Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859 
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jun 25, 2024 22:08:43 GMT
A quickie, inspired by a loon on another forum who is convinced that the Luton Airport car-park fire of last October was caused by an exploding battery pack in an EV, and the the UK government was covering this up, despite the abject lack of evidence for this conspiracy theory.
The Fire.
There's been another car-park fire. Not that unusual these days and this one wasn't that big, a few score cars destroyed and some structural damage, but no building collapse. The investigation was ongoing and then the Fire Service involved found something odd...
Now it's a case for the Misfit Mob.
They're sent to a Fire Investigator site, basically a decrepit warehouse with the remains of the vehicles spread out. There's something odd about this vehicle, even without the silver wires carefully installed around the chassis, with many small powerful magnets and melted crystals embedded in coils of wire.
- Just what's odd about the vehicle is left to the GM. Perhaps it's a decades old model, but in excellent condition (as far as can be determined). Perhaps it's a brand new model, but evidently much used, one with chassis numbers assigned to a vehicles that's still in its owners possession, and no =sign of tampering. Perhaps it's an as yet unreleased model entirely, or a military vehicle that went missing forty years ago.
There are other additions too. A large battery pack, even if it's not an EV. The remains of an unusual device in the boot. It may have been configured for camping, with a range of supplies carefully stowed.
- And what might these supplies be? Military ration packs? Weapons? Anachronistically advanced gadgets?
Well everyone agrees it's a job for the Misfit Mob. They need to:
- Solve the mystery of the car's existence.
- Find the owner.
- Determine if it was responsible for the fire, and if it was an accident.
- Keep the truth away from the public, despite the conspiracy nuts and the anti-EV cranks attentions.
Still… no worries, eh?
Comments? Suggestions? Ideas?
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Post by thewarchief on Jul 10, 2024 2:48:26 GMT
I got a weird take on this one.
1. The EV battery thing is real. I'm not saying it's what caused the airport fire, but batteries can spontaneously combust. It why there are special rules and laws for shipping things like laptop batteries. It's one of the unspoken reasons why we are pushing towards different battery tech. I think there is a documented case of a car transport sinking because of a EV battery combusting.
2. What is some aliens (or humans with access alien technology) are able to exploit this? Say they got a device that can cause a reaction in a battery that results in it combusting? Maybe the device is contact, maybe proximity, maybe it can be beamed at a distance, maybe all three.
3. The magnets and stuff around the car sound like some sort of Faraday cage. Except for the crystals. So maybe it was to block the ray that sets off the batteries.
So say someone "in the know" about the batteries combusting device has second thoughts after the device accidentally kills the wrong person, or kills some innocents along with the intended target. The remorseful agent/alien decides to contact the authorities and wires his car with a deice to shield him from the battery combuster, but he failed his technology roll and the device didn't work, or shut off too soon or some such. We can't all be the Doctor!
4. The Faraday type device was designed by the baddies to protect their own vehicles should they need to use their device wide-scale, say in Stage 3 of thier master Plan.. The idea being that they could combust multiple vehicles but their would be okay. The device was the prototype.
The owner was killed in the fire, his body special treated to disintegrate after death to leave no trace, or was removed from the vehicle before the authorities arrived (possibly by Transmat). Investigating the car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) will reveal the name of the owner and his connections to the aliens or covert agency links will lead to some odd discrepancies in his history, tax returns etc. Like maybe his age and birthrates aren't consistent on various forms? The big company that he works for (say a subcontractor in the automobile industry) is really a front for the aliens/agency- which should point the PCS in the right direction.
5. The warehouse was recently leased by the "Big Company" to develop and test their prototype Faraday device, a few weeks ago, but was cleared out after the incident. When questioned the company will admit to leasing the warehouse but claim that hey haven't done anything with it yet as they are awaiting some deliveries from out of the country, but that got delayed with most of the shipping from China (but Big Company doesn't buy their parts from China, they buy them from Korea, and they only rented the warehouse a month or so ago so they should have been aware of any shipping problems).
6. But the interior of the warehouse is clean and free of dust. Company will admit to cleaning the place if it's condition is pointed out to them. But, oddly, it is only clean inside, and the windows, doors and locks all look old, dirty, and rusted, despite being recently replaced by the company (i.e. they wanted it to look abandoned for some reason).
Alternately, the owner might not have been in the vehicle when it was destroyed (maybe that's why the protection device didn't work- it wasn't on), and the owner is either scared and lying low, is trying to figure out who they can contact now, or maybe was captured by the baddies right after the incident (say an ambulance was on the scene that took away a "distressed" witness/bystander, but there is no record of it arriving at any hospital. Checking the Ambulance Company reveals that they have their vehicles modified/customized by the front company, so the baddies had it on hand).
If the PCs start to get close to the truth the baddies will try to arrange a little battery accident for them. Either the remorseful alien/agent save the PCs or something else tips them off in time to avoid a TPK with 3rd degree burns. Maybe the device causes the battery to pulse (AC instead of DC, which would be bad for a real battery), and that causing a tone to be heard from the car's radio (or other magnetic device that could pick up the signal and make noise, like say, a cellphone.).
7. The remains of the device in the boot is either part of the Farday protection or one of the Batter igniter devices that the guy was going to take to the authorizes to prove his crazy story.
8. If you want to bring this full circle, have the remorseful alien/agent be someone who was in touch with another part of UNIT who failed to show up at a rendezvous. The Misfit's Mobs investigation will eventually cross paths with the UNIT people looking for their missing contact, and the two groups (once the identify each other) compare notes and start piecing things together.
9. This would really tie in well with that Scottish Independence adventure seed with the Zygons you posted earlier. Or not. It could also be as simple as a Big Company about killing people to keep from losing their lucrative (government) contracts. Any maybe the list of victims will be reminiscent of what happens to whiste-blowers from a certain airline manufacturer.
Anyway that's one take on things.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
I Ate'nt Dead.
Posts: 3,859
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Jul 10, 2024 21:58:41 GMT
I got a weird take on this one. 
1. The EV battery thing is real. I'm not saying it's what caused the airport fire, but batteries can spontaneously combust. It why there are special rules and laws for shipping things like laptop batteries. It's one of the unspoken reasons why we are pushing towards different battery tech. I think there is a documented case of a car transport sinking because of a EV battery combusting. 2. What is some aliens (or humans with access alien technology) are able to exploit this? Say they got a device that can cause a reaction in a battery that results in it combusting? Maybe the device is contact, maybe proximity, maybe it can be beamed at a distance, maybe all three. 3. The magnets and stuff around the car sound like some sort of Faraday cage. Except for the crystals. So maybe it was to block the ray that sets off the batteries. So say someone "in the know" about the batteries combusting device has second thoughts after the device accidentally kills the wrong person, or kills some innocents along with the intended target. The remorseful agent/alien decides to contact the authorities and wires his car with a deice to shield him from the battery combuster, but he failed his technology roll and the device didn't work, or shut off too soon or some such. We can't all be the Doctor! 4. The Faraday type device was designed by the baddies to protect their own vehicles should they need to use their device wide-scale, say in Stage 3 of thier master Plan.. The idea being that they could combust multiple vehicles but their would be okay. The device was the prototype. The owner was killed in the fire, his body special treated to disintegrate after death to leave no trace, or was removed from the vehicle before the authorities arrived (possibly by Transmat). Investigating the car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) will reveal the name of the owner and his connections to the aliens or covert agency links will lead to some odd discrepancies in his history, tax returns etc. Like maybe his age and birthrates aren't consistent on various forms? The big company that he works for (say a subcontractor in the automobile industry) is really a front for the aliens/agency- which should point the PCS in the right direction. 5. The warehouse was recently leased by the "Big Company" to develop and test their prototype Faraday device, a few weeks ago, but was cleared out after the incident. When questioned the company will admit to leasing the warehouse but claim that hey haven't done anything with it yet as they are awaiting some deliveries from out of the country, but that got delayed with most of the shipping from China (but Big Company doesn't buy their parts from China, they buy them from Korea, and they only rented the warehouse a month or so ago so they should have been aware of any shipping problems). 6. But the interior of the warehouse is clean and free of dust. Company will admit to cleaning the place if it's condition is pointed out to them. But, oddly, it is only clean inside, and the windows, doors and locks all look old, dirty, and rusted, despite being recently replaced by the company (i.e. they wanted it to look abandoned for some reason). Alternately, the owner might not have been in the vehicle when it was destroyed (maybe that's why the protection device didn't work- it wasn't on), and the owner is either scared and lying low, is trying to figure out who they can contact now, or maybe was captured by the baddies right after the incident (say an ambulance was on the scene that took away a "distressed" witness/bystander, but there is no record of it arriving at any hospital. Checking the Ambulance Company reveals that they have their vehicles modified/customized by the front company, so the baddies had it on hand). If the PCs start to get close to the truth the baddies will try to arrange a little battery accident for them. Either the remorseful alien/agent save the PCs or something else tips them off in time to avoid a TPK with 3rd degree burns. Maybe the device causes the battery to pulse (AC instead of DC, which would be bad for a real battery), and that causing a tone to be heard from the car's radio (or other magnetic device that could pick up the signal and make noise, like say, a cellphone.). 7. The remains of the device in the boot is either part of the Farday protection or one of the Batter igniter devices that the guy was going to take to the authorizes to prove his crazy story. 8. If you want to bring this full circle, have the remorseful alien/agent be someone who was in touch with another part of UNIT who failed to show up at a rendezvous. The Misfit's Mobs investigation will eventually cross paths with the UNIT people looking for their missing contact, and the two groups (once the identify each other) compare notes and start piecing things together. 9. This would really tie in well with that Scottish Independence adventure seed with the Zygons you posted earlier. Or not. It could also be as simple as a Big Company about killing people to keep from losing their lucrative (government) contracts. Any maybe the list of victims will be reminiscent of what happens to whiste-blowers from a certain airline manufacturer. Anyway that's one take on things. |
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Post by thewarchief on Jul 11, 2024 6:11:57 GMT
Back in '99 I saw a first-gen Li battery ignite during a presentation.Sounds right. For a technical perspective it's simply a case of having so many watts of energy. THe potential is there. It takes soemthing like 7400 Joules or 2.055 Watt Hours to boil a cup of water, which is more than enough to ignite something combustible, if focused on a small spot. A laptop battery could have 50 Watt-Hours, or more It smells of Mad Scientist and Amoral Corporation to me. Yup. And that's good too becuase if it's always about aliens this would be the History Channel! 
Nothing like hunting a paranoid to keep things fun.Fun for the GM. Besides paranoia is the unreasonable fear that someone is out to get you. If someone microwaves you car to get you, I'd say the fear was quite reasonable. So he's not paranoid. He might be under a lot of stress and suffering from PTSD, and has other issues, but he isn't necessarily paranoid. OK. Cellphones and similar (Bluetooth earbuds?) would probably be more dangerous given their ubiquity and proximity to the body. Yes & No. More ubiquitous and closer to the body, yes. But as far as power stored they are a few orders of magnitude behind car batteries. So they might not be able to do a particular job. But, if you can place one for maximum effect...
Nothing like a little corporate profiteering as a motive.Got to give te bady guys a motive. I hateit when bad guys do something in an adventure just becuase they are the bad guys in the adventure. Especially when the PCs have to investigate things. No motive means no solution. This could end up being a nice change of pace adventure since outside of the "device" it's mostly mundane. Or at least it can be.
I like it. It's utterly different to my original idea but damn good.I try. These little scenario seeds of your are like solving a puzzle. I have to come up with something that fits the facts as presented, that I think you'd like. It's not good if you don't like it since it's your seed and if you don't like something it won't be of use to you. Then it's working out the order of events, cause & effect, motivations for things, clues that would pop up, and such to justify whatever happened. But it mostly takes longer to type it up than think it up. |
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