The adventure begins in the dim, humming confines of an ancient hibernation chamber, buried deep within the bowels of a forgotten subterranean facility. The air is stale, thick with the scent of old metal and the faint, acrid tang of coolant fluids long past their prime. The chamber is lined with a dozen sarcophagi-like pods, their surfaces etched with the patina of ages and the intricate circuitry of a bygone era. Dust motes dance lazily in the few shafts of light that penetrate this sanctuary of slumber, illuminating the pods as their systems whir to life, initiating the reanimation protocol.
As the player characters awaken, they experience the disorienting sensation of emerging from centuries of artificial sleep. Their bodies are sluggish, minds foggy with the remnants of prolonged stasis. The chamber around them is roughly circular, about 30 feet in diameter, with walls adorned with faded murals depicting scenes of technological harmony and apocalypse intermingled, hinting at the rise and fall of a civilization far advanced and yet utterly lost.
In the center of the room stands a monolithic structure, an ancient AI terminal that has overseen the hibernation chamber for untold eons. Its surface is an intricate lattice of glowing runes and holographic displays, flickering with the vestiges of power that still course through its circuits. The AI, known as Sentinel Prime, manifests as a holographic projection above the terminal. It takes the form of an androgynous figure, its features shifting and blending seamlessly with the flowing data streams that compose its essence.
Sentinel Prime’s voice is calm, imbued with an otherworldly resonance as it addresses the newly awakened adventurers. “Greetings, inheritors of the Ancients,” it begins, its tone conveying a blend of welcome and solemnity. “You have been awakened at the cusp of a new dawn, for the world outside has changed beyond the reckoning of the archives. Your hibernation was to preserve the seed of humanity until a time when the surface could be reclaimed.”
The AI explains that their quest is to venture forth from this ancient refuge and assess the state of the world above. The PCs are tasked with gathering information about the current state of the planet, identifying any surviving pockets of civilization, and retrieving any artifacts or data caches that could aid in the rebuilding of society. Sentinel Prime warns them of the dangers that await: mutated flora and fauna, unpredictable weather patterns, and the remnants of technology gone rogue.
The five awakened creatures in the room stare at each other quizzically. Only one of them, Aurora McPhearsome is “human.” The other four are noticeably not human; Urangastan, is an Orangutan, Tippy, is a giant polar bear, Baylor is a phat! blob, and Ralphie, is a sentient fern. Odd that they should be picked to “preserve the seed of humanity.”