Quest Line · Original Adventure · Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
One-shot · Levels 3-5
Two caravans arrive simultaneously at an abandoned highway rest stop: slavers transporting "merchandise" to the coast, and Brotherhood scouts claiming to patrol for raiders. Both groups immediately attempt to hire the player characters as neutral guards for a tense overnight stay. As the night progresses, the characters discover both groups are lying about their true purposes, and a third faction waits in the darkness to take advantage of the chaos.
Players should understand this adventure involves themes of slavery, deception, and morally gray choices. The content includes references to human trafficking (handled without graphic detail), factional warfare, and potential betrayal. Establish clear boundaries about comfort levels with these themes. This adventure works best when players understand their characters may have been hired under false pretenses and must make difficult ethical decisions. The Wasteland is cruel, and there may not be a "good" outcome.
Choose one or modify to fit your campaign:
Broke and Desperate: The party is low on caps after a bad run of luck. A traveler in the last settlement mentioned the Red Mile Rest Stop as a place where caravans sometimes hire extra guards for good pay—no questions asked.
Bounty Gone Wrong: The characters tracked a bounty to the rest stop, only to find their target already dead in a ditch a mile out. Now they're here with no payday, and two groups are actively recruiting anyone with a gun.
Caught in the Middle: The party was simply traveling the old highway when they saw the rest stop and decided to shelter for the night. They arrived just as both caravans pulled in, and both immediately assumed the party was hired by the other side.
The Red Mile Rest Stop is a crumbling pre-war truck stop surrounding a rust-eaten fuel station. Concrete picnic areas with faded safety signs sit beneath a collapsed awning. Radiation warnings have been spray-painted over with territorial markers. The building itself is partially intact: a convenience store with most of its roof and a mechanic's bay with working garage doors.
As the party approaches or settles in, two caravans arrive within minutes of each other from opposite directions:
From the east: Three canvas-topped trucks rumble in, exhaust belching black smoke. Eight people in mismatched leather armor begin setting up a defensive perimeter. Their leader, a woman named Hatch, wears a duster that barely conceals a plasma pistol. The trucks' cargo areas are suspiciously quiet.
From the west: Two armored wagons pulled by brahmin arrive, accompanied by six people in salvaged combat armor bearing crude steel emblems. Their leader, Sergeant Kade, carries himself with military bearing and sports a laser rifle.
Both leaders immediately notice the other group—and the party. Tension crackles in the air.
Initial Approach: Both Hatch and Kade separately attempt to hire the party as "neutral guards" for the night, each claiming they don't trust the other group and want unaffiliated witnesses to prevent trouble. Each offers 100 caps per character, paid in the morning.
Barter or Speech check (DN 1) reveals both are willing to pay upfront—50 caps now, 50 in the morning. They're desperate for the party's neutrality.
If the party accepts money from both sides (easy to do, as each approaches separately), they're now obligated to both groups who believe the party works exclusively for them.
As darkness falls, both groups settle into opposite ends of the rest stop. Hatch's people claim the mechanic's bay; Kade's take the store. The party can move between both camps unless they've exclusively aligned with one side.
Investigation Opportunities:
If characters observe or sneak around Hatch's trucks:
If characters investigate Kade's group:
The Real Situation:
Around midnight, a third complication: a character on watch spots movement in the darkness. Perception check (DN 2) reveals figures circling the rest stop—at least a dozen, wearing raider gear.
The Real Raiders: An actual raider gang has been tracking both caravans, waiting for them to weaken each other. They're led by a massive woman called Axle who wields a super sledge and has no interest in negotiation.
The party must decide: warn one group? Both? Neither? Use this as leverage?
The climax unfolds based on player choices:
Ending One—Blood on the Highway: If the party doesn't intervene or warns no one, Kade's people attack Hatch's caravan just as the raiders charge in from the darkness. A three-way battle erupts. The party can fight for either slaver group, the raiders, or try to free the slaves in the chaos.
Ending Two—The Double-Cross: If the party reveals to one or both groups that they're being played, they can broker a temporary alliance against the raiders. After the raider threat is eliminated, the two slaver groups will turn on each other—and expect the party to honor their contract. The party must choose a side or face both groups as enemies. Alternatively, a Speech check (DN 3) can convince both groups to split the slaves and leave peacefully, though this leaves the enslaved people in bondage.
Ending Three—The Moral Play: If the party works to free the slaves during the confusion, they make enemies of both slaver groups but can escape with the freed people into the Wasteland. Survival check (DN 2) leads them to an old drainage tunnel system where they can evade pursuit. The freed slaves know of a settlement that opposes slavery and will provide a reward later. This is the "good" ending but leaves the party hunted by slavers and unpaid.
Wild Card: If the party somehow allies with the raiders (risky but possible with good roleplay and Barter DN 3), Axle will let them walk away with one truck of supplies in exchange for not interfering. The slavers and slaves all die. This is the profitable but morally bankrupt ending.
Hatch: Slaver caravan leader. Cold pragmatist who treats slavery as "just business." Motivated by profit and reputation—losing this shipment would ruin her standing with coastal buyers.
Sergeant Kade: Leader of rival slaver gang posing as Brotherhood. Former military who turned to slavery after the war left him broken. Motivated by desperate need to prove his operation can compete with established slavers like Hatch.
Pitt: Young guard working for Hatch who hates the slavery work but feels trapped by debt and lack of options. Motivated by survival and secretly hoping someone will give him a reason to quit.
Torrance: Kade's scarred lieutenant. True believer that "might makes right" in the Wasteland. Motivated by loyalty to Kade who saved her life years ago.
Axle: Raider gang leader. Massive, brutal, and surprisingly tactical. Motivated purely by the thrill of violence and acquisition of slaves to sell or use as labor in her gang's territory.
Combat Resolution: 400 XP per character for surviving the main confrontation, regardless of which side they chose.
Loot from Slavers: Each slaver group carries approximately 300 caps collectively, plus:
Loot from Raiders: If defeated, Axle's super sledge plus 150 caps in mixed currency and salvage.
Moral Reward: If slaves are freed, the party gains +1 Reputation with any anti-slavery settlements in the region and the promise of future aid worth approximately 500 caps in trade value.
Payment: 100 caps per character from whichever group(s) they fulfilled their contract with (if any survive and feel the party earned it).
Story Reward: Knowledge of New Harbor's slave markets and the location of Axle's raider camp, either of which could fuel future adventures.
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