The giant squid-like alien is a massive creature, with a
long, thick body that is a dark bluey colour. Its powerful
tentacles are lined with bioluminescent cells that emit a
soft, reddish glow. As it swims, the light from these cells
creates a shimmering halo around the edge of its body,
giving it the appearance of a shadow moving through the
inky water.
The alien's head has large eyes that can see in the
darkness of the deep ocean, and It has a beak-like mouth in
the centre of its smooth, rubbery skinned tentacle array.
A solitary hunter, it uses its bioluminescence to lure
small prey close to its tentacles. When a creature comes
within range, the alien will quickly strike out with its
tentacles, using them to wrap them around the quarry,
crush it and bring it to its beak-like mouth.
The alien is also able to move quickly and stealthily
through the water while not fluorescing, allowing it to
surprise larger prey and capture it with ease.
While the stated goal and the mechanical thrust of
the adventure is the rescue of survivors on the rig, and all
that entails. It is likely that the players will want to explore
the newly found alien city; if they think to look behind them
while they are down there.
In the city they can have many adventures or be set
upon by a swarm of the shadow squid before they get to see
anything of interest, as you choose.
Seeding information about the corruption of Dr Zhang
for the characters to find and expose is a great addition to
the rescue, and provides an epilogue upon getting any of the
surviving victims back to the command post on the surface.
Making Rescues
There are several named NPC’s in situations around the rig to
find and rescue loosely detailed in the table below. Feel free
to use them or make up more/ others, whatever works.
The exact rescue details are left for the Warden to determine,
but should involve transitions between wet and dry,
interesting routes and locations, along with additional
problems and dangers. AN AQUATIC RESCUE SCENARIO
BY MANDALA STUDIOS
FOR A SCI-FI HORROR SETTING
Location Hazzard
Well Head - Caught in an air pocket, Roy The air pocket is small, and Roy is running out
Wildner, a drill team lead, is banging on of air fast, he has no way to orchestrate his
the walls, allowing their detection. own escape, and will die if not rescued first.
Central Platform - In the flooded medical Zara is submerged in the cold water far from a
bay, Zara Kerensky, an admin assistant is hull wall and unable to signal, it will require an
breathing from the medical oxygen tanks. extensive search to find her.
Garage - Trapped under a maintenance Internal routes are blocked, and the external
drone is Baen Jaenke, a repair worker,. door is buckling with the pressure, care will be
They are shorting the drone wiring in an needed to not catastrophically flood the
attempt to signal for help. garage upon opening to gain access.
Central Platform - Hara Sena is in the En route to Hera is a gas leak, anything that
ruined canteen, flashing lights to gain causes sparks during the rescue could result in
attention a fire.
Comms Tower - In the very top tower The route up to the tower is damaged and
room, Cordell Mattix a technician is unstable, its currently still watertight, but any
calling out on a radio for assistance. heavy vibrations could cause it to flood.
Encountering the Shadow
After every recuse attempt, dramatic encounter or meaningful
scene of travel around the rig, roll (or pick) on the following
table, each time you roll there should be a cumulative + 1 to
the next roll.
Result Encounter
Investigation - The shadow swims close by investigating the ESV as a
0-3
unusual thing in its territory
4-6 Probing - the shadow will make a single swipe before retreating
Aggression - the shadow will attack the ESV until it takes damage
7-8
whereupon it will move away
Assault - the shadow will continue to attack till its successfully
9+
completes a crush attack on the ESV
 While gas mining on the sea bed of the deep oceans of
W-37 a planetoid in the JC sector, a drilling rig has fallen into a
massive sinkhole, which opened up beneath it. The sudden
shift of pressures has cracked the mile thick surface ice, and
produced an eerie, constant water current flowing into the
gaping hole making it hard to exit without powerful craft. The
characters are the team that command such a craft and have
been sent to rescue any survivors.
Planetoid W-37 has a large ocean covering most of its
surface. The climate of the planet away from the poles is
warm and tropical, with frequent rainfall and storms in its
thick and cloudy atmosphere. W-37 also has strong tidal
forces from its nearby moon, causing the ocean to rise and fall
on a regular basis The water in the polar regions are frozen,
forming ice caps or glaciers. These frozen areas are covered in
toxic snow and ice, and is inhospitable to all forms of life.
The planet has several
small islands scattered throughout
the ocean which have only a few
simple grasses and mosses
glowing on them. But the ocean
waters are full of a wide variety of
marine life, including fish,
mollusks, and other creatures. A
peculiar quirk of their evolution, is that they all have a red
bioluminescent glow meaning that whilst traveling under the
surface, the sea is always visibly teaming with life.
Cordelv Mining have been tapping the vast gas reserves
of W-37 for 24 years now. 2 years ago a seismic researcher
named Dr. Emily Zhang found some anomalous readings,
which lead her to believe, that located deep in the gas
pockets, there was something…
She had Rig 17 positioned over a fault that seamed
promising. Then falsified results for any complicating safety
assessments, thinking that it would be worth the risk for the
reward of finding what was down there.
Rig 17 had been operational for just 3 months, and
prior to disaster the only things of note were a few minor
tremors.
1. THE CENTRAL PLATFORM The rig having fallen into the sinkhole has resulted in
This is heart of the rig, containing the offices, a mass of twisted metal and underwater fires. Some parts of
habitation, and technical aspects of the facility. the interior have flooded with safety doors being variously
sealed and open as is dramatically appropriate. This has
The living quarters comprise individual rooms for some
resulted in some areas being submerged but with minimal
or shared rooms with
pressure increase allowing survivors to not be crushed by
bunk beds for other
the deep water.
members of staff, as
4. 1.
well as a communal area There are multiple docking ports that can allow the
for socializing and ESV to dock with the structure in varying locations as
relaxation. There is also required to access differing parts of the rig.
a kitchen and dining
area, where they
3.
prepare and eat meals. 2. As you move away from the wreckage, deeper into
The whole area is the vast gas cavern the sinkhole has opened up into, there
equipped with heating are glowing red lights in the distance, illuminating an
and air conditioning, as otherworldly city unlike anything you've ever seen.
well as a water filtration
Upon closer inspection it can be determined that it's
system to provide clean, fresh drinking water.
an undersea metropolis, with towering structures made of a
In addition to the quarters, the central platform also material that resembles a mixture of coral and metal. The
contains other facilities that the staff need, such as a control city seems to be built into the very walls of the massive
room for operating the gas extraction machinery, a workshop cave, with structures stretching upward and downward in a
for performing maintenance and repair work, and a medical dizzying display of architecture.
bay for providing basic medical care.
The buildings themselves seem to be intricately
2. THE WELL HEAD designed, with an almost organic feel to them. Some of the
This is where the machinery that drills deep into the structures resemble towers, while others look more like
ocean floor, reaching pockets of naturally occurring gas, is domes or pyramids. The glow emanates from strange,
housed. The well head is connected to the central platform by pulsating plants that seem to be integrated into the very
a interconnected series of pipes, pumps, and filters allowing architecture of the city.
the gas to be brought to the rig and processed quickly and
As explorations continue, there are signs that this city
efficiently.
was more than just a collection of buildings. It was once fully
3. SUBMERSIBLE GARAGE functioning society, with its own culture, language, and way
The several small remote drone craft housed here, of life long since dead.
perform maintenance and repair work on the rig, as well as to
conduct inspections of the ocean floor and the surrounding
area. They are highly agile and able to operate in the harsh
conditions of the deep ocean.
4. COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION TOWERS
These house the tech that allows the operators to
remain in constant contact with the outside world, and act as
a beacon to allow navigation safely through the ocean. The
systems use highly advanced technologies to provide clear,
reliable communications and precise navigation capabilities.
 The ESV is a large capsule shaped vehicle, with
Specialist Equipment
reinforced walls to protect the occupants from the crushing
pressure of the deep ocean. It is equipped with powerful
thrusters that allow it to move through the water quickly and
manoeuvre easily.
The interior of the is
relatively spacious and well-
appointed, with comfortable seats
and a control panel filled with
flashing instruments and displays.
It also features a large, transparent dome that allows
vision into the water. The dome is made strong enough to
withstand the pressure whilst providing a 360-degree view of —
the surroundings. It is also equipped with a pair tethered
drones that can be outfitted with a verity of cutters grabbers
and other utility equipment to aid rescue attempts.

ESV

Location

Perimeter
The ESV starts with a token on all inoperable and limited cells, each wound
taken will cause the removal of a token of the players choice.

To use the system tracker simply read the leftmost cells that are not covered
with a token and apply to the ESV.
System\ Status Inoperable Limited Functional

Life Support As limited but air [-] on all saves Isn't breathing fun. Access
will run out in due to the low air O2 can recharge
1d10 hours/ quality unless in diving suits as
number of crew. appropriate gear needed

Propulsion The ESV is dead [-] on all control/ Everything is on,

in the water manoeuvre it’s a lovely day for
without repairs. checks. a drive.

Comms Without repairs A broken antenna Beacons, scanners

there is no prevents any long and radios are all M
external comms. range comms online

1 of the drones Hull damage Nothing leaks, the

Internal
Structure
is too damaged reduces the ESV’s glass is clean and
to be usable AP to 30 the toilet works.