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kkortekaas
2012-11-21, 08:57 AM
Howdy,
I'm in the process of developing a couple adventures that start off on a commerical space station. Star wars level technology.

What kind of environmental challenges can I throw at my group if this space station was under attack?

Thanks for the help guys

Thinker
2012-11-21, 10:17 AM
It's set in space so the obvious ones come to mind, such as depressurization and loss of oxygen. It uses Star Wars type technology so I suppose we can assume that random things will blow up during the dramatic fight scenes. You could also have animals on the station for transport get loose in the chaos and rampage around. Extreme heat or cold are possible. Any defense systems that are in place (automated turrets and the like) could go on the fritz and target the players.

Parra
2012-11-21, 10:44 AM
If its an Orbital Space Station you could have it be knocked out of its correct orbit (via an attack or something) and begin to lose altitude

Leaking Toxic (maybe hallucinogenic?) Chemicals into the living areas is another good one.

kkortekaas
2012-11-21, 10:56 AM
Well, I figured I'd have claxons blaring with the main powercore about to go critical to enforce a time limit. I did figure I'd throw a breach in, with perhaps a blocked pressure door or something

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-11-21, 10:59 AM
Gravity generators blow out. People start floating.

hamlet
2012-11-21, 11:27 AM
If the station is under attack, perhaps the crew are too busy and ask the PC's to lend a hand and find a way to deactivate that pesky self destruct that got turned on due to a short circuit?

Perhaps a section of the station is depressurized/destroyed and the PC's have to get through/around in order to rescue civilians trapped on the other side and in danger of getting blasted by enemy weapons. Or perhaps they need to get through to rescue their precious cargo (smuggled cargo that they have to keep out of the hands of the officials?).

Boarding parties of enemies start showing up. PC's either have to help defend the locals, or merely escape with their own skins intact.

Perhaps the enemy contacts the PC's and offers them cash if they act as quislings or sabateurs and help to capture the station.

Diskhotep
2012-11-21, 02:04 PM
Boredom and ennui.

After last month's fire in the media library, there has been no entertainment to speak of, and people have begun to feel the strain. While some have taken to participating in the open-mike nights at the station cantina, others have begun a slowly escalating series of practical jokes. When one goes too far, it is up to the PCs to resolve the situation before tempers flare out of control and someone gets hurt.

North_Ranger
2012-11-21, 02:48 PM
Same what Diskhotep suggested - except with food. The hydroponics that provided the station with much-needed fresh produce have been on the fritz for a long time, and tensions are high as people have been reduced to eating food pellets. You don't starve, but you've essentially been eating cardboard for the past sixteen cycles/months/whatever.

Maybe there's a shipment of hydroponics equipment coming in, and the local crime lord is trying to sabotage it so he can continue selling carrots at exorbitant prices from his private stash?

Hopeless
2012-11-21, 02:57 PM
An unknown creature or pest has been accidentally or deliberately released on the station, otherwise harmless on a planet aboard the the station it is causing minor faults that will steadily worsen unless stopped.

For example they feed on plastic or even power usually you'd expect them to burn themselves but perhaps they target areas with lower current and in so doing start causing minor faults but as they grow and multiply the problems escalate...

Could even be feeding off of the hydroponics like for example Gremlins or Tribbles...

I wonder how your PCs would react if they find they've emptied a grain storage cell but are all dead or dying from either poison or an alien virus thats now effecting the people aboard the station but until they find their stowaway they have no reason to link the two...

A dark side force is gripping an area of the station thats usually left well enough alone perhaps even an entire level forgotten by the crew and populace but now someone has to go in there whether to rescue an unwary child or to find out whats in there thats effecting the rest of the station...

Asheram
2012-11-22, 09:15 PM
And remember: Boom tomorrow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=299knTdX-Wo)... There's always boom tomorrow.

Naw, but you might want to have a look at the Babylon 5 and Deep Space 9 series.

Traab
2012-11-22, 09:50 PM
Loss of lights in certain sections, power surges from random consoles, Gravity generator malfunctions, both floating and crushing, the wide variety of environmental issues, too hot, too cold, lack of oxygen, random chemicals included in the air mix, doors randomly sealing shut or refusing to seal shut, computer glitches that recognize wrong passwords, ignore right ones, act as if really really bad orders were given that its going to carry out

Erik Vale
2012-11-22, 10:05 PM
Fire. Anti-fire systems. Air filters going bad (as bad as depreserisation, but slower. More a after battle effect). Flooding, collapse of coridors, places where it is impossible to go without getting hit by a wall of lasers as trropers already have the area covered, liquad spills.

Spamotron
2012-11-22, 10:54 PM
Well, I figured I'd have claxons blaring with the main powercore about to go critical to enforce a time limit. I did figure I'd throw a breach in, with perhaps a blocked pressure door or something

I'd be leary of this. As a general rule failing a time limit should result in a complication that makes the rest of the campaign harder not a TPK unless its the grand finale. In your example I'd have it be a time limit before the reactor's emergency SCRAM engages making it a giant paperweight. Emergency power can only handle life-support and nothing else. So unless the PC's fix the reactor in time all station defenses and security (and artificial gravity if you're evil) will go offline. At which point the battle is hopelessly lost and its time for a fighting retreat to the escape pods.