Al Ternity Game Master

7/30/2019 Al Ternity Game Master

1/13

by Richa rd Ba k e r a nd Bil l Slavicse kby Richa rd Ba k e r a nd Bil l Slavicse k

x clusive Pre vie w !Not for Resale

Includes an introductory adventure: Cauldron St at ion.


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SO YOU WANTTO BE THE

GAMEMASTER?This section of the fa st-play rules

booklet provides a n overview of the

Ga mema sters role in an ALTERNITY

ga me. It contains a short adventure

tha t you can use to introduce your

players to the ga me a nd familiarize

yourself with modera ting a role-

playing session.

The Playe rs Fast-Play Rule s,

which you ne ed to rea d first, pre-

sents the ba re bones of the rule sys-

tem. Rea d tha t section of the booklet

if you ha vent done s o, a nd the n

come back here.

What does a Game master do? Ba-

sically, he pres ents a dventure s for

the pla yers to run their heroes

through, and a cts a s the moderator

of the ru les . In this se ction of the

fas t-play ru les b ooklet, youll find

a n introduction to the ALTERNITY

ga me tha t can ge t you off to a g ood

sta rt for your first gam e se ssion.

The Role of theGamemasterAs the Ga mema ster, you have a

numbe r of jobs to hand le during a nd

between ga me se ssions. Unlike

other types of ga mes that ha ve strict

rules and d ea l with l imited situa-

tions, a roleplaying ga me such a s

the ALTERNITY game is a s wide open

as the p layers imag inations. For

this reason, the presen ce of a ga me

modera tor to act as referee, story de-

signer, an d na rrator is essen tial .

The p layers interact with ea ch

other an d the gam e environment

through the a ctions of their chara c-

ters, the heroes. The Ga mema ster

describes ea ch scene, directs the ac-

tion, a nd pla ys the roles of the sup -porting cast membersvillains, al-

l ies, an d extras who inha bit the

campa ign world.

However, the Ga mem a ster isnt

competing ag a inst the players.

When the Ga memas ter and the

players get together to tell a fun a nd

exciting group story, everybody

wins. Tha ts the power a nd a ppea l

of roleplaying .

KEYCONCEPTSLets ta ke a look at som e of the ke y

concepts behind m oderating the AL-

TERNITY ga me. Some of these terms

ha ve also been defined in the Play-

ers Fast-Play Rule s, but the yre re-

pea ted here for the s ake of com-

pleteness within this section.

Gamemaster: The pa rticipant

in the game wh o acts as the moder-

ator, narrating ad ventures and con-

trolling chara cters who are involvedin the story but a rent unde r the di-

rect control of the pla yers.

Hero: An imag inary character

controlled by a pla yer.

Supporting Cast: The other

chara cters who appe ar in every

story: friends , ene mies, an d inciden-

tal chara cters whom the h eroes in-

tera ct with. Memb ers of the s upp ort-

ing ca st are controlled by the

Gamemaster .

Setting: The imaginary context

an d environment within which theheroes interact with situations.

Using the ALTERNITY game rules , any

mode rn to fa r-future scie nce fiction

setting can b e created.

Ad venture : A scena rio in wh ich

the heroes interact to crea te a groupstory. As Gam ema ster, you prese nt

an opening situation or scene

(ca lled the trigge r). The res t of the

ad venture unfolds through the a c-

tions of the he roes (a s dictated by

their players) a nd the mode ration of

the Ga mema ster (through story

events a nd the supporting ca st).

Campaign: A continuing s eries

of ad ventures that takes pla ce in a

single sett ing and focuses on the

sa me group of heroes. A campa ign

can be finite, ending after as ma nyad ventures as n ecessa ry to tell the

complete story; or it can be a n on-

going tale, progressing like a televi-

sion or comic book series.

Group Story: While a regula r

story, such a s found in a movie or a

book, fea tures a set beg inning, mid-

dle, and e nding, a group story is

more dyna mic. The Ga mema ster

ha s a n outline that provides a s eries

of encounters and events, and a few

possible ways the a dventure could

end . The dyna mic comes from thegroupthe players a nd Ga memas -

terwho de termine the course of

the story and its outcome through

the intera ction of their imag ina ry

cha racters. In a group s tory, no

onenot even the Ga mema ster

knows exa ctly how how it all will

end.

Game Session:One distinct

period of game p lay; a t ime when

you ga ther your friends to pla y the

ALTERNITY ga me. Some adventures

can be completed in a single ses-sion; others might require se veral

sessions to reach a conclusion.

GAMEMASTERS

FAST-PLAYRULES

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PRESENTINGANADVENTUREA roleplaying ga mes a ction ta kes

pla ce in an a dventure. Within its

structure, the pa rticipa nts create the

group story. The Ga mem a sters role

in the ad venture centers around pre-sen ting an d na rrating the story, por-

traying supporting cast mem bers,

an d moving the story along a t a sa t-

isfying pa ce. Whethe r you use pu b-

lished ad ventures (such a s Caul-

dron Station , presented a t the end of

this se ction) or you create your own

epics, the Ga mem a sters role re-

mains the same.

Narra t ionThe heroes can t perform h eroic ac-

tions or daring deeds in a vacuum.

They need to be in volved in a story

during w hich they act, rea ct, a nd

create a fulfilling ta le. A story con-

sists of a beginning, a m iddle, an d

an end, and ea ch story should be

filled w ith conflicts a nd g oalsin

other words, obstacles for the h e-

roes to overcome a nd objectives for

the m to a chieve . Its u p to the

Ga mema ster to ha ve the basics of a

story ready when the ga me ses sion

begins .

Rememb er, though, tha t the story

will be comple ted by the group

through the a ctions of the he roes

an d their interaction w ith your sup-

porting cas t . The h eroes play a n im-

portan t pa rt in determining how a

story takes sha pe, and you should

ma ke sure their decisions play a

pa rt in the process.

You mu st de velop a ba sic plot (or

use a plot from a pub lished prod-

uct), provide m otiva tions a nd objec-

tives for the heroes, and h ave a n ex-

citing ide a for the end ing. A plot

requires enough ba ckground ma ter-

ial s o tha t the s tory feels like it fits

the campa ign sett ing. Other ele-

ments that ma ke a good basic plot

include a m a jor a nta gonist (the vil-

lain), the a nta gonists n efarious

scheme, and motivations to make

the heroes w an t to get involved.

These elements come together in

the a dventures opening scen e

called the trigger.

The Cauldron Station adventure

provides a n exa mple of how theseelem ents work togethe r.

Suppor t ing Ca stEach of the p layers controls one

hero a t any given time. The

Ga mema ster controls all other char-

acters in the ad venture. The m ost

importan t supporting cast mem ber

is the m a jor anta gonist. A good vil-

lain sets the mood of a story and

can even ma ke the heroes more

memorab leno one recalls whorounded up the sp aceport thugs, but

everyone rememb ers the heroes

who took down Ca pta in Blacksta r,

the s courge of the Frontier!

Supporting cast me mbers include

the ma jor villain; his or her as soci-

ates a nd hired ha nds; the au thority

figures who comma nd or emp loy the

heroes ; the informan ts, witnes ses ,

an d shop owners the heroes interact

with; a nd the va lued friend s, hire-

lings, an d a ll ies rea dy to help the

heroes a t a mome nts n otice. TheGam emaster needs to be ready to

run these characters as they are

called u pon, or to improvise a s the

need a r ises .

Its imp ortant for the G a mem a ster

to give each s upporting cas t mem-

berespecially major opponents

an d all iesmuch the sam e consid-

eration players g ive their heroes

when they create them.

Some supporting cas t members

should b e fully develope d, with a

complete se t of skills and vitalga me s tatist ics. Other chara cters,

such a s minor opponents, experts,

an d bystan ders, need only the skill

scores a nd sta tistics tha t might

come into play during a scene . For

examp le, give a common thug a

comba t skill or two, dura bility ra t-

ings, an d a w ea pon; give an expert

jus t the ski ll score s needed to use

his expe rtise on the heroes beh a lf.

The best pa rt about controlling

the supp orting cast is tha t you get to

create a ll kinds of persona lities dur-ing the course of play. Ha m it up,

pla y it straig ht, or go for the dram a t-

icdep end ing on the m ood of the

ad venture and the persona lity of the

chara cter in que stion.

If you wa nt, use a uniqu e voice

for each cha racter by doing a ccents

(a French Combat Spec, a Russian

Diplomat), employing different

styles of speech (a forma l-sound ing

Free Agent, a Tech Op who us es lots

of slang express ions), or giving

chara cters signa ture phrases (suchas a n informant who always spouts,

Wha tever you sa y, Boss, wha tever

you s a y).

Reme mb er, youre not compe ting

a ga inst the pla yers! If a nything, the

heroes should get a brea k now an d

then just beca use theyre heroes. So,

be im pa rtialdont fa vor the s up-

porting cast over the heroes. Tha t

jus t d ecrea ses th e a ll -im porta nt fu n

factor for everyone in volved.

PacingAnother aspe ct of presenting a n a d-venture is th e pa cing of the s tory.

The story sh ouldnt a rtifically pu sh

the heroes to meet some schedule.

Instea d, wa tch how the scenes pla y

out. When a scene sta rts to drag a nd

the fun fa ctor begin s to fla g, tha ts

when you step in to give the scene a

boost. How? By using the re sources

at your disposa lma ybe ha ve a

supporting cha racter show up with

some tip that gives the he roes a

nud ge in the right direction. If yourpla yers dont know wha t to do next

an d the story is in da nger of stall-

ing, its u p to you to g ive it ne w life.

Dont create a n a dventure ou tline

tha ts s o complete the h eroes can t

ma ke a ny decisions without violat-

ing your plot. Start the a dventure

with a ction, and ha ve lots of other

action idea s rea dy to insert into the

flow as the ga me ses sion progress-

es. Use comba t, cha llenge s, encoun-

ters, conflict, ten sion, hum or, a nd

mystery to keep a n a dventure mov-ing toward its drama tic conclusion.

The b as ic rule for pacing is that

as long a s the p layers are ha ving

fun, stay in the cu rrent scene . When

the a ction bogs down, then the

Gamem aster must he lp the pacing

by getting things moving aga in.

Modera t ingthe RulesThe Play ers Fast -Play Ru les section

of this booklet gives you the ba sicfacts a bout how the ALTERNITY g a me

works. Thats a ll you nee d to intro-

duce your players to the ga me sys-

tem an d run the adventure in this

se ction. In pla y, its up to the Ga me -

ma ster to moderate the ga me so

tha t everyone has fun, pla ys fa ir,

an d is cha llenged. Of a ll these, the

empha sis is a lways on fun. If a rule

gets in the wa y of everyones e njoy-

men t, cha nge it. But cha nge it con-

sistently and after consideration.

Dont just cha nge a rule for the sa keof change .

Final decisions a re alwa ys left to2

GAMEMASTERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


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the Ga mema ster. Can the heroes

perform a pa rticular a ction? Ca n

they e ven try it? Thats u p to you .

Make your decision ba sed on the

need to keep the story moving, your

interpreta tion of the rules, and

wh ethe r or not the a ction fits the

story and increa ses everyones e n-

joyment of th e ga me . Be fa ir a nd im -

pa rtial in your trea tment of heroes

an d supporting cha racters. Cha l-lenge the players an d their heroes.

The p layers wa nt to see their heroes

tested , to experience th e thrill of

compet ing a gains t the odds a nd

coming ou t on top. Heroes d o this

sort of thing a ll the time! Jus t ma ke

sure the players ha ve decisions to

ma ke an d options to choose from as

the ad venture unfolds.

If someone disa grees with a deci-

sion, call a t ime out a nd d iscuss i t

with the group . You still get to ma ke

the fina l call , but you ca n redu ce theposs ibility of hard feeling s if you

modera te the ga me fairly. The g oal

is to tell a good group s tory an d to

ha ve fun, not to abus e the heroes.

Sometimes the dice a re just going

to fa ll the w rong wa y. Tha ts oka y.

But you might wa nt to give the play-

ers a brea k now a nd the n. After all ,

its no fun for a pla yer to lose a he ro

in a stup id an d ran dom wa y. Be le-

nient wh en determining the difficul-

ty of a pa rticular action, or chang e

the result before revea ling the out-come to the p laye rs. This sort of ma -

nipula tion is the Ga mema sters pre-

rogative, but u se i t spa ringlyan d

alwa ys in the interest of keeping the

story moving a nd the fun factor

high.

THE SETTINGThe Gam emaster de termines the

sett ing for his campa ign. Depen ding

on the features of a p articular s et-

ting (su ch as tech nology, ge nre, and

scope), certain portions of the

ruleshigh -tech gea r, psion ics, a nd

aliens, for instancemay or ma y

not be used . For exam ple, a s pa ce

opera sett ing usu ally has faster-

than -light spa ceships, energy

wea pons, and tons of nonstop ac-

tion. A nea r-future techn othriller s et-

ting, however, ha s a g ritty, ha rd-

edg ed feel, more familiar

technology, and only dea ls with the

problems of a sing le world.

In the Gam em aster Guide , the

process of creating s ett ings is dis-

cussed in more deta il . The Cauldron

Station ad venture in this booklet

takes place in a t rad i tional s pace

opera sett ing.

USING

THE GAM EM ECHANICThe ALTERNITY gam e is bui l t a round a

core mecha nic tha t has nea rly uni-

versa l ap plication. All heroic a c-

tions in the ga me can b e resolved

by rolling just two d ice: a control die

an d a situation die. A control die is

alwa ys a d20; a s i tuation die can be

a d4, d6, d8, d12, or d20. Dep en din g

on how ha rd or easy a par t icular

tas k is, theres ult of the situa tion dieis ad ded to or subtracted from the

resu lt of the control die, a s de tailed

in the Playe rs Fast-Play Rule s.

You can use the dice in va rying

wa ys, though the mecha nic is al-

wa ys the sa me: Roll two dice to

achieve a num ber tha ts equ al to or

less tha n a chara cters a ppropriate

score. If the ta sk is a ssocia ted with

a skill, then the s kill score is us ed. If

its a feat, then the a ssocia ted Abili-

ty Score is us ed. In a ll uses of dice

dur ing a gam e sess ionexceptwhen roll ing for dam ag elow re-

sul ts are bet ter than h igh ones .

Use the mecha nic to determine

the success of an attack, using a n

a pp ropriate comba t skill; to over-

come a chal lenge, us ing a physica l

or menta l skill; or to determine th e

outcome of an encounter, using a

Persona lity skill in conjunction with

good roleplaying.

The MostImportant Rule

Not every act ion re qui res a d ice rol l.

Repeat this sentence and app ly it

often. When the heroes a ttempt nor-

ma l, everyday tas ks, they should a c-

complish them without consulting

the dice. In he roic situa tions, wh en

the outcome is in doubt a nd the re-

sult could m ea n life or dea th, then

ha ve the pla yers roll dice.

Situat ionDie StepsThe bes t tool you have a s the Ga me-

ma ster is your abili ty to set the odds

of a ny given tas k. You ca n d o this by

ad ding bonus es or pena lties for

given situations and counting in the

ap propriate direction on the Situa-

tion Die Steps Sca le (pres ente d in

th e Playe rs Fast-Play Rule s). Or, if

youre more inclined towa rd qu ickresolutions, simply eyeb a ll it; select

the mod ifier that ma tches how d iffi-

cult or easy you wa nt the task to be.

Examples of Si tuat ion Modif iersWe a p o n Ra n g e S h o rt Me d iu m Lo n g

Pistol 1 step +1 step +3 steps

Rifle 1 step None +1 step

Ta r g e t h a s Co v e r

Light cover +1 step penalty

Medium cover +2 step penalty

Heavy cover +3 step penalty

S i t u a t i o n

Amazing difficulty +3 steps Amazing ease 3 steps

Good difficulty +2 steps Good ease 2 steps

Ordinary difficulty +1 s tep Ordinary ease 1 step

Marginal difficulty None Marginal ease None

Ey e ball ing It S itu a tio n D e sc rip tio n Mo d if ie r S i tu a tio n D ie

Extremely easy 3 steps d8

Very easy 2 steps d6

Easy 1 step d4

Average None +d0

Tough +1 step +d4Hard +2 steps +d6

Challenging +3 steps +d8 3

GAMEMAS

TERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


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Put t ing I t Int oPract iceWha t do you actua lly do with this

information? That d epe nds . Here

are e xamples of both methods in ac-

tion. Use either me thod or a combi-

na tion of the two, a s you s ee fi t .

The Step-by-step Method: Mi-

che les he ro, Ja de , wa nts to ta ke a

shot a t the vil lainous boun ty hunter.Jad e ha s the p is tol skil l, so she ha s

a ba se si tuation die of +d0. The

bounty hunter is 25 meters a wa y

from Ja de, which is med ium ran ge

(+1 step pe na lty) for her we a pon,

a nd h a s l ight cover (+1 step pe na l-

ty). In a dd ition, be ca us e Ja de is

sta nding a top a moving a ircar, you

declare that the si tuat ion ha s a

Good leve l of difficulty (+2 ste ps ). By

counting out the step s on the Situa -

tion Die Steps Scale, the Ga mem a s-

ter determines that Ja de ha s a finalsitua tion die of +d12. Michele rolls

d20+d12, hopin g to ach ieve a total

tha ts eq ua l to or less tha n Ja de s

p is to l score. If she s ucceeds , then

Ja de h its her target, scoring either

a n O rdinary, Good, or Ama zing s uc-

cess, as deta i led in the Players

Fast-Play Rules.

Eye ball ing It: Dave s h ero, Ja ck

Everstar , nee ds to sl ip pa st the cus-

toms official. Since Eversta r doe sn t

have the sneaksp ecia lty skill, his

ba se si tua tion d ie is +d4. You de cidetha t the official is pa rticularly vigi-

lan t toda y. This ma kes the s i tuation

Ha rd, cau sing Everstar to ta ke a +2

step pe na lty. Da ve rolls d20+d8, hop-

ing for a resu lt equ a l to or less tha n

Eversta rs Stea lth skill score.

Act ion RoundsHow a ction rounds w ork is de-

scribed in the Play ers Fast-Play

Ru le s. Although a ctions in a pha se

a re considered to occur simultan e-ous ly, you d ont wa nt eve ryone

roll ing dice a t the sa me time. In-

stead, al l chara cters who a re ent i -

t led to an a ction in the sa me pha se

should a ct in the order of their a c-

t ion check scoreshighest score

first. The resu lts of the ir actions

(such as da mage) are ap pl ied a t t he

end of the pha se, thus simulat ing s i -

multan eous a ctivity.

Example : Ja de , Everstar, a nd

the boun ty hunter Kreet ea ch

a chieve a G ood action check result .Their a ction check s cores a re 13, 10,

a nd 15, res pe ctively. For ea se of

pla y, Kreet a cts first in the Good

pha se, followed by Ja de, then Ever-

sta r. The resu lts of ea ch cha ra cters

a ction are a pplied a fter everyone

ha s a cted, ta king effect in the Ordi-

na ry phase . If the cha racters ha ve

a ctions rema ining, they go in the

sa me order in the Ordinary phase .

DamageIn the fas t-play rule s ystem, dam -ag e comes in three types: stun,

wound , and m orta l . If a cha racter is

hit by an a ttack or some other da m-

a ge-caus ing condition, the deg ree of

success a chieved by that a t tack de-

termines the type an d a mount of

da ma ge su ffered by a character.

Each of the cha racter templates

a t the end of the Play ers Fast-Play

Ru le s l is t s some exa mples of

wea pons an d armor, an d includes

their importa nt sta tistics.Example : Kree t fires his 11mm

cha rge pistol at Ja de. He a chieves a

Good success a ga inst Jad e. The

da ma ge rang e for a Good success

with tha t wea pon is d 6+2w. Since

Kreet is a mem ber of the su pporting

cas t , you (a s the Ga mem a ster) roll to

see h ow much dama ge Kreet in-

flicts. The mos t he ca n d o is 8 points

of wound da ma ge on a roll of 6.

Secondary Damage

Serious, lasting injuriesmortaldam age a nd w ound dam age

cause s econdary dama ge to the

cha racter who is injured. For every 2

points of wound d a ma ge inflicted

on a character, tha t character also

suffers 1 point of stun d a ma ge. For

every 2 points of mortal da ma ge a

cha racter receives, tha t cha racter

a lso suffers 1 point of wound da m-

ag e a nd 1 point of stun da mag e.

Example : Ja de re turns fire with

her 11mm cha rge rifle an d gets a n

Ama zing su ccess a ga inst Kreet. Theda ma ge ran ge for an Amazing suc-

cess w ith he r wea pon is d6+1m.

Ja de s p la yer, Miche le, rolls d6 a nd

ge ts a resu lt of 4. Kreet s uffers 5

points of morta l da ma ge (4 + 1 = 5)

plus seconda ry dama ge of 2 wounds

an d 2 stuns.

ArmorCha racters can wea r armor to pro-

tect them from the da nge rs of ba tt le.

Armor can red uce the prima ry da m-

ag e a hero suffersbut armor hasno effect on secondary dam age .

Example : Jad e is wear ing a CF

long coa t whe n Kreet hits Jade for 8

wounds. Tha t amount of da mag e

cau ses 4 points of seconda ry stun

da ma ge, which Michele records on

Ja des cha racter templa te immed i-

a tely becaus e a rmor doesn t stop

seconda ry da ma ge. Now Michele

rolls to see how w ell Ja de s a rmor

protected h er he ro from the woun d

da mag e. The C F coat blocks d4+1

points of high im pa ct (HI) da ma ge .Michele rolls d4 an d ge ts a result of

3, for a tota l of 4 (3 + 1), so th e n um -

be r of woun ds is re du ced b y 4. Mi-

chele ma rks off 4 wound boxes on

Ja de s ch a ra cter te mp la te (8 4 = 4).

RecoveryAfter a cha racter suffers da ma ge, he

or she can get ba ck to full hea lth in

a num ber of different wa ys:

Wound da ma ge, but not mortal

da mag e, can hea l natural ly at arate of 2 wound points per we ek of

rest and recuperat ion.

The Knowledg efi rst a id spe-

cial ty skil l can h ea l stun dam ag e on

conscious pa tients, nega ting 2, 3, or

4 points of stun da ma ge de pending

on the degree of success a chieved

on the skill check (Ordin a ry, Good,

or Ama zing).

First a idcan a lso be used to re-

vive a character who wa s knocked

out due to stun da ma ge, restoring 1,

2, or 3 stun points de pen ding on thedegree of success.

This ski ll can be used to heal

wound dam ag e; a ny success re-

stores 1 wound p oint.

The Medica l Sciencetreatment

special ty ski ll can be used to heal

stun da ma ge on conscious pa t ients,

a s pe rfi rst a id above.

Medica l Sciencetreatmentca n

also be u sed to revive a character

who wa s knocked out due to stun

da ma ge , restoring 2, 3, or 4 stun

points depen ding on the degree of success.

This ski ll can be used to heal

wound dam ag e; a ny success re-

stores 2 wound points.

The Medica l Sciencesurgery

special ty ski ll can be used to heal

wound damage a nd morta l damage;

a success restores 1 point of mortal

a nd 2 points of wound d a ma ge. This

skil l can be us ed on a speci fic pa-

tient once e very hour. If a Critical

Failure occurs, the pa tient suffers 1

a dditiona l point of morta l dama ge. Any rema ining stun da ma ge

disappe ars a t the end of a scene.4

GAMEMASTERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


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This a dventure u ses the fast -play

rules to introduce Ga mema sters and

pla yers to the ALTERNITY ga me. Only

the Game ma ster should read this

a dventure b efore play be gins. If players read the a dventure before

their heroes ge t to pa rticipate in i t ,

theyll ruin the fun of being su r-

prised a nd w ill spoil the g roup sto-

rytell ing e xperience for everyone.

As th e G a me ma ster, its your job

to rea d through this a dventure a nd

become fam ilia r with the ba sic plot

a nd mood of the s tory. Whe n youre

rea dy, let the p layers crea te heroes

using the Playe rs Fast-Play Rule s.

Encourag e the p layers to assemb le

a ba lanced group of heroes, wi th a tlea st one representa tive from each

of the profess ions. The h eroes w ill

need brains, bra wn, and ne gotiat ing

skil ls to survive the cha llenges of

Cauldron Station.

BackgroundThis a dventure ta kes place in a far -

future, spa ce-opera sett ing. The he-

roes ha ve access to a num ber of

high -tech tools tha t dont exist in the

current day a nd a ge. In a ddition, thetone is he roic, larger tha n l ife, and

fits in ne a tly with your favorite sci-

en ce fiction film e pic.

Ca uldron Sta tion is a mining out-

post on the i solated plane t known a s

Ca uldron. The n a me fi ts the w orld

very well. Ca uldron is litera lly a

hell ish pla ce, a s i t orbits exceeding -

ly close to i ts s tar a nd ha s a high

volume of volcan ic a ctivity. Even in

the relative coolness of a g ian t

can yon, Ca uldron Station endures

tempe ratures of 500 C du ring thehea t of the da y. Through the won-

de rs of far-future techn ology, the

mining outpost protects i ts workers

from the de a dly environment, al low-

ing them to rea p the p rofits their

processed ores b r ing on the open

market .

The s tation is a se lf-sus taining,

tota lly enclosed system tha t holds a

comforta ble environment within i ts

insulated wal ls and pressu re

domes . It keeps the he a t and toxic

atmosphere out , using the sa metechnology that a llows this future

civil iza tion to explore a nd travel the

sta r la nes . Even the mines a re pro-

tected so tha t the workers can la bor

sa fely; the mine sha fts a re dril led

ben ea th the protection of grea t pres-

sure domes.The h eroes come to Cau ldron in

their tra der-class sta rship, the Ne bu-

la Bounty, for bus iness pu rposes.

They ha ve a shipme nt of 3D comput-

er program s to sell to the outpost, in-

cluding enter tainment program s,

news an d technical journals, and

the lates t Grid interactives to chee r

up the recrea tion-starved mine rs. In

a ddition, they pla n to f il l their cargo

holds with p rocess ed ore. The con-

struction p rojects g oing on in other

nea rby star systems are in desper-a te ne ed of qua li ty orea nd theyre

willing to pa y extreme ly well for it.

Unfortuna tely, a few e ven ts com-

bine to make this pa rticular trading

mission a lot more ha zardous tha n

usual .

First, the reg ion of Ca uldron

housing the outpost is experiencing

a p owerful ma gne tic storm. Commu-

nications into and out of the ba se

ha ve been disrupted by the ma gnet-

ic activity, so the h eroes m ust m a ke

their a pproa ch without an y helpfrom the outpos t tra ffic bea cons.

Second, the storm plays h a voc

with the sh ips se nsors, so the vesse l

pa sses through a spume of molten

molybdenu m expe lled b y one of the

plan ets ma ny a ctive volca noes.

This sup erhea ted l iquid metal clogs

the sh ips ta chyon inta kes . While

this doe sn t hinde r the s hips norma l

performan ce, it does ma ke i t impos-

sible for the ve ss el to starfallto

travel at faster-than -light spee d.

Third, the outpost ha s i ts ownproblem . Two crea tures n a tive to

Ca uldrons environs ha ve invade d

the outpost, knocking out powe r an d

kill ing a significan t numb er of min-

ers. Beca use of the disruption in

communications, the h eroes dont

know about this problem ah ea d of

time. The yll discover it a s the y ex-

plore the sta tion.

Recent Event s

Whats bee n ha ppe ning withinCa uldron Sta tion? The m iners ex-

tended a sha ft tha t opened into a

lava f low deep bene ath the planet

surface. This sh a ft provided a ccess

to the outpost for a p a ir of dea dly

na t ive creatures that the miners

ha ve dub bed moltenoids. The m ol-tenoids invade d the m ining d ome

four da ys a go. Twelve mine rs were

killed before the survivors ma na ged

to contain the crea tures within the

mining dome by sea ling the a irlock

doors lea ding to the dome .

The creatures killed n ot out of

ma licious ne ss , to acqu ire food, or to

protect themse lves, but just as a

byproduct of their a l ien ph ysiology

(see The Sup porting C a st on pa ge

7 of this se ction of the b ooklet). The

miners the orized tha t , since thes ecreatures prefer to live in extremely

hot conditions, lowering the tem per-

ature inside the mining dome would

dr ive the bea sts ba ck into the s ha ft ,

which could then be sea led.

Instea d of returning to the s ha ft ,

however, the be a sts created a d iffer-

ent e xit. The moltenoids melted a

pa th through a n eme rgency closet

a nd into the conduit vents within the

sta tions ins ula ted w a lls. From the se

conduits , the creatures ga ined a l -

most tota l acces s to the outpost.More de aths an d ma ny injur ies

followed. The sta tion a dministrator

a nd the s ecurity officer eventua lly

decided to sea l off this wing of the

outpos t from the rest of the s tation.

Tha t was two da ys ago. About a da y

later , one of the crea tures rea ched

the power reactor a nd sh orted out

most of the sta tion. Now, with tota l

l ife s upp ort colla pse set to occur in

six hours, the s tation is on the verge

of dea thas are a l l the miners and

sta tion personne l trappe d within.

AdventureOut lineCauldron Station presents three ob-

sta cles that the heroes must over-

come: the da ma ge to their ship, the

sta tions powe r outage , a nd the in-

vad ing crea tures. The a ction is bro-

ken down into an opening t r igger

a nd three s cenes that follow, a s well

as a ddi t ional events based on the

ma p (see pa ge 8 of this s ection of thebooklet) tha t can b e us ed or ignored

a s you see fi t . 5

CAULDRON STATIONAn Int roduct ory ALTERNITY Adventure G

AMEMAS

TERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


7/13

Trigg er:The adventure begins

after the heroes land on Ca uldron

an d enter the a irlock that lead s into

the station. Three gu a rds, led by sta -

tion se curity officer Birrde n, set a n

am bush for the h eroes. They see the

heroes as unknown invaders , per-

hap s pi ra tes or smugglers seeking

to profit du ring th e s tations curren t

crisis . The ope ning s cene of the a d-

venture definitely has the p otentialto become a combat scene, although

the he roes can negotiate with Bir-

rden if they a re so inclined (turning

it into an e ncoun ter scene).

Encounte r Scene : Station Ad-

ministrator Crowell has ga thered

the other su rvivors in the ore storage

ba y. With the temp era ture rising

and the a i r ge t ting less brea thable

with every pa ssing h our, Crowell

an d his lot are gett ing closer and

closer to pa nic. They ha ve no su rviv-

ing technician s, no one with an yhope of repa iring the l ife su pport

system. They do ha ve something the

moltenoids w a nt, howe ver, which

the heroes can use in various ways

if they a re so inclined. The p roblem

is, Crowell and h is ban d refuse to

open the storag e ba y airlock. The

he roes will ha ve to enter by force

orthe preferred me thodneg oti-

ate u ntil Crowell is talked b ack to

his senses .

Combat Scene: Two moltenoids

a re loose in the facility. No ma tterhow friendly the heroes might wa nt

to be, the only viab le wa y to deal

with these creatures is either to de-

stroy them or otherwise ren der them

helpless so they can be removed

from the sta tion without further

ha rm befall ing the m iners. One of

the creatures must b e forcibly re-

moved from the lair i t has e stab-

lished in the engineering center be-

fore power can be restored to the

station. The other creature roams

through the wing , inflicting da ma gesimply due to the he at of its pa s-

sa ge. The h eroes might decide to

hu nt the b ea st or set tra ps for it (pos-

sibly using the ma terial provided by

Crowe ll from the ore b a y).

Challenge Scene: It is critically

important to get the l ife su pport sys-

tem b a ck on line. To do this, the he-

roes must remove the resident mol-

tenoid from the engine ering center,

repair the da mag ed power genera-

tor, an d en ter the conduits ben ea th

the s tation to reinitia lize the lifesup port system. This requires a com-

bina tion of technical s kills a nd

ha nds-on laborwhile possibly

keeping one or more of the creatures

at ba y.

The Support ingCastThe facing pa ge contains essen tial

informa tion ab out the four types of

suppor ting cas t memb ers tha t play

a p a rt in this adven ture: two unique

cha racters, Birrden a nd C rowell; the

group of surviving mine rs, a ll con-

sidered ide ntical for the sa ke of sim-

plicity; an d the two moltenoids that

ha ve entered the station, both de-

scribed with a single set of statis-

tics. These cha racters a re controlled

and port rayed b y the Gam emaster.

Feel free to expan d u pon their moti-

vat ions an d beh avior as dicta ted by

the way the ad venture unfolds.

The num bers in brackets follow-

ing some of a cha racters AbilityScores represent resista nce modi-

fiers (which we re explaine d in the

Playe rs Fast-Play Rule s). In the list

of skills ea ch chara cter possess es,

the nu mber in b rackets following a

skill nam e is the ch a racters skill

scorethe dice result need ed to ge t

an Ordina ry success. If a cha racter

ha s a specialty skill , that skil l name

an d the skill score ass ociated with i t

are printed in italic type immed iate-

ly after the b road s kill to which the

specialty skil l is rela ted.

The St at ionImportant locations within this wing

of Ca uldron Station a re dep icted in

the ma p on pa ge 8. Refer to tha t map

as you read the following informa -

tion, so you ca n familia rize yourse lf

with th e e nvironme nt. Dont show

the ma p to your players, unless they

succeed in obtaining it by using one

of the sta tions comp uters (see the

text in the next column concerninga rea 4).

Cau ldron Sta t ion is in ba d sha pe.

Since the power cut out, the temper-

a ture h a s rise n to 39C (102F) a nd

the a ir has g rown stale. In six hours,

the interior will heat to dea dly tem-

pera tures and the a tmosphere wi ll

turn toxic. If the p ower is restored

before the six hours expire, the sta-

tion ca n b e sa ved. Until then, emer-

gency lights ba rely i l lumina te the

facil i ty and the hea t grows stea dily

worse.Becaus e of the p oor environmen-

tal conditions, every hour chara cters

must ma ke a successful Stamina

endurance skill check to fend off

da ma ge. If a chara cter fails the

check or a C ritical Fa ilure occurs, he

suffers 1 or 2 points of stun da ma ge ,

resp ectively. Wea ring a n e -suit (see

below) eliminates the need for such

checks.

Airlocks must be open ed ma nua l-

ly, but no a irlock can be opened if

an other airlock connected to thesame area is a l ready open. The a i r-

locks to area s 7, 8, an d 9 ha ve been

sea led. These sea ls can b e removed

with the proper tools a nd a n hour of

work. (Area 8 is the on ly one of the se

places tha t the chara cters should

wa nt to gain access to, and theres

an other easier wa y to get in; see the

des cription b elow.)

Condu its containing w iring,

vents, a nd other ma chinery run be -

nea th the floors of the sta tion a nd

inside the insu lated w alls. Themoltenoids u se these conduits to

travel throughout the wing s hown

on the m ap . Note that no condu its

run benea th the mining dome (area

9) or the s torag e b a y (a rea 8). Only

the insula ted wa ll provides se cret

access to these a reas. Chara cters

can e nter the conduits, but they

cant travel through them a s ea sily

as the moltenoids can .

Most computer stations in the fa-

cility are inopera tive due to the

power outag e. Only compu ters inthe opera tions center (area 4) an d

the en gineering cen ter (area 6) can

be use d, tha nks to emergency power

supp lies in these rooms. Birrden,

Crowell , or an operating computer

can tell the heroes ab out the sta te of

the facili ty an d the impe nding time

limit.

Are a 1: This access tunne l

lead s from the land ing pa ds, where

the heroes ha ve docked their star-

ship . A tran sport carries th em from

the pa ds to the a irlock, which mus tbe opened m anu al ly.

Are a 2: These four a irlock

cham bers p rotect the wing from pos-

sible environmen t brea ches.

Are a 3: This transp ort tunnel a l-

lows the veh icles to service the s tor-

ag e ba y, the mining dome, and the

landing pa ds .

Are a 4: Bas e opera tions s erves

as the comman d center of the sta-

tion. Using the Com pu ter Scien ce

skill , heroes can learn the current

condition of the sta tion (Ordina rysucces s), call up th e sche ma tics for

repa iring the power genera tor an d6

GAMEMASTERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


8/13

The Support ing Ca stMiners

Nonprofess ional laborers

STR 9 [0] INT 9 [0]

DEX 8 [0] WIL 7 [0]

CON 8 PER 7

Durability (s/w/m): 8/8/4 Action check: 9+/8/4/2

Actions per round: 2

AttacksBrawl 10/5/2 d4s/d4+1s/d4+2s LI

Tool 11/5/2 d4+1s/d4w/d4+1w LI

Skills

Athletics [9]cl im b [10]; Melee Weapons [9]b ludgeon

[11]; Unarmed Attack [9]braw l [10]; Vehicle Operation

[8]; Stamina [8]end urance [9]; Know le dge [9]; Sys tem

Operation [9]; Awareness [7]; Interaction [7].

Equipme nt: Mining ge ar, universal tool (can be use d

as a club), comm g ea r (communica tion device ).

Every miner has a n individua l outlook, but in gene r-

al theyre fearful a nd ce rtain that de ath is nea r. All of

them a re loyal to Crowe ll. Some still trust Birrden, but

many blame her for the current s ituation.

MoltenoidsSTR 15 [+3] INT 6 [1]

DEX 11 [+1] WIL 6 [1]

CON 16 PER 4

Durabil ity (s/w/m): 16/16/8 Action check: 13+/12/6/3


Attacks

Heat see text

Claws 17/8/4 d4+2w/d6+2w/d4m LI

Defenses

Metallic hide d6 (LI), d61 (HI), d42 (En)

Dodge Successful skill check (13 or less ) in-

creases DEX or STR resistance mod-ifier vs . next attack by +1/+2/+3.

Skills

Acrobatics [11]dod ge [13]; Stealth [11]sneak [12];

Stami na [16]; Awarene ss [6]perce ption [9].

Moltenoids are four-legg ed creatures with smooth,

meta llic hide s. Their bodies are roughly cyl indrical, a

little l es s tha n a meter in diame ter. The c rea tures are

only able to move at a s pee d slightly fas ter than a

humans w alking pa ce. Two of them ha ve e ntered the

station accidentally, and most of the damage theyve

cause d is due to their physiologywhich is dea dly to

humans. One occupies the e nginee ring ce nter and pro-

tects it from intruders. The other one wants to reach the

ore storag e bay to ge t what Crowe ll is jea lously gua rd-

ing: cartons holding a liquid me tal that he cal ls fire

gold. Crowe ll se es profit when he looks a t the ma terial,

but the moltenoids nee d the s tuff to s urvive. They a rent

hungry enough to blindly a ttack, but they will be s oon.

Anyone within 2 mete rs of a molte noid could suffer

ene rgy dama ge from the intense hea t that emana tes

from the crea ture. Whene ver a character is w ithin

rang e of a moltenoid, the character must make a Stami-

na endurance check to see how much damage he or

she sus tains. Critical Failure, d6+2w; Failure, d4+2w;

Ordinary, d4+1w; Good, d6s; Amazing, no damage.

A moltenoid only us es its claw s to protect itse lf, or

whe n trying to rea ch a food source. Someone attackedwith the claw s a lso nee ds to check for hea t dama ge .

Securit y Chief Birrde nProfess ion: Comba t Spec

STR 13 [+2] INT 8 [0]

DEX 9 [0] WIL 8 [0]

CON 10 PER 6

Durability (s/w /m): 10/10/5 Action check: 9+/8/4/2


AttacksBrawl 15/7/3 d4+2s/d4+3s/d4+4s LI

Pistol 11/5/2 d6+2s/d8+2s/d8+4s LI

Defenses

Battle ves t d63 (LI), d62 (HI), d42 (En)

Dodg e Succe ss ful s kill che ck (10 or le ss ) in-

crea se s DEX or STR res istance modi-

fier vs. ne xt attack by +1/+2/+3.

Skills

Athle tics [13];Unarmed Attackbraw l [15];Acrobatics

[9]dod ge [10];Modern Ranged Weapons [9]p istol [11];

Vehicle Ope ration [9]; Stamina [10]; Know ledge [8]first

a id [9];Awa rene ss [8]perce ption [10];Interaction [6].

Gea r: Security ca rd (opens a ll doors exc ept the

closet in a rea 6 and the airlocks lea ding into area s 7,

8, and 9), s tutter pistol (range 6/12/30 me ters), battle

ves t, comm ge ar (communica tion device ).

Birrden takes her role as se curity chief s eriously.

The current crisis , while its not her fault, makes her

think that she ha s faile d those w ho place d their trust

in he r. Still, she w ill w ork to protect the s tation and i ts

inhabi tants. After getting ove r her initial confusion,

she w ill embrace the heroes as the bes t hope the sta-

tion has and she will do e verything s he ca n to make

sure they use their skills to sa ve Ca uldron Station.

Administ rat or Crowe ll

Profes sion: DiplomatSTR 8 [0] INT 10 [0]

DEX 10 [0] WIL 11 [+1]

CON 6 PER 13

Durability (s/w /m): 6/6/3 Action check: 11+/10/5/2


Attacks

Unarmed 8/4/2 d4s /d4+1s/d4+2s LI

Pistol 11/5/2 d4+2w/d6+2w/d4+1m HI

Defenses

CF long coa t d4 (LI), d4 (HI), d62 (En)

Skills

Athletics [8]; Unarmed Attack [8]; Mode rn Range d

Wea pons [10]pistol [11]; Vehicle Ope ration [10]; Stami-

na [6]; Know ledge [10]; Sys tem Ope ration [10]; Adminis-

tration [11]bure aucracy [13];Awareness [11]perce p-

tion [13];Interaction [13]bargain [15];Lea dership [13].

Gea r: Security ca rd (opens a ll doors exc ept the a ir-

locks to areas 7, 8, and 9), 11mm charge pistol (range

10/20/80 meters), CF long coa t, comm ge ar (commu ni-

cation device).

Crowe ll is a g ood adminis trator who g ot gree dy.

Now his g ree d could res ult in the de ath of the s tation

and its inha bitants. Hes a panicky man w ho isnt

thinking cle arly. It takes a s trong w ill a nd a s olid a r-

gume nt to ge t through his fear to rea ch the good le ad-

er benea th. Once thats done , hell go a long w ith the

heroes if hes shown that his actions will sa ve theminers under his command.

7

GAMEMAS

TERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


9/13

reinitializing th e life su pp ort system

(Good s uccess ), or access deta ils

ab out the mining opera tion, invento-

ry, and a ma p of the s tation (Amaz-

ing success).Are a 5: This me dical center

contains various medical supplies,

including six trau ma pa cks. Using a

trauma pa ck provides a 2 bonus on

an y Knowledge fi rst a id skill check,

or a 3 bonus on a ny Medical Sci-

en ce skill check for the purp ose of

hea l ing da mag e. Each t rauma pack

can b e use d six t imes before i ts con-

tents become depleted.

Are a 6: The en gineering center

contains the stations p ower gen era-

tor, control compu ters, and a ccess tothe l ife su pport system located in

the conduits bene ath this room. One

moltenoid ha s set up a lair in this

area by melting a hole into the wa ll

to the n orth of the pow er gen era tor.

Are a 7: The airlock lead ing into

this a rea ha s been sea led to protect

the l iving qua rters of the station

from the crea tures curren tly loose in

the mining wing.

Are a 8: The ore storag e ba y

contains both raw a nd processed

ore. There a re no conduits benea ththe floor of this a rea . Crowell a nd

six miners ha ve comma nde ered this

area , sea ling the airlock an d fend-

ing off frequ ent a ttacks by the m ol-

tenoids. Cartons of what C rowell

calls fire g old, mine d from the

same sha ft the crea tures emergedfrom, lure the moltenoids , since the

ma terial is food they n eed to sur-

vive. A melted h ole in the insula ted

wa ll, to the sou th of the a irlock, is

the route the crea tures use to reach

the stored cartons.

Are a 9: The mining dome p ro-

vides la borers with p rotection from

the hosti le environment. Sha fts a nd

mining equipment a re located a l l

around this a rea. The heroes should

not be concerned w ith entering this

area , unless they come up w ith awa y to get the m oltenoids ba ck into

the sha ft they emerged from.

Eme rgency Close ts : Marked E

on the ma p, each of these cab inets

when fully equipped contains four

e-suits , two trau ma pa cks, an d other

emergen cy supp lies. The closet

within area 6 also contains compo-

nents needed to repa ir the power

gen era tor. This closet can only be

open ed b y using C rowells secu rity

card . The contents of ma ny of the

close ts may ha ve a l ready beenuse d, at your discretion.

An e-suit protects its wea rer from

the a dverse effects of the ha rsh en-

vironment inside the station, provid-

ing an a i r supply and insula t ion

from the he at. Chara cters wea ring

e-suits d ont nee d to che ck for stundam age from the hea t ins ide the

station. If a chara cter wea ring an

e-suit suffers woun d or mortal da m-

ag e from a n a ttack, the suit loses i ts

a bility to protect its wea rer from

hea t .

Trigger SceneWhen the he roes enter area 2 on the

eas t s ide of the map to begin the a d-

ventu re, rea d the following to the

players:Its u ncom forta bly hot and th e a ir

has a stale sm ell to it eve n a fter the

airlock cycles closed. Em ergen cy

lighting p rovide s the only source of

illumin ation. Four closets line the

cham ber, and a second airlock leads

into the station. No one h as arrived

to greet you, and the p lace has an

aba ndone d, dea d feel to i t .

Birrden a nd three mine rs who

ha ve been deputized into a security

detail wait in a mbush in two of the

closets, one on e ach side of thecha mbe r. They are wea ring e-suits.

Ha ve the heroes ma ke action checks8

GAMEMASTERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


10/13

to start the scen e. They receive a +1

step pena lty because of the amb ush.

Ma ke one a ction check for the entire

se curity deta il, us ing Birrden s a ction

check score. The scene pla ys out in

rounds, as described in the Players

Fast-Play Rule s.

Birrden thinks tha t the heroes a re

pirates or sm ugg lers infil trating the

station. She ha s ordered the miners

to help her su bdue the invaders ,using their clublike tools w hile she

wields her s tutter pistol. After a

round of comba t, the heroes ca n con-

vince he r to stop figh tingif they

put down their weap ons an d surren-

de r. Otherwise , Birrden fights u ntil

she is d efeated. The mine rs surren-

der a s soon a s Birrden fa lls .

The trigger scene en ds with the

heroes defeating or tea ming up w ith

Birrden, or with them being cap-

tured b y the secu rity deta il. If cap -

tured, they can later explain wh othey are a nd w ill then be recruited

to help save the sta tion.

Encount e r Sce neBirrden eventua lly expla ins tha t Ad-

ministrator Crowell an d a ha ndful

of miners ha ve barricaded them -

selves inside the ore storage b ay.

Shed like the h eroes to ta lk to Crow-

ell and get him to come out of hiding

an d help. They nee d his security

card to open the closet in area 6.This closet contains the components

necessa ry to repa ir the power gener-

ator. Crowell also knows where

components are stored that can be

used to repa ir the h eroes ship.

If Birrden or a ny of he r secu rity

deta il arent a vailable to provide

this informa tion, the he roes will

ha ve to stumble up on the locked bay

on their own. The airlock lead ing to

area 6 shows signs of extreme da m-

ag ethe a l loy has b een mel ted and

scarred by wh at seem to be c lawmarks , but the ma teria l ap pears to

ha ve been too tough to get through.

The wa ll to the n orth of the a irlock is

an other mat ter. A passa ge ha s been

melted into the insu lated wa ll, an d

something very hot has app arent ly

moved through the condu it . Melted

wires, scorched pipes, an d other

signs of intense hea t mark the wa lls

of the passa ge .

The he roes can meet up with

Crowe ll in on e of three wa ys. If Birr-

den convinces them to seek outCrowell , she gives them the fre-

qu ency of his comm g ea r. They can

talk to him via the comm d evice. If

not, they ca n try to get his a ttention

by ba nging on the a irlock, or they

can u se the conduit tunnel to enter

the ba y.

Crowell ha s an 11mm cha rge pis-

tol tha t he isn t a fraid to fire. Hes

used i t aga ins t the crea tures , and

hell use it on the heroes if they d ont

ca lm him down and earn his t rus t.

Hes pa ran oid, jea lously p rotective

of the fire gold, an d un willing topa rt with componen ts to fix the he-

roes sh ip.

The he roes can bargain with

Crowell, or they ca n bluff him into

as sisting them. During ne gotiations,

the heroes must accumula te six suc-

cesses through their chosen form of

intera ction to win Crowells trus t.

(Each time a chara cter attempts a

bargain or bluff skill che ck, a n Ord i-

na ry result counts as on e success, a

Good result as two, a nd a n Amazing

result as three successes .) Combinedice rolls with roleplaying w hen

running this scene.

Or, they can simply decide to

overpower Crowell an d his ban d.

Each miner ha s a clublike tool to

use in his or her de fense. By the end

of this scene, the heroes sh ould a c-

complish the following things :

Lea rn that the moltenoids a re

a ttracted to th e fire gold. (A large

portion of the l iquid meta l is miss-

ing from a broken carton, beca use a

moltenoid consumed it .) Ob tain Crowells se curity ca rd

that opens the closet in area 6.

Secure C rowells promise tha t

spa re parts will be supplied to re-

pa ir their sh ip. (He wont turn th ese

over unt il the s ta t ion has been m ade

safe.)

Comba t Sce neThe p rimary comba t scene occurs in

the en gine ering room (a rea 6), wh ere

one of the moltenoids ha s esta b-lished a lair. The h eroes can lure the

crea ture into the open with fire gold;

they can u se fire gold to set a trap;

or they can s imply enter the cha m-

ber wi th weapons blazing.

The crea tures la ir is a b urrow

that ha s been melted into the thick

insulated wa ll that surrounds the

sta tions p ower g ene rator. The in-

tense heat has dama ged compo-

nents within the generator tha t must

be replaced b efore power can be

broug ht ba ck on line. If the he roesdont lure the m oltenoid out in s ome

wa y, theyll ha ve to ente r the b urrow

to ba ttle the crea ture. A sh ort, meter-

wide tu nn el open s into a 2-by-4-me-

ter cha mber carved in the insulated

wa ll to the north of the g enera tor.

The b ea st fights to defend itself an d

its lair , using i ts sha rp claw s a nd

the intense hea t of i ts body.

The second creature can be used

to create su spens e a nd build terror.

It can em erge from the da rk station

corridors or a rise from w ithin the

melted-out wa lls to houn d, harry,a nd a ttack the heroes. Or, they can

decide to hunt down the creature,

disp ens ing with it before trying to

restore powe r to the s tation. If nei-

ther of these events occurs, then the

crea ture appea rs during the chal-

lenge sceneadding a n element of

comba t for some of the h eroes to

dea l with while the others work to

fix the life su pp ort system.

Challenge SceneIn the end, this is the most importantscene of the a dventure. To sa ve the

miners (those sti l l in this wing as

well as those ba rricaded in the l iv-

ing s ection), the he roes mu st restore

power a nd reinitialize the l ife su p-

port system. If they h ave obtained

the pa rts stored in the closet in a rea

6, and ma nag ed to ca l l up schemat ic

diag rams on one of the operational

computers, the heroes can repa ir the

gen era tor. This requires the Techn i-

cal Science skill. If a he ro is usin gth e juryrig spe cialty or just the

broad skill , he or she m ust a chieve

eigh t success es. If the repairspe-

cialty is u sed, the num ber of suc-

cesses n eede d is redu ced to six. (See

Encounter Scene a bove for how to

count up accumulated su ccesses .)

When the p roper numbe r of suc-

cesses has been a chieved, the a i r

vents hiss an d the l ights come ba ck

on. The temp erature be gins to drop

slowly. The sta tion is save d!

A f t e r m a t hIn the length of time it ha s taken

them to set things right a t the sta-

tion, the heroes ha ve turned from in-

truders in to celebrities. They a re

provided w ith all the pa rts they

need to fix their ship, and the y ma y

go on their way soon therea fter.

Or, perh a ps your group s tory still

ha s ta les to be told. If you a nd your

players are having fun and you

wan t to extend the a dventure a tCa uldron Station, keep on playing

and see wha t happens ! 9

GAMEMAS

TERS

FAST-PLAY

RULES


11/13


12/13


13/13

No Limit s . Ma y 19 9 8 .

Which Fut ur e

Do You Wa nt t o Pla y ?

Which Fut ur e

Do You Wa nt t o Pla y ?

Scien ce Fict ion Roleplay ing Gam eScience Fict ion Roleplay ing Gam e

Send heroes on a st el lar scavenger hunt t osolve the mysteries of an ancient al iencul t ure. Put t hem in the f ront l ines of aninterstel lar war. Assign them to protect Earthsleaders f rom assassins. What ever challengeyou decide to confront your players with, the

Rulesm ast er Guideputs you in control .

The Rulesm ast er Guidecont ains rules f orcreat ing support ing charact ers, st arships,even ent i re st ar syst ems wi th vary ingplanet ary environment s for any set t ing youchoose. A det ailed t act ical vehicle com batsyst em a llows you to orchest rat e bat t lesbetween ships in the depths of space. Youl lf ind guidel ines for int egrat ing over 30 di f ferentspecies of al iens, creat ures, and dangerousanim als into your advent ures. Complet e wit hcharts and tables for easy reference, the

Rulesm ast er Guideput s t he al te rnat etomorrows of science fiction roleplaying atyour f ingert ips!

Send heroes on a stel lar scavenger hunt tosolve the mysteries of an ancient al iencul t ure. Put t hem in t he f ront l ines of aninterstel lar war. Assign them to protect Earthsleaders from assassins. Whatever challengeyou decide to confront your players with, the

Gam em ast er Guideputs you in control .

The Gam em ast er Guidecont ains rules f orcreat ing support ing charact ers, st arships,even ent i re st ar syst ems wi th vary ingplanetary envi ronment s f or any set t ing youchoose. A detailed tactical vehicle combatsyst em a l lows you t o orchestrat e bat t lesbetween ships in the depths of space. Youl lf ind guidel ines for int egrat ing over 30 di f ferentspecies of al iens, creat ures, and dangerousanim als into your advent ures. Complete wit hcharts and tables for easy reference, theGam em ast er Guideput s t he al te rnat et omorrows of science f ict ion roleplaying atyour f ingert ips!

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TSR, Inc., is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast.

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Al Ternity Game Master