Post by senko on Aug 26, 2021 4:19:22 GMT
Watching unearthly child and this popped into my head. Same basic premise for all 3 seeds but different possibilities of where the adventure goes.
Inspiration
Orb has gone away . . . probably just an ice age but what if something was actually being done to the sun which caused the earth to cool?
Plot A (Shades of Gray)
A badly damaged alien ship has arrived in the solar system and its malfunctioning systems are draining stellar mass from the star. If its not stopped the death of the sun will result in the solar systems destruction as the planets career off into the dark. However the crew aren't malevolent they just want to repair their ship to save their own lives and are more focused on that than stopping the draining of a star in an "uninhabited system". The party needs to find out the problem, realize the implications and find a way to stop the drain which can be as simple as letting the crew know the 3rd planet has a sapient if primitive species on it so they move repairing those systems up in priority. Alternatively it can involve finding a way to restore the system themselves as they crew can't/wont fix it.
Plot B (I signed form 42B)
An alien ship has moved in and is using a fusion scoop to drain the star for profit. Here you can go a number of ways ranging from having the crew operating legally and as above being able to be talked down through operating legally but being utterly beuracratic and rules focused in a "There's sentients on that planet? Too bad for them I have a fully signed and authorized form saying I can drain this star they should have lodged a protest years ago." At which point the party either has to stop the mining by sabotaging it or going back to lodge a formal complaint/appeal process (depending on party natures) to the draining being illegal as it was in 42 and having them on being confronted trying to stop/kill the witnesses to their actions with said witnesses being the party.
Plot C (I'm a campaign in disguise)
An alien race (I'd recommend the Sontarans or Ruthans) are testing a new weapon that will rapidly kill a star and its associated system. The party has to stop them and potentially prevent the further development of the weapon itself. This is for more action orientated parties and will likely involve having to escape, sabotage the ship and stop the development of the stellar devourer (advanced fusion scoop technology) both to preseve future humanity but can also lead into a larger campaign as it becomes apparent this was not the original timeline and someone is trying to alter history not just by wiping out humanity but giving this race an advantage that will reshape the entire future of the galaxy. Such as creating a new Sontaran race who are more deceitful and focused on victory at any cost instead of honor and a straight battle. For some reason I see this seed as ultimately leading to a future where due to various factors (less honorable Sontarans and no humans) Stor succeeds in destroying the Galaxy and Sontarans resulting in the release of some ancient horror (Omega for instance or maybe a great vampire). So once the party stop the draining of the sun they have an ongoing series of clashes with this mysterious force that's trying to alter history until they find out who their true enemy is and finally seal off its influence of the universe.
