Target: Alice

All right, so a long time ago, this douchebag decided that it would be a hilariously awesome idea to take d20 Modern and set up a long-winded campaign in which the PCs were members of a specops team in the Resident Evil universe, and were tasked with hunting down infamous ur-example Mary Sue Alice, from the Resident Evil movies.

What ensued was a three-day campaign easily amongst the most retarded ever seen, yet was one that at the end of, everyone was cheering raucously (in various levels of inebriation, no less) at.

This is their story.

Pre-Campaign Analysis

As a fan of the Resident Evil series - before it had completely vanished up its own ass, mind - I always had a very special hate for Alice. The "[[Mary Sue" label gets thrown around an awful lot around /tg/ and the internet in general, but it is rare indeed that one comes across such an example as genuinely terrifying as Alice is. In order to properly establish Target: Alice and the objectives for the players, I had to dig deep - and hard - into Alice herself, and find out why she was as bad as she was.

Was my hate of this character the bitter grumblings of an oldfag, or was this something legitimately worth getting aggravated over? The answer I came to was the latter, but understanding why was a bit more complicated. I eventually came to the conclusion that Alice herself is manifold:

• In the first movie, she's competent, but not exactly overpowered; indeed, short of one unbelievably stupid scene with a Cerberus, Alice is pretty much just a regular character. At this point, she's exhibited few of the Sue traits that she would display in the later movies. Indeed, had the movie series ended at the first one, Alice probably wouldn't be as hated as she is now.

• By the second movie, however, the need to turn Alice into the only competent protagonist is on full display: everyone other established character in the series is completely inept, and literally exists only to validate Alice's existence as the coolest character evar; the existing characters from the Resident Evil series are introduced solely so Alice can outshine them. From her initial intro where she rides a motorcycle into a church and kills a Licker with a shotgun loaded with coinshot, to her entire scene directly copying the intro from Resident Evil: Code Veronica, to her finishing literally everything useful another character tries to do, Alice has gone into full-blown Sue mode. The god-mode Sue traits are fully unearthed at the end, where she not only exhibits psychic powers able to explode heads through security cameras, but is basically able to walk out of the research facility she is held at through rule of cool.

• From the third movie onwards, the formula repeats: Alice is the only competent protagonist and all other protagonists exist to validate her existence as the most powerful thing in the world. The psychic powers continue to come and go as plot circumstances demand, there's apparently dozens of Alice Clones, and the entire plot winds up plunging up its own ass like a FATAL player trying to hide in another player's anus.

Right away, several things became apparent:

• One, I could run multiple Alices at once with varying power levels because clones. The Alice Clones would have any number of different class-combos, and would range from Alpha-Level Alice Clone (level 15), to Omega-Level Alice Clone (Level 25). "Alice Prime" would be level 30.
• Two, the best time-period to run the campaign would be after the second movie and before the third movie decided to screw its own continuity in the urethra. This would allow me to have power groups that the PCs could work with and would have a vested interest in seeing Alice destroyed.
• Three, I would need to allow my players to completely circumvent the usual Alice tropes in these movies by out-clevering her, something that I knew my party was going to be all-too-keen on. With that in mind, I drew out a campaign outline, sketched up NPCs, and got to work.

Alice Templates

To properly represent the Alices, some theorycrafting was needed. Originally I was intending to simply stat them out using a much higher points-value than the players, but this seemed like a waste. Instead, fitting for a munchkin-set like the Alices, I created a set of templates, each providing different stat boosts/penalties. Rather than try to shoehorn a level adjustment and pre-set template onto them for each type, I made it so the template simply scaled on clone level and gave each of the clones a set of default statistics (all 14s/15s/16s/17s/18s depending on clone level - Alpha/Beta/Gamma/Omega/Prime). They also gained a Natural Armor Bonus of +1/+2/+3/+4/+5 based on clone level (again, Alpha/Beta/Gamma/Omega/Prime). They are also immune to poison and disease, though special toxins and diseases can be specially-formulated to harm them.

Alice Clones of Alpha or Beta level may have one of the following traits. A Gamma may have up to two, Omega three, and Prime has them all.

• Fast Healing (Ex): The Alice Clone benefits from an unusual mutation that closes her wounds rapidly. She gains Fast Healing 1/2/3/4/5 based on Clone Level (Alpha/Beta/Gamma/Omega/Prime), healing that much every round. As a drawback, her massive damage threshold is reduced by 4. The Alice clone also heals ability damage at a rate of 1 point per minute.

• Adrenal Surge (Ex): Once a day as a free action, the Alice Clone can increase its strength and dexterity scores, but at the cost of reducing its saving throws accordingly. Whilst this ability is in effect, the Alice Clone gains a +4 bonus to Strength and Dexterity, but takes a -2 penalty on all saving throws. The surge lasts a number of rounds equal to the Alice Clone's level. Following an ability surge, the Alice Clone is fatigued (-2 Strength and Dexterity) for as many rounds as the Surge was in effect, but it can negate this penalty by spending an action point.

• Psionic Focus (Ex): The Alice Clone is much more attuned to her psychic abilities than normal, and as such can make better use of them. The Alice Clone counts as naturally psionic, giving her +2 power points and enabling her to take psionic classes without the Wild Talent feat. When manifesting a power, the Alice Clone can spend an action point to increase the damage of a damaging power by an amount equal to her manifesting ability modifier (usually Charisma).

• Energy Resistance (Ex): The Alice Clone gains resistance 20 to one energy type (Fire/Cold/Electricity/Acid/Sonic). This ability can be taken multiple times, each time taking a different kind of energy. Alice Prime gets resistance to them all.

• Damage Reduction (Ex): The Alice Clone gains damage reduction 1/-,2/-,3/-,4/-,5/- based on clone level (again, Alpha/Beta/Gamma/Omega/Prime).

Additionally, all Alices count as Aberrations, have the standard Aberration traits (including darkvision).

The general gist is that the Alices in general were intended as boss-fights; Alice Prime was going to be ridiculously overpowered (exactly as my group had demanded); it was simply a question of whether or not the group would be able to handle it in the long run. Ultimately they were able to, but we'll get to that.

Character Creation

As most of my players are not only d20 modern veterans, but characterization wunderkinds, they quickly drew up an international team to begin the hunt. They were free to use any of my available d20 modern books; to my surprise, most of them stuck with the original, though a few decided to go with some feats from d20 Future and the Telepath grabbed some powers from Urban Arcana using a Houseruled Expanded Knowledge feat. My only restriction, same as it ever was, was that the Plus Feats from d20 Future were banned on the grounds that they allowed access to tons of abilities you wouldn't ordinarily have insanely early and functionally bypassed most conventional character-building issues (since any basic class can effectively take any trait from any other basic class this way).

The party was level 10:

• One was a former KGB interrogator with psychic powers.

He was a Charismatic Hero 5/Telepath 5.

• One was a former Marine Captain who had a fondness for airboat racing.

He was a Tough Hero 5/Soldier 5.

• One was a tech expert and a former contract killer.

He was a Smart Hero 5/Tracer 5.

• One was a mercenary field medic who had developed a taste for "monster hunting" in the wake of a viral outbreak.

He was a Dedicated Hero 5/Field Medic 5.

The idea eventually became that they'd all be members of the BSAA, and would be assigned to eliminate Alice - claiming that she was a sentient biological weapon and potentially capable of triggering a mass viral outbreak (this is not much of a stretch). They kitted themselves out in a colorful array of weapons and armor, were issued some choice equipment, and cowboy'd up to head to her last known position and start hunting the bitch down.

3 weeks later, we had out first session.

Mission One: Operation Silver Hammer

• Target: Alice Prime Escaped, 3 Alice Clones Terminated.
• Casualties: 2 Alpha-Level Alice Clones, 1 Beta-Level Alice Clone, 4 USS Operatives, 6 Zombies, 4 Cerberus, 1 Licker.
• Team Status: Minor Injuries.

The first mission began, as they so often do, with the group heading to the target's last-known position - one which had recently seen a low-level outbreak - a former Umbrella test center. This, it turns out, was not the result of Alice, and more the result of Umbrella's typical security procedures. The group were airdropped in, and after surveying the situation, determined that the worst of the situation had already passed: most of the organisms were destroyed and there was little clue what had happened.

Penetrating the facility through use of some creative hotwiring from the Tracer, and dealing with the few remaining infected targets (some Zombies, and later, a Licker that tried to ambush the group), the group found what had really been going on down below: A pit full of deceased Alice Clones. The group ran into an Umbrella Secret Service (USS) team which was there for much the same reason the players were, but some words were said by the Medic, and the Soldier elected to escalate breaking and entering to pre-meditated quadruple-homicide.

Having got the drop on the enemy in the worst possible way, the Tracer and the Soldier wound up cutting one of the enemy USS members to ribbons on the opening round, with the Telepath rendering of the enemy squad squad easy pickings the following round. The final one hightailed it, and the group pursued.

Eventually, the group chased the USS Soldier to the facility floor, and were engaged (as was the soldier) by two Alpha-Level Alice Clones (Dedicated Hero 5/Psionic Agent 10) the pair opened fire, and the USS soldier was critically injured. Our intrepid heroes opened fire, the Telepath using Brain Lock to hold one still so the others could cut the pair down piecemeal despite their superior position. The second one fled, and the group, save the Medic, who stabilized the USS operative before tying him up, chased after the fleeing Alice Clone, badly-wounding it before they encountered another - the Beta-Level clone [Tough Hero 7/Battle Mind 10]. The group responded to her presence with heavy weapons fire, the Tracer lining up shots as the Soldier started pitching incendiary grenades. The Telepath tried using Attraction to stop the Alpha Clone's retreat, but unsuccessfully; on the following round, he started unloading his combat shotgun as the Soldier continued firing off his grenade launcher. With the Beta Clone weakened and the Alpha Clone crippled, the Medic re-joined the battle from another angle about 7 rounds in, lighting up the Alpha with his SMG to finish her off, before a lucky critical strike from the Soldier popped the Beta the following round.

Exhausted and low on ammunition, the group took their prisoner - and the corpses of the Alices they had killed - and called for extraction. After fighting off several Cerberus that had been lurking around the facility's edge, they returned to base and gave their report: Clearly, not only were statements regarding Alice true, but there was more than one! It was then, with aid of their buddies in the intel division, that the group found out about Alice Prime, and their mission became much more dangerous.

Determined to track down these dangerous biological weapons before they could wind up in the hands of one of the big corporations, the group followed after Alice using the best intel the BSAA could dig up, and soon was headed into South America, re-armed, re-equipped, and 3 levels higher for good measure. By this point, the group was confident they'd be able to handle the next op.

Mission Two: Operation Black Flag

• Target: All Alice Clones on-site terminated. Alice Prime remains at large.
• Casualties: 2 Alpha-Level Alice Clones, 2 Beta-Level Alice Clones, 1 Gamma-Level Alice Clone, 6 MA-121 Hunters, 5 USS Soldiers, 15 Rebels.
• Team Status: Moderate Injuries.

Mission 2 began with an assignment in the jungle, where it was rumored Alice had been planning to seek asylum, along with a contingent of her clones, amidst a local Warlord. Our intrepid heroes were inserted under the radar, but things went wrong almost immediately; their helicopter was spotted by local air-defense network, and the helicopter was damaged by an AA Gun before it could make an emergency landing, grounding the team until the crew could repair it. With no other options, the team immediately set out to silence the gun and secure the crash site, which had rebel troops descending on it within only a few minutes. Fortunately, assistance arrived in the form of USS troops attempting to, likewise, kill the Alice units. They began by dropping MA-121 Hunters into the encampment - quickly scattering the rebel forces, and forcing the group to go from killing enemy personnel to BOWs.

The group quickly dealt with them, though the Telepath was heavily injured during the initial encounter. The medic began patching him up and soon had him back in the fight, if only to a degree. The Telepath's Lesser Body Adjustment power handled the rest. The group pursued the USS helicopter, and in a ballsy maneuver, hijacked their helicopter by waiting for it to land, then killing the vehicle crew and taking it for themselves. Using the stolen helicopter, the group proceeded to buzz the area and follow one of the MA-121s towards an old mine, where Alice Prime was thought to have fled. After popping the Hunter from the copter, the group landed, sabotaged the Helicopter, and entered the mine.

The Alice Clones had turned the mine into a killing field, forcing the group to rely on tactics and intelligent movement to bring down the Alpha and Beta Clones holding the interior. The fight quickly got brutal; two Alphas and two Betas had a position with a commanding field of fire, as well as a Machine Gun Nest, and the others were only too-glad to drop psy powers on the group. The Telepath was having none of that; He succeeded at nailing an Alpha with Lesser Domination despite her meaty will save, and turned her on her teammates. The Soldier moved up and made full use of an RPG-7 he had approriated earlier, damaging the entire enemy squad, whilst the Tracer scored another devastating Swift Strike with his sniper rifle. The Medic was the real star here, patching the group up between rounds, and utilizing tear gas grenades to screw with the clones when not actively healing them. The fight was over remarkably quickly, but the multiple Whitefires and Lightning Strikes had taken their toll on the party; the Medic then spent the next seven hours patching everyone up with field surgery. Now, fatigued but unhurt, the group proceeded onward.

Deeper in, they encountered a Gamma Clone (Tough Hero 10/Dreadnought 10) which had explained that Alice Prime had taken the remaining clones and fled deeper north. This was going to be a hard fight: She was heavily armored and armed, and the group couldn't run or charge! Fortunately, intelligent choices won out where raw force would likely fail: The group broke into the fuel reserve for the mine, and, using a mixture of their own equipment and the fuel containers, had the Soldier rig several major support beams to explode, causing a structural collapse that buried the Gamma alive. She actually survived several rounds after the impact; the group showed no mercy and finished her off soonafter. After looting the Clones and getting some grasp of where they were headed, the group called for extraction, and received, for their troubles, an air-dropped APC to help chase the clones on the ground-level due to the threat of SAMs - a previous flyover had cost the BSAA a copter already. Resting on the way over as they drove their new vehicle to the next objective, and with a 2 more levels under their belts, the group headed for a nearby village to restock their supplies and prepare for the fight to come.

Mission Three: Operation Red Arrow

• Target: All Alice Clones on-site terminated. Alice Prime remains at large. Village destroyed in Airstrike to prevent outbreak spread.
• Casualties: 2 Beta-Level Alice Clones, 2 Gamma-Level Alice Clones, 1 Omega-Level Alice Clone, 37 Zombies, 8 Cerberus, 6 MA-121 Hunters, 2 Bandersnatches.
• Parameter Change: UBCS Personnel encountered on-site; targets were not hostile and were allowed to leave the area.
• Team Status: Soldier remains critically injured after being dead for about a minute; Field Medic did, however, upgrade his status to "alive."

Mission 3 started in the worst way: the trail quickly went cold and the village nearby that the group stopped to refuel and resupply at had gone dark. Closer examination quickly revealed that the village had been overrun by a virus attack, though the group had no idea what the cause of it yet was. Electing to investigate, the group made their way through the streets, encountering multiple infected, and dealing with them in the way to which they were accustomed. The group quickly learned that the remaining Alice Clones had detonated a viral weapon to slow the group's progress, and released its remaining contingent of B.O.W.s; the group now had to finish refueling their APC and restocking their munitions; it was clear that if they were going to make it, they'd need to salvage what they could in terms of weaponry and medical supplies from the locals. Advancing through the town on their supply sweep as the Soldier refueled and rearmed the APC, the group eventually came upon a small squad of Umbrella's Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) soldiers fighting off both MA-121s and a Beta Alice Clone (7/10 Strong Hero/Gunslinger). The group immediately jumped to their aid, and the squad's Tracer managed to take the Alice Clone down with another satifying headshot.

Interrogating the UBCS afterwards, the group found a series of unlikely allies: The mercenaries were trying to hunt the Alice Clones as well. The BSAA team and UBCS thus put aside their differences for a time, and the group gained three temporary new members. They rejoined with the Soldier soonafter, and, after restocking ammo and gear at a nearby supply depot, the group prepared to cowboy up and head towards a fuel refinery, which is where the SAM strikes came from and where Alice Prime was believed to be. The UBCS grunts further explained that Alice Prime was planning to make an escape from the region entirely, just as soon as they could waylay a transport from the refinery's airstrip.

This could not stand. The group got moving with their UBCS allies, swearing to end this.

They came under fire soonafter, however, by more Alice Clones - 2 Gammas (10/10 Tough Hero/Soldier) and another Beta (7/10 Dedicated Hero/Psionic Agent) - and a pair of Bandersnatches. Opening fire, the group took down the B.O.W.s in short order, but several of the group were wounded when one of the Gammas fired off an RPG. This, plus focused fire, meant that the Soldier was left hurting pretty badly, but, unwilling to go down without a fight, drew his Machete and, in a move both foolhardy and ballsy, survived multiple shots as he charged into close-combat with one of the Gammas. His doing so prevented the heavy weapon Gamma from following up with another RPG, and the combined efforts of the two teams quickly cut down the beta thereafter. Unfortunately, this caused the other Gamma to lock onto him as well.

The Soldier took a critical shotgun blast, failed his massive damage save, and crumpled to the floor. Enraged by their fallen Comrade, the BSAA team lept into the fray, following their comrade's example, and, in the face of all logic, abandoned ranged combat for additional choppy. The Telepath drew his knife, Medic his stun rod. The UBCS team could only look on in stunned silence as a team of normally crack professionals utterly lost their shit and laid into the remaining two clones with more viciousness than any of the B.O.W.s could muster. The wounded Gamma went down in less than 2 rounds of sustained assault as the Tracer took advantage of flanking to shove his Katana through her, gaining his meaty damage bonus from flanking. The other Gamma went down soonafter, even though she seriously messed the group up with a cunning strategy of move-shoot-move-shoot.

At some point or another, the Medic snapped out of the fervor and broke off and decided to see if he could sew what was left of the Soldier back together. Even with his meaty +25 bonus to Treat Injury from his ranks in the skill, Master-crafted kit, Medical Expert feat, and class ability, making the DC40 check for Medical Miracle was a tough call; the Soldier could only be saved on a 15 or better. Rolling it, the Medic got a 12 - a roll that would have failed - but then, it was Action Point time. Rolling 3d6, and dropping the lowest dice, the Medic got a 1, a 2, and 4. Success! The Soldier was revived to 3 HP, as the UBCS troops provided covering fire to the medic against some more angry locals that came down looking for a meal. The final Gamma was brutalized a few rounds later when the Telepath, fed up with the Gamma's running, grabbed the Gamma with Telekinesis and threw her off her vantage point, causing her to fall about 120 feet (and to her death).

The group once more resupplied, and, after contacting HQ for an update, the group moved with their new UBCS allies and decided to take advantage of the terrain; they pulled the APC into a cave to act as an impromptu door, and spent the night inside as the Medic patched them up. The following morning, they headed out once again, setting smoke flares with timers up so that the village could be properly marked for airstrikes once the SAM sites at the refinery were down.

Advancing towards the refinery thereafter, the group's APC was ambushed in a rocket attack by an Omega-Level clone (10/10/5 Strong Hero/Telepath/Battle Mind) - the group was clearly closing in. The APC was disabled, and the group disembarked whilst the medic stayed in the commander's cupola to use the APC's turreted 30mm cannon to provide fire support. Sadly, the Omega was in a place the BMP's gun couldn't reach, forcing the rest of the squad to footslog it whilst the medic kept watch on the group's ride. Though she assailed the group with psychic powers, and managed to gain control of the party's Telepath for a few minutes with Domination, the Tracer elected to mimic something he'd seen the Telepath do, and bull rushed the Omega Clone, and, in a bit of rampant awesome, rolled a 19 on the check when she rolled a 4, and shoved her directly off the fucking ridge.

Soonafter, the Telepath snapped out of his fugue, the group patched up the APC as best they could, and drove on towards the refinery.

One way or another, it would end there.