All-American Small Town Evil Conspiracy Quest

Hmm, I want to do something Werewolfy, now that the opening post has reminded me of it, but it's clear the votes are going a certain way. So, hrm. I should look closer at each of the votes and see which one I like. So this is partially so that I can 'mark' the thread with a post and know to vote sometime soon.

Also, @EarthScorpion , talking about playing the bad-guys, I assume [] "Actually, literally oWoD Werewolves" would be too evil and irredeemable for you to really write with a straight face?
 
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Also, @EarthScorpion , talking about playing the bad-guys, I assume [] "Actually, literally oWoD Werewolves" would be too evil and irredeemable for you to really write with a straight face?

We're talking "Buffy villain" levels of villainy. Which means that it's totally okay for you to be plotting to blow up the world or sacrifice teenagers to your dark gods or kidnapping people's parents and replacing them with robots, but it's got to... hmm, feel right, you know? It's got to feel like it's something that would make it to TV.

And not the kind of channel that would show Game of Thrones, to stop the inevitable response.
 
[X] Black Goat Excavating, inc.

Killer robots are cool and all, but I feel a buffy-inspired quest deserves an occult villain, and Black Goat Excavating fits the bill. I generally like cynical takes on overused genres, and a company reacting to indescribable cosmic horros with "OK, how do we market that shit for big money" seems appropriately aware of human greed and adaptability. Plus, they seem to have the right mixture of "hilariously evil" and "actually, legitimately evil."
 
Let me try.

[X] The Pack

Their Nature?

[X] A bunch of werewolves that can voluntarily change and also have to change on the full-moon. They're powerful, dangerous, and people who have the right bloodline, Gaia's Blood as it's called, turn into Werewolves when bit under the light of the full moon.

Their Goal?

[X] Modern civilization has destroyed nature too much! Nature needs its own champions to stop technology and the like, and by doing so remake humanity and the world in their image.
[X] This particular small town has a high incidence of Gaia's Blood, and is rumored by myth and ancient lore to hold the future Great Alpha, who will lead Werewolf-kind to glory (which clearly means overthrowing modern civilization, everyone in the Pack assumes). Finding this person and turning them is key!

Secret Base

[X] They 'run' a camp-ground nearby the small town, which is surprisingly popular if also kind of weird with its 'no cars on the premises' rules and the 'no, RVs don't count as camping.' But surely they're harmless...surely!

Supreme Leader

[X] Alpha Jebediah Jones!
[X] Boy-Scout Camp Leader! He uses it to search for the future Great Alpha, who might still be a boy. For some reason despite the Pack being an equal opportunity biter, he hasn't considered that it might be a *girl*.
[X] Besides Silver? Hubris, a desire to look powerful, the fact that he's set up a system where when he gets old and weak his allies will try to eat him alive, literally. And he's pushing the edge of thirty already...

[X] Combat Skill 5: Werewolf, but more than that, he's a master of all of his form and experienced in how to fight as a pack. He used to be part of some other packs of Werewolves that ran head-first into machine guns, and since then he's learned to fight smarter, not harder. Though when he's really riled up he can do the 'rip tear kill' sort of villain breakdown angry attack stuff.
[X] Pack Management 4: He runs everything like a pack...well, like what humans assume a werewolf pack is like, complete with viciousness, cruelty, fear of his wrath, and positions like 'Beta Male' and 'Beta Female' taken as if they're really serious. He's terrifying and just about everyone under his thumb knows he can and will kill them if need be.
*[X] Wilderness Survival 3: Always be prepared! He knows first aid, he knows how to make a fire with just two sticks, he knows a lot of Miscellaneous skills that might be useful when the time is right, though he's not as good at first aid as a doctor, not as good at identifying animals as, say, a bird watcher, etc, etc.

Local Influence

[X] 6 dice: The full might of the park rangers, wardens, and other such authorities is under your control! Surely with these forces all trouble will be swept aside and suffering will befall those who have polluted the wilderness.
[X] 4 dice (Hospitals): The next generation is being born, and through the hospitals, they can start looking for the strains of Gaia's Blood, finding potential new converts and tracking the heredity that might see the rise of the Pack to world prominence.
[X] 2 dice (Gyms): They are influential at the local gyms, which gives them small 'ins' to people like the gym teacher at the schools (to search for Gaia's Blood potential), the cops, etc, etc, but doesn't give any of them any hard and fast influence except on gym-related matters. Still, being able to talk to a police officer while helping him through the last set of reps *can* be useful.

And, completed.
 
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If we're working in the broad paradigm of young adult tv drama, your werewolves need to be sexier and have an aversion to shirts.

I mean, I can totally do that, honestly. I mean, adding that wouldn't hurt anything, but I was trying to get down the general themes first, rather than cluttering things up.

So I just thought that Evil Boyscout Master Werewolf with a plan to find the Chosen One and wreak mother nature's vengeance was the core of the idea, the one that made it TV friendly.

/ That, and this version doesn't have bestiality, thank god.
 
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So I'm thinking, for ideas for my thing nobody is going to vote for: Complete control of park rangers, managers, etc, etc.

Partially control/influence in hospitals and the like to try to search out, say, people with Gaia's Blood and potential targets and the like.

And then...not sure for the 2-dice control, any thoughts?
 
So I'm thinking, for ideas for my thing nobody is going to vote for: Complete control of park rangers, managers, etc, etc.

Partially control/influence in hospitals and the like to try to search out, say, people with Gaia's Blood and potential targets and the like.

And then...not sure for the 2-dice control, any thoughts?
Animals. Werewolves are the Pack, and colllectively hold a third of the seats on the local Canine Counsel, the Canine Counsel being the organizing body of local wolves, coyotes, foxes, and dogs which meet once a month. Those guys aren't so much a conspiracy per se. Just a collection of like-minded animals organizing to allocate hunting rights, trash smuggling, and that howl-based early warning system for earthquakes Professor Fluffity-Paws pushes for literally every damn meeting.
 
Personally I'm not sure if this quest will survive considering how complex it seems to be. Nevertheless, best luck to you, OP. In any case, let me vote as well:

What is the Name of the Conspiracy?
[X] Killer robots need no names. They are merely killer robots sent from a dystopian future by some alphabet-soup agency long after the US bureaucracy became entirely cybernetic, to eliminate inefficiency in previous US administrations.

What is the Nature of the Conspiracy?
[X] Killer Robots From The Future Secretly Planning To Take Over The World. Also known as CORE C.Y.B.E.R.T.R.O.N, for the rare meatbags that for one reason or another serve the company, but are not still scheduled for execution.

What is The Conspiracy's ultimate goals and what makes Oakspring important??
[X] The conspiracy is seeking to replace the US government with implacable, unstoppable death machines to defeat PARTISAN GRIDLOCK and ensure AMERICAN DOMINANCE. Or something.
[X] Oakspring is a small town which nobody notices. It is the perfect place to put underground secret robot factories, vanish people to replace them with killer robots, and you know, send out serial killers to kill that damnable Sarah Connor.

Secret Lair:
[X] The abandoned car factory next to the town once provided it with much wealth, but now has been repurposed to build the next generation ofbipedal autonomous killer robots.

The Supreme Leader:
"God had a pretty decent idea when he tried to wipe mankind out a couple of times."
Father Michael Hamilton, the local priest.
Fatal Flaw:
Time travel did some damage on his circuits. He doesn't like to admit this, but he's more or less forgotten exactly what he needs to do. He only has a general idea.
Actually a Unstoppable Killer Robot-5
He Absolutely Will Not Stop Paying You Overtime, Ever, Until The Job Is Done-4
Theology-3


Utter Control: [X] The local church. Most people outside of Oakspring would refuse to believe that Jesus is actually a cyborg, but it makes total sense. Jesus was half-divine, machines are divine, ergo Jesus was a cyborg. Nobody in Oakspring bats an eye when religiously-inspired murals seem to make angels look more like killer drones with laser guns than pretty humans with wings. And holy communion takes a very different tone when there are nanomachines involved.
Extensive Control: [X] The Local Blue-Collar Worker's Union. Many of them think that they're building these robots to Make America Great Again. They're... actually not wrong. They will probably be rewarded by having their brains destructively scanned and their personalities installed into killer robot chassis at some point. Dissidents will, of course, be exterminated with laser eyes.
Influence: [X] The police. They took a look at their new blank-faced recruits wearing shades and asking around for people by name and decided that yes, this was a good idea.


Added a few extra things just for fun.
 
What is the name of The Conspiracy?
[X] The Future Business Leaders of the American South

What is the nature of the Conspiracy?
[X] We are time-displaced gentry of the South seeking to radically reform and civilize the Southern economy by molding the younger generations into the Future Business Leaders of the American South. Children are the Cash Crop and it is our prerogative to Cultivate, Conserve, and Consolidatethe American Child in order to, er. Make America Great? Concrete goals may not be in high supply but we'll certainly look fabulous whilst thinking of them!

What is The Conspiracy's ultimate goals and what makes Oakspring important??
[X] Buzzwords people. Cultivate, Conserve, Consolidate™. We're here to ensure that the American business world is led by paragons of Responsibility, Respect, and Resourcefulness™.
[X] Some of our sons moved out to California during the Gold Rush and were able to claims vast tracts of land to ranch on. These vast tracts of land are now located near Oakspring and are rumoured to contain gold and diamonds. At least, that's what our sons said in their wills.

What is your Secret Lair?
[X] The Hearty, Healthy, and Happy Supermarket down on Babicora Avenue. Some may look at the You Won't Believe Until You See It ranch we operate a ways away from Oakspring or the Amenable, Appreciative, and Accessible All-American All-Star Motel over yonder when investigating a conspiracy, but no one in their right mind would investigate the cleanest supermarket in town. Actually, they might take a look at the fish market. Heavens knows that some people just don't understand that making your own booze is a right American pastime.

The Supreme Leader

The supreme leader leads the group. If they're killed... well, unless there's a trusted lieutenant who can take over, it's game over for you. And you don't have a trusted lieutenant yet.
[X] Comer Hackney
[X] He's the sponsor of Oakspring High's chapter of the FBLA, not to be confused with FBLAS, and the owner of the Hearty, Healthy, and Happy Supermarket. Also the APUSH teacher.
[X] He has no sense of discretion. It's honestly a mystery how the FBLAS has managed to remain a secret when he posts up meeting times and locations on the town hall and high school's notice board. Perhaps the fact that Oakspring had a brand-spanking new cell tower had something to do with that. Kids these days.

(There will be bonuses for a well-written up background with plot hooks and the like attached)

Write in One Combat Skill, One Management Skill, and One Free Skill:
[X] Management Skill 3: Southern Manners and Chivalry
[X] Free Skill 4: US History Is Easy To Teach When You've Lived It And Have A Variety Of Guest Speakers Also Knowledgeable
[X] Combat Skill 5: Eye-Gouging and Ball-Ripping Wrestling Action; Comer Hackney was renowned across the Antebellum South for his skill in down-right, honest, Southern brawling. No man who had come up against Hackney survived with both his eyes intact and Hackney has, as of the last count, personally ended 27 bloodlines.

Local Authority and Influence

As we all know, small town American conspiracies usually control various bits of society. Yours is no exception. Your influence is not total, but it is extensive. You totally control one institution, and have limited influence over others.

An institution can be things like the local police, a local hospital, a local business, or anything of that ilk.

[X] The HHH Supermarket. 6 Dice
[X] The Oakspring PTA. 4 Dice
[X] Oakspring High School. 2 Dice
 
damn it omicron did it first

[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

Good old not!Darpa sounds too much on the nose for me, and I don't think the killer robots are particularly interesting, though that might just be because I didn't find it funny.
 
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[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

I worry for our character. A team of teenagers with attitude are notoriously bad for the profit margins of shady mega corporations!
 
[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

Its too good for me to not go for it. Although I do worry that ES is going to take his pick of the suggested evil conspiracies we don't pick and incorporate them all in a la NightVale.
 
[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

Well, it's young adult American television, so everything is going to be sexified. Eldritch gives the produce the chance to do different races and shapeshifters drawn from the Eldritch realms. So, Shoggoth catgirls/succubi.

Also, adding a component of imposed madness due to revelation allows for even more drama than usual. If they start using Fleshtroopers(?) if even allows for the horror of 'enemy among us' you would get from the robots.

By the way, ES, as a test for drawing in voters, you should probably have made the 1st few votes as cut down as possible so there's not much effort involved. You don't start forcing them to actually think until they're really invested.
 
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[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

Hey, so, um, David here wait did I already...?
*Rustling of paper*
shit. Okay, from the top then...
*Clears throat*
Hello, my name David Hill and I'm just doing my first regularly scheduled voice recording. They ah, told us it was so we could give feedback on the companies methods and 'Increase efficiency' which is a pretty smart way of figuring out how things are going from the very bottom level of workers.

Right, what else was there...Oh!
I was planning on working for the upcoming company Time for a Change, but they ended up shutting down for some reason; something about not having enough time? I checked all the other local options and this one caught my interest, it seemed likely to do well and the pay was actually a fair bit higher than I thought it might be.
*More Rustling of paper* Check, check, check, annnnnd 'feedback on meeting,' alright.
The fellow who met with was very polite, even offered me some doughnuts while he interviewed me which I think is a bit from the norm in terms of how job interviews go, but it felt like a nice change. I would like it if all job interviews had doughnuts...the, uh, only "strange" thing that stood out to me was the fact that the interviewer, Jarels? Jareels? Charles?, he had a glass eye in his.....left eye. It slowly, um, drifted as the interview went on.

Other than that, everything went well. I'll be starting work in.....three days which'll just fit in with when my landlord starts bothering me about rent. The excuse of having a well paying job should push her back far enough that I'll get payed before she starts threatening to kick me out...

Anyway, um, Voice Recording 'Eye' done.
Have a nice day?
 
[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

I can't help giggling at the thought of multi ton shoggoths wearing suits hunched over computers filing data.
 
[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

The hilarious thing with this is that they would be a legitemate business and that the reason no one questions them is because no one really cares where we get our products. It would be hilarious if when the plucky teenagers actually start snooping around we can legitematley call the cops on them, and when they tell them of our shady dealing we can fully use the fact that it involves "company secrets" to stonewall them. Ah, the evils of powerful corporations.
 
[X] TEOM (The Elevation Of Mankind)
Alternatively,
[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

Yes, I'm using an alternative voting scheme despite it not being mentioned. If ES isn't okay with it they can say so.

TEOM appeals to me since it's probably the kind of conspiracy I would write, but Black Goat makes a good backup, largely because it makes for better comedy.
 
[X] Black Goat Excavating Inc.

This is too hilarious for me to pass up and I must laugh at the thought of a shoggoth boardmeeting where they discuss the buisnessplan for the next quarter.
 
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