Respawn at the Arcade

Game system: dnd5e

A ragtag crew of scavengers trying to score the last working arcade cabinet in the Neon Wastes — and survive everyone else who wants it too.

PREMISE Sector Seven of Mall-Evermore, the arcade wing, never lost power. Nobody knows why. The backup generator in the old GameStop stockroom still runs, connected to a solar array on the roof that survived the collapse purely by luck. Inside, forty-three arcade cabinets glow in the dark: classic fighters, light-gun shooters, a Skee-Ball lane, and, the crown jewel, a pristine Dance Dance Revolution cabinet with every arrow pad still working. Multiple factions want control of the arcade for power, entertainment, and the tokens that have become local currency. The players get dragged in when the arcade's current occupant, the self-declared High Score Queen, goes missing. BACKGROUND (GM ONLY) The High Score Queen, Mei-Lin, did not disappear. She locked herself in the prize redemption booth because she found a floppy disk inside the DDR cabinet that contains a pre-collapse city map showing the location of an intact supply cache. She is trying to decode the map using the arcade machine as a computer terminal. Three factions showed up on the same day because Mei-Lin's absence tipped them off that something was happening. None of them know about the disk. They all think they are fighting over the electricity. HOOKS 1. A Skee-Ball token, the local currency, arrives in the players' camp via a kid on a bicycle. The note attached says: "I need someone to hold the arcade until I figure something out. A share of the grid is yours. -M." Signed by Mei-Lin, who is not as gone as she seemed. 2. The players are already in the arcade when three different armed groups walk in within five minutes of each other. Everyone looks at everyone else. Someone plays a dramatic fighting game outro on a nearby cabinet. 3. The Candle Wick Coven from the Bath and Body Works wing recruits the players as neutral brokers: take the arcade, manage access, and the Coven gets the scented candle machines kept running. The players are essentially hired diplomats with crowbars. ACT 1 - THREE FACTIONS, ONE FOYER Read aloud: "The arcade smells like old carpet, machine oil, and something that might be cotton candy. The screens cast everyone in shifting neon light. Across the Space Invaders cabinet: the Volt Monks, shaved heads and electrical tape robes. Behind the air hockey table: the Skee-Ball Syndicate, wearing referee vests and looking smug. In the far corner, sitting on a stack of flattened DDR pads: the Respawn Collective, who believe the arcade is a sacred site of rebirth and also want the outlets." This is a negotiation scene. All three factions want control, but each has a specific secondary need the players can exploit. The Volt Monks want a quiet workspace. The Skee-Ball Syndicate wants the token monopoly. The Respawn Collective wants the DDR machine specifically. None of them can agree, so the default is a three-way standoff on the verge of violence. Skill checks: - Persuasion DC 13 to get any one faction to stand down temporarily. - Insight DC 12 to identify the most nervous faction representative. It is Julio from the Syndicate. He has outstanding token debts. ACT 2 - WHERE IS MEI-LIN The prize redemption booth is locked from the inside. Muffled beeping from the DDR machine. Knocking gets a muffled "OCCUPIED, GO AWAY, I AM DECODING A THING." Players can investigate the DDR cabinet and find the floppy disk slot (Investigation DC 12). Getting Mei-Lin to open the door (Persuasion DC 13 or revealing that the players know about the disk) leads her to explain: the map shows a pre-collapse Costco warehouse, fully intact, three miles out. Enough supplies to reshape power dynamics across the entire Wastes. Skill checks: - History DC 11 to know that an intact Costco cache is worth far more than the arcade grid to any faction leader with a long-term view. - Arcana DC 14 to interface with the DDR machine's boot terminal and pull the map file directly without Mei-Lin's help. ACT 3 - THE BOSS FIGHT OVER THE BOSS LEVEL When one faction leader spots the players extracting the map file, it goes loud. The Syndicate's actual boss, Big Carl, bursts in from the food court wing. He is enormous, wears a Chuck E. Cheese animatronic helmet, and is furious. The other two factions begin fighting each other. The players are in the middle. KEY NPCS MEI-LIN (THE HIGH SCORE QUEEN): Former competitive gamer, current wasteland archivist. Motivation: find the supply cache and use it to establish a neutral trade zone. Quirk: narrates every situation like a speed-run commentary. "Okay so the big guy just entered, that's a new threat, we're pivoting." JULIO (SKEE-BALL SYNDICATE REP): A nervous accountant promoted into gang diplomacy. Motivation: pay off his token debts and avoid injury. Quirk: constantly tries to hand out business cards that read "Token Futures Consultant." BIG CARL: The Syndicate's actual enforcer and unannounced boss. Motivation: power, and the animatronic helmet was his idea and he is proud of it. Quirk: speaks entirely in game show catchphrases. "Survey says: YOU LOSE." THE TWIST The DDR machine, when the map file is fully extracted, plays its victory fanfare at maximum volume, alerting every faction in earshot. It also displays the cache location for thirty seconds before shutting off. Everyone in the room has seen it. Now the question is: does everyone race to the Costco independently, or do the players broker a truce and split the spoils? CLIMAX Big Carl will not let the players leave with the map data. He blocks the exit. BIG CARL: CR 3, HP 52, AC 14 (animatronic helmet counts as a helm; leather jacket). Attacks: Skee-Ball Throw (1d6+4 bludgeoning, range 20/60); Haymaker (2d6+4 bludgeoning); Chuck E. Screech, once per day (DC 13 Constitution save or frightened for 1 round). SYNDICATE GOON x2: CR 1/2, HP 16, AC 12. Attacks: Token Bag Sling (1d4+2 bludgeoning). Players can ally with the Respawn Collective, who will pile onto Big Carl for free if promised they can keep the DDR machine. The Volt Monks can also be asked to short the non-essential cabinets (2d6 lightning in a 10-foot burst, DC 13 Dexterity save to avoid). RESOLUTION AND REWARDS If the players broker a truce, all three factions establish the Token Council, which immediately starts arguing about procedures. If they simply stop Big Carl, the factions back off and Mei-Lin takes over administration with a fair access schedule. Rewards: - 250 XP each. - The Respawn Token: A giant golden Skee-Ball token. Once per long rest, if reduced to 0 HP, spend this token to regain 10 HP and reappear at the last arcade cabinet you touched. The token reappears on your person the next morning. - Mei-Lin's Map Copy: A hand-drawn copy of the Costco cache location. A future adventure hook, or a highly valuable trade good for any Wastes faction. RUNNING IT TIP 1: Keep the three factions visually distinct. Give each representative a different colored index card to track at the table. Players love managing NPC factions. TIP 2: The arcade machines are environmental features. Any combat in here should use cabinets as cover, electrified hazards if the Volt Monks get involved, and improvised weapons. A Galaga cabinet weighs two hundred pounds and can be pushed. TIP 3: Scaling. For level 2 parties, remove Big Carl and make Julio the final obstacle (CR 1, cowardly, surrenders at 50% HP). For level 4 and above, add a fourth faction: the original mall security guard, who has been in the food court the entire time and is extremely upset about the noise. Run 4 debrief: The crew jacked a cargo hauler only to find it full of vintage arcade machines. Nobody knows who ordered them or why, but three factions now want them back. Recent events: after bribing the Toll-Booth Clowns with a bag of expired tokens, the party discovered a hidden basement level beneath Arcade Zone 7. Inside: three functional cabinets, a skeleton wearing roller skates, and what appears to be a very angry vending machine AI. LOCATIONS The Warden's Cross: A crumbling crossroads fortress that once guarded the region's main trade routes. Now a contested landmark—factions use it as a meeting point, and locals avoid it after dark. The Hollow Market: An informal bazaar that appears at irregular intervals in a different location each time, following rumor and need. The only reliable source of rare materials and information in the region. NPCS The Surveyor (name unknown, they/them): A hooded figure who appears near significant ruins or events. They ask questions, never answer them, and are always gone before anyone thinks to follow. Warden Cadwell (he/him): A retired soldier turned innkeeper who has seen too much to be surprised by anything. Reliable for local history, discreet introductions, and a clean room. HOOKS - Two rival groups arrive at the same ruin simultaneously, each holding documentation proving the other's claim is fraudulent. Only one set can be real—or neither. - A trusted local contact goes silent. The last message they sent was a list of names, three of which belong to prominent regional figures.

Tags: ["neon-wastes", "gang-war", "neon", "run4", "wasteland", "post-apocalyptic", "comedy", "neonwastes", "factions", "npcs", "hooks", "gm-ready"]

A community tabletop RPG campaign shared on TableTop DLC.