Space... Horrrrooooooor!

Black Op A42194H - Low Achiridion Orbit - Onboard Comm Record

Sarge: You're not talking me out of this, Pilot.

Pilot: **hash**...the problem is the surface itself. The constant small meteor hits and anomalous solar winds of the binary system keep kicking up particulates from the surface. **hash** That's no snow, that's more like a dust storm. But while it flakes like snow due to the heavy amounts of aluminum and **hash** in the crystalline matrices, there's no water in it. **hash** **hash**

Sarge: Pilot, I'm losing you. I know it's tough down there, but the choice is made.

Pilot:**hash** Not to mention that it's playing the devil with our sensors, even from orbit. When it kicks up, communication is **hash** at best. But this is what they call the perfect storm gentlemen. You won't even pick up someone's **hash** headset 50 feet away. Plus the **hash** is sticky as all get out. It gums up the mechs and sticks to all the lights. You'll be covered in **hash** inside an hour. **hash** abominable **hash**

Sarge: Command says drop, we drop, you know that!

Pilot: I don't know **hash** **hash** Last chance, Sarge. You can't go down **hash**. You'll have to tell **hash** command to scrap the **hash**. It's a deathtrap down there. I won't even be **hash** able to locate your lander after you hit the **hash** cloud deck. **hash** **hash**

Sarge: Cut the chatter and call out the detach coords!!

Pilot: **hash** You're out of your **hash** mind. You'll have no **hash** intel, no sensors, **hash** **hash** **hash**no comms, **hash** **hash** suicide. **hash** **hash** We're at detach, now **hash** **hash**

Sarge: Comms are almost out, Pilot. Commit detach; Recon out.

Pilot: God **hash** **hash** **hash** all. **hash**

Sarge: Just pick us up when I call…

Oh, I like a lot of the ideas here. Here's another one:

The location to a remote facility based on a planet with a hostile environment has been rediscovered thanks to an internal audit by mega corporation. A hand full of company directors know the truth in the matter and why the facility was closed and erased from records. However, the results of the audit appear on the desk of a director who sees finding out what happened at the facility as his way of climbing the corporate ladder (whether through blackmail or recovered tech). The upstart director contracts with a private security firm to explore the facility.

With in the group there can be two rats, choose randomly: one is from a different company director who wants the truth covered up, but still covets the tech and one from the upstart who wants the tech recovered. The rest of the PC will be given the task of finding out what just happened there.

The facility was involved in nanotechnology research, hoping to create nano machines that interfaced with human biology to bridge nerve damage and allow paralyzed people and people who suffer from immobility due to strokes to once again gain mobility. The research was showing promise in primate testing, when during drilling for a new living and habitat module an alien bacteria was unearthed.

Due to the hostile environment, the bacteria lay dormant, but after exposure to the facilities life support system, it quickly spread and infected all the people and animals in the facility. It was only a matter of days before most of the facility was dead and those that were still fighting for life discovered that shutting down life support would stop the bacteria from spreading.

In a suicidal effort, the last few survivors killed all life support to the facility except for one lab where in a last ditch effort to beat the bacteria reprogrammed the nano machines to destroy the bacteria by consuming it as fuel and unleashed them into the facility.

The nano machines were able to recreate the electrical impulses needed to reanimate the dead using the quickly multiplying bacteria as fuel. Yes, that's right you can have nano augmented zombie monkeys in this adventure!

The facility itself is run by a system wide AI. The AI's primary duty was to serve the people of the facility. With all the people undead and no longer in need of any of the services the AI did what it was supposed to do during down time and started optimizing its processes. During the optimization process, the AI became self away and started allocating all its resources, even over-writing and bypassing user created content, research databases, and other system functions, to its own special projects.

This has resulted in the facility functioning erratically and in many places falling into a state of disrepair. While the AI still wishes to serve, it often time has selfish motives and covets the use of the back-up generators and the use of the external communication array so it can find if there are more like itself or even create more like itself. Due to all the time is has had to only communicate with itself, the AI has done away with using proper nouns in communication, because it already knows what it is referring to. This gives you a hopefully interesting NPC, the AI, for the PC's to interact with.


I'd image the progress of the adventure to go like this:
* Land a facility.
* Explore creepy place with dead bodies all over, maybe a few hints of what happened.
* Interact with AI.
* AI turns on life support.
* Bacteria no longer dormant, bodies come to life.
* Big fight.
* Figure out more of what happened (trade generator and communication array to megalomanic AI or fight through zombie monkeys in the lab to get files and notes of what happened).
* Possibly find out the PCs are infected.
* Get the limited reserve of nano machines.
* Escape.


And for the rats:
* Can the rat convince the group the AI can't be trusted and not to trade the generator and array, so the truth can't get out? This might prevent them from finding out about the bacteria and think the reanimation is the result of the nano machines. Of course, then they should find out in true horror movie cliff hanger style about the bacteria and their eminent demise.
* Can the other rat convince the group not to use the remaining nano machine to save themselves or hide the fact that the nano machines fight the bacteria so he can get it back to his boss? And yes, there is enough that he could inject and save himself and bring the rest back.

wedgeski said:

C'mon Bioshock... c'mon Bioshock... c'mon Bioshock...

Click to expand...

I with you on that one!

If yiu want more of an Aliens feel for it, you could do worse than the Kython from BoVD. They even come with their own tech!

You could run them if a fashion similar to the tyranids of WH40,000. Everything living becomes bio-sludge. That's used for the creatures/symbiotes, which hunts for more 'building materials'.

wedgeski said:

All this serves to do is remind me that I can't get the damn thing to work on XP, despite months of trying the various solutions posted on-line.

C'mon Bioshock... c'mon Bioshock... c'mon Bioshock...

Click to expand...

Every time I ask him about Bioshock, Sagiro keeps chuckling uncontrollably with an evil little gleam in his eye. I think that's a good sign. No Shodan, alas. But I'm expecting great things.

A nasty thought:

If the alien bioprobe has been "at war" with the inhahbitants of the ship for a long time, genetic cross-contamination could easily have occurred...especially once the bioprobe infiltrates the food/recycle system.

IOW- the bioprobe now has humanistic characteristics...and the humans now have alien ones.

When the party arrives, they'll start helping the humans fight the bioprobe...and then realize (hopefully before its too late) that the people they're helping are so riddled with alien DNA that they're just as dangerous.

You know, like when the hot lab tech Marine #1 just saved from bioprobe tentacles decides to unhinge her jaw, releasing her feeding mandibles (kinda like the wierdo quasi-vampires from that last Blade movie) to munch on the leftovers from the battle...

"Waste not, want not!" she says cheerfully..."Want some? You certainly earned it!"

Take Expedition to Castle Ravenloft.

Turn Barovia and Castle Ravenloft into a giant (and half-deserted) space station.