If the runners push it, they can make 32 kilometers a day upriver by canoe. They can use the river for four and a half days, a total of 144 kilometers, but they must travel the last 16 kilometers to the plantation on land. Because the terrain is less rough at this point and because their packs are lighter (most of their supplies have been eaten by now), it will take approximately half a day to travel the last 16 kilometers on foot.
Every time the characters cover 16 kilometers, the gamemaster rolls 1D6 to determine if they have been spotted by the Amahuaca Indians. In effect, there is one chance at noon and another near nightfall. On a result of 1, the runners have encountered Amahuacas; see Friendly Indians below. The Amahuaca encounter occurs only once, so the gamemaster need make no more rolls for the Amahuacas once the runners meet them.
When the runners reach a point 96 kilometers from the horticultural plantation, there is also a chance of encountering Jívaro Indians. Again, every 16 kilometers the gamemaster should roll 1D6. At 96 kilometers out, the characters meet Jívaros on a "6"; at 80 kilometers out, on a roll of "5" or "6"; at 64 kilometers out, on a roll of "4," "5, " or "6"; and so on. Once they are within 16 kilometers, they must abandon the river and
travel overland to reach the plantation. Their chances of encountering Jívaros becomes automatic at 16 kilometers. See Headhunters, below, for details of this encounter. As with the Amahuacas, the runners will only have the Jívaro encounter once.
Note that it is entirely possible for the player characters to encounter the Jívaros before the meeting the Amahuacas.
FRIENDLY INDIANS
If the shadowrunners meet the Amahuacas before covering the first 144 kilometers of their journey, the encounter will most likely occur on the river. If, for some reason, the runners are hoofing it at the time, the gamemaster can simply adapt the description under Tell it To Them Straight to match the conditions. In either case, the team encounters 2D6 Amahuacas.
The Amahuacas are a wide-ranging, relatively peaceful group of hunter/gatherer tribes that have dwelt in the Amazon basin for thousands of years. Harlequin sought out the acquaintance of these Indians sometime ago after discovering Ehran's plantation and his ties with the Jívaros. Just before hiring Anson Helm to put together the plantation run, Harlequin contacted the Amahuacas and instructed them to watch the river for the arrival of the team and to aid its members in any way possible, short of participating in the run on the plantation. As the runners are obviously neither missionaries nor anthropologists, the Amahuacas are fairly certain that this is the group Harlequin had in mind.
The Amahuacas will give food, advice, and medical aid to the player characters if need be. Advice might include describing the savagery of the Jívaros, for example, or such basic tricks of survival as which plants to eat and which to avoid. The Indians will also follow the runners at a distance and keep an ear open for conflict with the Jívaros, as described in Headhunters, below.
For the Amahuaca chieftain, use the Tribal Chief, p. 172, Shadowrun. For the shaman, use the Shaman ( Snake Totem and Healer spell package), p. 44 of that book. For the other members of the band, use the Tribesman, p. 48 of those rules, but limit their gear to knife, bow, and 20 arrows.
The shaman has had the most recent contact with Harlequin, though the Amahuacas tell stories of previous visits by the Laughing One. The shaman will say nothing about "the Laughing One," and in fact, eventually denies even mentioning those words.
If asked about Fonte do Sol, the Amahuacas will say only that a great demon-spirit lives there.
HEADHUNTERS
The Jívaros are savages who have resisted with violence the incursions of other peoples. They have a nasty reputation among the Amahuacas, and even some outlying farms and plantations in the vicinity of the city of Eirunepé have suffered their attacks.
The Jívaros honor great killers, men with "livers of stone." The trouble with being a great killer, however, is that the Jívaros believe that the souls of victims will arise to destroy their killers unless those souls can be contained somehow. That somehow is by sewing up the eyes, ears, nostrils, and lips of a victim's head within a few hours after death, before the spirit breaks its ties with the body. After these orifices are sealed, the skull is
crushed, and the head is tanned, during which process it shrinks to the size of a fist.
Being violent by nature, the Jívaros hold shotguns as their most cherished possessions, trading or stealing them from civilized areas. Jívaros are also great bluffers, often allowing victims to believe that all has been resolved through an amiable understanding, then murdering them when they are off-guard.
In actuality, the Jívaros are native to an area much further west, near the Ecuadorian-Peruvian border, which is wheremost of their people remain. Sometime ago, Ehran was walking in the Jívaro region when some of the Indians encountered him. After feeding and entertaining Ehran, the Jívaros arose and attacked, expecting to take him by surprise. But Ehran had heard of their deceitfulness, and he was prepared. In the battle that followed, he killed eight of their bravest men before the rest of the tribe could retreat.
Unaware of the Jívaros' beliefs concerning vengeance taken by a victim's spirit, Ehran let the bodies of the slain lie for two days while he waited for the tribe to return and claim them. Finally, to end the stench of decomposition, he dug graves and tumbled the bodies into them.
The Jívaros, watching from the forest, interpreted Ehran's actions as a calculated unconcern for the vengeance of the dead. When he failed to sicken and die, they returned and worshiped him as the avatar of some warrior god.
Ehran then sought out half a dozen tribes and commanded them to move east to the rain forest around the plantation. He charged them not to set foot on the plantation, nor to let outsiders enter, unless they came by air. Thus can visitors come and go from the plantation by aircraft, but traveling overland will surely bring down the wrath of the Jívaros upon intruders' heads.
With this knowledge, the gamemaster should be able to play the part of the Jívaro party well. To determine how many Indians are present, roll 3D6. Half of them (round up) carry old shotguns given them long ago by Ehran; the others are armed with bows and arrows. All carry knives. Use the Tribesman, p. 48, Shadowrun, for these warriors, but limit their gear to that
listed for the Amahuacas, above. Accompanying these warriors is the group's equivalent of a Raven shaman; use the Shaman, p. 44, SR, and give him the Deceiver spell package.
The shaman will not stick around for the fight, particularly if his side is doing poorly. At the gamemaster' s discretion, the shaman might cast spells from a safe distance. If he can keep the the shaman alive, the character can return at the conclusion of this part of the adventure.
If things are going poorly for the runners in this battle, a band of Amahuacas (2D6 warriors) will come to their aid. The Amahuacas have been following the shadowrunners at a distance, watching for just such an occurrence. If the runners have not as yet encountered the Amahuacas, run the encounter given under Friendly Indians after this battle is over.
Once the encounter with the Jívaros is done, the shadowrunners can proceed to the plantation.
RUNNING THROUGH THE JUNGLE
It is likely that the runners will have strong fears about traveling through the Amazon jungle. Remember, the Awakening touched everything on the planet, fauna and flora alike, and the Amazon jungle is no exception. There are things down here to make even the most jaded paranaturalist salivate.
Various forms of paranatural lizards and snakes are abundant, most with Awakening-induced cosmetic changes, but some with real power and abilities. Birds of all types abound, most of them with minor, insignificant changes. Don't forget the insects. They're everywhere.
Don't forget plants, either. The Awakening didn't. The obvious ones to use are carnivorous flora such as the Venus Flytrap, but sticky, articulate, heat-sensitive vines can also be fun.
The gamemaster may consult Paranormal Animals of North America for ideas on paranatural critters. If he designs his own, the player characters will have no idea what they are up against. It may even be possible to inspire the tiniest bit of real fear in their hearts.
TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
As the shadowrunners approach Fonte do Sul, read the following:
As you work your way south through the rain forest, you begin to catch glimpses of a lighter area up ahead. Almost without warning, you come to the edge of a clearing approximately a hundred meters square, surrounded by a five-meter tall chain-link fence.
You're near the northeast corner of the place, looking across an airstrip at what appears to be a hangar building. Parked out front is a Cessna C750. Far to your right stands a veritable mansion, with a greenhouse built onto one end. Farther back on the property you can see a large shed, a barn or stable, and some fenced-off stretches of land.
It's quite a nice setup, if someone doesn't mind spending his days a million kilometers from nowhere.