Perils of the Rat King 1
Structure
Exposition
The best stories can come from small sources
Greetings True Believers!
New York. A city filled with people living out hundreds of stories. Stories about heroes of all shapes and sizes. Some in costumes, others in uniform, and still more dressed like just anyone you might meet.
But! What about the little stories? The stories of those that were inspired by those heroes? The small stories that happen right under your nose … or beneath your very feet?
Sometimes, those can be the most unusual of all!
So, let's take a peek in on one as the Knights Vigilant confront The Peril of the Rat King!
This is Not Stan Lee saying … EXCELSIOR!
Rising Action
Chapter One
Notes / Timeline
All Night Take Out ( music: Clock Tower Parade )
- Knights Vigilant are taking down Disco Boys that sprung a trap on the heroes using a Fake Shakedown plan.
- Alarms sound! Chez Tortuga, an upscale Caribbean restaurant across the street, is being robbed!
- By the time the heroes make it over there, two sets of thugs bolt from the building. They each head in different directions.
- ( let fight run 2 phases. Bad guys are tougher than they appear. As heroes are about to defeat one of the groups, rats attack the heroes using sticky nets made from plastic six pack rings! )
AOE : AV / EV 7 - Rats "withdraw" ( run in all directions ) and a humanoid rat, about 5' 5" tall, darts into Chez Tortuga!
- Mice team appears with a cry of "Hail!" and starts dissolving the netting. Explains: Mice colony here called for help but are missing. They are convinced this thief is behind it and a string of other thefts!
Counter Service ( music: Arrival at National Archives ) - heroes vs rat "king" or is that queen?
- ( heroes get in restaurant however they can. They can follow in the route the thugs took, find their own way. Expect use of air vents, etc )
- Inside, the restaurant is pristine. Unlike many robberies, this was done in style. Something on the level of Blackjack or GRAB. No collateral damage.
- ( once inside, if the heroes are quiet, they hear a noise from the kitchen area. If they are not quiet, they are ambushed by more rats with crude tech. Throwable items that are sticky, smoke screens, etc. It's all delaying tactics. Guys in 'rat outfits' are security guards, but once the hoods are removed, they come back to their senses. AKA Mad Hatter or Poison Ivy ... but using a modified pheromone control that the masks are laced with. )
- ( Once inside, find the night guard on the floor. Next to him is a mask and a grilled cheese sandwich that gives off aroma.
AV/EV vs will / mind : 7 ( hypnosis )
Safe is open and private recipes of chef working there are scattered all over the place. No money was taken though.
Note: Masks will dissolve quickly!
) - ( Another clue, chef competed and won the local Iron Chef competition four times in a row. Is an avid marathon runner, but has yet to win. )
- ( no pictures of wife/kids. Just a girlfriend - Sabine - and mom/dad )
A Side Order of Clue ( music: Back To Work ) - villain escapes, but a clue is left behind
- ( hopefully they will have taken either the cheese or the hood ... pun intended on 'taking the bait' )
- ( Clues:
Mask remains. Tainted with a chemical that requires special ingredients. Number one is a rare subspecies of Morning Glory. Sold in 3 plant nurseries around the city: Pick and Plant Nurseries, Down n' Dirty Nursery, Enchanted Forest Nurseries
) - Mouse Help: Locations of other robberies.
- What restaurant is next to be hit? Exquis ( French for Exquisite )
Tip Toe, Through the Tulips ( music: Interrogation ) - checking up on the plants
- however they get in, they are confronted by Summon if they go to Enchanted Forest Nurseries. She's basically on the side of the angels this time.
- Masquerade is careful not to go herself. She uses a stoned duplicate. BUT in her haste, she collects her stand ins from her current neighborhood. Which also happens to be the neighborhood of the Rat King ( that is on purpose ).
Home Delivery ( music: Interrogation ) - heading after the rat king
A Mistake On the Menu ( menu: United we stand, divided we fall ) - rat king proves his innocence or actually, its proven for him as Masquerade appears!
- Mice contact Knight's Vigilant.
- Why? Mice colonies and rat colonies are vanishing without any sign. Last was under Chez Tortuga.
- Restaurants experiencing thefts. Mice believe this is connected.
- Recipes, unique to the chefs who work there, are being stolen. Mice have mapped locations, have map to demonstrate. Having trouble with the pattern.
- Restaurants are all upper scale restaurants. No similar cuisine.
Notes:
- What is the pattern? All chefs competed in local Iron Chef competition.
- Why the recipes? Instructions hidden in them as to location of stolen/smuggled Iranian art and archeology objects.
- How did the recipes get distributed? The cards were accidentally picked up and handed out as consolation prizes after an Iron Chef competition two weeks before ( involve a character in this ).
- Stolen objects were smuggled by a Thomas Arbuckle. He masterminded it. Once the recipes were gone, he hired the thief named Masquerade to get them back.
- To cover her crimes, she mimics the Rat King to make the heists. The police are narrowing down on the Rat King who has just started to fight back.
Relations
Protagonists
Allies
Adversaries
- Disco Boys
- Rat King
- Masquerade
- assorted minions, either mind-controlled security guards or mind-controlled rats
Backdrops
Locations
- Central Park(landmark)
- Chez Tortuga, an upscale Caribbean restaurant across the street from Central Park or wherever the starting fight was
- Pick and Plant Nurseries
- Down n' Dirty Nursery
- Enchanted Forest Nurseries
- Exquis ( French for Exquisite ), next restaurant to be hit
Plot type
Chapter 1: introduction of new personalities
Parent Plot
Related Characters
Related Organizations
Related Locations
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