The Crusoe Effect Twomonthsago,Therunabout B Hood U.S.S
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
he Crusoe Effect is a demonstration adventure used to Tintroduce players to the Star Trek: The Next Genera- tion Roleplaying Game. In this episode, the Crew of the U.S.S. Hood (NCC-42296) must rescue the castaways of an ill-fated runabout that crashed on a planet. Unfortu- nately, a primitive civilization lives on the planet, posing special restrictions on the Crew. The Hood’s mission is to rescue the survivors, remove all traces of the runabout, and avoid contact with the local populace. BACKGROUND Two months ago, the runabout U.S.S. Patuxent was conducting scientific research in the Rogun binary system when a faulty warp coil caused the ship to spin out of control. Before the crew could jury-rig repairs, the ship popped out of warp square into the gravity well of Rogun II, a class M planet in orbit of Beta Rogun, a red main sequence star. The ship crash-landed on the planet, where the Huth, the natives of Rogun II, rescued the crew’s sole survi- vor, Ensign Davis. The Huth are a species of deer-like humanoids in a stage of Stone Age technological devel- opment (moving towards Early Bronze Age). They nursed Ensign Davis to health, and after he recovered, he felt obligated to the people who had helped him. He repaid them in the best manner he could: using his engineering skills to aid the survival of this tribe. After some initial research aboard ship, the Crew beams down to the crash site, only to find it abandoned. A chance encounter with the Huth jeopardizes the mis- sion, and hints at the ultimate fate of the Patuxent’s crew. Following the clues takes the Crew to the location where the casualties were cremated, while the other leads to the Huth village where Ensign Davis currently resides. There, the Crew learns the full extent of the havoc that Davis has unintentionally wreaked on the Huth civili- zation. In the end, when a rival tribe of Huth attacks the village, the Crew must make a difficult decision—do they stay and defend the Huth, or preserve the Prime Directive? The Crusoe Effect THE PRIME DIRECTIVE The Crusoe Effect Because this episode focuses on the Prime Directive, the Narrator should ensure the Crew obeys the General Order One to the best of their ability. During the adven- ture, allow the Crew to debate the nature of the Prime Directive. You can pointedly ask “are you sure you want to do that?” even if their decision makes sense; you want them to question their actions. The easiest road is seldom the correct one. At the climax, the fight between the rival Huth tribes, be sure to frame the philosophical conflict as well, but keep the action fast-paced. The Crew cannot undertake actions that contaminate Huth society, but the contamination has already occurred—does the Crew try gests he assist the Tactical Officer. DeSoto hopes every- to contain the damage by leaving with Davis, or do they one on the Patuxent survived the crash. If there are casu- stay and protect the tribe? alties, their remains are to be transported to the Hood. Captain DeSoto concludes by stressing the impor- tance of rescuing the survivors and minimizing any cul- A CALL FOR HELP tural contamination. The Prime Directive is in full force. The adventure is broken into a series of scenes, each He wants to know if the Crew has any questions. one advancing the story to the next element. In some Once he answers all the Crew’s questions, DeSoto cases there may be a shift of time as the Crew moves instructs his Crew to conduct the following tasks: from one scene to the next. • Put together a list of the Patuxent’s crew and any pertinent data on each of them. LCARS 1.0—CAPTAIN’S BRIEFING • Obtain data on Rogun II. • Scan for the location of the crashed runabout on “Captain’s Log, Stardate 46041.1: After several days the planet. of uneventful exploration in the Derren sector, our long- • Find a way to destroy the runabout, if needed, range sensors detected a Starfleet distress call originat- without violating the Prime Directive. ing from a planet in the Rogun system. It comes from • Assemble needed equipment (e.g., medical kit, the U.S.S. Patuxent, a runabout reported missing from phasers, tricorders). Starbase 54 two months ago. We’ve been ordered to • Find out what survival gear the runabout was pro- retrieve the crew, and if possible, salvage the Patuxent. vided with. I am about to meet my senior officers to discuss our That said, he dismisses the Crew, telling them to options…” work out a plan of action together. The Hood will arrive The episode opens with the Crew seated in Captain in orbit of Rogun II in two hours. They have work to do! DeSoto’s Ready Room. Sparsely furnished, the room appears to be a throw-back to an earlier time—a well- LCARS 1.1—GETTING TO WORK polished mahogany desk and Louis XIV chairs are the only furnishings; an impressive collection of fishing lures Ask the Crew what they’re doing to prepare for the is mounted on the wall. The only apparent concessions mission. Each person should go about his or her busi- to the 24th century are a portable computer terminal and ness. Each person’s search for data is reflected in a Test a model of the Hood, placed on his desk. The door that varies from character to character. behind the Crew hisses open and the captain enters. He To research Rogun II, the Crew must make a Rou- smiles amiably at them and takes his seat behind the tine (4) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Skill Test. If success- desk. ful, hand the player Rogun II’s planetary template. Most Captain DeSoto begins the conference with a bit of important: Rogun II is inhabited by a primitive civiliza- small talk with the Crew, asking how things are going at tion, with a tech level equivalent to the Stone Age. Thus, their stations or in their social lives (so long as the ques- the natives fall under the authority of the Prime Direc- tion would not be considered rude). Don’t spend a lot tive. With a successful Moderate (6) Computer (Research) of time on this, just enough to help get the players into Skill Test, the Crewman discovers the U.S.S. Tsilokovski character. Then he begins his briefing. conducted a planetary survey of Rogun II seven years Captain DeSoto explains that two months ago the ago. (Hand the Huth Species Template to the player; this runabout, Patuxent, was conducting a survey of a neigh- represents all the information the Tsilokovski gathered boring system. Three days into the survey, the runabout surreptitiously.) reported that is was having problems with its warp drive With successful Computer (Research) Test against and was never heard from again. An extensive search a Routine (4) difficulty, the Crew learns the U.S.S. was conducted but after a week of searching, the craft Patuxent had a crew of three: Lieutenant Timothy Kelly was declared lost. Yesterday, the Hood detected the run- (Command), Lieutenant Gary Wickman (Science), and about’s distress signal coming from Rogun II. The ship is Ensign Frank Davis (Engineering). Nothing in their ser- en route to the planet even as they speak. Their mission vice records appears out-of-the-ordinary, although at the is to locate the runabout and the survivors. Academy Ensign Davis failed Cultural Relations and had At that point he looks at the First Officer. As far as the to repeat the class. runabout is concerned, if it can’t be recovered, Starfleet Upon successfully completing a Routine (4) Com- Command wants it scuttled. He orders the Tactical Offi- puter (Research) Test, the Crew learns the runabout had cer to find a way to destroy the Patuxent, without calling enough rations to last the three crewmembers one week. the attention to the locals. The Chief Engineer should be The ship was equipped with an emergency beacon, familiar with the runabout’s frame, so the Captain sug- which transmits a standard distress message. 2 - THE CRUSOE EFFECT HTTP://WWW.LASTUNICORNGAMES.COM With a Moderate (7) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test, the Crew can locate the Patuxent. This should be an DECONSTRUCTING NANITES Extended Test, with a turn length of ten minutes. When a player achieves a total Test Result of 25, he locates the Nanites are microscopic machines capable of wreckage of the runabout. The Hood does not receive manipulating individual molecules. Used initially in any messages from the runabout’s emergency beacon. If medicine, to disassemble infectious diseases or the player achieves a total Test Result of 30, also inform rebuild tissue, Starfl eet’s engineers developed Decon- him or her that there is a small village only 10 kilometers structing Nanites to disassemble an object into its away. component atoms. Stored in a canister the size of a A successful Moderate (6) Materials Engineering or can of soup, a timer releases the nanites into the envi- Demolitions Skill Test is needed to devise a method for ronment. To keep these nanites from deconstruct- scuttling the runabout. If successful, he discovers infor- ing everything in their path, Starfl eet’s engineers built mation on Deconstructing Nanites. Perceptive players in two failsafes: The nanites are pre-programmed to will pick up on the information for Rogun II (i.e., that the work on particular substances (duranium, transpar- natives are primitive), and try to find a way to scuttle the ent aluminum, isolinear crystal); and they “die” with- Patuxent without leaving wreckage.