Nightstalker is an adventure set in a future where them.

an oppressive Earth government, the Terran

Federation, has led to a revolt of the colonies, Using this adventure
who have banded together and formed the Colonial
Alliance. This adventure details a single mission of I've written out descriptions of the locations as
an Alliance SpecOps team as they infiltrate and well as any pertinent things to do. There are
retrieve information pertaining to a new super additional notes about things that pertain to more
weapon that the Federation is developing. than a single location or general notes about the
adventure. Finally, I have a timeline of events at the
History facility that can help keep things straight. In
running this adventure, I've found that instead of
Most Human planets, besides Earth, began as some giving the date on the logs, saying something like
sort of production colony. They were corporate “About 1 year ago” or “5 weeks ago” gives the
owned and had small populations. An habitable players a better idea of the sequence of events.
planet was discovered by the U.N. and then The adventure is definitely split into two parts. The
chartered to a corporation for exploitation. As idea is to create suspense and emulate a horror
overpopulation on Earth became more of a problem, movie (e.g. Alien) by not showing the monsters at
companies opened up their planets to settlers. first. So, instead there is a lot of foreshadowing
Colonies were, usually, more savage than earth, and creepy things going on, until the characters
due to the frontier nature and lower presence of get into the hangar and actually face the monsters
official law enforcement. Many colonies created themselves. However, just like in a horror film,
their own local governments and law enforcement they should know that the monster is just out of
agencies to try to subdue the local gangs and sight, and a danger to them. That's why the first
bandits, which were a common occurrence on many person to separate from the team gets hit by the
colonies. monster without seeing it.
As colonies became more ordered, the bandits The adventure begins with the team in their ready
migrated to space and developed hidden bases on room being briefed by their commanding officer.
small moons or in asteroid fields. They supplied
themselves by preying on shipping lanes. Due to the The Alliance has received intelligence that
increased pirate activity, the U.N. reorganized the Federation is developing a new weapon
itself as the Terran Federation and created a on a small moon in the system S3F-23A. We
Terran Space Navy. They began by escorting haven't been able to find out anything
shipments along the shipping lanes, but eventually about the inside of the facility. From the
created the Terran Space Marine Corps and began outside, we've observed 3 possible points
to pro-actively attack pirate bases. of entry. There is a lagoon that is used to
aerate their sewage and recycle the water.
The Terran Federation is very Earth centric. It may be possible to enter through the
Although all worlds are supposed to have equal pipe that takes the sewage to the lagoon.
representation in the Senate, it is based on A large ventilation shaft has been
population and thus, Earth outvoted all of the observed, we assume that it leads to their
colonies combined. Secession from the Federation main mechanical room. Finally, there is the
became a strong movement on many of the colonies. main entrance. It is generally heavily
The Federation, not wanting to lose those assets, guarded, but we have no idea of any
began deploying Marines to many of the more vocal defenses on the other points of entry.
colonies, in order to remind them who has the real
power. Your mission is to retrieve the research
Some of the colonies' local governments secretly data and return here. Your ship is being
negotiated with the pirates in their sectors to prepped now and will be leaving in 1 hour.
enlist their help in exchange for pardons. Many of
the pirates, being colony-born, sympathized with the
colonies' complaints. This gave the colonies instant
military power and secret military bases, although
it was only enough for guerrilla tactics in most
cases.
Those colonies that enlisted the pirates' aid,
organized with each other as well and formed the
Colonial Alliance.
The revolution has gone on for many years now,
with atrocities committed by both sides.
Materials needed
The map is designed to use index cards for zones,
ala the blog post on World Without Syn.
(http://worldwithoutsyn.com/2010/06/gaming-on-
the-cheap-part-3-fate-zones-with-index-cards/)
At Office Depot, I found index cards that were half
size (3” x 2.5”) and cut them in half to make cards
that are 1.5” x 2.5”. These cards are used as
doors and not a zone in and of themselves.
The logs page is meant to be printed and cut. Then
each piece can be handed out as the players gain
access to each log.
The facility network map can be printed out and
completely shown to the players when they try to
hack the computer. Mark paths as they unlock
Locations to strap a person down. This lab contains a
functioning terminal.
The facility is generally made of steel Quarters
construction. The ceilings are similar to suspended
tile ceilings, meaning there is a cavity between the These rooms are where the civilian scientists and
visible ceiling and the actual ceiling, but the military officers live. One of the quarters is
suspended tiles are made of steel plates. Celia's, and contains a functioning computer
terminal.
Waste Recl amation
In order to preserve supplies, the base recycles as
Commander's Quarters
much as it can. The Commander's Quarters are sparse. There is a
All waste from the facility passes through this picture of a man, woman, and little girl on the
room. It is filtered to remove solid matter which is small desk. A Commander's cap is hanging on the
collected and incinerated. The rest of the water is wall. There is a functioning computer terminal here.
pumped out via a large pipeline to a lagoon where it Barr ack s
is aerated and returned to a potable state.
This is where the enlisted men lived. Not much can
Aspects: Foul Smelling be found here.
If the characters decide to go through the waste
reclamation center, they will need to make their Mess Hall
way through the sewage and muck, gaining the This is where everyone ate. There are half-eaten
aspect Covered in sewage until they clean their meals left on the tables. Several people have
suits off. committed suicide here by shooting themselves in
the head. William Gladden is here, if they've
Ventil ation Shaf t already been to his quarters, a Perception check
This leads to the environmental control somewhere (DC 5) will reveal his identity (it's kind of tough
in the facility. It is dark and cramped inside. since half his face is gone), otherwise they can tell
Aspects: Dark, Cramped he's an officer by the uniform.
If the characters go through this way, everyone Command Center
who is not in the lead has the the aspect Behind X This is the heart of the whole facility. The command
(P). Along the way they hear the sound of center has several dead bodies lying around, these
skittering ahead of them. If anybody succeeds at a too, have committed suicide. There are also a few
DC4 perception check, they catch a flash of carcasses of drones in here. There is a functioning
something as it darts around the corner. computer terminal here.
Main Entr ance Power Gener ator
The security station for the main entrance is The power generator is a fusion reactor, but the
normally manned by 4 heavily armed guards. main power coupling has melted and must be
If the characters try to enter through this, they replaced. A replacement is available in the storage
will find the guards absent, but automated room. The repair is a Craft DC 5 check. If the check
defenses will still try to keep them from entering. fails by 3 or more, the power lines are fused and
To enter they will need to get through the door cannot be repaired without rewiring the entire
which is not opening due to loss of power. facility (this leaves taking the ship in the hangar as
their only option for escape).
Environmental Control
This room is filled with machinery that controls the Stor age
environment of the facility. Access to the entire This room contains various supplies and
ventilation system is here. The exhaust vent to the consumables. It also contains a power coupling for
outside is just big enough for a powered armor repairing the power generator. If the players are
suit, but the rest of the vents throughout the actively searching for it then it will stand out, but
facility are not. otherwise, it is just among all the other random
Aspects: Lots of hiding places items in the room. If they come here before the
power generator room, they can make a perception
Detention Area dc 5 check when they find out they need a power
The detention center is where offenders are kept coupling to repair the generator.
until they have completed their punishment, or, for Sick Bay
more serious offenses, can be transported to a
penal colony. Each cell is a 4x8 room with a cot, Sick bay is a medical facility with a rating of 4. It
toilet, and sink. can be used to heal people or get more information
about their physical condition.
There is one survivor (See Mike Rinnio) who has
locked himself in the detention area. Hangar
L abor atories The hangar is the scene of the big fight between the
bugs and the humans.
The laboratories are in a shambles. There are pet
carrier sized cages that have been, broken out of, Security Door
and lie empty. The computer terminals are To get through the security door, you need William
destroyed. Various tools and equipment used for Gladden's security ID. This is the point that things
lab research are strewn about the room. If a begin to change, by the time the players are ready
character succeeds at a DC4 Perception modified for this, they should have some information about
by Reasoning roll, they will notice that the cages the bugs and hybrids. Now it's time to actually
were not broken out of, but were broken into. show them.
One of the labs is set up different from the other In the hallway just past the door are several
two. Instead of cages it has broken cryogenic tubes drones. Roughly two per character is a good
and an inclined table in the middle that can be used number. They will immediately begin attacking.
Other Notes Mike Rinnio
Mike Rinnio is the last surviving normal human. He's
Creating the atmosphere locked himself up in a cell for a week, only
There should be a few dead bodies throughout the venturing out to get food when it was absolutely
facility. Any medical examination will reveal odd necessary. He has seen horrors and is a little
puncture wounds, almost like bite marks. The cause paranoid from the stresses of the last few weeks.
of death is not the punctures, but suicide. At least He's treated as an extra with 2 ranks in all
one of these will be Commander William Gladden. abilities. He has the aspect Terrified out of his
He will have a security pass to get through the mind. Mike saw the hybrid bugs biting his friends
security door to the command center area. and saw them converting. He's regretful for failing
his comrades by abandoning them, but still glad
Also, every once in a while, there will be skittering that he's alive. He knows that some people shot
like a lot of legs, or rustling of something in the themselves before they converted. If the players
dark, odd scratching sounds, etc. If the convince him to go with him (Persuasion DC 4), the
characters try to investigate, be sure to tag the closer they get to the secure part of the facility,
“Dark” aspect of the zone. A Perception check of 4 the more hesitant he is. When the team first opens
will reveal odd scratch marks on the wall, floor, the door to his cell, he will shoot at them, but he's
or some other appropriate location. Be sure to “terrified” and is likely to miss. Once he sees that
have skittering in the walls and ceiling too. they are normal humans, he says “Oh, you're
Approaching the pl anet normal. Are you here to rescue me?” Then, he'll
calm down a little and talk to them, hoping to be
As the characters shuttle approaches the planet, rescued.
they are attacked by automated defense satellites.
They manage to land the ship near the research Mutants
facility, but the power cell is overloaded it can be These creatures were created from the facility's
repaired, but it is drained and must be recharged. personnel.
Approaching the facility The mutant virus is a retrovirus that was a
If they take the time to observe the facility before retrovirus the scientists were trying to use to
entering it, they may notice that it appears lifeless. create super soldiers. They were trying to create a
hybrid of humans and a highly resilient and deadly
NEVER pair off or go it alone. alien bug. The bug has a hive mind.
The first person to separate from the party will be The Federation was looking for a way to make the
stung by an unseen bug and poisoned. They'll be resulting organism retain a basic humanoid shape,
able to tell that they've been stung, but can't see and a way to control the hive mind. Thus when sent
what did it. They will remain conscious at least into battle, they would start converting enemy
long enough to send out a comm signal. combatants into friendly combatants.
This is really only effective if the players haven't However, one of the hybrids escaped and began
seen the bugs yet. If they've already gone through converting personnel to hybrids. What the
the security door, forget this and just have some scientists didn't realize is that one of the bugs
bugs attack. they'd captured for experimentation was a queen.
The queens are very powerful psychics and the only
The power is off bugs with any intelligence. While she was being
The power to the facility is off. The generator has studied, she was also studying them. When they
been damaged and needs to be repaired. Until the began converting humans into hybrids, she was able
power is restored, all zones have the aspect Dark, to link with them. She waited until the hybrid
and the security door does not work since it is creation process was perfected and then set them
automatic and locked. All the doors are powered, loose in an attempt to convert all the facility
but they can be forced open since they aren't personnel. She now knows how to get off the
locked. planet and intends to take her new hybrid army on
a campaign to conquer the galaxy.
Charging the power cell She has made her nest in the hangar and is waiting
The charger is in the hangar. It will take 10 for her minions to open the door. The hybrids are
minutes to recharge the power cell enough to fly more intelligent than standard bugs, but they
the ship home. aren't anywhere near human or queen level
intelligence.
Escaping
The bugs will chase the team as they attempt to
escape. The queen is intelligent enough to realize
that the team must have come from another ship,
and wants that ship for herself.
Hacking the computer
Use the facility network map for hacking attempts.
Place the hacking character on the map at the
appropriate point of entry (the gray zones). If a
node has a number in front of a path, that's the
security rating to "crack" the path and traverse to
the next node. Once a path is cracked from either
direction, it is cracked for both directions. If a
path has an arrow on it, it cannot be cracked from
that node, but must be cracked from the other end.
Finally, if the defending computer network ever
generates spin, all paths are locked and they're
sent back to their point of entry.
Timeline
02/13/2152: The base personnel begin arriving
and research begins.
08/01/2152: The alien genome is mapped and work
begins isolating the desired genes.
12/25/2152: The desired genes have been
isolated
06/05/2153: The first hybrid has fully
transformed
06/06/2153: Dr. Richburg is killed by the first
test subject. They began by working on the mind
control and increased strength. Dr. Sacco
takes over as head researcher. The first test
subject is killed. The queen, having linked with
the test subject was testing humans defenses.
08/19/2153: Test subject 2 is fully transformed.
The mind control is working. The hardened
exoskeleton and enhanced strength are all
there. The subject is killed when the
regenerative healing is tested. The queen is
allowing them to think they are controlling the
hybrid.
01/23/2154: The third test subject is
transformed. In addition to the other
enhancements. It has gained the regenerative
healing process. More subjects are injected to
verify the results.
06/23/2154: The last of the tests are complete
and Celia is ready to call the project a
success.
06/25/2154: One of the hybrids escapes and
releases all bugs and hybrids. The hybrids
begin infecting any living human they come
across.
07/01/2154: The players crash land on the moon
when they are shot down by automated defense
satellites.