More Sci Fi assistance :)

[ngilop]

Hey guys, so I got the first couple adventures down and finished and an outline of entire campaign as well.

The first adventure starts with the player's characters waking up out of cryo-stasis to find their ship having been damaged severely and them waking up 9 years after they were first put under. Their memories are fuzzy and missing in a lot of places and I intend on having the payer full out an index card with bullet point backstory to reveal to the player's as the campaign progresses.


What I need right now is a handful of 1 shot sci fi missions/adventures/modules. The level is a non issue and the system used is likewise a moot point. I need these because, as you all know, player's tend to do the weird things and follow the most odd of hooks or non-existent but totally 'there' bread crumbs. The setting DOES mater though, so no Lovecraftian anything, no xeno-horror, no gothic grim dark, and NO ZOMBIES.

I am just 100% unable to find any in my searches, though I have found thousands of fantasy one shots.

I guess sci-fi isn't as popular in that regard?

[Knaight]

There's a fair few out there, you just need to know where to look. I know both Eclipse Phase and Traveller have options, Spectaculars might (I'd have to take a look, but the 20ish cosmic superhero adventures probably partially transfer), and there's various scattered miscellany all over the place. Coriolis probably does, though I'd want to double check that.

Basically there's a lot more out there pushed as "Adventure for System X" than "Adventure for Genre X", so if you know what systems tend to be rich in adventures you can track down modules more easily.

[Telok]

Um. Difficult. See, Star Trek, BattleTech, and Paranoia are all under the umbrella of "sci-fi setting" but they all have wildly different settings and assumptions while still fitting your limitations. So its hard to give good advice on something so vague.

Generic advice: crib short adventures from Traveller, BattleTech, and/or any sci-fi media (including video games) that's been turned into an RPG.

[darkrose50]

The Expanse Roleplaying Game looks pretty cool.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934547972/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Durkoala]

What sort of tech level and science hardness are you looking for? Are there any notable races that the players are likely to meet in space? What's the main tone of the campaign supposed to be? If you can nail down some details of the world, it can be easier thinking of things that the players will encounter.

Off the top of my head here's some basic ideas that should fit into most spacefaring settings.

-Some kind of small creature has got on board and is rattling around in the vents. The crew don't know if it's dangerous, but it's cetainly very annoying, it keeps stealing their unattended food items and every now and then it chews through some important cables. What are the PCs going to do about it?

-The some of the PCs have contracted an alien parasite that isn't in the ship's medical log (it may have been damaged during their sleep). Can they find a space port that has the knowledge and equipment to remove it before the really bad effects of their 'passenger' come into play?

- A heavily armed group of pirates appraoches the ship, claiming that their navigation has been damaged and they need guiding to a shady planet/space station. They seem friendly enough, but can they be trusted? Are they likely to draw other, less friendly pirates after them?

-A derelict ship belonging to a powerful group is discovered nearby. It looks like the crew escaped unharmed, but the hold is full of high-value cargo. What are the PCs going to do with it? Remember that the owners of the cargo might still be out looking for it...

- A salavager offers their wares at the trading place, but there's some parts of your ship among them! What will the PCs do about this pesilient pilferer?

- A note is found in the ship's computer that today is the birthday of one of the PCs! The only trouble is, it doesn't say whose birthday it is and none of you can remember! It's time to scour the ship for clues so you can throw a party for your companion(s)!

[False God]

Hey guys, so I got the first couple adventures down and finished and an outline of entire campaign as well.

The first adventure starts with the player's characters waking up out of cryo-stasis to find their ship having been damaged severely and them waking up 9 years after they were first put under. Their memories are fuzzy and missing in a lot of places and I intend on having the payer full out an index card with bullet point backstory to reveal to the player's as the campaign progresses.


What I need right now is a handful of 1 shot sci fi missions/adventures/modules. The level is a non issue and the system used is likewise a moot point. I need these because, as you all know, player's tend to do the weird things and follow the most odd of hooks or non-existent but totally 'there' bread crumbs. The setting DOES mater though, so no Lovecraftian anything, no xeno-horror, no gothic grim dark, and NO ZOMBIES.

I am just 100% unable to find any in my searches, though I have found thousands of fantasy one shots.

I guess sci-fi isn't as popular in that regard?

I'm normally great with sci-fi suggestions but you've kinda eliminated an overwhelming amount of it right there. Looks like you're angling for a hard sci-fi high-tech angle, which would leave you with largely Star Trek to draw from (as excepting the Borg as "zombies", dodges almost everything you're not wanting). I'm not sure there's a great volume of "away mission" type adventures that aren't pretty much "generic fantasy" with sci-fi names slapped on top of everything. You've either got Kirk-era cowboy action monster fights, or you've got Picard-era "fight me with your words".

You could probably take any given fantasy adventure that fits your requirements and replace all the fantasy words with "sci-fi" words and noone would know the difference.

Really though "wake up from cryo 9 years later on a damaged ship" sounds like the lead-in to every space horror movie EVER.

[Mutazoia]

Sounds rather "Dark Matter" inspired.

So I would suggest watching "Dark Matter". Also, Blake's 7 is always a good source of ideas.

If you are wanting pre-published stuff, you can track down some of the old "Star Frontiers" modules.

[Ornithologist]

I would take a 10 min summary of any given startrek episode, then use that almost whole cloth. I bet the players won't even notice for the first few. Though any chunks you can use to tie into the myth arc of finding memories will make them unique to the players.

[False God]

I would take a 10 min summary of any given startrek episode, then use that almost whole cloth. I bet the players won't even notice for the first few. Though any chunks you can use to tie into the myth arc of finding memories will make them unique to the players.

In lieu of printed adventures, this is a great idea.

[LordEntrails]

Star Frontiers fan groups have 2 magazines, one current. Both have adventures int hem;
http://frontierexplorer.org/
http://starfrontiersman.com/

I believe you can also get the mags for free on DrivethruRPG

[lightningcat]

Star Wars has multiple games that have had modules and one shots.
While it might require a bit more work to get to the SciFi parts, Starfinder is going to have several modules you can steal from.
Finally, DriveThruRPG.com search filter Product Type: Non-Core Books>Adventures and Genre: Sci-Fi come up with 2000+ results. At least some of them could be of use.

[Kaptin Keen]

Hey guys, so I got the first couple adventures down and finished and an outline of entire campaign as well.

The first adventure starts with the player's characters waking up out of cryo-stasis to find their ship having been damaged severely and them waking up 9 years after they were first put under. Their memories are fuzzy and missing in a lot of places and I intend on having the payer full out an index card with bullet point backstory to reveal to the player's as the campaign progresses.

There is an excellent short module in which players wake up from stasis, to find the ship mysteriously flooded in icy water. All the usual warning signs apply - flickering lights, red emergency lighting everywhere, warning klaxons blaring, and also of course the fact that the ship is listing, and there's really cold water on the floors (of course, moving up to higher decks removes this bit).

My group took the longest time to realise the ship had crashed on a water world (it seems so obvious now), and sunk to the bottom of the sea.

The module had various threats - haywire security systems, insane survivors, and not least: A group of looters/pirates who have grabbed a sub to dive down to the wreck and strip it of valuables. There are two ways to win - get to the escape pods .. or fight the pirates and steal their sub. It's worth mentioning that you start out entirely unarmed.

[Bohandas]

The setting DOES mater though, so no Lovecraftian anything, no xeno-horror, no gothic grim dark, and NO ZOMBIES.

do Borg and Cybermen count as zombies?

[ngilop]

Just so we are on the same page... when one says Star Frontiers do they mean the same Star Frontiers that are TSR? or is there a new Star Froteirs that I do not know about.



when I say zombies I mean zombies, actual undead. for reference the computer gamer game Dead Space

borg not so much, but I have no idea what cybermen are.

Lovecraftian, well you all should know what that entails elder and powerful things with lots of eyes and tentacles

xeno horror aliens as created by james Cameron, the zerg in star craft and the tyranids in 40K

gothic grim dark, Warhammer 40K, there are set good guys and set bad guys in my setting and the whole everything is crappy and the fact that technology took a drastic several flights backwards as opposed to continually growing and moving forward.

for me that is only a handful of sci fi settings not the vast majority like was referenced by false god. I basically don't want 40K, and aliens, and lovecraft. the idea is there is always hope and there is always a way to better everyone's situation something those setting are in direct opposition about.

[Bohandas]

borg not so much, but I have no idea what cybermen are.

Cybermen are Dr.Who equivalent of the Borg (or more accurately the Borg are the Star Trek equivalent of the Cybermen, since the Cybermen came first)

[Telok]

Right. So there's probably about 20 different rpg systems that can handle that and people have written adventures for all of them. That's not counting the "<insert plot here> in SPACE!!!" options.

I can remember that there are about 8 - 12 Classic Traveller short adventures. Probably about the same for the other versions of Traveller. GURPS Space has a few. Star HERO has a few. There was a FireFly rpg a while back that will have a few, although they really just do the "<cowboy serial plot> in SPACE!!!" thing. BattleTech and Star Trek rpgs will have some short adventures. Star Wars is out because of tentacle monsters. Mekton Zeta, Paranoia, Alternity, Gamma World, Robotech... the list goes on.

[Pauly]

For fictional one shot stories that should be able to cut and lifted into any sci-fi setting:
Blakes 7 - especially the first 2 seasons. Seasons 3 and 4 got more into the overall ongoing story arc.
Cowboy Bebop. Cowboy Bebop the movie in particular makes for a great one shot.
Gerry Anderson’s series generally. Firebird XL5, Thunderbirds, Stingray and Space 1999 are probably the easiest, although with Stingray you have to change underwater to outer space.

I’m not a fan so much of Star Trek because a lot of the stories end up focussing on one or two characters, where the series I listed above are more ensemble stories better suited for multiplayer sessions.

[LordEntrails]

Just so we are on the same page... when one says Star Frontiers do they mean the same Star Frontiers that are TSR? or is there a new Star Froteirs that I do not know about.

Yes, the TSR game. It still has an active community. Small but active. There is also at least 1 solid conversion of it to 5E, though not a very "true to 5E" imo as it completely revamps the skills system etc.

[Ken Murikumo]

Weird, i'm running a sci-fi game that began almost identically (6 years, not 9; also the party remembers everything about themselves and some familiarity with the other party members but nobody has any memory about why they are on the ship or why they have military rank aboard the ship).

-I began my adventure with the ship in ultra low power mode. The main antagonistic force was hailing the ship and informing everyone that they were forcibly boarding under their own law.

-My ship is big (very big) and has lots of secrets (military and otherwise) that the players are slowly discovering.

-Ship records only allow the players limited access. They have been periodically hacking the system and getting tidbits about why they are on the ship and the original (expired) mission they were part of.

-There are other crew-mates in cryo-stasis, but the system has malfunctioned. Forcing them out kills the person's brain and they don't have the resources to fix that level of damage.

-One side quest they explored was a distress signal (typical, i know). They came across a corporate ship floating in dead space with no life signs. When they boarded the ship they found a bunch of dead crew in what looked like a firefight. The Ships drones were attacking the crew and armoring themselves with parts of the ship. The drones were also cannibalizing each other to become bigger (and more dangerous). In short the Ship's AI had gone nuts and was running "live fire-fight" tests to see how organics react to constant pressure. The AI was also the most protected thing on the ship, making it a "final boss" for the side quest. To make things harder, it was hacking the digital map of the ship and changing it every time someone looked away making navigation difficult.

-Another mission they ran was on a distant planet with indigenous non-spacefaring tribes. The party went to said planet for a plot macguffin only to find a group of mercenaries also looking for said macguffin. These guys were quite mean and abusing the natives (who believed they were gods), not to mention, the merc leader was a sadist so you can imagine how the party reacted.

-I've used some items from the list of 1001 to find in a sci-fi crate (i think that was the thread's name); anyways, it has some good ideas for when they salvage derelict cargo ships. Ideas from weapon mod crates to a "big ol' box o dildos".

-Some small side things that have happened are: scrap dealers in junk yards, shady dudes selling black marker upgrades and synthetic people, slavery rings, space pirates, just to name a few.

[Gurifu]

https://paizo.com/products/btpy9u7x/discuss?Starfinder-Society-Roleplaying-Guild-Quest-Into-the-Unknown

"Into the Unknown includes five, 1-hour adventures that take the PCs from exploring Absalom Station, to partaking in starship combat, to exploring an alien world. The fifth adventure in the series provides a stunning conclusion that takes the PC's previous accomplishments into account for a climactic final showdown against an enemy starship."

[Bohandas]

-I've used some items from the list of 1001 to find in a sci-fi crate (i think that was the thread's name); anyways, it has some good ideas for when they salvage derelict cargo ships. Ideas from weapon mod crates to a "big ol' box o dildos".


http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?504072-101-fun-things-to-find-in-a-Sci-Fi-cargo-crate

[CombatBunny]

While PCs where in cryo-stasis, the ship passed near a black-hole/dark-matter/strange-matter/youNameIt which gave it consciousness.

Now the ship wants to know its purpose in life. In order to comprehend itself it can either play and/or experiment with the crew messing with all the starship systems or… next time they go to sleep the ship will connect their brains to a virtual world to put them through several scenarios and games, to experiment with their reactions. Kind of a matrix, TRON or Portal thing in which the A.I. wants to “play” with them forever.

[Ken Murikumo]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?504072-101-fun-things-to-find-in-a-Sci-Fi-cargo-crate

That is indeed the list who's name I botched