18. Doomed torchship

Your sensors detect the radiation first, then you get a visual of the hulking wreckage; it’s the experimental torchship you’ve been hearing rumours about. It looks like you’ve managed to find it during its last moments, the steady flow of gammas and neutrons indicate that the reactor is supercritical and about to blow. The potential for valuable high-tech loot is certainly there, however. You have two hours, take your iodine pills and go!


Type: Derelict

Function: Prototype torchship 

Power source: Powerful fission core

Gravity: None 

Size: 500 m length

Affiliation: Unknown

Population: None 

Sells: Nothing

Buys: Nothing


This prototype vessel is powered by a nuclear salt water rocket, a highly efficient but also highly volatile fission drive. It contains experimental technology and valuable electronics, but it is also flooded with dangerous radiation and quite literally about to explode. No one knows what organisation built the vessel and why they haven’t attempted to reclaim it.


After approaching the vessel, divide play in turns of 10 minutes. Each turn, every PC aboard or in the vicinity outside of the vessel test fortitude or takes light damage due to radiation. 


Entering the vessel requires hacking the airlock (medium hacking test) or penetrating the hull using the appropriate tools (medium technology test). Each attempt takes a turn.


While inside, searching takes a turn and entails rolling on the table below. Each entry on the table contains a depth value, an abstract representation of how far into the bowels of the ship the PC has ventured. Depth can only increase by this roll; the only way to lower depth by one step is to spend a turn on finding your way outwards, through collapsing tunnel and randomly shutting blast doors.


After two hours (12 turns) the vessel explodes, killing anyone still inside and causing heavy damage to nearby ships.


The environment aboard is confusing and hellish. Electronics are spontaneously combusting, steam permeates the air, alarms blare and red lights pulse.


d20

Find

Depth

1

Intact holographic projector

0

2

Map of the ship (one reroll on this table, or depth decreased by one step)

0

3-4

Nothing

0

5

Radiation-proof suit (advantage on tests to avoid radiation damage)

1

6

Sophisticated hand-held spectrometer

1

7-8

Nothing

1

9

Golden plating

2

10

High performance, rack-mounted but portable main frame

2

11-12

Nothing

2

13

Nanite based, tissue-repairing radiation treatment

3

14

High durability repair and maintenance robot (will follow you)

3

15-16

Nothing

3

17

Experimental beam weapon (5 charges, high damage)

4

18

Secret drive with plans and specifications for the vessel.

4

19-20

Nothing

4


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