Help with dramatic use of a foe

[ric]

Hello,

I'm looking for a suggestion about using a foe (Vashta Nerada to be exact) to increase the drama without actually killing all of the PC's

The PC'c are on an abandoned starship, all hands dead, all but one devoured to the bone; the only survivor, mummified, diverted all the energy of the ships to the lighting systems, then died of starvation; the Vashta Nerada are currently cornered by the lights, but, of course, re-directing the energy from the lights to the engines frees them.

The Doctor isn't here, so, apart from a video message from the former captain, how can I convey the horror and danger of the Vashta Nerada without killing a score of PC's?

Thanks for your input

[Craig Oxbrow]

Welcome aboard!

Perhaps the ship's galley has been protected by the lights until now, so the PCs see it full of supplies including a meat locker... and then the lights flicker and they hear a clattering sound, and find that all of the meat in the locker has been stripped to the bones which now lie on the floor, in a matter of seconds...

That's a simple example. The next two involve adding NPCs to the plot.

Maybe the captain managed to get one of the crew into cryo storage. He can be rescued and revived... and he starts screaming about the shadows and cowering in the light, and if not watched constantly he tries to commandeer the ship and aim it at the nearest star.

Could anyone else come on board the ship? Looters, maybe, following the power fluctuations as the PCs move around. They'd try and kill the PCs initially, then have to work with them as their numbers start dwindling.

[ric]

Thanks Craig!

I really likes the meat locker idea, creepy

I was ruling against NPCs because the ship is a sort of safe haven in a remote corner of the universe, where the doctor put the PCs to protect them from a mysterious foe (ignoring the vashta nerada, of course), but the cryogenic sailor is a very good idea, a "redshirt" to give the players a clear idea about the danger; thanks a lot

Writing adventures in the age of the internet, it's a way more easy

[elbarre]

maybe one of the pcs can be scarred or loose a limb and then maybe get it back by some nano technology by the end of the adventure?

[rev503]

How about a half eaten corpse laying against a wall with the words "The dark.." written in his own blood?

[knasser]

Ooh, my go:

There was only survivor (who eventually starved to death), but there were nearly two, if only the lights had come on just a few minutes earlier.

The PCs find a corpse lying in a room, the upper-half dessicated in the dry recycled air, the lower half clean bone. They see no explanation for it until the power starts to fail and the interior light in that room shuts off. Then the only light remaining is that from the corridor which slants through the door, neatly falling across the corpse with the bisecting line of shadow lying precisely across the eaten half of the corpse.

That should give them a fright. Also, with the meat locker, I'd drop hints (like the above one) so they can guess what might be happening. And they can think of using the meat in the locker themselves as a test for what might be in the darkness. If they're clever, they can use it to work out which shadows are safe. At least until they start running low on meat.

Also, I wouldn't rely on door seals to have kept the meat locker uneaten all this time. It takes away from the fear by suggesting the PCs can find a way to block the Vashta Nerada. Instead, I'd have a slightly more sci-fi chilled area behind a light force-field (the sort you can step through with a mild tingling but which will keep the heat in). What will protect the meat will be that the locker is lit at all times. That will be another clue for them.

This is a really good idea. I like this one very much. Would you mind if I used it myself?

K.

[lomythica]

Ever seen Event Horizon? Don't underestimate the power of a good old fashioned vid from the captain? The key to the vid, is for it to 'show' and not tell what is going on. Or, have it do some 'showing', in between the captain's 'telling'.

Another angle might be to have them start their journey in the security room, with cameras rolling.. Or, maybe only one camera is on, the one on the shadow.. There could be some videos cued to scenes of he Vashta Nerada in action. Maybe there's a note on the viewing desk that says 'If boarding this ship, press the green button...' or 'Press the green button if you want to live (arnold schwartzenneger voiceover).. or, the note could say 'Don't turn off the lights if you want to live.. press the green button to see why..'

Well, there's some brainstorm for you,

Matt

[knasser]

The video is a nice idea. Rather than have it contain direct messages to the PCs (which implies the captain already thinks they wont survive), have them fighting to the last minute to get all the power diverted and all the lights on. But reports keep coming in to the bridge: "C deck is dark. All hands lost", "engine room - we've nearly wired in the lights to the reactor core, another five minutes", etc. And then the end of the video can be the light failing so the video is just black but the sound continuing, voices and screams abruptly cut off till there's nothing but silence for several minutes until the systems they rigged up cut in and the light comes up on a pile of bones.

K.

[Curufea]

There's the Jane Solution as well - as pointed out in the commentaries for the Firefly series.

Have a strong, brave, courageous, fearless NPC be afraid of them. Thus lending credence to their scariness...

[ric]

Thanks to you all for the excellent suggestions, sorry if I didn't chime in before but I've been cut from the net for a few days.