Division In the Ranks (an adventure module for bioniGLoG)

20 Dec, 2025

A note before we begin. Writing this adventure is an exercise for me, to better understand the types of rules I need to include and exclude, to support the tone, scope, and beats I'm imagining. What that means is that the character-creation and action-resolution mechanics are still very much undefined. Maybe I can return to this when I have some, and see how well it works using them.

Outline

The party (any combination of Figures [Matoran] and Saviors [Toa]) have been notified by cell phone that their mutual friend Sarah [human] has a biology exam coming up the day after tomorrow. She's been bullied all month by an ex-friend, Karen, and has been unable to study as a result. The party arrives at the school to find out what questions will be on the test, and then must return to their island to discover the answers, and tell her by phone.

SARAH: 12 years old, bad haircut hasn't grown out yet, knows all about cats. Inventory (capacity 3):

1. Bond with the party Overwritten by Mood: Missing lunchbox!!
2. Mood: Stressed (can't help except to leverage her Bond, removed after the exam).
3. Mood: Stressed

I suggest giving players the option to choose one of the following perks:

• Sarah's Study Buddy: Gain the Technology: "Middle School Chemistry".
• Knows Chronicler Rakhan: Gain a Minor Debt to Wind Village (roll 1d4): 1. Repaired difficult leak in roof (+) 2. Was given an unfair share of duties during the last Ascension Day¹ (+) 3. Received much-needed antivenom (-) 4. Dropped a heavy stone on Rakhan's foot (-).
• Last Year's Champ: (Figure only) 1-in-6 chance to have an adoring fan appear in each scene.
• Second Mask of Power: (Savior only) (Roll 1d4): 1. Ferocity (turn someone or something aggressive and powerful for a time) 2. Formlessness (turn to smoke at will) 3. Momentum (store and release personal momentum) 4. Clarity (think at 25x speed).

Additionally, one character has the phone: a prepaid wireless device capable of 5 call-and-response interactions on one battery charge. One of these should be saved to text Sarah the answers once found. Sarah is your only contact. Her parents forgot to cancel the line when her older brother got on his own phone plan.

Scenario 1: The School

Party arrives just before recess. They cannot be spotted by adults, or they'll be taken to Area 51 and dissected. They know this. They will have one turn to act, after which the students all move to the Yard and the teachers all vanish (nobody knows where they go!). The party will then have one turn to act, and then recess will end and classes will resume. At this point it will be too late to enter the Science classroom where the test questions are found. The party can return at night, but they will lose valuable time by doing this (see below). At night, the only adult is the wandering janitor, who is also here in the daytime. Roll for his location each turn. He has keys to every room.

On a turn in the school, each character can enter one location and try something. In approximate terms, they have ten-ish minutes of fictional time. They can act deliberately (only roll if the task is nearly impossible for a kid) or quickly (roll if the task would be tricky for a kid, roll with disadvantage if it would be nearly impossible, but you can go twice this turn).

Known locations in the school:

Science classroom:

• Door locked, window unlocked.
• Outside window parkour elements: Basketball court, skateboard (snapped in half), fire escape (triggers alarm, everyone inside leaves, but next turn a teacher comes to investigate; connects just outside of classroom).
• Test questions. The only one Sarah doesn't know is "Define the key distinction between meiosis and mitosis." The party does not know the answer, but they recognize these words as being similar to the names of two legendary beasts on their island.
• Mystery cabinet (Study Buddy can choose, otherwise roll 1d6): 1. Potato battery (charge 1 phone or light 1 fire) 2. Volcano foam (block a doorway, slippery) 3. Stink bomb (mix, create a gas hated by everything) 4. Superwater (like water, only moreso) 5. 1d10 living frogs 6. A big magnet.

Karen's locker: Here is Sarah's missing lunchbox. Also, Karen's diary. KAREN: 11 years old, family adopted a cat and it's been peeing in her Cheerios. She's taking it out on Sarah.

Bike rack: Among the chained-up bikes is Karen's BMX bike.

Principal's Office:

• Intercom controls: Summon a student to the office, OR delay the end of the period (everyone rolls to get one more turn).
• Walkie-talkie: Direct the wandering janitor to any chosen room.
• In the desk: Phone book; box of cigarettes.

4. Detention: If a player character is seen by an adult, they'll be chased. If caught, they are put here. The door is locked but not the window. Next turn, the army arrives to take them away.

• Outside the window parkour elements: rain gutter, nearby supply shed (locked; shovels and rakes), long wooden plank leaned against wall, fence behind school, trash bin (missing lid).

Scenario 2: The Village

A party who acquires the Test Questions will recall that the island has two powerful beasts named Meios and Mitos. If they didn't have to return at night, they will have time to visit one village to prepare. The villages are:

Wind Village: Party will have an easier time getting aid here, as one of them is likely friends with the Chronicler (see outline).

Ice Village: Largest archive of knowledge. Knows the following:

• The two beasts hunt using echolocation.
• Near the Mitos's lair, parachute beetles wake if subjected to cold. They cling together and form stable platforms over the flame vents when awake.
• Near the Meios's lair, plasma bison graze in the morning and sleep in the afternoon. While sleeping, they burn like bonfires unless they have exerted lots of energy today, say by fighting or running.

Stone Village: Has a larger supply collection. Bullroarer, antivenom, and bait for herbivorous and carnivorous rahi (each counts as 1 minor request).

The party can request supplies (minor) and backup (major) using the gift economy table. Here are some villagers they can interact with to adjust their standing on the table:

• Birdsinger whose orchard is full of tree crabs. They belong to her neighbor who doesn't feed them properly, so they climb the trees and scare away the birds. The town is without songs for some days now. The neighbor is at the end of their memory capacity and cannot remember their duty. The crabs can provide energy for 1 character each day. The neighbor will take a new mask after his unfinished business is finished, which takes many days.
• Scout whose glider is missing. It can only have blown with the wind, so it's easy to track down. A thief "borrowed" it to visit a waterfall for fun. This is a crime and turning him in will get you a minor (+) debt, but keeping his secret will give you a major (+) debt with him specifically, and he'll come along, doing what you ask according to his own gift economy table.
• Researcher who wants human artifacts. Minor (+) debt for each given. Has a message in a bottle she'll give for a minor (-) debt. It has Technology: Tying Knots.

Scenario 3: The Beasts

Mitos live in the Valley of Flame, in caves some fifty feet below the ledge and a hundred feet above the thalweg. Parkour elements: Massive jets of flame every few seconds from below; narrow , fragile stone spires; parachute beetles (see above). At the bottom are 1d6 lost disks.² Mitos are cat-like rahi the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, with 4 legs and 4 tails. The tails each have different elemental weapons: ice, fire, air, earth. When struck, Mitos split into two identical Mitos. They will merge back into one in a few weeks' time.

Meios live on the Ice Plateau, hiding like trapdoor spiders. Parkour elements: Surrounded by frozen waterfall; crumbling switchback ridge up the side; wandering plasma bison (see above); slippery vines. When struck, these cat-like rahi split in two, each with 2 legs and 2 tails. When these rahi are struck, they split into two more, each with 1 leg and 1 tail. They will each grow back into full Meios in a few weeks' time.

After observing the two beasts' division patterns, the party will understand the answer to the test question and be able to inform Sarah.

Epilogue

Did the party leave an impact on the NPCs? Let them know!

• Sarah might stand up to or make amends with Karen. If they got her answers, she just barely passes her exam, otherwise she fails. (She didn't know as much as she thought.)
• Science teacher, principal, janitor - were they affected by the party's actions in an obvious way?
• Chronicler Rakhan will congratulate them if they retrieve the disks.
• The birdsinger will lead the town in an exuberant song if the birds return.
• The crab owner will get a new mask and personality, but will still love crabs.
• The scout will take folks gliding for fun sometimes.
• The thief will repay his debt by showing the Chronicler the protodermis he found (if turned in) or let the party do it (if spared).

:)