Halloween season is the perfect time to introduce an aspect of horror into your RPGs. While ghouls, goblins, skeletons, and ghosts are not unusual in your typical fantasy RPG setting, they can certainly be considered fearsome sights in other settings. While the Star Wars universe has Force ghosts and frightening creatures, we’re going to take the fear factor up a notch. This article provides the outline for an adventure that sends the player characters into an abandoned Imperial research bunker. Not only do the flickering lights and dripping sounds make for an eerie setting, the story becomes even more frightening once the characters figure out exactly why the bunker has become abandoned.
Story Hooks
Whether running this as a standalone adventure or introducing it into an existing campaign,the first thing needed is a way to get the player characters involved in investigating the bunker. Here are a few possible ways to get the group engaged:
- A local businessman hires the group to investigate the area after several shipments passing through have gone missing.
- Rumors of big game hunters vanishing in the forest have resulted in speculation that a particularly deadly creature is taking out even the bravest hunters. Claiming the creature’s head would certainly bring fame and fortune.
- A contact in the Rebel Alliance has received some intel indicating some captured Rebels have been sent to this planet for imprisonment. The Rebels are looking for some help obtaining scouting reports of the area, and may even be requesting assistance with freeing the prisoners.
- Villagers are becoming nervous after hearing weird screams and noises during the night. They stay indoors at night, and during the day, they’ve found the mutilated corpses of local wildlife. They are hoping some brave heroes will investigate the threat so they can feel safe again.
Setting
The setting for this is totally up to the GM. It can be any planet that has a forest or jungle type environment. Thick trees providing shadows and cover allow for unseen movements and the sense that it could be easy to become lost.
Encounter One – Finding the Bunker
The characters will need to get some information on the general direction of whatever disturbance has led them to take on this job. This can come in a variety of forms and should be closely tied to the particular story hook that is being used. Once they know where to go and prepare themselves, they head out into the wilderness.
Along the way, they have their first encounter that is showing something is not quite right – aggressive wildlife. Exactly what kind of creature they encounter should be customized to fit in with whichever planet they’re on, but the general idea is that the characters have a chance to notice something is not quite right with this specimen.
Mutated Creature [RIVAL]
Brawn: 4, Agility: 2, Intellect: 1, Cunning: 2, Willpower: 2, Presence: 1
Wound Threshold: 15
Soak: 6
Defense: 0/0
Skills: Brawl 2, Cool 1, Survival 2.
Abilities: Mindless Toughness – The creature seems immune to pain and continues moving forward despite its injuries, although it will succumb to them once passing the Wound threshold. (+2 Soak)
Equipment: Bite (Brawl; Damage: 6; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 2), Claws (Brawl; Damage 5; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]).
The creature is aggressive, and will attack on sight. Players can perform an average Perception, Knowledge: Xenology, or Survival check to notice anything unusual about the creature. Successes and advantages could reveal the following details:
- While these creatures are sometimes aggressive, they’re usually not as aggressive as this one was.
- There was something awkward in the way the creature moved, almost like it didn’t have the usual expected control of its limbs.
- The creature’s eyes were very bloodshot.
- If any of the creature’s blood was spilled during combat, they may notice the color of the blood has an odd green glow to it.
The rest of the journey to the bunker is uneventful.
Encounter Two – Exploring the Bunker
Upon reaching the bunker, it appears to not be guarded at all. In fact, the blast door is jammed halfway open, with the control panel ripped out of the wall next to the entry. Peeking inside, the bunker looks dark, with only some emergency power providing very low lighting.
As the group enters the bunker, the description by the GM is very important to setting the right tone for this part of the adventure. It should be emphasized that there is very little light, and the hallways are narrow and twisting – there could be things lurking around any corner several times. Have the group roll several Perception and Survival checks along the way to see if they get caught off guard. Successful checks mean they spot the causes of some of the noises or potential dangers before they stumble upon them. Failures mean they get startled by something (perhaps even a rat scurrying across the floor is enough to frighten them when they’re already on edge) or suffer some wound or strain due to dangerous conditions, like a loose wire giving them a shock or slipping on a puddle of spilled oil. Threats can be used to add Setbacks on subsequent checks.
Eventually, the locate the main lab of the facility. The door is locked and will require a hard Mechanics or Computer check to get in. Once inside, they find broken flasks and test tubes, blood splatters, and a flashing button. Pressing the button plays a holorecording. The recording shows an Imperial scientist frantically describing what went wrong here. What was supposed to be a virus that could be used as a weapon to wipe out hostile enemies has turned into something they cannot control. The virus has spread, the the infected have become so aggressive that the entire staff of the bunker has been wiped out.
A hard Mechanics check can bring the lab’s computer systems online, and an average Computers check reveals the technical details behind the virus, and perhaps the clues towards finding a cure.
Encounter Three – Mutant Attack!
As the group is investigating the lab, they start to hear noises from the surrounding areas. The GM should build the tension and continue to use Perception and Survival checks to determine what the PCs discover. Eventually, they will come face to face with the abominations that have been created by the experimentation here – mutated soldiers.
The soldiers are aggressive and mindless and will easily fall into traps or fail to adjust to superior tactics. The threat comes not in their individual effectiveness, but the sheer number of creatures. Minion groups containing three or four soldiers each should come in waves, building a sense of doom and hopelessness. The players will eventually notice that the soldiers are wearing both Rebel and Imperial uniforms – the Rebels were experimented on, and the Imperials were overwhelmed when the experiments went wrong.
Mutated Soldier [MINION]
Brawn: 3, Agility: 2, Intellect: 1, Cunning: 2, Willpower: 1, Presence: 2
Wound Threshold: 6
Soak: 4
Defense: 0/0
Skills: Brawl, Cool, Survival.
Abilities: Mindless Toughness – The creature seems immune to pain and continues moving forward despite its injuries, although it will succumb to them once passing the Wound threshold. (+2 Soak)
Equipment: Bite (Brawl; Damage: 4; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 1), Claws (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]).
The climax of the adventure comes when the group is confronted by the architect of the whole experiment – a mutated human in an Imperial uniform wearing a blood stained lab coat. Defeating the chief scientist will reveal that he has a data chip in his lab coat pocket that reveals more about the disease.
Mutated Chief Scientist [NEMESIS]
Brawn: 3, Agility: 3, Intellect: 2, Cunning: 3, Willpower: 1, Presence: 2
Wound Threshold: 18
Strain Threshold: 20
Soak: 5
Defense: 1/1
Skills: Brawl 1, Cool 1, Melee 2, Survival 2.
Abilities: Mindless Toughness – The creature seems immune to pain and continues moving forward despite its injuries, although it will succumb to them once passing the Wound threshold. (+2 Soak)
Equipment: Bite (Brawl; Damage: 4; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 1), Claws (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]), Infected Syringe (Melee; Damage 6; Critical 1; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 4).
Conclusion and Continuing The Story
Once the mutated soldiers have been dealt with and the schematic information has been retrieved – either from the lab computer, the scientist’s data chip, or both – it’s up to the GM to decide what the next steps are. A few possibilities exist for further adventures related to this episode:
- It is possible that additional mutated creatures and soldiers have escaped from the bunker and threaten to spread the disease throughout the planet. The characters could be tasked with tracking down the infected and administering a cure.
- The data chip from the scientist reveals that the lab communications systems were destroyed by the rampant mutants. In order to get his research results back to the Empire, he dispatched a droid. The players must intercept the droid before it allows for this disease to be weaponized by the Imperials.
- A vaccine would go a long way to preventing further outbreaks, and the lab data includes enough details for one to be synthesized. Unfortunately, the ingredients include some rare and difficult to find ingredients. The players must track down the components of the vaccine.
While running this adventure, the emphasis by the GM should constantly focus on the spooky environment, dangerous nature of the encounter, and ghoulish appearance of the enemies. Setting the mood properly can go a long way towards making this a memorable adventure during the Halloween season.
For another eerie Star Wars RPG adventure, check out the modular encounter “Are You Afraid of the Dark” in the Unofficial Rebels Source Book.
Steve "Jaspor" Orr
