Operation CHRISTMAS BEAR

This could be run at any college campus. Proximity to the ocean is helpful to apply additional pressure in the form of a larger risk (baddies escaping to the ocean and spawning). The scenario mentions the Program, but - do what you want.

There's not much investigation to be done. It's a fairly straightforward creature feature. Good for a one shot murder hobo style session.

FBI is probably the best fit. Homeland, defense agencies, etc. could match the threat but not the cover story. State/local LE Agents could match but seem unlikely unless this is part of a campaign focusing on a state or local area. If UCSB is kept as the location, FBI Agents from the Ventura and Santa Maria field offices could be tapped to converge on the campus.

Two NPCs (Noreen Yost and Modesto Gutierrez) listed in STAT BLOCKS could be played as friendlies; if they survive, they could be resources for the Program.

For the locations/buildings/outdoor areas: [large advertising search company] maps is your friend; 3d/perspective views help visualization. If UCSB is not the location, find a map of a suitable campus or design one. Or do theater of the mind.

The Brief

It's currently between Christmas and the New Year.

The Extremophile Research Program (ERP) at UCSB is a collaboration between Biology, Marine Biology, and Material Science departments, researching microorganisms that thrive in high radiation, high/low pressure, extreme heat/cold, etc.

The Program was contacted by a friendly, asking for help to contain a dangerous terrestrial (i.e., not alien) cryptid that has escaped ERP's lab. It MUST NOT be allowed to reach the ocean; if it does, it may reproduce. The cryptid is described as a stubby worm with legs, 18" - 30" long.

3 to 5 S-Cell Agents have been assigned to a response team of FBI, UCPD (campus police), and Santa Barbara Sheriff Deputies.

Instructions

• Report to OIC (OIC not friendly or Agent)
• Integrate with response team
• Capture or terminate cryptid
• Remains/live samples: deliver to friendly Morris Tiffane, Dean at College of Advanced Studies, Building 494
• Anyone outside the Program who gets eyes on the cryptid: strenuous debrief

The Program engineered the response team and got the Agents assigned, but the team is looking for a human. If the Agents could persuade their way into authority/leadership roles in the team, things might be simpler.

The Public Cover Story

Colby McDermott, a researcher at ERP, had a psychotic break over the Christmas holiday and started shooting his colleagues. Fortunately due to the holiday the campus is mostly empty except for a few faculty, staff and grad students.

Main entrances to the campus have been blockaded and a response team of FBI and local LE are standing by to enter the campus. The Agents are part of the team called in to stop McDermott.

The Truth

MERP, a project at ERP, has applied synthetic biology techniques and hypergeometry to breed tardigrades the size of house cats (the M stands for Massive). Like their microscopic cousins, they're nigh indestructible.

4 - 7 (1d4 + 3) of these nightmares are roaming the campus. They broke out of their enclosure, ate most of one lab assistant and an arm off another, and went walkabout.

Morris Tiffane, Dean of the College of Advanced Studies (occult research department), oversees MERP and supplies the necessary hypergeometry. He monitors the ERP lab with cameras; he saw the escape and contacted the Program.

Colby McDermott is a research assistant with MERP. He's been skating close to insanity for some time due to assisting Tiffane's rituals; the attack pushed him over. He's loyal to the project and will do anything to protect the tardigrades, regardless of the fact that one of them chewed his arm off. He applied a tourniquet, grabbed a scalpel from a dissection tray, and is tailing one or more of them to protect them. If he thinks someone presents a threat to a MERP he'll attack them.

Thomas Stoke, ERP lab assistant, was mostly eaten. He was (correctly) always nervous around the lab; he carried a cheap 9mm pistol that he tried to defend himself with. It didn't help, but it did provide the sounds of gunfire to help shore up the cover story.

Massive Tardigrades

These bastards don't see or hear well but they sense heat put off by mammals. They move surprisingly fast, can jump 3 feet vertically, and their circular mouths cut plugs of meat out of anything they latch on to.

They're lazily making their way towards the ocean - taking their time about it, happy about the tasty snacks they've found so far in addition to Stoke and McDermott's arm (many squirrels, a dog, two grad students, and a janitor).

Scenes

It's winter, at night. There's a heavy marine layer (or just fog if not close to the ocean); everything outside is damp and footing is slippery and treacherous. Sounds echo off the fog. Skill penalties probably apply.

Other than "Arrival at Campus", "ERP Lab", and "Delivering Remains to Professor Tiffane at Building 494", most of the scenes are combat with the creepy, unnatural tardigrades or some creative tactical solution to capturing them.

Don't forget, McDermott is skulking around for a sneak attack.

Arrival at Campus

Agents arrive at the response team post: the University Plaza information kiosk adjacent to Campbell Hall. OIC informs the Agents that the shooter was last reported in the ERP Lab. There's one other FBI agent (2 total including OIC); they stay at the kiosk for C2. There's 2 UCPD officers, 2 Sheriff Deputies; other FBI and local LE are manning blockades at roads and bike paths.

If the Agents take charge, let them influence the response team's tactical plan. Maybe it won't suck.

ERP Lab

The ERP Lab is in Physical Sciences North, Building 657. There's nothing dangerous but clearing hallways/rooms to get to the lab could be scary and dramatic.

A cursory search of the lab finds

• Remains of Thomas Stoke (pile of gore and torn clothes)
• Empty SW9VE semiautomatic pistol
• Remains of dissected tardigrades (DING DING)
• Broken cage
• Arm in a freezer (McDermott is hoping to get it reattached despite half of it being gone)
• Academic papers (see handouts in STATS BLOCK) (DING DING)

Campus Locations

The tardigrades are wandering around campus, slowly making their way towards the ocean. Use table in STAT BLOCKS (or choose) to determine where they might be found. A squealing animal or screaming person might lead to them.

There's a fair amount of ground to cover. Agents/squads will need to spread out - could allow for some high-drama switching from one player/group to another.

Large Lawn in Front Of Building 657

One of the tardigrades is waddling around the large grassy area between Building 657 and Building 672, eating squirrels.

Engineering II Quad

One or more MERPs is eating from a knocked over garbage can.

The Arbor (Convenience store/turbofood dispensary, outside seating area w/benches and tables)

A MERP is chasing a (student or faculty) around the tables. They're so freaked out, they're just running around trying to keep obstacles between them. Sadly, they've had a good look.

Library Courtyard/In Front of Main Doors

One or more MERPs has a homeless guy cornered at the front doors. He's screaming about trickle down economics.

Bren Hall

Bren Hall is across the street from the cliffs to the ocean. Three or four drunk postdocs are standing on a 2nd floor patio throwing bottles at a MERP, which is trying to jump and climb up to eat them. Sooner or later it will. They think it's a rabid raccoon.

The University Center

The UCEN houses some chain restaurants, coffee bars, study nooks, lockers, and the bookstore. It's two floors - the first is ground level, the other is downstairs/partly underground. A lagoon (connected to ocean) is behind the building. A MERP or two are wandering around inside.

Delivering Remains to Professor Tiffane at Building 494

Tiffane is a tall, skinny old man with a crazy neckbeard. He's patiently waiting just inside, in the admin office. He has a MERP-proof crate in the back offices. If the Agents somehow captured and transported a live MERP, he'll be ecstatic; if there's just smoking tardigrade chunks he's still happy.

He hustles everyone to the crate to dump whatever is delivered. Looking inside the crate causes SAN loss 1/1d4. Asking Tiffane about how it works makes him launch into lecturing, and eventually he starts writing on a whiteboard. Anyone stupid enough to read it incurs SAN loss 0/1d3.

STAT BLOCKS

Roaming Cryptid Location Table

Roll	Location
01 - 20	Lawn in front of Building 657
21 - 40	Engineering II quad
41 - 60	The Arbor
61 - 75	Library Courtyard/in front of main doors
76 - 85	Bren Hall
86 - 100	University Center

Morris Tiffane - Professor of Linguistics, Dean College of Advanced Studies, UCSB

STR 8 DEX 12 CON 12 INT 18 CHA 14 POW 17

HP 10 SAN 25 WP 8 BP 8

DISORDERS: Dissociative identity disorder; Amnesia; Fugues

SKILLS: Linguistics 90%; Anthropology 70%; Bureaucracy 60%; Aramaic 40%; Latin 55%;

History 75%; Occult 60%; Persuade 55%

Colby McDermott - Postdoc Researcher, ERP Lab, UCSB

STR 8 DEX 11 CON 14 INT 15 CHA 11 POW 12

HP 7 (missing left arm) SAN 0

DISORDERS: McDermott is pathologically insane; his only motivation is to protect the tardigrades.

ATTACKS: Scalpel 35% 1d4 + 1d3 insane strength bonus

Ken Olsen - FBI Special Agent, Incident OIC

STR 12 DEX 11 CON 14 INT 9 CHA 10 POW 9

HP 13 SAN 45 WP9  BP 36

ARMOR: 3 points Kevlar vest

SKILLS: Alertness 40%; Bureaucracy 55%; Criminology 50%;

Drive 50%; Firearms 30%; Forensics 30%; HUMINT 40%;

Law 30%; Unarmed Combat 30% Accounting 30%

ATTACKS: Sig P228 25% 1d10

Noreen Yost - Sergeant, UCPD

STR 10 DEX 17 CON 13 INT 14 CHA 8 POW 10

HP 12 SAN 50 WP 10 BP 40

ARMOR: 3 points Kevlar vest + 1 point Kevlar helmet

SKILLS: Alertness 60%; Bureaucracy 40%; Criminology 40%; Drive 50%<br/>

Firearms 40%; First Aid 30%; HUMINT 50%; Law 30%; Melee Weapons 50%;<br/>

Navigate 40%; Persuade 40%; Search 40%; Unarmed Combat 60%;<br/>

Heavy Weapons 50%

ATTACKS: Beretta 92FS 45% 1d10

BONDS: If used as PC create background, bonds, etc.

Modesto Gutierrez - Deputy Sheriff, Santa Barbara County

STR 15 DEX 12 CON 14 INT 11 CHA 10 POW 10

HP 15 SAN 50 WP 10 BP 40

ARMOR: 3 points Kevlar vest + 1 point Kevlar helmet

SKILLS: Alertness 60%; Bureaucracy 40%; Criminology 40%; Drive 50%<br/>

Firearms 40%; First Aid 30%; HUMINT 50%; Law 30%; Melee Weapons 50%;<br/>

Navigate 40%; Persuade 40%; Search 40%; Unarmed Combat 60%;<br/>

Forensics 50%

ATTACKS: M4 40% 1d12 Lethality 10% if firing bursts; Glock 17 45% 1d10

BONDS: If used as PC create background, bonds, etc.

UCPD Officer

STR 11 DEX 13 CON 14 INT 11 CHA 11 POW 10

HP 13 SAN 50 WP 10 BP 40

ARMOR: 3 points Kevlar vest

SKILLS: Standard police

ATTACKS: Beretta 92FS 45% 1d10

Santa Barbara County Deputy Sheriff

STR 13 DEX 12 CON 14 INT 10 CHA 11 POW 10

HP 14 SAN 50 WP 10 BP 40

ARMOR: 3 points Kevlar vest

SKILLS: Standard police

ATTACKS: M4 40% 1d12 Lethality 10% if firing bursts; Glock 17 45% 1d10

Massive Tardigrades

STR 6 CON 50 DEX 10 HP 50

Move 15 meters/turn

SKILLS: Jump 50%; Sense Mammal Heat 60%

ATTACKS: Bite 65% 1d6 SAN loss 1/1d4

JUMP: A successful jump PINs but does not immobilize the target; this causes 1/1d3 SAN loss

Seeing a person jumped on or attacked causes SAN loss 0/1d3 (first time).

RESILIENCE: Tardigrades take 1/5 damage from anything without a Lethality rating. Weapons with Lethality cause damage but don't immediately kill.

REPRODUCTION: A sated tardigrade could want to lay some eggs in a large warm host. I mean, it's bad enough without this but… heh.

Handouts/PDFs: Academic Papers

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14rzlhQR4neKI2-7wTFLOLnSbkt0N0Xxn?usp=sharing

- Dietary preferences and diet effects on life-history traits of tardigrades

- Tardigrades exhibit robust interlimb coordination across walking speeds and terrains

- Cellular morphology of leg musculature in the water bear Hypsibius exemplaris (Tardigrada) unravels serial homologies

- Morphological differences in tardigrade spermatozoa induce variation in gamete motility

- Sexual reproductive behaviours of tardigrades: a review

- First detailed observations on tardigrade mating behaviour and some aspects of the life history of Isohypsibius dastychi

Credits

Christmas Bear was written by Robert Prince for the 2022 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M7NCJk0CxZnlqA2aOdr4RQaAAukzI3V00cTEtx-5fzw/edit