Asteroids23

Occupying an unlikely gap between the territories of several governments and corporations, this place is outside of any jurisdiction. It’s a swarm of hundreds of stations, scuttled ships-turned-habitats and converted asteroids towed here from across thousands of kilometres, engaged in a complicated, barely coordinated dance of orbits. Anything can be sold or bought here, competition is fierce and law enforcement minimal. Type:  Habitat cluster Function:  Free trading port Power source:  Various Gravity:  Various Size:  Hundreds of km across Affiliation:  Various  Population:  Thousands at any given time Sells:  Everything  Buys:  Everything  This is a place for trading, but not primarily for illicit goods. No taxes means that certain goods can theoretically be acquired cheaper, but that depends on the individual traders and the type of deal you are able to strike. There is a local Trader Council, composed of well-regarded trade...

A breeze of ionised particles, the crackle of broken transponders, heat blooming on the IR cam display and an increasingly intense tide of debris: these are the hallmarks of the aftermath of battle. The colony was hit hard, likely at catastrophic losses to both sides. It happened recently and it will be hours before government forces reach the site. You can see it now; the habitat cracked open by nuclear fire, like a singed egg of steel and stone. A frozen corpse bounces of the port sensor array. Grab from the dead what you can and get out. Type:  Destroyed habitat Function:  War zone Power source:  None  Gravity:     None Size:  900 m diameter Affiliation:  Government Population:  A few survivors at most  Sells:  Nothing Buys:  Nothing This colony was believed to be a hideout for rebels and insurgents. Government forces raided it but vastly misjudged the situation, resulting in a rapid and catastrophic escalation. It used to b...

The three cyborgs have been living here for as long as anyone can remember, their lifespans extended far beyond that of baseline humans. They nest in an abandoned research station from the earliest days of colonisation. It doesn’t look like much, but then three, haunting voices speak “welcome” to you in unison. Was the comm system even turned on? Type:  Abandoned habitat Function:  Hermitage Power source:  Thermonuclear batteries Gravity:     None Size:  500 m diameter Affiliation:  None  Population:  3  Sells:  Prophecy Buys:  Batteries, water This asteroid is the home of  Spin ,  Lot  and  Turn ; three heavily modified post-human cyborgs. It is rumoured that they are able to predict the future. It is also probably rumoured that they require some kind of sacrifice to do so, which is true. The habitat itself consists mostly of a large cavern with a few airlocks and antechambers, without any rotational gravit...

I want these adventure sites to provide a wide array of adventure sparks for my own sci-fi campaign, but naturally I (not so) secretly hope someone else will get some use out of this material. Therefore, Asteroids23 is setting agnostic, and rules are only hinted at in general terms. That being said, there are quite a few inherent assumptions in my writings. I will attempt to share them here. The PCs have a ship. Either they start with one, or acquire one early. This is of course imperative to be able to reach the various sites. The PCs are freelancers. At most loosely connected to some organisation, they are independent traders, pirates, smugglers, bounty hunters… They are out to make a (probably non-honest) living, they are curious and daring and jump at opportunities. The PCs live among asteroids. The campaign mostly occurs in an asteroid belt or something similar, with isolated islands of civilisation and adventure. Distances are great. The asteroid belt is nothing like some sci-...

On the receiver, the voices of the damned. The abandoned mine is has been dug from a huge asteroid, once saturated with lithium, all depleted now. The place is wrapped in legends, spoken of only on late nights in hushed tones: the Tomb they call it, all six thousand miners dead from asphyxiation due to corporate neglect, their souls forever stuck in those tunnels. Your floodlights reveal the antique airlock mechanism in stark detail. Better turn that radio off… Type:  Mine Function:  Abandoned, haunted Power source:  Thermonuclear batteries Gravity:  None Size:  8 km diameter Affiliation:  Criminal  Population:  8 Sells:  Secretly extracted ore Buys:  Food, booze, water, fuel The mine is occupied by a few squatters who remained after depletion and some admittedly serious accidents drove the owning corporation away. They found that a small but dense vein of ore remained, not enough for large scale mining, but quite sufficient for a few ha...

FreedomNet. So many government and corporate agents looking, and you’ve just stumbled on it. A small, rapidly spinning asteroid habitat with a jumble of antennas and a comically oversized satellite dish, all haphazardly but ingeniously cobbled together to broadcast the highly encrypted, near-untraceable signal to relays all over the system. Adorning the secret headquarter of a punk rebellion in string lights and neon on the exterior may seem foolish, but perfectly in character. It’s not like anyone would find them anyway. Only you just did… Type:  Habitat Function:  Anarchist broadcasting station Power source:  Fission Gravity:  0.8 SG  Size:  700 m Affiliation:  Punk Population:  7 Sells:  Freedom, baby! Buys:  Weapons, drugs, fuel, water, medicine, electronics FreedomNet is both an illicit online forum, hosted on hidden servers and accessed throughout the system, and a regularly broadcasted vlog. Most importantly, it’s the driving forc...

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 bu...

This small asteroid clearly contains an abandoned facility. There is a visible antenna, an airlock and a comm array, everything powered off and dead. Should be easy pickings. Type:  Habitat Function:  Trapped treasure trove Power source:  None (depleted batteries) Gravity:  0.01 SG  Size:  500 m Affiliation:  Criminal  Population:  None  Sells:  None Buys:  None The small facility used to serve as a forward base for mining operations before it was abandoned and claimed by a now forgotten pirate crew as a stash for their booty. The batteries are utterly spent, but a minimal control voltage can be detected in the circuitry, resulting in the occasional blinking of LEDs and flickering static on screens. Seven coffers, six containing precious, stolen rare earth metals, are stored in the cargo reception area by the airlock. However, they are all booby-trapped.  Cables, difficult to spot, connect the locks of the six chest to the...

You are being shot at, but the defence system seems to consist of a few low-calibre turrets and one jams almost immediately. They don’t want to be found, but they didn’t really expect they would be. The decrepit station consists of a rotating carousel around a cylindrical spoke, some solar panels and a radiation shield. Entirely unremarkable. Type:  Station Function:  Drug lab Power source:  Thermonuclear batteries Gravity:  0.5 SG Size:  200 m long, 100 m diameter Affiliation:  Criminal  Population:  3  Sells:  Illicit synthetic drugs  Buys:  Chemicals, batteries, water Unless the PCs have contacted the trio of shady chemists that operate the station, which is a quite efficient small-scale narcotics manufactory, they will begin by shooting (badly) and then parleying (with slightly greater proficiency). They can be robbed or made a deal with, but either way this will attract the attention of other crews that have made a living ...