BioWar... for GMs

[Night Flyer]

This was a special on NBCs Nightline all week long, and I managed to get
ahold of some previews, I post this for all GMs out there as it makes for an
interesting scenario idea. It consists of a biological attack on an
imaginary city.

Nightline's BIOWAR is a special five-part ABCNEWS series about a terrorist
biological attack.

FRIDAY:
DAY 1
After today, the city will never be the same. As commuters leave work and
children hurry home, a squad of terrorists launches a silent attack on the
city.

The weapon of choice is the Bacillus anthracis bacterium, anthrax, lethal at
high concentrations. As terrorists throw bottles of the bacteria onto the
subway tracks, tens of thousands of spores swirl into the air and infect the
unknowing commuters. These commuters, who will soon be known as victims,
head into the weekend, unaware that they are sick. And once they realize
they have been infected with the bacteria, it is already too late.

It was a beautiful fall weekend and people tried to enjoy the last of the
warm weather. By Sunday, however, a number of people started to feel sick.
To some, the symptoms felt just like a cold. Most take over-the-counter flu
medicine, but others head to their doctors.

Monday morning, three days after the attack, hundreds of people are now
flowing into emergency rooms. By the afternoon, thousands are looking for
help for their "flu" and at this time, hospitals do not know that most of
these patients are infected with the anthrax bacteria. Neither do they know
that anthrax has already taken its first victim.

Because of the abnormally high level of sick, medical centers are now
sending samples to the Centers for Disease Control. By the end of the day,
over 3600 are reported sick and more than 100 are dead from this mysterious
"disease."

TUESDAY:
DAY 5
Reports about the deadly disease dominate the morning news. The death toll
is rising -- 350 in the morning to 600 at mid-day to over 1,000 by evening.
Over 10,000 people are sick and speculation and rumor are rampant. But by
Tuesday afternoon the medical authorities identify the "disease" as anthrax.
As people demand answers and antibiotics, the government struggles to keep
order.

WEDNESDAY:
DAY 6
With virtually everyone in the metropolitan area touched by the attack, the
city is struggling to provide its citizens with basic services. People are
dying at a furious rate...more than 500 every hour. Hospitals are
overwhelmed and the morgues are having a difficult time handling the bodies.

The authorities are still trying to identify the attackers and even find the
crime scene. But then a pattern begins to emerge -- all of the victims rode
the subway last Friday. By evening, the number of sick climbs to 30,000 and
the dead, 15,000.

THURSDAY:
DAY 7
It has been six days since the terrorists struck in the subway system. By
Thursday morning the toll now stands at 25,000 sick and more than 25,000
dead. New cases are finally beginning to trail off. Yet the police are
repeatedly being called out as crowds frantically break into any store that
might still have antibiotics. The hospitals are still struggling to find
places to store bodies before burial or cremation. And as the day comes to
a close, the city is still trying to grapple with what has happened in the
last week

FRIDAY:
DAY 8
One week after an anthrax attack, federal resources are in place.
Antibiotics and the anthrax vaccine are arriving at a steady rate. By Friday
night the death toll reaches 48,000, leading up to a final death toll of
over 50,000. The criminal investigation continues, and basic services are
being provided by the military. The city is in shambles and there is
pressure to curtail some civil liberties to insure that this does not happen
again.

[nightrid]

A wonderful adventure scenario. There's even a solution found in the VE
source book. Timenuaghts! I belive read somewhere that the SoE are also doing
something like this.
Ever see the show "Seven Days" (I think that's what it's called). Any way,
here's how it would work. According to the VE book, backward time travel is
possible (at level 6), but the parodox will bight your ass if you try to change
to musc. So what the techies (or the trads, I immagine they'd be intrested in
this as well) do is get an archmage of time, and another of prime together and
work on a ritual that not only sends a fiew agents back in time, but also
channels enough prime into a "negate parodox" rote to allow those agents to
alter this turn of events. According to more then 1 of the shows, the agent had
to go back several times to set it right.
Or just send 1 NPC agent back, and have him contact the players for some
help, this would also help cut back on the prime needed to cancel the parodox.

nightrider