Return to Solo - Shadows of the old Subway

 Once more we return to the world of solo RPG game playing. I know things have been silent for much longer then I intended but no longer! We make our return with what looks to be a fun solo adventure by 1shotadventures.com called Shadows of the Old Subway.

I will be playing a Chinese electrician/tunnel man named Eng Fao(premade character from the adventure) in the early 1900's exploring the expansion being dug for the New York Subway. Who knows what lurks in the dark, but thankfully we have our wits, fists, toolbox, and a trusty light source(a flashlight) to help us along the way.

We start by being sent into the tunnels at 1:00 am to inspect where a fire occurred the day prior. Upon reaching a strange brick wall Eng reaches out to touch a brick and the wall attempts to envelope him! Eng fails a fright check (terror +1) and just dodges out of the way before it can crash over him, but ends up breathing in a heavy amount of dust (1 damage). From somewhere in the dark a wet amphibious choking wheeze is heard. Some how he finds himself on the other side of where the bricks were with only 2 tunnels offering a route forward, to the right a greenish light can be seen and to the left only darkness. 

He options for the green light, finding strange algae across the floor. The humidity of the room affects the flashlight but it holds on after a good shake. The ground begins to pulse as the algae almost seems to be breathing and he walks further down the corridor. Suddenly about halfway through the corridor the algae gives way and he falls only to have the algae start to crawl over him (failed fright terror now +2) and it turns out to be surprisingly strong. Eng forces himself back to his feet and eventually finds a set of stairs and moves up into a room shaped like a octagon. The algae spews forth a human skull after him that just barely misses hitting the back of his head and instead smashes into the opposite wall. Looking closer at the skull reveals 3 gold teeth just like one of the foremen who disappeared a few weeks ago. Eng scans the room and finds a iron ladder so he moves upward and out of the room. 

Once more in a dark tunnel he travels for minutes with out finding any sign of an exit. In the distance a shadowy figure is seen hunched over something but before you can try to discern what it is, it flees. On further inspection Eng discovered whatever he saw left behind a battered open lunch box. Inside is a knife that he arms himself with and he calls out into the darkness afraid of what may answer back. While trying hard to assert authority that he is with the IRT, what responds back is a terrifying high pitched squeal that almost sounds rat like but is too shrill and loud to be a normal rat. Eng just barely succeeds at his fright check and moves forward. He comes to the newly built but not yet open to the public Brooklyn Heights station however on the platform is a large man-rat creature and it looks right at him, but he steels himself and waits to see what it does. A fight breaks out and it claws him and gets a good nibble in before he stabs it with the knife. The creature slashes violently with its claws and in the fury he tries to stab it back and drops the knife in response(yay crit failure)! He eventually gets a solid haymaker to the things kisser and it drops stunned from the punch. He grabs the knife and proceeds to plunge it over and over into the thing until it stops breathing.

Climbing up onto the platform he finds a brand new flashlight and heads up the stairs, and finds the gate locked. Shouting for help a old man comes down the stairs and he says cannot get him out as he is  to be a sacrifice to some ooze, as in his book. The old man shows his book and rants on and on about how we will make a perfect sacrifice and that the whole world will soon be eaten by this ooze. Eng tries to grab for the book but is unsuccessful. The old man laughs and leaves, the only option to head back the way he cam and see if he can find another exit. 

He follows another right sided tunnel finding a terminus and with it a blind rat that runs into a hole in the wall. Shining his light into the hole a horde of them erupt from the hole knocking him over and he takes 2 damage from the fall. He then hears a man shout that the rats have been disturb and fires off a shot from a pistol. He enter combat with the man and rushes towards him, not being able to see him well but knows he's coming in to melee the cultist drops his gun and prepares his brass knucks. The cultist scores a brutal strike to his jaw and he is reeling. He comes back with a powerful right of his own and knocks the cultist down but not out. He grabs the gun from the ground and just as the cultist gets up and lunges for him he puts a round deep into his chest. With the cultist dying of his wound he heads further down the hall and comes upon the ceremony in progress. 

Wounded but willing he confronts the cult leader and the remaining cultist. he gets 1 good round into the cult leader but doesn't drop him, and before he knows it he is getting the blunt end of a very heavy sledge to the side of his head. Dying the cultists bring him before the harbinger who devours him. 

All in all I had a lot of fun with this and got a very strong reminder that at times the dice just do not play nice(the first cultist got 2, 3 1's criticals for max damage). Adventures like these also help learn some of the basic rules just a bit better as I was getting myself more familiar with how knockdown and stun really can change the way a fight can go. I will def give this another go, probably with the other pre-made hero and take some different tunnels and options and see how the story unfolds hopefully with better results but certainly a great option to any one who may be new to GURPS and wants to try an adventure that isn't fantasy. Highly recommend a download over at 1shotadventures.com