. The last Thursday of every month (ish… let’s pretend today is July 32nd) I’ll select an album and write a short scenario idea based on the track. Inspiration can come from the track’s lyrics, theme, or melody. While some of the adventure seeds may potentially tie in together, each track will largely be considered on its own for inspiration.

I have the first few albums selected but am always on the lookout for new tunes, so your suggestions are welcome! Albums not under consideration for this feature include: anything non-lyrical (like classical/symphonic), opera, musicals, comedy, mash-ups, or soundtracks. While my personal preferences lean towards electro-pop, retrowave, and power-pop those are not the only genres under consideration.

Lightning Rod

Genres/Games: Urban Horror, In Nomine

Steady on this high-rise
Like every lightning rod
And all these clouds are boiling over

Though he didn’t know it yet, Solomon “Sol” Green was a demi-god, a child of a human male and an Ethereal. His potential well exceeded normal human capacity. And now he was learning magic. His first solo spell was supposed to be a simple rain summoning; an easy task for Houston, Texas in November. The teenager stood on the roof of Williams Tower and called out for rain to fall. The spell was successful but every drop of rain, crack of lightning, and roar of thunder caused a Disturbance in the Symphony. For angels and demons, the cacophony was almost overwhelming. The cause was impossible to pinpoint, but every player in Heaven and Hell was now focused on the city and soon decisions would need to be made of what to do with this powerful boy.

In 1998 I ran an In Nomine campaign I called Book of Kings. When Guster released Ganging Up on the Sun in 2006, this track resonated with me and every time I listen I envision the NPC that would trigger the first moment of the PC’s involvement.

Satellite

Genres/Games: Sci-fi, Star Trek, Traveler

Elevator to the moon
Whistling our favorite tune
Trying to get a closer view

The Gus star system was a remote and isolated speck in the galaxy. Gus IV was the only populated planet and its people had yet to leave its solar system or make any form of interstellar contact. However, they had developed a unique form of transport: using a system of satellite links, they had a rapid transport bridge from the planet to a moon base. The “elevator” moved items physically but at incredibly high speeds (about 100,000 kilometers per minute) without incurring an gravity force or vacuum damage. Technology like this could prove useful to many worlds, but the Federation/Imperium/Space Government does not want to directly interfere with the civilization of Gus IV as it might impact further technological development. The mission: to retrieve as much technical detail about the functionality of the planet-to-lunar transport without revealing the presence of life in the surrounding galaxy. Fortunately, the people of Gus IV look mostly human. Their skin tones, eyes, and hair are bluer but this is disguisable for the human members of the crew. More alien creatures might have a harder time infiltrating the planet.

Manifest Destiny

Genres/Games: Fantasy, Urban Horror/Fantasy

Bones are broken and the will is sunk
How did everything get so fucked up?
Do you want to change your mind?
You can always change your mind

The PCs are at the edge of defeat. Some lay dying, some may already be dead. Time pauses and a being of light appears before them. The form is blinding to look at but offers the party a chance to start over. If asked why, the being will say that they share a common foe in the enemy. If the entity’s offer is accepted the PCs will be healed, items restored, and they will be placed at the entrance to the dungeon or the start of the scenario (depending on the encounter). While the players may choose to re-equip or alter their tactics, the final fight will remain mostly the same, with the party defeated (the GM should fudge rolls, add additional powers/reinforcements to the enemy, whatever is necessary). The entity will appear and ask if they would like a chance to start over. This scenario will repeat itself until the PCs refuse or accept then walk away from the encounter.

This is one way for players to get used to the idea that TPKs can happen, but still gives them an “out,” albeit one of mission failure as they will never defeat whatever creatures they were fighting.

One Man Wrecking Machine

Genres/Games: Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, Superhero

I want to pull it apart and put it back together
I want to relive all my adolescent dreams

As the party infiltrates a stronghold they are attacked by a nanite swarm that knocks them out, attempting to learn more about the invaders. The characters experience a moment of their youth, except the other characters are also there, the memories of multiple individuals coalescing as one. Characters may even revert to how they acted as adolescents, reliving a warped version of their memory. The nanites, would gather their data and dissipate. Some secrets of the characters may have been stored to data and now the PCs have an additional mission of making sure the data does not make it into the wrong hands.

While this seed could work with any genre (nanobots could be ancient security in a post-apocalyptic vault, or this could be the product of magic), placing the scenario in modern or sci-fi would presumably mean the character’s adolescent versions dealt with things like school, dances, and typical mundane teenage activities.

The Captain

Genres/Games: Fantasy, Pathfinder, D&D

I’ve come down with something
I’m frozen, tied up, cast in lead

While traveling across the sea (for whatever reason) everyone aboard the ship (crew, passengers, and PCs) begins to stiffen. With each passing hour each joint becomes stiffer. Characters have CON hours until they are unable to move. The captain orders his crew to continue their work as quickly as possible to make it to port, but given the continued mobility loss the ship may not complete its journey. If the PCs investigate the hold, they’ll find a trove of treasure. Many of the items are magical, but a golden statuette carries a curse. The characters will need to identify the cursed item out of many and convince the captain (or go behind his back) to destroy or toss the figure into the sea (which will affect the life in the water).

The New Underground

Genres/Games: Sci-Fi

No one here can make a sound
We’re all ghosts in this town

While visiting a small outpost, the PCs appear to be completely ignored by the locals. The inhabitants to not appear to see the visitors or acknowledge their words or actions. If physical contact is attempted, the visitors (or any items used) will pass through the local. If any items from the town are moved or removed the inhabitants will appear to notice the item’s movement as if a second behind its original location. The townsfolk appear to be moving along their daily business and communicating with each other, but whatever they’re saying can’t be heard by the PCs.

The underground power generator has a fault and is generating a time flux causing the inhabitants to live a second in the past. It will need to be repaired or destroyed to resolve tie time dilation. Destroying the generator will leave the town without power. It would also be possible to examine the generator and take notes for future time experimentation and catastrophes adventures.

Ruby Falls

Genres/Games: Fantasy, Pathfinder, D&D

Somewhere down buried in the sand
Two birds give out a song

After laying dormant for a hundred years, an unusual species of twin phoenixes are slated to be reborn near the peak a mountain. The PCs are charged with protecting the birds as they hatch. The eggs are not to be disturbed, but the newborns are to be placed in a cage and carried down the mountain. Dealing with the climb and potential encounters will be difficult enough, but a newborn phoenix can make a tempting snack for a red dragon.

C’mon

Genres/Games: Urban Horror/Fantasy, Call of Cthulhu

Look around at the people in this place
I’m afraid that we’ll end up the same way

The small, coastal town of Cutler, Maine is beautiful and unspoiled by tourism. The Investigators have been called in by the Society to examine a chest of antiquities that was dredged up by a local lobster boat. The contents of the chest are fairly mundane and of little value. What the Investigators might note, however, are the rashes and bumps on the necks of every local; and that the only beverages they consume are water and the local “seaweed tea.” With constant ingestion, the drinker will develop gills that activate while immersed in water. This will also make the transformed an optimal candidate as a mate for the fishmen that swim in the ocean.

Empire State

Genres/Games: Post-Apocalypse

Fallen walls all around
We’ll build again

The PCs lead a migrant caravan to the ruins of a city. The site may prove optimal as it’s near a fresh water spring and has fertile soil. While it’s possible that the ruins were not stumbled on before, it’s still a highly unusual occurrence for such a prime location to remain unclaimed. As the caravan sets up camp and rebuild, the issue will become clear. Every night a series of tremors collapses most structures. It’s possible to build walls, but the nightly tremors will weaken even the sturdiest of borders, leaving any town less than defensible.

A colony of giant, mutant worms breeds under the bedrock of the city. At night they move closer to the surface, drinking from the spring water and causing tremors. They’re relatively peaceful creatures and the spring water is not contaminated by their presence, but poisoning the precious water supply or soil may be the only way to completely kill all the worms. Or the nomads can pack up and continue to travel.

Dear Valentine

Genres/Games: Modern, Superhero, Urban Horror/Fantasy

Now quietly peek across the street
Perfectly kept, perfectly neat
But it’s not complete, no not at all

Dr. Valentine Granger lives in a quiet suburb. Her house and lawn go above and beyond the neighborhood association requirements. Her grass is green and short, the house exterior clean and vibrant. The kids who ring the doorbell on Halloween see the kind doctor, in her mid-50s, with a well-decorated hallway and usually the best candy on the block. What no one sees, however, is what lies beyond the entryway. Valentine is a hoarder of medical supplies… and body parts. Is she building some sort of Frankenstein Monster? Maybe; or maybe not. But something clearly isn’t right.

The Beginning of the End

Genres/Games: Steampunk Western

We’re not sentimental
We’re just oil-filled machines
Trying not to say the things we mean
You gotta show us a little love

Emil Turnbull has revolutionized his wild west town with little robotic workers. Some do the dishes, some clean the floors, others can provide limited security. The town went crazy for them when introduced. Now, for the small area, they’re commonplace and Emil hasn’t introduced a new invention for almost a year. Despite their limited programming, the machines have noticed the blasé attitude of their owners and have begun to deliberately “malfunction.” Right now it’s a single unclean dish to be disguised amongst many or a dangerously slippery spot on the floor, enough to hurt the humans who once lavished praise upon them. The townsfolk are unaware of why they’re becoming ill more often or the issues of their machines, but perhaps the new strangers in town (the PCs) have some ideas or inventions to share.

Hang On

Genres/Games: Sci-Fi (Space-based)

Maybe someone’s writing chapters
For us while we sleep
From a million miles away

For weeks, the crew of the starship (the PCs) get the sense that they’re being watched, but any scans for monitoring devices reveal nothing. Empaths and/or mystics may be able to sense a specific presence, but it feels distant. This sensation goes on for a few sessions/adventures when, by sheer accident, a long range scan detects unusual (but unharmful) particles surrounding the ship and crewmembers inside. The particles follow a direct path back to a distant and currently uncharted planet. When the PCs arrive on the planet they’re treated like celebrities. For the planet’s inhabitants, they are. The particles have been transmitting the ship’s exploits and have made for very popular entertainment.

While intended as more of a lighthearted adventure seed, the PCs may realize there are advantages to nearly undetectable particles that can be used to monitor others. However, the matter is unique and tied to the planet. Use of the information gathering streams must be done on planet and the PCs will need to convince the planet’s officials to use the particle beams on a new direction. And they’ll only do so if there’s good drama to share with the citizenry.