Into The Black

Campaign Background

Overview

The campaign starts in the year 2433 in New London, a large city on a planet 11 light years from Earth. Humankind has colonized another solar system, the Epsilon Eridani system. The party consists of a group of government employees who have volunteered for a rescue mission that will take at least 30 years to complete.

Tech Level

This will be a mix of TL 9 & 10. 4th edition Ultra-Tech rates technologies and equipment based on both TL and whether the item is considered 'superscience'; we'll be skipping the superscience items as a general rule but there will be some exceptions (such as gravity manipulation).

Recent History

2099: Limited nuclear war in Middle East. Jerusalem & Mecca are utterly demolished in one night, and 14 million people die from radiation in the 6 months following the blasts. United Nations granted much greater authority and control in the following years.

2150: Identification of the habitability of Epsilon Eridani's planets, 11 light years from Earth.

2220: Invention of reactionless space drive, enabling space travel at fast enough speeds to be worthwhile. The technology improves over the next hundred years from 0.4 light speed to 0.99 light speed.

2260: Explorers land on Eridani Prime. Full-scale colonization begins shortly thereafter. This is coordinated, overseen, and largely funded by the United Nations, to whom all Earth countries have ceded governance of space colonization.

The Eridani planetary system

Eridani Prime, the most Earth-like of the four habitable planets, has been the focus of human activities, and this is where the campaign starts out. The other three planets (officially known as Eridani Beta, Gamma, and Delta) have more inhospitable conditions, but already are home to thousands of frontier settlers. Moons of each planet, despite having harsh conditions and very thin atmospheres, are also being developed by settlers in anticipation of future environmental manipulation technology.

No intelligent species have been encountered on any planets thus far. Flora and Fauna discovered on various planets largely comply with biological principles developed and understood on Earth. Fish, birds, reptiles, insects, and mammals are different than Earth-evolved species, but their configurations are still generally familiar to humans.

Politics and Society

Nationality (such as American or Russian) has been forgotten, except among the residents of increasingly abandoned Earth (still home to 12 billion souls). The United Nations runs the bureaucracy of governance on all civilized planets to a greater or lesser degree. Frontier worlds are left to their own devices and provided neither support nor oversight. However, once a colony is established and fruitful, the UN sends in troops to establish government infrastructure, with varying degrees of acceptance.

A growing faction within the UN leadership believes it is inevitable that hostile and sophisticated species will eventually be encountered, and the past 20 years have seen a gradual buildup of military technology, arsenal, and personnel.

To maintain control of an organically growing and far-flung civilization, in which basic communication can take years to conduct, the UN has become increasingly authoritarian and invasive over the past 50 years, requiring regular dispatches from local technocrats and developing a strictly defined chain of command. Laser weapons are completely illegal (excepting military), and other weapons are strictly regulated on Eridani Prime. These laws apply on other settlements but are rarely enforced unless UN security forces are present.

Inevitably this has resulted in factions that resent UN rule, and seeds of discontent are gradually brewing outside Eridani Prime. Civil unrest and rebellion are not uncommon on recently (<50 years) established human settlements, while older colonies are generally peaceful and civilized. However, no group or rebellion seriously threatens UN hegemony.

Cyberpunk

A rash of excessive “enhancement” in the 2200s has led to the outlaw of most cybernetic implants. Bionic limb and organ replacement to save a life is universally accepted and commonly practiced, but voluntary unnecessary bionic enhancement is illegal and culturally frowned upon. However certain elite units of the security forces are known enhance their troops, causing endless societal debate.

An underground market for enhancement or “chroming” exists. Costs listed in Cyberpunk book are doubled.

Space Travel

Space travel speed has “maxed out” at the speed of light. However, “jump points” have been mathematically proven and identified in the galaxy. Scientists have been laboring for decades to work out a way to use them to “skip” huge distances in space. It is anticipated that the technology is within a few years of actual testing (transferring small amounts of inanimate matter is the first test); governments and corporations are spending vast sums of money and resources to do it.

Recently, enthusiasm abounds for further space travel because of the development of stasis chambers. When engulfed in one of these gel-filled “cocoons”, humans age 90% slower, allowing a 20-year journey to have little effect on the perceived age of the traveler. This is a far cry from the initial journey to the Eridani system, during which babies were born and grew to adulthood on the transport vessels, only setting foot on a planet well into their thirties.

However, the cocoon technology is imperfect, and the risks associated with long ”hibernation” periods is still substantial. To minimize this, travelers are brought out of stasis for a few weeks of each traveling year to recuperate. There's a trade-off though, because the special biomatter gel is bulky and expensive, and must be entirely replaced before re-entering stasis.

Colonization

The settling of the Eridani planets has led to a thriving human population, which, when combined with rapid advances in technology, has resulted in the planning of additional colonization of surrounding star systems. First is the twin system of Sirius A &B 16 light years away, which are orbited by at least two planets. Data from exploration drones indicates both may be habitable, and human exploration teams are en route.

The UN has decreed hundreds of planets within 100 light years as “fair game” for settlement, and future colonists are organizing resources for the land rush. These groups of adventurous souls generally consist of two types, profiteers or idealists, and those founders' attributes will inevitably leave their mark on the culture that will develop in each colony.

Over the past 75 years, numerous aspiring colonists of like-mind have launched massive 5,000-person superliners in the direction of various theoretically habitable worlds, and have not been heard from again; their status is unknown.

Additionally, “terraforming” technology is being developed. This will involve massive machines capable of producing air and water from local elements. On smaller planets and moons, optimistic technocrats are estimating 10-20 years to turn a barren rock to a habitable but harsh home for humans. Such deployments are already underway on moons in the Eridani system.

"Science"

• We're re-imagining the Milky Way as having numerous stars with habitable planets within a few dozen light years of Earth.
• We're ignoring Einsteinian time dilation. If you travel at the speed of light for 15 years, then 15 years pass for the departure point, travelers, and at the destination.
• Gravity Manipulation: We're generally adopting the Firefly-esque concept of standard on-board gravity in space – as long as the ship is pressurized with breathable air, normal gravity is present. However there are some nuances:
  • Internal artificial gravitational field generators are common on all space-faring craft. These generators are rated on the Gs they can override, so even if your reactionless drive can accelerate/maneuver faster, the Gs might crush you if the internal compensator can't keep up.
  • In the upper ranges of acceleration for which a gravity generator can compensate, gravity is experienced as palpably 'off'. Eddies of spurious anti-grav can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, euphoria and localized earthquake-like tremors. (see B434, "Space Sickness" and "High Acceleration" for some ideas)
  • New technology has been developed (and trademarked under the name Grav-Right) that overcome all these limitations, and provide a perfect experience of 1G within a craft, but it is only available on very high end small (< 5 passenger) luxury craft and one-man military attack craft, neither of which is capable of long distance travel.

Campaign Intro

Plot Setup

You are inhabitants of New London, a tightly compacted city of silvery towers on the Earth-like planet Eridani Prime, home to three million souls. Beyond the city, another two million inhabit the mild, fertile planet. You have lived here all your life.

You have been brought together by volunteering for an expedition organized and funded by the Advanced Research Division of the United Nations' Galactic Exploration Agency.

Thirty-five years ago, concentrated Tylium was discovered on GD-66b, a small mineral-rich but inhospitable planet in a neighboring star system 15 light years away. A key ingredient in cutting-edge star drives, and widely believed to be the key to faster-than-light speed as well as jump drives, Tylium's presence on GD-66b ensured rapid mining development and research.

This went well for three decades, until communications with the research station and colony suddenly ceased. Messages take 15 years to traverse the distance, and so the final communication (which was entirely routine in nature) had been sent 15 years previously. The most popular theory was that the station had been utterly wiped out by a meteor, common in the system, but a deep space drone telescope revealed no such evidence. The buildings and mining structures appeared intact.

So, this expedition has been organized to investigate and rescue any survivors.

Because it is a thirty-year round trip, the expedition accepted only volunteers, provided they met certain physical and training criteria. Specially-qualified individuals were also be allowed to bring their spouses, again, provided the spouse met the same physical criteria.

Estimated population of the research station is 200, accounting for probable deaths and births. The craft selected to make the trip is a Valeria IV, a military troop transport with modest defensive capabilities and 250 recently-developed stasis chambers.

The chosen breakdown of volunteers is as follows:

• Ship's crew -- essential personnel required to operate the craft, consisting of a captain plus seven crew members with various engineering specialties.

• Security Forces: Sixteen UN "Peacekeepers" are assigned to the mission in case the facility has been overtaken by hostile forces, consisting of a captain and three sergeants to whom four-man squads report. This contingent of military force will double as fields medics and heavy physical labor in the event that the facility is in need of significant construction repairs.

• Scientists and support staff: A handful of prominent and accomplished scientists accompany the mission to provide engineering, medical, and other deep expertise.

Character Requirements

These apply to all:

• Because of the dangers of spending 15 years in a stasis chamber, all volunteers must have an effective HT of 12 or more. (Fit or Very Fit applies.)
• All PCs must have a Sense of Duty (optionally: Fanatic) to the UN and the mission, unless you take a GM-approved Unusual Background.
• All have at least 3 points in electronics operation (various types as desired) & computer operation unless you take a GM-approved Unusual Background.
• Cultural Familiarity: Eridani Prime
• At least 1 point in Area Knowledge: New London
• At least 1 point in Area Knowledge: Eridani Prime

Character Templates

This mission will need a variety of specialists. Killing everything will not be an effective strategy. Well maybe sometimes.

The character types/templates proposed are:

• Security Forces Sergeant: The Captain is an NPC, but you can choose to be a Sergeant, with four Corporals reporting to you:

150 point max
Rank: 3 (15 points)
Skill guidelines: Reports to the captain, four men report to you. Well armed and well trained. 
Very good at killing people and breaking things but not much else. 6 points in Soldier, 2+ 
points in Leadership, 2+ points in Military Savoir Faire, 2+ points in Tactics. Beam weapons. 
Other than that, no more than 6 non-combat skills. You have been trained in controlling and 
destroying enemy forces. 

Optional Advantage: Optional neural interface to weapons is a 20-point implant, and gives +4 
to skill with properly equipped weapons (laser assault rifles are on board).  

• Ship's Crew: The Captain is an NPC, but you can invent your own crew position, such as co-pilot, ship's medic, navigator, propulsion engineer, and so on.

150 point max
Skill guidelines: Plenty of zero-grav experience, astrogation & piloting, some light military 
training, mathematics and engineering talents, a steady demeanor (Cool/Collected recommended). 
While a specialist in something on the ship, you are a practical engineering generalist with 
many talents. No more than 12 points in combat skills.

• Scientist: You can be a specialist or a generalist.

200 point max
Status: 5 (25 points)
Other guidelines: Well-experienced Genius (IQ15+), with broad and deep scientific and/or 
medical skills, theoretical and practical problem solver. No more than 8 points in combat skills. 
Bionics feasible if consistent with story and not combat-focused.

Characters

• Initial GM: User:Johnm
• Sergeant Todd
• ??? Mudd
• Dr Mergan Thaler

What Happened

Adventurous and Valiant Volunteers

When the UN's GEA put out a call for volunteers for a 30-year-long rescue mission, 300 individuals stepped up to serve. After 2 weeks of mental and physical tests, only the most qualified were assigned to the mission. After a 24-hour ride up the space elevator to the massive space station nicknamed Searchlight above New London, the crew receives final mission briefings, a moving farewell speech from Director Skinner and then boards the freshly fueled and tuned Valeria IV troop transport destined for GD-66b.

For 14 years, they awaken from their stasis pods once a year for a week to exercise and become reacquainted with solid food. During the 15th year, just as deceleration begins, the ship receives a garbled signal on a channel reserved for distress calls. Unable to either descramble the signal nor change course in any event, Captain Rod Reynolds opts to maintain course and prepare for arrival. Just before he gives the order to start bringing everyone out of stasis, however, serious problems are encountered with the gravity stabilizer drives, and the Captain and his two waking crew are forced to choose between two unattractive options:

• Bypass GD-66b, get slung deeper into unexplored space by its gravity, and try to sort out the problems. Problem is there won't be enough fuel to get home, so they'll need a rescue mission of their own.
• Belly-land the Valeria at 20km/second on a 1000km-long stretch of what appears to be sand not far from the mining facility. They anticipate the ship will be 75-90% demolished, but some sleepers may make it, unless the ship goes into an end-over-end tumble, in which case certainly everyone will be killed. Captain Reynolds instructs all his crew to got into stasis; they decline, despite knowing their chances are better in the shock-absorbent gel.

Upon regaining consciousness, Sergeant Todd emerges from the stasis-gel and discovers he is in a small portion of ship along a several-hundred kilometer stretch of crash site. He collects whatever survivors and gear can be found, and pushes the group onwards towards the mining facility, trudging through soft sand below a huge red sun. Besides the PCs, survivors are marines Dirk Harmon and Faraz Habeeb, and ship's engineer Waylon Greer. Strangely, the adjoining stasis pods of Cynthia McKinney and Kaya Rotterdam are opened, but their bodies are nowhere to be found.

On arrival, they discover the facility has been apparently ransacked many years ago. Of the dozen or so buildings near the mine entrance at the base of a 350m cliff, only one appears to have power and be intact-- the science lab near the center of the compound.

Within, Dr. Maximillius Alphonso, a miner named Riggins and a dozen research scientists and assistants, all over age 55 tell their story, boiled down to these facts:

• More than 15 years ago, mining operations punctured an underground reservoir, causing many to be drowned.
• Within hours, creatures emerged from the aperture and indiscriminately destroyed men and machines nearby; most of the workers were killed that day.
• For the next several years, to survivors' horror, the creatures, dubbed xiphs, would visit the aquagen device and drink from its spigots.
• One night, the aquagen malfunctioned, and the creatures smashed any remaining buildings, killed many, and abducted women and girls.
• Since then, the scientists were able to partially repair the aquagen, and the xiphs now return, roughly weekly, always at night.
• Dr Alphonso has been working for eight years now on converting their exploration shuttle to a jump ship. But without a redundant petawatt laser array, such as the one used for drilling deep in the mine, it will not fly.
• The scientists watched the 'comet' of the Valeria IV's descent and crash and assumed all were lost. Good news though -- another rescue mission is within days of arrival, according to recent communications from a Zettacorp ship (relatively) nearby.

Todd identifies the location of the laboratory's optical drives, 8 paperback-sized muti-petabyte storage devices, Mudd hands over the black box from the Valeria IV to the research scientists for analysis of the garbled distress call, and Dr. Thaler begins working with combat engineer Corporal Habeeb on a plan to trap a Xiph.

Dr Alphonso concludes that an approach by the ziphs is likely that night, and so the party scrambles down the sandy slopes near the mine entrance and fans out to cover the aperture with fire; Habeeb and Dr. Thaler rig up the tensile steel netting and cargo crate trap. Todd riggs a submachine gun to the small scout robot, and sends it into the cave, where it soon detects multiple radar blips deeper into the mountain. The scout backs up, and one blip breaks way to investigate the little robot.

Eventually, one xiph emerges, and the trap is sprung, lifting the beast into the air. Dr Thaler rushes forward with the big cargo crate on a hovercart as the clicking creature spins and kicks at the cliff wall. It breaks free of the netting, lands sideways on the cargo crate, and everything tumbles to the ground, nearly crushing Dr. Thaler. The marines open fire and Dr. Thaler backs off, and then turns and runs back towards safety.

The scout robot is instructed to open fire, emptying its clip over the next 10 seconds down the mine tunnel and causing a terrific racket.

Once illuminated by the scout robot's flashlight, the full horror of the bug-thing is revealed, causing Mudd to double over, retching food pellet residue and concentrated bile. Seemingly attracted by Mudd's helmet-mounted flashlight, the beast diverts from chasing Dr Thaler and moves to attack Mudd, all the while marines showering the area with bullets and laser fire. Mudd narrowly misses being pulverized, punctured, and dismembered, and the 850lb beast comes to fall upon him, draining 30 liters of cool blue blood.

The party drags the carcass back to the science lab for analysis-- the first xiph to be killed by men on GD-66b.

Autopsy and Spelunking

Dr. Thaler and company dissect the creature until past dawn, and learn several things:

• The only soft targets on the creature are its eyes and mouth
• It has a powerful stink gland
• They communicate by rubbing two barbed appendages together, similar to crickets

They go on to pursue two defensive tactics:

• A sound device intended to confuse or irritate the creatures
• A chemical repellent

The full staff of scientists and lab assistants proceed with production, with a small group continuing to unravel the mystery of the distress signal that preceded the Valeria's catastrophe.

By the end of the day, 12 ounces of repellent have been produced, which Dr. Thaler loads into old shotgun shells, the sound device is working, and the network analysts conclude that the distrss signal came from the Zettacorp vessel.

Mudd and Faraz Habeeb collect info using the scout robot about the interior of the mine, and go so far as to extract a 2' long husk of a trilobyte-like creature -- lab analysis later concludes this is the same species as the Xiph, in some pre-metamorphosis form.

Mudd and Alfonso also lift off the 'Epcot' and do some exploration of the surrounding desert.

The next morning the full group enters the mine, with Riggins and Waylon Greer driving Bobcat-like earth-movers in case excavation is required, as indicated by Mudd's scouting. More than a kilometer deep into the mine, the tunnel ceiling seemed to have collapsed, opening up into a huge underground chamber, covered in dusty silt and fragile trilobyte husks. At the far side of the chamber, a massive mother-xiph is found reclining in a stone throne, long dead, and the party concludes this must have been some sort of birthing chamber, which the mining activity drained catastrophically.

The mining drill and its redundant petawatt laser array is found deep in a side-shaft, extracted using a Bobcat, and sent immediately with marine escort back to Dr Alphonso to begin the alterations needed on the experimental craft while the curious Mudd and Dr. Thaler proceed deeper into the caverns. They come upon a chamber filled with scores of Xiphs engaging in ritualistic combat, or possibly training, and back off to explore a different tunnel.

The alternate route leads them into a chamber filled with hundreds of huge stalagmites, creating a forest-like maze of rock, in which clicking xiph noises echo confusingly. A beast soon shows itself, and combat ensues, with body-armor saving the lives of the humans. Dr. Thaler experiments with his sound device and finds two frequencies that seem to have an effect. When the returning marines arrive and take firing positions, the xiph turns and rumbles off into the maze.