Tag: board games

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Story 6

Death Ray

Deep in one of the caves of TafJur, you and your crew are searching for relics from a culture that died with this now cold and barren planet. The caves you are in right now are no natural phenomenon. These caves were cut into the side of this mountain. You find a set of hidden doors while carefully inspecting one of the rooms. You manage to wench it open. While various things line the walls, your attention is drawn to the center of the room where a large metallic object is resting. Before you have a chance to think better of it, you brush some of the dust off of it. It starts thrumming and the room grows a little bit darker as if it is sucking in the light from around it. You call out to a couple of your crew members through your suits comm, “Jenkins, Z, I’ve found something, but I want to know what it is before I decide if we should bring it on board.” 

“Aye, Capt’n,” they both respond in unison.

“I’m sending you my location data now.”

When the two additional crew members step in, even through their helmets, you can see that they know they’re going to be pulling an all-nighter on this one. 

Early the next morning you hear a rap on your cabin door. You open the door and standing there is a tired but excited looking Z. Before you even ask, Z starts talking animatedly, “At first we couldn’t make heads or tales of this, but then I found that the interface was written in a scripted program language but even that didn’t solve all our problems because we didn’t have the foggiest clue about the written languages that this long dead culture used. Then I farted and Jenkins had an epiphany!”

“Wait, what?”, you interrupt. 

“Oh,um I farted, broke wind, ahhhh…flatulence”

“OK, I just wanted to make sure I heard you right, go on.”

“So as I was saying, the mere idea of the odor of flatulence reminded Jenkins about how the Zhian communicate via both words and smell, so we pulled up a copy of the Zhian Prime official alphabet. A few of the characters matched. We started isolating all the characters and matching the ones we knew and started to try and assign values to the other symbols and let the Universal Translator take a crack at it. What we found was a really elegant programming language that linked to various other pieces of code and data structures…”

At this point you raise your hand to stop Z. “This is great work that you and Jenkins did, but what’s the bottom line?”

“Those ancient aliens created a super weapon! During the past hour Jenkins and I have taken to calling it the ‘Death Ray’. Much of its hardware and software are still beyond us but we think we could rig it up and fire it. Calling it a little dangerous is an understatement. What do you think we should do Capt’n?”

  1. You could decide that such a device should never see the light of day and destroy it.
  2. You could install it with the intention of using it one day. It is a one time device that will successfully destroy all NPCs and players in the same sector as you, and even knock out a planetary shield for one round (ships on a shielded planet would still be unharmed as the planetary shield will have taken the damage) and it also causes 1d6 unblockable damage to your own ship. This is a one time use device and ceases to function afterwards.
  3. You could try and sell this to other space faring parties, although tight beam communication is better as you probably don’t want to announce to the entire drift system that you have a super weapon for sale. If doing this last one, you will need to meet the other ship on a planet to complete the transaction.

Clarifications: While the Death Ray can knock out a planetary shield, the Zhian have a double shield around Zhian Prime. Their inner shield would still be up. It is also noteworthy that this device does not harm the Space Kraken.

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Story 37

You said, “Yes.”

A small space lab suddenly appears adjacent to your ship. The transponder ID suddenly pings and it lists as ‘Merv’s Missiles or Arken’s Arsenal’. Please come over and dock with my lab. 

Once onboard, the scientist explains, “I’m selling this so cheaply because I need more data from field testing, some funds for more supply, and…  there is still a safety concern over whether or not the high levels of electromagnetic radiation that it emits can cause long term physiological problems.”

After completing the sale and installing the cloaking device, the space lab once again disappears.

When activated, the cloaking device lasts till the beginning of your next round. If you do leave it active at the end of your turn you will not be able to re-arm that marker and at the beginning of your turn you will need to take 1 unblockable damage. You can fly , shoot, explore, use shields, utilize various gadgets and scan while cloaked. However, there are limitations. You can not buy, sell, trade, dock with space stations, or utilize mission points while cloaked. While cloaked, you must write down very accurately your starting point, where all you have gone, and what your final stopping point is.

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Story 5

Cloaking device

Your comm crackles to life, ‘I have a unique offer for you.’ 

You accept the comm and your view screen comes on showing someone that is probably technically still human, kind of. He is clearly older, but his nose is either extremely up turned or partially missing with larger than usual nostrils. He has a third eye grafted into the middle of his forehead that seems to move independently of his other two eyes, but most striking is his brain covered by a clear dome. It appears to be an amalgamation of organic bits and technology. You can see his gray matter with lots of filaments and pulsing lights throughout it. There is also some sort of semi-viscous fluid inside the dome that appears to be slowly swirling. Despite the slack jawed response from everyone, this bizarre visage continues on with his spiel. ‘With my vast intellect I have created an advanced piece of cloaking technology, but it’s gonna cost you 1,000 cr. Are you interested?’

No: Then this card goes back in the deck for someone else to possibly gain it later.

Yes: Proceed to Story 37.

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Story 34

So you rolled an 11-20 (on Story 4)

Somehow, you managed to avoid setting off the old space mine. Your scanners show that it is nuclear in nature. You have several options:

  1. You could just leave the mine there for the next guy. Place this card back in the Encounters deck to potentially come out again later.
  2. You could move to a distance and detonate it with your ship’s weapons. It will create a nuclear zone that causes 1d4 damage (blockable with shields) anytime anyone passes throughout. Place the radiation marker there. (1 Fame Point)
  3. You could tractor on to your ship and have your engineer and your munitions expert spend the rest of the turn disarming it. (1 Fame Point)
  4. You could tractor it on board your ship and save it for a time that you find useful. At some point you can rig a quick timer on it, drop it in space, and create a permanent nuclear zone, making it more dangerous for others to go through that area that you will mark with a radioactive token. That space will cause 1d4 damage (blockable by shields).

Note: This radiation zone only functions to heal the Space Kraken if it encounters this space. Roll a d4 to see how much health the Space Kraken regains.

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Story 33

So you rolled a 1-10 (on Story 4)

Suddenly a blindingly bright light surrounds your ship in every direction. You feel overwhelmingly nauseous, and as you and the rest of your crew all start purging, your vision starts to create a halo effect around the interior lights and you have an incredible migraine. Despite your pain and roiling gut, you can see the radiation counter on your display is spiking through the roof. One of these old derelict ships must have used nuclear weapons and you’ve just set one off!

As the initial light of the blast starts to fade, you also see a flickering green aurora lingering around the magnetic fields created by all this old space debris. Your ship takes 1d6 damage (no opportunity to block it). Place the radiation token on the spot where your ship is positioned. From now on, anyone that passes through that space their ship will take 1d4 damage (blockable with shields). 

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Story 4

Radioactive

As you coast through the debris looking at some of the past relics that have found themselves here, you are amazed at how old some of these less than intact ships truly are. Even in their broken states you find yourself appreciating their curves and large fins. 

Suddenly, you see something dreadful, an old space mine!

Roll a d20:

1-10, proceed to Story 33
11-20, proceed to Story 34

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Story 3

Skip Drive

While you are at the Mission Point your engineer starts looking through old archives on various technical specs to see how the Zhian handled a myriad of technology challenges when your engineer stumbles across something that he doesn’t believe is supposed to be there. It’s written in an ancient dialect of Zhian. He ends up being curious enough about it that he starts feeding the universal translator other examples of this dialect till it is capable of translating it into something your engineer understands. This archive includes all kinds of interesting history that he has never heard about before including the insinuation that the Zhian used to have colonies on other planets, the idea that they had a super weapon whose name simply translates into ‘Death Ray’ and most interesting to your engineer, are some old designs for a ship engine that worked on completely different principles than modern FTL drives. It folds space and relies a lot on unproven quantum mechanic theories to simply help you jump from one point in space to another. Your engineer also realizes that for about 1,000 credits he can probably get the parts here on Zhian Prime to build one for your ship.

  1. Do you choose to ignore building a skip drive because either you don’t have the spare coin, or don’t like the idea of relying on schematics translated by your ship’s software to move your ship to potentially random points in space?
  2. Do you go with the idea that this is something that might just give you the competitive edge that you’ve been looking for to quickly traverse to the far flung edges of the universe nearly instantly. Sure it’s a risk, but that’s why your ship comes with the safety feature of temporal displacement. Give the engineer 1,000 credits and see what happens when he builds and installs the Skip Drive.

If you build the Skip Drive, grab the appropriate piece to install it on your ship. It does require an armed marker to activate it and then roll a d20 to see what spawn point you end up at. If the specific spawn point is not out, appear at the spawn point with the closest number always going to the higher number if two numbers have equal difference from the number rolled. Example, you roll a 17 but that spawn point has not come out yet. The closest numbers in play are 15 and 19 which both are only two away from the number rolled. You are required to go to the higher number, 19. If a 20 is rolled you may choose any space already revealed on the board even if it doesn’t contain a spawn point.

After any player has had the option of building a Skip Drive, the archive that this information was found in mysteriously disappears and no one else will have the opportunity to try and build a Skip Drive.

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Story 2

SS Loathsome

As you look out your ship’s view port at the vast emptiness of Lost Space, at first you assume it is devoid of anything else. Then, to your surprise, you notice what looks like a derelict ship silently floating in the distance. Further scans reveal dozens of people on board but in cryosleep and the name on the hull of the vessel is SS Loathsome.

“Wade, what do we know about a vessel with the call sign SS Loathsome?”

“According to our ship’s database the Loathsome was launched over a century ago from Loath when it was still a prison colony.” Wade continues scanning down his screen. “According to this, it looks like these were the criminals that their jailers thought were so dangerous that they were afraid to even have them around for hard mining labor. Unfortunately for the jailers, some of these prisoners had already set the groundwork for the colony to be overthrown.”

Now what do you do? Your options are thus:

  1. You can dock with the ship to thaw out its inhabitants that will demand that you tow them to the closest Outlaw planet (a demand you must keep or they will likely kill your crew and steal your engines) (receive 2 fame points, gain outlaw status, +2,000 credit bounty)
  2. You can just leave them floating in space while still in cryosleep. (0 Fame Points) This option means that the SS Loathsome will still be floating in Lost space allowing others to choose how to interact with this cryoship.
  3. You can leave them asleep and tow them to Kemplar II allowing their justice system to deal with them. (1 Fame Point)
  4. You can take vigilante justice into your own hands and blow it up while everyone is still asleep, which only requires 4 damage as there are no functional shields on the SS Loathsome. (1 fame point and gain outlaw status)

Clarifications: When towing another ship, cut movement in half rounded down, and the ship being towed is in an adjacent space to your ship. Another player could come and attack and destroy the SS Loathsome while you are towing it.

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Story 1

Space Kraken

“Captain, there’s an all bands communique coming in from Zhian Prime.”, your comm officer reports.

“Put it on.”

“Aye sir.”

A brief sound of static and then the transmission is coming over the comm loud and clear along with a visual on the view screen…

“We are of the First Order of the Zholar Temple.”, bellowed a Zhian wearing some sort of dark ceremonial robes. “We have worked tirelessly to help fulfill the prophecies and now we are ready to release the Space Kraken.”

Then, the view screen cuts away to reveal an image of Xia. At first it is nearly blindingly bright, but as the camera adjusts, you see…something. An immense creature with tentacles that appears to be exiting the star.

Projected into everyone’s head is a dark and sonorous voice that must be connected to this new creature. No, new can’t be right as you inherently know it must be immensely old.

“Rip, tear, shred!”

Accompanying this thought is an intense dark hunger that is nearly indescribable.

“Rip, tear, shred!”

One of your crewmen falls to their knees and starts vomiting.

“Rip, tear, shred!”

Your vision is growing hazy like you’re going to pass out, and just before you start to lose consciousness, the voice fades away and you regain some modicum of composure. Someone needs to stop this creature, but how?

Your view screen cuts back to the Zhian in ceremonial garb. “Many of you have already heard and felt its hunger. It will, in time, destroy this galaxy and purify us for whatever form Zholar chooses to give us next, but know that those of us in the First Order will be given an honored position.” The screen fades to black and you take a moment to blink and try to suss out what the big lizard was talking about.

“Sir, we’re getting another communique from Zhian Prime but this one is text only.”

You simply nod at the comm officer and he reads aloud, “‘The First Order of the Zholar Temple is a fringe group and a doomsday cult. They do not reflect the views and values of our government or of the people of Zhian Prime as a whole. As we try to apprehend those responsible for this heinous act, we beg all sentient species to try and work against this abomination.’…..That’s all they wrote, sir.”

This Space Kraken has a maximum of 50 damage that it can endure. It will start in the center of Xia, and it will move 1d4 after each player’s turn. NPC’s do not trigger its movement. It will fly the shortest route between its current location and whatever sector number was rolled this round (each round, a new sector number is rolled). If a 20 is rolled it will move towards Nyr. It will avoid going through Asteroids and Debris fields. Any ships that are within any adjacent space during the Kraken’s turn, will lose 1d6 power and heal the Kraken that much.

If there is a planet in that sector that was rolled it will seek to land on that planet and destroy it. Initial contact with the planetary shield will heal the Space Kraken 1d20 and then the shield will fail. Each turn that it sits on a planet it will do 1d6 damage as it burrows into the planet’s core. If it causes 20 damage to the core the planet becomes destroyed and is no longer habitable. On the next turn if a new sector is rolled it will abandon its current objective and move towards it.

Distribute 4 Fame Points, if defeated, as follows: three of the fame points should be divided amongst all ships that contributed (rounded up) and an additional 1FP for the killing blow. The Rikishi event can destroy the Kraken and an ice comet can cause 1d4 +1d6+1d8+1d12+1d20 damage and permanently removes that ice comet from the game, however, no one receives fame points if a natural event destroys the Space Kraken.

Clarifications: Its draining effect does not affect any energy rods you have stored on board. Other NPCs do not turn their attention to this new threat unless someone pays the SellSword to do so or the Space Kraken has actually caused them direct damage to their ship by draining energy from them, or the Avenger will join the fray as well if a Neutral planet is destroyed by the Space Kraken.