Trouble in the Dark
STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION - NOT YET FINISHED - OUTLINE ONLY
SPOILER WARNINGS THIS IS FOR GAME MASTERS ONLY All Artwork is temparory AI Generated Art using Gemini. This will be replaced by paid-for human artwork.
Space Ship One-Shot: Trouble in the Dark
This is a tactical spaceship combat and fleet operations one-shot adventure for a crew of Level 2 or 3 characters. It is designed to introduce players and Game Masters to the FuturePath Spaceship Combat system, showcasing bridge crew coordination, the three-phase combat round, ship functions, electronic warfare, and environmental navigation in planetary shadows and debris rings.
Adventure Premise
On the freezing outer rim of the system, orbital ore platforms float above the dead mineral planet Tartarus-IV. For over a century, independent prospecting clans have extracted rare hyper-conductive crystals and heavy ores from the planet's scarred crust, refining them aboard the aging orbital depot Hesperus Station.
Recently, outbound ore freighters have been disappearing without a trace. A ruthless pirate outfit calling themselves the Obsidian Corsairs, commanded by a disgraced ex-militia captain named Kray "The Shadow" Darek, has set up an interdiction base in the permanent planetary shadow on the dark side of Tartarus-IV. Operating in the sensor-dead darkness, the Corsairs use signal jammers and drifting slag debris to ambush unarmed cargo vessels, demanding extortionate protection fees or blasting them to slag.
With station life support systems running low on refined catalysts and corporate relief fleets months away, Hesperus Station's Overseer offers an emergency contract to the player characters: take command of the station's last armed patrol cutter, the Aegis-9, escort the vital ore convoy Caelum-7 through the dark meridian, and break the Corsair blockade once and for all.
Key Characters
- Overseer Talia Thorne (Hesperus Station Administrator): Tough, exhausted, and fiercely protective of her mining colony. She equips the party with the Aegis-9, offering 80,000 ISC plus full salvage rights for eliminating the pirate threat.
- Captain Kray "The Shadow" Darek (Corsair Commander): Cold, calculating pirate warlord piloting the heavy gunship The Black Eclipse. A master of ambushes who exploits sensor blind spots and electronic countermeasures.
- Chief Pilot Jaxom Miller (Convoy Commander): Veteran pilot of the lumbering ore barge Caelum-7. A nervous civilian captain depending completely on the players to keep his fragile ship intact.
Adventure Map & Encounter Flow
The Player's Vessel: The Aegis-9
The characters command the Aegis-9, a retrofitted patrol cutter built on a modified Common Civ Small Hull. Each player should be assigned a dedicated bridge station:
Running the Adventure
Scene 1: Mission Briefing & Launch
Read the following aloud to the players to start the session:
"The air in the command hub of Hesperus Station smells of stale ozone and recycled carbon. Beyond the viewport, the barren, craggy sphere of Tartarus-IV fills the black void. Half the planet glows dull bronze in the distant sunlight, but the other half—a vast hemisphere of absolute shadow—swallows the light whole.
Administrator Talia Thorne slaps a data-slate onto the holotable. A holographic display of the orbital shipping corridor flickers to life, bisected by red skulls marking the location of three destroyed ore haulers.
'Three convoys lost in two weeks,' Thorne says, her jaw clenched. 'The Obsidian Corsairs are hiding behind the dark meridian where our stationary beacons can't burn through the mineral interference. Our people are starving for medical supplies, and our atmospheric scrubbers need crystal catalysts from the surface to keep this station breathing.
The last functional convoy, the Caelum-7, is loaded and ready to break orbit. But they'll never make the Jump Gate alone. I’ve refitted our last defense cutter, the Aegis-9. Check your seals, man your stations, and escort that freighter through the dark. Bring back proof that Captain Kray and his wolves are dead, and eighty thousand credits plus salvage rights are yours.'"
- GM Notes
- Allow the players to familiarize themselves with the ship's consoles, assign bridge roles, and make preparation checks.
- A DC 13 Knowledge (Technology) or Computer Use check while calibrating the sensors reveals that Tartarus-IV's iron-rich crust creates severe electromagnetic scatter on the nightside: Passive Sensors have their range halved in the shadow, making active scanning by the Sensor Officer vital.
- Players may requisition up to two extra packs of Ship Repair Parts (+2 on one Engineer Repair check) or an additional magazine of Kinetic Ammo from the station armory.
Scene 2: Ambush at the Dark Meridian
Read the following aloud when the Aegis-9 crosses into the dark side of Tartarus-IV:
"The sun dips behind the jagged horizon of Tartarus-IV. In an instant, warmth and starlight vanish, plunging your cockpit into suffocating blackness. The starfield is blotted out by drifting dust clouds and jagged chunks of orbital debris.
Suddenly, your tactical displays flicker with static. Red proximity warnings chime: two high-speed contacts have detached from the shadow of a hollowed-out asteroid and are burning hard toward your vector, weapons hot!"
- Encounter Overview
- Enemies: 2x Corsair Skiffs (Fast, lightweight interceptors attempting to cripple the Aegis-9 before the convoy arrives).
- Tactical Environment: Sensor Shadow (Disadvantage on long-range attacks until the Sensors Officer succeeds on a DC 12 Scan check).
- Objective: Destroy or force the surrender of the pirate scout wing.
Corsair Skiff (2 Vessels)
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Ship Name: Corsair Skiff |
Hull Size: Small |
Core: Tech Level 1 |
Attribute Points: 10 |
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Attributes:
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Defense & Combat:
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Hard Points:
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- Tactics
- The skiffs attempt to use their superior speed (6 squares) to bracket the Aegis-9, firing autocannons and rockets in the Action Phase.
- If one skiff is reduced to 1 Battle Damage, its pilot panics and attempts to break off and flee deeper into the belt.
Scene 3: Defending the Caelum-7 Convoy
Read the following aloud as the party completes the first skirmish:
"The comms crackle with frantic static, followed by the strained, trembling voice of Chief Pilot Jaxom Miller.
'Aegis-9! Mayday, mayday! We cleared the low orbital transit tube, but two more pirate craft intercepted us at Waypoint Omega! They've disabled our secondary thrusters and launched boarding leeches onto our outer hull! We cannot jump! If they crack the pressure doors, our cargo and crew are forfeit!'"
- Encounter Overview
- Objective: Protect the civilian ore freighter Caelum-7 while under assault by a Corsair Gunship and an escort Skiff.
- The Caelum-7's Status: The freighter is immobilized at the center of the tactical grid. It has a BD-DC of 4 / 4 and can sustain 2 more Battle Damage before suffering catastrophic hull collapse.
- Enemies: 1x Corsair Skiff and 1x Corsair Boarding Gunship.
- Special Tactical Mechanics
- Escort Defense: The Aegis-9 Helm Officer can maneuver the ship between the pirates and the Caelum-7, intercepting incoming missile volleys by passing a DC 13 Pilot check.
- Electronic Counter-Measures: The Sensors Officer can roll a DC 14 Computer_Use check to scramble the boarding clamps remotely, buying the freighter another round of structural integrity.
Scene 4: Climax - Duel in the Obsidian Belt
Read the following aloud as the party tracks the pirate signals to their staging lair:
"Deep within the densest band of the Obsidian Ring, nestled inside the hollow interior of a shattered iron planetoid, lurks the corsair flagship: The Black Eclipse.
A menacing, jagged warship painted in light-absorbing matte black, its hull bristles with heavy missile pods and high-output pulse lasers. A beam of high-frequency static washes over your communications array, and a harsh, sneering voice echoes across the bridge:
'Well fought, Hesperus watchdogs. But out here in the dark, there are no laws, no stations, and no rescue. Your ship will make a fine addition to my fleet—or scrap for the refinery.'
The Black Eclipse fires its main thrusters, erupting from the asteroid hollow with weapons locked onto your cockpit!"
- Encounter Overview
- Boss Enemy: The Black Eclipse (Captain Kray's heavily customized Corsair Gunship).
- Environmental Hazard - Debris Shrapnel: Ships moving more than 4 squares in a turn must make a DC 12 Helm (Pilot) check or take kinetic damage from dense tumbling ore rocks.
- Environmental Hazard - Dark Meridian Blackout: Targeting rolls without an active Scan lock suffer Disadvantage (-1Ad).
The Black Eclipse (Pirate Flagship)
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Ship Name: The Black Eclipse |
Hull Size: Medium |
Core: Tech Level 2 |
Attribute Points: 16 |
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Attributes:
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Defense & Combat:
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Hard Points (4 Total):
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- Boss Tactics
- Phase 1 (Support): Captain Kray activates the Electronic Jammer to suppress the players' lock-on arrays.
- Phase 2 (Action): The *Black Eclipse* fires a dual volley of heavy lasers and tracking missiles, targeting the *Aegis-9*'s engines to strand them in the dark.
- Phase 3 (Response): When reduced to 2 Battle Damage, Captain Kray attempts an emergency jump to escape. The player Helm or Science Officer can perform an interdiction or ram maneuver to prevent the jump.
Conclusion & Rewards
- Victory: With *The Black Eclipse* destroyed or disabled, the remaining Corsair forces scatter from Tartarus-IV. The *Caelum-7* successfully reaches the Jump Gate, restoring vital supply shipments to Hesperus Station.
- Bounty & Salvage:
- 80,000 ISC paid by Administrator Thorne.
- Salvage rights to the disabled pirate vessels: players can recover up to 2 Tech Level 2 Medium Hard Point weapons and 4 units of Ship Repair Parts.
- Full repairs and complimentary re-arming for the *Aegis-9* at Hesperus Station drydock.
- Experience: 1,500 XP per player (sufficient to advance Level 2 characters toward Level 3).