Ten years ago, for no readily apparent, reason the Earth began to suffer a plague of very unusual weather conditions, earthquakes, volcanoes and unexplained solar eclipses which devastated wide areas, causing tens of thousands of deaths and mystifying the scientific community. Even the Moon shifted out of its orbit, moving closer and closer to the Earth. Only Dr Hans Zarkov, previously of NASA offered an explanation - that the world was under attack from an extra-terrestrial source. He was dismissed as mad by the world. Then, within hours of the time when it had been estimated that irreversible damage would be caused, the strange events stopped as suddenly as they had started, and the Moon returned to its normal orbit. It was later found that Dr Zarkov had apparently died in the final day of the events - his house was demolished by both a meteor storm and by an aircraft which was found to have crashed on it, and the remains burned to the ground.
The world recovered surprisingly fast after the strange events stopped. Although many governments fell, there was surprisingly little violence as people concentrated on survival, and in fact it has led to something of an unprecedented era of peace as peoples and governments were forced to co-operate, everywhere having been hit to roughly the same level.
Several months after the end of the strange events the Earths first superhuman, the Rock, appeared when he single-handedly took over the government of the Central African Republic by force. Since then nearly five hundred superhumans have been recorded worldwide. In less developed countries many of these superhumans, either singly or in groups, have seized power, while in the developed world, where the armed forces are much more of a match for superhumans, many of them seem to have turned to crime of various types. In response to these super-criminals what have become known as super-heros have also appeared. Most of them seem to exist primarily to combat super-villains, but a few seem to take in interest in the more mundane problems of normal people, combating such things as terrorism and drug smuggling, while a few others, who seem to be superhumanly intelligent, seem to be devoting themselves to developing new advanced technologies.
In the last few weeks the strange events of ten years ago have begun again - unexplained solar eclipses, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tidal waves and strange weather conditions have been occurring all over the Earth, and the Moon is, once again, moving from its orbit and spiralling slowly but steadily in towards the Earth. So far damage has been limited but already thousands of people have died and millions more are threatened. Faint rumblings in the distance can often be heard; there are many storms sweeping across the world, and meteor showers have become a significant threat to anyone going outside.
All of the PC's have been involved with helping out in the aftermaths of various of these disasters, but like the rest of the world have been unable to do anything to stop or explain them.
Several days ago all the members of the party received anonymous letters, including air tickets and any other necessary papers, inviting them to an address in the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The letters explain that their being there is necessary for the safety of the world in the face of the continuing disasters as a way may have been found to end them, but it requires the PC's help. As they fly in all the PC's witness at least one of the events which are presently wracking the Earth (meteor storms, hot hail, tornados, new volcanos etc.).
On reaching Boston everyone is met by a chauffeured car [the chauffeurs have each been given descriptions of the people they are to meet] and driven to the meeting place. The address is a 1930's art deco house in large, isolated grounds (this was chosen by McHenry to allow him to add his rocket to the structure without it being too noticeable). The PC's are greeted by McHenry's butler Davies as they arrive and after being led down a short corridor off the main hall are shown into the 'dining room' where McHenry meets and greets the party once they are all assembled. All the party recognise McHenry as he is quite a famous figure, well known for the many scientific advances he has made. What they don't know is that the dining room is actually the capsule of an inertialess rocket which McHenry has built. In addition to the party there are place settings for four more people, but they are left empty.
After an excellent meal of turkey and cranberry sauce several pots of coffee are brought in by Davies, who then leaves, closing the door behind him [it then silently locks, and an armoured metal door slides across behind it; this door, and the walls of the 'dining room' are Def 12, Body 15]. McHenry explains that he has a presentation which will explain why he has asked everyone to be here today. He presses a button on a remote-control console which he pulls from a pocket. Curtains draw around the room and a screen comes down from the ceiling at one side of the room. McHenry explains that using several innovative sensors of his own design he has found the source of the unusual meteorological, tectonic and astronomical activity which has been plaguing the Earth recently. It seems that Dr Zarkov was right as to the cause of the disasters ten years ago - the Earth actually is under attack from something hidden inside what seems to be a rip in the space-time continuum somewhere beyond the Moon's orbit. He shows a map of energy flows in the vicinity of the Earth and Moon, which clearly shows large amounts of energy flowing into and out of a point in space [show the map]. McHenry has constructed a space vehicle of a unique advanced design with which the party can enter the space warp to fight off the attack. Unfortunately his calculation indicate that within three days the Earth will have sustained irreparable damage and he has not had the time, support , or resources to build a larger vehicle so he has invited a number of superhumans, reputed to be among the more powerful and talented in the world, in the hope that their abilities will be sufficient for the task at hand. Despite only two-thirds of the people he invited turning up McHenry hopes that it will be enough.
McHenry then allows the party to ask questions. Whether they agree to fight or not, if the party have not already guessed it McHenry then reveals that they are already in orbit by opening the curtains - they are heading out into space! [The Black Hoods danger sense didn't go off when the launch happened as there was no actual danger then - there would only be danger if the ship was about to blow up or crash] (What McHenry definitely doesn't tell the PC's is that his calculations indicate that there is little chance of return from the space warp).
The ship heads for the space warp, taking about five hours to make the trip. Once the PC's are aware that they are in space, McHenry will press more buttons on his remote control unit, causing a VDU displaying the ships course to rise from the floor, as well as eleven well-padded acceleration couches. He will explain that the ship is flying under a sealed computer autopilot which would take several days to re-program (even if any of the PC's had Computer Programming skill). As time passes McHenry will explain more if anyone is willing to listen, and show the PC's the spacesuits he has available in an under-floor compartment (these are bulky, though considerably less so than standard NASA suits, and include radios; McHenry warns people to be careful with them as they are fairly fragile; one suit is dragon-shaped, one has six arms and one is obviously built for someone with horns, wings and a tail [no known superhuman meets this description]. He also describes the atmosphere analysis equipment built into the ship.
Eventually the ship nears the space warp, which looks like a swirling vortex of clouds hanging in space, with an 'eye' at the centre [On Mongo this is known as the 'Imperial Vortex']. McHenry advises everyone to don their spacesuits and strap down in the acceleration couches. He retracts the table into the floor. Then the ship enters the warp [describe large amounts of swirling psychedelic effects]. Everyone falls unconscious due to the huge stresses of travelling through the warp.
[McHenrys ship is detected by Mings forces while coming through the Imperial Vortex. Their 'Life Wave' sensors, using the 'Mong Scale' of measurement, pick up that its occupants are superhumans. This interests Ming, as they are potentially useful, so the ship is remote controlled from Mongo through the Vortex and the Sea of Fire which lies within it, to a landing on Mongo itself. This is why the party is met upon landing...]
All the PC's make Constitution rolls, and wake up in order of who made their Con rolls to see that they are about to crash on an open area of grey-brown sand, in a valley between many spiky brown-grey rock pinnacles, under a red sky with black, yellow and red clouds. [McHenry makes his Con roll by 7]. Reacting too slowly to be able to prevent it, they crash, bouncing off rocks and eventually skidding to a stop [taking 12d6 normal damage from the rough landing as they do so] with the ship on its side.
Once the party wake up they find that their radios and spacesuits have been wrecked by the crash, but the analyser systems show a breathable atmosphere outside - hot, dry and dusty, with less oxygen than Earth, more carbon dioxide, more nitrogen, different noble gasses and much more helium (about one percent). No testing equipment for diseases has survived the landing. Anyone looking out of a window sees many spiky brown-grey rock pinnacles rising above them, under a glowing red sky with black, yellow and red clouds, no visible sun and a large number of moons of different colours, shapes and sizes. They also see a strange baroque aircraft flying towards them down the valley...
This link goes to a map of the crash site.
The airlock of the ship only has room for two people at a time (it was disguised as the entrance corridor). As any PC's step out they notice that the air smells dusty and metallic. The aircraft settles to the ground nearby with a buzzing noise and thirteen large, hulking, brutal-looking, obviously non-human troops get out. They are about 6'6" tall and have on a red under-suit over which are worn ornate golden open-face helmets, shoulder, breast and back plates (with a six-pointed red and gold star insignia of the chest), thigh plates and greaves. Gold skull-masks cover their faces under the helmets. They carry golden metal swords and blast beam guns like a long golden pistol. A small (about 1' diameter) roughly spherical golden robot with glowing red eyes also flies out of the aircraft and hovers near the leader, who is distinguished from the rest by having a slightly more ornate uniform.
The leader remains back near the aircraft and calls on the party to surrender now - they are in violation of Presidential Air Regulations. He gives the party five seconds to comply and if the party has not surrendered by this time then the thugs will attack. If the party decide to surrender then an over-zealous guard will open fire anyway at the first person to make any vaguely threatening move. The fight should be tough, but not fatal. One way or the other, just as the party are about to beat or be beaten by the thugs the robot calls a halt to the combat in a feminine, American-accented voice ['Dale' has been watching the fight through the robot (which has +6 Telescopic Sight and Hearing, 2 levels of Shrinking, Str 5, Dex 18, Speed 4, Def 10, Body 10, 9" Flight, a Paralysis beam [5d6 Def 9 Entangle, Entangle and Target Take Damage, 0 Endurance; it appears to be a red glow around the target] and also Takes No Stun) and sees in the party some useful dupes to further her plans against her enemies].
Addressing the party it apologises to them for the actions of the 'over-zealous' troops and asks them to accept the President's apologies in person. It orders the troop leader to carry the PC's to the Presidential Palace if they so wish. If the PC's refuse the robot will point out many of the natural dangers which infest the land (giant rock-spiders, shiverbats, poisonous cacti, sudden dust-storms, the list goes on and on) and which the party, as obvious outsiders, will have little chance against.
Hopefully the party will agree to go to the Palace.
Assuming the party agree to go with the troops then they will see a huge baroque art-deco city in red metal, built around a mountain of the same brown-grey rock as the area they crashed. Its overall form is conical, with a high red metal wall around the base of the mountain, and red metal towers with gold trim of many designs climbing the mountain, getting taller away from the wall and towards the peak, with the rock of the mountain visible between them. It glows with lights.
As they fly McHenry will examine what he can see of the ship, muttering comments on how primitive it all seems. As the ship comes closer the PC's see that it is at least 2 kilometres tall and 2 kilometres in diameter, and seems to mount at least one hundred large guns, riveted red and gold cylinders in various places over its surface, particularly in emplacements along the outer wall [these are heavy Blaster weapons - 6d6 RKA, No Range Modifier (maximum range 1800m), 0 Endurance, Beam Effect, Immobile OAF - which are steered, aimed and fired by Ming's troops at OCV 5]; less obvious is the Lightning Field which can also protect the city - when activated it forms a truncated conical cage of yellow lightning projected from the highest tower at the centre of the city and going down to outside the walls [this is very dangerous weapon which can only be brought down by (for example) crashing a large rocket ship into it an causing it to overload - 6d6 RKA, Armour Piercing, Penetrating, Autofire (5 targets), Area Effect, Hole in the Middle, 0 Endurance, Continuous, Beam Effect, Immobile OAF].
The ship circles the city (along what, with a Perception Roll, the PC's should make out from conversations between the pilot and the ground, to be the approach pattern of the day) before closing in and landing at a dock about a quarter of the way up the side of one of the central towers of the city. Upon landing they are met by a male servant in a glossy pearl-grey art-deco uniform and are carried by travelators through large, brightly lit red metallic corridors in an art-deco style to the Presidential audience chamber; the overall impression does seem to be one of redness.
The corridors are busy with many types of alien creatures, some humanoid and some not, all dressed in a variety of strange styles. As they go the corridors become more and more richly decorated, and the beings in them more and more richly dressed.
After about fifteen minutes they reach the huge doors of the entrance chamber, guarded by two red-robed guards armed with energy rifles of some kind, and are let in. They come down a set of steps into the entrance chamber, which is all in an ornate red art-deco style, lined with pillars on either side, and with a golden rayed star-burst on the far wall. A large section of this wall rises up to reveal a corridor, along which the party are led.
Eventually they reach the throne room. Again it is in a red art-deco style; huge, tall and wide, lined with pillars. Steps lead down into it from the entrance corridor to a large open floor, and up again at the far side to the circular royal dais behind which a circular corridor leads off into the depths of the palace; side doors are hidden in niches around the walls. Crowds of richly dressed aliens of all kinds throng around the room. The PC's are led forward, the people in the throne room clearing a path for them. When they reach the dais they meet President Arden, an attractive, striking woman of about 35, dressed in a revealing costume of shimmering multicoloured metallic and diaphanous material, wearing lots of jewellery - rings and head-dress, and sitting in an emerald throne (her style of dress seems to be the most common style for women, though others also wear filmy robes, head-dresses, dangling streamer-like things and slit skirts; men's styles vary between uniforms or robes, with a lot of red and gold fabric and decoration) [what the PC's don't know is that this is actually Mings mind inhabiting Dale's body, his mind being held in the large, ornate ring she wears on her right hand - this ring does not particularly stand out as 'Dale' is cleverly wearing a large amount of equally ornate jewellery; it appears as a gold ring with a fairly large spherical red gem held in a setting which looks like a gold monkey/demon climbing on the gem]. Two steps down at her right hand stands a large, impressive winged figure who is introduced as Vultan, King of the Hawk-men [he is co-operating with 'Dale' because his daughter Arantha is being held captive as a hostage for his good behaviour]. She apologises to the party for the attack and asks what brings them here - she recognised them as Earth-people while watching through the robot.
The party are then led by 'Dale' through the curtain and off down a corridor to a much smaller audience chamber. 'Dale' then explains how she, also an Earth-person, happens to be there - what happened with Zarkov, Flash Gordon, Barin, Ming's Daughter Aura, Vultan and the rest, including the real story behind the strange events on Earth ten years ago. She explains that the strange energies used in the attack on Earth were probably responsible for producing being with strange powers like the PC's - records show that such things have occasionally been seen before.
'Dale' explains that after the death of Ming it was originally intended to set up the first democratic government in Mongo's history. In the meantime an interim government, led by the heir to the throne, Prince Barin, his Queen, Aura, and with Vultan as general of the armies of Mongo, was set up. Unfortunately, although Barin was a fairly good ruler, power went to Zarkov's head and he became more and more secretive and paranoid; perhaps he did not resist Mings programming as well as he thought he had.
Five years after the defeat of Ming, Zarkov made his move - he killed Gordon, Barin, Aura and many other supporters of the new regime and tried to take over. 'Dale' herself only escaped death by luck, and was able to organise the people into a second revolution which threw Zarkov out before he gained absolute power. Although captured, Zarkov managed to escape and flee to the distant 'land' of Frigia where ever since he has been trying to rebuild his support. Vultan will support and verify everything 'Dale' says.
Since then, for her part in the second revolution, Dale was elected President of All Mongo almost unanimously and has ruled since then (new elections are due soon). She explains that she has to wear her present garb in order to fit in more with her subjects feelings.
[All of the above is in fact a total lie - Ming managed to manipulate people, from the first person to put on the ring, (see the end of the film) so that he came to control Dale's body. He then manipulated things, building up a power base until he was able to take control again. He tried to have Gordon and Co. all killed, but they escaped and are now the leaders of the rebellion.]
Assuming the party then explain what has brought them to Mongo 'Dale' reveals that for some time reports have shown that Zarkov's rebels have been up to something big - this must be it. 'Dale' tells the PC's that he must be trying to repeat what Ming tried to do ten years ago - wreck the Earth so that only the fittest survive, then recruit them to his cause. Dale asks if the PC's, with their special abilities, would like to spearhead an attack to finally put an end to the rebels madness and end the threat to the Earth [the threat to the Earth is really coming from mighty machines deep within the heart of the city, which 'Dale' uses/controls when the PC's aren't there, while the rebels are merely building up for a major strike against the President's forces].
If the PC's are dubious then 'Dale' will show them plenty of [rigged] evidence that the rebels are really a bunch of degenerate scumbags [not difficult to get hold of, and completely genuine, just the perpetrators are not who they are supposed to be].
The rebels have their main base in the beautiful but iced-over remains of the Imperial Palace on Frigia [it is a towering snowflake-like pseudo-gothic structure with flying buttresses, archways, pinnacles etc, all seemingly carved out of the solid ice]. There are several hundred rebels there, all cold and hungry and with a deep hatred of the President. The PC's are given details of what Zarkov looks like, and a rough layout of the palace - it will probably not be totally accurate as the rebels will almost certainly have changed things to suit themselves. It is suspected that the rebels have armed the Palace as well, but exact details are not known [it is actually armed with twelve heavy blasters, identical to those on the Palace on Mongo].
This link goes to a map of the palace on Frigea.
The PC's are luxuriously looked after by 'Dale' for the night - the strike force leaves in the morning. They are each put up in a luxuriously appointed bed-chamber. What they are not told is that guards have orders not to let them out of the area of the palace where they are sleeping. If anyone does try to leave then they will be politely but firmly asked not to 'for reasons of security - the rebels have spies everywhere and we don't want to lose the element of surprise after all....' Come the morning the PC's set off, accompanied by several squads of the thuggish troopers (about fifty in all, led by Vultan) in two large armed ships (as ever of highly baroque design; the lead ship is the silver and red 'Imperial Rocket') which comprise about half of the Mongo Navy (very few ships survived the two revolutions, and there has not yet been the chance to build more). The numbers of troops seem far too small for the size of the ships - this is to allow the transport of hopefully large numbers of prisoners.
After a flight of several hours the party land in Frigia. The rebels are not expecting a raid and are easily taken by surprise as the ships land behind some ice pinnacles out of sight of the palace and the troops move in on foot under cover of the snow [the palace walls are Def 9, Body 8 'Mingite']. The government forces try to capture them alive [so they can be tortured/interrogated, then killed or mindwiped and put into 'Dales' service], as [presumably] do the PC's. The rebels are armed with projectile rifles of Zarkov's design. Gordon, Zarkov, Barin and Aura are in the command centre underneath the centre of the palace, and are fairly easily taken [the PC's will only recognise Zarkov]. McHenry, who was a student under Zarkov for a while and still idolises him a little will try to get Zarkov to explain why he is destroying the Earth, but before he can answer Zarkov and the others are taken out by troops coming down a corridor from behind them. They are [or at least should be] captured alive, bound, gagged and wheeled off back to the palace. Explosive charges are planted by the troops and once all the prisoners are away the Frigean palace is spectacularly blown up so as not to afford any more hiding places for the rebels, and to 'destroy the machines which are destroying the Earth'.
This link goes to a map of the rebel's command centre.
If any of the PC's try to talk to the prisoners Vultan will ask them not to - 'Let them save the talking for their trial - don't sully your ears listening to the lies of these scum' and similar imprecations. If they question the gagging before they leave Vultan will tell them that they must be careful about that as the prisoners could easily alert other rebels to rescue them if their mouths are free.
The party, the guards and the prisoners land at the palace. The PC's are asked to help escort the prisoners down into the prison level of the palace where they will be held pending trial. Along with six of the thuggish guards the prisoners are taken down into the bowels of the palace. As they go along the corridor walls get darker and darker, turning from the beautifully worked red metal to gunmetal panels with raised joints, and eventually becoming stone as the tunnel leads into the depths of the mountain onto which the city of Mongo is built. The temperature gets higher and higher and the lighting gets dimmer and dimmer, until the only light comes from flaming torches in wall sconces. It also begins to smell (the Black Hood at least recognises it as the all-too-familiar scent of sweat and despair common to all prisons).
Eventually they reach a heavily armoured guardroom, where the prisoners are handed over to the prison guards and the escorts who came with the PC's leave. The thug-like, but un-armoured and roughly human guards [who have the same statistics as the elite troops, but no armour or weapons other than clubs] ask if the PC's are OK to take the prisoners to the cells themselves - they all seem to be lazing around drinking. Assuming the PC's accept they go through another thick soundproof black metal door from the guardroom into the actual cells area, a dark stone-walled torch-lit space. Another four of the red-robed guards stand by the black metal doors below, watching what goes on. Gordon and the rest are put in several (apparently) comfortable barred cells (the bars are also of black metal), guarded by thugs (these cells are really just for show, in order to help reassure the PC's that they are doing the right thing).
This link goes to a map of the cell block.
As they leave the PC's should make Perception rolls. Anyone who succeeds by more than four hears moans and groans from through a guarded black metal side door - this leads to the REAL prison by way of the torture chambers. The guards will not let the PC's go through - if they want to they will have to fight. The PC's should be truly outraged by what they see - people in cages and chained up, torture machines, torture victims, everything one might expect in a tyrants dungeon.
They have two options here - if they go and demand an explanation from 'Dale' then she will keep them talking while Draining and Ego Blasting them down as much as possible. Vultan will unwillingly aid her. She will then have the PC's imprisoned near enough to Gordon and Co. that they will be able to talk [The Black Hood is put in a helmet which covers her eyes and ears so she cannot teleport away]. Otherwise the PC's will presumably try to go and talk to Gordon and Co. anyway.
One way or another, the PC's are filled in on what has really happened (i.e. the plot from the Flash Gordon film) and how it proved impossible for Zarkov to come up with any way for them to return home. The party may start giving McHenry some trouble at this point, but various people will point out that there are more important things than that at the moment, like saving the Earth. Then Gordon and Co. will tell the PC's what happened later - that Dale somehow became possessed by Ming the Merciless, and is now doubtless attempting once more to destroy the Earth. This seemed to happen since Dale began wearing a ring which Gordon and Co. eventually recognised as that which Ming used to wear - a gold ring with a fairly large spherical red gem held in a setting which looks like a gold monkey/demon climbing on the gem - the characters will recognise it as one 'Dale' was wearing once it is described to them [Just in case anyone is silly enough to put the ring on, it looks like this : 8d6 All-or-Nothing Transform, to Ming, Invisible to All, Trigger (when the ring is put on), 0 Endurance, IIF (ring); it is reversed by removing the ring, which traps Ming's mind back within it]. Gordon and Co. realised too late what was going on and barely escaped with their lives. Although actually a rebel, Vultan was forced to Mings side by his daughter Arantha being taken as a hostage - that's her in that cell over there (a beautiful blonde Hawk-woman in her twenties, with red-feathered wings, is imprisoned in another cell, watching intently).
Ever since then Gordon and Co. have been trying to build up an army to remove Ming from power. The machines which are destroying the Earth are somewhere deep within the heart of the palace, but disabling the machines will mean nothing if 'Dale' is not stopped. If the party are forced to break out of their cell only some ingenious combination of powers will allow them to do so.
However, there are hundreds of guards in the palace, and they cannot possibly defeat them all. Releasing the prisoners will do some good, but they are unarmed. However, if presented with proof that his daughter is free Vultan will come over to side with Gordon and the PC's, and about half of the palace guards are loyal to him personally.
If they can get to Vultan (The Black Hood could come in very useful here) then he will effectively remove the palace guards as a threat as they fight amongst themselves. Then they will have to move out. If no-one else comes up with the idea Gordon will suggest that they spilt up - the PC's and McHenry will go to the throne room and attempt to defeat Dale/Ming while the Gordon and the rest, included the prisoners will head down into the bowels of the mountain under the palace to destroy the real machines which are destroying the Earth (the atomic generators are too far down - buried six miles deep - to be reached in time). Before they leave Gordon will try to convince people not to harm Dale too much, as underneath Mings domination there is still the woman he loves.
Ming will not be too surprised by the PC's realising that they have been used - do-gooders like them really hate that kind of thing, and will expect something like the PC's charging in once trouble starts. At first 'Dale' will try to convince the PC's that they have been lied to, and if that fails use Acting skill to appear as though Dale has finally taken back control of herself; finally she will attempt to bribe the PC's, offering them power, kingdoms, anything they want if they will take her side. All the time she will be using Mings invisible attacks on the party in order to weaken them as much as possible. Inevitably a fight will break out. No guards will intervene as they are all otherwise engaged, but the PC's won't find it easy as with any luck their Dex and Speed will all be reduced. However, they should eventually win....
Once 'Dale' is unconscious it should be fairly easy to remove the ring containing Mings personality. However it is indestructible. Then there are large celebrations of the victory. Eventually the PC's are going to want to return home. Then there will probably be some kind of reckoning with McHenry over his shanghai-ing the party to Mongo. He will attempt to explain that it was for the greater good, and after all he has made the same sacrifices as the rest of them, though what the rest of the party do is entirely up to them...
What happens then is up to the PC's - Gordon and Co. will willingly accept their help in rebuilding Mongo again or perhaps they want to do something else. McHenry will work on ways of returning to Earth, but whether anything comes of that is another story...