Cobra/Con Fusion

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Are you excited for a thrilling adventure where you battle Megatron and the Baroness? You will be very disappointed!
"Cobra/Con Fusion"
Publisher	Renegade Game Studios
First published	June 24, 2023
Written by	Bryan CP Steele

"Cobra/Con Fusion" is an adventure scenario released as a part of 2023's Free RPG Day. Tying in with that year's Field Guide to Action and Adventure sourcebook, the adventure is a crossover between the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises, using elements and characters from both the Transformers Roleplaying Game and its sister subline, the G.I. Joe Roleplaying Game.

Contents

Background

Megatron is at it again—this time, he and the Combaticons have entered into a partnership with the forces of Cobra, brokering Cybertronian technology and resources to Cobra's Baroness in exchange for their full cooperation. Months later, during a meeting between the villains in France, the Autobots ambushed both groups; Swindle retreated with what he believed to be the Baroness, unaware that he'd actually fled with Chameleon, the Baroness's body double. During the fighting, Onslaught shattered Bumblebee's body and forced Bulkhead and Minerva into a retreat, taking Bumblebee's critically injured body with them.

After a days-long pursuit, the pair stumbled across a G.I. Joe encampment; after the rest of the Combaticons retreated, squad leader Stalker agreed to help repair Bumblebee, and summoned Cover Girl, Mainframe, and Doc to assist with the repairs.

Part 1: Awestruck

In France's La Grande Dune du Pilat, Stalker welcomes three teammates to their temporary field camp, and shows them an unusual transmission gleaned from some fragmentary satellite data: what appears to be the Baroness, riding in a yellow jeep, and holding a conversation with her self-driving vehicle. Stalker then introduces the new recruits to the Autobots Minerva and Bulkhead, who've brought the critically wounded Bumblebee in for repairs after a failed ambush. Using spare parts from an A.W.E. Striker, the player characters must repair Bumblebee.

The task proves difficult--both parties struggle to cooperate with each other, and the inherent difficulty of hybridizing Earth technology with Cybertronian anatomy makes the task even tougher. Eventually, however, the team successfully rebuilds Bumblebee into a new, combat-ready chassis.

Part 2: Street Hustle

Once Bumblebee is repaired, Stalker explains their mission: G.I. Joe has tracked Swindle and "Baroness" to the small town of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, and it's up to the Joes and their new allies to capture Swindle and get to the bottom of Cobra's latest scheme.

Once the heroes arrive in town, Swindle tries to make a discreet escape. However, the Joes and Autobots quickly box him in, and the jig is up when "Baroness" reveals herself to be Chameleon, who offers full cooperation in exchange for protection. She explains that Megatron sold Cobra his own schematics; Dr. Biggles-Jones used that information to develop an advanced robotic drone in a secret facility somewhere in the Pyrenees.

Part 3: Break the Joint

After handing off the two villains to G.I. Joe custody, the heroes proceed to The Joint, which has been cleverly disguised as a collapsed cavern. Inside, the player characters discover that Cobra has constructed an energon refiner that processes lignite into energon. After first defeating Biggles-Jones and her Insecticon drone minions, the team heads up to the second floor, where they face off against the Seeker Avia and a group of Techno-Vipers have constructed Fusion, a powerful hybrid of Cybertronian and Cobra technology.

If the villains gain the upper hand, the Autobots are left captured while the three Joes are ransomed back to G.I. Joe as part of a prisoner exchange. Otherwise, however, Fusion is defeated and the heroes gain the edge against Avia and the Techno-Viper Outil as they try to flee.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

Transformers references

• Fusion and the rebuilt Bumblebee are based on the G.I. Joe × Transformers Collaborative toys.
• Minerva's profile notes that she was originally a transtector who gained sentience, evoking her history in the Super-God Masterforce cartoon.
• Swindle is depicted with the appearance of Fall of Cybertron Swindle. He's even doing a finger-gun gesture with his free hand, much like FOC Swindle's toy box-art!

G.I. Joe references

• Chameleon's characterisation here draws on both her original filecard, with her French origins and the idea of her being surgically altered to resemble her half-sister, and her appearances in the IDW G.I. Joe continuity, with her being a reluctant member of Cobra. Additionally, the idea of someone being given surgery to act as a body double for a high-ranking member of Cobra evokes the Crimson Guard, who—in Marvel's G.I. Joe continuity—were surgically altered to look alike. Where the original toy had her name classified, and IDW gave her the real name of Erika Le Tene, this adventure gives her the new name of Eléa Cisarovna.
• Cover Girl's profile namedrops the fictional country of Benzheen, which debuted in Marvel's A Real American Hero comics.

Real-world references

• For whatever reason, this adventure is set in rural Southern France. As a result, the text features a high number of French landmarks and localities, including the village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the famous Dune of Pilat in Arcachon Bay, and the Pyrenees mountains.
• While not illustrated, Avia's profile notes that she transforms into a jet similar to those employed by the French Air Force's aerobatics team.

Other trivia

• This adventure is optimized for 6 10th-level characters; the book features a QR code that links to profiles for Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Minerva, Mainframe, Doc, and Cover Girl. However, the scenario is written such that these characters can be switched out as needed. Should the game master wish to increase the difficulty for a 20th level party, the book suggests swapping the Insecticon clones out for the Combaticons, and Fusion and Chameleon out for Megatron and the Baroness.

Errors

• Despite being supposed to be a Techno-Viper, Outil is depicted using stock art of an ordinary Cobra Viper.