Patron: Entertainer Required Skills: none Required Equipment: none, but see below No of Players: 2-6
Players’ Information:
The crew is approached by a representative for a small acting company,
the Starlight Repertory Assembly, with an offer to hire them as
escorts for the troupe on a tour of several performance venues in the
subsector. The actors will need several bodyguards, roadies and
general techies. The troupe will pay each participating PC Cr 3000 per
venue, payable at the end of the tour. If the group has a starship,
then the company will negotiate a charter instead. In that case, they
will need staterooms for six main actors and three understudies, and
space for 12 tons of cargo, which includes all their gear, props,
wardrobes, and a portable stage.
Twylaiwasyo Eorl – image from wikimedia Public Domain – copyright expired
Referee’s Information:
Select up to six worlds in the subsector for the group to visit. They
should all be within the starship’s highest Jump number, and can all
be backwaters. On each world, the company will perform Twylaiwasyo
Eorl, an Anglic version of an epic Aslan drama.
1. The show is a smashing success, and the actors will be able to pay
the adventurers as promised. In addition, they will engage the PCs’
services for another tour.
2. The play is only a moderate success, plagued by wildly varied
audience attendance and publicity results. The company might be able
to pay the PCs as promised regardless. The heroes will receive
2D – 2 x 10% of their promised pay.
3. The play is a dismal failure, panned by critics, and shunned by
audiences. Throw Reaction for any audiences after the first, with a DM
of -3 (word spreads fast, even across the subsector), and implement
the result. The heroes will only receive 1D – 3 x 10% of their promised
pay.
4. At a performance on one world, a family of Aslan takes offense at
how “their” story is presented and the lead male challenges the actors
to a duel of honor. The heroes may choose a champion to fight on the
actors’ behalf, but the duel will occur. Any others who “dishonor” the
event by getting involved, will find the other Aslan (2D, 60% female)
getting involved as well.
5. A bitter rival of one of the production’s stars sets about to
destroy it by sabotaging equipment, planting paid hecklers in the
audience, and inducing reviewers to slam the show. While his
subordinates are easily stopped and his deeds exposed, he covers his
tracks well and it is very hard to prove his involvement.
6. As 5, except the efforts include harming the actors and PCs and
destroying equipment.
Patron: Religious leader, Cleric Required Skills: None Required Equipment: Starship with low berth Number of Players: 2-6
Players Information:
Whilst taking a well-earned break at Ovdyo (Foreven 2935), the players are asked by a two men for transport to Udika (Foreven 2934). They are both dressed in long smocks but their clothes are clean and appear new. The taller of the two men introduces himself as Callidan and his colleague as Vernrean. Callidan asks the players that for religious reasons, Vernrean travels in a low berth until their arrival at their destination. Vernrean’s status within their religious order is such that for complex theological reasons, he must not pass through into ‘heaven’ (off world) and be awake until it is his time to die.
Callidan has been hired by Vernrean as a guardian to help with the practicalities of travelling between worlds so that he may spread his ‘message’. The players will be paid handsomely (Cr 15,000) for their trouble.
Somewhere? – Image copyright Alegis Downport 2013 image used with permission
If the players accept the offer, Callidan will tell the players that Vernrean is a religious visionary and he is travelling to a number of worlds to spread his word of salvation.
1. The job is as described and though the players may not agree with Vernrean’s views, he is harmless enough. As the players arrive at their destination, Vernrean tries to get the players to join his religion. He will however, not be offended if the players refuse and pays them in full Cr 15,000 with his blessing.
2. During the journey to Udika, Vernrean is recognised from news reels as not just a religious leader, but a wanted terrorist. Before the players can act on their discovery, Vernrean and Callidan have armed themselves, hold the players at gunpoint and summon another ship to kidnap the players and take them to the terrorist’s base. The terrorist’s intend to steal the player’s ship for their own and simply ‘dispose’ of the players.
3. Before the players recognise the Vernrean from the news reels, the authorities track the players down and order the players ship to stand to, accusing them of aiding a known felon. Vernrean calls himself a freedom fighter and tells the players that he is fighting against a corporate regime who murdered his family. It’s up to the players to decide whether to hide Vernrean and Callidan, or turn them over to the authorities and convince them they have nothing to do with them. It should be noted that before they left the starport, Callidan hacked the local data ‘net and added the players to the list of known associates/felons.
4. Halfway through the journey, odd things start to happen aboard ship, such as equipment malfunctions and ghostly occurrences such as poltergeist activity, lights flashing and things moving of their own accord. If the players look hard enough, they appear to be the uncontrolled psi-emanations from Vernrean in the low berth. The players must decide if the risk is sufficient to drop them off before their destination or not. If asked, the Callidan will deny anything to do with the occurrences and will appear quite offended. If the players do nothing, the malfunctions and ghosts will become more threatening, risking lives and the ship. If the players try to open the low berth, Callidan will do everything he can to stop the players.
5. Vernrean is actually highly developed Zhodani intelligence gathering android and has acquired a large number of Imperial secrets. It is gradually making its way back to Zhodani space, under the guise of Vernrean. Whilst in the low berth, it will send bursts of data traffic to alert the Zhodani fast courier that has been arranged to pick it up, to let the courier know it is on its way. However during one of these transmissions, the players pick up unusual data traffic and after some analysis, determine that it was coming from Vernrean in the low berth. Just as the players move to confront Vernrean and Callidan, the Zhodani courier appears and will threaten the players to allow Vernrean and Callidan to transfer to the courier. It’s up to the players to stop them. Vernrean and Callidan will do all they can to disrupt the players response.
6. Part way through the journey, Vernrean wakes and is released by Callidan from the low berth. He says that he has had a vision whilst asleep and gives the player’s co-ordinates to go to a supposedly dead region in space and wait. Unknown to the player’s, Vernrean has incredibly powerful psi-abilities and upon arrival at the co-ordinates, activates the ships jump drive, forcing it through a wormhole. The players ship arrives at an uncharted world with an orbiting spacecraft graveyard. Thousands of unidentified spacecraft orbit this stellar backwater, all apparently lifeless and in various states of condition. The players are asked to fly to a specific location and arrive at a starship containing more of the same race as Vernrean. They ask the players to help them repair their ship and assist with getting them back into the Foreven Sector.
The player’s dilemma is if they will help a group of powerful psi-beings back to their space, where they would be a powerful potential threat to the Foreven Sector, or attempt to escape and leave them in isolated space? However, the players are likely to need their help getting back to the Foreven Sector, due to their unknown location in the galaxy and the use of a wormhole to travel this far. In addition, what of the spacecraft graveyard and what secrets and surprises lie within?
Vernrean - as a religious leader/terrorist
UPP 789AAA
Bribery-1 Computer-2 Electronics-2 Engineering-2
Leader-4 Submachine Gun-1 Auto Pistol-1
Callidan - as Vernrean's Associate
UPP 877976
Computer-1 Submachine Gun-1 Auto Pistol-1 Jack-o-T-1
As a Zhodani android, Vernrean should be classed as a TL15 pseudo-biological humanoid robot with technology employed sufficient to disguise any mechanical and electronic emanations so that sensors ‘see’ a biological being.
As a psi-being, Vernrean can move objects and disrupt electronics such as controlling ship systems. Specifics are not given here; the guide for the referee is that Vernrean is a member of a sufficiently advanced humanoid race that can control electronics and inanimate objects, using their powers seemingly without any loss of strength. The referee should play Vernrean and other members of his race as powerful beings more powerful than any others that the players have encountered. However, they are still biological beings and hence can be killed.
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.
