Mothership - Gradient Descent.pdf

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HOW TO USE THIS MODULE
abandoned android factory formerly known
as the
CLOUDBANK Synthetics Production
Facility.
The facility, now called
THE DEEP,
has
been taken over by its industrial AI,
Monarch,
and is cordoned off by a ruthless blockade of
corporate-backed
"Troubleshooters."
It can
easily be a deadly module, but it also contains
tons of roleplaying opportunities depending on
what your group is into.
`
If you're running an ongoing campaign:
place
THE DEEP
somewhere in rimspace and
drip-feed rumors of the
Artifacts (pg. 62)
buried within or reveal that a powerful NPC is
secretly an
Infiltrator Android (pg. 10)
with
ties to CLOUDBANK.
`
If you're starting a new campaign:
place your players just outside the blockade
as desperate
Artifact (pg. 62)
hunters or
wake them up in [33C]
THE FREEZER
with no
memory of their previous lives or arrival.
`
If you're running a one shot:
roll a
random Artifact (pg. 62)
and
location
(pg. 21)
and send a
Troubleshooter (pg. 14)
team after 30-45 minutes of real time.
`
If you just want content to steal:
each
Artifact (pg. 62)
can easily be found
on a derelict ship or in the clutches of an
insidious corporate oligarch, making for a
good 2-3 session adventure.
GRADIENT DESCENT
details the massive,
GRADIENT DESCENT
deals heavily with the theme
of "what does it mean to be human?" It plays
with this by specifically making the players
doubt whether their characters are or were
ever human through the use of a mechanic
called
The Bends (pg. 9).
The Bends operates
a lot like
Stress,
but is instead a measure of
how certain a character is that they're who
they think they are, rather than a
brainscanned
(pg. 5)
Infiltrator Android (pg. 10)
with fake
implanted memories. This can culminate in
players losing control of their characters as
they come to terms with their "real" identities
as pawns of Monarch, and then ultimately
refusing to leave
THE DEEP
under any
circumstances (becoming an NPC).
During testing this proved incredibly fun,
but for a lot of players messing with their
characters' identity and agency can ruin the
game. Talk to your players about whether that's
something they're interested in exploring, and if
they aren't, remove
The Bends
altogether.
As a final warning, there are
Android
Children
in this module who are, in essence,
being tortured by
Monarch.
If this would make
anyone at your table uncomfortable we highly
recommend swapping them out for adult
androids. This will in no way hurt the "story" of
the module. Remember: the safety of everyone
at the table is your primary concern.
Content & Player Agency
[4] Content Warning // Contains: Scenes of graphic violence, body horror, emotional trauma,
psychological distress, obscene language and harm to android children.
BASIC PROCEDURES
The trick to running
THE DEEP
is to surprise yourself. Use
Random Encounters
to provide context to
the space and
Reaction Rolls
to give meaning to the interactions. These tiny procedures combined
can help you and your players spark life in this dark, abandoned place.
Random Encounters
Roll 1d100 every 10 minutes
(or once per
Human Scale
room / three times in a
room)
as well as after loud noise (like, say, gunfire).
`
On a roll of doubles an encounter occurs.
If the roll is low
(below 50) the encounter
is close by.
If the roll is high
(above 50) the encounter
is far away.
`
Roll 1d10 on the Encounter Table.
If your group likes a lot of encounters it is
suggested to roll in every room or assume
every room has an encounter
unless you roll
doubles.
This works particularly well if you
don't assume encounters must be violent.
Reaction Rolls
Roll 1d100 to determine the encounter's first
impression
of the crew.
`
Rolling evens
means a positive reaction,
odds means a negative one.
`
Rolling doubles
increases the strength of
the reaction (a good impression becomes
friendly or a negative one becomes hostile).
`
High rolls
indicate the encountered group is
in a
strong position
(well stocked, uninjured,
confident, etc.).
Low rolls
indicate the
encountered group is
weak
(injured, low on
supplies, in need of aid, frightened, etc.).
Resist the temptation
to automatically turn
encounters into combat. Everything in
THE
DEEP
wants to talk to someone. You can run
this entire module without killing or fighting
anything (please tell us if you do).
Backtracking
When travelling long distances through areas
the crew has already explored there are a few
different ways to handle Random Encounters:
`
Fast Travel:
Make one roll (or automatically
assign one encounter) to a random location
along the crew's path.
`
Deep Crawl:
Make one roll for every room like
normal. This works best for groups who like a
slower, more meticulous pace of exploration.
ZERO-G
Much of the facility lacks artificial gravity,
which can be daunting for many Wardens
to run. However, if you just keep the
following in mind, you'll be fine:
`
`
`
`
`
`
Don't sweat it unless the stakes are
high or it's interesting to your players.
Anyone with
Zero-G
gets a pass.
Anyone without
Zero-G
has [-].
Momentum doesn’t go anywhere, it
has to be cancelled. Describe this.
Replace
"WALKING/RUNNING"
vocabulary with
"FLOATING/PUSHING
BRAINSCANS
Monarch (pg. 8)
hoards comprehensive
backups of human brains, called
Brainscans,
which it then uses to create
human-seeming
Infiltrator Androids
(pg. 10).
There are many places within
THE DEEP
where your crew might get
brainscanned. A few notes:
`
Brainscans are stored at the
[47H]
BRAINSCAN DATABANK.
`
Monarch, if it feels it is necessary,
will create Infiltrator Androids of
Brainscanned crewmembers.
`
Monarch
knows all the most
intimate memories of brainscan
victims, and uses this relentlessly.
`
Getting brainscanned increases your
Bends (pg. 9)
by 1d10.
OFF/LANDING."
UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT
is too relative.
Use terms like
‘TOWARDS THE FLOOR/
CEILING’
instead.
`
Due to the darkness and size of
THE DEEP
it is likely the crew lose
any points of reference, as well
as handholds to haul themselves
forward. This should cause
Stress
and be horrible.
In a pinch, pressurized gas can be
used to increase/decrease Speed.
Basic Procedures // Random Encounters are all about sparking life. Ignore them if they're boring. [5]

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