ROLEPLAYING GAME

Emerald Oubliette

ADVENTURE AND GAME MASTER SCREEN

 CREDITS
EMERALD OUBLIETTE RENEGADE GAME STUDIOS
Author President & Publisher
Bryan CP Steele Scott Gaeta
Essence20 System Development Vice President Sales & Marketing
Ryan Costello, Ben Heisler, Gabriel Hicks, Paige Sara Erickson
Leitman, JF Sambrano, Bryan C.P. Steele, TJ Storm,
Controller
Elisa Teague, Eddy Webb
Robyn Gaeta
Senior Producer of Roleplaying Games
Director of Operations
Elisa Teague
Leisha Cummins
Associate Producer of Roleplaying Games
Director, Strategic Partnerships
Trivia Fox
Erika Conway
Illustrators
Sales and Marketing Program Manager
Robert Atkins, Jasper Hathaway, Gonçalo Lopes,
Fernando Lopez, Ross Persichetti, Brian Shearer, Matt Holland
and Hasbro provided artwork. Senior Producer of Board & Card Games
Graphic Designer Dan Bojanowski
Michelle Garrett Associate Producer of Board & Card Games
Layout Artist Jimmy Le
Rich Lescouflair Senior Game Designer
Editor Matt Hyra
Elisa Teague Game Designers
Cultural Consultant Dan Blanchett & T.C. Petty III
James Mendez Hodes Senior Creative Leads of Board & Card Games
Anita Osburn & Jeanne Torres
Video Production Associate
Katie Schmitt
Customer Service
Jenni Janikowski
Finance Clerk
Minnie Nelson
Event Manager
Chris Whitpan
Creative Production
Noelle Lopez
G.I. JOE and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and Creative Production
are used with permission. © 2022 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.
Licensed by Hasbro.
Todd Crapper

1
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Credits
 EMERALD OUBLIETTE
ADVENTURE
OVERVIEW
This adventure takes place in 4 Parts.
PART 1
Dial Tone has picked up some strange and
unprecedented comms traffic surrounding an
exotic herpetology show outside Albuquerque,
New Mexico. He has a hunch about some curious
message being transmitted and asks General Hawk
if he can take a team to investigate. Choosing a
group of new recruits – the player characters – to do
a little undercover field training, they have a chance
to foil a seemingly minor Cobra plot.
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G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Adventure Overview
Objectives: Discover the Cobra agents and
stop them from escaping with a haul of illegal
exotic reptiles.
PART 2
Using the information gained at the herpetology
show, Dial Tone believes that Cobra is gathering
these dangerous and illegal exotic reptiles and
amphibians into specialized shipping containers
and sneaking them out of the country. The mission
team is sent to a privatized shipping port to verify
that this is the case and gather some intelligence as
to why Cobra is gathering these specific animals.
Objectives: Discover which vessel is transporting
the Cobra shipment, reconnaissance as to why
Cobra is taking this part in the illegal exotics trade,
and stop them from doing so.
PART 3
Having discovered several Cobra shipments from
the private port heading out into neutral waters,
the mission team is joined briefly by Deep Six
for a S.H.A.R.C. (Submersible High-speed Attack
and Reconnaissance Craft) deployment
into the area of Cobra’s animal
smuggling scheme.
Objectives: Discover the hidden
seaside Cobra transfer base, stop
the smuggling efforts there, and
discover a hidden exit route to a
secret Amazon rainforest installation.

PART 4
Whether they redeploy after leaving the
seaside smuggling flotilla or if they braved the
bullet train under the sea, the mission team
is headed into the dark heart of the Amazon
rainforest, where Cobra scientists Dr. Venom
and Scalpel have set up a strange and
somewhat alien-seeming biotechnology
base to use a locally grown fungus and the
genetic materials from the exotic animals
to create mindlessly loyal reptilian shock
troopers – the Cobra Chimera troopers.
Objectives: Incapacitate the existing
Chimeras, stop Cobra from making more, and
capture the Cobra scientists.

BEGINNING THE He addresses the Joes:

ADVENTURE “Have a seat, Joes.”

The adventure begins at The Pit, G.I. Joe’s primary
headquarters and training facility. The characters
are early-career recruits working through their
normal low-ranking chores and tasks around the
compound, and they are called to one of the
communications rooms over the Pit-wide speaker
announcement system.
Once the characters all arrive at the
communications room, they will be joined by the
G.I. Joe comms specialist, Dial Tone.
He gestures to the front row of folding chairs
he just finished setting up in front of a large
electronic monitor. “I’ve been going over some
erratic transmissions on Cobra frequencies, and I
have come across some potentially troubling bits
of information. I spoke to the General, and he thinks
this could be a good way to maintain your training
and keep you ready to hop into action.”
Plopping down into the chair, Dial Tone raises
a remote control, lowers the lights, and starts
the monitor.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”

3
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Adventure Overview
 PART 1: A SCALY SHOPPING LIST
STORY OBJECTIVE
The objective of Part 1 is to detect any Cobra
agents at the herpetology show, save the animals
they are trying to smuggle out, and gather
any potentially useful information about their
involvement and future intentions.
LOOK AT THE DATA
After initially explaining to them how Cobra
seems to be getting involved in an exotic
herpetology show in New Mexico, Dial Tone
explains their role – that of investigators trying
to figure out why an international criminal
organization is seemingly trafficking exotic reptiles
and amphibians.
The characters will be flown into the city
via private airplane, change into their adopted
undercover (see; Going Undercover, below)
personas, and then take one or more rides from the
airport to the herpetology show – where they will
officially begin their investigation.
On the airplane, Dial Tone will address the team:
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G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
“I’ve given each of you a copy of the transcripts,
and I figure we can look over them while we are
on our way to Albuquerque. I’ve been through them
a bunch, but maybe a group of fresh eyes will see
something I couldn’t on my own.”
THE COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPTS
The communications that Dial Tone skimmed out
of Cobra servers and transmissions over the last few
weeks are a mixture of seemingly coded messages
that individually make little sense or at least seem
innocent in nature at first glance. It wasn’t until
Dial Tone picked up timing signatures and basic
encryption marks that he figured out Cobra was
focused on this herpetology show at all.
There are a few pieces of interesting information
that can be gleaned from the transcripts by the
characters if they go over the data during the trip.
This requires a character to make DIF 12 Alertness
(Investigation) or Science (Cryptography) Skill
Tests, with each success earning them a unique
clue about Cobra’s directions for the upcoming
herpetology show:
• There are several mentions of a “dark dancer,”
which likely refers to a seller that has the deadly
snake species dendroaspis polylepis, or “black
mamba.” It seems that Cobra might be interested
in such a deadly species.
• The four digits “1 – 4 – 3 – 0” appears multiple
times in numerical sequence in different ways,
but always in relation to a scheduling event. This
likely means Cobra is planning an important buy
or an exchange that will be taking place at 1430
hours, more commonly known as 2:30 p.m.
• A number of seemingly nonsense words, when
reversed, reveal the chemical names for a number
of potent toxins found in various poison dart
frog and other rare jungle amphibian secretions.
Writing these chemicals in reverse could refer
to the opposite of these poisons, or antivenoms.
Cobra must be also looking for protective
measures against accidental envenomation.
• Tucked inside a list of mail order accounting
receipts, there is a single lot address that appears
over and over as a ‘return shipping hub.’ Plugging
that address into the Albuquerque local postal
system reveals it to be an address that doesn’t
exist – but could be a table or booth number at
the trade show. Either that booth is Cobra’s front
at the show or it will be an important client.
• A seemingly meaningless series of web addresses
lead to a number of rapidly-processing GIF files
that all are cartoons revolving around alligators,
crocodiles, or the like. This indicates that Cobra
will be interested in any sellers that might be
peddling crocodilians, and that could be worth
looking into.
These clues, while offering some narrative
information as to what the Joes’ foes might be up to,
also allow the characters some investigative boons
during the Scouring the Trade Show segment later in
this chapter.
GM Tip: The GM should make note of how many
of these clues the Joes managed to figure out while
on the trip to New Mexico.
GOING UNDERCOVER
Most G.I. Joes have specific uniform and
equipment loadouts for their own special roles and
positions in the organization, such as Dial Tone’s
comms backpack or Snake Eyes’ combat bodysuit,
but these appearances are not suitable for any
sort of deployment into a public area. For these
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
instances, the Joes have a host of false persona
packets – complete with disguises and ID – for use
in undercover missions like this one.
On the airplane, Dial Tone will address the team:
“Go through the packets and figure out who wants
to be who, but remember – you are ALL part of a
high-end collectors’ club based out of Los Angeles.
You flew in together for the show, and are making a
vacation weekender out of it.”
“I’ll be staying just off site and in radio contact
the whole time. We don’t know what Cobra agents
might be at the show, and I’ve crossed paths
with them enough that I could be recognized. You
recruits are new enough that they shouldn’t have
any reason to suspect you – unless you give them
one. So… I guess… don’t?”
COVER ALIASES
- DRESSING THE PART
The undercover aliases are as follows, with
each one having both an feminine and masculine
presenting version based on the particular Joe’s
needs. Each character will need to choose an
undercover alias and disguise – unless their Role,
Perk, or skill specialties might already benefit them
with one – from the following list:
• Elaine Bennet/Gregg Brooks; Doctorate Students
of Zoology at UCLA; disguise include khaki cargo
shorts, a neutrally patterned button-up top, and
leather sandals.
• Anne Marks/Hollis Swaithe; Interns at the San
Diego Zoo; disguise includes zoo-issue overalls,
local sports team hat, and hiking boots.
• Francine Bordeaux/Rutger Hauptman; Gourmet
Chefs; disguise includes high-end designer jeans,
expensive athletic shoes, modest jacket, and fake
business cards for ‘private dining services.’
• Brandy Knutson/Jorge Fernandez; Exotic Animal
Breeders; disguise includes middle-class skirt/
slacks, comfortable walking shoes, vintage tee
shirt with 80s cartoon logo, and satchel with
polaroid pictures of examples of ‘past breedings.’
• Pamela Jo Hastings/Kenneth Chadwick; Socialite
Collectors; disguise includes high-end designer
everything – including jewelry, and obvious
Bluetooth earpieces.
5
 In addition to the above mundane accoutrements, PERSONAL EQUIPMENT
each disguise kit comes with a small manual
Most G.I. Joe operatives have and keep some
lockpicking set sewn into the hem of a piece of the
unique, personal equipment or weaponry for
clothing, a tracking device embedded in the sole of
their roles in the organization. While operating
the footwear, a double-encrypted communications
undercover, these items can be extremely difficult
transmitter/receiver in the collar of the clothing tuned
to “work into” a common disguise. For example,
directly to Dial Tone’s comms pack, $1500 cash that
a heavy weapons expert is not about to be able to
has been laced with traceable isotope-dye, and
bring their .50 caliber best friend to a stakeout at
U.S.-verified identification that would require a
the beach, and the explosives minelayer probably
DIF 25 Computers Skill Test to uncover a flaw.
won’t be slinging too many claymore rigs to a
civilian airport.
If there is a special or unique item one of
the characters wishes to bring on the mission
and work it into their disguise, they will first
need to clear it with Dial Tone (this mission’s
commanding officer) and then figure out how to
hide the item in question on their person.
Smaller items like handheld melee weapons and
personal sidearms can be easily tucked away with a
DIF 10 Infiltration Skill Test. Larger or more specific
items might require some disguise workarounds
such as a martial artist using their fighting stick as a
walking cane, a K-9 handler disguising their partner
as a seeing-eye dog, and so forth.
Any other equipment that the characters want to
bring with them but cannot feasibly work into their
disguises will stay with Dial Tone, along with their
normal uniforms, at the rendezvous truck a quarter
mile away from the trade show.

THE ALBUQUERQUE EXOTIC

HERPETOLOGY TRADE SHOW
& EXPO
Taking place in a large, for-rent warehouse
structure on the outskirts of Albuquerque, the Exotic
Herpetology Trade Show & Expo is a one-day
event that invites between two and three hundred
interested parties. Some of these invitees make up
the staff of the thirty booths and stalls inside, and
over the course of a twelve hour (10 a.m. – 10 p.m.)
window of the show, they will be buying, selling,
and trading all kinds of reptile and amphibian
species, in addition to the tools, equipment, and
assets of the field.

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G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
 Basic information that can be gleaned from the
blueprints and common data searching about the
show is as follows:
• This is the 4th annual event of this type.
• In previous years, the show has seen an average
of $150,000 change hands.
• There are 30 sales/trade entities registered yearly.
• The show location has two floors: the primary
show floor where all of the booths and stalls are
and a balcony-like second story that is a ring of
offices and storage units.
• There are two sets of stairs (one at each end of
the building) and one freight elevator (centrally
located) that connect the two floors.
• The show location has six sets of pedestrian doors
distributed evenly around the ground floor, and
one heavy shutter-style double door near the
freight elevator.
• The show uses numbers instead of names to
keep track of expo-goers and exhibitors, keeping
everyone’s privacy and tracking transactions using
barcoded wristbands and lanyards.
• Security at the show is handled by a private
security firm, Gila Valley Safety Services, who have
four active security guards on staff during the show.
If needed, the statistics for an average Gila Valley
Safety Services Guard is listed below.
BASIC RECONNAISSANCE
When the Joes reach the trade show, if they
choose to investigate the area, there will be ample
time to walk the perimeter, size up any opposition,
and get an idea how Cobra agents could make their
escape with their illicit goods after the show.
Dial Tone monitors the airwave traffic for any
sudden transmissions or signal bursts, but otherwise
he stays off the team’s comms, leaving it open for
the team members to talk between one another.
As the mission’s CO, he answers quick questions
and helps navigate the team from his position in a
shielded van a quarter mile away.
GM Tip: Investigation is about the characters
getting the answers and overcoming the obstacles
on their own. It is important for G.I. Joe soldiers to
be able to solve problems without relying on more
veteran members to fight their battles for them, so
Dial Tone shouldn’t give them all of the answers.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
During an initial sweep of the trade show grounds,
each character may attempt a DIF 14 Alertness
(Investigation) Skill Test in the area they are walking
around to notice anything “out of the ordinary”:
GILA VALLEY SAFETY SERVICES
GUARD (GVSS GUARD)
THREAT LEVEL: 1
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 2
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 13 EVASION: 12
WILLPOWER: 12 CLEVERNESS: 11
SKILLS:
Alertness +d2, Conditioning +1, Culture +d2, Might
+d2*, Persuasion +d2, Targeting (Handguns) +d4*
Languages: English, Spanish
PERKS:
Communication Device: Radios connect GVSS
Guards to each other at the show, allowing them
to call each other for backup if necessary.
Call for Backup: (Persuasion) +d2* By using
a Move Action, a GVSS Guard can use their
Communication Device to Call for Backup.
This requires a DIF 10 Persuasion Skill Test.
If successful, this will summon all remaining and
active GVSS Guard in 2d4 combat rounds.
AT TACKS:
Handgun (Targeting) +d4*, Range 30/60
(1 Sharp Damage)
Traits: Ballistic
Stun Gun (Targeting) +d4, Range 10/20
(1d2 Stun)
Unarmed Strike (Might) +d2, Reach
(1 Blunt Damage)
GEAR:
Small Handgun, Stun Gun, Personal Effects
(Wealth +d2), Trade Show ID Reader
HANG-UPS:
Hired Help: As part time security-for-hire, GVSS
Guards are not about to get themselves seriously
hurt or worse in the line of duty. Anytime the
Guard loses Health for any reason, roll a d2. If the
result is equal to or greater than their remaining
Health, they flee from the scene; consider
them Defeated.
7
 THE MAIN PARKING LOT
• Most of the vehicles have small cargo trailers or
freight boxes on them; likely for the storage and
transportation of the animals.
• There are license plates representing most of the
West and Southwest states. There is one large
refrigeration truck with brand new iconography
in English but has very old, rusted plates bearing
registry tags out of Mexico.
• There are four motorcycles parked near one
another; a strange choice of transportation for
buyers or sellers of live animals or zoological
products. Closer inspection reveals they are
souped-up and modified for keyless ignition,
chemical boosted speed, and run-flat tires.
THE LOADING DOCK LOT
• There is an enormous pile of half-burnt cigar butts
by the freight access doors, denoting far more
than just someone with a bad habit. Someone
who smokes Caba Municipos has been waiting by
those doors a lot in the last day or so.
• The physical latch and lock on the double doors
have been cut by a plasma torch or oxycutter.
This means those doors cannot be actually locked.
THE EMPLOYEE SMOKING AREA
• There are two reptile dealers that frequent this
spot (and will frequent this spot occasionally all
day long), one of which is being paid to ‘look
out’ for police, government agents, and anyone
looking for possible exotic animal smugglers.
THE GRASSY COURTYARD
• There are a number of tire tracks and ruts in the sod
that lead away to a gulley not immediately visible
from the warehouse. A closer, DIF 16 Alertness
(Investigation) Skill Test will match the tire tracks to
the Mexican refrigeration truck and the motorcycles
– the vehicles Cobra uses to move the materials to
the larger truck waiting in the gulley.
The cursory information could be helpful in this
chapter, especially if the Joes can track down the
Cobra agents and want to set up an ambush or
sabotage vehicles, etc. Aside from preparations for
Cobra’s as-yet-unknown exit strategy, it allows the
characters a chance to roleplay with one another,
get used to their undercover identities, and discuss
their plans for heading inside – which takes place at
the primary entrance.
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G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
THE TRADE SHOW ENTRANCE
When the Joes want to go ahead and enter the
show itself, they can just follow the signs and talk
to Elena, the mid-40s Latina in charge of getting
people their lanyards and ID bracelets.
Considering the undercover aliases have been
registered, cleared, and paid for in concern to the
show, unless the characters do or say something
truly cover-blowing, they receive their ID goods
and gain entrance to the warehouse without any
trouble at all.
Should they choose to ask Elena anything with the
intent of learning things that might point the team
toward secret Cobra influence, the highest result of
a Persuasion Skill Test will give a small idea as to
anything strange she has seen:
RESULT INFORMATION
1–5 “This is a show full of rep-heads and scale
addicts. Everyone’s a little weird.”
6 – 10 “Roberto has been bragging all morning that
this is going to be his best year; and everybody
says he only brought frogs. Frogs!”
7 – 15 “We DID have a last minute cancellation-
replacement sort of thing with the Getula
brokers; those high-class guys with the
fridge truck.”
16+ “Carlos, the head of onsite security, apparently
took a nasty fall last night and couldn’t be here
today. He’ll be okay, but the company sent over
a stand in… and that guy is more than a little
off-putting.”
SCOURING THE TRADE SHOW
Once inside the warehouse, the Joes can tour the
entire show – looking closely for signs of Cobra
agents involved there. There are approximately
100 show-goers wandering the rows of stalls at any
given time during the show’s hours, and if the Joes
know where to go to eavesdrop, what to look for in
the normal business and social transactions – they
will eventually be able to figure out who the six
Cobra agents are, undertaking their illicit affairs
at the show.
Dial Tone’s orders were very clear though:
“Do not engage the Cobra agents until you are
completely sure. We know of at least four agents in
the area. Apprehend them if possible; we need to
know what they know.”
USING THE DATA RESEARCH CLUES Cobra in the act with a successful DIF 14 Alertness
If the team manages to earn one or more clues (Insight) Skill Test at the point of someone else’s
looking over the data on the trip to New Mexico, inquiries there or by getting a booth worker admit
they are pre-armed with knowledge that will help their willingness to break the law with a DIF 13
them know where to look for the signs of Cobra’s Deception or Persuasion Skill Test.
influence or agents. • Look For Flagged Goods Leaving the Show
For each clue the team earned, one of the At trade shows like these, large, important, or
characters may choose to gain Edge on any Skill secured sales are often handled in two parts for
Test made during this segment of the chapter. safety’s sake – the money and paperwork first, then
There are three ways characters may participate in the product is securely prepared and tagged for the
the deeper investigation: purchaser to pick up the containers before they leave.
• Sneaking Around Other Peoples’ Transactions
The business model at a trade show is often fast
and between two interested parties near their stall or
booth, most likely while handling or inspecting the
merchandise in question. Very rarely are deals made
for offsite or unseen merchandise, and haggling of
price is completely normal. A lot can be learned from
eavesdropping in on other peoples’ deals, watching
for irregular speech patterns and deal negotiations.
Up to two of the six Cobra agents – both of which
are wearing hideous Hawaiian print shirts in red and
blue – can be discovered through eavesdropping
on business transactions. That is accomplished by
getting close enough to the people talking with DIF
12 Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Tests, or figure out a
different or narrative way instead.
• Watch the Illegal Stall Activity
There are thirty stalls in the show, each
one selling and buying something
related to herpetology. All but
three booths are completely
legitimate and deal only in
legal affairs, and even those
that are willing to ‘look the
other way’ or are actively
trading in illegal species or
substances are generally just
business owners looking to make a profit – they
aren’t truly villainous; just unscrupulous and
immoral. These three sellers are who the Cobra
agents have been in communication with about
acquiring their illicit shopping list.
Up to two of the six Cobra agents – the
satchel-wearing, paying off cash-handlers clad
in cheap-looking slacks and jacket outfits – can
be discovered by watching for con-goers acting
strangely or trying to get a stall or booth’s worker(s)
to do something illegal. A character can catch a

9
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
 If the Joes are clever and can figure out the tag and
ticket numbers for the illicit items Cobra is supposed
to be in the market for, they should be able to figure
out where and when the agents will be picking up
their goods – and who is doing the moving.
One Cobra agent – a tall, dark-skinned man who
smokes too many cigars – can be divulged from the
crowd by noticing and comparing all of a certain tag
number on the illicit goods and animal containers
headed to the loading dock. This is accomplished by
succeeding in no fewer than three DIF 12 Alertness
Skill Tests while tracking goods headed to loading.
While the Joes are moving about the trade show,
interacting with the people there and trying to figure
out who the Cobra agents are, they have to be
careful not to tip their hands at being undercover.
Any time one of the characters attempts one of
the above methods of finding Cobra agents and
fails (or the GM feels that one of the characters is
acting strangely enough to warrant it), they must
immediately attempt to blend into their cover story
with a DIF 12 Deception (Disguise) Skill Test. If any
character fails their undercover test more than once
– or critically fails it at all, their cover is blown and
the Cobra agents will take what they can and head
to their truck and motorcycles – and the Stop That
Truck! segment below.
Once the Joes figure out who at least four of
the six Cobra agents are, they can work between
each other to set up the perfect ambush to try and
apprehend them in the following section.
“YOU SNAKES ARE NOT
ON THE APPROVED LIST ”
The Cobra agents meet outside the freight doors
every hour or so to check in with each other, and
for their mission leader to light up one of his South
American cigars. They talk for a few minutes while
the one smokes, then they go back into the show to
continue their work.
When the Joes are ready and have figured out at
least four of the Cobra agents, they can engage the
enemy – hopefully ambushing them away from the
public in order to avoid endangering any bystanders!
There are five Cobra Troopers and one Cobra
Viper (the cigar smoker) who are at the show. They
are not armed and equipped like they normally
are. Instead, they are here to gather a specific list of
resources from the show, but they will mask up and
arm themselves when confronted by the Joes.
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G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
During the Combat Scene that will ensue, the
Cobra Troopers will try to occupy the Joes long
enough for the Viper to get into the refrigeration
truck and try to drive away (see: Stop That Truck!),
but this will be difficult if the characters paid
attention and understand that Cobra needs that
truck and its contents. If the Viper gets Defeated, the
Cobra Troopers will try to flee on their motorcycles.
The statistics for the Cobra Viper and Cobra
Troopers are provided below:
COBRA TROOPER
(OUT OF UNIFORM)
THREAT LEVEL: 0
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 2
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 11 EVASION: 11
WILLPOWER: 11 CLEVERNESS: 11
SKILLS:
Alertness +d2, Might (Knives) +d2*, Streetwise
+d2, Targeting (Handguns) +d2*
Languages: English, Spanish
PERKS:
Bullet Stopper: The highest threat level Cobra
in the combat gains a bonus to Evasion equal to
the number of Cobras with the Bullet Stopper
perk in the encounter with them. If the highest
threat level Cobra has the Bullet Stopper perk,
they do not count towards their bonus to
Evasion. If more than one Cobra in the combat
is tied for highest threat level, the one who is in
charge gains the bonus.
Unrecognizable: Unless you memorize
eyebrows, identifying individual Cobra Troopers
can be difficult. Abilities that gain a benefit for
targeting the same character multiple times (such
as an Officer’s Inundation ability) suffer ↓ equal
to the number of Cobra Troopers active on the
battlefield.
AT TACKS:
Fang Handgun (Targeting) +d2*, Range 40/90
(1 Sharp Damage)
Traits: Ballistic, Silent
Combat Knife (Might) +d2*, Reach
(1 Sharp Damage)
EQUIPMENT:
Fang Handgun, Combat Knife, Trade Show
Tags and Badge

COBRA VIPER
(OUT OF UNIFORM)
THREAT LEVEL: 1
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 2
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 12 EVASION: 12 GM Tip: This is just the beginning of the adventure,
WILLPOWER: 11 CLEVERNESS: 11
SKILLS:
Alertness +d2, Athletics +d2, Might (Knives) +d2*,
Targeting (Handguns) +d4*
Languages: English, Spanish
PERKS:
Bullet Stopper: The highest threat level Cobra
in the combat gains a bonus to Evasion equal to
the number of Cobras with the Bullet Stopper
perk in the encounter with them. If the highest
threat level Cobra has the Bullet Stopper perk,
they do not count towards their bonus to
Evasion. If more than one Cobra in the combat
is tied for highest threat level, the one who is in
charge gains the bonus.
AT TACKS:
Fang Handgun (Targeting) +d2*, Range 40/90
(1 Sharp Damage)
Traits: Ballistic, Silent
Combat Knife (Might) +d2*, Reach (1
Sharp Damage)
EQUIPMENT:
Fang Handgun, Combat Knife, Cover
Persona Effects (Wealth +d8), Trade Show
Tags and Badge
STOP THAT TRUCK! (OPTIONAL)
This optional scene allows for a short vehicular
chase or combat scene before initiating a combat
scene with the Cobra agents at a new location.
If the Cobra Viper gets to the refrigerated truck –
either because Cobra is on to the undercover Joes or
if he slips into the driver’s seat during “You Snakes
Are Not On the Approved List” – he will fire up the
engines and burn out of the parking lot, across the
grassy courtyard, and toward the hidden gulley a
half mile into the hills.
As soon as the Viper gets the truck started, all
but one of the Cobra Troopers will leap onto their
motorcycles and follow after it.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
If the characters are able to defeat one or two of
the Troopers quickly enough, they may hop onto the
motorcycles and give chase.
Use the vehicle combat rules found in the G.I. JOE
Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook to represent the
chase itself, or a few well-placed DIF 10 Driving
Skill Tests to allow for combat actions at the truck.
so it’s up to the GM to decide how in-depth this
optional chase scene is. The more checks that need
to be made, the longer of an encounter this will be.
If all of the motorcycles leave before the Joes
can grab one, Dial Tone can be called in with his
observation van from its offsite location a minute
or two later, and the characters can use the van to
catch up and confront the Viper and the Troopers in
the hidden gulley, while the Cobra agents try to load
everything into a larger cross-country shipping truck.
If needed, the statistics for the Refrigerated Hauler
and Modified AT-Bikes are listed below:
PICKING UP THE PIECES
After the Cobra agents are dealt with, the Joes
have a number of things they must accomplish
before heading back to HQ. The following list of
tasks must be completed in New Mexico before Dial
Tone allows the characters to move on to the next
deployment in this adventure. Dial Tone will have
already called the local authorities to come and deal
with the illegal sales booths and their personnel.
• Search the refrigerated hauler for the paperwork
and notes that lead to the coordinates of the
private port, requiring a successful DIF 12
Alertness (Investigation) Skill Test.
• Round up all of the Cobra agents, restrain them,
and get them ready for incarceration.
Story Point
If the characters defeat the
Cobra agents without the local
area becoming a disaster, the
bystanders remained safe, and the
exotic animals Cobra was acquiring
were returned unharmed, the team
is awarded a Story Point.
11
 The following are optional tasks that the team
may choose to complete before leaving the scene:
• Confiscate all illicit animal goods and prepare
them for the local department of Natural
Resources.
• Investigate the packages to determine where the
MODIFIED ALL TERRAIN BIKE
THREAT LEVEL: 1
SIZE: Long HEALTH: 2
GROUND MOVEMENT: 45 feet
TOUGHNESS: 12 (1 armor) EVASION: 14
WILLPOWER: — CLEVERNESS: —
SKILLS:
Acrobatics (Maneuverability) +d4, Brawn +d2,
Initiative +d2, Might +d2*
AT TACKS:
Ram; +d4*, Reach (2 Blunt Damage)
Alternate Effect: Trip
Traits: Blunt, Drive-by
VEHICLE INFO:
Crew: 1 driver, 1 passenger
Hardpoint Weapons: None
Firepoints: 1/2 – passenger can attack freely;
driver can attack, but takes a Snag on Driving
skill tests until end of next round
Defenses: Light Plating (+1 armor bonus)
Traits: Vehicle
PERKS:
Responsive: Between the light frame, sensitive
control system and the exposed driver, the
AT-Bike reacts well to the driver’s survival
instinct. The AT-Bike can use the driver’s Evasion
against attacks instead of its own.
Secure Ignition: The AT-Bike will not operate
without the wireless activator within 20 feet of it.
Vehicle: As a vehicle, this is a sophisticated
piece of equipment that requires at least one
Driver to operate. Without a driver, the AT-Bike is
considered a Threat Level 0 object, and all attacks
target its Toughness. Effects that affect a target’s
Willpower or Cleverness only affect this vehicle
if it has a driver, in which case they target the
driver’s Willpower or Cleverness. It is immune to
Conditions and effects that exclusively affect the
living, like poison, but is susceptible to effects
that affect machines, such as Anti-Tank weapons.
Vehicle damages can be fixed with a Standard
engineering kit and a Technology Skill Test.
12
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 1: A Scaly Shopping List
• Give aid to any bystanders that might have
been hurt, and help repair damages done to the
warehouse area due to the undercover mission –
G.I. Joe does not leave messes for the locals to
clean up, if they can help it!
shipments were being sent (see Part 2: An Old
Fashioned Smuggler’s Cove).
REFRIGERATED HAULER
THREAT LEVEL: 2
SIZE: Extended HEALTH: 4
GROUND MOVEMENT: 45 feet
TOUGHNESS: 15 EVASION: 11
WILLPOWER: — CLEVERNESS: —
SKILLS:
Brawn +d4, Conditioning x2, Might +d4*
AT TACKS:
Ram; +d4*, Reach (2 Blunt Damage)
Alternate Effect: Trip
Traits: Blunt, Drive-by
VEHICLE INFO:
Crew: 1 driver, 3 passengers (in cabin),
2 passengers (in storage area)
Hardpoint Weapons: None
Firepoints: 2 in cabin and 2 out of rear doorway
Defenses: None
Traits: Land, Vehicle
PERKS:
Cold Storage: The Hauler’s cargo and storage
area is pressurized with a cooled life-support
section that grants Edge to any Science
(Medicine), Technology (Biology), or similar
skill being performed within that section.
Vehicle: As a vehicle, this is a sophisticated
piece of equipment that requires at least one
Driver to operate. Without a driver, the Hauler is
considered a Threat Level 0 object, and all attacks
target its Toughness. Effects that affect a target’s
Willpower or Cleverness only affect this vehicle
if it has a driver, in which case they target the
driver’s Willpower or Cleverness. It is immune to
Conditions and effects that exclusively affect the
living, like poison, but is susceptible to effects
that affect machines, such as Anti-Tank weapons.
Vehicle damages can be fixed with a Standard
engineering kit and a Technology Skill Test.
 PART 2: SHIPPING AND HANDLING
STORY OBJECTIVE
The objective of Part 2 is for the G.I. Joes to
infiltrate a secret shipping port, research why Cobra
is trafficking in such specific exotic animals and
related merchandise, figure out the next potential
destinations for these clandestine containers, and
put a stop to it.
PACKAGES AND COORDINATES
The packages confiscated at the reptile show are
labeled with sets of numbers, easily interpreted as
coordinates.
A DIF 11 Technology (Computers) Skill Test or, if
someone might have reason to know the area, a DIF
12 Culture Skill Test will reveal both the location
and the nature of this narrow, tucked away cove.
Digging into the history of the area reveals a
little-known local legend called ‘Captain Cutter and
Treachery Bay.’ A pirate of the age of sail, Captain
Robert Cutter and his ship, the Barnacled Blade,
used the jagged, coral coastline of the area to claim
his own private hideaway. This pocket of accessible
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
deep water was said to allow the Blade to come
and go as it pleased, loading up his shoreline
lackeys to run off into Baja and sell his loot. The
sandy beached cove was known as Treachery Bay.
Captain Cutter was never captured for his crimes,
but his ship did wash ashore in Treachery Bay
years after he ceased his predation on the trade
lines – mysteriously, completely crewless. Locals
say the place is cursed and generally give it a wide
berth, making it a perfect place for Cobra to set up a
private little port for their secret shipping schemes.
Once this location is calculated and confirmed as
being the most likely location Cobra is sending the
reptilian goods, General Hawk gives the greenlight
to continue the mission.
Dial Tone is still in command of this mission, and
he has the following to tell the characters:
“Alright Joes, we are heading into enemy territory
and we don’t know just how full of snakes this place
is going to be. We could be looking at a local site
run mostly by civilians on Cobra payroll, or it could
be a pit full of vipers, each one ready to strike.
13

This means we are going to high-speed night-
drop in a few klicks inland of Treachery Bay, hoof it
in quietly to infiltrate and recon the area, and put a
stop to whatever Cobra is doing there – because
we know it can’t be good.
Get ready. No undercover outfits this time, so
gear up. We have no idea what is waiting for us.
Wild Bill says we are wheels up in twenty.”
MISSION EQUIPMENT
AND REQUISITIONS
Unlike the recon engagement in New Mexico,
which had an extremely restricted equipment list
the characters were granted for the mission, this is
more of a standard operation – meaning the Joes
receive their personal allotments and standard
issue equipment, but also receive mission specific
additions and can attempt to ask for more through
Requisition attempts.
Mission Equipment: Each character is given a
reinforced single-use parachute pack, a low-yield
emergency flare, and a goggle/oxygen-breather mask.
Requisition Budget: Each character is allowed two
special Equipment Requisition attempts to augment
their mission kit.
THE DROP
It takes a little courage and a modest amount of
skill for the characters to hurl themselves out of
a perfectly good Dragonfly helicopter, especially
when a daredevil pilot like Wild Bill is at the stick.
As the Dragonfly XH-1 can only carry 3 passengers,
the team will likely have to take two helicopters
to the drop zone (the second has a basic Joe
helicopter pilot).
Each character, with the aid of the hangar crew,
will have their pack and equipment fully prepped
for the drop before they ever even step foot on a
Dragonfly. If necessary, a technical aide will come
and find a way to make certain equipment options
jump-ready as well. Everyone will be ready within
the promised 20 minutes, but Wild Bill will wait an
additional 10 if there is a good reason. However,
tardiness from the team will mean that he will fly
a little more erratically on the way to the drop to
make up for time.
14
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
Once in transit, the characters have as much time
as they need to talk, discuss, and generally roleplay
with one another, Dial Tone, and Wild Bill – all
through headset microphones designed to keep out
the noise of helicopter travels.
GM Tip: This is a good place for the GM to
encourage the characters to get to know each other
better, talk about their talents, and discuss plans.
When the team is ready to make the drop, red
lights fill the Dragonflies’ personnel cabins and the
Joes must line up at the exit hatch to get ready to
jump. The Dragonflies are not going to stop as they
pass over the drop zone; they are barely going to
slow down. The team, Dial Tone included, must
jump when the light turns green.
Opening the parachute when the pressure light
glows is easy, as it is keyed in for this kind of
jump to open automatically at the correct altitude.
However, the characters need to complete the
following two steps:
1. Steer the descent with a DIF 12 Athletics Skill
Test. Success lands them in the 90 foot diameter
drop zone where the rest of the team is supposed
to meet up. Failure puts that character off target
by a number of feet equal to fifteen times the
amount the Skill Test failed by. For example, if
the character fails by 4, they miss the DZ by 60
feet. A Fumble triples the failure distance and
imposes a Snag on the Landing Skill Test.
2. Land the descent with either a DIF 10 Athletics
or DIF 12 Acrobatics Skill Test. Upon success, a
character will land with a quick roll to their feet.
Failing this test will result in a rough landing for
the character. In this case, the player must roll
a d20. If the result is higher than the character’s
Toughness (without armor), they suffer one
point of Evasion Damage. If the landing test is a
Fumble, the character automatically suffers one
point of Evasion Damage.
Once the characters have landed and arrive into
the drop zone – possibly needing the use of their
emergency flares or Alertness and Survival Skill
Tests – Dial Tone helps everyone detach their packs,
coil everything together under a camouflaged tarp,
perform a quick once over of their equipment, and
get ready to approach. Dial Tone expresses that he
hopes that the area will be a tiny, mostly civilian-
operated wharf with an oceangoing boat or two but
that it is important to be ready for any inevitability.
THE APPROACH
The Treachery Bay Shipping Port total territory
covers almost a full mile of grounds from the dock-
studded shoreline of the port itself. While Dial
Tone is correct, most of the facility is operated by
local civilians who are all too happy to take Cobra’s
money – but he was wrong about the collective Cobra
presence, however. There are, in fact a small cell’s
worth of Cobra soldiers here monitoring the civilians,
safeguarding the goods, and piloting the vehicles.
As the team winds its way trough the overgrowth
and coastal woodlands to reach the facility grounds
proper, they will need to try and avoid the light
Cobra patrols in the surrounding area.
In order to determine if the team run into any
Cobra patrols, the character on the team with the
lowest Survival skill level (players’ choice if tied)
must attempt an Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Test.
DIAL TONE
THREAT LEVEL: 6
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 5
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 11 EVASION: 17
WILLPOWER: 17 CLEVERNESS: 11
Meek and awkward, Dial Tone continuously needs
to prove his worth to the G.I. Joe team. What he
lacks in traditional military skills, he makes up
for in technological wizardry, and the willingness
to brave the deadliest battlefields despite
constantly hearing that he’s no soldier.
SKILLS:
Alertness (Perception) +d6, Athletics (Grenades)
+d2, Culture +d6, Initiative +d6, Persuasion
+d2, Targeting (Assault Rifle) +d6*, Technology
(Communications) +d12
Languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese,
Pashto, Farsi, Russian, and Korean.
PERKS:
Retrofit: As a Standard Action, Dial Tone
can turn his Restricted Communications Kit
into a Limited Kit of any other Technology
specialization. If he hasn’t spent the Limited
Kit, he can turn it back into a Restricted
Communications Kit as a Standard action.
If he has spent the Limited Kit, he can turn it
back into a Restricted Communications Kit in
10 minutes.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
This test is made with a ↑1 dice shift for every
member of the team that has at least one skill level
in Survival; however the test suffers a ↓1 dice shift
for each member of the team that is not skilled in
Survival at all.
The result of that Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Test
shows how the GM needs to deal with the Joe team
approaching Treachery Bay:
INFILTRATION
(STEALTH) RESULT WILDERNESS PATROL EVENT
21+ Avoid all patrols and reach the
perimeter fence.
16 – 20 Move slowly and avoid patrols; test
again after an hour – with Edge.
11 – 15 2 Cobra Troopers on foot
6 – 10 2D2+1 Cobra Troopers on foot
1–5 1 Cobra Trooper in a C.L.A.W.
Fumble 3 Cobra Troopers in C.L.A.W.s
AT TACKS:
9mm Parabellum Assault Rifle (Targeting)
+d6*, Range 60/100 (1 Sharp Damage)
Alternate Effect: 2 Sharp Damage (↓2) or 2 Sharp
Damage to Multiple (3) Targets (30ft cone, ↓2)
Traits: Ballistic, Reload
EMP Grenade (Athletics) +d2*, Range 20/50
(1 Electromagnetic Damage, Blast: 10ft radius)
Traits: Consumable, Computerized, Electromagnetic
POWERS:
Jammer: Dial Tone excels at taking enemy
computerized equipment offline. As a Standard
action, Dial Tone can target a piece of enemy
computerized equipment within 100 ft. If the
equipment is operated by one or more creatures,
one of the creatures rolls a Technology Skill Test
against Dial Tone’s Technology Skill Test. If no one
operates the equipment, Dial Tone rolls against the
equipment’s availability DIF.
If Dial Tone is successful, the equipment (or the
benefits of an upgrade with the computerized trait)
stops working until the beginning of Dial Tone’s next
turn. This duration is doubled on a critical success.
The equipment can be repaired before the duration
ends with a successful Technology test against the
results of Dial Tone’s Technology Skill Test.
EQUIPMENT:
9mm Parabellum, EMP Grenade x1, Impulse
Armor with Dome Generator, Restricted
Communications Kit
15
 TREACHERY BAY

16
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling

“I have an
idea…”
As soon as the characters break
through or go over the perimeter
fence, Dial Tone has them pause
for a moment while he points out a
nearby communications tower and
shows them the fiber optic cabling
that runs right by where they are.
He explains that, if he taps into
those lines, he can selectively jam
and run interference on the facili-
ty’s internal communications.
For the GM’s purposes, this
means that a higher level char-
acter like Dial Tone isn’t around
to do everything for the player
characters, but it also keeps the
various patrols and encounters
from instantly telling each other
what they see, sounding the alarm,
and making this a huge mess
extremely quickly.
For any of the interactions with the Cobra patrols,
the Joes can immediately jump into a standard
Combat Scene, or they can try to hide and avoid the
patrols – even with Dial Tone there, the collective
instincts of the characters will set the tone, so it is
ultimately their decision.
If Combat is the result, the GM should determine
who ambushes who, if at all, and continue as
normal. These patrols are generally pretty far apart,
and combined with the noise from the equipment
at the facility, other patrols shouldn’t hear these
combats unless actual explosives or heavy
weapons are used.
Should the Joes try to avoid the patrols altogether,
everyone will need to dive for cover and make their
own Infiltration (Stealth) skill test versus the patrol’s
collective Alertness skill test; the test taken with
a ↑1 dice shift if there are more than 2 members
of the patrol. If the patrol manages to catch the
Joe team hiding, Cobra will immediately have the
element of surprise!
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
For the statistics on basic Cobra Troopers and the
Cobra C.L.A.W. vehicle, see their entries in The G.I.
JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook.
Once the patrols have been dealt with or
circumvented, the characters find themselves at the
perimeter fencing of Cobra’s hidden Treachery Bay
Shipping Port facility.
TREACHERY BAY SHIPPING PORT
Once the team reaches the perimeter fence,
they gain the freedom of a general reconnaissance
mission. They can stick together, split up, keep
radio silence, stay in touch – really whatever they
feel like doing as they see fit in order to make the
most of the mission.
The facility itself is surrounded by a ten foot chain
fence topped with an additional two feet of razor
wire. It should take a few minutes with wire cutters
or a careful DIF 12 Athletics or Acrobatics Skill Test
(along with a piece of canvas, jacket, etc. to hang
over the wire); failing the climb inflicts 1 Slashing
Damage automatically, increasing to 2 on a Fumble.
It should be noted that the fence itself is not wired
with any kind of alarm or security system, only the
main gate itself.
After breaking through the perimeter, the team has
a multitude of options to explore inside the facility.
There are three ‘sectors,’ arranged like layers from
the perimeter to the shore. Within these layers are
points of interest the team will try to investigate in
order to understand and thwart whatever Cobra is
doing here in Treachery Bay.
Each of the points of interest (the subsections
below) bear a number in superscript on their section
header; that number is what layer in which the
point of interest is physically located. The team (or
split up sub-teams, etc.) must move from layer to
layer, point of interest to point of interest, around
the facility in order to gain the intelligence they
need to strike at the heart of the operation – the
ships docked offshore (see A Nest of Morays).
As that the facility is not vacant of personnel –
both Cobra and civilian – the G.I. Joes may want to
move around Treachery Bay with some semblance
of stealth and cunning in order to avoid bringing the
entire staff down onto them!
To represent this, the characters (however they
are grouped) may choose to do one of two things as
their ‘scene.’
17
 • Inspect a Point of Interest on their current
Layer Level.
• Move from their current Point of Interest up or
BAY WORKER
down one Layer Level. The characters start at the THREAT LEVEL: 0
Perimeter Fence, which is Layer 0. SIZE: Common HEALTH: 1
Inspecting a point of interest is mechanically easy; GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
just read the appropriate sub-section below and the
TOUGHNESS: 12 EVASION: 11
encounter involved takes place for the characters WILLPOWER: 11 CLEVERNESS: 12
doing so. These encounters are designed for the
whole mission team to deal with them, which could SKILLS:
mean a higher level difficulty and risk if the team Alertness +d2, Brawn +d2, Initiative +d2, Might
splits into smaller sub-teams to cover more ground. (Tools) +d2*, Persuasion +d4
Moving up or down a Layer Level requires the Joes Languages: English, Spanish
to cover a modest amount of open facility grounds
without raising suspicions or running into security PERKS:
patrols. In order to do so, the characters must make Part of the Team: If this combatant makes
DIF 12 Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Tests. For each point a melee attack against a target that an ally
a character fails this test by, add 1 to the team’s total has already made a melee attack against this
combat round, this combatant gains Edge on
‘Noise.’ A Fumble doubles the amount the test was
that attack.
failed by. After all characters who are moving up or
down Layer Levels have made the test, compare their AT TACKS:
total Noise to the appropriate Layer Level column
Tool Strike (Might) +d2*, Reach
on the table below – showing what kind of facility (1 Sharp Damage)
personnel the Joes have just encountered!
Unarmed Strike (Might) +d2, Reach
Unless the Joes can talk fast or figure out some (1 Blunt Damage)
way to avoid it, these encounters are likely to
immediately result in Combat Scenes. EQUIPMENT:
For statistics of Cobra Troopers and Cobra Vipers, Labor Tools, Personal Effects (Wealth +d4)
see The G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. HANG-UPS:
Use the entries below for the statistics of Bay Just a Job: The workers at Treachery Bay are
Workers and Cobra Lampreys: fully aware who they work for – the masked
soldiers and the snake insignias give it away
THE LOTS 1 – but they are not about to put themselves in
harm’s way for their cause. At the beginning of
every combat round, before rolling for initiative,
There are half a dozen large, gravel-laden parking
the Bay Worker rolls 1D2 and adds the number
lots surrounding the outer edges of the facility. of their allied combatants. If this total is less
This is where the locals park their vehicles; ranging than the number of known enemy combatants,
from daily drivers in bikes and small cars, entire the Bay Worker throws down their weapons and
neighborhood buses, and week-long RV and trailer runs away!
spots. They aren’t much more than clear-cut fields
sprinkled with smashed up rocks to keep the weed
growth down.

LAYER LEVEL NOISE

TOTAL NOISE LAYER LEVEL 1 ENCOUNTER LAYER LEVEL 2 ENCOUNTER LAYER LEVEL 3 ENCOUNTER
11+ D2 Cobra Troopers D2+1 Cobra Troopers; D2 Cobra Lampreys
1 Cobra Viper
7 – 10 2D2+1 Bay Workers 2D2 Cobra Troopers D2+1 Cobra Vipers
4–6 D2 Bay Workers 2D2+1 Bay Workers 2D2 Cobra Troopers
0–3 No Encounter No Encounter No Encounter

18
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
 COBRA LAMPREY
THREAT LEVEL: 4
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 4
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet; 30 feet AQUATIC
TOUGHNESS: 13 EVASION: 16
WILLPOWER: 13 CLEVERNESS: 12
Cobra Lampreys are trained to be the pilots of the
supercharged Moray hydrofoils, and as such are
also skilled underwater combatants. Lampreys
that serve Cobra long enough and succeed in the
proper training go on into the Eels program, but
most spend years at the helm of their ships –
making them experts in their use and upkeep.
SKILLS:
Alertness +d4, Athletics (Swimming) +d4, Deception
+d4, Driving +d4, Finesse (Unarmed Strikes) +d4*,
Initiative +d2, Science +d2, Targeting (Pistols) +d2*
Languages: Usually English, plus a series of
underwater hand signals
PERKS:
Environmental Expertise (Underwater):
Lampreys ignore the penalties for moving through
difficult terrain underwater. All of Lamprey’s attacks
underwater are considered Specialized.
Characters could break into the workers’ vehicles
(requiring DIF 15 Infiltrate (Burglary) Skill Tests)
and search for clues with DIF 12 Alertness
(Investigation) Skill Tests, but the most they will
discover is that the bay workers, generally, live
within an hour’s drive and in low income areas –
making them susceptible to Cobra’s ‘off the record’
employment.
Aside from that basic information, the characters
could take a few tools, minor personal effects, and/
or local clothing. Characters that wear a makeshift
disguise made out of locals’ clothing gain Edge on
any Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Tests made while on
the facility grounds – it is easier to blend in at a
glance if you look you belong.
If they choose to, while they are searching
the Lots, the characters will need to each make
an Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Test. There is very
little foot traffic in the Lots at night, meaning
that the characters will have to Critically Fail that
Infiltrate test to attract any undo attention from the
random 2d2 Bay Workers headed to their cars for
the night.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
AT TACKS:
Combat Knife (Finesse) +d4, Reach
(1 Sharp Damage)
Harpoon Pistol (Targeting) +d2*; Reach 30/80
doubled underwater (1 Sharp Damage)
Alternate Effects: 1 Stun Damage
Traits: Silent, Sniper
Unarmed Strike (Finesse) +d4*, Reach
(1 Blunt Damage)
EQUIPMENT:
Combat Knife, Harpoon Pistol, Lamprey Armored
Uniform (Acclimating Hexmesh, +1 Armor bonus to
Toughness), Personal Effects (Wealth +d4)
POWERS:
Adaptation: Lampreys have a pool of 3 adaptation
points. They can spend adaptation points to gain
use their abilities that are normally restricted to
underwater on land.
STORAGE WAREHOUSES 1
Nestled between the gravel lots are four
warehouse buildings, each one a hundred and
twenty-five feet long, forty feet wide, constructed of
basic lumber and sheet metal, and capped at either
end with heavy, roll-up styled garage doors. There
are two sets of pedestrian doors on both ‘long’ walls
to each warehouse.
Each warehouse has two sets of two Cobra
Troopers walking the outside perimeter the
characters will have to get by in some fashion if
they wish to investigate the inside of one or more
of the warehouses. This could mean using stealth,
misdirection, or direct confrontation to deal
with them. It should be noted that each of these
Cobra Troopers have a pass card to gain entry
to any locked door in the Treachery Bay facility
– something that could be extremely useful in
the future.
Unless using the aforementioned pass card, the
doors to the warehouse are all physically locked
with the hardware built into the security system.
19
 The lock can be opened in two additional ways –
using brute force and a DIF 18 Brawn Skill Test,
which will break open the locking system and be
impossible to hide, and confusing the electronics –
immensely more secretive – takes a successful a DIF
16 Technology (Security) Skill Test.
Inside each warehouse is the same open-floor,
wall-to-wall layout and dozens of piles of
containers; many of which are similar to the ones
Cobra was using at the herpetology trade show to
move the dangerous live animals.
Additionally, a DIF 15 Alertness (Investigation)
Skill Test inside each warehouse can reveal a
unique ‘leaning’ of the items inside:
• Warehouse 1 is all sedated reptilian livestock;
most of which are labelled as ‘caution: venomous’
or ‘Do Not Open Unsupervised, Danger of Great
Bodily Harm.’
• Warehouse 2 bears a high percentage of medical
equipment, antivenom applications, and surgical
tools to treat muscle and tissue damage.
HOLDENTECH FOUR-AXIS FORKLIFT (LAND VEHICLE)
THREAT LEVEL: 2
SIZE: Long HEALTH: 3
GROUND MOVEMENT: 35 feet
TOUGHNESS: 20 (1 armor) EVASION: 11
WILLPOWER: — CLEVERNESS: —
SKILLS:
Athletics +d4, Brawn (Lifting) +d10, Might +d2*
AT TACKS:
Grab (Driving): Driver’s Driving Skill, Reach 10
(Grapples Target and applies Crush)
Ram (Might): +d2*or driver’s Driving Skill, Reach
(Toughness, 2 Blunt Damage)
Alternate Effects: Trip
Traits: Blunt, Drive-By
VEHICLE INFO:
Crew: 1 driver
Hardpoint Weapons: None
Firepoints: 1 – driver can attack, but takes a Snag
on Driving skill tests until end of next round
Defenses: Light Plating (+1 armor bonus)
Traits: Vehicle
20
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
• Warehouse 3 has a great deal of cryotherapy,
refrigeration, and liquid nitrogen-based storage
systems.
• Warehouse 4 has a section dedicated to a
stockpile of high-tech looking parts and industrial-
looking components; many of which are in
triplicate or more quantities. A DIF 20 Technology
Skill Test will reveal these to be replacement and
repair parts for some kind of bullet train or similar
ultra-fast superconducted conveyance system.
Additionally, inside each warehouse is D2 x
5 Bay Workers busy doing their jobs. They label
packages, manually strap things to movement skids,
and occasionally come through with a high-end,
hydraulic forklift.
If the characters are forced into an engagement
with the Bay Workers, the one behind the wheel
of the forklift will use it as a weapon before putting
themselves in danger.
Use the statistics below for the Holdentech
Four-Axis Forklift:
PERKS:
Stable: The design on this vehicle is centered on
holding tons of weight without tipping over. Unless
struck by a Critical effect, this vehicle cannot be
knocked Prone.
Vehicle: As a vehicle, this is a sophisticated piece
of equipment that requires at least one Driver to
operate. Without a driver, the Four-Axis Forklift is
considered a Threat Level 0 object, and all attacks
target its Toughness. Effects that affect a target’s
Willpower or Cleverness only affect this vehicle if it
has a driver, in which case they target the driver’s
Willpower or Cleverness. It is immune to Conditions
and effects that exclusively affect the living, like
poison, but is susceptible to effects that affect
machines, such as Anti-Tank weapons. Vehicle
damages can be fixed with a Standard engineering
kit and a Technology Skill Test.
POWERS:
Crush: As a Standard Action, this vehicle can twist
and squeeze a Grappled target with immense
force, automatically inflicting 2 Blunt Damage and
maintaining the Grapple on the target. Additionally,
this vehicle uses its Brawn skill to fight against
targets escaping its Grapple.
BARRACKS 2 The only other room in the barracks that could
hold interest to the Joes is the private suite. This
Centrally located on the facility, the Cobra room is where the Serpent Soldier project leads –
Barracks is home to roughly three dozen Cobra Dr. Venom and Scalpel – stay when they come to
Troopers, two dozen Cobra Vipers, and a dozen Treachery Bay to oversee aspects of the process.
shift-on/shift-off Cobra Lampreys – all living in a A DIF 12 Alertness (Investigation) Skill Test inside
communal bunk-rack styled housing facility with the private suite will uncover enough handwritten
one set of double doors leading in and out of the notes, memos, weird scientific drawings, and a
building and an additional fire exit at the back end. half-dissected gaboon viper to learn the codenames
As that the barracks building is always manned of the two Cobra scientists.
– in a matter of speaking – Cobra sees no reason
for additional patrolling security outside the
building. After all, who would be stupid enough to
break into a building full of off-duty and sleeping
Cobra agents?
The double doors at the front of the building are
never locked, but the traffic of Cobra agents in
and out make it particularly difficult for the Joes to
try and use them to sneak in that way – a DIF 20
Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Test. The emergency door
at the back is far easier to use undetected (reducing
the Difficulty of the Infiltrate Skill Test to 14), but
is locked. Opening the lock requires either a pass
card carried by all on-duty Cobra agents, a DIF 16
Brawn Skill Test to break in the frame, or a DIF 15
Infiltration (Burglary) Skill Test to pick the lock.
The inside of the barracks building is divided
into a few sections: bunk room, toilets/showers,
equipment rack room, and one private suite.
While it has room for them all, at any given time
the bunk room has one-third of the facility’s Cobra
agents – meaning 12 Cobra Troopers, 8 Cobra
Vipers, and 4 Cobra Lampreys. While in the bunk
room, half of that number can be considered to be
fully asleep, one quarter in various states of undress
and preparation for rest, and only one quarter still
fully equipped from their last shift or ready for the
next one (3 Cobra Troopers, 2 Cobra Vipers, and
1 Cobra Lamprey). If the building is somehow placed
on alert or a greater Combat Scene erupts, the
less-dressed agents will join the fray with fists only
in 2d2 combat rounds, and the sleeping agents will
rouse and do the same in 2d4 combat rounds later.
The equipment rack room has dozens of spare
Cobra uniforms, weapons, and other equipment
like that found on any agents within the facility.
If the Joes grab Cobra uniforms and use them as
disguises, they not only gain Edge on all Infiltration
(Stealth) and Deception Skill Tests targeting
facility personnel, but these tests gain a ↑2 dice
shift bonus!

21
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling

PROCESSING LAB 2
A smaller building, recognizable as some kind
of high-tech or industrial location by its attached
pressurized pipes and chemical coolant tanks, the
processing area of the Treachery Bay facility is
where the specially trained Medi-Vipers take the
biological materials, reptilian livestock, and other
sensitive substances and cryogenically freeze them
for transit in waterproof, high-resistance plastic
crates designed for transit on the Cobra Moray
hydrofoils.
22
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
There are always two Cobra Vipers on guard
at the entrance to the lab, which additionally
requires a pass card to electronically unlock the
airlock-esque turnstile – something that all Cobra
agents at the facility carry. The turnstile is rated
against explosives and pretty much all small arms
fire; anything powerful enough to blast open the
reinforced door system would likely also destroy
everything inside the small, 40 foot by 40 foot
square lab as well.
There are three Medi-Vipers working at any given
moment in the processing lab. They are fully suited
up and equipped as they would be in the field, as
they come and go with the shipment-laden hydrofoils
at the secret ocean base (see International Waters).
If the characters investigate inside the lab, two of
the Medi-Vipers will try to fight them off while the
third begins to pop open containers to retrieve the
dangerously poisonous snakes and other vicious
reptiles – to throw them at the Joes!
Effectively, the third Medi-Viper gains the
following special attack that it may use if it
performed no other actions on the previous
combat round:
Predatory Projectile (Animal Handling) +d4*;
Reach 10/20; 1 Poison or Sharp Damage
Anyone capable of passing a DIF 14 Science
Skill Test after seeing what is going on inside
the processing lab will understand what the
Medi-Vipers are doing – even if they aren’t
100% sure why.
Use the statistics below for the Medi-Vipers:
THE DOCKYARD 3
Comprised of a half dozen wood and composite
material wharfs jutting out into the water from a
series of open-air weather shielded garage-like
structures, the dockyard is not much more than
just a staging area for where Bay Workers – under
the watchful eyes of the Cobra agents – load up
the specially constructed and designed crates into
the Moray hydrofoils for their speedy exit toward a
secret, as yet unknown, ocean base.
When the Joes reach the Dockyard, there are a
dozen Bay Workers and 4 Cobra Troopers loading
the neon yellow crates into three docked Morays
at the wharfs. Each Moray has one Cobra Lamprey
at the helm, who will be getting their individual
vehicle prepped and ready for transit when the
 MEDI-VIPER
THREAT LEVEL: 3
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 3
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 14 (3 armor) EVASION: 13
WILLPOWER: 16 CLEVERNESS: 12
Cobra is not known for its respect for the
preservation of life, but they do understand that
injured agents cannot fight against the Joes.
Medi-Vipers are first response and tactical aid
specialists. Chosen from the ranks of Vipers,
these soldiers are fully equipped to put a foe
down in seconds – or lift up a fallen ally just
as quickly.
SKILLS:
Alertness +d2, Animal Handling +d4, Athletics +d2,
Finesse (Unarmed Strikes) +d4*, Initiative +d2,
Science (Medicine) +d6*, Targeting +d4*,
Technology +d2
Languages: Usually English, Latin, Greek
PERKS:
First Response: The Medi-Viper may perform
a Science (Medicine) skill test as a Free Action
Medi-Vipers from the processing lab arrive with the
last of the current load of materials – which may or
may not be coming, based on whether the Joes have
already been at the processing lab.
• With so much coming and going activity at the
dockyard, the team should have little trouble
moving around between buildings and cover,
requiring only DIF 12 Infiltration (Stealth) Skill
Tests to avoid starting a Combat Scene.
• If they are caught at the dockyard, the Bay
Workers and Cobra Troopers will battle them
immediately.
• Aside from witnessing the impending shipment
getting ready to leave, this location is more of a
staging area for the team to get ready to stop the
Morays from leaving in the following section of
this chapter.
• If the Joes did not defeat or otherwise stop the
Medi-Vipers at the processing lab, after ten or
so minutes of lurking about the dockyard, a
Four-Axis Forklift bearing the last set of shipping
containers and the three Medi-Vipers roll in and
begin offloading.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
at the end of any Move Action where they are in
contact with another being.
AT TACKS:
Combat Knife (Finesse) +d4*, Reach
(1 Sharp Damage)
Injection Pistol (Finesse) +d4, Reach
(2 Poison Damage)
Alternate Effects: 2 Stun
Stinger Submachine Gun (Targeting) +d4*,
Range 120/180 (1 Sharp Damage, Multiple
(3) Targets)
Traits: Ballistic
Unarmed Strike (Finesse) +d4*, Reach
(1 Blunt Damage)
EQUIPMENT:
Combat Knife, Injection Pistol, Medipack,
Response Vest Uniform (Reinforced Vital
Plating, +3 Armor bonus to Toughness), Stinger
Submachine Gun
• If the team did deal with the Medi-Vipers, the Bay
Workers will finish loading up everything that is
already on the wharfs and then begin nervously
pacing around, checking their watches, and so
forth. After ten minutes of being ‘off schedule,’ the
Cobra Troopers will send six of the Bay Workers
to the processing lab – which will expedite things
as soon as they discover the scene the Joes left
behind there.
• Whether it is because the Medi-Vipers have
arrived or because the shipment cannot be
delayed any further, move on to Dial Tone’s burst
transmission and A Nest of Morays.
A NEST OF MORAYS
As the engines to the Moray hydrofoils all roar to
life and the Cobra Lampreys at their helms begin
to signal the Bay Workers to start untying hitching
ropes and doing their ‘final checks,’ the G.I. Joes’
communication units spark loudly to life as Dial
Tone barks into their collective ears:
23
 The statistics of the Cobra Moray can be found in
“The Morays are going to make a run for it! I picked
the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook.
up where they are headed, but not the coordinates! You

WE HAVE THE COORDINATES…

need to stop at least one of those hydrofoils from leaving
those docks! Shoot ‘em, tie ‘em down, pour sugar in
their gas tank… I don’t care, just keep one of those
The ruckus at the dockyard will send any Bay
boats in this Bay!”
Workers and Cobra agents not directly involved
running in all directions. They know the operation
The Bay Workers will scatter as soon as the has been compromised, and they are following
Combat Scene begins, and the Cobra Lampreys secondary orders to abandon the facility.
will be too busy working on getting their ships out Once Dial Tone manages to cross the facility and
of the dock to engage the Joes, leaving just the get to where the characters are, he will explain to
Cobra Troopers (and potentially the Medi-Vipers) them one of two stories:
to try and keep the team from their goal – stopping
If they failed to stop the hydrofoils:
at least one of the Cobra hydrofoils from leaving
the scene.
“I already called in our evac. We need to get to the
There are a variety of ways to keep a Moray
Pit as soon as we can, and I need to start tracking those
here. The easiest, of course, is directly damaging
boats before they get too far out of the area. I’ve got
it through combat. It is an armored, military-grade
their signature now, but a few more hours and who
vehicle however, and the characters may wish to try
knows. You Joes did good, no matter how you might feel
something else.
right now.”
A quick sweep of the dockyard can reveal a
number of items that could be helpful:
If they succeeded in keeping at least one
• A successful Athletics Skill Test can be used to
Moray docked:
lasso the heavy docking ropes onto the tie-downs
on a Moray; effectively keeping it from turning out
of dock after two successes. “This is perfect! I have everything I need on this thing
• Anyone that can get on board the forward deck to track where they’re headed, how many trips they’ve
of a Moray can attempt a DIF 13 Technology done already, and maybe even get a feel for what we’re
(Mechanics) or a DIF 18 Brawn Skill Test to looking at next. Great work. We aren’t done yet, but
access and sabotage the primary engine. This will we can at least regroup, resupply, and rearm for what
surely keep the Moray from moving. comes next. Yo Joe!”

• Setting fire to the cargo or lower decking on a

Moray will trigger its safety measures – cutting
the fuel line access and killing the engine
immediately.

Story Point
• Eliminating the Cobra Lamprey will keep the
vessel from having a pilot, effectively shutting
it down.
It will take d2 x 10 combat rounds for the Morays If the characters manage to
– unless stopped – to leave the dockyard and start stop one or more of the Moray
racing out into the bay. While this technically hydrofoils, they have performed
would be considered a defeat for the Joe team, Dial beyond normal expectations, the
Tone will still be able to try and track their progress team is awarded a Story Point for
from here using the satellite access at the Pit. each Moray they manage to anchor
While it will be a momentary defeat for the here in Treachery Bay.
mission team, it does not mean they cannot
continue to try and thwart Cobra’s plans.

24
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 2: Shipping and Handling
 PART 3: INTERNATIONAL WATERS
STORY OBJECTIVE
The objective of Part 3 is very straightforward.
The G.I. Joes are about to be put into a direct
aquatic assault against a small Cobra oceanic secret
base. They will need to circumvent some security
measures, deal with underwater defenses, and take
over the base itself – discovering an interesting mode
of conveyance in the depths and decide how to use it.
GET READY TO GET WET, JOES!
Dial Tone has been busy with the data from the
captured Moray(s) and/or the satellite feeds, and
is ready to inform the team of their responsibilities
as the mission parameters begin to take a different
shape or direction.
He has narrowed the location of a secret oceanic
base – seemingly where all the exotic lizard species,
toxic bio-reagents, and equipment have been going
– to a few square kilometers of open ocean a little
more than 500 kilometers west of Columbia.
This places the base well into ‘international
waters,’ meaning that national governments are not
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
responsible for upholding any form of economic
trade measures, seek some form of justice, or
enforce any kind of jurisdictional law. This is what
makes it perfect for villainous groups like Cobra –
and why G.I. Joe has to be the ones to stop them.
In order to reach this mysterious ocean base,
Dial Tone has made arrangements for your team
to catch a ride on a local naval ship, but as soon
as they reach the edge of their jurisdiction, it
will be up to the Joes to launch off in a flotilla of
S.H.A.R.C.s - Submersible High-Speed Attack and
Reconnaissance Craft.
Each S.H.A.R.C. can have two pilots and
two passengers – if those passengers are fitted
specifically as ‘rocket riders’ – protected external
positions for soldiers in SCUBA gear to hitch a
ride to wherever the pilots take them. Riding in
such a manner is not easy, and can be exhausting
for long travels, which is why Dial Tone has made
arrangements with Deep Six and Admiral Keel Haul
to have enough S.H.A.R.C.s available for the whole
team to ride however they want to – as pilots
or passengers.
25
 Can’t Drive?
The use of vehicles in G.I. JOE is
highlighted a great deal, and many
characters will likely figure out they
need to learn at least the basics on
how to pilot the various options
available to them – i.e., learn the
Driving skill.
As the characters in this mission
team are still little more than recruits,
it could be possible that there are not
enough skilled drivers on the team to
As the characters in this mission team are still little
more than recruits, it could be possible that there
are not enough skilled drivers on the team to fully
perform the S.H.A.R.C. insertion autonomously.
In this case, Dial Tone – who was already
planning on staying on the base ship to serve as
a remote Control & Command – can walk the
characters through how to use the S.H.A.R.C.s’
autopilot functions. This will make at least part of
this mission segment (the battle in Blood in the
Water) much more difficult, but still doable.
PREP FOR LAUNCH
Dial Tone will help get the mission team ready
for the S.H.A.R.C. launch, but he will be staying
on board the I.S.S. Dynamic to serve as a remote
C&C hub. The team knows they are infiltrating and
assaulting an ocean-based Cobra installation, but
not much more.
What little intelligence has been cooked up from
the data from Treachery Bay is that this installation
is primarily a routing station and is technically being
managed by Cobra’s scientific branch – the part of
the organization managed by Dr. Mindbender and his
council of evil geniuses. It should be low on military
assets and high on specialized labor roles, but the
mission team should be prepared for any response.
Vehicle Allotment: The team is expected to use
between two and four S.H.A.R.C.s; decided upon
based on their driving skills and willingness to ride
as SCUBA-clad ‘rocket riders.’
Mission Equipment: Each character is given
a personalized SCUBA rig, nitrogen-balancing
26
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
fully perform the S.H.A.R.C. insertion
autonomously.
In this case, Dial Tone – who was
already planning on staying on the
base ship to serve as a remote Control
& Command – can walk the characters
through how to use the S.H.A.R.C.s’
autopilot functions. This will make at
least part of this mission segment
(the battle in Blood in the Water)
much more difficult, but still doable.
chewable tablets that fight the bends (if needed),
and basic water-resistance alterations to
personal gear.
Requisition Budget: Each character is allowed two
special Equipment Requisition attempts to augment
their mission kit
When the team has everything it needs, the
Dynamic is in position, and the characters are
getting ready to board/strap onto the S.H.A.R.C.s,
Dial Tone will address them:
“This is it, Joes. Time for you to take everything we’ve
shown you and shine on your own. I know you can
handle everything those snakes can throw at you, but
I’ll be in your ears the whole time if you need me. I’ll be
just a button push away.
Satellite feed says the installation is only a few dozen
meters across, but seems to have multiple sublevels
reaching into the depths where scans can’t penetrate.
Be careful down there, because if you get too deep, we
might not be able to keep clear contact.
Now… get in and get ready. You dive in five. Yo Joe!”
S.H.A.R.C.S IN THE WATER
Loaded onto rails designed to drop scientific
submersibles into the surf, the characters and their
S.H.A.R.C.s will be speeding along a few meters
below the surface within minutes of being readied
up into the vehicles. They are designed for speed
and maneuverability, but the characters should still
be able to marvel at the beautiful sights of being
underwater in the tropics.
 Traversing the ocean coordinates is not terribly
difficult with the technology at the Joes’ fingertips,
but a few DIF 12 Driving (Aquatic) Skill Test to
avoid coral reefs, maintain tidal currents, and stay
on course toward the Cobra installation.
There are two encounters that can take place
in the water on the way to the installation; one in
the wide, open waters of the ocean (Buoys on the
Boundary) and another once the team has gotten
closer to the patrolled waters of the installation
(Blood in the Water).
BUOYS ON THE BOUNDARY
As the Joes race under the surface toward Dial
Tone’s coordinates, whichever S.H.A.R.C. pilot is
at the head of the group notices a ‘proximity alert’
on their vehicle’s tracking sonar. A DIF 8 Science
(Computers) Skill Test shows a string of twenty
small, signal-broadcasting objects floating along the
surface, each one a half a kilometer from the next
forming a chain or pattern that – if marked on a map
of the area – forms into a wedge shape that points
along a set path toward Dial Tone’s coordinates.
If the characters decide to stop and investigate the
buoys further than just noticing them as an oceanic
road sign, it will take a specific DIF 10 Driving
(Aquatic) Skill Test to pull up next to one of the
floating devices without hitting it, or getting caught
up in the anchorage tether.
The physical description of the buoys are as
follows – a two-meter tall cylinder of black, glossy
plastic topped with a ring of reflective red tape with
two-thirds of its body bobbing above the surface,
the submerged third welded to a thirty meter length
We Give Up!
Take Us To Your Leader!
It is a risky tactic, but if they are
losing the battle badly, the Joes might
offer to surrender themselves over to
the Mantis pilots (Cobra Lampreys)
instead of risk getting blown apart
in the open ocean. If so, the Cobra
agents will use their gripping arms
and magnesium cutters to remove
the weaponry from any operational
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
of braided metal cable attached to an anchoring
weight. If anyone can get close enough to the side
of the buoy, there is a single panel that exposes the
water-resistant electronics inside.
A DIF 12 Technology Skill Test inside the buoy
will reveal that it is not just a road sign of where to
go, it is also broadcasting a steady signal that could
be used as a communications piggyback from – or
to – the installation. A further DIF 15 Technology
(Communications) Skill Test can make it so Dial
Tone can remain in contact during this entire
mission instead of only on the surface levels
(see Can You Hear Me Now? for details).
Additionally, a DIF 13 Skill Test of anything
related to computers or electronic communications
will reveal to the mission team the codename
of which the Cobra installation broadcasts and
receives messages as – Tubeworm Tower. While this
might seem like basic information to have, it could
mean Edge on certain future skill tests where such
clandestine titles and intel might be key.
Should the characters want to destroy the buoys,
possibly just to rob Cobra of any sort of resource or
asset, they have a Toughness of 20 and 3 Health.
BLOOD IN THE WATER
Once the Joes are within roughly five kilometers
of the Cobra installation – the S.H.A.R.C.s will blast
straight into a patrolling Cobra ambush!
Two Cobra Mantis subs on deep patrol picked
up the buoy pings from when the Joe team got with
range of them (see Buoys on the Boundary) and
immediately changed course to intercept the vessels.
Their standard orders are simple – if the ping is a
S.H.A.R.C.s before escorting the Joes
to Tubeworm Tower.
While this would be a dangerous
way to gain access to the installation,
it could make for an interesting scene
as the Lampreys (and the 4 extra
Cobra Troopers waiting at the docking
platform) try to take the Joes into
custody!
27
 Cobra ship headed to Tubeworm Tower, these ships
escort them in; if not… they send them to the bottom
to feed the fish!
Give the characters one series of DIF16 Alertness
or Technology Skill Test to notice the two Cobra
subs heading toward them – otherwise they will be
the target of a successful ambush!
MANTIS SUBMERSIBLE (AQUATIC VEHICLE)
THREAT LEVEL: 5
SIZE: Extended HEALTH: 5
AQUATIC MOVEMENT: 60 feet
TOUGHNESS: 20 (2 armor) EVASION: 18
WILLPOWER:— CLEVERNESS: —
A commonly used two-man patrol and underwater
maintenance submersible, the Mantis is Cobra’s
localized, deep water answer to aquatic labor.
Equipped with a powerful torpedo, a devastating
magnesium-based cutting beam, a hydraulic
manipulation ‘gripper arm’, and a secondary
defense cannon array, the Mantis serves its role
well as a workhorse in multiple fields.
SKILLS:
Acrobatics +d4, Brawn +d10, Driving (Autopilot) +d4,
Might +d6*, Infiltration +d4, Initiative +d4, Targeting
(Missiles) +d4*
AT TACKS:
Angler High-Yield Torpedo, Missile (Targeting)
+d4*, Range 500/750 (2 Fire Damage)
Alternate Effects: Underwater Only - 1 Sharp
Damage Multiple (2) Targets (30 ft line, ↓1)
Traits: Anti-Tank, Computerized, Consumable
Gripping Arm (Might) +d6*, Reach 15 (Grapples
Target and applies Crush)
Magnesium Cutter (Driving) +d4, Reach 10
(1 Fire Damage, increased damage by 1 on every
consecutive successful attack)
Traits: Anti-Tank, Cumulative Damage
Ram (Might): +d6* or driver’s Driving Skill, Reach
(Toughness, 2 Blunt Damage)
Alternate Effects: Trip
Traits: Blunt, Drive-By
Stinger Defense Cannons, Missile (Targeting)
+d4* or driver’s Driving Skill, Range 50/180 (2
Sharp Damage)
Alternate Effects: 1 Sharp Damage Multiple (3)
Targets 30ft line, ↓1)
Traits: Ammo Feeder, Amphibious, Ballistic, Reload
VEHICLE INFO:
Crew: 1 driver, 1 gunner (in cabin)
28
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
The Cobra Mantis subs will fight until they can’t
any longer, ejecting their Cobra Lamprey pilots (two
each) to try and swim back to Tubeworm Tower if
their vehicle reaches 1 Health.
Use the following statistics for the Cobra
Mantis subs:
Hardpoint Weapons: Stinger Defense Cannons,
Angler Torpedo Launcher
Firepoints: None
Defenses: Flex Plating (+2 armor bonus),
Armored Cabin
Traits: Aquatic, Autopilot, Vehicle
PERKS:
Aquatic: The Mantis is a sea vehicle. While on
land it is considered to be Immobilized and has an
Evasion Defense of 0.
Armored Cabin: The Mantis’ pressurized shell
extends to cover the driving cabin. Attacks can’t
target the vehicle’s Crew directly.
Autopilot: As long as this vehicle has 1 driver, it
operates at full capacity. If this vehicle has a full
complement of drivers, a driver can use a free
action to have the autopilot lend assistance on a
Driving skill test.
Vehicle: As a vehicle, this is a sophisticated piece
of equipment that requires at least one Driver to
operate. Without a driver, the Mantis is considered
a Threat Level 0 object, and all attacks target its
Toughness. Effects that affect a target’s Willpower
or Cleverness only affect this vehicle if it has
a driver, in which case they target the driver’s
Willpower or Cleverness. It is immune to Conditions
and effects that exclusively affect the living, like
poison, but is susceptible to effects that affect
machines, such as Anti-Tank weapons. Vehicle
damages can be fixed with a Standard engineering
kit and a Technology Skill Test.
POWERS:
Crush: As a Standard Action, this vehicle can twist
and squeeze a Grappled target with immense
force, automatically inflicting 2 Blunt Damage and
maintaining the Grapple on the target. Additionally,
this vehicle uses its Brawn skill to fight against
targets escaping its Grapple
Hold Steady: Any target currently Grappled by
this vehicle can be attacked by this vehicle’s
Magnesium Cutter as a Free Action, and with Edge
to the attack roll. The target is unable to use its
Evasion Defense against this attack.
 Once the Cobra Mantis subs are defeated, it is a
straight shot to Tubeworm Tower. Even if some of
the S.H.A.R.C.s were destroyed in the combat, the
others are still fit to have ‘rocket riders’ attached on
their undersides, and can be used for such for the
rest of the approach.
If all the S.H.A.R.C.s were destroyed – but the
Joes still somehow managed to defeat the Mantises,
it is only a few kilometers’ swim left to reach the
installation. A few more Athletics (Swimming) Skill
Tests and they can drag their exhausted selves up
onto the docking platform!
If Cobra defeated the mission team, it means they
eliminated all of the S.H.A.R.C.s and left the team
members for dead in the wreckage. After a few
quick sweeps of the area, they will head back to
base to report what happened. As that they believe
they destroyed the Joes, this will not put the base on
‘High Alert’ (see Sound the Alarm! for details).
TUBEWORM TOWER
– SO THAT ’S WHY
As the Joes – one way or another – approach
the Cobra installation, they can see why they
codenamed it ‘Tubeworm Tower.’
Extending above the water only as a single,
open-air docking platform with a small, 30 foot
square cabin-like structure at its center. There are
a few agents sloshing around the wave-soaked
platform, a pair of Moray hydrofoils docked along its
rim, and two tall blinking antennae from the top of
the central construction.
Sound the
Alarm!
There will be a number of
places where the Cobra agents
of Tubeworm Tower could sound
a general alert to the rest of the
installation staff. If this happens, D2
Cobra Troopers join every Combat
Scene every 1d4 x 5 Combat Rounds,
or until one side is defeated.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
Below the surface however, is another matter
entirely. There are several floors of construction
below the docking platform’s ring, funneling down
to what looks like a pair of coiled metal tubes of
some kind – each easily thirty feet in diameter.
That enormous metal braid extends down like
some kind of umbilical cord all the way from
the installation to the craggy ocean floor, where
it disappears into the sand and coral. It does, in
a weird way of looking at it, look like a pair of
gigantic metal tubeworms sticking up out of the
ocean floor.
THE APPROACH
There are a few different ways for the Joes to make
their approach to Tubeworm Tower. Depending on
how the characters choose to make their way onto
the docking ring area, one of the following scenes
will unfold.
• Pilot S.H.A.R.C.s Directly to Docking Ring
There will be a need for each S.H.A.R.C. being
piloted to the docking platform to pass a DIF 8
Driving (Aquatic) Skill Test to avoid running into
the dock clamps and inflicting 1 Sharp Damage
to their vessel. Additionally, the installation staff
will have seen the Joes’ final approach and the
entire station will go on high alert. The four
Cobra Troopers working the docking platform
will instantly Sound the Alarm! and begin combat
immediately.
• Leave the S.H.A.R.C.s Nearby and Swim to the
Surface
Hoping to keep some semblance of surprise, the
Joes could choose to bring the S.H.A.R.C.s within
a hundred feet or more before turning the engines
off and coasting in a few dozen more before double
checking their own Scuba gear and preparing
for an underwater disembark. The S.H.A.R.C.s
are designed to pop open and forcibly eject the
pilot and any rocket riders at the same time, and
can do so without any major power surges to be
detected, leaving the characters to simply pass a
DIF8 Athletics (Swimming) Skill Test to reach the
docking platform.
Once at the platform, the characters can use
Infiltration (Stealth) to ambush the four Cobra
Troopers working there before they have a chance
to alert anyone else.
29
 • Leave the S.H.A.R.C.s Nearby and Find the Wet
Access Portal
This is handled primarily the same way as the
previous method, but instead of swimming to
the surface and the docking ring platform, the
characters remain underwater – using their SCUBA
gear to search the first few sub-levels of Tubeworm
Tower from the outside to discover a pressurized
wet access portal on Sub-Level Three.
Finding the strange overhang with a shimmering
open-water portal doesn’t require any additional
skill tests or investigation methods. Instead, all it just
requires the Joes to spend an extra twenty minutes
in the water looking for it.
Using the wet access portal places the mission
team directly on Sub-Level Three, rising up out
of the open water into the scene found in
An Underwater Swimming Pool? (see page 32).
ONCE ON THE TOWER
After the mission team deals with the Cobra
Troopers on the surface of the installation, they
have only one direction to go – into the cabin-like
structure at the center of the docking area.

DOCK

30
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
In case the Joes decide to spend additional time
checking or sabotaging the docked Morays, it
should be noted that the constant crashing of waves
against the ring of the installation has the whole
top slick with a few inches of foamy tidal wash
back and forth, imposing a Snag on any skill tests
that could be affected by poor footing, such as
Acrobatics or Performance.
The central access cabin has an airlock-style set
of doors, but they are unlocked. Getting inside the
access cabin is as easy as stepping in the first set of
doors, let the pressure regulate, and then entering
through the inside doors to the rest of the installation.
At the middle of the entrance cabin, surrounded
by a number of pedestals, activation consoles,
monitors, and storage lockers, is a cylindrical
elevator roughly fifteen feet in diameter. There is
a large red activator button on the outside of the
elevator door, but no indicator of floor access
number or the lift’s current position. It is a simple
design built for utility and dependability.
DOWN THE TUBES
The entire installation is fully pressurized;
meaning it maintains its own barometric
levels to keep the ocean water outside of the
facility’s openings.

SUB-LEVEL ONE

31
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
 The walls are designed to withstand significant
amounts of punishment from the outside elements –
or the occasional anti-armor torpedo, and the inside
is coated in hexmesh that folds in on itself to seal up
imperfections and minor damage, should it occur.
Using ground-based volcanic heat siphons and tidal
turbine generators all around the docking ring, the
installation has no need for external power sources.
All in all, Tubeworm Tower is remarkably well built
and self-sufficient.
Pressing the big red button opens the elevator
door. Inside there is a simply up and down lever to,
as one would expect, trigger the elevator to go up
and down one level at a time. It is not a quiet device,
but everyone on the installation is so used to hearing
it’s travels, meaning that the Joes can actually exit the
lift quickly enough on most levels without being seen
and possibly still find a suitable hiding place before
any agents on the level even look up to take note.
There are five sub-levels to the installation,
each one detailed in a subsection with its own
scene below.
SUB-LEVEL ONE – EVEN
COBRA DOES PAPERWORK
The elevator exits Sub-Level one surrounded by
filing cabinets, stacks of carefully collated receipts
and memos, and a single Medi-Viper going over
some numbers at a desk – currently with her back to
the elevator.
The Medi-Viper’s weapons are leaning against the
wall next to where she is doing her calculations,
meaning that she should be relatively easy for the
Joes to get the jump on and incapacitate her.
If able to do so, the mission team can search
through the paperwork. A DIF 10 Alertness
(Investigation) Skill Test will reveal that these
shipping receipts, trade papers, and related
notations all point out that Cobra has been
collecting herpetological and zoological materials
from trade shows and private sellers all around the
world for months. Dial Tone had only caught on to
their codes and such late in the scheme.
With all of the current paperwork in various forms
in front of them, if a player character is skilled in
Science (Biology or Genetics) they can spend 2d2
hours reading over everything to attempt a DIF 20
Skill Test to figure out that Cobra is doing some
major gene splicing and biological adjusting on a
huge scale.
32
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
SUB-LEVEL TWO – YOU
GUYS PLAYING CARDS?
Sub-Level Two is a common room for the Cobra
agents from the shipping boats to wait while the
installation staffers unload, process, and send cargo
to the Tubeworm on Sub-Level Five. Unless the
installation has already been placed on high alert,
the mission team will exit the elevator to find two
Cobra Lampreys (from the docked Morays on the
docking ring above) sitting around a plastic folding
table with a Cobra Viper and a Cobra Trooper.
Exactly what the agents are doing at the table is
up to the GM. They could be chatting about their
day-to-day lives (yes, Cobra agents are still people
too), catching a quick meal, discussing political
status in the First World Nations, even just playing
a game of cards. They are still in their uniforms
(helmets and masks off), and their weaponry is
sitting within five feet of the table. How they are
sitting at the table however, at least one of them can
see the Joes get off the elevator.
This will – barring very select circumstances
judged viable by the GM – call for an Initiative roll
to begin combat immediately.
As a note, it is standard protocol for the Cobra
Viper to try and get to the alarm box by the elevator
door and activate it, if possible.
The Cobra agents’ ‘public’ communications
server, display, and transceiver is in this room,
which could be modified with a DIF 15 Technology
Skill Test to help boost transmissions from the G.I.
Joes’ own communications equipment. If Dial
Tone is asked to walk the character(s) through this
process, they may have Edge on that test.
There really isn’t much else on this sub-level
aside from break supplies, snacks, a few collapsible
cots, and re-equipment crates at the far end. The
characters might be able to find something useful
amongst these things, but that is ultimately up to
their ingenuity, Alertness (Investigation) skills,
and the GM.
SUB-LEVEL THREE – AN
UNDERWATER SWIMMING POOL?
Sub-Level Three is the Wet Access Portal; a
specialized opening in the floor of the level that
has been made to match the exact pressure of the
external ocean – keeping the water from exploding
inward and filling the installation.
 The characters could have gained access to
this sub-level in two ways – from above using the
elevator, or from the outside coming up from the
wet access portal. However they gained access
to the sub-level, the scene itself doesn’t change
except that there is a greater chance for the Joes to
stealthily enter the sub-level using the wet access;
if they do so and are trying not to rouse suspicions,
the characters gain Edge on their Infiltration Skill
Tests to enter the scene – soaked, but stealthy.
On this level there is a single Cobra Trooper and
a Cobra Lab Technician talking openly about the
Serpent Soldier Project. If the characters manage to
SUB-LEVEL TWO
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
eavesdrop successfully on the conversation, it goes
as follows:
• Trooper: “Have you seen one yet? One of Venom’s
new jungle men… or whatever?”
• Lab Tech: “The Chimerae? Not the finished
product. I saw that Scalpel had a beta sample with
him, and I caught a glimpse of it.”
• Trooper: “Brought it here?”
• Lab Tech: “I guess Venom gave him homework?”
• Trooper: “Guess so.”
Whether the characters hear the conversation or
not, they may have to engage the two Cobra agents
in order to proceed with the mission.
33
 The Cobra Trooper will try to sound the alarm
before he attacks the characters, and the Lab
Technician will try to flee into the elevator and go
down to sub-level four.
There are all kinds of tools, resource kits, aquatic
equipment, and scientific research materials related
to the operation and function of oceanic studies.
If the characters can think of something they might
be able to find of use there, it is up to the GM
if it is stashed somewhere around the room and
can be found.
The statistics for the Cobra Lab Technician is
listed below.
SUB-LEVEL FOUR – WHAT
THE HELL IS THAT?!?
Sub-Level Four is the final preparation and
check-in room for any cargo and passengers coming
and going between the Tubeworm Tower installation
and the Oubliette in the Amazon. Effectively it is a
large-scale airlock where personnel check the safety
seals on objects coming and going, and ensure any
passengers are not carrying hazardous biological
materials or chemicals that could endanger the
projects within the Oubliette. This is also the deepest
the primary elevator will go; on the opposite side
of the decontamination/airlock however, there is a
second elevator that only leads to Sub-Level Five.

SUB-LEVEL THREE

34
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
 COBRA LAB TECHNICIAN
THREAT LEVEL: 2
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 2
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 11 (1 armor) EVASION: 11
WILLPOWER: 16 CLEVERNESS: 12
SKILLS:
Alertness +d4, Athletics +d2, Deception +d4,
Science (Genetics) +d6*, Targeting (Stunner)
+d2*, Technology +d2
Languages: English, Japanese, Latin, Spanish
AT TACKS:
Stunner (Targeting) +d2*, Range 10/30
(2 Stun)
PERKS:
Cobra Contractor: Cobra Lab Technicians are
specialized contractors sought out from the
private sector for their specific field of skills.
Depending on whether or not the Lab Technician
is making skill tests related to the project they
There is a large sliding wall/door system that cuts
this room in half. It has triggering hand-plates that
start up the airlock/decontamination spray system, a
process that takes six full combat rounds from when
the wall/door opens to let someone in from either
side to when it re-opens to the other side.
Can You Hear
Me Now?
Unless the characters have
modified the communication systems
before this moment (the buoys, the
common room communications
display, etc.), the connection
between Dial Tone on the Dynamic
and where the Joes mission team
has officially become broken and
staticky. On Sub-Level Three the
team can still make out some of what
Dial Tone says, but any deeper and
there will be nothing but static if the
system is not boosted somehow.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
were contracted for, they automatically receive
Edge on their Science or Technology skill.
Portable Lab Array: Cobra Lab Technicians wear
a wrist-fitted piece of technology that allows the
wearer to count as having the exact right tool for
whatever Science or Technology skill test they
are being required to take. Additionally, this piece
of equipment counts as a wireless computer,
cellular telephone, encrypted communicator, and
GPS tracking device.
EQUIPMENT
Portable Lab Array; Stunner, Meshwear Uniform
(+1 Armor Bonus), Personal Effects (Wealth +d6)
HANG-UP:
Just a Contractor: Cobra Lab Technicians are
contracted specialists with permission to work
on specific projects assigned by Cobra officers.
Anytime the Lab Technician is attacked, after
resolving the attack, roll a d2. If the result is equal
to or greater than their remaining Health, they flee
from the scene and are considered Defeated.
When the characters arrive, the doors to
the opposite elevator are closing and they will
get a glimpse of the Cobra Medi-Viper officer,
codenamed Scalpel. Scalpel was loading a few
specialized crates into the decontamination area
when he saw the primary elevator doors open,
noticed something wasn’t right, and decided to flee
back to the Tubeworm.
The Joes will have to trigger the decontamination
process, wait for it to spray the mist and vacuum
everything back out again – with the accompanying
red and green safety access lights – but unless the
installation is on high alert, they should not have
any problems during that time. Once they can get
inside, they can investigate the three crates:
• A box full of ten self-injection pens without labels,
but are carrying powerful anti-toxin cocktails.
• A sealed cryogenic storage crate that contains two
dozen tissue samples, each labelled progressively
from ‘Chimera-19’ to ‘Chimera-42.’
• A medical-linen wrapped humanoid arm, severed
cleanly just below the elbow. It is covered in
patches of heavy, slightly iridescent scales, ending
in a four-fingered hand tipped with extremely
sharp, dense claws. Around its wrist is a plastic
medical band labelled ‘Chimera-37.’
35
 It is up to the characters to decide what they will
do with the crates they can claim inside the airlock,
but in order to pursue Scalpel, they will have to
initiate the decontamination process once more
and wait the requisite time to exit the other side.
Alternately, if they can manage to succeed a DIF 22
Technology (Mechanical) Skill Test, they can force
the system from the inside to purge early and open
on the second round of spraying.
SUB-LEVEL FIVE – THE TUBEWORM
The express elevator from Sub-Level Four opens
up onto Sub-Level Five to reveal exactly why there
is the enormous coiled tubes that lead away – or
rather toward and away – from the installation.
The elevator opens up to a subway-styled platform
SUB-LEVEL FOUR
36
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
that has a fully functioning superconducted bullet
train tube on both sides of the platform. This
is the Tubeworm, and the real reason why this
installation exists.
No matter when the characters arrive, for
narrative’s sake, the ‘departing’ Tubeworm car has
just sealed its doors and the team will get to see its
ringlet superconductors charging up and blast off
with a bright sapphire flash – disappearing into the
tube in the blink of an eye.
In less than a few seconds however, another
Tubeworm car arrives and lets out six Cobra
Troopers dressed in jungle fatigues!
The characters will get to have an exciting Combat
Scene to finish off the installation, but then they
have a decision to make…
TO RIDE OR NOT TO RIDE
After the Cobra Troopers are dealt with, the
characters have an important decision to make. Do Story Point(s)
they hop into the open Tubeworm car, race toward
the secret Amazon base and immediately begin the If the characters have fully
events in the next chapter, Within the Oubliette. investigated the Tubeworm Tower
Or… installation, the team is awarded a
Story Point for learning more about
Do they access the heading and map patterns of
and getting closer to the heart of
the awaiting Tubeworm car with a DIF16 Science
Cobra’s schemes.
or Technology (Computers) Skill Test, allowing
If the team does the heroic “brave
the characters to head back up to the docking ring
in the moment” thing to do and
platform, and then use any surviving S.H.A.R.C.s,
blindly takes the Tubeworm car to the
hijack the docked Morays, or radio for evac…
Amazon, they should be awarded a
heading back to the Dynamic to debrief with Dial
second Story Point – G.I. Joe has been
Tone and formulate a new mission plan for an
built on the backs of such heroes!
unexpected trip to the Amazon.

SUB-LEVEL FIVE

37
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 3: International Waters
 PART 4: WITHIN THE OUBLIETTE
A New
Mission or An
Unexpected
Continuation?
If the characters chose to hop
onto the next bullet train car to
pursue Scalpel, they will not have
a chance to re-equip, rest, or
otherwise take on this chapter as a
redeployment. Instead, they spend
five hours on the bullet train and
empty out into A Nest of Vipers.
Otherwise, since the characters
returned to the Dynamic to
debrief with Dial Tone, they can
consider this chapter as a new
mission altogether, starting
instead with Into the Deep Green.
38
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
STORY OBJECTIVE
The objective of Part 4 is the climax of the G.I. Joe
mission team’s efforts at thwarting Cobra’s Serpent
Soldier Project. This chapter takes them deep into
the Amazon, to a secret compound filled with
untold horrors – which they must figure out how to
end before they can be unleashed upon the world.
INTO THE DEEP GREEN
After deciphering the trajectory and signal
coordinates for the Tubeworm car, G.I. Joe
intelligence calculates where the so-called Emerald
Oubliette – the Cobra secret scientific compound –
is situated, within a hundred kilometers or so.
Once the characters have dropped into the
Amazon area, it should be no trouble homing in
on the significant power signature of a base like
this. It will be a dangerous drop, especially because
Scalpel (and the rest of Cobra by this point) knows
that G.I. Joe is on to them and much closer than
previously thought.
 Dial Tone is still in command of this mission, and
he has the following to tell the characters:
“This is a big deal, Joes. You did good finding this
place. Who knows what kind of awful stuff Cobra is
cooking up in the jungle. We’ve seen a glimpse of that
horror, and we can’t allow it to continue. Now, let’s get
you in there and put a stop to it! Yo Joe!”
MISSION EQUIPMENT
AND REQUISITIONS
While this is more of a standard operation
deployment, the Joes are on a rapidly shrinking time
clock and receive their personal allotments and
standard issue equipment, but are limited in their
additional Requisition attempts.
Mission Equipment: Each character is given a
reinforced single-use parachute pack, an oxygen-
breather mask with goggles, and a terrain-clearing
machete (counts as a small sword, but gives Edge on
Survival skill tests).
Requisition Budget: Each character is allowed one
special Equipment Requisition attempt to augment
their mission kit
THE DROP... AGAIN
Unlike the last time the characters para-dropped
into a mission, the Amazon’s denseness makes it
difficult to use a low altitude helicopter deployment.
Instead the team will be dropped at higher speeds
from a passing airplane; while this means that much
The Emerald Oubliette
– A Local Legend
Deep in the Amazon rainforest there is
an ancient Mesoamerican temple called
‘The Emerald Oubliette’ by the locals
due to the myth of the temple being a
forever prison for ancient and unnamed
serpent demons. It is avoided by all local
populations, who spit when they hear its
name, and claim the place is cursed.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
of the same basic information about parachuting
into a deployment remains the same – the
Difficulties are different. If the GM needs to refresh
the players, see page 14 for additional information
about The Drop.
Because the team took the time to debrief him and
bring him along, Dial Tone will be joining the drop.
The characters must:
• Steer their high-altitude descent with a DIF 12
Athletics Skill Test, made with Edge. Success lands
them in the fifty meter drop zone where the rest of
the team is supposed to meet up. Failure puts that
character off target by a number of meters equal
to ten times the amount the skill test failed by. A
Fumble triples the failure distance and imposes a
Snag on the Landing test (next).
• Landing their descent, made more difficult by
the tree canopy and vines, with either a DIF 14
Athletics or DIF 16 Acrobatics Skill Test. Success
or Critical Success means a quick roll to their feet.
Failing this test means a rough landing for the
character; roll a d20. If the result is higher than
the character’s Toughness (without armor), they
suffer one point of Blunt Damage. If the landing
test is a Fumble, the roll against the character’s
Toughness is automatically damaging.
Once the characters have all landed safely and
brought into the drop zone – possibly needing some
Alertness and Survival Skill Tests to find them in
the local jungle – Dial Tone will gather everyone
together again and check his instruments.
When they’re ready, the team starts toward the
jagged stone ruins known as The Emerald Oubliette.
It is a massive stone central building
surrounded by a stony courtyard, ringed
in by a high, vine-and-snake covered
wall, which is nestled in very dense and
dangerous jungle.
It is perfect for a secret Cobra
nightmare laboratory.
39
 THE WALLS OF THE OUBLIET TE
After following Dial Tone’s coordinates and
tracking programs, the characters find themselves at
the feet of a massive – 40 feet at the top – stone wall
covered in thick, ropey vines and hundreds of years
of foliage.
The characters must find a way to get past those
walls and into the compound. The GM can rule any
method the players come up with as to its possibility
for success, but the two obvious ways are as follows:
• Climb the wall at half normal rate, requiring
only a DIF 6 Athletics Skill Test to do so. Every
twenty feet of climbing, regardless to the success
or failure of the skill tests, the character must
pass either a DIF 18 Alertness or DIF 13 Animal
Handling Skill Test to avoid accidentally grabbing
one of the hundreds of poisonous snakes that
call the walls home. Failure on that test gives the
snake a single attack at the character:
Viper’s Bite (Finesse) +d4; Reach 5; 1 Poison
Damage; Critical Effect: 1 Speed Essence Damage
per minute until successfully treated.
• Search the walls’ perimeter for a traversable gate,
archway, or other entrance leading through the
walls. Such a break in the Oubliette’s defenses
will be guarded by two Cobra Vipers.
Once the Joes make it over or passed the walls,
they have the expanse of the well-patrolled
Courtyard to traverse before the can reach the
actual building of the compound itself.

CROSSING THE COURTYARD

Within the walls of the Oubliette there is a stretch
of nearly a hundred feet of broken stone ground,
some foliage poking through from centuries of
abandonment, called the Courtyard.
The Courtyard is patrolled by three roving Cobra
Ferrets, their light quad-ATV. Each Ferret is driven
by a Cobra Motor-Viper, but has a standard Cobra
Viper riding as a passenger.
The mission team must cross the Courtyard
quickly, possibly in singles or small groups, to avoid
one of these rumbling rider pairs from spotting
and engaging them. This will require a DIF 14
Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Test, with a ↓1 dice shift
for each additional person in the same group trying
to cross undetected – larger groups are easier to see.

40
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
 Once the mission team has crossed the Courtyard
– one way or another – they will then cross over a
few manmade barricades and reach the tent village
where most of the personnel stay.
If the Cobra agents manage to defeat the G.I.
Joes, they will be restrained and brought to Dr.
Venom (and Scalpel) within the Chimerae Chamber
(alternate introduction).
For statistics of both the Cobra Motor-Viper
and the Cobra Ferret vehicle, see The G.I. JOE
Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook.
A NEST OF VIPERS
This section of the Oubliette has been built
around the Tubeworm bullet train exit and entrance
points – which are little more than plastic and
steel sheds with camouflaged roofs. It is a ring of
tents and fabricated housing elements in which the
compound’s personnel stays while they are assigned
to the Oubliette.
Moving around this area – specifically heading
toward the inner sanctum – isn’t terribly difficult
due to the numerous blind spots, hiding places, and
double-backs that allow for multiple Infiltration Skill
Test to avoid detection.
Unless, of course, you are a group of G.I. Joe
troops getting off of a loud and expected bullet train
car – at which point the soldiers Scalpel warned of
their approach will be waiting.
Effectively, a mission team that is able to sneak
through the Vipers’ Nest can do so with a DIF 16
Infiltration (Stealth) Skill Test (remembering the
dice shift penalty from the Courtyard for moving in
large groups) can circumvent the area’s guards and
catch up with Scalpel within the Inner Sanctum.
If the mission team is caught (or they are getting
off the Tubeworm right now), there will be a
Combat Scene between them and a team of eight
Cobra Troopers and two Cobra Vipers!
If the Cobra agents are defeated, the mission team
can head into the Inner Sanctum.
If the Cobra agents manage to defeat the G.I.
Joes, they will be restrained and brought to Dr.
Venom (and Scalpel) within the Chimerae Chamber
(alternate introduction).
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
INNER SANCTUM
Converted heavily from the original stonework,
the outlying part of the Oubliette ruins has been
transformed into a testing facility for the genetic
mutations Dr. Venom has been trying to create
– only recently successfully. This is collectively
known as the Inner Sanctum, as only Scalpel, Dr.
Venom, and the Medi-Vipers are allowed within to
know the secrets of the Serpent Soldier Project.
Every twenty or thirty feet within the Inner
Sanctum there lies a new kind of test for the Cobra
personnel to administer to the Chimeric Prototypes
Dr. Venom has been creating. From hand-eye
coordination puzzles, small logic problem devices,
to firing ranges, and agility obstacle courses, the
prototypes are put through extensive amounts of
tests before being destroyed and a new version
brought forward for testing.
At any given time, the Inner Sanctum has a staff of
three Medi-Vipers testing d2 Chimeric Prototypes.
Unless he reason to already be discussing matters
with Dr. Venom inside the actual creation
chamber – Scalpel will be here to try and stop the
Joes as well.
Use the statistics below for the Chimeric
Prototypes and Scalpel:
CHIMERAE CHAMBER
The center ritual grounds of the Oubliette, a forty
foot diameter circular room once used for human
sacrifice, has been transformed into a high tech
exploration of forbidden sciences that allow the
Serpent Soldier Project’s designer and leader – Dr.
Venom – to extract the most lethal elements from
the genetic chains of a myriad of snakes, lizards,
frogs, and other species and fuse them together
inside the medically prepared body of a Cobra
“volunteer.”
When the Joes enter the chamber, Dr. Venom will
be just about to administer the activation injection
to a hulking humanoid mass of scales and muscle
strapped to a standing slab in the middle of the
chamber. Surprised to see the interfering Joes, he
will address them:
“No! I will not let you shortsighted cretins spoil
our path to greatness! Witness what Cobra is
capable of! This is just the beginning… soon he
will rise!”
41
 EMERALD OUBLIETTE

INNER
SANCTUM

42
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
CHIMERAE
CHAMBER

43
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
 CHIMERIC PROTOTYPES
THREAT LEVEL: 2
SIZE: Large HEALTH: 3
GROUND MOVEMENT: 25 feet
STRENGTH: 6 SPEED: 3
SMARTS: 2 SOCIAL: 1
TOUGHNESS: 15 (1 armor) EVASION: 13
WILLPOWER: 12 CLEVERNESS: 11
SKILLS:
Acrobatics +d4, Alertness +d2, Athletics +d4,
Conditioning x1, Might (Claws) +d4*
Languages: None – just a lot of hissing
AT TACKS:
Claws: +d4*, Reach (1 Sharp Damage)
SCALPEL, CHIEF MEDI-VIPER
THREAT LEVEL: 6
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 6
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 16 (3 armor) EVASION: 15
WILLPOWER: 18 CLEVERNESS: 14
Answering normally to Destro and the Baroness,
Scalpel is the chief officer in the Medi-Viper
corps. He is personally responsible for many
of the Cobra higher ups’ medical physicals,
pharmaceutical prescriptions, and other medical
needs. His personal goal is to unlock whatever
genetic mutations lie in Zartan’s bloodline that
allows for their instinctual camouflage abilities, to
which he has been currently unsuccessful.
SKILLS:
Alertness +d2, Animal Handling (Reptiles)
+d6, Athletics +d4, Finesse +d6, Initiative +d4,
Intimidation +d2, Science (Medicine) +d8,
Targeting (Pistols) +d4*, Technology +d4
Languages: Arabic, English, Greek, Latin, Spanish
PERKS:
Anatomy Expert: Scalpel knows how to hurt the
human body far beyond that of a common Cobra
agent. When targeting a human with an attack,
Scalpel may always choose to take a ↓1 dice
shift in order to inflict double normal damage to
the target.
44
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
PERKS:
Power in Numbers: The Chimeric Prototype
gains Edge on an attack roll against a creature if
at least one of the Chimeric Prototype’s allies is
within 5 feet of the target.
Relentless Attack: The Chimeric Prototype gains
Edge on attack rolls against any creature it has
previously inflicted damage upon.
HANG-UP:
Fatal Flaw: The organs and skeletal structure of
the Chimeric Prototype are not 100% formed or
efficient. Any Critical Hit that inflicts Blunt Damage
upon them will cause them to rupture and break
down internally, allowing it one last combat
round of actions – at the end of which it will
collapse and die.
First Response: Scalpel may perform a Science
(Medicine) skill test as a Free Action at the end of
any Move Action where they are in contact with
another being.
AT TACKS:
Flechette Pistol (Targeting) +d4*, Range 30/90
(2 Sharp Damage)
Traits: Silent
Injection Pistol (Finesse) +d6, Reach
(2 Poison Damage)
Alternate Effects: 2 Stun
Unarmed Strike (Finesse) +d6, Reach
(1 Blunt Damage)
EQUIPMENT:
Flechette Pistol, Injection Pistol, Medipack,
Response Vest Uniform (Reinforced Vital Plating,
+3 Armor bonus to Toughness), Personal Mask
(oxygen filtration unit)
HANG-UP:
Cowardly: Scalpel is fine with being a part of a
combat where Cobra is winning. If the GM decides
that the Cobra side of a Combat Scene involving
Scalpel is tilting the other way, Scalpel must
roll a D6. If the result is equal to or greater than
his current Health, he will flee – or surrender if
retreat is impossible.
 Chimerae Chamber
(Alternate Introduction)
The Joes wake up, hands bound by
plastic zip ties (DIF 16 Brawn to break),
to find Dr. Venom pacing back and
forth in front of the hulking Chimera
Serpent Soldier strapped to a standing
slab in the center of the room. If he
was not defeated, Scalpel will also be
present.
When they come to, Dr. Venom will
talk condescendingly down to them:
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
“You foolish Joes and your constant
meddling in matters so far beyond your
understanding… our collective genius
at Cobra might as well be like trying to
explain quantum physics to toddlers.
You should be proud though, as with
this final administered activation serum,
my first flawless Serpent Solider will
awaken… and you get to be their first
victims! Soon they will not be alone in
perfection. Soon he will rise!”
45
 No matter how the Joes are introduced to the
scene, the next moment will still likely come as a
shock – Dr. Venom plunges the activation injector
into the side of the monster’s corded neck. There is
a loud hiss of pressurized chemicals flooding the
target, and in 2d6 x 6 seconds (which might be
just what the characters need to break free of their
bonds (if bound).
The Chimera Serpent Soldier lets out a
shuddering, hissing, roar – and then begins to
try and escape its bonds. To break free, it must
pass two DIF 18 Brawn Skill Tests. When it does
so, it will attack savagely.
Use the statistics below for Dr. Venom and the
Chimera Serpent Soldier:
As soon as the Joes look like they are going
to defeat the Serpent Soldier, Dr. Venom
(and potentially Scalpel) will try to flee
with as much Serpent Soldier Project data
as he can tuck into his satchel.
If the Serpent Soldier defeats the
Joes, it will not soon cease its violent
activities upon them, savaging them
until Dr. Venom calls it off to be
loaded up for travel… something that
the GM will need to consider when it
comes to the end of this adventure.

NOOOO! THEY CANNOT STOP

US! HE MUST RISE!
Should his Serpent Soldier be defeated, Dr.
Venom will try to flee out a secret passage
which leads to where the Motor-Vipers keep
their Ferret ATVs. Venom will try to escape,
but is not much of a high-speed driver
extraordinaire. They can grab Ferrets of
their own and give chase if they wish, or
let the evil scientist escape and focus on
bringing down the Emerald Oubliette.

“LET HIM GO, WE HAVE WHAT

WE CAME FOR.”
If the characters are convinced that
catching Dr. Venom is secondary to taking
control of the Emerald Oubliette, they can
make that known to Dial Tone and he will agree
with their judgment. He will send the signal to the
Amazon-circling pilots awaiting to drop more G.I.
Joes, taking the Oubliette by storm.

46
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
CHIMERA SERPENT SOLDIER
THREAT LEVEL: 5
SIZE: Large HEALTH: 6
GROUND MOVEMENT: 40 feet
STRENGTH: 8 SPEED: 5
SMARTS: 4 SOCIAL: 2
TOUGHNESS: 20 (2 armor) EVASION: 15
WILLPOWER: 14 CLEVERNESS: 12
SKILLS:
Alertness +d6, Animal Handling +d4, Athletics
+d4, Brawn +d8, Conditioning x1, Finesse (Bite)
+d4*, Initiative +d4, Might (Claws) +d6*
Languages: None – just a lot of hissing; but
understands English
AT TACKS:
Bite (Finesse) +d4*, Reach (1 Poison Damage)
Critical Effect: 1 Strength Essence Damage per
minute until successfully treated
Claws (Might) +d6*, Reach (2 Sharp Damage)
PERKS:
Fearless: The Serpent Soldier cannot be
intimidated or made to feel fear in any fashion;
its mind is simply too instinctual to feel
such a way.
Relentless Attack: The Chimera Serpent Soldier
gains Edge on attack rolls against any creature it
has previously inflicted damage upon.
Venomcrafted: The Chimera Serpent Soldier
is utterly immune to Poison Damage and
adverse effects.
POWERS:
Regeneration: The Chimera Serpent Soldier can
take a Free Action to pause and heal its wounds
as long as it has not attacked yet that round.
Performing this action requires the player to roll
a D10 and compare it to their current Health; if
the result is higher, the Serpent Soldier regains
one Health.
HANG-UP:
Untamed Fury: The Chimera Serpent Soldier is
driven by fierce anger and an internal furnace
of rage. It will always attack the nearest target,
friend or foe, unless it has suffered damage. The
last creature to inflict damage on the Soldier is
always its priority target.
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
DR. VENOM,
MINDBENDER’S AIDE
THREAT LEVEL: 8
SIZE: Common HEALTH: 8
GROUND MOVEMENT: 30 feet
TOUGHNESS: 16 (+1 armor) EVASION: 14
WILLPOWER:18 CLEVERNESS: 15
A close student of Dr. Mindbender and an expert
at lost technologies from ancient cultures,
Dr. Venom’s research, studies, and accidental
exposure to forbidden biotechnology makes him
a dangerous resource for the R&D department
of Cobra. His plans on mixing reptilian genetic
abilities with those of peak humanity is later
mirrored when the agents of Cobra begin the
process to ‘awaken’ Serpentor.
SKILLS:
Alertness +d4, Animal Handling (Reptiles)
+d4, Athletics +d2, Brawn +d4, Deception +d4,
Finesse +d4*, Initiative +d4, Intimidation +d4,
Science (Biology) +d8*, Targeting (Pistols) +d4*,
Technology (Biotech) +d4
Languages: Arabic, English, Greek, Latin, Russian,
Spanish, Turkish
PERKS:
Biotechnician: Dr. Venom uses Science (Biology)
in place of Finesse when attacking with his
Shock-Cyst Glove.
True Believer: Dr. Venom honestly believes
he will be key in creating the perfect soldier
and leader of the entire Cobra organization. He
receives Edge on any Skill Test or power, or
anything else to do with his unshakable faith in
ancient ways.
AT TACKS:
Fang Handgun (Targeting) +d4*, Range 40/90
(1 Sharp Damage)
Traits: Silent, Ballistic
Shock-Cyst Glove (Science) +d8*, Reach
(1 Electrical Damage)
Alternate Effects: 1 Stun
Unarmed Strike (Finesse) +d4*, Reach
(1 Blunt Damage)
EQUIPMENT:
Armored Suit (+1 armor bonus), Silenced Fang
Pistol, Serpent Soldier Project Data File, 2 Doses
of Antivenom
47
 The Cobra agents will be outnumbered and
rounded up, the technology either destroyed
or confiscated, and the whole area (plus the
Tubeworm Tower) will be targeted for a scouring of
Cobra presence and technology.
“IF HE GETS AWAY, HE WILL JUST START THIS ALL
OVER AGAIN SOMEWHERE ELSE. GET HIM!”
If the characters do manage to catch Dr.
Venom, he will resist being captured to the best of
his ability.
Once captured, the characters can attempt a
DIF 16 Alertness (Investigation) Skill Test to notice
something strange about his chin and neck area.
If poked or prodded in that area exclusively, Dr.
Venom will let out a shrill, almost inhuman warble,
as his face will peel back and open like some kind
of clay flower – revealing a pale, slightly disfigured
facial structure beneath.
“For hissss rissssse!” the malformed creature that
was Dr. Venom a moment before hisses out loud
before falling into a sudden seizure, turning black and
withered, before falling cold and still. It seems that this
Dr. Venom was some kind of Cobra mutant imposter –
even if it did seem to know exactly what Venom would
say, do, and even believe.
There truly is more to Cobra than just what the
recruits can learn in the training room.
Rewards for Completing
The Emerald Oubliette
The characters have proven
themselves as much more than just
recruits in the G.I. Joe organization,
and should be advanced one Role Level
immediately.
Dial Tone will place a special
commendation for their service and
how well they did in the field in their
permanent records. This glowing
report from their mission CO grants
48
G.I. JOE ROLEPLAYING GAME - Part 4: Within the Oubliette
MISSION DEBRIEF
With the Emerald Oubliette and its attached
oceanic installation both out of commission, and
the Serpent Soldier Project suffering a major setback
toward being re-initiated, the G.I. Joes can be
satisfied that this was indeed a successful mission.
NOW YOU KNOW...
Through their individual and group debriefings,
discussions with Dial Tone, and some calculated
theorizing, the G.I. Joe team can consider the
following to be true:
• The Cobra Science Division has been planning
this genetic mutation study for over a year; there is
no telling what else it might result in.
• There is definitely a greater goal for the Serpent
Soldier Project; one involving the rise/creation/
appearance of something singular, rather than a
wave of new monsters.
• Cobra is willing to spend millions of dollars’ worth
of materials on the strange and the borderline
occult.
The Joes are put back into the regular mission
rotation, and it will only be a matter of time before
they get called back to that briefing room and have
to suit up again to stop Cobra and all the evils
like them.
Yo Joe!
them each an one-time benefit of
automatically succeeding in a Mission
Equipment Requisition (within reason,
of course!).
If this adventure is being used in
tandem with other narrative arcs, it
should be noted in their timeline of
events that this takes place before the
creation of Serpentor or the discovery
of the secret society of Cobra-La.
 Grab your gear
and get ready to
take on Cobra! In this
adventure for the G.I. JOE
Roleplaying Game “Emerald
Oubliette”, your G.I. Joe team will take
on investigations and infiltrations into
secret Cobra bases and fight the forces of
evil! Included is a full color Game Master
screen, including helpful rules, reference
tables, and information to help streamline
your table experience. This adventure
is a great follow up to the introductory
adventure found in the G.I. JOE Roleplaying
Game Core Rulebook.
• 48-page booklet featuring the “Emerald
Oubliette” adventure for low level players
• Beautiful G.I. JOE artwork for the outer
GM Screen panels
• Reference tables and key rules to
streamline gameplay inside GM Screen
• Adventure requires G.I. JOE Roleplaying
Game Core Rulebook

14+
renegadegames.com LOT# 021422-01 $28.00
ISBN 978-1-7368843-8-6
/PlayRGS @PlayRenegade @Renegade_Game_Studios 52800>

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