[Private] Thread for Sci Fi Game Masters

[lostcheerio]

SciFi for the Players SciFi Premise in Brief: Evil human scientists are about to kill an innocent alien creature, to steal its biotech and gain immortality. Escape from the laboratory, signal the alien's ship to come and take it to safety, and rendezvous with the rescuers. SciFi Premise in Detail Welcome to the isolated, dusty planet Naraxara. Native Naraxarans are a sweet, bulbous, orange folk, with a citrusy scent and good intentions. They are immortal but very trusting! A few millennia ago, the Gorblovni, little green creatures of high intelligence, discovered this planet and stuck around to protect their little orange friends. What luck that this source of life perpetual hasn't sparked any predatory interest from the rest of the universe! Oh, wait! There is that third faction: a contingency of humans from Earth, who have established a colony on this quiet little planet for purely scientific reasons. Maybe not so pure. At a science facility called The Köbörglöt Institute for Light and Longevity, sinister experiments are being done on the Naraxarans, as human researchers try to unlock the secrets of their long life. As our adventure begins, the chief scientist, Kort Köbörglöt, is sharpening his knives, preparing to open up a little orange subject, and see what makes it tick forever. Players can choose to be a Naraxaran captive, or a Gorblovni off-worlder who has gone undercover to save them. Alternatively, players can choose to be a rogue scientist who has decided to disrupt the operation. Any of the characters the player does not choose can be used by the DM as helpful NPCs or obstructive enemies. If you would like to peruse the pregens on offer, they are in spoilerbuttons below. If you want to create your own character, don't open them! Unwanted pregens can be adopted by the GM as NPCs or enemies. Be the Creature   Hoobli Dorbli Hoobli, of the Gorbsport Dooblis, has always been curious about off-worlders, and when he was approached by human researchers eager to learn more about his workout routine, he was happy to tell them everything he could. However, they've been talking about his "grand opening" for a while now, and as he has been assisted into the operating table and strapped into place, they appear to be preparing scalpels and saws. Skills: Immortal. Not mad about it. Can fit through small spaces. Can mimic any human sound. Unreasonably bolstered by certainty of own immortality. Special Knowledge: Lava lamp in head. Able to blend into the landscape, find hidden routes and pathways. Thoughts on most people: They're probably really fine. Be the Scientist   The Environmental Scientist Reina Köbörglöt She the granddaughter of Heinz Köbörglöt and cousin to the head of operations here at the Institute, Kort Köbörglöt. Dr. Reina has status, authority, poise, and pedigree. She is all on board for light and longevity, but will she destroy an alien life form in order to get it? Skills: Tough cookie, trained in fighting by her mother, who used to box for money in the blood pits of the Outer Pargoots. Smart, but she also knows how to knock you flat with an flask and batter you with a beaker. Special Knowledge: Reina has researched the terrain and biomes of Naraxara, so she's good on a hike, relaxed in a space suit, and can get by on little oxygen. Thoughts on vivisection: Unclear. The Chemist Lyle Daglon Lyle deals in milliliters and microns. He is a perfectionist and an idealist, bookish to the max, but also, and essentially, Lyle is a thrill seeker. While likes to measure, and weigh, he also has a bright flare for putting together a wild scheme, and he has the stones to follow through. Skills: A consummate communicator who speaks many languages. Special knowledge: He has a molecular understanding of life and death, and can manipulate cells to prolong one and bring about the other. Weakness: Cuteness. Be the Laboratory Assistant   The Clone Reina II Before they turned their attention to harvesting alien bioware to crack the secrets of immortality, the Köbörglöt labs were experimenting with cloning technology. Reina II is a clone of Reina Köbörglöt -- just an early experimental model. Yeah, she wears a blue jumpsuit and carries a wet mop, but genetically she's as much a Köbörglöt as anyone else. Trouble is, no one treats her that way. So she's starting a clone rebellion. Skills: Seems there's no use for her unless one of Reina's organs fails, so she keeps busy lifting weights and doing manual labor around the Institute. She's tough as heck and has a lot of built up rage to share. She wields a mop and dustpan with shocking accuracy. Special Knowledge: No one notices clones, so Reina II has a lot of secret info on a lot of Institute muckety-mucks. Can she pass as Reina herself? You bet. The Tech Savant Jase Diamond Jase is a coding wizard who's so plugged in, his veins are wires. He's invented a focus bubble to protect himself from bothersome interruptions, so he hasn't really noticed Kort Köbörglöt's true intentions for the aliens until now. Skills: Master of technology, he can adapt tech to uses for which it was not created. Special Knowledge: While he hasn't made a lot of friends at work, he does have a ton of online friends who he can call on for information and special projects. Company Loyalty: None. He's been hoping to get off this planet since he got here. Be Another Alien Undercover   Jechts Jechts is disguised as a human child in a space suit, carrying a cute and very lifelike Gorblovni stuffy. Tiny Jechts is actually the stuffy, operating the space suit as a puppet. He is committed to breaking his Naraxaran buddy out of the Institute and getting him to safety, and has risked a lot to get into this operating room. Skills: Jechts has all the skills that start with tele. Telepathy, telekinesis, and telesneaking through small spaces. Special Knowledge: Jechts knows that Reina II has been fomenting dissent among the clones. Disguise: Jechts knows the hailing frequencies for both the Naraxaran Dreadnought and the Gorblovni Frigate, and can contact both through his spacesuit disguise.

Settings for the Game Master Setting Overview The planet Naraxara is a sandy, windy place. The surface is marked by rocky protuberances and wide expanses of desert. Naraxarans live mostly underground, Gorblovnis stay on their ships in orbit, and human colonists live in glass orbs above ground. The story begins inside an operating room inside the Köbörglöt Institute for Light and Longevity, a research facility. During the rescue, the adventurers may head out away from the Institute, and onto the planet's surface. There they must negotiate the dangers of the dusty wilderness, while trying to signal a friendly transport and rendezvous with it.   The Science Center The Naraxaran Offices of Köbörglöt Institute for Light and Longevity Established in universal year 4011PQ7 by Heinz Köbörglöt, the premier human researcher on forestalling death and achieving immortality in the Reflugia Star System, K.I.L.L. has centers all over the galaxy. This outpost of the institute, on Naraxara, is helmed by Heinz's grandchild, Kört. Here, alien life forms are collected and studied. In this tall glass tower, topped with rockets and flanked by a huge launch silo, researchers try to uncover the method by which the alien cells reproduce without degradation. Each child cell seeming younger and more vibrant than the parent that split to create it. What makes it go? Is there biotech involved? How can it be replicated? How can it be harvested? Köbörglöt must find out. Operating Room Dr. Köbörglöt's Auxiliary Operating Room The room is brightly lit by white bulbs that frame computer screens overhead, spilling merciless light, and smaller arrays under shelves that sparkle light off rows of instruments and tools. A defenseless alien life form is trapped under study on an operating table, surrounded by scientists and techs who concentrate intensely on their work. Around the walls, shelves hold jars of specimens, and vials of chemicals and powders. An acrid chemical smell hangs in the air, along with the sweat of the nervous researchers. A clock ticks on the wall between two illuminated sketches of hypothesized anatomy, and a centrifuge murmurs in the corner. An incubator on the counter is readied to receive tissue samples from this... autopsy? No, the subject is alive! Planet Wilds Naraxaran Wilderness Sector 7 Naraxara is arid, but there are constantly shifting winds over the bright green sticky sand. This means the landscape is ever changing, and the protrusions and outcroppings change shape as they are scoured and reformed daily. The local inhabitants work with these mutable structures, and their dwellings and outposts sit on shifting shelves, and are marked with tall horns that bend and shift with the day's weather. The human outpost can be identified by their round shape. Their towns are entirely encased in globes that are impervious to the wind and sand, and the largest are powered by huge floating space creatures encased in electrified gel. Alien Spaceship The Naraxan Dreadnought This bulbous orange ship is built locally, and flies from underground air strips with launch ports that open in vortexes of whirling sand. They are used for intercity hops on the planet itself, and can be called from any Naraxaran outpost, to evacuate Naraxarans and their allies from danger. The Gorblovni Space Frigate The Gorblovnis will loan their interplanetary frigates to the air of their Naraxaran allies who find themselves in need of sudden transport off world. These angular green ships are stored in orbit, but can descend when signaled by laser communicators.

Monsters for the Game Master Monster: Bombs on Wheels   Protection Orbs These rolling explosives are just sentient enough to follow their target silently and just evil enough to pursue it relentlessly. But don't worry! They're just for protecting the Institute from external threats. It's wild out there on the surface! And this building is made of glass. Combat: Protection Orbs roll up on their targets and explode. Tough to detect, can completely self-destruct or toss smaller missiles at close range. Weakness: Slow but inexorable. The self-destruct feature has a wide radius and can set off chain reactions with other Protector Orbs. Monster: Androids   The Golden Androids Leggy, lively, and legion. These shining enemies are operated as avatars of The Blue Philosopher himself, Dr. Heinz Köbörglöt. Combat: They have blasters for range, and tasers for melee. There are hordes of them but they die quickly. Weakness: They malfunction easily, especially outside in the sand, and when the Philosopher no longer needs them animated, their threatening blue faces disappear and they fall down in a crumple of parts. BBEG: The Blue Philosopher   The Blue Philosopher Everybody knew that the spirit of Heinz Köbörglöt inspired the work of his brilliant grandson, Kort. But what no one anticipated was that his spirit literally animated the body of his descendent, grasping a gritty immortality from this scooped out core. Combat: The Blue Philosopher summons deluges of water which pummel enemies and turn the sandy terrain gummy and difficult. He also tries to intimidate and scare his minions by facing them with their own mortality. Weakness: Exposing his true identity will weaken Heinz, as will turning his own intimidation on him, because his biggest fear is his own death.

Table for Plot Twists Roll a d6 after post #12. This plot twist can be introduced at any time, even right at the end. 1. Which Way?! The PC loses the Alien they're trying to rescue. If they are playing the Alien, then one of the NPCs gets lost instead. 2. Romance Strikes! The Alien falls hopelessly in love with the PC. If they are the Alien, then one of the NPCs falls in love with them. This romance can be intense platonic devotion. 3. Alignment Surprise! The Alien is actually evil! If they are the Alien, then one of the scientists is revealed to have the opposite alignment than the one they're presenting. 4. Change the Goal Posts! The spaceship waiting for the Alien is not actually safe. Gotta make a new plan. 5. Tear-jerker Finale! In order to save the Alien, one of the rescuers must be sacrificed. If the player is the Alien, then one of the NPCs must die to save them. If they are not the Alien, then their PC must die. If this noble sacrifice is made before 47 posts have been written, the player can take over another character. 6. Dad? Is that you? The Alien is connected in some unexpected way with the PC's backstory. If they are the Alien, then they are connected in some unexpected way with one of the NPCs.

Table for Complications Roll a d6 after post #24. This complication can be introduced at any time, even right at the end. 1. Hey Cutie, Where Did You Come From? A magical puppy appears. 2. Look Out Below! A deep pit opens. 3. This Should Do the Trick A mysterious key is found. 4. Suddenly Seymour A strange plant grows. 5. Live Long and Prosper Leonard Nimoy arrives for a cameo. 6. A Face in the Sand A dust storm attacks.

Table for Encounters Roll a d6 after post #36. This encounter can be introduced at any time, even right at the end. 1. Enhanced Hounds 2. Invasive Iris 3. Hummingbot 4. Hellucination Bugs 5. Kirby the Luddite 6. Elemental Death   1 - Enhanced Hounds Enhanced Hounds The scientists are evil enough to subvert dogs! These cyber-enhanced hounds track the alien relentlessly, and on a one roll, the pack catches up. The PC can fight them or cleverly use a high pitched frequency or another creative solution to drive them away. Ignored, they follow, signalling the PCs location. If the PC removed a dog's helmet or otherwise disables one dog's gear, the pack breaks and flees. Thee dog with the disabled gear can be befriended with an offer of food or on a successful animal handling roll, made with advantage because the PC removed the gear. 2 - Invasive Iris Invasive Iris This plant is an invasive species from another planet, perhaps the alien's homeworld or from space-spores that attached to a a ship on an earlier visit. They kill native species. They present as a strange, barren patch of muddy earth with a blighted rim. If the PC enters their area, they emerge from the mud and cast Charm with their big, unblinking eyes. On a failed Wisdom Save, the PC feels the plant is lovely and delightful and wants to sniff at it and tend it, at which point the plant secrets an eenzyme that begins to digeets the PC, causing 1 damamge peround. The PC can repeat the save at the end of every round, with advantage once they have taken damage. 3 - Hummingbot Hummingbot Hummingbots patrol the wilds that surround the laboratory. They mimic real birds, and should be mentioned as "birds" in a descriptive passage when a three is rolled. They stealthily follow any humans they come across in the wild, transmitting simple information about location, movement, and actions. They can be spotted with a successful perception check, made with advantage if the PC focuses on the mentioned birds. They are easily killed by any ranged attack. Hellucination Bugs Hellucination Bugs These mutated beetles surround the party and attempt to infest exposed skin. On a successful attack, they burrow in, doing one damage before settling. They require a successful medicine check to remove. On a failed check, the PC is infested and subject to hallucinations that at the DMs discretion can be genuinely prescient. They can be removed by the alien once the ship is reached, or the PC can decide to keep them, retaining the ability to see glimpses of the future. 5 - Kirby the Luddite Kirby the Luddite Kirby (They/Them) lives off the grid in the wilds, with zero tech and zero bio-enhancements. Kirby even needs glasses, having refused even simple Correcto-Lenses! They hate the institute and may be hostile and/or obstructive to a PC who seems allied with the scientists. They are likely to be sympathetic to the alien's plight and can be convinced to help in several ways: They might know shortcuts through the wild, or they could help the PC set a tech-free trap to slow or ambush their pursuers, or provide help actions to execute any tech-free plan the PC tries. They can also function as a love interest for the PC. 6 - Death Vortex Enhanced Hounds This elemental vortex of death and decay is an accumulation of all the mortality ejected by the Naraxarans from their "not today" glands into the atmosphere. Years, wrinkles, sighs, and waste energy swirl randomly in a funnel cloud, menacing the lands around the lab. When a 6 on the encounter table is rolled, one spawns very near the PC and companions. On a failed Dex save, the PC is caught in it and hurled in a random direction, taking one point of damage and aging one year.

[squirmonkey]

This is a lot more detail than I was expecting. Is the game that I'm to use all of this stuff?

[lostcheerio]

You can use as much or as little as you like. Whatever appeals to you! And remember the last three sections are tables, so you'll only be using one of the six options in those lists.

[squirmonkey]

Originally Posted by lostcheerio

You can use as much or as little as you like. Whatever appeals to you! And remember the last three sections are tables, so you'll only be using one of the six options in those lists.

Great! Then we're off to the races, so to speak

[squirmonkey]

My player's next post will be #12, so here I go!

Dice Plot Twist:

1d6

3

Aw jeez, I've been playing Hoobli so cute and innocent lol

[lostcheerio]

Mwahahahahaaaaaa you always have to watch the sweet ones!

[squirmonkey]

Okay so I'm actually so into this twist now. My player just told Hoobli

"I'm ashamed to say there are bad Humans as well as good ones."

AND I CANNOT WAIT to uno-reverse-card that sentence at gunpoint.

[lostcheerio]

Mwahahahahaaaaaa! Oh that's just too perfect.

[squirmonkey]

My player's next post will be #24

Dice Complication:

1d6

5

Edit: lollll.... well, we did loosely set our game in the Star Trek universe....

[lostcheerio]

You are steaming along! This is awesome! I'm so glad someone rolled the cameo. LOL

[squirmonkey]

Because Hoobli ended up being evil I’m gonna do an unsubvert of expectations. The mission was to rescue an alien, and we’re still gonna do that. It will just be rescuing literal Spock from Hooblis starship

[lostcheerio]

that's nuts. in the best way. absolutely nuts. i love it.

[squirmonkey]

My player's next post will be #36, so here we go again

Dice Encounter:

1d6

5

[squirmonkey]

Oh man that's so rough. We're on a starship right now! I had expected to spend most of the rest of the adventure there. How on Naraxara am I gonna insert an anti-tech wilderness survivalist guy

I got some thinking to do!!

[AnotherDragoon]

We're starting on a KILL Leviathan class Star Cruiser, Cerebus as it leaves Naraxara's atmosphere for the cold and vast expanse of stars and nebulae where nobody knows or cares about one small alien. The goal will be making contact like in the original but also getting an escape pod or landing craft.