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A Royal Pain

From FuturePath

SPOILER WARNINGS THIS IS FOR GAME MASTERS ONLY

One-Shot: A Royal Pain

This is a mystery and social encounter focused one-shot adventure for a crew of Level 2 or 3 characters. It is designed to showcase social skills, investigative mechanics, and the resolution of a political conspiracy in the d20 FuturePath setting.

Adventure Premise

Your station is under threat! The Aconians have raised a small navy to come to your small sector of space and enforce martial law. Why? They claim that a person of the old dynasty's royal bloodline has gone missing and was reported to be last seen entering your station. They blame your people for this!

You are just a small independent mining colony. A station called Comet's Home can barely hold 10,000 citizens, and its main source of income comes from gas mining comets or 'hard' mining asteroids. Most of the system's population, over 30k if you exclude the station, live in the inner or outer belt and come to the station to refine and sell, as well as a little R&R, of course!

You have no idea what an imperial royal from a great and ancient empire would even be doing here! Your government's response is to just keel over. But you know this isn't gonna end good for you and yours unless by the time that fleet arrives a missing royal can be produced. Time to take matters into your own hands!

Key Characters

  1. Lady Kaelen: A headstrong Aconian royal who has openly protested her upcoming arranged political marriage.
  2. Prince Jarek: Her intended fiancé—a rigid, traditional Aconian noble whom Kaelen openly dislikes.
  3. Valen: Kaelen's true love, a merchant's son of lower status. Devoted but easily manipulated.
  4. Archon Vandar: The orchestrator of the crisis. He secretly contacted Valen under the guise of a sympathetic ally, giving him this idea and providing him with resources to smuggle Kaelen to this independent mining station.

The Plot

With Kaelen safely "missing," Vandar frames the disappearance as a hostile kidnapping by station-dwellers, giving him the perfect excuse to annex the sector's gas and ore infrastructure. Only Vandar knows the true cause, and he uses it to justify launching a fleet to annex the Station. Meanwhile, on the Station, Valen and Kaelen immediately find themselves in hot water. And quickly figure out that they have been double-crossed. They try to hide and find a safe way to exit the station but are eventually ambushed by Vandar's private hitmen. Vandar's goal is to kill Valen and 'rescue' Kaelen. He gets to be the hero who saves the day and the right to annex the system.

Adventure Map & Key Points of Interest

Running this PoI Adventure

This is a Point of Interest style dungeon crawl. Instead of fixed rooms and corridors, the players choose to walk from one location (Point of Interest) to another PoI/location. Each PoI will have 1 or more encounters that will help inform the Players or possibly mislead the players to the final PoI, which in this adventure One Shot is the Cargo Bay 9. The Players start out at the Heng's Cometary Noodles and the GM should read more on how to start the adventure below.

The GM should keep track of time. The Players should know they have 10 hours. Each travel + encounter takes 1 hour. Additional time-wasting can occur while at a location. The GM should inform the Players of the remaining time. A d10 could be a useful tool for keeping track of time.

Starting the Adventure

Backstory:

You have woken up today with news feeds from the station on every comm and channel, all proclaiming the same doom. An Aconian fleet is coming. Your mind seems unable to handle this weird news at first. As the haze of sleep and the previous day's activities lifts, it is replaced by a new panic. The Aconians are claiming a missing royal was last seen on your little station. Your station borders the Aconians, and they have tried to annex your people before. Now it seems they are going to take your home by force. You get ready. You call your friends or just people you can trust to gather at Heng's Noodles. When the going gets tough, that's when belters are at their best.

The Location
The Adventures/Heroes start out together at Heng's Cometary Noodles. The locals call it 'Hengs'. The GM should ask the Players if they have a reason to know each other. They should all already know the game's starting premise and their characters, and the whole station should already know of the coming armada. If the Players cannot think of a reason or simply do not want to. Provide them with the following:

The usual liveliness of Hangs seems gone, like someone opened an airlock all of a sudden. People talk in muted, hushed voices. You have to strain to pick up any noise. You all know what is being discussed. You lean in close around the table too. The smell of hot noodles hits your nose, begging not to be ignored, but you are too busy thinking about the situation at hand. Huddled together are some of the only people on this spinning can that you trust. They are all here for the same reason as everybody else. The Armada is on its way, and all anybody can think about is what the heck are you all gonna do about it.

GM Notes
Make sure the Players know that the last place Lady Kaelen was seen was the Customs & Arrival Port. They can go to the other Utility & Flavor Locations. If they try to go to any other locations, encourage them not to go, but there is nothing stopping them.

If they decide to go to another location to start the investigation that isn't the 'Customs & Arrival Port ', then you can try one last thing. Read the following:

As your group leaves Hang's, one of the other patrons leaves with you. He is a nervous-looking Aconain. "Hey... rrr... I heard y'all talking about... well, about what's going on. I work on the docks. My co-workers said they saw the Lady. One of them is a Murid named Roban. He says he even talked to her. He may know something. If any of you are planning on doing anything... if there is anything to do, that is. That's who I would talk to first!"

Points of Interest in Detail

Customs & Arrival Port (The Docking Bay)

The cavernous docking bay is a storm of noise, steam, and sheer desperation. Klaxons pulse amber overhead as departure flight boards flicker with canceled routes and exorbitant off-station charter fares. A massive, frantic crowd of belter miners, roughnecks, and entire families lugging whatever they can carry presses hard against a flimsy, lightweight crowd-control barrier that is practically bowing under their weight.

The handful of port employees working the desk look wildly unprepared and completely out of their depth, sweating through their uniforms as they shout into crackling megaphones to hold the mob back from the departure airlocks.

Meanwhile, the arrivals gate sits eerily abandoned. Stationed behind a cluttered desk near the disused arrival gates is a lone male Murid in a loose-fitting station vest, his goggles pushed up onto his twitching ears, trying to ignore the chaotic roar around him.

  • The Situation: Docking Bay 7 is the primary civilian and light freight hub on Comet's Home. Valen arrived ahead of time to wait for Lady Kaelen, who was secretly ferried onto the station aboard an illicit gas-hauler. When she arrived, Valen paid off the on-duty inspector—a Murid named Roban—to leave her off the passenger manifest.
  • Surroundings: The infrastructure is buckling under panic. The customs barriers are thin modular stanchions meant for orderly queues, not a mass evacuation. Shouting matches and minor scuffles are breaking out across the concourse as desperate citizens try to buy passage off-station before the Aconian fleet locks down the sector.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Roban (Murid Dock Inspector): Stressed, twitchy, and visibly overwhelmed. Being a Murid, he naturally respects Aconians, but he is terrified of being implicated in a royal scandal or facing imperial wrath. Valen handed him high-stakes casino chips to keep Kaelen's arrival off the official records. Roban pocketed the bribe, but to "cover his ass" (CYA) if imperial inquisitors ever search the logs, he secretly jotted down encrypted notes about the covert drop-off on his personal terminal log.
  • Tessa Morrow (Human Volunteer Worker): An energetic but visibly flustered human Belter wearing an oversized, bright-orange emergency contractor vest with a stylus tucked into her messy hair. She took an emergency contract from the station's Head Office to help organize evacuation queues. She may be an old friend, former neighbor, or familiar face to one of the player characters.

Player Options & Investigations:

1. Entering the Port — Spotting a Familiar Face (Perception):

  • When the party enters the concourse, the GM should ask everyone to roll a Perception check.
  • DC 14 Perception: The highest-rolling player spots Tessa Morrow struggling to hold back an angry line of Belters near Gate 3. The player recognizes her as a familiar acquaintance from around the station.
  • Interacting with Tessa:
  • Tessa is relieved to see friendly faces. She explains that the station's Head Office is paying top credit to anyone willing to stay behind and help stabilize the station: "They're handing out all sorts of emergency hazard tasks. I drew port crowd duty... and as you can see, I'm getting eaten alive here!"
  • The Volunteer Job Offer (Time vs. Reward): Tessa asks if the crew can spare a few hours to help her secure the barriers, sort luggage, and calm the crowd. The head office is willing to pay up front a 100 ISC per hour for each person who helps. Taking the job burns 2 hours of the party's in-game investigation time before the Aconian fleet arrives. Each participating character earns 300 ISC in cash.
  • Roban's Goodwill: Roban watches the party roll up their sleeves and sweat alongside the dock crew to restore order. This earns his respect and gratitude, granting the party a +4 morale bonus on all Diplomacy or Bluff checks made against Roban.
  • Asking Tessa About the Crisis: If asked if she knows anything about the missing royal, she shakes her head: "I've just been dealing with this stampede. But Roban would be the man... rrr, Murid to talk to. Although station security already interviewed him earlier."

2. Reading the Crowd & The Overwhelmed Port (Study / Knowledge):

  • A DC 12 Study or DC 11 Knowledge (Current Events) check reveals that departure ticket prices have surged tenfold, commercial traffic will be indefinitely halted within hours, and the station's makeshift barricades won't hold if another panic wave hits.

3. Interrogating Roban the Murid (Social Encounter — Leads to Casino):

  • Roban is stationed behind the arrival customs desk, twitching at every loud crash from the mob and clutching his personal datapad close.
  • A DC 13 Sense Motive/Perception/Study check reveals Roban is sweating profusely and fidgeting with something heavy in his pocket. He clearly knows something dangerous and is terrified of getting caught.
  • Social Checks (DC 14 Diplomacy, DC 15 Bluff, or DC 16 Intimidate): (Note: Characters gain a +4 morale bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks if they helped Tessa. Also a +2 bonus if they can use Squeak Speak as a language)
  • Calming Roban, gets him to confess: That he witnessed a nervous young Aconian man (Valen) was waiting near arrivals when a hooded Aconian woman (Lady Kaelen) slipped off an unscheduled transport; the Aconian man handed Roban heavy, expensive chips from the Gilded Comet Casino to look the other way. Roban saw the pair head straight toward the upper promenade (which leads to the Gilded Comet Casino). He notes that the ship the Lady Kaelen stayed on for a night and then hurriedly left just a few hours ago off Pad 4. He points to it.

4. Hacking the Terminal & Roban's CYA Notes (Computer Use / Sleight of Hand — Leads to Smugglers):

  • While the official passenger manifest contains no record of Lady Kaelen, Roban's private encrypted dockhand terminal holds his personal CYA notes.
  • The terminal is open and easily accessible as long as someone can distract the easily distracted Roban. If the Players already know about Pad 4 from the Murid, they can see the ship in the arrival and departure schedules. See that it left from Pad 4 just a few hours ago. IT is called "The Ispan". They also notice that the Roban has personal, encrypted notes that were recently updated. They cannot read these notes without some trickery.
  • A DC 15 Computer Use check (or DC 14 Sleight of Hand to swipe his admin keycard) allows access to Roban's hidden sub-log. It reveals that an unregistered, battered light freighter named The Ispan made an emergency touchdown on Landing Pad 4 under a falsified gas-refinery delivery permit. Its transponder broadcast a rhythmic scrambled beacon code—a known underworld black-market signature. He notes both an unregistered female aconian departing and being paid with casion chips. He also notes that the ship is a well-known smuggler's ship and that its crew stayed overnight at the Smuggler's Den after quickly offloading its chemical cargo, probably to an illicit location. A DC15 Knowledge Current Events or Culture will bring to mind rumors regarding a Silo 13.

5. Forensics on Landing Pad 4 (Perception / Study — Red Herring Lead to Silo 13):

  • Once players identify Landing Pad 4 (via the terminal or scouting the disused berths), they can physically inspect the landing slip where the mystery freighter touched down.
  • A DC 15 Perception or DC 14 Study check reveals the pad is covered in thick, iridescent soot and smells pungently of raw, highly volatile unrefined comet gas. A hastily discarded, stained cargo strap next to the mooring clamp is labeled "Refinery Batch 88-Delta / Transfer to Silo 13" (leads to the red herring Silo 13). A DC10 Knowledge Current Events or Culture will cause the Players to know that there is no Silo 12, but a DC15 will bring to mind rumors of a secret black market Silo that is part of a partially abandoned part of the station next to the Silos. If the subject is brought up with Roban, only a DC18 Bluff or Intimidate check will succeed in revealing the same information.

Gilded Comet Casino (Upper Promenade)

Stepping through the pneumatic gold-trimmed doors of the Gilded Comet is a blinding shock to the senses. After navigating the dim, grease-stained corridors and metallic dread of the lower decks, the casino erupts in a dazzle of brilliant violet neon, amber holo-chandeliers, and the kinetic chime of hundreds of spinning roulette tables.

The air smells richly of expensive synth-tobacco, spiced wine, and ionized air filtration. But beneath the clinking crystal glasses and the roar of the high-stakes tables, the atmosphere is electric with an almost manic tension. The crowd here is split in two: wealthy mining executives and station elites laughing in VIP lounges, eagerly anticipating the imperial order an Aconian annexation might bring—and desperate, glassy-eyed Belters reckless with terror, pouring their life savings onto the green felt in a wild bid to forget the armada closing in on their home.

  • The Situation: Valen brought Lady Kaelen here straight from the docking bay, believing a loud, bustling luxury venue full of wealthy off-worlders was the ideal place to blend in and plan their next move. However, Kaelen's aristocratic constitution was never built for Belter fringe space; she suffered acute respiratory distress from breathing in toxic chemical fumes that leaked from the failing containment seals aboard the smuggler's gas-freighter.
  • Surroundings: Located along the station's Upper Promenade overlooking the glittering dust tail of the comet through reinforced panoramic viewing ports. Armed private casino enforcers in tailored black suits keep watch from elevated walkways, ensuring the dock panic never spills onto the gambling floor.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Sariela (Young Aconian Cocktail Waitress): A young Aconian woman working on Comet's Home carrying glowing drink trays between the high-roller booths. Being an Aconian herself, she immediately noticed Lady Kaelen's refined high-court dialect and delicate posture despite the heavy Belter coat she wore. She attended to the secluded VIP booth where Valen and Kaelen sat, witnessed Kaelen's violent chemical coughing fit, and heard Valen frantically asking where to find a discreet doctor.
  • Corvus (Lepidonain Pit Boss): An imposing Lepidonain with shimmering, iridescent scales, dressed in formal tailored vestments. He oversees the high-stakes tables with a sharp, predatory gaze, watching for card-counters, cheaters, and suspicious foreign currency.
  • Alux (Grayling Concierge / Floor Host): A fastidious, sharp-tongued Grayling in formal silks with a whirring cybernetic monocle that logs VIP reservations in real-time. He openly looks down on "crude Belter miners" and fawns over aristocratic off-worlders, eager to boast about high-society connections.

Player Options & Investigations:

1. Reading the Room & The Divided Crowd (Study / Knowledge / Perception):

  • A DC 12 Perception check notices the jarring emotional split across the floor: one half of the patrons are toasting glasses to "inevitable imperial stability," while the other half are drinking furiously and frantically doubling down on bets in sheer fatalistic panic.
  • A DC 13 Perception check spots the Computer systems behind the desk, which is currently occupied by Alux the Floor Host and owner. He looks busy, and you have just seen him arrive after dealing with a customer on the casino floor.
  • A DC 20 Perception check spots a fine silk handkerchief left crumpled under the booth cushion, stained with flecks of caustic chemical phlegm and smelling sharply of industrial gas additives. This is in Booth 14.
  • A DC 13 Study or DC 13 Knowledge (Culture) / Knowledge (Current Events) check reveals that several station oligarchs stand to make fortunes if the Aconian Empire takes over and crushes independent miner unions.

2. The Ailing Noble & The Aconian Waitress at Booth 14 (Social Encounter — Leads to Medical Clinic):

  • Sariela is circulating near Booth 14, scrubbing a spilled drink from the table where the couple was recently seated. She notes your arrival, and if the Players spot the handkerchief (DC 14 Perception) then she sees it too.
  • A DC 14 Diplomacy check (or tipping 50+ ISC) gets Sariela talking: NOTE: If the Players try in any way to intimidate her, the bouncer Corvus quickly comes over. If the Players fail a DC14 Bluff check, they cannot use Bluff or Diplomacy again, and Sariela will try to excuse herself and inform Corvus. Of the Players' off behavior.
  • She confirms that a young Aconian man and a heavily cloaked woman occupied Booth 14. Being Aconian, Sariela instantly recognized the woman's refined, high-court inflection. The woman was violently coughing, wheezing, and clutching her chest from chemical fume poisoning. The young man was frantic, asking where they could find a private doctor. Sariela pointed them toward the mid-deck clinic (leads to the Medical Clinic). She notes that while she doesn't know who the poor woman was, she knows the man is named Valen and that she saw him once before, years ago, with his father. She never forgets a face. All she knows is that his father is a merchant who deals with refined ore and chemicals.

3. Hacking Surveillance / Security Bouncer (Stealth / Computer Use / Sleight of Hand / Intimidate — Leads to Beltway Hab 42):

  • The casino's security hub is tucked behind a keycard-locked door near the cashier cage, monitoring high-definition feeds of all exits and service corridors. But the Casinos checkin computer and reception desk is manned only by Alux and may also more easily provide the information needed. However, getting to the computer console would instantly cause suspicion. This must be done with stealth, and at least Alux must be distracted.
  • A DC15 Stealth check is necessary. Gain advantage for each key character the Players can distract.
  • A DC 14 Computer Use check (or DC 15 Sleight of Hand to lift a security keycard) accesses the surveillance archives and recent customer records. It shows Valen supporting a coughing Kaelen. It shows that the Aconian man with Lady Kaelen is named Valen. And that his registered living quarters are located in Beltway Hab 42. The players need a security keycard from either Corvus or Alux.
  • The Mercenary Shadow: The footage also reveals a cloaked, armored figure in stealth webbing discreetly stepping into the following the two when they left.
  • A DC15 Computer Use or, if they have a security card and the player chooses to try to look for more information, note that two high-society Aconians are staying at the casino hotel, and one of them just checked in yesterday morning, just hours before Lady Kalean arrived. This person, Archon Vandar, was seen coming in with a large escort of security guards. One of which was the 'Mercenary Shadow'.

4. Interacting with Corvus, the security guard

  • This may be necessary to distract Corvus so the Players have an easier time accessing the computer terminals
  • A DC 15 Intimidate check on the service-door bouncer forces him to admit he let the young couple and their shadowy pursuer into the maintenance lifts heading toward the medical bay. But that he heard the man say that they were gonna go straight to his home in the Beltway Habs afterward. A Diplomacy or Bluff will not work on the bouncer. He finds the attempts amusing, and if the Player rolls too low (Below 10), he even mocks the player's sorry attempts.

5. Questioning Concierge Alux (Diplomacy / Bluff / Knowledge [Culture] — Red Herring Lead to Consulate Office):

  • Speaking with Alux about high-born Aconian nobles on Comet's Home. This may be necessary to distract the Alux from his reception desk.
  • A DC 14 Diplomacy or DC 13 Bluff check flatters Alux's high-class sensibilities or poses as an imperial diplomatic delegation:
  • Alux proudly boasts that the station is currently honored by the presence of a true imperial luminary residing in the grand luxury suite of the Consulate Office across the promenade, assuming that must be who the party is seeking (leads to the red herring Consulate Office). He mentions that he arrived just yesterday and believes that it must have to do with the missing Woman.

6. Optional: High-Stakes Gambling (Gamble / Sleight of Hand / Intelligence):

  • Players who want to blend in or win fast credits can wager ISC at the "Comet Roulette" table or test their wits against Pit Boss Corvus at high-stakes cards:
  • A player can wager 50 to 500 ISC and make a DC 20 Gamble/Charisma check for cards. A DC 20 Sleight of Hand check for the roulette table. Each time a Player wins, the DC goes up by +2.
  • Success: Double their wager and gain a +2 circumstance bonus on social checks with casino staff for looking like high-rollers.
  • Failure: Lose their wager.

The Smuggler's Den (The Underbelly)

Tucked deep inside a decommissioned water-reclamation vault on Sub-Level 8, the Smuggler’s Den—known locally as "The Siphon"—is a haze of noxious smoke, cheap fermented algae-liquor, and heavy industrial music that rattles the rusty deck plates. Tables fashioned from dented fuel drums are crowded with scarred asteroid scavengers, black-market brokers, and off-duty freight crews.

In a large corner booth, two rowdy, red-faced pirates are loudly slamming tin mugs against the table, slurring profanities and screaming at the ceiling about their coward captain who marooned them here when the armada news broke. Yet, for all the clinking glasses, shouting, and thumping music, the loud ruckus does nothing to hide the suffocating, paranoid tension hanging over the room—everyone is watching the shadows, clutching their sidearms, and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  • The Situation: The Ispan arrived the previous morning, secretly dropped off Lady Kaelen and its volatile gas canisters at Pad 4, and blasted out of the station in extreme panic the moment the Aconian fleet broadcasted its ultimatum. In his frantic rush to escape, the captain literally marooned two of his own crew members on the station.
  • The Conflict: The stranded crew are furious, roaring drunk, and loudly venting about their captain and the "hot cargo" VIP they ferried. Their loud mouths have attracted the attention of Archon Vandar’s undercover hitmen, who are circling the bar to silence or interrogate them.
  • Surroundings: An illicit, chaotic underworld den. The patrons are used to rough brawls, but the underlying threat of imperial invasion has put everyone on a hair-trigger.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Brant & Torg (Stranded Crew of The Ispan): Brant is a loud, burly Human deckhand; Torge is a disgruntled, one-eyed female Avisari rigger. Drunk, furious, and armed with heavy laser pistols, they are swearing bloody vengeance on their captain for ditching them.
  • Vandar’s Strike Mercenaries (Equal to the Number of Player Characters): Tight-lipped, professional hitmen in civilian stealth dusters with concealed kinetic pistols and shock-knives. (GM Note: Spawn 1 mercenary per player character to scale the combat encounter). Their mission is to eliminate anyone who can link The Ispan or Archon Vandar to Lady Kaelen’s arrival.
  • Danor (Old Aconian Bartender): A grizzled, cynical old Aconian expatriate who has lived on Comet's Home for decades. He has seen too many galactic wars to care about imperial politics, calmly wiping down the rusted counter while keeping a charged riot stun-baton within arm's reach.

Player Options & Investigations:

1. Entering the bar. Spotting the Ambush & Reading the Room (Perception / Study):

  • When entering the bar, the GM should ask the players for a Perception check.
  • DC 13 Perception: Characters spot the hitmen: figures in dark tactical dusters casually lingering near the pillars and exits, wearing concealed subdermal comms and slowly boxing in the drunken pirates' booth with hands hovering over their weapons.
  • A DC 14 Perception or DC 12 Diplomacy check with other patrons overhears a boastful Belter ship-mechanic laughing off the entire missing royal panic, loudly telling anyone who will listen that an immaculate, gold-crested Aconian royal transport is currently parked under heavy guard in private Hangar B, convinced the royal has been sitting on her own ship the whole time (leads to the red herring Hangar B).
  • A DC 13 Study or DC 13 Knowledge (Current Events) check reveals the mercenary gear matches high-end off-world private security contracts—far too professional to be local station roughnecks.

2. The Confrontation & The Inevitable Bar Fight:

  • Whether the players attempt to warn the pirates, question them directly, or stay back and watch, the confrontation quickly boils over into a chaotic bar fight as the mercenaries draw their weapons!
  • Social Intervention (DC 14 Diplomacy or Intimidate): A quick-thinking player can alert the pirates or cause a distraction, granting the party and the pirates a Tactical Opportunity Advantage.
  • The Brawl: Tables are flipped, glasses shatter, and patrons scramble for the doors. Brant and Torg throw heavy mugs and brawl wildly, while the mercenaries fight with lethal, cold precision.

3. Interrogating Brant & Torg (Social / Sense Motive — Leads to Beltway Hab 42):

  • Once the mercenaries are dealt with and Brant and Torg are calmed down (or pulled out of the brawl):
  • A DC 13 Diplomacy or DC 14 Intimidate check gets Brant or Torg, nursing wounds and grateful (or terrified), to spill what he knows:
  • Brant confesses that when The Ispan docked at Pad 4, their captain met a nervous young man (Valen) who escorted the hooded royal woman off the ship. Brant overheard Valen saying he secured a lower-deck hideout at Beltway Hab 42 (leads to Beltway Hab 42). If the Mercenaries were dealt with and the conversation with Brant or Torg is happening within the bar, another patron overhearing what they say chimed in: "If you crazy bastards are looking for that missing lass, you need to go to the Hangar B. She is there, I swear it. There is a fancy Aconian ship. It is heavily guarded. All these people are crazy; they don't know nuthin'. Crazy I say... crazy... she is right there... no mystery". He continues to mumble.

4. Searching the Mercenaries & Tactical Comms (Search — Leads to Refinery or Guilded Comet Casino):

  • Searching the downed hitmen after the brawl:
  • A DC 13 Perception check will reveal that a few casino chips are from the Guilded Comet Casino and Hotel. One also had a fancy-looking keycard that is obviously for a hotel room door at the Casino
  • A DC 14 Computer Use check (the players can try again by taking 20 to automatically succeed), cracks the encrypted military datapad found in the mercenary lead’s pocket. It reveals intercepted station security feeds and a real-time comm-link routing back to a mercenary squad coordinator operating out of the Refinery Control Room (leads to Refinery Control Room).

Mercenaries in Smugglars Den

  • Appearance: Under dirtied clocks is tactical gear tightly fitted over strong Acconian frames. On one side is a side arm and on the other is a tactical knife. They are armed for discreet close-quarters combat.
  • Size: Medium
  • AC: 14
  • DR: 1
  • Hit Die/HP: d8 / 15
  • Stats: Str 14/Dex 14/Con 12/Wis 10/Int 8/Cha 8
  • Initiative: 2
  • Locomotion: Bipedal
  • Feats: Point Blank Shot, Advanced Combat Techniques (Throw/Tackle)
  • Skills: Acrobatics 2d2, Athletics 2d2, Perception 2d2, Stealth 2d2, Disable Deveice 2d2, Knolwedge Culture 2d2, Intimidation 2d2
  • Items: Casino Chips from the Guilded Comet Casino, and a fancy-looking keycard to one of the hotel rooms
  • Attacks:

Medical Clinic (Mid-Deck)

The pressure doors of the Mid-Deck Medical Ward hiss open to a wave of cold, sterile air smelling of disinfectant, aerosolized antiseptic, and ozone. Overhead lighting strips flicker across mostly empty seats in a ward where injured asteroid miners with plasma burns and terrified Belters suffering panic attacks sit in a waiting.

Gliding smoothly across a recently cleaned and sterile-looking floor in a serpentine fashion is the pale-blue body of Dr. Merrill. With his upper pair of long, webbed arms, he expertly applies a dermal regenerator to a groaning miner, while his smaller secondary lower arms calmly calibrate a floating medical datapad and prepare a tray of hypo-syringes without missing a beat. A nurse, a human woman, comes out just as you enter the room. She looks and smiles in your direction before approaching a panicked-looking belter and handing a bottle of medicine off.

  • The Situation: Valen rushed Lady Kaelen here immediately after her collapse at the casino. She was treated for acute chemical overexposure caused by breathing toxic vapor from The Ispan's leaky containment seals. Valen paid in hard cash under a forged maintenance badge and quickly moved her out.
  • The Aftermath: Shortly after they left, a pair of Archon Vandar’s armed hitmen stormed into the clinic, aggressively demanding to see patient manifests. Dr. Merrill refused to break medical confidentiality, but the encounter left the entire staff on edge.
  • Surroundings: Located in Mid-Deck Sector 4, wedged between the residential corridors and life-support ducting. Medical alarms beep constantly, and exhausted triage droids roll between curtained cubicles.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Dr. Merrill (Cryous Chief Medical Officer): A pale-blue skinned Cryous physician whose four arms allow him to conduct triage and administrative logging simultaneously. Tenacious, pragmatic, and fiercely committed to his Hippocratic oath. His species' innate sensitivity to the electromagnetic spectrum makes him acutely observant of concealed technology and bio-signs.
  • Nurse Dax (Human Orderly): An exhausted, jumpy human triage nurse helping hand out medicine and do quick triage. She is working overtime because the other nurses have abandoned their work to try to leave the station.

Player Options & Investigations:

1. Social Encounter with Dr. Merrill (Social Encounter — Leads to Beltway Hab 42):

  • Dr. Merrill is initially defensive and cautious, fearing the party might be more mercenaries.
  • A DC 15 Diplomacy, or offering to help with a DC 20 Treat Injury check (or taking 20) calms Dr. Merrill down or earns his trust:
  • The Safehouse Clue: He confirms he treated a young, delicate Aconian woman suffering from severe chemical overexposure. Her partner (Valen) was terrified, paid upfront, and registered under a borrowed maintenance work permit assigned to Beltway Hab 42 (leads to Beltway Hab 42).
  • A DC 20 Intimidate check gets him to disclose the safehouse location, though his neck-gills flare with defensive bio-static and he demands the party leave immediately.
  • Dr Merrill has a +4 against any Bluff attempts as he is extra suspicious after the previous encounter with mercenaries.

2. Social Encounter with the Nurse Dax:

  • The nurse is busy and exhausted as well as on edge and defensive with anybody who is asking questions. She defers to the players. The Players can choose to help her by helping a new group of people who were trapped at the docks. A DC20 Treat Injury check or taking 20 will automatically gain both her trust and that of Dr. Merrill.

3. Snooping / Sneaking Around:

  • This can be done with advantage if other players are distracting the Dr and the Nurse. They can do this by helping triage or simply trying to discuss things.
  • A Stealth check will be necessary DC 15 Stealth. This allows 1 or more Characters to slip into the different rooms. There are 4 rooms. Each room takes 2 minutes to search with a Perception check. The room in question is Room 3, or the GM can have the Players roll a high/low to see if they get the right one. Once in the right one, a DC 13 Perception check is necessary to find the biohazard disposal bin that reveals a freshly discarded aerosol canister of "Aero-Tox Pulmo-Mist"—a specialized counter-agent for treating industrial chemical overexposure, consistent with The Ispan's toxic leak.
  • Armed with this knowledge, the Players can either find or interrogate the Dr or Nurse with this information. This grants Advantage on Intimidate checks but increases the DC for Diplomacy by +4. Otherwise, they can use this information to cross-reference it on a Medical Clinic computer to find out more about who was treated and where they are.

3. Hacking the Triage Terminal (Computer Use — Alternate Lead to Hab 42):

  • If the party avoids speaking to Dr. Merrill or wishes to verify the records:
  • A DC 15 Computer Use check hacks into the clinic's local prescription logs, pulling up the recent intake record for the chemical overexposure treatment and confirming the patient's billing was tied to Beltway Hab 42 (leads to Beltway Hab 42).

4. Tracking the Mercenaries (Perception / Diplomacy — Leads to Refinery):

  • Inquiring about the suspicious armed men who visited earlier:
  • A DC 13 Diplomacy check prompts Dr. Merrill to mention that two heavily armed off-worlders in tactical stealth gear barged in roughly thirty minutes ago. Thanks to his Cryous electromagnetic sensitivity, Merrill detected their high-frequency encrypted radio chatter and overheard them confirming they were heading to hijack the station's main surveillance grid from the Refinery Control Room (leads to Refinery Control Room).

5. Clinic Services & Restocking (Utility):

  • Purchasing Supplies: Players can buy a Medpack from Nurse Dax for 2,500 ISC. If the players successfully used Diplomacy with Dr. Merrill, they earn a 20% discount, reducing the cost to 2,000 ISC.
  • Medical Treatment: Any character injured from previous encounters can have Dr. Merrill tend their wounds, restoring 1d8+2 Hit Points. Each treatment costs 500 ISC and burns 1 hour of in-game time per treated player.

Refinery Control Room (Industrial Level)

The deafening roar of industrial ore centrifuges and hissing gas distillation towers fills the humid, hot air of the Refinery Station Module. Narrow metal catwalks with low safety railings span dizzying vertical drops over bubbling vats of superheated silicate slurry and glowing plasma conduits.

Perched high above the machinery is a reinforced glass control booth. Inside, the lights have been dimmed to soft red. Two armored Aconian mercenaries in heavy tactical gear and gas masks slung around their necks stand guard with QCB blasters drawn. Through the glass, you can barely make out shadows cast by the red glow, as it appears multiple people are moving around inside the booth.

  • The Situation: Archon Vandar’s tech squad stormed the refinery control booth, taking the station's engineering staff hostage to seize control of the local sensor network. Using military decryption algorithms, they triangulated Lady Kaelen’s emergency royal signet beacon to her safehouse in the slums. A capture team was already dispatched to snatch her, while the remaining tech crew maintains the station-wide camera blackout and scrubs the data logs.
  • Surroundings: Located on Industrial Sub-Level 3. The ambient noise of massive mining machinery provides ample acoustic cover, but the narrow catwalks and superheated steam valves make any confrontation perilous.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Operative Kael: A ruthless Aconian combat tech specialist equipped with a portable military slicing deck and an energized shock-pistol. Focused entirely on purging evidence and coordinating comms.
  • Vandar Strike Guards (Equal to Party Size - 1): Professional mercenaries in hardened tactical armor armed with heavy blasters and fragmentation flashbangs.
  • Chief Engineer Garr (Aconain Station Engineer): The bruised, bound chief refinery operator, desperate to save his facility from sabotage.

Once inside the booth:

On the ground lay several people in work uniforms, sitting on the floor, gagged and tied up. Among them is an Aconain with a uniform that shows he is likely the chief engineer.

In the center of this control room, several chairs and tables, along with miscellaneous containers and equipment, have been used to create a half-haphazard defensive barrier. Some sort of technology is active behind this makeshift barrier; it sits on the floor and is obscured. Only a slight bluish glow shows that something is there and active.

  • Player Options & Investigations:

1. Combat Options: (Stealth vs Direct Approach)

  • NOTE any character with a Profession of Engineer gains advantage on Perception, Study, and Disable Device checks while in this encounter.
  • A DC 11 Perception check reveals overhead ductwork and cable/pipe gantry. This leads directly onto the central control room. (If a Player is an Engineer, then the GM can inform them without a Check).
  • A DC 14 Perception check reveals that there are 3 people moving around inside of the control room. So a total of 5 possible combatants.
  • A DC 16 Perception check reveals a pressure manifold that is out of sight of the guards that, if pushed 'wrongly ', will cause superheated gas to vent in the direction of the guards.
  • A DC 15 Study check or taking 20 will reveal that the guards are taking shifts. And that as long as they are not suspicious of the Players yet, they are relaxed, and when switching out with two guards from within the control room. When they switch places, there is a minute when nobody is standing guard. The players can simply wait till the next change-up.
  • A DC 13 Athletics check as well as an Opposing Stealth check is necessary to climb onto the overhead maintenance gantry.
  • If the Players attempt to walk up to the guards pretending to be engineers, the guards will flash their guns and attempt to tell the Players off. The Players can use Bluff, but Diplomacy and Intimidation will not work. If Intimidation is attempted, no matter the roll, the guards will simply start combat. Diplomacy is ignored, and the players are told to leave immediately; if they do not comply, then combat starts.
  • Bluff can be used to distract the guards, resulting in the Stealth roles being against the guards' passive perception. The guards cannot be tricked into leaving, but they may be convinced to let one of the 2 guards enter to bring their superior out to deal with the Players.
  • A DC 14 Disable Device or DC 14 Craft Mechanical check overrides a nearby steam manifold, venting superheated vapor onto the guards'. The guards must roll a Dex saving throw on DC 14 or take 1d4 Thermal Damage. The Players gain Advantage (+1Ad) on Bluff if they are pretending to be coming to repair the valve or on accuracy checks during the first round of combat.

2. Combat Enemy Tactics

  • Firstly, combat is inevitable in this situation. The enemy will not betray their Archon Lord Vandar. They are ordered to kill anyone who gets in their way, and they do not feel worried about these deep-space belters.
  • If the Players approach or directly confront the two guards, then the guards' first action is to fire defensively (not directly aiming at the players) and run into the protection of the Control Room.
  • If the Players are able to approach while the guards are switching posts (Requires a DC 15 Study check), then the Players can sneak a peek inside the Control Booth. Read the flavor text for 'Once inside the booth'. Also, if the Players can sneak up top, they can peer inside through a top hatch. Read the same text. A Player can roll a Knowledge Science or Technology DC 15 check to identify this technology as a small shield emitter.
  • Combat starts the moment the Players enter the room if it hasn't started already. The enemy combatants will all attempt to enter the barrier. If Operative Kael is not directly taking damage, he will drag the Chief Engineer with him as a possible hostage.
  • Kael is an Electro-Mancer and will try to use the Techniques from within the protection of the barrier. While the other mercenaries will fight to the death, if he is the last one standing, he will try to surrender by using the Chief Engineer as a hostage.
  • All the Mercenaries will focus on ranged weapons, but they will also launch poison gas grenades that obscure vision while they wear gas masks.

3. Information / Interrogation:

  • The hired mercenary guards will not give up any information if they are kept alive. They resist all intimidation. However, not so for Kael. If he is alive, he will attempt to trade information for his life. He will tell the Players that Archon Vandar somehow knows about Lady Kaelen's kidnapping. That they have retrieved her from the slums and she is being escorted to a waiting ship at Cargo Bay 9 (leads directly to Cargo Bay 9).
  • The prisoners are also extra happy to be freed and while they do not know all the details, they do know 'they' as in the mercenaries found what they where looking for, prosumably the missing royal and have taking the 'target' to Cargo Bay 9 (leads directly to Cargo Bay 9).
  • If somehow everyone is dead, including the captives, then the Players can check the computer systems with a DC 14 Computer Use or with a Perception check DC 12 to find Kael's key card to unlock the computer system and find the same information.
  • Kael's computer logs also reveal more information. A direct order, coded personally by Archon Vandar: "Lady Kaelen is secured. Move her to Cargo Bay 9. Execute the merchant boy Valen and broadcast the station distress beacon the moment Prince Jarek's vanguard drops out of warp. Kill anyone who may know what has transpired. The imperial annexation must proceed without loose ends."

4. Freeing Chief Engineer Garr (Social / Utility):

  • Untying Garr and restoring control of the refinery earns the crew his immense gratitude.
  • He promises to send his trusted crew to personally tell the Station's governmental body. He patches into your personal comms and gives you access to the quickest way to Bay 9 with his personal Industrial Master Bypass Fob. He will radio in when he gets access to the camera feed.

Mercenaries in Refinery Control Room

  • Appearance: These Aconians are not trying to hide their military appearance. They are in full-body tactical gear and armor, brandishing weapons that are unholstered and ready to be aimed and fired. They wear gas masks slung under their necks and a bandolier holding ammo and grenades of some fashion.
  • Size: Medium
  • AC: 14
  • DR: 1
  • Hit Die/HP: d8 / 15
  • Stats: Str 14/Dex 14/Con 12/Wis 10/Int 8/Cha 8
  • Initiative: 2
  • Locomotion: Bipedal
  • Feats: Bazooka Arm, Advanced Combat Techniques (Throw/Tackle)
  • Skills: Acrobatics 2d2, Athletics 2d2, Perception 2d2, Stealth 2d2, Disable Deveice 2d2, Knolwedge Culture 2d2, Intimidation 2d2
  • Items: Grenades 1x Choke-Gase Grenade and 1x Cloud Grenade, 1 Health Concation Syringe 2d8,
  • Attacks:

Kael Merc Lutieniuet

  • Appearance: This person, while dressed in a similar fashion to the other Mercenaries, also appears to have some electronics embedded into his body, and sometimes his movement appears faster, and a light blue flow comes from under parts of his skin.
  • Size: Medium
  • AC: 14
  • DR: 1E
  • Hit Die/HP: d8 / 15
  • Stats: Str 14/Dex 16/Con 12/Wis 10/Int 12/Cha 8
  • Initiative: 3
  • Locomotion: Bipedal
  • Feats/Talents: Technique, Novice, Advanced Combat Techniques (Throw/Tackle), Electrified Movement
  • Skills: Acrobatics 2d2, Athletics 2d2, Perception 2d2, Stealth 2d2, Disable Deveice 2d2, Knolwedge Culture 2d2, Intimidation 2d2
  • Items: 1 Health Concation Syringe 2d8,
  • Attacks:
  • Melee: Superior Steal Knife: Accuracy: 1d20 + d2 + 3, Damage: d6 + 2 (K) x2/18-20
  • Ranged: Tactical Laser Pistol: Accuracy: 1d20 + d2 + 4, Damage: d8 + AP1 (T)
  • Ranged: Laser Shotgun: Accuracy: 1d20 + d2 + 3, Damage: Pellet 30ft (Area of Effect 30ft) Slug 900ft - 1d12 (T)
  • Techniques:
  • Adsorb Power: Draw energy from a massive power source to replenish yourself.
  • Electrified Trap: Imbue a conductive object with a high-voltage charge.
  • Electric Nade: Form and hurl a ball of condensed lightning. Deals 1d8 Electric damage (5ft Radius)

Beltway Hab 42 (Lower Habitation)

This encounter varies depending on how much the Players have already done. The first section of flavor text and then one of the following sections based on conditions.

The lower residential tier of Beltway Habitation, or Hab for short, is a dim, claustrophobic labyrinth of corrugated metal bulkheads, flickering lights, and exposed pipes with faded warning labels explaining extreme heat or cold. The narrow corridor is deathly quiet—save for the low hum of life-support ventilators.

Outside Hab 42, you immediately see the magnetic door has been violently blown off its track and lies crumpled against the far wall.

  • If the Players have finished either Smuggler's Den and/or Medical Clinic then read the following.

As you step near the entryway, the sharp stench of scorched wiring and fresh plasma discharge hits your nose. Inside, the cramped living space has been torn apart: furniture is smashed, detritus litters the floor. It is a two-bedroom apartment. The living space and kitchenette are part of the main room you enter first. The door to the bedroom is left ajar, and a soft glow of lamplight comes through the crack in the doorway.

  • If the Players have only completed Customs & Arrival Port and Gilded Comet Casino. (exclude non-primary PoIs)

As you step near the entryway, you hear noises of movement inside. Hushed voices are talking.

  • The Situation: Valen rented Hab 42 in the Belthway under a forged maintenance permit as a temporary safehouse while he and Lady Kaelen attempted to arrange an off-station escape transport. If the Players come directly from the Guilded Comet without completing other primary PoIs, then while Lady Kaelen has already been moved, there are a few mercenaries left. They are the 'cleanup crew' and they are scrubbing the room of any possible links to Archon Vandar as well as setting traps. If the Players have already encountered other primary PoIs such as the Medical Clinic or Smuggler's Den, then the place has been abandoned, and the traps have been set; Vandar is bleeding out and is moments from death.
  • The Ambush: Archon Vandar’s strike team tracked Valen and Kaelen here, breached the door with breaching charges, subdued Valen with lethal force, and dragged Lady Kaelen away to Cargo Bay 9. They left Valen for dead, stuffed in a locker. They also left a nasty trap both on the door and in the room just in case he survives and tries to escape, or someone else comes and gets him before he bleeds out.
  • Surroundings: Located on Lower Habitation Sub-Level 6. The surrounding Belter residents are terrified, locking themselves inside their pods and ignoring the chaos.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Valen (Merchant’s Son & Key Plot Witness): A young, handsome Aconian merchant's son, currently unconscious, concussed, and actively bleeding out from severe wounds. When stabilized, he provides the central plot twist: Archon Vandar orchestrating the fake runaway and betrayal to justify annexation.
  • Nervous Neighbor (Hab 43): A frightened elderly couple that are retired belt miners peeking through the reinforced viewport of the neighboring unit.

Player Options & Investigations:

1. Entering before the 'Cleaning Crew' are finished (Combat):

  • The moment the two mercenaries doing 'clean up' see you, they open fire. There is no negotiation.
  • If the Players choose to sneak up on the mercenaries with opposing Stealth checks and succeed, the Mercs talk about hurrying up because the 'target' has been sent to the Cargo Docks (leads to Cargo Bay 9) and that once the boss knows the target is secure he is gonna signal the fleet to hurry up. And they do not want to be left behind. They also debate whether Valen is already dead.
  • Mercenary combatants have the same stats as the Mercenaries in Refinery Control Room.

2. Entering after the 'Cleaning Crew' have left (Traps):

  • DC 9 Perception check. A fight with deadly weapons happened here and not that long ago. It looks like at least 4 people entered forcefully and surrounded someone or someones.
  • DC 10 Perception check. You notice someone peeking through their window on the other side of the walkway in Hab 43. They see you enter and try to quickly hide by closing the shutters again.
  • DC 13 Perception check shows a few fresh droplets of blood on the ground heading towards a locked cabinet.
  • DC 15 Perception check for all the damage; it appears that this place has been scrubbed clean. You can tell something happened here, but there is nothing left behind to find. Nothing that could point to anybody. You get the feeling this place was cleaned of evidence. You bet that not even a hair from whoever did this could be found here.
  • DC 20 Perception check: you notice the trap set in the doorway into the bedroom area.
  • DC 17 Perception or Study check on the locker itself can be done to determine if the Locker room door is trapped.
  • DC 17 Perception or Study check on the doorway into the bedroom itself to determine if it is trapped.
  • DC 16 Disable Device or Demolitions to disable the device and open the Locker door.

3. Saving Valen's Life (Treat Injury AND Diplomacy):

  • Players must perform both a medical stabilization check and a Diplomacy check to help Valen:
  • Step 1: Stabilizing the Wounds (DC 20 Treat Injury): Valen is in critical condition, unconscious, and dying. A player must succeed on a DC 20 Treat Injury check to stop the hemorrhage and revive him.
  • Taking 20 (Time Trade-Off): A player may choose to Take 20 on this check to guarantee success, but doing so takes 20 minutes of in-game time—a critical cost with the Aconian fleet rapidly approaching orbital strike range.
  • Step 2: Calming & Interrogating (DC 13 Diplomacy Once conscious, Valen wakes up in a state of wild panic and grief, screaming for Kaelen and trying to reach for nonexistent weapons. Calming him down gets him to reveal the entire conspiracy:
  • Valen tells his story:

It was Archon Vandar... he secretly contacted me weeks ago, offering money, forged credentials, and information to help Kaelen escape her arranged marriage to Prince Jarek! He has dealings with my father and knows that Kaelen and I have eyes for each other. She stayed at Vandar's estate for several summer seasons. Those were wonderful summers... But Vandar is a crooked liar! It was all a setup, one he knew I would stupidly fall for! His strike team stormed in here... they shot me and dragged Kaelen to the Cargo Docks. They were gonna leave me to die, rig the place to blow to ensure no evidence remained. It was all staged to make it look like a heroic 'rescue' of Kaelen, and blame people on the station for her kidnapping to give Prince Jarek justification to annex Comet's Home! For Acanian, under Archon Vandar's rule, no doubt!

  • The Crucial Evidence: Valen tells the party he hid a backup of his Personal Encrypted Datapad, containing the direct message logs, bank transfers, and safehouse blueprints provided to him by Archon Vandar—irrefutable proof of Vandar's treason. It is well hidden but would probably have been destroyed in the blast.

4. Interviewing the Neighbor (Social):

  • Knocking on Hab 42 or questioning the irate elderly couple:
  • A DC 14 Diplomacy check with the neighbor gets them to open the latch slightly and angrily admit seeing four heavily armed mercenaries in gray tactical armor dragging a hooded woman into a Freight Elevator roughly twenty minutes ago. The elderly couple argues about what they could have done. They note that the Freight Elevator's computer terminal is easily accessible and that someone with "half a brain" could retrieve today's logs. Nobody used the Elevator in hours because everyone who would have had to rush to the Customs departure port. In the hopes of "Getting off this can".
  • A DC 12 Computer Use check can be used to get the logs of the Freight Elevator and inform the Players that roughly 20 minutes ago it picked up 'Freight' here and dropped it off at Cargo Bay 9.

Cargo Bay 9 (Climax)

Bay 9 is a colossal, vaulted freight bay surrounded by towering stacks of magnetized shipping containers, suspended gantry cranes, and the deep, sub-audible hum of atmospheric force-field emitters holding back the cold vacuum of space. Through the massive transparent bay doors, a jagged comet tail stretches into the stars—where Prince Jarek’s incoming fleet will soon be arriving.

Parked on the central landing pad is an unmarked, black-armored stealth transport with its sub-light engines whining during warm-up. Tied up next to a heavy cargo crate near the boarding ramp is Lady Kaelen, her eyes staring daggers at the mercenary commander barking orders. Beside her, a deep space comms terminal, ready to transmit a signal that will seal the station’s doom.

Archon himself is nowhere to be seen. Only the Mercenary commander and 2 guards around Lady Kaelen, as well as one guard in a different uniform at the entryway to the ship.

  • The Situation: Archon Vandar’s team is preparing to extract Lady Kaelen. Their plan is to board their stealth shuttle and transmit a false emergency beacon to Prince Jarek’s fleet claiming Belter extremists executed Valen and kidnapped Kaelen—giving the Prince the casus belli to open fire and occupy Comet's Home.
  • The Looming Clock: The Aconian Armada is already entering orbital range. The party has mere minutes to stop the broadcast, secure Kaelen, and decide the station's fate.


  • Key NPCs:
  • Lady Kaelen (Aconian Royal): A fierce, proud noblewoman. Bound in energy restraints, but furious at Vandar's betrayal and ready to fight the moment she is freed.
  • Mercenary Commander Drake (Vandar’s Elite Enforcer): A heavily cyberized mercenary commander in powered combat armor equipped with a heavy plasma carbine, personal kinetic shielding, and a wrist-mounted shock blade.
  • Mercenaries (Equal to Party Size): Hardened mercenaries providing covering fire behind reinforced freight crates.
  • Archon Vandar's Personal Guard: A hard-looking Arconian male that appears to possess some military guard cybernetic augmentations.


Dynamic Entry Points & Tactical Paths:

  • Path A: Ground Assault / Infiltration (Arriving from Beltway Hab 42):
  • The party emerges from Freight Elevator 9 directly onto the lower deck among rows of magnetized cargo containers and automated forklift drones.
  • Tactical Advantage (The Evidence of Betrayal): If the party stabilized Valen and carries his Personal Encrypted Datapad, they have direct proof of Vandar's conspiracy. If a stabilized Valen accompanies the party, Lady Kaelen spots him immediately. Her morale surges, and she distracts the guards by actively kicking her guard during Round 1, granting the party Advantage (+1Ad) on stealth for a surprise round.
  • Path B: High-Ground Infiltration (Arriving from Refinery Control Room):
  • The party emerges from the Overhead Maintenance Gantries 30 feet above the cargo floor, overlooking the entire bay.
  • Tactical Advantage (Environmental Overrides): With Chief Engineer Garr's Industrial Master Bypass Fob, a character is aware of an Engineer Terminal for this Cargo Bay located in the Maintenance Gantries. Access and use the console (DC 10 Computer Use):
  • Crane Drop: Drop a 5-ton cargo container directly between the mercenaries and the shuttle, instantly crushing one mercenary.
  • Atmospheric Lockdown / Blackout: Kill the bay lights to plunge the dock into darkness (granting total concealment to stealthy characters), granting the party Advantage (+1Ad) on stealth for a surprise round.
  • Shuttle Magnetic Landing Clamps: override the shuttle’s magnetic landing clamps to prevent it from taking off.


Combat Resolution:

  • Once combat starts, the Commander will order one of his men to grab Lady Kealen and take her, kicking and screaming, into the ship. He orders the other guard, if still alive, to finish the transmission. The Archon's Personal guard is a Shield Splicer who will use his abilities to buff the mercenaries while ensuring no one gets onto the ship.
  • After the first full round (not surprise round), more mercenaries come out of the ship. The total amount of mercenaries in combat should be equal to the number of Players -1. This would include the merc that got crushed if the Players use the crane.
  • Once the mercenary is done stowing away the Lady or is otherwise unable to complete that order, they return to the fight.
  • If nobody was able to start the transmission after round 1, then during round two Commander Drake will order one of the new mercenaries from the ship to complete the task if the transmitter hasn't been destroyed.
  • If the battle seems to be going badly, as in more than 1/2 the Mercenaries are dead, or Drake is killed, Archon Vandar will order the shuttle to be launched regardless of whether the transmitter has been set. The players will notice the engines warm up, sounding more aggressive. They will have 2 rounds to get onboard the ship at that point.
  • The transmitter is set to the Prince Jarek personal comms in the fleet. If a Player gets a chance to inspect the transmitter, a DC 12 Perception check will tell them that they could use this to directly contact the Prince. Note: Players should know that the only other way to contact the Prince directly is via the Herald Malakor if they meet him.

The Three Story Resolutions:

  • Option A: Expose the Archon (but hides the Lady Kaelen and Valen:
  • Using the transmitter from the Cargo Bay (or Herald Malakor's ship channel), the party streams Valen's datapad logs and/or Vandar's recorded orders directly to Prince Jarek’s flagship as the fleet surrounds the station.
  • Result: Prince Jarek halts the orbital bombardment, publicly arrests Archon Vandar for high treason, and withdraws the armada. The party commandeers the stealth transport, loading Kaelen and Valen aboard and launching into the outer rim before the blockade closes. The lovers escape together into deep space. The station faces temporary imperial occupation and heavy fines.
  • Option B: Yield to the Empire (expose Archon and hand over Lady Kaelen, and optionally Valen):
  • The party defeats the mercenaries and hands Lady Kaelen over to Prince Jarek either when the imperial landing craft touches down or via Herald Malakor
  • Result: Prince Jarek publicly arrests Archon Vandar for high treason. The station is spared military destruction and granted generous trade concessions, but Kaelen is forced to marry Prince Jarek, and Valen is arrested for treason unless the party uses their influence to help him flee.

Mercenaries in Cargo Bay 9

Mercenary Commander Drake

  • Appearance: He wears a small but noticeable badge indicating him as the leader of this troop and mission commander. Other than that, he looks just like the rest of the merc crew.
  • Size: Medium
  • AC: 14
  • DR: 1
  • Hit Die/HP: d10 / 18
  • Stats: Str 12/Dex 14/Con 12/Wis 14/Int 8/Cha 8
  • Initiative: 4
  • Locomotion: Bipedal
  • Feats/Talents: Advanced Combat Techniques (Throw/Tackle), Tactical Shift, Leader of the Troops
  • Skills: Acrobatics 2d2, Athletics 2d2, Perception 2d2, Stealth 2d2, Disable Deveice 2d2, Knolwedge Culture 2d2, Intimidation 2d2
  • Items: 4x Health Concation Syringe 2d8,
  • Attacks:
  • Techniques:
  • Steadfast: Help allies maintain their focus and composure.
  • Spotter: Track an enemy's movement to guide an ally's aim. You spend your action to focus on a specific target. One designated ally ignores all range penalties and concealment against that target for 1 round.

Archon's Personal Guard

  • Appearance: This hard-looking male Acconain sets himself apart by wearing distinct clothing that appears to be some sort of uniform. The sigil of Vandar's House is on the armor, and a short green cape flows off the shoulders with the family symbol on the back as well. However, where there is exposed skin, there is a sign of some augmentation.
  • Size: Medium
  • AC: 14
  • DR: 1
  • Hit Die/HP: d10 / 23
  • Stats: Str 12/Dex 12/Con 16/Wis 14/Int 8/Cha 8
  • Initiative: 3
  • Locomotion: Bipedal
  • Feats/Talents: Akimbo Specialist, Self Shielded (7 Tmp HP), Sense Shield, Selfless Shield (7 Tmp HP),
  • Skills: Athletics 2d2, Perception 2d2, Sense Motive 2d2, Knolwedge Culture 2d2, Intimidation 2d2, Medical 2d2
  • Items: 1x Health Concation Syringe 2d8, Medical Kit +1
  • Attacks:
  • Techniques:
  • Shield Bullet: Shoot a small concentration of force at a target. Range (35ft) Touch Attack Accuracy 1d20 + d2 + 1, Damage: 1d2+4
  • Friction Field: Increase local gravity to hinder movement. You target a single 5ft square within 60ft. That square is considered Difficult Terrain for 1 minute.
  • Imbue Weapon: Coat a weapon in a high-frequency vibrating field. Weapon deals an additional 1d6 (K) for 4 rounds

Red Herring Locations

Silo 13 (Gas Silos - Red Herring)

The catwalks of the abandoned Fuel Storage Module rattle underfoot as massive cryogenic pumps thrum deep within the station's structural ribs. Giant, frost-covered spherical silos loom out of the shadows, wrapped in a labyrinth of hissing high-pressure pipes and flickering yellow hazard beacons.

The air here is freezing cold and stinks of volatile fuel. Through the chemical fog, sparks shower down from an exposed manifold where several shadowy figures in pressurized welding masks are frantically wrenching open an emergency siphon valve. At the sound of your footsteps on the metal grate, the figures freeze—and slug-pistols snap directly toward you.

  • The Situation: Players followed the chemical soot and the discarded "Refinery Batch 88-Delta / Transfer to Silo 13" tag from Landing Pad 4, or were tracking the illicit fuel containers offloaded from The Ispan, suspecting Kaelen was stashed in the fuel silos.
  • The Reality: There are no royals or fugitives here. Silo 13 is the site of a frantic, illicit fuel-siphoning operation run by desperate Belter wildcat miners stealing station gas to power their own escape craft before the Aconian blockade hits.
  • The Time Cost (Time-Wasters): Navigating the freezing labyrinth of industrial conduits, defusing the armed standoff, and inspecting the fuel tanks burns 1.5 to 2 hours of precious in-game investigation time before the fleet arrives.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Farek (Cryous Wildcat Miner): A hulking, four-armed female Cryous Belter covered in frost-resistant work overalls, wielding a heavy industrial spanner and a primed rivet gun. Stressed, defensive, and desperate to secure enough fuel for his crew and family to flee the system.

Player Options & Investigations:

1. De-escalating the Armed Standoff (Social Encounter):

  • Farek's crew is on hair-trigger alert, assuming the players are station security or corporate enforcers sent to seize their stolen fuel.
  • A DC 14 Diplomacy check calms Farek down and convinces him that the party doesn't care about stolen fuel and is only tracking a missing person.
  • A DC 14 Intimidate check out-muscles Farek with an aggressive show of force, causing the wildcatters to lower their weapons and back away from the valve.
  • A DC 13 Bluff check convinces the miners that the party is off-duty inspectors willing to turn a blind eye.

2. Questioning Farek & The Reality (No Clues / Dead End):

  • If the players ask about The Ispan, the Pad 4 cargo, or missing Aconian nobles:
  • Farek spits onto the frosted grate and laughs bitterly: "Royals? Down in the freezing muck of Silo 13? You're out of your minds. The Ispan brought in three leaky, half-sealed containers of raw volatile gas to Pad 4 earlier. Our crew bought the lot off a black-market broker on the spot—everyone down here is frantic for whatever fuel they can get before the armada seals the sector. I was right here when we hauled the tanks in. It was just dirty, leaking gas cylinders and coughing dockhands. Nobody saw any fancy royals."
  • A DC 13 Perception or DC 13 Study check confirms the open silo contains only half-filled tanks of volatile liquid gas and siphoning hoses—zero signs of any passengers, disguises, or royal presence.

2. Optional Combat:

  • If combat happens, the smugglers will try to run if 1/2 or more fall.

3. The Payoff:

  • If combat doesn't happen, Farek offers the party old gas masks they have spare.
  • If combat does happen, the Players find weapons, gas masks, and 400ISK on the bodies.

Smuggulars

  • Appearance: Ragged and dirted clothes cover a variety of shaped bodies. A ragtag team of different peoples working together for survival or just for money. They have plasma cutters or containers in their hands. Pistols on their sides, and gas masks hanging from their necks.
  • Size: Medium
  • AC: 14
  • DR: 0
  • Hit Die/HP: d8 / 15
  • Stats: Str 12/Dex 14/Con 12/Wis 10/Int 8/Cha 8
  • Initiative: 2
  • Locomotion: Bipedal
  • Feats: Point Blank Shot
  • Skills: Perception 2d2, Computer Use 1d2, Stealth 2d2, Disable Deveice 2d2, Knolwedge Culture 2d2, Intimidation 2d2
  • Items: Gase Mask, Plasma Torch
  • Attacks:
  • Farek is a Smuggler but has a few changes to his Character.
  • AC: 15
  • Initiative: 3
  • Locomotion: Serpentine
  • Attacks:
  • Ranged: Corrosive Shotgun: Accuracy 1d20 + 4, Damage: 1d12 + 1 x2/19-20 (C) (It deals Chemical damage and gains 'Linger' - 1d4 for 1d3 rounds)

Consulate Office (VIP Suites, Gilded Comet - Red Herring)

The top floor of the Gilded Comet Casino is a secluded enclave of silent, deep-pile crimson carpeting, soft ambient brass lighting, and polished synth-mahogany doors inlaid with gilded Aconian sunburst crests. Brass memorial plaques along the wood-paneled hallway proudly commemorate the "Consulate's Quarters"—a lingering title from centuries past.

Unlike the chaotic, smoke-filled gambling halls below, this corridor is deathly quiet. But as you step toward the high-end suites, the silence is broken by a muffled crash and frantic shrieking coming from one set of double doors, while the neighboring grand suite stands chillingly ajar in total darkness.

  • The Backstory: Centuries ago, when Comet's Home was first constructed, an Aconian imperial ambassador arrived to negotiate trade treaties. The station lacked formal diplomatic housing, so the ambassador was put up in the casino's penthouse. He loved the games, drinks, and luxury so much that he flatly refused to leave even after a proper embassy was built. Ever since, the casino's ultra-luxury VIP wing has been traditionally known as the "Consulate Office".
  • The Reality: There are several private suites on this floor, but the party only has time and access to investigate two specific suites:
  1. Suite 101 (The Grand Imperial Suite): Checked out to Archon Vandar, a high-ranking Aconian dignitary who covertly arrived with a heavily armed squad officially registered as his "private security" ahead of Prince Jarek’s armada.
  2. Suite 104 (The Diplomatic Suite): Occupied by Envoy Cassian, a pompous, low-ranking trade delegate dealing with a domestic crisis.
  • The Time Cost (Time-Wasters): Thoroughly clearing, tossing, and investigating both suites burns 1 hour of time.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Envoy Cassian (Aconian Trade Delegate): A vain, cowardly bureaucrat in ruffled silks and a powdered wig-crest who is on the station merely to audit silicate tariffs. Completely self-absorbed and oblivious to the broader political crisis, assuming any visitors are emergency hotel staff sent to rescue his room.
  • "Nibbles" (Exotic Void-Ferret): Cassian's hyperactive, six-legged indigo alien pet, currently terrorizing Suite 104.

Player Options & Investigations:

1. Suite 101: Archon Vandar’s Abandoned Staging Room (Perception / Study):

  • Stepping into the grand suite reveals a luxurious penthouse that was recently used as an operational staging post and abandoned in extreme haste.
  • A DC 13 Perception check finds heavy boot scuffs. And what appears to be weapon crates, empty tactical ration packs, and other containers commonly used to hold ammo and tactical gear.
  • A DC 15 Perception or Study see check baggage tags with names on it.
  • The Discovery: The suite was registered to Archon Vandar, accompanied by an elite squad logged on paper as his "private security detail." The registration stamps reveal they arrived on the station just prior to the emergency broadcast—a remarkably suspicious arrival time that predates the official fleet mobilization. A Knowledge Culture, Current Events, or History check DC15 will reveal too the Players that Archon Vandar is an Anconian Archon (a form of Lord or Nobleman) of a neighboring series of systems that is the edge of the Anconian-controlled space. He and his father before him tried to annex this system in the past, when the Anconians were an Empire. Now he does lots of trade and brings wealth to the system.

2. Suite 104: Envoy Cassian & The Void-Ferret Chase (Skill Encounter):

  • Entering the neighboring suite reveals Envoy Cassian standing atop a velvet sofa with his robes hitched up, screaming in terror as his exotic six-legged void-ferret darts across ceiling chandeliers, knocking over antique vases and shredding silk tapestries.
  • Cassian refuses to speak until his pet is caught:
  • A DC 14 Acrobatics or Athletics check leaps across furniture to cut off the ferret as it darts along high curtain rods.
  • A DC 15 Survival or Sleight of Hand check corners the agile beast behind an overturned credenza or lures it into an emergency carrier with luxury sweetmeats.
  • Questioning Cassian (No Clues / Dead End):
  • Once calmed with a glass of synth-wine, Cassian scoffs at any mention of Lady Kaelen: "Lady Kaelen? On this dreary mining rock? Absolute nonsense! If a royal of the Old Dynasty were here, the Imperial Protocol Directorate would have requisitioned this entire floor weeks ago. I am merely auditing silicate tariffs! I know nothing of runaways or conspirators."
  • A Sense Motive check confirms he is an utterly clueless bureaucrat.

3. The Payoff (Reward):

  • Relieved and grateful for the rescue of his prized pet, Cassian rewards the party with an Ornate Aconian Silk Sash (a luxury accessory worth 400 ISC that grants Advantage +1AD on social checks with high-society Aconians) and 1000 ISC.

Hangar B (Herald's Vessel - Red Herring)

Beyond the heavy magnetic airlock of Private Hangar B, the grime of the mining station gives way to a spotless, white-enameled executive berth. Resting atop magnetic landing struts is a sleek, chrome-hulled Aconian courier yacht. Its polished hull gleams under brilliant white spotlights, embossed with the gold-leaf crest of Prince Jarek’s royal house.

Two armored imperial sentries in ceremonial crimson cuirasses stand at attention at the bottom of the boarding ramp, their kinetic halberds gleaming and visor optics scanning the gantry. Through the yacht’s illuminated cockpit viewport, a rigid figure in high-collared diplomatic robes can be seen pacing back and forth, dictating into a holographic recording terminal.

  • The Situation: Players followed rumors from the Smuggler's Den that an ornate Aconian royal transport is docked in Hangar B, suspecting Lady Kaelen might be hiding aboard her own vessel.
  • The Reality: The vessel does not belong to Kaelen. It is the personal courier ship of Herald Malakor, the formal envoy dispatched by Prince Jarek to deliver the official martial law declaration and demand the station's unconditional surrender once the fleet arrives.
  • The Time Cost (Time-Wasters): Infiltrating the private hangar, bypassing or deceiving the elite guards, and searching the ship's comms logs burns 1.5 to 2 hours of precious in-game time without providing any clues to Lady Kaelen's current hideout.
  • Key NPCs:
  • Herald Malakor (Prince Jarek’s Royal Envoy): A stern, haughty Aconian herald with rigid posture, wearing gold-embroidered formal heraldic robes. Completely loyal to Prince Jarek. He genuinely believes Lady Kaelen was violently abducted by Belter terrorists and views everyone on the station as mutinous conspirators.
  • Imperial Honor Guards (2 Sentries): Disciplined, stoic Aconian palace guards in heavy armor equipped with stun-halberds and sidearms.
  • Player Options & Investigations:
  • DC 13 Perception check informs the Players that these guards are extremely well armed and armored. While fancy and ceremonial-looking, they are also practical.
  • DC 16 Perception check: the Ship is also equally deadly. While at a glance it appears to be a civilian yacht, it is extremely well-armed and armored, much like the fancy garments worn by the Knights guarding it.

1. Gaining Access to the Hangar (Stealth / Social):

  • The boarding ramp is secured by the two honor guards and a biometric gangway seal. Will require confronting the Herald to draw the guards' attention. This confrontation doesn't need to be violent.
  • A DC 20 Stealth check allows the party to slip across the overhead gantry walkways and bypass the executive slip's motion sensors to reach the ship's auxiliary airlock.
  • Once in, the Players find the command/flight deck to currently be unoccupied. The only other persons onboard are crew. Most of whom are sleeping. The big arrival isnt' for some hours. The Players can hack the terminals to look for anything else.
  • DC 18 Computer Use gets access to the encrypted imperial military channel, revealing Prince Jarek’s fleet approach vectors and real-time jump countdown. But this only confirms what everyone already knows. This also tells the Players that this ship is in direct contact with the fleet and Prince Jarek.

1. Confronting Herald Malakor (No Clues / Dead End):

  • The Herald is waiting for your government to send an official to discuss terms and prepare the people for annexation. He immediately judges you and looks down at you when you approach. "So the government's best is just more trash. How predictable. Although it isn't your fault, I suppose. You are a small, pitiful system. Skill I expected more."
  • If the party speaks with Malakor or demands to know if Lady Kaelen is aboard. Malakor is utterly indignant and sneers at the party: "You dare accuse the Prince's own herald of harboring the abducted Lady? She was kidnapped by you station vermin! Prince Jarek’s wrath is already upon you. I am here solely to record the formal terms of unconditional surrender. When the armada arrives, this entire rock will be placed under imperial martial governance! I am in direct comms with the Prince. If you wish to be on his good side, I would start with being on mine! If your people can present the Lady unharmed, then that would go a long way to avoiding anything unpleasant."
  • A Sense Motive check confirms Malakor is completely truthful—he is fiercely loyal to Prince Jarek, knows nothing of Valen or Archon Vandar’s plot, and has zero knowledge of where Kaelen actually is.

Utility & Flavor Locations

The Drifter's Depot (General Store - Utility)

Towering metal shelves reach all the way to the exposed ceiling conduits, crammed with refurbished rebreathers, magnetic boots, coils of high-tensile tether, and crates of salvaged mining components. The air smells of vulcanized rubber, stale packing foam, and machine oil.

Perched atop a reinforced stool behind the wire-mesh counter is Jax—a grizzled, three-foot-tall Murid wearing a heavy leather work apron with tinted darkvision goggles pushed up onto his brow. His large, round ears twitch at every creak in the corridor, and his tail flicks with mild impatience as his dexterous paws strip the wiring from a disassembled plasma torch.

  • The Situation: A packed surplus warehouse and salvage shop run by Jax, a grumpy but fair retired Murid Belter miner. Having spent decades cutting rock in the outer belt, Jax knows every tool, seal, and hazard on the station and runs the premier hardware post on Comet's Home.
  • Surroundings: Located along Freight Spur 4B near the mid-deck cargo lifts. The corridor outside reverberates with the hydraulic hiss of freight elevators and the rumble of automated pallet-loaders moving ore containers.
  • Function (Purchasing): Players can restock or purchase equipment from the General Equipment list using their Credit Score or hard cash ISC (Wealth & Money).
  • Player Options & Investigations:
  • 1. Shopping & Haggling: Players can buy standard adventuring gear (rebreathers, comm-links, glow-rods, repair kits, medical packs). A DC 13 Diplomacy or Bluff check (or speaking in the Murid Squeak Speak dialect) earns Jax's respect, securing a 10% discount on non-electrical gear or a free roll of industrial hull sealant tape.
  • 2. The Suspicious Buyer (Valen's Lead):
  • Social (DC 12 Diplomacy or Sense_Motive): Buying at least 100 ISC of supplies or appealing to station solidarity gets Jax grumbling about a frantic young Aconian (Valen) who came in earlier. Valen bought two high-grade radiation hazard suits and emergency water filters with crisp off-station credits, yet fumbled like an amateur when trying to seal the hazard suit collars.
  • 3. Observation & Scouting (Perception):
  • A DC 12 Perception check notices that Jax's sales terminal on the counter is currently logged in and completely unlocked, making it easy to access while his back is turned.
  • A DC 15 Perception check allows less morally upright crews to scout the back storage cage, revealing heavy reinforced magnetic deadbolts (DC 18 Disable_Device), a hidden kinetic floor sensor, and an electrified overhead capacitor—making it clear that attempting to rob the old miner would be a dangerous headache.
  • Accessing the Terminal (DC 12 Computer_Use or Sleight_of_Hand): Accessing Jax's unlocked terminal while he is distracted allows players to pull the recent sales log, confirming the hazard suits were billed under a stolen employee ID registered to Beltway Hab 42.
  • 4. Specialized Scavenger Tools:
Jax keeps specialized Belter mining gear in the back cage for serious crews:
  • Heavy Plasma Torch (Tech Level 2): Grants a +2 bonus on Disable Device or Strength checks to breach sealed doors, bulkheads, or ventilation grates (Procure DC 14 or 75 ISC).
  • Industrial Mag-Tether: Can anchor up to 400 lbs in zero-g, vertical maintenance shafts, or elevator conduits (Procure DC 11 or 25 ISC).

Void-Forge Munitions (Weapons & Armor - Utility)

Heavy blast doors slide open to reveal a reinforced bunker-style armory smelling sharply of gun oil, ozone, and aerosolized bore solvent. Racks of slugthrowers, laser carbines, vibro-blades, and heavy ballistic vests line the bulkheads behind reinforced plasteel glass.

Perched on an elevated hydraulic platform behind the counter is Calyx—a three-foot-tall Grayling whose sleek, slate-gray skin is patterned with luminescent crimson ballistic tattoos. A gleaming chrome cybernetic arm extends from her shoulder, and a multi-spectrum optical lens whirs over one of her large dark eyes as she calmly dry-fires a heavy combat rifle, sizing you up with cold, calculating precision.

  • The Situation: A fortified, high-security armory run by Calyx, a sharp-tongued Grayling veteran and master weaponsmith. Despite her diminutive frame, Calyx’s cybernetic enhancements and encyclopedic knowledge of ballistics make her one of the most respected—and feared—merchants on Comet's Home.
  • Surroundings: Located off the station's Security Concourse near Docking Ring Beta. The storefront is shielded behind motorized blast shutters, with a pair of ceiling-mounted automated micro-turrets humming softly in standby mode.
  • Function (Purchasing): Players can buy firearms, ammunition, tactical gear, and armor from the Weapons and Armor lists using their Credit Score or hard cash ISC (Wealth & Money).
  • Inventory Availability: All Tech Level 2 and Tech Level 3 items with a Procure Difficulty of 2 or lower are available in stock. All Tech Level 3 items carry a +20% price markup due to frontier import costs.
  • Player Options & Investigations:
  • 1. Arming Up & Custom Weapon Tuning:
  • Players can purchase standard weapons, armor, and ammunition.
  • Grayling Precision Tuning: Calyx can precision-tune one firearm's optics and barrel tolerances, granting a +1 bonus on the weapon's first attack roll in combat. This service costs 300 ISC, or 150 ISC AND a DC 13 Craft Mechanical or Knowledge Technology check to assist her. The GM should inform the players that performing this tuning takes 20 minutes of in-game time.
  • 2. The Mercenary Squad (Story & Rumor):
  • Social Checks: A DC 14 Diplomacy check or a DC 18 Intimidate check gets Calyx talking. She mentions that a squad of tight-lipped Aconians tried to buy military-grade armor-piercing rounds and heavy weapons under the table earlier today, but she kicked them out because they lacked local licenses and had "the sloppy arrogance of off-world private hitmen."
  • Bribes / Tipping: Placing hard cash on the counter loosens her tongue: each 100 ISC offered lowers the DC by 1 and grants the party another attempt to roll.
  • Sense_Motive: A Sense_Motive check can be rolled solely to determine if Calyx is telling the truth (she is completely truthful).
  • 3. Security, Scouting & Anti-Theft:
Less scrupulous crews scouting the armory for potential theft or break-ins learn the following based on their Perception checks:
  • DC 14 Perception: Reveals that Calyx’s cybernetic ocular unit and neural link are directly wired to the ceiling turrets and electrified floor plates, making it clear that a direct robbery attempt would result in lethal crossfire.
  • DC 18 Perception: Identifies a subtle blind spot in the automated ceiling turrets' sensor sweep pattern, revealing a viable path to sneak past them.
  • DC 20 Perception: Spots that the electronic keypad for entering the secure back storage room has noticeable physical wear on specific digits, granting a +2 bonus on Disable Device checks made to crack the lock.

Heng's Cometary Noodles (Flavor)

The smell of sizzling synth-protein, fermented chili paste, and steaming kelp broth usually makes Heng’s the loudest, warmest spot on Comet’s Home. But tonight, the usual roar of clinking glasses, slurped noodles, and Belter banter has gone dead quiet.

Flickering overhead holo-screens loop an ominous emergency broadcast: the Aconian fleet is inbound, demanding a missing royal or threatening total martial annexation. Around the greasy corner booths, miners and scavengers nurse their tea in grim silence, keeping their eyes glued to the exits. Time is running out, the fleet is closing in, and anxiety hangs heavy in the steam-filled air.

  • The Situation: Wedged beneath the main atmospheric exhaust conduits on Sub-Level 3, Heng's is an open-front diner glowing under a buzzing, retrofitted neon sign shaped like a comet diving into a ramen bowl. Bolted swivel stools line a stainless-steel counter stained by decades of asteroid-kelp chili oil. It is run by Uncle Heng, a gregarious elderly Human Belter with a cybernetic optical loupe who knows everyone’s business.
  • Surroundings: The corridor outside is a high-traffic junction where fuel-stained asteroid miners and off-shift technicians pass by. Coolant lines sweat overhead, dripping onto metal floor grates that vibrate with the station's heavy ore processors.
  • Flavor: Spending 5 ISC on a steaming bowl of Uncle Heng's "Deep Core Spicy Kelp Noodles" and talking to the patrons grants the crew a temporary +1 bonus to their next Ability Check or Saving throw and reveals station rumors about Aconian agents lurking near the docks.

The Oasis Bio-Dome (Flavor)

Stepping through the airlock into the Bio-Dome is like leaving the mining station behind entirely. The ever-present mechanical grinding and harsh industrial smells vanish, replaced by the rich aroma of damp, loamy soil, crushed pine needles, and sweet, natural oxygen.

Underneath a reinforced geodesic dome looking out onto the silent, star-filled void and jagged asteroid belts, winding stone pathways weave between genetically engineered dwarf pines, bioluminescent fern beds, and a trickling water canal. Tending to a hydroponic flowering bush is Vera—a serene, green-skinned Volar botanist whose leafy head-bud gently sways as she mists the delicate flora.

  • The Situation: A climate-controlled botanical sanctuary and psychological decompression garden run by 'Vera, a gentle Volar botanist. It is the only true green space on Comet's Home, maintained to prevent space madness and cabin fever among deep-space Belters.
  • Surroundings: Located atop the station’s Upper Spire overlooking the Promenade. The transparent dome provides a breathtaking view of the comet’s glowing tail and incoming freighter traffic, shielded by high-grade radiation baffles.
  • Function (Rest & Respite): A peaceful, tranquil sanctuary where the party can rest, discuss plans in privacy, and escape the noisy industrial hum of the station.
  • Player Options & Interactions:
  • 1. Natural Rest (Psychological Decompression):
  • Spending 30 minutes resting quietly in the garden clears non-lethal stress and grants a +1 morale bonus to the party's next Wisdom or Sense Motive check.
  • 2. Volar Herbal Tea:
  • Vera is naturally attentive to the physical well-being of others. If she notices that the characters are visibly hurt, exhausted from prior encounters, or if the players successfully socialize with her (DC 12 Diplomacy), she warm-heartedly offers them cups of freshly brewed "Deep Bloom Tea" (10 ISC or offered free to friendly guests).
  • Drinking the herbal tea grants Advantage (+1Ad) on saving throws against poison, sickness, or fatigue for the next 8 hours.
  • 3. Private Planning & Anti-Surveillance:
  • A DC 12 Perception check allows players to recognize that the dense botanical canopy, trickling water canal, and lack of station electrical conduits provide total acoustic isolation—making the Bio-Dome one of the few places on Comet's Home completely immune to electronic eavesdropping, corporate wiretaps, or security listening bugs.
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