Players’ Information:
It’s a sorry departure morning on the players’ starship as they wake to find they have had a program storage crash; they need a new copy of the Jump-2 program. The players can quickly purchase the software from local starport’s software store. The owner of the store and developer, Bruce Siakashvali, contacts the players via the starport or planetary network about 5 minutes after the purchase. Bruce is in a bind and could use the players’ help. He will provide a special update of the software provided they help him. The updated software is unique: it not only computes their own jumps, but can also predicts another ship’s jump destination based on the jumping ship’s exit vector.
Obviously this software is a major boon to the ship, fleet, organization, or government in possession of it.
Tracking – Copyright grondak – used with permission
Referee’s Information:
Various interactions with Bruce and the software are possible:
1. Bruce has been shot and is being chased by pirates, who want to keep the software to themselves. Bruce wants to use his software to camouflage his escape. Cr 2,000 per crew member + fuel and ship expenses.
2. Bruce’s dependent / loved one (as appropriate) is being held by pirates. Bruce hires the players to solve the problem as pirates maneuver to jump out system. Cr 3,000 per crew member + fuel and ship expenses.
3. The players are hired to endorse the software. Bruce and the jump predictor are legitimate – the software works as well as it can. The players’ ship will chase a different ship around the subsector, proving to Bruce, the players, and the crew of the other ship that the jump predictor works. (Suggest the Reidain subsector for this journey.) All expenses paid and the players can make some money with light cargos.
4. As above, but Bruce is a charlatan; the other ship is going on a pre-arranged course or has some abnormal or “undetectable” signaling method. The endorsement has initial value but the players are forever shamed as being involved with “that Bruce Siakashvali’s product.”
5. The players got the wrong product from the online software store – it’s the completely unlocked jump predictor. Bruce wants it back and he is going to track down the players on his own.
6. Bruce’s ex-wife, understanding the value of the software, contacts the players to strongly suggest that they turn over the software to the Avalar government and bring Bruce in for a bounty (which may or may not exist, as appropriate).
Players’ Information:
The party is approached by a Dolphin who explains (via an electronic
translator) that she wants to hire them to assist in finding a sunken
starship and recovering several priceless works of art from its hold.
In addition to their monetary worth, the objets d’art are rare
examples of Dolphin handicrafts and also have great cultural
significance. The pieces were en route to a collector on Urnian (2833
Foreven) when the ship crashed into a volcanic crater lake in a remote
area of Vapchy (3034 Foreven). The patron tracked the crash site down
and believes that the ship is still intact; thus, the art might be
salvageable. The team is to provide support and backup for her as she
retrieves as much of the artwork as she can; for their efforts, she
will pay them Cr 200,000.
Crater Lake – Image from wikimedia Image by USGS – Public Domain
Referee’s Information:
The wreck, a 400-ton Subsidized Merchant, is situated 50 meters down
in the side of an underwater lava dome, in an 8 km diameter volcanic
caldera. The ship is partially buried by dislodged rock and silt,
which might make specialized equipment necessary to access the
interior. The ship itself may or may not be salvageable.
The volcano presents another danger. It is not extinct, just dormant.
Every so often, a burgeoning eruption causes seismic shocks in the
area. Each day, throw 16+ on 3D for a quake to occur. If so, throw 16+
on 3D again for the wreck to dislodge and start sinking to the bottom
of the crater 300 meters below. On a third throw of 3D for 18 exactly,
a full-blown eruption will occur in 4D hours.
1. All is as represented; the ship is intact and mostly dry inside.
The artwork, worth MCr1.2, is undamaged. A skilled broker may be able
to fetch an even higher price for it.
2. As 1, except the ship is partially flooded. The hold is dry (for
now), but opening it using standard methods will flood it, destroying
the contents.
3. As 2, and the hold has been slowly leaking since the crash. The
seals could give way at any time, totally destroying the contents
within. Worse, some of the artwork has been water-damaged and thus has
already lost (2D-2) x 10% of the above value.
4. As 1, but a group of salvage hunters has also located the wreck and
intend to stake a claim on it. They are unwilling to share or
relinquish their find. Despite being well-equipped, they are unarmed
and easily driven off, but will immediately contact the planetary
authorities.
5. As 4, except the salvage team is armed and more than willing to
fight. Their numbers and armament are similar to the PCs’.
6. As 5, except the opponents are a band of criminals that happened
upon the shipwreck and found it to be the perfect hidden base of
operations. They will not be happy to find the adventurers there.
Additionally, unbeknownst to all concerned, a squad of Imperial
Marines has tracked the felons down and are moving in with orders to
capture or kill anyone they encounter.
Patron: Lord Ruustvalt of Sagamore Skills required: Hunting, Recon, Survival Equipment required: hunting arms Location: Gwydion (Foreven 3020) C-442535-9 Ni Po
Mission:
Lord Ruustvalt is hiring experienced hunters for a party to bring down a neosphinx, a very large aggressive carnivore. The hunt will be outside the normal boundaries of commsat coverage. Radio contact will be possible, but unreliable. Terrain is badlands – lots of ridges, crags, valleys, box canyons and very little vegetation.
Ruustvalt – image from wikimedia Copyright Expired – Public Domain
Referee’s information:
The referee must set up an animal encounter table for the hunt. The table should include at least three kinds of herbivores of various sizes, and three carnivores. The largest of the three will be the hunt’s object, the neosphinx. See below. Payment: Cr 5000 each, bonus of Cr 2000 if they take a neosphinx.
The PCs will be limited in what sort of weaponry and equipment they can bring along – no heavy military gear will be permitted, nor armor heavier than Mesh. In all cases, accidents will happen during the trip. Minor to major injuries will occur especially if there is someone with medical skill among the PCs.
P.S. Ruustvalt is modeled on Theodore Roosevelt. During the hunt, a carnivore will be brought to bay by the hunters. Ruustvalt will insist on finishing it off personally, without assistance, with only a knife. He will win. Roosevelt did this on a hunt once, to a cougar.
Options:
1. After the proposed hunting party time has passed, without finding a neosphinx or much of anything, Ruustvalt insists that they stay longer. Food and other gear begins to run out. Hunting something becomes very important, as does management of resources.
2. During the hunt, they come upon signs of a neo’s territory. As they get closer, it may (hunting skill checks) become apparent that there are two of them; a mating pair, which is defending its brood and den. They will go on the attack against the party. The Neo’s are smart hunters, and can terrorize the party with attacks at night, by springing in and out of the camp.
3. The land upon which they are hunting is owned by someone of Ruustvalt’s acquaintance. But there are other hunters in the badlands who do not have permission. They will try to avoid Ruustvalt’s party as much as possible, but PCs with Hunting or Recon skill may come upon signs of their presence and if they report it, Ruustvalt will want them to take action. The poaching party will be equal in size to the PC’s party and similarly armed. The poachers will try to escape rather than stand and fight, but will fight hard if cornered. Penalties for poaching are severe, and Ruustvalt is known to have little tolerance for poachers.
4. Bad Storm. The hunt is going along well, but the weather begins to close in. In no case will the PCs convince Ruustvalt to abandon the hunt due to weather. Clouds make it darker and harder to see, wind blows up dust which obscures tracks and gets into everything that isn’t sealed up. Rain will start off light, just enough to be annoying but at some point during the trip the skies will without warning open up into a torrential downpour which will set off flash floods and landslides as well as soaking everyone and everything. Lightning may strike in an otherwise dry patch of scrub and start a fire. High winds make contragrav flight harder, and may knock vehicles down. Camp items that are not secured could be blown away or knocked down and damaged. At the height of the downpour (which could last for hours) visibility will be reduced to Medium or even Short range. Rain or thunder could provoke a stampede of grazers in the PC’s direction.
5. Vehicle Crash. One of the vehicles will suffer a disabling accident during the trip, with the PCs aboard. This should happen at a time and place where the PCs will have to improvise solutions, relying on their wits, skills and physical abilities instead of their tech to make it back to the base camp. NPC party members may be injured or killed in the accident, but Ruustvalt should not be killed. While moving overland, have several animal encounters occur. The vehicle may or may not be repairable, but even if repaired it should remain unreliable. Repair rolls will face negative DMs for lack of tools.
6. Assassins. Some member(s) of the hunting party, possibly including one of the PCs, are intending to kill Ruustvalt; having been suborned by one of his political or social enemies. If the killers are NPCs the PCs should be given some hints along the way that something is afoot. The killers will prefer to let one of the animals on the hunt kill Ruustvalt, so that it appears to be an accident. Only if they are in danger of exposure and capture, or almost at the end of the hunt will they try to directly attack Ruustvalt. Whether they succeed or fail, the killers will then try to escape in one of the vehicles, disabling the others (and the radio) if they have time to evade pursuit.
Mass Hits/Wounds Weapons Armor A F S
1600 kg 45-48/15-18 +4D teeth/claws as cloth +2 * # 2+ leap
* If Surprise
# If Surprised
The neosphinx is a quadruped of large size (from 3.5 m to nearly 5 m in length) and enormous strength. Even their tails, nearly a meter long, are muscled. Neosphinx coats are made of short, stiff fur in shades of slate and charcoal gray. Their paws can be up to 30 cm in diameter with 4-6 cm claws. Neosphinxes are territorial, aggressive carnivore pouncers, feeding on local herbivorous grazers. Their running speed is actually slower than the grazers they prey upon; the neosphinx attacks by leaping extraordinary distances. From a standing start, they can cover up to twelve meters, while a running neosphinx can launch itself over twenty-two meters.
Location: Titan, (Foreven 1429) A-642ABA-D J Hi In Po Capital
A friend or relation of one of the PCs is getting married, and the PC and his/her associates have been invited to the big event, which promises to be a major event on the social calendar of Titan’s capital city. The PC with the connection may, at the referee’s discretion, be asked to take part in the planning of the reception, which will be a very large affair, with many hundreds of guests as well as media coverage. A week prior to the wedding, the bride-to-be comes running to the PCs for assistance. The wedding might not happen, because her betrothed has disappeared! The patron is in a state of panic, and turned to the PCs because they “have experience with this kind of thing”. Local custom on weddings is very specific, owing to property transfer laws on Titan; a wedding is also a real estate contract. Therefore, it is imperative that the wedding happen on the scheduled date; rescheduling a wedding is a contract violation, which requires someone way, way up in the government or religious hierarchy to approve in order to avoid messy litigation. The PCs must work quickly to get the happy couple reunited in time for the big day.
The Bride – Image from wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license
Referee’s Information:
This scenario will work just as well with either the intended husband or the wife doing the disappearing. The referee can impose tasks on the PC group to help with wedding preparations before the main event occurs – setting up security at the reception would be good camouflage for the actual mission. The PCs may be motivated by affection for the patron & intended, but reluctant PCs will be encouraged by members of either family offering cash incentives to find the missing person. However, if the PCs ask for cash payment, this should have social consequences for them once the word gets out. In any event, part of the PCs assignment will be to keep a lid on the fact of the disappearance while they investigate. The referee will determine what impact there will be on the six variables below if the news of the disappearance gets out.
Reasons for the disappearance:
1. The intended spouse has had a change of heart, or wimped out, and is now in hiding, waiting for the date to expire in order to get out of the marriage. The PCs can attempt to reason with the intended, but the intended will try to convince the PCs to not expose him/her, including offering bribes.
2. The intended has been in an accident (vehicular or recreational) and suffered a loss of memory or is in a comatose condition. Persons at the scene of the accident got the intended to hospital, but other than a routine police report, the accident did not make the news. The intended did not have his/her identification on hand at the time of the accident, so the hospital does not know who the person is. There are several hospitals in the capital city.
3. As in number two, but the intended died in the accident. The referee will determine whether the intended’s remains have been located, and whether the accident was a natural disaster or a man-made accident. If the accident was caused by another person, that person may try to hide the body and disguise the accident scene to throw off suspicion of fault.
4. The intended has been kidnapped by a jealous rival who wants a shot at the patron him/herself. The intended is unharmed for the time being, and is held in a location far from the capital. Once the intended is found, getting him/her back to the city in time for the wedding will be difficult. The referee is encouraged to engineer the trip as a race against the clock on the day of the wedding.
5. The intended has a nasty secret (financial trouble, previous marriage never ended, he/she is actually a spy) that suddenly is in danger of being exposed, and the intended is trying at the last-minute to handle it. Once found the intended will ask the PC’s help in clearing up the matter before the wedding date.
6. The intended has been kidnapped by a jealous rival of the patron, who wants the intended for him/herself. The intended may be brainwashed by the rival. The rival may threaten violence against the intended or as leverage if confronted by the PCs. If the intended is rescued the kidnapper may attempt to break up the wedding.
In all cases, the referee must determine the flow of subsequent events.
Patron: Government of Nebet Skills required: combat skills, Administration, Legal Equipment required: having a ship is helpful but not required Location: Orval (Fessor 0203) E765674-5 Ag, Ni, Ri
The PCs respond to a public announcement that the government of Nebet, on the planet Orval, is looking to contract a number of bounty hunters. In the interview, the hiring agent explains that several weeks ago, a Nebetan prison facility was attacked by a group of mercenaries to engineer the escape of a particular prisoner, Cormac Harroway. During the attack, many of the prison staff & security personnel were injured or killed. The disorder allowed a number of other prisoners to escape, at least temporarily. The government knows the identity of the primary target of the raid; he is the son of an official in an Imperial corporation based on Fessor. The hiring agent provides the PCs with a complete dossier on Harroway, sufficient to recognize him on sight, and giving what data is available on his whereabouts. The dossier includes legal documents that should be sufficient to convince authorities on other planets of the legitimacy of the PC’s mission. The mercenary team of six men fled the planet in a used type-A trader, which has been identified by the Imperial consul on Orval. Little is known for certain about them, not even names. The dossier contains mostly photo prints of images taken during the prison break. The consul is unwilling to become too involved in the Nebetan plan except to confirm that Harroway was tried and convicted fairly under Nebetan law. Mister Harroway senior is influential enough that going after him directly is considered too politically dangerous, (likely to trigger a major diplomatic incident) but the son is a convicted felon with time left on his sentence, and Nebet wants him back.
As part of the contract for the bounty, the PC’s will be licensed & bonded as non-citizen agents of the Nebetan government, which grants them limited law enforcement powers and some political cover while operating in Imperial-controlled space. They will be backed up while pursuing their legitimate target; any side trips or harassment of third parties will not be protected. But in any event, the amount of political clout Nebet can exert off-planet is very limited. The PCs should endeavor to stay within the local laws wherever possible. Their mission is to return the fugitive, and if possible, bring in the mercenaries to face trial for murder and other charges. The government is offering MCr 5 for Harroway, and MCr 1 for the mercenaries as a group. All should be delivered alive. PCs who ask may get some amount of cash advance on very positive reactions from the hiring agent.
Referee’s Information:
The referee should look up JTAS #1, Amber Zone “Rescue on Ruie” for the background of this adventure. At least one of the following six complications should be employed by the referee to challenge the players. The mercenary team is equipped to TL B, and is active in the subsector. They are aware that Nebet may come looking for them, but have not had any communication with Harroway or his father since making their escape from Orval. They will neither know nor care where Harroway is, and will not hesitate to say so.
1. Harroway is on an extended subsector tour, protected by a bodyguard, equipped to TL D, equal in number to the PC’s. He is traveling aboard ships of his father’s company.
2. The mercenaries have ditched or sold the type-A ship and ‘gone to ground’.
3. The mercenaries’ ship has been ‘upgraded’ to serve as a troop carrier. The original team has expanded so now there are 30 troops aboard.
4. Harroway senior has been alerted to the fact that bounty hunters are after his son, and is mobilizing the corporation’s internal security against them.
5. Another hunter team is either one step behind or one step ahead of the PCs, and is willing to do anything to overtake/stay ahead of them.
6. Another hunter team offers to coordinate with the PCs for a 60-40 split of the bounty, but plans to double-cross them.
The PC’s are hired by the ambassador of the Avalar Consulate to Highbury. The political climate is getting hotter, the local public opinion has turned against Avalar for some reason of interstellar importance. The Ambassador, concerned for his staff’s safety, wants the embassy’s security measures tested. The PCs should be Avalar citizens so the testing can be done quietly, without further stoking local opposition. The PCs are promised cash and official thanks or recognition for their work. The Chief of Diplomatic Security is not happy about this, but agrees to comply. The PC’s are given 72 hours to conduct surveillance, then they must attempt to breach the embassy’s security ‘far enough to cause damage’, then show the white flag and end the exercise. The CDS supplies them with low-power laser weapons (power cell operated) to use; these can be concealed or disguised. The PCs and all embassy personnel will wear laser sensors at all times, so that the intruding team can simulate a shooting attack, and security staff can counter. Whether or not the attack succeeds, the PC’s will have accomplished their task by confirming the extant security measures or revealing weaknesses that can be corrected.
The Avalar Embassy – image from wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
The referee should provide the players with maps and plans that display most but not all anti-intrusion measures, and strongly encourage the players to take the time to conduct pre-operational surveillance. Teams that charge right in, frontal assault-style should be easy for embassy security to neutralize. The success or failure of the staged attack should depend on the PC’s extent of planning. The referee must give the players a fair chance to breach the security – remember the embassy is on a budget, and a fortified bunker is not a positive diplomatic image to convey to the host nation.
Optional Events:
1. Nothing unusual happens during the staged attack. The PC’s plan stands or falls on its merits.
2. While conducting pre-op surveillance, the PCs detect another group also performing surveillance on the embassy. The referee must determine the size and intent of this group.
3. As with number two, but the other group approaches the PC group and offers significant financial incentives for the PCs to join in on an actual attack. Careless PC’s may find one of their members kidnapped by the rival group to persuade them to comply.
4. While conducting the staged attack, it appears that embassy security is one step ahead of them at every turn. The CDS has somehow bugged the PC’s gear or persons, and knows everything that they are planning. It is up to the PCs to discover this fact and prove it to clear themselves of looking incompetent. The Ambassador will not be pleased to learn his CDS cheated.
5. While conducting the staged attack, one or more of the PC’s lasers will switch to full power without warning. If any embassy staff are killed or wounded, the security team will change-up to real weaponry and attempt to apprehend or kill the PCs. The PC’s must determine what caused the power-up and prove their innocence.
6. During the staged attack, another group uses the distraction to launch a real attack. The attacking group will be of the same number as the PCs and will have standard weaponry, as well as explosive charges. The PC’s may hide, flee or fight. The referee must decide if the attacking group is defeated if the PCs refuse to help. In this case, the Ambassador, if he lives, will not be pleased and accuse the PCs of conspiring with the other group.
Future diplomatic relations between Highbury and Avalar must be determined by the referee based upon the public outcome of this exercise.
