Nightfall

An Adventure for three to six players using the Storytelling System.

By Harald

Somewhere in the universe, in a future that may come to pass, the commercial transport HunterGratzner is en route to it's destination. The bulkfreighter follows a route taking it through the Outer Sector, stopping on several colonies along the way. She is currently on route to New Kalmar, from Prosperity, a journey scheduled to take 63 days. Aboard are three crew-members and 40 passengers, all suspended in cryo-sleep for the duration.

The cargo-compartments has to be jettisoned one by one if there is to be any hope of survival.

This adventure is designed to be played through in one evening, and to maximise game-time, the players should create their characters in advance. Each of the players should build one traveller, using the World of Darkness core book. There is no need for any of the characters to know each other before the game starts. Two roles should be filled, that of the Flight Officer, and that of the 21 days after departure, the crew is awakened by Bounty Hunter, apart from that the players should the central computer. This is a standard come up with a concept they feel would fit. All emergency procedure in case of unforeseen sorts of people travel coach in the Outer Sector, events or severe anomalies. This time both apply. for all kinds of reasons. The vessel has passed through the tail of an uncharted comet, and has been dragged off The Flight Officer gets 25 XP at character course. This has caused her to become caught up creation, the Bounty Hunter gets 40 XP, the rest in a local planetary gravity well, and now she is gets 15 XP. about to crash. The Storyteller should also create a character As the Flight Officer gains consciousness, the before the game. In the cryopod marked HUD inside the cryopod informs her that "this is "SECURITY PROTOCOL DO NOT OPEN" is an emergency," and that the captain's life-signs the Killer. Take your time building this one, as are gone. Together with the mechanic, she now that will be your character for the evening. As has to try to save the vessel. As they fight to with the players, you are limited to the World of regain control, they quickly realize that there is Darkness book, but you get 75 XP to build your little they can do. The Hunter-Gratzner is caught guy. Make sure he knows how to pilot a spaceup in the unknown planet's gravity, and is now craft. entering the atmosphere. The only thing to do is to try to save the lives of as many as possible. The Bounty Hunter is the one who brought the

Killer on board, and if he brings him in alive, he none the only liquid available is a tray of 24 0.5 will stand to earn 250.000 credits. Dead, the litre bottles of a synthetic soft-drink. If they stay Killer is only worth half that. with the ship they will die of thirst in a matter of days. Including the PC's and the Killer, there should be a total of thirteen characters when the game starts.As for hopes of rescue, these are slim at best. The Make up the difference with extras. These could communications relay was knocked out when be followers, retainers, or other travellers. Treat ship passed through the meteor's tail, and no them as Red Shirts. Note that at least one of the search will be started until the vessel fails to survivors should have Crafts (mechanics). reach New Kalmar in 42 days. The Flight Officer will remember seeing a settlement not too far to The planet is one of continual day, or so it would the east of where the ship now sits. seem. The system's three suns make sure that there is always at least one above the horizon at If the area around the crash-site is searched, a any time. However, every 22 year, all three suns partially blocked entrance to a cave will be will be in line, and an enormous, ringed planet discovered. It is part of a vast subterranean will eclipse them all. This eclipse lasts 34 days, network serving as the lair of the planet's and during that time, the planet will be in almost dominant indigenous life-form, a breed of total darkness. This is something the players will predators called Echoraptors. Any exploration find out in due time. will attract the inhabitants (see Appendix I for stats). The mood should be one of suspicion and desperation. The goal should be to survive, and If none of the PC's decide to explore the the only way to do that is to get off the planet, surroundings, the extras will discover both these and to do this, the players will have to work clues. In the case of the cave, this will cause one together. This adventure is divided into two parts, of them to vanish, but not before his screams has before and after nightfall. As Storyteller you alerted the rest of the survivors. should let the players have some time to find the clues they need to escape certain death. The goal of this scene is to let the players roleRegardless of whether they are ready, if the group play out the relations and interactions between decides to return to the ship, or when you've their characters as they decide what to do next. played 2/3 of the time available, whichever comes first, the eclipse should begin. There really isn't any other hope of survival than to set out on foot in hope of finding help, and if In the back of this document you can find systemsthe players does not see this, there are enough for running and fatigue, as well as stats for the extras that will. monsters you will need. The distance from the crash-site to the settlement is 9 kilometres.

Scene: Crash-site
As the survivors awaken, one by one, it is to a The Killer nightmarish scene. Metal has been twisted and torn, glass shattered, and flesh broken. No more When the ship crashed,and before the other than thirteen people survived the crash, the rest characters awoke, the Killer will have gotten out either died from impact, wounds, or when their of his cryopod, and he's now on the loose. cryopods were torn out of the vessel. Outside is Though he's still restrained by hand- and anklean alien landscape. Scorching hot, and with three cuffs, he should be more than a match for any of suns blazing down on the rocky desert. Behind the normal passengers alone. the wreck, a deep furrow, littered with debris vanishes into the horizon. His goal should be to survive, and he should be willing to do whatever it takes to do so. The most pressing concern is water. There is

Have fun with this one. If he can get inside another character's head, good. If he can get someone to turn to him for help, better.

the missing crew. The distance from the canyon to the buildings is 2 kilometres.

The compound consists of six buildings: Baracks There are five double rooms, There seems to be only one passable route and eight single rooms in this building. through the range of rocky spires. The ground is Four of the single rooms seems to have littered with the weathered skeletons of forgotten been occupied by children. From the looks giants, and at times it is like walking through a of it, the people who lived here did not forest of alien bones. In the scorching air, the bring their personal belongings with them inhospitable landscape seems almost unreal, with when they left. One double room is barred mirages distorting everything but that which is from the inside. If breached, a mummified almost within reach. adult female and a male child will be found. They appear to have died As the only higher ground in sight is the range of peacefully (they died of thirst). spire-like cliffs about 5 kilometres from the ship, it is likely that the survivors will attempt to scout If searched, a collection of heirlooms, it out. If not, some NPC's should argue this point. some cash, a other such personal effects Once there, there spires themselves will be most can be found, as well as clothes, books, hazardous to scale (extended action, -3 dice, 7 toys, etc. One of the children's rooms has successes needed to reach the top, failure means an astronomical model in it [see below]. falling).

Scene: Canyon

The canyon that cuts through the cliffs will lead to a plateau on the other side. From here the survivors will be able to see a group of buildings some kilometres ahead. The purpose of this scene is as a set-up for later action, as this is the only road between the crashsite and the settlement.

Workshop This building is equipped to repair and maintain the expeditions vehicles, technical equipment, and lifesupport. There is a storage of spare parts for every piece of machinery here, as well as a large assortment of tools. Garage Two vehicles are parked here, one large rock-crawler (a heavy, eightwheeled work-horse), and a smaller, sixwheeled sand-cat (an ATV-type vehicle). None of the two are currently working. 5 successes on Crafts (mechanics) will get the sand-cat working, 8 for the rockcrawler. Laboratory There are five workstations in the main room of this building. The locked door in the back leads to a storage room, containing a collection of core-samples, as well as four mummified humans, an adult male, two adult females, and one female child. They appear to have died peacefully (they died of thirst). Administration and recreational building The main room of this building seems to have been used as a mess-hall

Scene: Geological Research Station

The group of prefab buildings lies on a low hill, and behind it, the arid and featureless landscape seems to stretch into the eternity. The only visible movement is from a wind-mill at the back of the complex. Even close by, it seems eerily quiet. Years ago, an independent research team managed to get funding for a station on this planet. They were hoping to discover enough minerals to draw in bigger investors, but something went wrong. As knowledge about such missions are kept in a closed circle to avoid competition, and since the company that provided most of the backing went bankrupt not long after the mission started, no one has come looking for

and multi-use public room. There is a bar along one wall, a shrine on another, and a corner seems to have functioned as the classroom for the camp's children. In the back are three offices, and one storage room. If searched, information about the operation can be found [see below]. Storage building Here several crates of foodstuffs, as well as a 10.000 litre watertank, fed by an array of moisture-traps behind the building, can be found. The water-tank has sprung leak, and the water has eroded the sandy ground, so that a narrow chasm now opens up into the underground caves. The tank contains about 30 litres at present. If the light is switched on, see Razor Bats below.

the last recorded date, which is 22 years ago, today. Wind-mill The windmill is not intended to provide energy, rather it is for meteorological research. It may be juryrigged to provide sufficient energy to power a lamp. Razor Bats If the light is switched on in the storage building, this will spook the flock of razor bats roosting in the ceiling. They will fly through the room, attacking any character inside once, before disappearing into the tunnels below. If this encounter isn't triggered by a PC, an extra should turn on the light while the PC's are otherwise engaged. In that case, the extra dies.

Other things of note: Moisture-traps Behind the storage building, 22 moisture-traps think the Lars-farm stand in a double semi-circle. Of the lot, only five are still working. These are solar-powered.

You should improvise and fill in as many details as you see fit in this scene. The important thing is that by the end of it, the characters figure out that there is something nasty living below, that an eclipse is about to occur, and that something Transport shuttle Behind the garage, a terrible appears to have happened last time there small space-craft sits on a landing pad. It was an eclipse. appears to have been prepped for launch, but unfortunately the fuel cells are spent. The point with this scene is to underline the aspect of time. There is not enough water to last Apart from that, it seems be fully the survivors through the eclipse. One or two functional. It can hold six people, pilot characters may, if they manage to bottle all the included. available water, and bring enough food, hole up in one of the buildings, and wait until the suns The Astronomical Model A Science (Astronomy) or (Astrogation) check will come out again. If the players doesn't realise that determine that this is indeed a model of this is an option, you should enlighten them. this planet's solar system. Two of the suns are the central binary star, while the third Repairing the moisture-traps is another option, but one is only sufficient to sustain two persons. is a gas giant. The way the model sits when found, it appears as if all three suns As these are sun-powered, they will need to be are in line, and a massive, ringed planet jury-rigged to take power from the Hunterhas moved to eclipse the suns. According Gratzner's energy-cells, and this repair-job is to the model, this happens every 22 years, most likely going to have to be done after dark. and the eclipse lasts for 34 days. The wreck has energy cells, and these are compatible with both the shuttle and the Files From the Office The files are moisture-traps. If more than two persons are to mostly paperwork on the various tests, samples and experiments conducted by have a chance of surviving, doubling back is the the staff. There are also personnel-files for only option. If no one else has figured out that the creatures will avoid light, the Killer should each member of the mission, complete with pictures. Perhaps most important is mention this if he's still alive and around.

 Scene: Nightfall The massive, ringed giant is rising. It already appears to fill the horizon, and there's a cold breeze in the air. From the jagged spires between here and salvation, clouds of dark, winged creatures are rising in a steady stream there has to be millions of them! Screeching, hateful sounds drift towards the crashed ship from all quarters. This scene should come when either a) the characters return to the ship-wreck, or b) when you've played 2/3 of the time you have available, whichever comes first. From here on in, it's all about survival. Anyone out in the open is in danger of being attacked by razor-bats or echoraptors. Staying in the light is the only defense, and as such, as the storyteller you should come up with ways to plunge them into darkness: Flash-lights may be dropped and broken, a character may need both hands, a stumble may cause the torch to fall out of reach, etc. Be cruel.

Improvised light-sources Man tamed fire a long time ago, and there should be ways for resourceful heroes to jimmy up torches, and perhaps even other sources of light. Just make sure these do not become too powerful they must fear the dark.

Scene: End Game

As darkness envelops the entire planet, strange and terrible sounds are everywhere. The beasts are tearing into each other; they are dropping from the sky and on the ground. Around the huddled group, dark shapes prowl with malicious intent. The only hope for survival is to get to somewhere safe. What happens from here on in is up to the players. Will they attempt to reach the shuttle, or will they barricade themselves somewhere to wait the night out, will they turn on each other, or will they stick together. Regardless, of what the others decide upon, the Killer will pursue the plan with the highest chance of survival. Remember also that he does not intend on returning to captivity.

The following light-sources are available on the planet: Keep the pace up, and if anyone falls behind, or 10 light-sticks These have a radius of loses their light, the monsters will be sure to about 1 meter, and will last 2 hours after pounce. activation. They are found in the wreck. Reward heroism and team-work, but make sure Flash-light with broken glass Will cast a that ruthlessness has it's rewards at least beam of light 6 meters long, and 3 meters temporary. After all, when faced with life and wide at the far end. It is fully charged and death choices, each will look after his own. will last 12 hours. Can be found in the wreck. The following complications could occur: The sand-cat breaks down whether 2 flash-lights Will cast a beam of light due to a crash (driving in the dark can be 10 meters long, and 5 metes wide at the dangerous), or due to some technical far end. Both have been used, and will last problem is up to you. 5 hours. One can be found in the storagebuilding, the other in the barracks. An extra panics this may lead to any number of difficulties, and it may rob the Blow-torch Will light up an area with a group of a much needed light-source. 2 meter radius. It is powered by a 40 kg tank of flammable gas, and will last for 10 Dead end one or more, perhaps the hours. Can be found in the workshop. entire group, makes a wrong turn, and has to double back. Head-lights on the sand-cat Will cast two beams of light, 100 meters long, and Injury if someone is injured, any 30 meters wide at the far end. As long as additional penalties, added to any gained the vehicle is operational, these will work. from heat or fatigue. This may slow the

entire group down. The Killer makes his move if everything is going smooth, have the Killer complicate matters. There's nothing like a desperate fight in the dark to brighten your day.

Notes

Appendix I: Crunchy Bits

In this section you can find the systems you will Monsters need to properly harass the players, as well as the Echoraptor monsters you'll need to kill them. Intelligence: 0, Wits: 4, Resolve: 4 Strength: 3, Dexterity: 4, Stamina: 3 Presence: 3, Manipulation: 1, Composure: 3 Systems Running Skills: Athletics 4, Brawl 3, Stealth 2, Survival 3 Check: Stamina + Athletics Willpower: 7 Action: Extended (one roll = 10 minutes) Initiative: 7 Defence: 4 Successes Distance Speed: 17 (flying; +10 species factor) 0 1.0 km Speed: 10 (ground; +3 species factor) 1 1.4 km Size: 4 2 1.8 km Health: 7 3 2.2 km Attacks: bite dice-pool 8 (L) 4 2.6 km 5 3.0 km The echoraptors are the dominant species f the planet. They are fiercely carnivorous, but only The maximum number of rolls is equal to able to hunt in darkness. Their lairs are below Stamina + Athletics. After that, the character takes -1 die per roll, and must check for fatigue ground, and they only leave their caves when the (Stamina + Composure) or suffer a further -1 per eclipse plunges the planet into a month-long night. During this time they will enter a frenzy, failed check. An hour of rest will remove any killing and feasting upon anything that crosses penalties. their path. Heat and Dehydration Razor Bat Check: Stamina + Survival Intelligence: 0, Wits: 1, Resolve: 0 Action: Reflexive +1 Strength: 0, Dexterity: 1, Stamina: 4 Presence: 1, Manipulation: 0, Composure: 1 Circumstance Modifier Hard labour or running -1 die Skills: Athletics (flight)4 , Brawl 1, Survival 3 No water -1 die Willpower: 1 Water available +1 die Initiative: 5 Time exposed -1 die/hour Defence: 4 Check for heat and dehydration once every hour Speed: 15 (flight only; +10 species factor) Size: 1 the character spends in the sun. A failed roll Health: 2 confers a cumulative -1 on all dice-pools.. Attacks: bite dice-pool 3 (L) These small, flying reptilian predators are related to the larger echoraptors. They can only hunt in darkness, and when the eclipse begins, they will leave their caves in enormous swarms. They are too small to be of any danger to a human alone, but a swarm can tear flesh off bones in seconds. Anyone caught by a swarm loses all benefits from defense, only armour applies. A swarm's attack dice-pool is 10, and the damage is Lethal.

Appendix II: Product Rights

The World of Darkness is a registered trademark owned by White Wolf Game Studio. All rights regarding The Chronicles of Riddick, Pitch Black, and any other name and image from that line, used intentionally or otherwise throughout this text, belong to Polygram Filmed Entertainment. This text is not intended for sale, and no infringement on the rights of the proprietors is intended. This text is presented under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonComercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.