Time for a race! Be fast on your feet though, as you’re the only ones who’ve turned up without a race-worthy vehicle.
In this session the adventurers arrive at a themed race with only a basic van, they’ll need to scavenge parts (Possibly from other racers), and then put it to the test avoid all manner of obstacles on the city streets.
Setting:
This narrative takes place in and under the Undercity; an underground hive of deadly pedestrian crossings, high octane night markets, and less traffic lights than you can count on one finger. If you would like more information on the setting, I go into more detail here (TBA).
The race is set to start in the early evening, just as crowds are hitting the streets. It’s an unofficial street race, so there will be pedestrians about. The race start is set at the Tomb of Bad Decisions, as the event is being hosted by the Glitch Lich.
Story Beats:
On Your Marks!
Get set (up)!
Go!
On Your Marks!:
Arriving to work the adventurers find the street blocked off and a crowd gathering around the entrance to the Tomb of Bad Decisions. There are several cars on display, and as the adventurers step over a small car attended to by hamsters, entering the club to find the dancefloor converted to a makeshift garage. Owner of the club, the Glitch Lich, dressed in a appropriately bedazzled set of mechanics overalls informs them that they’ve come up with an amazing idea to drum up sales.
The idea of course being an amazing race around the city. So far in addition to the adventurers who’ve just been volun-told they’re racing, 4 other teams have signed up:
A bafflingly small car full to the brim with clowns. Not real clowns of course though, they’re just acting.
A fully assembled car complete with a partially assembled crew of zombies. Their goal is not to finish dead last.
Never skipping a leg day, a group of strongmen can be seen kicking out the floor of a car so they can run it instead.
And as already seen, an absolutely adorable crew of hamsters determined to make their large monowheel design work.
After presenting these fine competitors, the Glitch Lich present to the adventurers the finest vehicle they could find on their morning stroll. A rusted wagon complete with 3 whole tires, all flat.
They had probably fix this up before the race starts.
Get set (up)!:
The race starts in one hour, which for a dedicated group should be enough time to get it together with some help. The main things that needed to be fixed up are the: Engines, tires, something to strengthen the chassis, and a theme for their ride. There are a few ways a resourceful individual could go about this, such as:
Canvassing the local mechanic shop, Hornek’s Horsepower for items. They may even be willing to let things go at a discount in return for a sponsorship deal with the club
A local artificier, Iain Mora is known to be handy in a pinch and could be persuaded to lend a hand with the installation of parts. In return they ask for a simple favour, the return of their favourite screwdriver that was recently taken by a group of street hooligans.
The other racers could even be convinced to lend the adventurers a hand, so long as they ask while they’re facing the other way, gently enough that nobody hears.1
The primary goal here is a more or less functioning car (No need to get too in-depth with mechanical knowledge, if they can justify it, it’s fine!). While the adventurers may permanently borrow components from other individuals, everyone is still ready to race at the start line.
Go!:
Push your car to the start line, it’s time to go! All of the adventurers should be in the car at once (otherwise someone will get left out of the action!), and at least one person should be in the drivers seat at all times.
If at any stage during setup a car was mishandled by an “unknown party”, when the starting gun goes off their engine misfires delaying them by a turn or two. Everyone else racing off around the first corner of the track, neck in neck probably with plenty of shouting out the windows.
Hazards during this race can broadly be divided into two categories, environmental and other racers. There should be 1 less obstacle present in each category than there are players (So 4 players means 3 environmental and 3 racer hazards, 5 players would mean 4 of each, and so on).
Environmental hazards:
A ramshackle truck reversing blocks half of the road. Any car that clips it sends cabbages flying onto the road creating a slippery surface to try and navigate.
A pair of sentient mushrooms are standing in the middle of the road holding a large pane of glass between them. They’re not making any attempt to cross the road, so drivers need to decide if they’re going to circumvent or barrel through. Although note that any car without a windshield risks shards of glass flying through the cabin in the latter case.
City workers down the road are filling potholes, but unfortunately haven’t quite finished their work yet. Cars need to either navigate through the construction equipment, or risk knocking an axel loose in the potholes.
A new contestant has entered the race! Ahead of everyone a train crossing is starting to lower, and drivers need to step on it if they’re going to get there before the train does.
Other Racer Hazards:
The clowns are throwing flaming cream pies at everyone! While dodging out of the way, the passengers need to find a way to stop the clowns before they do serious harm.
A hand tied to a rope makes for a decent grappling hook. The undead at attempting to pull in closer to the adventurers to board them and sabotage the car! Undo their death grip and pull away.
Starting to fall behind, the strongmen attempt to pull the road out from everyone like it’s a rug! Find a way to distract them long enough to turn the corner and enter another section of road.
In a blatant attempt at cheating the hamsters manage to teleport their entire vehicle on top of the adventurers. Disentangle the vehicles before you both get snagged under the upcoming bridge!
After the initial corner at the start of the race, the adventurers are in third place. For every successful hazard navigated they move up one place, and for every they get stuck in they move back one.
If they get stuck too far behind, then they may receive a subtle boost from the Glitch Lich who’s invested in the adventurers winning (because they then don’t need to pay out the prize to anyone else).
The finish line is coming up! How are the adventurers doing? Hopefully they’re pulling ahead, but if not then it’s time for an underdog comeback! The final turn takes everyone into a dead straight section and a final sprint to the finish. Anyone that was behind the adventurers are gaining fast and so they will need to pull every trick they know to delay them, and if anyone’s ahead then doubly so!
Crossing the finish line to the roar of the crowd, the adventurers can expect to be doused in champagne while crowned the winners. And if they didn’t win, then they can at least expect to be caught in the spray from the winners at least. The adventurers are being paid either way, although a little less if not first since the prize pool came out of their wages. But hey, just another day in the office around these parts.
What did you think? Any ideas, feedback, or do you intend to use this in a session? Let me know!
This session was originally written with D&D in mind, and the original prompt for this session was partially inspired by Worthikids Bigtop Burger series [Link].
Cowritten/Edited with the assistance of Alsanna.
(I’m saying steal the things you need)