not leave the country or province.
Throw 8+ on 2D6 (Very Difficult,
Balance Due
©2017 Michael Brown
The PCs find themselves saddled with the children of one of their
previous victims when they run afoul of an obscure planetary law.
Referee’s Overview
The PCs and their patron are arrested by local police in the act of
debriefing and payment. After spending some time in jail, the heroes are
found to have contributed to a death. Their attorney manages to cite an
obscure planetary law that compels the perpetrator of a crime to see to
the welfare of any children of the victim until they can be handed over to
family. The PCs face the trials and tribulations of parenting while fending
off an assault by their victim’s former associates.
Balance Due is a one-page, no-frills adventure for Cepheus Engine and
other tabletop RPG science fiction games using a 2D6 mechanic
(including The Original 2D6 Science Fiction Game) starring characters of
varied career backgrounds. No special skills or equipment are necessary
for the adventure, although skill in relating to or caring for children may be
useful.
Throw Notation: "Throw [Skill or Characteristic] [x]+" means "throw 2D6
and add the skill level (and/or Characteristic Modifier); a result of [x] or
better is a success." 8+ is considered Routine difficulty. For example:
Recon 8+, EDU 7+. The Referee may adjust the throw (for range,
difficulty, etc.) as needed.
Players’ Information
The heroes have just met with their latest patron for debriefing and
payment. Just as business is being concluded, members of the planetary
elite police appear and arrest PCs and patron alike. The PCs are charged
as accessories to the patron’s crimes and jailed for (1D6 x the world’s
Law Level; minimum 1) hours. In the interim, the PCs’ documentation and
backgrounds are examined very carefully and any statements they make
are taken with the utmost seriousness.
Afterward, Nilzin Winthrop — a local court-appointed attorney — meets
with the group. He explains that the patron had been sought by law
enforcement for some time for very serious crimes, in which the PCs
have also now been implicated. Worse, a check of their recent activities
shows that the group was involved in a death. Depending on
circumstances (including the decision of a jury hostile to outworlders), the
PCs may be facing life in prison. He’s already tried to use the doctrine of
self-defense, to no avail.
However, Winthrop may have a way out. He’s discovered an obscure
planetary law that requires those facing murder charges to care for their
victim’s family for a period to be determined by the court. Simply put, it’s a
special form of probation giving the perpetrator a chance to partially
atone for the crime. At the end of the prescribed time, depending on how
well-cared for the family has been, the perpetrator’s sentence may be
reduced or expunged altogether.
The man the PCs killed was a single parent (it seems he was only
helping the heroes’ opponents for extra money.) The two children have
no other next of kin onworld, but a check of the father’s records showed
offworld family. A message has been sent to these relatives explaining
the circumstances and requesting they pick up the children. The court
has determined that the heroes are to care for the kids until the off-planet
relations arrive to collect them. If the youngsters are well-cared for
meanwhile, the court may consider throwing out the murder charge.
Refusing the offer immediately reinstates the original charge, with the
group jailed until trial commences in 2D6 months. Winthrop emphasizes
the fact that this is the group’s only legal way out of their punishment; and
offworlders in the local courts are typically dealt with very harshly.
Referee’s Information
The adventure is designed to be a sequel to any adventure wherein the
heroes are forced to kill an opponent (this shouldn’t be hard to set up,
given the typical PC group.) This individual’s exact identity and reason for
being killed aren’t important to the adventure.
The law’s parameters are strict: the adventurers can’t leave the planet (if
they have a ship, it is impounded.) If the world is balkanized, they may
Cepheus Engine and Samardan Press are the trademarks of Jason "Flynn" Kemp. The author is not affiliated with Jason "Flynn" Kemp or Samardan Press™.
Sallerin Philippe (order #24129631)
Advocate) to avoid having the judge rule that they can’t even leave town.
Their movements are to be monitored; the methods depend on the Tech
Level; which, divided by 3, is also the negative DM on efforts to defeat
the method. The PCs must report regularly to a court-appointed liaison
(throw 2D6: 2-3, the liaison accompanies the PCs wherever they go; 4-6,
they must report in once a day; 7+, they must report in once a week.) The
heroes must provide the children with as normal a life as possible,
including seeing to their education and material needs. Allowing any
harm whatsoever to come to the children or failure to adhere to even the
smallest of the court’s terms, is grounds for immediate arrest, detention,
and reinstatement of charges.
The children, Indi and Jerid, have been traumatized by the events. They
express that trauma differently: Indi is rebellious, disrespectful, and
overprotective of her brother. Jerid is the opposite: he’s almost
unreachably withdrawn, speaks only to Indi, and reacts to threats by
curling into a ball and wailing loudly. Neither child viewed their father as a
villain — to them, he was simply Daddy. Although the court hasn’t told
them the adventurers’ roles in his death, they’re not stupid; they know
something’s amiss with their new guardians.
The Referee should throw 1D6. The unmodified result is the number of
weeks for the court’s message to reach the offworld relations; double the
result for the family’s reply. Then throw 2D6 for the number of weeks until
the relatives arrive onworld to take custody of the children. The heroes
must care for the children until the moment of the handoff at the court
complex.
The Referee must also keep track of the children’s well-being. They each
have 6 Wellness points. These points can be gained or lost just like
physical damage, to a maximum of 6. Each instance of trauma does 1D3
points of Wellness damage; points can be regained by rest, proper
nutrition, and positive interaction at a rate of 1 per day. If at the end of
any week the children are at less than maximum Wellness, the difference
becomes a negative DM in interactions with the court.
The heroes must determine the best way to care for the children,
remembering of course that any harm, physical or psychological, done to
them will carry massive penalties. However, as anyone with real-world
experience with kids knows, minding the siblings won’t be a walk in the
holosim. Each week, the Referee should throw 8+ for each child for a
mishap to occur; if one is indicated, throw on the following table:
Throw Result
2 Accident. The child takes 1D6 damage.
3-7 Acting out. Throw 1D6:
1-2 Public disobedience or tantrum
3-4 Runaway
5-6 Petty crime (shoplifting, vandalism, etc.)
8-11 School problems. Depression is taking its toll on the child;
his or her teacher reports poor work for the week. The
heroes must intervene (Liaison 8+) or the child’s lack of
progress is reported to the court.
12 Bully. The child is accosted by a larger child and takes 1D3
damage unless the PCs intervene (Liaison 8+.) Failure on
the Liaison throw indicates the bully’s parents get involved;
throw 8+ to avoid legal repercussions. DMs: +2 on parental
intervention check if the group uses violence.
Each event also causes 1D3 Wellness damage if not resolved.
Unfortunately, outside events are also conspiring against the PCs. The
father’s former associates show up on any week after the first on 9+ to
seek revenge on the heroes. The Referee should decide what sort of
ruffians comprise the enemies (terrorists, drug cartel, etc.) They’re armed
at least as well as the adventurers, and aren’t above getting at them
through the kids. Violence against the youngsters immediately takes their
Wellness scores to zero, although a particularly clever resolution by the
PCs will be looked upon favorably by the court.
NPCs
Indi Fareed, 557795, Age 12
Jerid Fareed, 322725, Age 7

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