Overrun

A mission to re-establish contact with an exoplanet terraforming station twists

from investigation to survival horror when the local xenolife becomes hostile.

¹ Introductory Scenario: Overrun is a stand-alone adventure designed for Gatecrashing Ops team.
¹ Campaign Play: Guidelines for Firewall, Gatecrashing, and Criminal Ops groups.
¹ Locations: Details Teragula — an exoplanet beyond the pandora gates —
its hostile marrow swamps, and the frontier terraforming outposts there.

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Eclipse Phase created by Posthuman Studios

 ECLIPSE PHASE CREATED BY
Rob Boyle and Brian Cross

Welcome to Teragula 2 Running Retaking the Platform 17

SitRep 2 the Infestation 12 Science! 17
The Characters 2 Visibility 12 Visiting Allegheny-6 17
Background 2 Leaping Hookbladders 12 Aftermath 18
Mission Theater: Teragula 3 Infested Crew 13 Effects of PC Actions 18
Hookbladder Infestation 3 Infested Creatures 13
Major NPCs 3 Dark Waters 13 New Gear 19
Bashing Things 13 Anti-Hookbladder Toxin 19
Setup 4 Dankey 19
Getting In 4 Survival Strategies 14 Hovercraft 19
Mission Briefing 4 Barricades 14
Gearing Up 5 Disabled Bots & Vehicles 14 Gear Pack 19
Travel 5 Fabbing 14 Creatures & NPCs 20
Calm Before the Storm 5 Hacking Airlocks 14 Hookbladder 20
Radio Repair 14 Infested Platform Crew 21
Onslaught 6 Rescuing NPCs 15 Infested Brontops 21
Starting Positions 6
It Begins 6 Sabotage 15 NPCs 22
Behind the Scenes 6 Scientific Solutions 15 Estes Chung 22
Mesh Issues 7 Scrounging 15 Kerensky 22
New Companions 7 Sniping the Infested 15 Average Platform Crew 22
Breaking Out 7 GM Tips 16 Ernesto Ernesto 23
Keeping it Moving 16 Frank 23
Terraforming Platform Ganges-4 Pulling Punches 16 Linard 23
Gamemaster Map 8 Heavier Hitting 16 Dr. Meg Nogumi 24
Boring Hellhole One-Shot Play 16 Nat 24
on the Edge of Nowhere 9 Stevedore 24
The Marrow Swamps 9 Resolution 17
Ganges-4 9 Bugging Out 17 Terraforming Platform Ganges-4
Hexamodules 9 Holding Out 17 Player Map 25
Area Key 9 Help Arrives 17

Writing: Jack Graham (first stage), Rob Boyle (fully infected)

Editing: Rob Boyle HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
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Musical Inspiration: Heilung, Tarmvred, Vara Sky, W.A.S.T.E.

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 WElCOME TO TERAGUlA
The player characters (PCs) are visiting an exoplanet terraforming
platform in an alien swamp when an outbreak of parasitic native
life begins infesting the station's crew. Overrun is a concise Eclipse
Phase scenario, perfect for one-shots and convention games.

SITREP
The PCs are sent through the Vulcanoid Gate to Terraforming
Platform Ganges-4, located in the marrow swamps of equatorial
Teragula, fourth planet from its star. It’s a chill, damp, overcast locale,
and remote from any other transhuman habitation. No one wants
to be assigned here for long. The PCs are looking for information on
what happened to Platform Allegheny-6, a nearby terraforming plat-
form operated by the same corporation, Brokenridge. Allegheny-6
recently went dark with no explanation from the management. The
agenda, however, turns from investigation to survival as security
alarms flash all over the platform’s public AR channels.

THE CHARACTERS
For new players and convention games, this scenario is best
run using the gatecrashing team — Astika, Jinx, Shrike, and
Whisper — from the sample characters provided in Eclipse Phase
Second Edition (▶ 90–93, EP2). If you have more than 4 players, the
others can choose freely from the other sample characters.
Of course, the players can also provide their own characters,
particularly if you are working this scenario into an ongoing
campaign. You're going to want a couple of PCs that can fight, at
least one good with tech (particularly Hardware: Electronics and
Hardware: Industrial), and one skilled in Know: Astrobiology.
This scenario assumes the PCs are conducting this investigation
at the behest of Firewall. Ideas for incorporating non-Firewall PCs
are included under Getting In ▶4.
An alternative option is to use some of the NPCs provided (▶22).
Ernesto Ernesto, Frank, Linard, Nogumi, Nat, and Stevedore can all
be adopted as PCs for this adventure.

BACKGROUND
TerraGenesis Incubator World Varis is currently being terraformed
in stealth mode. It is the fourth and only (semi-)habitable planet
in a system otherwise populated by a sun-like, main-sequence star,
some gas giants, and three other rocky and unremarkable terrestrial
planets. “Varis” was a name developed by a marketing committee.
Everyone living in the system, however, continues to refer to the
place as Teragula, the moniker assigned to it by the first gate-
crashers to explore here.
TerraGenesis has big plans for Teragula, but it is not yet ready
to promote to a wider audience of prospective colonists. The
atmosphere is deficient in oxygen, but the planet otherwise has the
chemistry needed to support a self-sustaining transhuman colony.
By cracking water at an array of fusion-powered electrolysis plants
in the planet’s abundant wetlands, the terraforming corp plans
to have breathable air within a few decades. At the same time, an
ambitious plan is underway to sequester carbon from the planetary
atmosphere, resulting in clear skies warmed by an orbital mirror
array instead of greenhouse gases. Large-scale efforts to introduce
plant life will follow, once a good environment for photosynthesis
has been established.

2¹ WElCOME TO TERAGUlA
 The resources required for terraforming efforts on this scale are
massive, and TerraGenesis already has their hands full with other HOOKBlADDER INFESTATION
exoplanets, so their cooperative congress made the controversial Hookbladders are an aquatic, jellyfish-like animal, named for their
decision to subcontract some of the work out to other hypercorps. single hard body part, an incredibly light, hard, ten-centimeter hook of
Terraforming Platform Allegheny-6 is one of nineteen similar horn-like material located near the animal’s single reproductive/diges-
platforms operated by Brokenridge Terraforming, a Martian subcon- tive opening. Specimens are translucent sacs 40–50 centimeters in
tractor. All of the platforms (named after Earth rivers) are situated in diameter, with a radial body plan and fine tentacles ending in feathery
the sprawling marrow swamps that cover much of Teragula’s surface. feelers. The hookbladder’s observed feeding behavior is to anchor itself
Four days ago, contact was lost with Allegheny-6. Brokenridge sent a by hooking its prey’s flesh and then enveloping all or part of it.
team to the site, but what they found has been hushed up. The TerraGenesis and Brokenridge colonies have been on Teragula
Brokenridge has a lot of hyperelite investment tied up in this for less than two standard years. The hookbladder’s full lifecycle
project, and they didn’t want to raise hackles among investors by takes six. For most of this time, hookbladders are no more than a
making any public announcement when Allegheny-6 went dark. nuisance to transhumans, occasionally inflicting painful hook cuts
They also don’t want to attract any attention from TerraGenesis, as on the careless.
they’ve been using indentures for terraforming work, which violates When they enter the active period of their reproductive cycle,
their contract (involuntary labor goes against the cooperative’s though, hookbladders become much more interesting. Able to swim
mondragon principles). Brokenridge’s field managers in the Varis rapidly and propel themselves up to 4 meters into the air using jets
system have been ordered to keep it a local affair. Allegheny-6 is of water, the hookbladders seek hosts. The hookbladder attempts to
only a day’s travel from Ganges-4 by hovercraft, and the problem is hook a victim and then envelop most of its head, leaving only the
about to spread. mouth exposed. It then compels its host to kill other animals and
collect their corpses.
MISSION THEATER: TERAGUlA When enough corpses have been collected, the hookbladder asphyx-
Teragula is distant from its star — a bit farther than Mars from iates the host atop its victims. It then bursts, spraying thousands of
Sol — but abundant greenhouse gases have left it nonetheless a eggs over the entire heap, adding its own body to feed its young. The
cool-to-temperate, muggy, dim world of sullen, orange skies. The larvae hatch within hours, gorging themselves for days before dropping
sub-polar regions are ringed by boreal mushrooom forests. The into the water to begin the aquatic part of their lifecycle.
rest of the planet’s land area is covered by the so-called "marrow All over Teragula, hookbladders are entering into this murderous
swamps" — malodorous, stagnant wetlands dotted with islands stage of their life cycle. The terraforming workers at Allegheny-6
formed from rotted fungi. were the first to experience this dangerous infestation of native
The marrow swamps get their name from the cartilaginous xenofauna — and the first to be wiped out by it. Unluckily for
growths emerging here and there from the soupy brown waters. the PCs, the next station due to be swarmed by hookbladders is
These soft, slimy, vertebrae-like structures form arches and coral- Ganges-4. Even as the PCs fight for their lives, the phenomenon will
like, branching spires. They extend underwater as well. The growths erupt into full bloom planetwide.
aren’t organisms in and of themselves. Rather, they seem to be a
byproduct of the swampwater’s incredibly rich nutrient soup, which MAJOR NPCs
teems with both micro-organisms and things that might be organ- As the PCs work to survive the onslaught, they can be helped and
elles if the entire waters of the swamp were viewed as one giant cell. hindered by several NPCs ▶22:
Free-floating genetic material, its purpose unknown, and complex
proteins not belonging to any distinct organism in the local • Ernesto Ernesto: A former submarine pirate on Europa, this neo-pig
ecosystem are among the water’s other properties. The function, if is now a convict laborer working for Brokenridge. He is frequently
any, of the cartilaginous growths is unknown. reprimanded for insubordination and currently held in the brig.
Teragula’s surface gravity is a comfortable 0.7 g. The atmosphere • Estes Chung: As the platform's administrative manager, Chung's
isn’t toxic, but is very young and doesn't contain enough oxygen for primary concern is not making waves with his corporate superiors.
baseline transhumans, causing them to asphyxiate in a few minutes. He falls prey to a hookbladder early on.
Beyond a breather, however, no protective equipment is needed. • Frank: Ernesto's neo-pig brother, also a convict indenture, secretly
The atmosphere’s queer deficiency in oxygen, given the carries the AGI Nat in a ghostrider module.
abundance of water, stems in part from a dearth of plant life. • Kerensky: The station's security chief is a die-hard Brokenridge
Photosynthesis is a rare niche adaptation in Teragulan organisms. loyalist. She dies early on while attempting to flee in a hovercraft.
The microbes, fungi, and cartilaginous coral-analogs of the swamps • Linard: A disgruntled Extropian terraforming engineer, Linard has
don’t have a respiration cycle that produces oxygen, nor do the a reputation for being argumenative and obnoxious. He is injured
animal-analogs that feed on them. but survives the initial attack, holes up at the reactor, and calls for
For the animal analogs, this means life histories that seem rescue. His only concern, however, is his own skin.
lethargic by Earth standards. Long lifespans punctuated by simi- • Nat: Nat is an AGI and Firewall vector. She is the source of Firewall's
larly slow reproductive cycles are the norm. Now, transhumanity is intel. To get closer to the situation at Allegheny-6, she struck a deal
about to encounter the implications of this norm in the lifecycle of with Frank & Ernesto.
Teragula’s most unpleasant denizen — the hookbladder. • Dr. Meg Nogumi: A xenobiologist assigned to study Teragula's native
life. She survives the first wave and hides on a rooftop. She is terrified,
but can be a useful set of eyes or provide scientific advice for the PCs.
• Stevedore: This strangely human-acting general-purpose auto-
mech bot is one of the few on the station that is not shut down by
Brokenridge's termination commands when the assault begins.

WElCOME TO TERAGUlA • Mission TheaTer: Teragula–Major nPCs

¾3
 MISSION BRIEFING
SETUP If you are playing this as part of a Firewall campaign and already
The adventure starts, like many do, with a simple job. have a router or other proxy (▶ 172, EP2) established for the sentinels,
that NPC contacts the PCs via encrypted channels to recruit them for
GETTING IN the mission. Otherwise, the sentinels are approached by Sustenatrix,
OVERRUN

There are several ways to incorporate the PCs into the scenario, a proxy they are already familiar with (see Sustenatrix ▶ below).
depending on whether they are Firewall agents, simple gatecrashers, The sentinels received the following message:
or something else.
Sentinels,
Gatecrashers Terraforming platform Allegheny-6 is a remote facility in
As gatecrashers, the PCs take a job to deliver needed supplies to the marrow swamps of the exoplanet Teragula. Four days
Brokenridge's Allegheny-6 outpost. It's not a glamorous gig, but it ago, Allegheny-6 ceased communications with Brokenridge,
a hypercorp subcontracted by TerraGenesis to assist with
pays the bills — or perhaps the PCs are performing a quick favor
terraforming the planet. Neither corporation has released a
owed to a contact. Once on Teragula and en route to the platform,
media statement and our sources indicate that Brokenridge
however, they are given instructions to stop at the Ganges-4 plat- is working hard to cover the situation up. We don't know
form and wait there for further instructions. No explanation or what happened, but our sources indicate that it was sudden,
time estimates are given, and Brokenridge's authorities stonewall bad, and has the top suits at Brokenridge spooked. We're
attempts to gather more information. The PCs are either killing time sending you there to investigate or intervene as necessary.
or contemplating "borrowing" a hovercraft to finish their gig when I've arranged false identities for you as terraforming researchers.
the scenario begins. You'll need to play the part and follow TerraGenesis's
restrictions on what you can take through the gate. Your first
destination is terraforming platform Ganges-4. You'll meet
Firewall Agents a contact there who will provide you with necessary gear,
Word about the Allegheny-6 platform's sudden radio silence and weapons, and intel updates. From there, secure transportation
a possible cover-up has reached Firewall. Proxies with hypercorp to Allegheny-6, investigate the situation, and collect
ties were able to quickly infiltrate the PCs onto the nearby platform documentation. If any hostile force, transhuman or xeno, still
Ganges-4, posing as terraforming scientists. You can roleplay this remains, take all necessary measures to contain the danger.
out (see Mission Briefing ▶ next column) or simply jump to them being at TerraGenesis plans to settle 10,000 colonists on Teragula in a
the Ganges-4 outpost (recommended for one-shot play). few months. If the company is concealing risks to these people,
they must prevented from going forward with their plans.
The sentinels are tasked to investigate the fate of
Allegheny-6 — and their cover identities/duties should send
them there — but the PCs are quickly informed that travel to the Give the PCs a chance to respond and ask questions. If you are
nearby platform is temporarily restricted due to an "unscheduled jumping directly into the scenario, simply provide the message
security exercise." No one seems to know or be willing to divulge above as backstory to the PCs.
anything more.
Research → PCs that take the time to ask their router, do some
research, make Know Tests, or pull rep favors for info can find
NPC Pre-Gens out the basics about Teragula, TerraGenesis, and Brokenridge
If the players are using the terraforming worker NPCs as their PCs,
detailed under Background ▶2. If they investigate Teragula's
they have a choice. They can choose to be unassuming employees
native life, they can find out about brontops (▶21) and similar
of who are sadly not expecting zombifying invertebrate parasite
herbivores. However, there is very little information available
breeding season, they can choose to be Firewall sentinels deployed
about hookbladders and absolutely nothing about their life
here as outlined above, or they can be a mix of sentinels and
cycle and its implications, as transhumanity simply is not
workers thrown together.
aware of it yet.
Other
A little more effort is required for non-Firewall campaigns. Criminal Sustenatrix
PCs might be captured and sentenced to indentured labor on If the PCs ask about Sustenatrix, read the following:
Teragula, or they may be sent by a cartel looking to corner the black
market on a new colony. Corporate PCs or spies may be sent to What you know about your Firewall proxy, Sustenatrix, is
review business opportunities with Brokenridge or assess/sabotage that you know almost nothing. You’re not even sure if they’re
TerraGenesis’s terraforming efforts. Scrapper PCs might be hired a single person. What you do know is that they tend toward
by Brokenridge themselves to quietly help clean up the mess at female, Latin American avatars when meeting in secure
Allegheny-6. simulspace conferences. They tend to present problems in a
way you’d expect from someone with outer-system politics
and a highly scientific outlook, suggesting that Sustenatrix
is also affiliated with the Argonauts. And they’re very
interested in the fate of exoplanet colonies. The gatecrashing
missions you've known them to assign thus far have revolved
around the welfare of colonists and their interactions with
the local ecology, rather than Firewall’s usual interest
in following the trail of TITANs through the gates.

4¹ SETUP • geTTing in–Mission BrieFing

 Official Reception
GEARING UP Prior to the hookbladder attack, the station workers go about their
Due to the low-piority (if gatecrashing) or rushed (if Firewall) normal activities, oblivious to the impending horror. Security Chief
nature of this mission, the PCs receive less than the standard amount Kerensky greets the PCs when they arrive, as their helicopter is
of Morph Points and Gear Points: 4 MP and 10 GP. These can be already leaving again, and bruskly informs them that their orders
augmented with the Resources trait or rep expenditures per normal to borrow a hovercraft from Ganges-4 to travel to Allegheny-6 have
rules (▶290 and 312, EP2). been denied. She has nothing else to say, except that it's orders from
Morphs: The GM should not allow more than 2 of the PCs to be in above, something about a security exercise. They'll have to sit tight
a synthmorph: more are simply not available. Too many synthmorphs on Ganges-4 until they get new orders. They can take it up with the
in the party means the hookbladders won’t get to have as much fun! station manager, Estes Chung, if they have a problem with it. In the
Gear: It is suggested that the PCs use the Overrun gear pack ▶19 meantime, they're given bunks and storage lockers in the workers
or their career pack. quarters (Area 5). Kerensky will see to it that any visibly armed PCs
Any weapons in the chosen gear packs should be replaced with are disarmed "for the safety of the other workers."
equipment of equivalent GP: TerraGenesis only allows weapons for Of all the personnel here, only the station manager, Estes Chung,
permitted security personnel, and Firewall did not have enough has an idea that something has gone drastically wrong over at
time to forge the requisite data. However, Sustenatrix (or their usual Allegheny-6. Even Chung doesn't know the full story, however,
router) informs them that Firewall has a scratch space with a small having been told only to prevent anyone from attempting to reach
cache of weapons and gear for them at Ganges-4. the other platform. Chung knows his superiors are witholding
Some players may insist on smuggling their own weapons through crucial information and that his own station and workers may be
the gate. This is a difficult move at best, as they would need to find a at risk, but he is too afraid of disrupting operations or incurring rep
source after they egocast in to the Vulcanoid Gate and then would need dings from his peers to take any decisive action.
to get it through TerraGenesis's gate security. Firewall will strongly
Reading Chung → Kinesics Test, opposed by Deceive 40 →
discourage this, as it could jeopardize the mission from the start.
Success shows that he's very concerned about something but
Though weapons are not unheard of on Teragula, terraforming
keeping it to himself.
workers and researchers do not commonly carry any — there is no
need, given the presumed lack of dangerous local wildlife. PCs who Chung may be suspicious of newcomers to Ganges-4, suspecting
insist on toting weapons about Ganges-4 will find their cover iden- they have either been sent here by Brokenridge Internal Security to
tity questioned or be considered a potential threat by the platform's make sure there are no disruptions or that they are TerraGenesis
security. Weapons and any other gear the PCs are unlikely to be spies here to snoop around. Either way, he wants them gone, but has
carrying on their person is assumed to be safely stowed away in been ordered to keep them here until otherwise authorized.
their cubbies in Area 5.
These limitations are intentional. The gist of this scenario is for Exploration
the PCs to figure out how to survive in suddenly dangerous condi- If the PCs decide to get a feel for the platform, give them the player
tions while underprepared. Ideally the PCs start the game with map ▶25 and a brief rundown. Visitors can walk around freely,
few weapons and armor and no guns at all. They also likely lack but won't have clearance to go inside most of the hexamodules
augmentations that would give them powerful attacks, though some or facilities.
synthmorphs might still be very dangerous in a melee. Even pistols If the PCs take the opportunity to snoop around, they shouldn't
are enough to turn things strongly in the PCs’ favor, so if you don't turn up any of the gear marked under the Scrounging subheaders
restrict the PCs' weaponry and ammunition, you should increase in the Area Key ▶9. It is assumed that during the emergency, PCs
the numbers and capabilities of hookbladder zombies. are able to rifle through people’s private belongings, enter restricted
If using the pre-generated terraforming worker NPCs as PCs, the areas, take things without being called out for stealing/misappropri-
characters will have only the equipment noted on their sheets. ating, and so on. Save the good stuff for when the PCs are desperate
to find it.
TRAVEl
The PCs will need to egocast from wherever they are currently located Meeting Their Contact
to Caldwell, the asteroid home of the Vulcanoid Gate. Firewall will The PCs will likely be eager to meet their contact and get their gear.
handle this along with their cover identities, so GMs can skip past the Nat will message them soon after they arrive, telling them to meet
details. If the PCs have never gatecrashed before, however, you should at the comm tower (Area 1) after dark (Onslaught ▶6).
take the time to describe the highly secure and bustling gate transfer
complex, the unworldly appearance of the gate itself, and the strange NPC Interactions
experience of stepping through the pitch-black wormhole and stepping If you do roleplay this introduction to the platform, this is a perfect
through the pandora gate on Teragula on the other side. From there, opportunity to introduce some of the NPCs ▶22 to the players. Here
the PCs present their orders and are quickly helicoptered to Ganges-4. are some interactions that might occur:

CAlM BEFORE THE STORM • The PCs may witness Ernesto Ernesto getting dragged to the brig by
The team is assumed to be on Ganges-4 for a few hours before the security guards for suspicion of theft.
real action begins (unless they are the NPC terraformers, in which • Linard arrogantly chews out Frank for fitting a valve improperly.
case they've spent what feels like eons maintaining machinery, • Dr. Nogumi approaches the PCs, hoping they are researchers and
working in the modules, and wading in the swamp to muck out new wanting to know what they intend to study.
paths for the water intakes). You can skip straight to Onslaught ▶6 or • Stevedore saunters past the PCs with a load of equipment, whis-
let the players explore the station and get a feel for things. tling a child's nursery rhyme and complimenting their good looks.

SETUP • gearing uP–CalM BeFore The sTorM

¾5
 Noticing Comms → Perceive Test at −20 (for distraction) → As the PCs

ONSlAUGHT
absorb that sight, any who succeed also notice that the
numerous comm panels in the restricted part of the module
If you are starting this scenario in media res, begin here. (which they can see through interior windows) are displaying
As night falls on Ganges-4, the hookbladders in the area reach the a disturbing number of red warning lights while others have
next phase of their murderous life cycle. gone completely dark. Brokenridge has cut the platform off
OVERRUN

(see Mesh Issues ▶ 7).

STARTING POSITIONS
The real action begins with the PCs in Area 1, the comm tower ▶9. Being locked inside, the PCs have a moment to plan. They’re in a
It’s late at night, but the planet’s two moons illuminate the remote corner of the station, with minimal equipment, possibly cut
surrounding swamps. Contrive a reason for the PCs to be in the off from help or escape by whatever’s out there. What do they do?
tower based on their backgrounds. Some options include:
Next → To escape the comm tower, see Breaking Out ▶7. Once
outside, proceed to Running the Infestation ▶12, to continue the
• Firewall: The sentinels have been instructed to meet with Nat,
action If the PCs attempt to contact others or access surveillance
Firewall's original source of intel. When they arrive at the rendez-
feeds from elsewhere on the platform, go to Mesh Issues ▶7.
vous, Frank lets them in to the tower module.
• Gatecrashing: The PCs are plotting to steal one of the platform’s
hovercraft without raising a general alarm that would get them BEHIND THE SCENES
intercepted by Brokenridge security en route to Allegheny-6. To do Patient zero wasn’t a transhuman, but a brontops — a large, horned,
this, they’ve befriended a disaffected terraforming worker, many of wading herbivore. Brontops are an easy target for hookbladders, being
whom view assignment to the marrow swamps as punishment. The big and slow; they are also ideal for killing and creating corpse piles.
worker tells them to meet here, away from security's prying eyes. Brontops are normally plodding and docile, so the reaction was
• Terraforming Worker NPCs: Some of the workers regularly confused when this one charged onto the platform, smashed through
convene here to play games for money under the boss’s nose (betting a window in the specialist quarters (Area 9), and began biting at and
on games is against Brokenridge regulations). This week, it's a stomping the sleeping people inside. Hookbladders infested a few
low-stakes game of Settlers. crew by jetting through the open window, but most were infested
• Gatecrashing/Other: Two of the station's indentures (Ernesto and when they ran out through the front of the module onto the walkways
Frank) want to escape from their corporate bondage. They've pulled to avoid the berserk brontops and hookbladder zombies.
the PCs aside to ask for their help getting back to the Solar System. Engineer Linard ▶23 was one of the few specialists to surive this
slaughter. He fled towards the reactor with a brontops on his tail.
IT BEGINS Along the way, he lost his breather pushing off a hookbladder that
Whatever the PCs are up to on the tower, they find themselves tried to envelop his head. Out of air and bleeding from gashes in
suddenly interrupted: his leg and neck, he barely made it inside to the safety of the reactor.
A priority security warning pops up in everyone's AR. It's When security and medical staff rushed out to respond to reports
coded as a dangerous xenofauna attack. Before you have of rampaging megafauna, they were quickly overrun by infested
time to assess the information, however, a cascade of alerts crew members. One security officer made it to the helicopter pad
floods your AR channels. Security is being summoned to (Area 16), but their escape was foiled when the mob knocked the
the specialist quarters. Emergency medical care is required helo into the water.
at the admin office. Intruders are reported on the platform. Security Chief Kerensky followed protocol and sent an urgent
Wide-broadcast cries for help suddenly go silent. A storm of
message to their Brokenridge superiors before fleeing towards the
messages from all across the station barrages your feed.
hovercraft, intentionally retracting the smart-matter bridge (Area
Problems with the local wildlife aren’t uncommon, but no one’s 13) in a failed attempt to deter pursuit. Kerensky's escape was side-
ever trespassed on the platform before. It’s incredibly remote, and lined when pursuing hookbladder zombies climbed aboard and
there’s not much anyone would want. killed her, leaving the hovercraft and her corpse to drift away from
the docks (Area 15).
Hearing Gunshots → Perceive Test → PCs who succeed hear what may
Meanwhile, a mob of hookbladder zombies pursued other crew
be the faintest hints of gunshots in the distance, though it is
members into the airlock of the admin offices (Area 8), jamming
hard to tell from within the hexamodule , over the noise of the
it open. The administrative staff were all either killed or infested.
wind, machinery, and the swamp's vocal night-time wildlife.
Station manager Chung is now a zombie, collecting corpses for
If any PCs attempt to leave the module, they find the outside hookbladder larvae.
airlock has been locked with an administrative override — they are Brokenridge was prepared for this possibility; upon receiving
trapped inside! This is quite unusual. Kerensky's message, they issued a priority termination order
Anyone watching out the window sees the following: throughout the Ganges-4 mesh. This measure immediately deac-
tivated all robots on the platform and locked down all airlocks.
In the floodlights illuminating the walkway below, you spot a (Unusually, the airlocks on Brokenridge's hexamodules are wire-
platform crew member running from a humanoid figure with less-enabled, a security decision made in the contingency of an inden-
a misshapen head. The pursuer tackles the crew member and
tured worker rebellion on the platform.) As a final measure, it fried
drags them, screaming, off the platform and into the water.
the platform's long-range radio equipment. Brokenridge then severed
Characters with enhanced vision ware who succeed on a Perceive the platform's satellite uplink connection, effectively cutting it off
Test get a clearer view; it’s another crew member with some sort from the Teragula-wide mesh. Brokenridge wishes only to contain
of pinkish blob attached to their head. Long-term denizens of the the situation and keep it quiet, rather than drawing TerraGenesis's
station may recognize the blob as a hookbladder. attention — the same way they handled the attack on Allegheny-6.

6¹ ONSlAUGHT • sTarTing PosiTions–Behind The sCenes

 By the time the PCs receive the hue and cry on their mesh inserts Less than a minute after this situation began, Brokenridge issued
and then manage to break out of their module, most of the platform a remote order for the long-range radio to fry itself. The platform's
crew are dead or infested. Some of the infested are attempting to mesh is isolated. To fix it, the PCs will either need to fabricate
batter open the doors to the research and med labs (Area 11). Dr. replacement components or cannibalize a radio booster from one
Nogumi has retreated to the roof of that hexamodule, giving her of the hovercraft (Radio Repair ▶14).
a high vantage point over the central area of the platform. Ernesto The station had a backup shortwave transceiver for emergency
Ernesto remains trapped in the brig (Area 7), threatened by a pair purposes, but Brokenridge pulled it for "upgrades" a day ago.
of hookbladdered security guards. A small group of workers has
barricaded themselves inside the indenture quarters (Area 5), but lonely Voices
remain silent and untrusting, not knowing what is going on and not A few minutes after the platform goes silent, Linard will begin spam-
wanting to give away their position. Numerous zombified transhu- ming channels with please for help. He's injured and can't leave
mans and brontops loiter near corpse collection points around the the reactor because he lost his breather and there's a bloodthirsty
platform, alert for more victims. Others roam the walkways and lurk brontops right outside. If the PCs respond, he will beg and plead for
in the water, hunting scattered survivors. them to come rescue him. He sounds desperate and in pain.
Nogumi is also monitoring comms, but playing it safe. If she
MESH ISSUES thinks the PCs need help, she will break silence. She is also trapped
The PCs are likely to turn to the local mesh for information. For the at her module, but on the roof.
first few minutes, however, local comm channels are overloaded with At the GM's discretion, the bot Stevedore (currently at Area 3A ▶10)
confusing broadcasts and pleas for help. No one understands what's may eventually respond to mesh calls, if it breaks out of its reverie.
going on, security is too busy fighting for their lives to respond, and Though unusual, the PCs may be able to establish contact with
the channels are consistently interrupted with screams. the muses of some dead or infected crew members. These muses
are concerned and confused; their hosts are either deceased or are
Audio Horror → SV 1d6 Stress Test → Helplessness overwhelms any
active, not responding, and acting in an alarmingly violent fashion.
PC who monitors the comms feed for those first few minutes.
These muses can, however, provide visual feeds of what happened
If the PCs attempt to contact Chung or Kerensky, neither answers. earlier and how their hosts were infested or killed.
Attempts to reach others on the station either go unanswered or are As the scenario unfolds, other survivors may occasionally come
met with the sounds of chaos, terror, and violence. online, either to ask what's happening or to scream for help as the
infested chase them down.
Found Footage → Research Test → Sorting through the feeds will find
If the players are using the terraforming workers as PCs, replace
one or two short and blurry videos of attacking hookbladder
Linard, Nogumi, and Stevedore in this context with other NPC crew
zombies or brontops mauling people (triggering Stress Tests).
members of your own devising.
A few minutes after everything begins, the comm channels fall
eerily silent. Aside from the PCs, only Linard and Nogumi will reach Bots and Vehicles
out to others via the local mesh (see Lonely Voices ▶ next column). With the exception of Stevedore, all bots and vehicles at the plat-
form were disabled by Brokenridge's remote termination order and
Surveillance Feeds do not respond to mesh inputs. To be reactivated, they must be
The station does have a small number of meshed surveillance feeds, physically accessed (Disabled Bots & Vehicles ▶14).
but anyone without security clearance will need to hack them. These
mostly cover the entrances of key areas, such as the reactor, admin NEW COMPANIONS
offices, security, helipad, hovercraft dock, and indenture quarters. Both Frank and Nat are with the PCs when this situation explodes.
Frank is very eager to rescue his brother Ernesto from the brig and
Gruesome Sights → SV 1d6 Stress Test → Some cameras were
will push the PCs to help, becoming angry if they refuse. Nat suspects
damaged in the fight, but if accessed they can be used to spot
this incident is related to what happened at Allegheny-6. She reminds
hookbladder zombies and growing piles of corpses.
the PCs of the gear she has stashed for them (Gear Stash ▶15). If the
Mesh Tracking → The local mesh can also be used to track
GM doesn't want to be burdened with extra characters, both NPCs can
anyone on the platform who isn't in privacy mode (even some
offer to stay behind at the comm tower and try to reach the outside
folks who are dead). PCs can use this to draw a map of where
world. If the PCs are unwilling to act, Frank will head off to get his
survivors, the dead, and/or infested crew might be. The inden-
brother. If the GM wants to send along assistance or hookbladder
tures hiding in Area 10 and Nogumi are all in privacy mode.
fodder, however, Frank can join the PCs.

The Outside World BREAKING OUT

Since they are in the comm tower, the PCs may attempt to contact The PCs begin trapped inside the comm tower hexamodule. To
others outside the station. The long-range communications gear is escape, they must either hack or physically bypass the airlock
in a restricted part of the hexamodule, however. (Hacking Airlocks ▶14). The same is true for the roof airlock.
Breaking In → Hardware: Electronics Test (timeframe: 5 minutes) → Roof Survey → Perceive Test, enhanced vision only → If successful,
Alternatively, they can break down: PCs can just barely make out parts of the helipad (Area 16)
through the swamp and the helicopter itself, partly sunk in
▶ The door (AV 25/20, WT 20, DR 100)
the muck. At the GM's discretion, watchers up here may be
▶ Interior windows (AV 7/5, WT 10, DR 50)
able to spot roving zombies or fleeing survivors.
Next → Once outside, the PCs are in the danger zone.
Once in, anyone trying to use the comms finds it non-functional
See Running the Infestation ▶12 and Survival Strategies ▶14.
— an Interface Test to determines the transceiver needs repair.

ONSlAUGHT • Mesh issues–Breaking ouT

¾7
 TERRAFORMING TERRAFORMING PLATFORM
PlATFORM GANGES-4
3A GANGES-4 ▶▶Stevedore◀◀
OVERRUN

One Square
= Ten Meters
14 13 18

2A
16
17D
15 17B

▶▶Chief Kerensky◀◀
17A ▶▶Manager Chung◀◀

4 1
2B ▶▶Frank & Nat◀◀
11
9 5
10 ▶▶Dr. Nogumi◀◀

8 6
▶▶Ernesto Ernesto◀◀

17C 7 17E
▶▶Linard◀◀ 12

3B

1 Comm Tower ▶9 10 Researcher Quarters ▶ 11

2 Electrolysis Plants ▶9 11 Research Lab / Med Bay ▶ 11
3 Water Intakes ▶9 12 Fusion Reactor ▶ 11
4 Heavy Equipment Bay ▶ 10 13 Hovercraft Maintenance Bay ▶ 11
Infested Get Concentrations 5 Indenture Quarters ▶ 10 14 Hovercraft Dock ▶ 11
Perceive Tests of Infested Crew 6 Machine/Fabber Shop ▶ 10 15 The Drifting Hovercraft ▶ 11
7 Security ▶ 10 16 Helipad ▶ 11
8 Admin Office / Manager’s Quarters ▶ 10 17 Corpse Piles ▶ 11
9 Specialist Quarters ▶ 11 18 Scratch Space Cache ▶ 11

8¹ TERRAFORMING PlATFORM GANGES-4 GAMEMASTER MAP

 Accessing Modules
BORING HEllHOlE All doors between modules and the walkways outside are airlocks.

ON THE EDGE OF NOWHERE

Airlocks take 3 action turns to cycle; PCs inside must wait this long
between entering and exiting airlocks while breathable atmosphere
Ganges-4 is a typical backwater hypercorp installation. The Area Key is pumped in or out. Most airlocks only hold 2 people at a time.
describes the platform during the outbreak. Approximately 100 Due to the hostile atmosphere, none of the windows in structures
people live and work here at the station. on the platform are designed to open.
Modules (or module stacks) each have a secondary airlock
THE MARROW SWAMPS leading to the roof. An extendable ladder can be used to reach
Ganges-4 is situated in the equatorial marrow swamps of Teragula. ground level; in most cases, this ladder is already down.
There’s nothing for kilometers in any direction but soupy, brown When the hookbladder onslaught starts, all outside doors are
water, cartilaginous coral-like growths, and islands of rotten fungus. locked due to a remote order issued by Brokenridge. Gaining entry
The waters are shallow, averaging 3–4 meters deep, but with numerous to any building on the map requires hacking the outer airlock
sandbars and other variations in depth, such that it’s no more than (Hacking Airlocks ▶ 14) or breaking in (Bashing Things ▶ 13).
1 meter deep in spots. Unfortunately, 1 meter of water is plenty for
hookbladders. The water teems with native microbes and shouldn’t be Searching Modules
drunk or bathed in without medichines and/or toxin filters. The PCs are likely to search the modules for weapons and supplies.
Transhumans without enhanced respiration mods must
Scrounging → Perceive Test (timeframe: 4 minutes) → The Scrounging
wear breathers here as there’s not enough oxygen (or they risk
subheaders under some listings in the Area Key indicate
Asphyxiation ▶ 234, EP2). It also smells terrible, although this is only
what PCs can find. Results marked as superior are achieved
faintly noticeable if your breather forms a proper seal.
if the PCs score a superior success or critical. If multiple PCs
GANGES-4 search an area, treat it as a teamwork action (▶ 31, EP2).
Brokenridge terraforming platform Ganges-4 isn’t so much a “plat-
form” as a bunch of tin-can hexamodules connected by raised walk- AREA KEY
ways. The platform is entirely of modular construction, designed to be The locations marked on the map are detailed here.
disassembled and moved once its operations in this sector lower the 1. COMM TOWER This is where the PCs are located when the action
surrounding waters beneath the depth needed for efficient operation. begins (Bashing Things ▶ 13). The comm tower is a single hexam-
The main pieces of terraforming equipment are two huge water odule elevated on trusswork and stabilized by guy wires 20 meters
intakes out in the deepest part of the swamp, connected to two big above the swamp. It’s quiet at night in the tower, and far from the
electrolysis plants. These use electricity to crack the water molecules, main platform activity, making it an ideal place to secretly meet
producing oxygen that is then added to the planetary atmosphere. or congregate. The cupola is atmospherically sealed, but the ladder
Platform modules are connected by walkways. The walkways are down to the walkway is open.
3.5 meters wide with handrails and an open grillwork floor. Supports For details on the comm equipment, see Mesh Issues (▶7).
keep the walkway about 1.5 meters above water level. Every 20 meters 2. ELECTROLYSIS PLANTS These plants use reverse-osmosis filters
or so, a gate in the railings opens onto a short ladder descending to to de-gunk the water sucked in from the intakes (Area 3). Then
the water. Supports and railings are fabricated from locally manufac- massive electrolysis vats crack it for oxygen and hydrogen. Thick
tured alloys. Power conduits run beneath the deck plating. power cables run from the fusion reactor (Area 12) to this location.
The water around these modules is somewhat shallower owing to
AR Map → PCs can call up an augmented reality map of the
the detritus ejected from the filtration process.
platform at any point, as local mesh connectivity is still up.
The airlocks in and out of the plants are service airlocks, each big
enough to hold 10 people or 1 large vehicle.
HEXAMODUlES In one plant (2A, though the GM can mix this up if desired), a
Most of the structures on the map are built wholly or in part from small group of zombies chased a crew member into the airlock and
one or more hexamodules, Brokenridge’s standard design for killed them while it was cycling. Those zombies are now trapped
tin-can colonies. Hexamodules are hexagons 10 meters across and inside the plant, unable to find their way back out. The corpse has
2.5 meters high. They can be assembled edge to edge to form larger been dragged from the airlock, leaving a trail of blood and gore.
structures, or stacked to create multiple stories. Modular faces
Scrounging → The team finds a long-handled mucking tool suit-
can provide windows, airlocks, or open space as needed. Current-
able for use as a club (DV 1d10, Reach +10) and a breather.
generation hexamodules achieve this using smart matter, but the
Scrounging (Superior) → They also find a long-handled utilitool
Ganges-4 modules are older, mechanical designs — cheap to main-
(▶ 317, EP2). Aside from the usual utilitool properties, this
tain. They’re also not designed to withstand heavy attack by alien
one is large enough to reshape itself into a spear or trident
xenofauna; this has never been a problem on Teragula before now.
(DV 1d10 + 2, Reach +20).
Modules have their own autocooks, feedstock, and water supplies,
but they all receive power from the fusion reactor (Area 12 ▶11). If 3. WATER INTAKES These scoops slowly suck in vast amounts of water.
the reactor goes down, each module has about 24 hours of battery Filtration prevents anything bigger than a nanobot from getting
backup. Atmosphere will last somewhat longer — up to 48 hours, stuck in the intakes or sucked into the water supply. The inflow
depending upon how crowded the module is. of water isn’t strong enough to pose a hazard to people wading
or swimming nearby. The interior space of the water intakes is
Background → Know: Habitat Ops Test or similar → If successful, PCs
reached by access hatches that lead to a t-shaped maintenance
can recall any of the above facts.
crawl space. The interior isn’t pressurized and is taken up almost
entirely by the pumping and filtration equipment.

BORING HEllHOlE ON THE EDGE OF NOWHERE • The Marrow swaMPs–area key

¾9
 Observation → Hardware: Industrial Test → Characters checking out Searching Fabber Files → Interface Test at –30 → If any PCs hack the
the intake structures will note that they’re extremely solidly fabber and take a look around its file structure, they may notice
built — perhaps more so than any other structure on site a hidden directory, created by a Brokenridge Internal Security
(AV 25/15, DR 300). A lone survivor could weld themself in agent who briefly spent some time here investigating labor
here with a few spare oxygen tanks and hold out for quite a unrest. That folder contains blueprints for a medium pistol,
while. The crawl space only has room for one person. ammunition, a light armor vest, a gnat bot, and a covert ops tool
OVERRUN

(all with built-in overrides to enable the fabber to print them).

3A: The automech bot Stevedore (▶24) stands idly outside intake
3A. It was tasked with cleaning the intake vent, which it finished Impending Fire: One of the workers was in the middle of a project
shortly after the onslaught began. Lacking further orders, it now when the outbreak began and left some tools on when they went outside
serenely watches the swamp, whistling quietly to itself. to help. One of those tools is now overheating, atop some flammable
4. HEAVY EQUIPMENT BAY The bay consists of 3 hexamodules joined in materials, near some oil puddles and canisters. At some point, a fire will
a cluster. The walls where the modules meet have been removed to break out. The GM should choose a moment that maximizes tension.
form a single large space.
Scrounging → The PCs can put together both electronics and
Two helmets (AV +2/+2), various heavy tools (that can be impro-
industrial toolkits. There are also 2 spare breathers.
vised as melee weapons ▶ 205, EP2), an assortment of chains and tow
Scrounging (Superior) → The characters find a covert operations
straps, and two small disabled cargo tractors are here. There’s also a
tool (▶ 338, EP2).
large stack of unused hexamodule side panels on the roof, including
airlocks, blank walls, and panels with windows. A motorized block 7. SECURITY This module houses a small office, the brig, the corpses
and tackle allows lowering them to the walkway below. Moving large of two security guards, and the platform’s armory. Ernesto Ernesto
hexamodule pieces like walls requires four or more transhumans is locked in the brig. The dead guards made the mistake of drag-
working together or the dankey ▶19. ging two of their hookbladder-enveloped compatriots inside;
The platform’s dankey, a small industrial utility vehicle, is shortly after, they became their victims. The hookbladder zombies
parked inside this bay. It is disabled, but could be useful if repaired now threaten Ernesto through the bars of his cell. The jail cell is
(Disabled Bots & Vehicles ▶ 14). opened by a manual control in the office. It is not meshed.
Scrounging → PCs find a utilitool (▶ 317, EP2), a club (DV 1d10, Opening Weapons Locker → Hardware: Electronics Test (timeframe: 5 minutes)
Reach +10), and an additional helmet (AV +2/+2). or Infosec Test (opposed by an ALI's Infosec 30) → If the PCs bypass or
Scrounging (Superior) → The team also finds a hack the lock on the weapons locker, they find:
light vacsuit (▶ 341, EP2) used as a diving suit in storage.
▶ 1 shock baton (DV 1d10, Reach, Shock, Touch-Only)
5. INDENTURE QUARTERS This 3-story hexamodule is filled with ▶ 1 riot shield (AV +3/+4, Shock, Touch-Only)
cubicles, with a small rec area/kitchen on the bottom floor. If the ▶ 1 medium pistol (DV 2d10, SA/BF/FA, Ammo 30 + 1,
team acts quickly after the attacks begin, there are 10 uninfested Range 25) and 30 rounds of ammunition.
laborers here. They have barricaded the (damaged but not broken) ▶ 1 stun grenade (Uniform 10-meter Area Effect, DV 1d6 + 2,
windows and are using a jack to keep the interior airlock door shut. Blinding, Knockdown, Shock, Overload Setting: No Damage,
Blinding, Pain).
Talking Their Way In → Deceive or Persuade Test (opposed by a Kinesics or SAV
Check of 45) → Unless their temporary leader is persuaded, the
Hacking into Security’s computer system reveals little of interest
indentures won’t remove the jack to let PCs into the module.
other than Chief Kerensky’s log, which consists of a long list of petty
Cutting In → Hardware: Industrial Test (timeframe: 5 minutes) → The jack can
regulatory grievances against the platform manager, whom she
also be cut through from inside the airlock with proper tools.
thinks is too soft on the indentured laborers.
If the PCs don’t reach this area within half an hour of game time,
Scrounging → Find 1 additional shock baton, a chameleon cloak
the infested crew and/or a brontops beat the doors and/or windows
(▶ 338, EP2), and a pair of disabled gnat bots ▶ 348–349, EP2).
open and kill or drive out the indentures (who then become
Scrounging (Superior) → Find 1 microwave agonizer
infested themselves).
(SA, Ammo 20, Range 15, Pain,
Scrounging → A diamond axe (DV 2d10 +3, Armor-Piercing, Roast Mode: DV 2d10, SS, Armor-Piercing).
Reach, Two-Handed) among the indentures’ gear.
8. ADMIN OFFICE / MANAGER’S QUARTERS This three-story module stack
Scrounging (Superior) → The team finds a stunner (DV 1d6, SA,
has a colony administration office on the ground floor, quarters
Ammo 12, Range 50, Shock) concealed among the belongings
for several functionaries on the second, and the manager’s
of one of the indentures. If the indentures are rescued, the
quarters on the third. All floors show signs of bloody struggle.
one who has it will keep it hidden on their person, revealing
The first-floor airlock door has been broken open, rendering the
it only if attacked by infested crew.
atmosphere inside unbreathable. PCs who enter this module will
6. MACHINE/FABBER SHOP This is an industrial and electronics repair get AR emergency alerts informing them that the atmosphere is
shop, equipped with a large fabber (▶ 343, EP2). This is a good time compromised — a warning that is comically redundant given the
to explain nanofabrication to new players or to give others a wreckage of the airlock door.
reminder about the possibilities (Fabbing ▶ 14).
Scrounging → In the manager’s quarters is a shard pistol (Cone
Area Effect, DV 2d6 + 6, SA/BF/FA, Ammo 100, Range 15,
Concealable) with no extra ammo.

10¹ BORING HEllHOlE ON THE EDGE OF NOWHERE • area key

9. SPECIALIST QUARTERS The colony’s skilled workers live here in a If the bridge is extended, there is a good chance this will attract
three-story module. The first story is a mess hall and rec area. The the attention of a nearby infested brontops (or three).
upper two modules are divided into cubbie-sized crew quarters.
Scrounging → PCs find a piston spear (DV 2d10 + 2, Armor-
The crew here were the first to be routed from their quarters and
Piercing, Reach +20, Two-Handed).
killed or infected. There are no survivors. The atmosphere inside
is unbreathable due to a destroyed window. 14. HOVERCRAFT DOCK If PCs activate the bridge from Area 13, the
smart matter structure extends itself to here. Two disabled hover-
Scrounging → There are 2 extra breathers here.
craft (▶19) are docked here (Disabled Bots & Vehicles ▶ 14).
Scrounging (Superior) → 2 doses of the combat drug kick (+1 Vigor
15. THE DRIFTING HOVERCRAFT Shortly after the hookbladder inva-
for 8 hours; ▶ 331, EP2) are hidden in a worker's belongings.
sion began, a hovercraft (▶19) drifted here. An obvious sandbar
10. RESEARCHER QUARTERS This is a single-story module with a small runs part of the way between the platform and it. However,
rec area and cubbies for four scientists. infested crew lurk in the cabin and in the water nearby — at least
1 per PC. The zombies are only a nuisance, but the commotion
Surprise Attack → One of the researchers (not Nogumi) keeps
and slowdown they create can, at the GM’s option, also attract
a tank with 2 "pet" hookbladders in their room. If the PCs
more hookbladders.
search this building, the hookbladders will launch themselves
The corpse of the widely disliked security chief, Kerensky, is
at anyone coming near, likely catching them by surprise.
here. While she was trying to save her own skin, some infested crew
Scrounging → Two doses of the cognitive drug drive (+1 Insight
climbed aboard and killed her. It was Kerensky who retracted the
for 8 hours; ▶ 331, EP2) badly hidden in a researcher’s cubby.
bridge between the platform and the hovercraft dock before leaving.
11. RESEARCH LAB / MED BAY The lab is two modules high, with medical Let the PCs spot her body just before they get jumped by things
facilities in the lower module and a moderately well equipped from the water.
life-sciences research lab above. The lower module houses an ego
Gory Scene → Stress Test (SV 1d6/1) → Kerensky's corpse is chewed
bridge (▶ 342, EP2), a few patient beds, a single disabled docbot (▶ 347,
on and crawling with freshly hatched hookbladders.
EP2), and a healing vat (▶ 343, EP2). The upper story is furnished with
research equipment, a small fabber (▶ 343, EP2) with a library of basic 16. HELIPAD When the last surviving security guard tried to escape
drug blueprints (Fabbing ▶ 14), and several quantum computers. in the copter, the infested crew knocked the helicopter on its side
A group of hookbladder zombies has this building under siege, but during takeoff, damaging it, and pulled him out of the cabin for
they are clustered around the airlock. Eventually, they may spot an larvae meat. The copter landed partly on the helipad and partly
NPC survivor through the windows, and break in that way. Nogumi in the water. The forward section is on the pad, but the tail and
hides out on the roof, unsure if the labs have been breached. rear rotor are buried in the swamp. A main rotor blade is broken,
If the team secures the lab and has time, they can attempt research and the engine is damaged, but the craft could be repaired with
on the hookbladders and/or zombies (Scientific Solutions ▶ 15). enough time (Helicopter Repair ▶ 14).
17. CORPSE PILES In several places, the hookbladder zombies have
Scrounging → The team finds a pocket lab and several spec-
collected heaps of corpses that fully or partly block the walkways.
imen containers (▶ 340, EP2).
Some piles are nearly complete, with hookbladders ready to burst
12. FUSION REACTOR A tokamak reactor, recognizable from its dough- when PCs approach. Each corpse pile has 3 infested crew per PC near it.
nut-shaped upper portion, supplies all of the platform's power.
Murder Scene → Stress Test (SV 1d10/1 → Corpses are often badly
An injured Linard shelters here. He cannot leave because he
mangled and chewed and difficult to identify. Increase the
lost his breather (the reactor should have a stash, but Ernesto stole
SV by +2 if PCs view hookbladders bursting out their young.
them). Plus, there's an infested brontops trying to batter its way in.
Sabotaging the reactor, initiating a meltdown, or breaching the 17A: Several security guards made a valiant last stand here while
containment walls could irradiate the immediate area and make a Kerensky escaped.
big mess, possibly destroying some nearby walkways and structures
Spot in the Carnage → Perceive Test → Buried among the corpses
(Reactors ▶ 305, EP2). However, the only effect on the rest of the
is a freezer gun (Cone Area Effect, SS, Ammo 20, Range 15,
station would be loss of power.
Entangling, Long, Two-Handed).
13. HOVERCRAFT MAINTENANCE BAY This bay has a medium fabber that
is locked down in the same manner as the one in Area 6 and only 17B: Manager Chung is one of the zombies here.
contains blueprints for hovercraft parts (Fabbing ▶14). The bay is 18. SCRATCH SPACE CACHE With the help of the neo-pigs, Nat has
also a repair facility (Tools ▶ 317, EP2) for Hardware: Electronics and cached a few weapons and gear items here for the Firewall team
Hardware: Nautical Tests. (Gear Stash ▶ 15). The cache is a single watertight crate tucked
An AR display at the end of the walkway outside this area informs into an islet of rotting fungus with more fungus growing atop it,
the visitor that the walkway to the hovercraft docks is currently surrounded by 2–3 meter deep swamp water (teeming with hook-
retracted and off limits. For more information, they should speak to bladders). It includes:
the station manager, Estes Chung.
There’s a dense mass of smart matter lumped up at the end of the • 1 submachine gun (DV 2d10, SA/BF/FA, Ammo 30 + 1, Range 50,
walkway, which forms a bridge to Area 14 when activated. Two-Handed; with 1 extra magazine of normal ammo)
• 1 microwave agonizer (SA, Ammo 20, Range 15, Pain, Roast Mode:
Bridge Activation → Hacking Test opposed by an ALI with Infosec 30 →
DV 2d10, SS, Armor-Piercing, Pain)
The bridge can be hacked to provide commands with the
• 2 standard vacsuits (AV 8/6)
correct authentication. The admins and security who had the
• 2 frag minigrenades (Centered Area Effect (−2 DV/m), Frag: DV
needed codes are dead, though one might recover a stack and
3d10 + 6, Knockdown (5 meter radius); HE: 3d10 + 10, Knockdown
get the info from the ego inside using the ego bridge in the
(10 meter radius))
research lab (Area 11).

BORING HEllHOlE ON THE EDGE OF NOWHERE • area key

¾11
OVERRUN

However, GMs are encouraged not to over-do it. Save the hookbladder

RUNNING
attacks for moments of tension, for PCs that end up on their own, and
for comedic relief. If the PCs are having too easy of a time dispatching

THE INFESTATION
infested crew, throw in a volley of hookbladders to even the odds.
Hookbladders attack in volleys of 1d10. Rules for handling
The rest of this scenario is non-linear; what happens depends on hookbladder attacks are given in their description (▶20). Once
what the PCs do and where they go. This section details the threats a hookbladder latches on, it immediately begins injecting shoots
they face and how to keep the action moving. into the victim’s orifices and through the area pierced by its hook.
These tie the victim to the hookbladder’s metabolism, and, in the
VISIBIlITY case of transhumans, allow them to function without breathers in
As the PCs move about the platform, it is important to remember Teragula’s normally asphyxiating atmosphere.
they are in a dense swamp at night. Floodlights keep certain areas lit,
Hookbladder Horror → Stress Test (SV 1d6; SV 1d10/1 for victims) → The
but also hinder with glare. Cartilaginous growths, towering fungal
first time a team member or ally is grappled by a hook-
stalks, and smelly alien shrubbery loom out of the swamp, blocking
bladder may be etched in the PCs' minds for some time.
visibility and overgrowing the catwalks. The air is thick with mist.
Even on well-lit paths, visibility is limited to a few dozen meters
(more with enhanced vision). Let the players worry that threats may Spotting Hookbladders
constantly be lurking nearby, just out of sight — because they are. Given their translucent, jellyfish-like nature, and the fact that they
often float motionless until they sense something nearby, hookblad-
lEAPING HOOKBlADDERS ders are nearly impossible to spot in the murky water. PCs who are
One of the first encounters PCs should have when they leave the on the alert for hookbladders will not be surprised, but if they are
comm tower is a small swarm of hookbladders (1 per PC) launching distracted (such as by fighting with infested crew), the hookbladders
themselves from the water at the PCs' heads. It is best to do this get surprise (▶ 227, EP2) on their first turn of attacks.
before they get a good look at an infested crew member. The PCs
Incoming! → Perceive Test at –40, enhanced vision only (incorporates ware and
should be caught by surprise (▶ 227, EP2) by this first attack.
distraction) → PCs within 3 meters of a hookbladder may spot
Leaping hookbladders are a risk anytime the PCs are near swamp
it immediately before it attacks (negating surprise).
water (which is basically everywhere that is not inside or on a roof ).

12¹ RUNNING THE INFESTATION • VisiBiliTy–leaPing hookBladders

 Headshots Matter
INFESTED CREW It is important to note that when a hookbladder zombie is killed or
There are as many infested crew (Stats ▶21) as the GM needs to keep disabled, the hookbladder itself may remain unharmed. The hook-
things interesting, though mass slaughter should be avoided, as it bladder will do its best to slough away from the corpse and return
will strain plausibility after a while. to water. If it succeeds, it will seek out more prey.
The dark blobs on the map show where infested crew are most Because the hookbladders envelop heads, it is impossible to
likely to be encountered. Each of these is centered around a pile of target a hookbladder in combat without also harming its victim,
corpses (mostly transhuman, some brontops). In these areas, there unless they are grappled (▶205, EP2) or incapacitated first. PCs
should be ~3 hookbladder zombies for each PC. Vary the amount may intentionally target hookbladders and the heads they occupy
based on how well-armed the PCs are. For PCs equipped only with together with a called shot (▶218, EP2); in this case, apply damage to
melee and non-lethal ranged weapons, 1 zombie per PC is a fight, 3 both the hookbladder and its victim.
is a serious threat, and 5 will probably take down the whole team.
For PCs with guns, 3 will be a small hurdle and 5 a real contest. INFESTED CREATURES
Zombies make aggressive attacks (▶205, EP2), without regard The infested brontops (▶21) that wade through the swamps present
for their own safety. Some of the crew members in each mob will more of a danger than zombified crew. GMs should use them spar-
be attacking with (usually improvised) melee weapons instead of ingly, though once the team finds guns, brontops pose less of a threat.
their hands and feet. However, remember that if you throw too
Murderous Alien Moose → Stress Test (SV 1d6) → Having such a large
many zombies with potent weapons at the PCs early on, the PCs
critter trying to stomp and gore you is a harrowing ordeal.
themselves will end up with those weapons (assuming they win ... ).

Infested Awareness DARK WATERS

The clouds around the blobs on the map show the distance at which PCs may take to the swamps on foot to avoid infested mobs. This is
the mob is likely to notice new victims and attack them (Perceive 40). treacherous, especially in the dark. Sandbars, shallows, fungal mats, and
Beyond this range, only give the zombies Perceive Tests if the PCs cartilaginous growths suddenly give way to water up to 3 meters deep.
take actions that might draw their attention, such as firing weapons, PCs that tread cautiously move at a quarter of their Movement
setting things on fire, or shouting. Rate. Anything faster applies a –30 modifier to Infiltrate Tests.
Sneak/Hide → Infiltrate Test opposed by Perceive 40 → The PC skulks by Swamp Dangers → Athletics Test → PCs that fail encounter one of
or conceals themself. Treat sneaking as a task action. the following (1d6); on a superior failure: combine two results,
endanger another PC, or attract the attention of hookbladders:
Roamers ▶ 1–2: You sink above your head. See Going Under ▶below
While large groups of infested hang around the corpse piles (Area 17), ▶ 3–4: You can't move your legs in thick mud (–30 Fray)
hookbladdeer zombies also range from these areas in ones and twos until you take a complex action and succeed a SOM Check.
to seek more prey. If not silenced quickly, these seekers’ squealing ▶ 5–6: You are entangled in growths. You suffer –30 to all actions
grunts can cause a whole group of infested to abandon their corpse until you take a complex action and succeed a REF Check.
pile and attack en masse.
Going Under
Running Away PCs who fall in deep water must make an Athletics Test to swim.
PCs may find themselves in situations where they are facing a mob Breathers don’t work underwater, so anyone who stays under for too
and the best option is to simply run. long is in danger of asphyxiation (▶234, EP2) and drowning.
The murky swamp water provides almost zero visibility. PCs
Run! → Athletics Test opposed by Athletics 50 → Any PC that beats
that swim underwater may easily become disoriented if they fail
their pursuer(s) in two or more opposed Athletics Tests gets
a Survival Test (unless they have echolocation ware). Underwater
away; zombies will opt to hunt for prey closer to the corpse
attacks, Fray Tests, and possibly other actions suffer a –20 modifier.
piles rather than chase forever.
Underwater PCs risk being being swarmed by hookbladders.
However, the platform is only so big — PCs will quickly run out of
Swarm Horror → Stress Test (SV 1d10 for victims/1d6 onlookers) →
walkways (or, worse, run straight into another mob). Characters who
A frenzied swarm in the water is a terrifying experience.
take to the swamps risk getting stuck in mud or falling in deep waters
(Dark Waters). With most modules locked down and not enough time
to break in, fleeing PCs may need to climb to safety (using the ladders BASHING THINGS
or scaling the sides of modules with an Athletics Test) and/or break The airlocks and walls of hexamodules are sturdy enough that even
line of sight and attempt to hide (see Infested Awareness ▶ above). a brontops is unlikely to break through (AV 25/15, WT 15, DR 150),
though it may try — and eventually succeed. The exterior windows
Nightmare Fuel are aerogel (AV 10/5, WT 15, DR 150) and more susceptible to
The first time each PC has an up-close encounter with infested crew, murderous mobs, weapons, or rampaging beasts. The zombies are
call for a Stress Test. unlikely to attack the windows unless they see a target through them.
Breaking windows or doors will make the interiors unbreathable in
Murderous Crew → Stress Test (SV 1d6) → Though PCs are justified
a few minutes, but will not create a significant decompression event,
in defending themselves, they should eventually come
as the exterior atmospheric pressure is not that different.
to understand that when they kill such crew, they have
murdered another transhuman who was acting against their Zombie B&E → Assume a brontops can create a half-meter hole
will. This calls for another Stress Test against SV 1d6 + 1. in a window in 2 action turns, whereas a mob of infested
crew can do the same in 5 action turns.

RUNNING THE INFESTATION • inFesTed Crew–Bashing Things

¾13
 Vehicle Radios
SURVIVAl STRATEGIES
The helicopter and hovercraft have their own radio boosters, but the
nearest platforms are just out of range. The boosters can be used to
As the infested just keep coming, the PCs should figure out that they fix the comm tower radio (Radio Repair ▶14) or can be used to call
need a better strategy than just killing everything. out once the PCs have departed and covered some distance.

BARRICADES FABBING
OVERRUN

PCs inside a module under attack can barricade windows, airlocks, The machine shop (Area 6) contains a large industrial fabber that the
and doorways to buy more time. In most cases this is simply a PCs can take advantage of to nanofabricate gear they need. However,
matter of time and tools, but GMs can also call for Hardware: the fabber is heavily locked down courtesy of the Brokenridge IT
Industrial Tests to see how effective their efforts are. Stats for Department. Its library of blueprints is limited to what’s needed for
various materials can be found on ▶233, EP2. maintaining the equipment on the platform. This includes things like
utilitools, long-handled utilitools, tool kits, breathers, light vacsuits,
Hold the Door → Opposed SOM Check → If PCs attempt to hold an
and replacement parts for hexamodules, terraforming machinery, and
interior door shut against a mob or brontops, treat it as an
the dankey. At the GM's discretion, this may include other gear of
opposed SOM Check with teamwork modifiers. Brontops
Minor or Moderate complexity. You are encouraged to get creative
receive a +10 modifier to these tests.
with improvisatory alternatives to what the PCs are actually looking for.
Once the hookbladder onslaught has begun and the platform
DISABlED BOTS & VEHIClES is cut off from the wider Teragula mesh (Mesh Issues ▶7), the PCs
All of the bots and vehicles on the platform (with the exception of will not be able to research and download other blueprints online.
Stevedore at Area 3A) are disabled due to Brokenridge's remotely- The PCs are assumed to have multi-use blueprints (▶314, EP2) for
issued termination order. all of their starting gear. However, the fabber is also restricted to
making certain standard items for which Brokenridge has a site
Bypassing Termination → Hardware: Electronics Test at −10 (timeframe: 20
license — namely, those items within its blueprint library.
minutes) → Each shell must be physically accessed to remove
Brokenridge's pre-installed lockdown hardware. Superior or Fabbing Time → Variable → Printing items requires no test, but
critical failures may result in permanent damage to the shell. does take time according to the item's complexity (Acquisition
Timeframe ▶ 312, EP2).
Reactivating bots and vehicles just makes them functional.
Jailbreaking the Fabber → Hacking Test (opposed, Infosec 30) →
Hacking Bot/Vehicle Control → Hacking Test (Opposed, Infosec 30) → If successful, the fabber's restrictions are defeated and it can
To gain access/control, the shell needs to be hacked per be used to print other blueprints.
normal intrusion rules (Hacking ▶ 258, EP2).
The research lab/med bay (Area 11) and hovercract maintenance
Hardwire Vehicle → Hardware Test (timeframe: 1 minute) →
bay (Area 13) also have fabbers, but these are small and medium
Techies can also physically hotwire vehicles for manual control.
respectively. Both are locked down as noted above.
Dankey and hovercraft stats can be found on ▶19. Helicopter
stats can be found on ▶350—350, EP2. HACKING AIRlOCKS
Due to Brokenridge's remote lockdown order, all of the (still func-
Helicopter Repair tioning) airlocks on the platform are locked. To access the various
The platform’s copter is at the helipad (Area 16), but it’s crashed and hexamodules, PCs have two options.
damaged. The forward section is on the helipad, but the tail and rear
Hacking by Mesh → Hacking Test → Because the airlock controls are
rotor are stuck in the mud under 1.5 meters of water. A main rotor
meshed, they may be hacked using normal intrusion rules
blade is broken, and the engine is damaged, but the craft could be
(Hacking ▶ 258, EP2).
repaired with enough time.
Physical Bypass → Hardware: Electronics or Hardware: Industrial Test (time-
The team will need to access the machine shop (Area 6) in order
frame: 2 minutes) → Airlocks may also be physically hacked
to fabricate a replacement rotor blade and other parts. They will
with the proper tools (Hacking an Airlock ▶ 304, EP2).
also need the dankey from the heavy equipment bay (Area 4) to pull
the copter out of the muck. Then it’s just a matter of repairing the These options take enough time that the rest of the team is likely
helicopter while fending off the native life. to have to protect the person breaking into the lock from leaping
hookbladders, infested crew, and/or raging brontops.
Fabricating a Blade and Engine Parts → 2 hours
If the PCs are breaking into all of the hexamodules, rolling
Engine and Blade Repairs → Hardware: Aerospace Test (timeframe: 2 hours) →
for each may become tedious. Save the tests for situations where
Once parts are acquired, the helo can be fixed.
tension is high and handwave the others.
Other Hardware skills may be used with a −30 modifier.
RADIO REPAIR
Hovercraft To repair the comm tower's long-range radio, the PCs need to
If control is gained over the hovercraft, they can be used to travel acquire parts, make repairs, and hack authorization.
to nearby outposts. Better yet, they have sealed cabins, so no
Fabbing Parts → 2 Hours → Components can be printed at any of
getting jumped on by hookbladders. Hovercraft ALIs can autopilot
the available fabbers (the machine shop unit has blueprints).
themselves to any map coordinates they’re told; they also know the
Cannibalize Parts → Hardware: Electronics Tests (timeframe: 5 minutes) →
locations of all Brokenridge and TerraGenesis installations in the
Radio parts can be pilfered from any of the hovercraft.
marrow swamps, including the pandora gate installation.

14¹ SURVIVAl STRATEGIES • BarriCades–radio rePair

 Repairing the Radio → Hardware: Electronics Test (timeframe: 2 hours) →
Once these parts are acquired, the radio can be fixed. SCIENTIFIC SOlUTIONS
Hacking the Radio → Hacking Test → Note also that the radio, once Rather than fleeing, the PCs might opt to wage biowarfare against
working, can only be accessed by authorized personnel. To the hookbladders. The research lab certainly has the facilities to do
bypass this requires hacking the comms gear using standard this, and Dr. Nogumi has the skills to invent a designer toxin.
mesh intrusion rules (▶ 258, EP2). First, the team will need to capture a live hookbladder. Taking
down an infested crew member and grappling (▶205, EP2) the strug-
Once the radio is fixed and hacked, it can be used to communicate gling alien parasite before it wriggles away is one option.
with nearby Brokenridge platforms. PCs will have a difficult time
Catching a Hookbladder → REF Check at −10 → A PC who takes a
convincing those crews of the situation or sending help. They may
suitable container and delays their action, waiting for a
be asked if they have authorization to use the radio and why their
hookbladder to leap at their face, can attempt to catch it.
names don't appear on platform crew rosters. Platform managers will
be inclined to punt the issue to their superiors at Brokenridge. Once a hookbladder is acquired, PCs can research and fab a toxin.
Convincing Others to Help → Deceive or Persuade Test (opposed, SAV Check 45 → Develop Toxin → Medicine: Forensics Test (timeframe: 8 hours) → Know:
Judge their response by the results. This is one way for the Astrobiology and Know: Toxicology are complementary
PCs to resolve the scenario (Resolution ▶17). skills for this test (▶53, EP2). Results, potency, and stats are
detailed under Anti-Hookbladder Toxin ▶19. Remind new
If the PCs attempt to establish a satellite uplink, to reach
players that tasks with long timeframes can be shortened by
Brokenridge or TerraGenesis directly, reconnect to the Teragula
rushing the job (▶32, EP2).
mesh, or broadcast a warning far and wide, they will discover
Fab Toxin → 8 Hours → PCs can use the maker in the med bay (Area
that Brokenridge's satellites are refusing all uplink connections
11) to make enough toxin to kill all the hookbladders in the area.
from Ganges-4. Stubborn hackers may attempt to spoof a connec-
tion (▶247, EP2) or connect to another satellite (most belong to The PCs then have to figure out how to disperse it. They could
TerraGenesis), but Brokenridge will be alert for such trickery. fabricate sprayers (▶209, EP2) to spray the toxin onto the corpse
If Brokenridge becomes aware that the PCs are broadcasting from heaps and individual zombies.
Ganges-4 by radio or sat uplink, they will enforce the blackout. This Dispersing a toxin in the stagnant waters of the swamp is trickier.
can include anything from jamming signals (▶263, EP2) to declaring One solution would be to build a short-range rocket to explode
the incident a hoax perpetuated by disgruntled employees. If the PCs overhead and disperse the toxin as an aerosol.
are especially pernicuous or effective, Brokenridge may drop a missile
Fab Sprayers → 2 hours → Blueprints are in the fabber libraries.
over and take out the Ganges-4 comms array.
Build Rocket → Research Test at −30 → Blueprint for a single-use rocket

RESCUING NPCs designed to spray fungicide over a large area are in the hover-
craft maintenance bay fabber (Area 12). It can be modified to
There are a number of uninfested crew scattered around the plat-
disperse the anti-hookbladder toxin instead, affecting every
form (stats for these hapless workers are provided under NPCs ▶22).
hookbladder or infested crew outdoors in a 1-kilometer radius
Rescued NPCs won’t be very helpful; they are terrified, traumatized,
when its sprayer warhead bursts. It takes 2 hours to print.
confused, and sometimes injured. Most only want to bunker down in
one of the modules and wait it out. Some may be a burden, having
emotional breakdowns or demanding that PCs play things by the SCROUNGING
book and wait for instructions from Brokenridge. Many are terrified The PCs start out with limited gear, but have the opportunity to pick
of breaking clauses in their contract about following official policy, up more by scrounging for it (Searching Modules ▶9).
which for an outbreak of dangerous xenofauna basically amounts to
Locating via the Mesh → Research Test (timeframe: 20 minutes) → Most
"shelter in place and await instructions.” For indentures, specifically, this
of the corporate gear on the platform is meshed for tracking
is not irrational; their morphs are company property and they could be
and accounting purposes; private gear is more likely to be in
punished with more years of indentured service if they damage them.
privacy mode. Of course, many items are buried in corpse
piles or were dropped into the swamps by fleeing crew.
Saving Infested Crew
The PCs may attempt to save infested crew by physically removing
the parasites from living hosts (Hookbladder ▶ 20). PCs who research Gear Stash
an anti-hookbladder toxin may enjoy more success (Scientific Nat has a secret scratch space at Area 18. Both Frank and Ernesto
Solutions ▶ next column). know of its existence. If using the terraforming workers as PCs, this
is a stash of gear that the neo-pigs have been stealing and saving up.
SABOTAGE
Sabotaging the reactor (Area 12) won’t do much other than dooming SNIPING THE INFESTED
all of the biomorphs present. However, the electrolysis plants (Area 2) PCs may attempt shooting infested from the safety of a rooftop. This
have large, external storage tanks of accumulated hydrogen. They’re has merit (likely providing a +20 superior position modifier), but even
on the outside of the plants because there’s not enough oxygen in if they retract the ladders, a mob will attempt to climb the hexamodule.
the atmosphere for them to be a fire/explosion hazard. Inside an Unfortunately, the modules provide plenty of hand-holds for
area with life support, though, they’re giant firebombs. Moving the climbing. Each hexamodule is only 2.5 meters high, and the zombies
actual storage tanks is impossible, but enterprising PCs might hit on can scale about 4 meters per action turn. This means they can scale a
the idea of filling a smaller tank and using it to convert one of the single module in one turn and a double- or triple-story module stack
modules into a bomb capable of killing nearby infested crew. Such in 2 action turns. You can make Athletics 40 Tests for the infested if
an explosion would destroy the module in which it were set off and you like or just assume that half of them make it up each turn.
do DV 10d10 to everything within 30 meters.

SURVIVAl STRATEGIES • resCuing nPCs–sniPing The inFesTed

¾15
 GM TIPS
has its disadvantages. Infested crew may be less likely to climb
modules, use weapons, or break through windows. They also may
A few final words on pacing and adjustments: not stray far from their corpse piles, making it easier to flee.

KEEPING IT MOVING The Day Star

OVERRUN

Overrun works best with periods of intense action with the occasional If the PCs wait out the night, they may find that hookbladders are
short break as the PCs hole up, rest, and plan their next move. If the not so fond of Teragula's sun and daylight. When the sun rises, the
PCs seem inclined to take shelter and wait for rescue, you'll need to infested may seek out shade or slink underwater. This provides an
bring the action to them. Roaming infested may find them, NPCs will opportunity for the PCs to move about more freely — though they
push them to act and sow divisions, an unexpected accident like a may still draw the attention of infested crew if they come too near
fire breaking out may force their hand, or other survivors may come the water. Once night falls again, the infested return to the hunt.
fleeing their way with a brontops on their heels. You can also guilt-
trip them with calls from other survivors pleading for help (if the More Bots
PCs ignore these, call for Stress Tests against SV 1d6 or more). If you There are few bots on the platform. Adding more will increase the
need to, get creative: perhaps there are other types of infested native PCs capabilities, though they should still need to need to revive them.
xenofauna that make their bunker far less safe than they assumed.
At the same time, avoid making it a non-stop slaughter-fest. You HEAVIER HITTING
will need to give the PCs some respite to tend to injuries, hack If the PCs need more of a challenge, here are a few options:
airlocks, repair vehicles, fab gear, and otherwise sort out solutions.
Once they're nearly done, however, is when the next threat shows up. Bonus Brontops
An enraged alien moose analog with a jellyfish over its head could
Taking Time show up at pretty much any time. Heck, if the PCs are well-armed,
Many of the options the PCs have for surviving involve taking the there may even be an entire herd of them.
time to do necessary repairs or fabricate essential gear. For short
periods of a few hours, this is fine and will not substantially change Crew Variants
the scenario. The infested will still lurk about for victims, other Most of the platform crew are in low-end biomorphs or pods
survivors will stay holed up, zombie mobs will batter ineffectively (splicers and worker pods are overwhelmingly common). To keep
at airlock doors, and so on. When the PCs are ready to venture out things interesting, the GM might want to randomly assign other
again, things will be the same. augmentations to a handful of infested crew (perhaps 1 in 10). A
Of course, tasks like nanofabrication do not need oversight; table of entertaining zombie augmentations can be found on ▶21.
once the process has started, the PCs can attend to other matters,
returning when the item is done. Fabber ALIs can update the PCs Something Else in the Water
on the print project's status via the mesh. Other predators might take advantage of hookbladder mating
If the team lays low for longer periods (half a day or more), some season to prey on infested animals as they thrash through the water.
updating of the situation may be necessary. At Ganges-4's latitude, Of course, they won’t care to distinguish between infested and
Teragula's night lasts about 15 hours. Roaming zombies and bron- uninfested swimmers. This might be a fine time for astrobiologists
tops will be easier to spot during the day — but so will the PCs. to get an up-close look at previously unknown xenofauna specimens
Hookbladders also don't want their carefully cultivated corpse such as swamp eels, carnivorous vines, or venomous marsh crabs.
piles to go to waste. Before the first night ends, a number of hook- Alternatively, some of these may be infested themselves.
bladders will asphyxiate their hosts atop the piles and then burst
open, spewing hookbladder larva over the dead. Over time, these Stealthy Zombies
piles will become quite rank and gross. The infested crew may alter their tactics to sneak up on the PCs if
What this means, however, is that the amount of infested will be head-on attacks are repulsed. They may attack from the water from
reduced after the first night. The hookbladders will make up for it an area the team thought they’d cleared or quietly gain access to
by infesting any straggling crew members that venture out as well a module through a hatch left open by a crew member trying to
as more brontops. escape or some other unnoticed breach. Sneaking zombies will
If the situation drags out over days, new corpse piles will be converge on a point rather than coming in mobs, so spotting one
created on and around the platform, though they will be composed doesn’t necessarily mean all are spotted.
more and more of native xenofauna. Slowly, the amount of infested
transhumans will be reduced. After a week, most infested around ONE-SHOT PlAY
the platform will be brontops and other local wildlife. Overrun was originally designed for 4-hour convention slots. If used
for one-shot play, we strongly suggesting jumping right to the action,
PUllING PUNCHES with the PCs at the comm tower as the outbreak begins. The backstory
If the PCs are having too difficult of a time, you'll need to twist some can be handled as quick exposition. For short games, it's even more
knobs and change the challenge level of the scenario. important to keep the action moving. You may need to let the PCs
breeze through a few interactions with the infested in order to wrap
Fewer and Dumber Threats up the scenario in time — or treat the zombies as simple mooks, where
To make the scenario easier, simply reduce the amount of leaping one hit takes them out of the combat. Make sure the players do not get
hookbladders and zombies. It also heps to make the infested less bogged down with decision paralysis; if they are stuck, suss out the
aware — having a jellyfish-thing over your head and sensory organs option they favor and gently push them in that direction.

16¹ GM TIPS • keePing iT MoVing–one-shoT Play

 Boss Corp
RESOlUTION Option four is for TerraGenesis to show up, having somehow
Players have a few options for wrapping up the scenario. been informed that something has gone wrong. They will be less
trigger-happy than Brokenridge and more eager to find out if
BUGGING OUT Brokenridge has violated any of their contractual agreements. They
With a functional hovercraft, the nearest platform is about a day will be particularly interested in evidence that Brokenridge has been
away. With a helicopter, it's a few hours. Either way, the PCs should using indentured labor.
be relatively safe during the journey, though the GM could always
throw in equipment failures or infested brontops or other xeno- Mixing it Up
fauna to make the trip interesting. These options may also be combined. Brokenrige troops may
Any PCs that opt to try and make it by foot are in for a long, show up, start shooting PCs, then get overwhelmed by hookblad-
treacherous ordeal. Making it to another platform will take at ders and infested. Or Brokenridge and TerraGen forces may both
least a week, likely longer, with frequent Survival Tests to avoid arrive, leading to potential hostilities, especially when infested
dangerous terrain, hookbladders, and infested creatures. To crew also attack.
simplify matters, players can make a single Survival Test at –20 o
see if they make it alive. RETAKING THE PlATFORM
Players may realize that with only 100 personnel on the platform,
HOlDING OUT many of whom are now hookbladder larva meals, fighting to retake
Optmistic PCs may attempt to create a bunker or refuge and wait Ganges-4 isn’t completely out of the question. There are two ways
for help to arrive. This is not the recommended course; see Keeping the PCs can go about this.
it Moving ▶16 for tips on encouraging the PCs to act. On the other
hand, the team may exhaust their options or may get reduced to one Violence
or two holed-up survivors. Unfortunately, days or weeks may go by If the PCs can kill or disable enough infested crew and figure out
without anyone showing up as the entire planet scrambles to deal how to deal with any more brontops that wander by, they can effec-
with hookbladders. During that period the PCs may need to fight off tively seize the platform. Once the PCs have cleared out the main
more attacks or make Survival Tests to squeak by. On the positive infested sites (all Area 17s on the map), assume they can handle any
side, hookbladder mating season will peter off in about a month. remaining zombies that show up. From that point, they can easily
hold out for a rescue (Scientific Solutions ▶ previous column).
HElP ARRIVES
Eventually, one way or another, help will arrive. Rescue can come SCIENCE!
in four forms. If the PCs are able to devise a toxin to kill hookbladders (Scientific
Solutions ▶ 15), they can potentially clear the area of hostile para-
Nearby Aid sites. If they then share their discovery with others, they can save
If the PCs successfully convince a nearby platform to send help, a many other platforms from being overrun.
hovercraft or helicopter shows up within a day. The GM can end the
scenario here, moving on to Aftermath (▶18). VISITING AllEGHENY-6
If the PCs acquire a hovercraft or helicopter, they may be inclined
Hopes Dashed to pursue their original mission and investigate Allegheny-6. What
Alternatively, this "rescue" can go drastically wrong when the unpre- they will find is predictable: the station was swarmed with hook-
pared rescuers are suddenly overwhelmed by hookbladders or bladders and infested, just like Ganges-4. No one survived, and the
infested crew or brontops. The PCs can watch with despair as their first two teams Brokenridge sent in to assess the situation also fell
vehicles crash and crew succumb, leaving them still trapped. This is prey to hookbladders and zombies.
only likely if the rescuers are not forewarned, but perhaps they do Should the team linger at Allegheny-6 for too long, it is likely that
not take the threat seriously. On to Plan B. more Brokenridge troops will arrive. Given the fate of their previous
squads, these soldiers will be excessively trigger happy.
Corporate Solutions
A third option is for Brokenridge to finally take the situation seri-
ously and send in some troops with firepower. In the interest of
keeping everything under wraps, however, these soldiers may have
orders to treat all survivors as potential threats. Their agenda may
be to kill everything, collect cortical stacks, and sort it all out later.

RESOlUTION • Bugging ouT–VisiTing allegheny-6

¾17
 Firewall
AFTERMATH Firewall will do its best to pull the sentinels out or at least recover
Whether the PCs survive or not, their actions will impact the future their egos. but their resources are limited, so it may take a while. They
of Teragula. This section details some of those possibilities and the will eventually be pulled in for thir own debriefing with Sustenatrix.
Rez point and rep rewards the PCs will gain as a result. If the PCs were not part of Firewall before, and they pluckily
OVERRUN

survived the xenofauna/zombie outbreak, they may be approached

EFFECTS OF PC ACTIONS and extended an invitation to join. GMs can use Overrun as the
Brokenridge and TerraGenesis both are totally unprepared to cope introduction to a new Firewall campaign as Sustenatrix appraoche
with the hookbladder outbreak. The situation will wreak havoc sthem about future missions.
across the planet as entire stations are overrun. What else occurs
depends on the actions of the PCs: If the Neo-Pigs Escape Indenture
If the neo-pigs escape from the platform with the PCs, they will ask
If the Team Warns the Planet the team to help smuggle them through the gate back to the Solar
If the PCs successfully spread word about a hookbladder outbreak, System, so they can be free of their indentured service. The easiest
they will save lives and give both hypercorps a small sliver of time way to do this would require uploading them with an ego bridge
to prepare. Terraforming operations will be disrupted, but only until or killing them and taking their stacks. They will agree to either.
the onslaught ebbs. If the PCs also distribute a hookbladder toxin, Alternatively, the PCs could try and arrange for fake IDs by using rep
they will largely deter the hookbladder threat. The terraforming favors. They could also ask Sustenatrix/Firewall for assistance, but
of Teragula will continue, more colonists will be shipped in, and this falls outside the scope of their mission and is likely to be refused.
hookbladders will be studied by hypercorps in depth. If the PCs help Ernesto Ernesto and Frank make it off Teragula,
the neo-pigs will owe them a serious favor. Both will attempt to
If No Warning Gets Out return to a life of crime on Europa, or perhaps elsewhere in the
Terraforming operations will be indefinitely set back as the crisis system. The PCs may face some additional questions about the
overwhelms the planet. Security resources will be tied up for neo-pigs' disappearance, if they haven't already melted away them-
weeks attempting to rescue survivors and clear platforms. The selves. Down the line, the neo-pigs may need assistance when ego
affair becomes a public-relations disaster for Terragenesis, and hunters come looking for them.
Brokenridge is excorciated for covering up the threat. TerraGenesis
pulls many non-essential personnel off-world until the hookbladder If the PCs Are Exposed as Sentinels
threat can be properly analyzed and countered. Both Nogumi and Linard may ask the PCs how they are so prepared
to act during the crisis and may become suspicious of their cover
If the PCs Survive story. Linard especially may pry, seeing it as potential leverage
Brokenridge will detain and debrief surviving PCs if possible. he can use to blackmail the PCs or otherwise get his way. If
They’ll then have a talk with Legal, who underscore a clause in their Brokenridge is informed, the PCs will be taken in for questioning
contracts requiring silence about events on Teragula. PCs who seem from which they may not return.
uncooperative may simply be disappeared for a while. Firewall
won’t be able to immediately intervene for PCs; they need to get
through the debriefing on their own. Mission Rewards Table
Outcome Rez & Rep Rewards
If the PCs Die
If they die on the platform, there is a 50% chance their stacks will 2 RP, +1 x-rep
Character Participated in Mission
eventually be recovered—though it may be a few weeks. If they +1 i-rep if Firewall
die within a hexamodule or someplace else that the infested are Team Saved 3+ NPCs 1 RP, +1 x-rep
unlikely to drag them away from, that increases to 80%. There is
Team Warned Planet of Outbreak 1 RP, +1 x-rep, +1 c-rep
also a 5% chance any stacks end up in the hands of someone who
sells them on the black market. Team Distributed Hookbladder Toxin +1 x-rep, +1 r-rep
PC Fulfilled Motivation or Motivational Goal 1 RP
If Brokenridge is Exposed PC Stuck to Motivation/Motivational Goal
If TerraGenesis is informed of Brokenridge's use of indentures, 1 RP
Despite Serious Risk
there will be a protracted legal battle between the two hypercorps Player Contributed:
over breach of contract. Perhaps unsatisfactorily, the two will even- 1 RP
Good Roleplaying/Humor/Drama/Fun
tually settle on Brokenridge paying reparations to both TerraGenesis
and the indentured egos they deployed. PC Exposed as Firewall Agent −5 i-rep, −3 c-rep
If Brokenridge's cover-up of Allegheny-6 and the blackout of PC Recruited into Firewall +5 i-rep
Ganges-4 are exposed, the hypercorp will suffer a major PR hit and +1 @-rep
take flak for failing to warn other platforms and handling the threat Team Helps Neo-Pigs Escape Indenture
−1 c-rep if actions known
in an irresponsible manner. Brokenridge will do its best to pass the
buck to platform managers like Chung. A legal battle will ensue, but Team Exposes Brokenridge's Cover-Up +1 @-rep, +1 x-rep
TerraGenesis will have an advantage. They will lose their contract Team Exposes Brokenridge's Use of Indentures +1 @-rep, −1 c-rep
and be forced to pay damages for failing to warn others.

18¹ AFTERMATH • eFFeCTs oF PC aCTions

 DANKEY
NEW GEAR Dankeys are small utility vehicles combining characteristics of a fork-
PCs may take advantage of the following new gear. Note that all lift, small pickup truck, and utility tractor. They’re common in space-
vehicles have the gear described on ▶ 351, EP2. ports, warehouses, and industrial areas. Dankeys are about 2.5 meters
long and 1.6 meters wide, with wheels and suspension designed for
ANTI-HOOKBlADDER TOXIN roads and warehouse floors. The forklift components have limited
A toxin targeting hookbladders doesn’t exist at the start of the shape-adjusting capability and fold back over the cab when not in
scenario, but may be invented by characters during it (Scientific use, giving the dankey a more tractor-like profile. The cargo bed can
Solutions ▶15). The resulting tailored toxin is contact-based (dermal be lengthened, shortened, shaped into racks, covered, or converted to
application, onset time: action turn). It has the following effect, basic seating for more passengers. A front winch (ingeniously driven
depending on the Medicine: Forensics Test to make it: by the same motors as the forklift) and various tow hitches in the rear
allow dankeys to tow or pull vehicles many times their weight.
• Success: The toxin kills hookbladders in 3 action turns. Although most dankeys have seating for transhuman operators,
• Superior Success: The toxin incapacitates hookbladders (causing they’re usually operated by a bot/vehicle ALI (▶ 326–327, EP2).
them to release their control and slough off of victims) and kills Dankeys aren’t geared for speed and don’t do well off road. If the
them in 3 actions turns. one on the platform ends up in the swamp, it will quickly sink and
• Critical Success: Kills hookbladders immediately upon contact. end up lodged in the mud below.
• Failure: As Success, but the toxin kills hookbladders after 1 hour
and is also poisonous to transhumans (DV 1d10, –10 to actions, HOVERCRAFT
SOM Check vs death after 1 hour; toxin filters and medichines may The hovercraft used on Teragula are typical air-cushion amphibious
mitigate these effects, see Defensive Ware ▶ 330, EP2.). vehicles. They are ideal for traversing the muddy swamps that
• Superior Failure: The toxin does not work. dominate the planet. They feature airtight sealed cabins capable of
• Critical Failure: The toxin does not work and is poisonous to trans- carrying 4 passengers, with exterior room for several more passen-
humans as noted above. gers or cargo.

TOXIN Type Application Duration Complexity/GP Description

Hookbladder Toxin Biochem D, Inj, O — Mod/2 See above.

GROUNDCRAFT Complexity/GP Passengers Vigor Flex Armor WT DUR DR Movement Size

Dankey Maj/3 1 2 0 12/10 15 75 150 8/40 Wheeled L
NAUTICAL
Hovercraft Maj/3 4+ 1 1 12/10 20 100 200 8/32 Hover VL
Ware: Autocook, Radio Booster

GEAR PACK
Given the specifics of this mission, much of the gear included in the Firewall and Gatecrashing packs (▶326, EP2) is unnecessary. The Overrun
gear pack below is provided as an alternative. It is suggested that this be used for the 10 GP assigned to the PCs (Gearing Up ▶5).

Overrun Gear Pack (Firewall)

GEAR Complexity/GP Description Page
Breather* Min/1 Converts CO2 into oxygen. ▶ 316 EP2
Fake Ego ID † Maj/R/3 Forged ID and back history, with its own rep scores (x-rep 10). ▶ 315 EP2
Healing Spray* Min/1 Heals 1d10 damage per hour for 12 hours. ▶ 342 EP2
Portable SolArchive Min/1 Enable Research Tests related to one Know skill while isolated from mesh. ▶ 340 EP2
Second Skin* Min/1 AV +2/+3, Concealable. ▶ 215 EP2
Smart Clothing* Min/1 Can change color, texture, and cut. +10 Infiltrate, +30 covered and stationary. ▶ 317 EP2
TacNet App Mod/2 Share tactical data in real-time. ▶ 327 EP2

*Synthmorph Alternative
Energy Efficiency Maj/3 One extra short recharge per day. ▶ 322 EP2
Industrial Armor Min/1 AV +6/+4. ▶ 214 EP2

†Gatecrasher Alternative
Energy Efficiency Maj/3 One extra short recharge per day. ▶ 322 EP2

NEW GEAR • anTi-hookBladder Toxin–hoVerCraFT

¾19
 behavior is to anchor itself by hooking its prey’s flesh and then

CREATURES & NPCs

enveloping all or part of it.
For most of their six-year life cycle, hookbladders are no more
Use these stats for the various NPCs in the scenario. than a nuisance to transhumans, occasionally inflicting painful
hook cuts on the careless. When they enter the active period of their
HOOKBlADDER reproductive cycle, though, hookbladders become much more inter-
OVERRUN

Xenofauna, Small Size esting. Able to swim rapidly and propel themselves up to 4 meters
Threat Level: Yellow into the air using jets of water, the hookbladders seek hosts. The
Niche: Teragula's marrow swamps hookbladder attempts to hook a victim and then envelop most of
Numbers: 1–10 its head, leaving only the mouth exposed. It then compels its host to
Hookbladders are an aquatic, jellyfish-like animal, named for kill other animals and collect their corpses.
their single hard body part, an incredibly light, hard, ten-centimeter When enough corpses have been collected, the hookbladder
hook of horn-like material located near the animal’s single repro- asphyxiates the host atop its victims. It then bursts, spraying thou-
ductive/digestive opening. Specimens are translucent sacs 40–50 sands of eggs over the entire heap, adding its own body to feed its
centimeters in diameter, with a radial body plan and fine tentacles young. The larvae hatch within hours, gorging for days before drop-
ending in feathery feelers. The hookbladder’s observed feeding ping into the water to begin the aquatic part of their lifecycle.

Hookbladder
Stress Test: SV 1d6 (1d10/1 if being attacked) Threat Pool 2
Infested Crew
Initiative: 8 • Fray: 50 • AV: 2/2
Morph: Worker Pod Threat Pool 2
WT: 3 • DUR: 15 • DR: 23
Initiative: 7 • Fray: 50 • Armor Value: 0/0 or 1/3 (Armor Clothing)
Envelop Head: 65, DV 1d10 + 1. Treat as a grappling attack (▶205, EP2);
Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53
with a superior success the target's head is grappled, vision is blocked,
and the hookbladder exerts parasitic control. Helmets apply a −10 Unarmed Attack: 60, DV 1d6
modifier to the hookbladder's attack. Club: 60, DV 1d10, +10 Reach
Parasitic Control: Once a hookbladder envelopes a biomorph victim’s head, Diamond Ax: 60, DV 2d10 + 3, Armor-Piercing, +10 Reach, Two-Handed
it extends shoots into the victim’s orifices and through the area pierced Flex Cutter: 60, DV 1d10 + 3, Concealable
by its hook. These tie the victim to the hookbladder’s metabolism and,
Perceive: 50 (40 due to blocked vision)
in the case of transhumans, allow them to function without breathers
Move: Walker 4/20
in Teragula’s normally asphyxiating atmosphere. This will inflict DV
1d6, no defense, for 3 action turns. If the hookbladder is not removed in COG: 5 15 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 5 15 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 10 30
2 action turns, it will dominate the target’s mind. Vacsuits and similar Skills: Athletics 50, Infiltrate 50, Melee 50 (60)
sealed outfits protect from parasitic control unless the hookbladder Traits: Enhanced Behavior (Kill Non-Infested, Level 3)
scores a wound on its attack. Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts,
Perceive: 60 Mnemonics, Puppet Sock
Move: 8/32 Swim, 1/4 Walker Hookbladder Mask: Because the hookbladders envelop heads, it is
COG: 1 3 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 1 3 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 1 3 impossible to target a hookbladder in combat without also harming
Skills: Athletics 40 (Swim 50), Infiltrate 70, Melee 55 (Envelop Head 65) its victim, unless they are grappled (▶205, EP2) or incapacitated first.
PCs may intentionally target hookbladders and the heads they occupy
Ware: Enhanced Respiration
together with a called shot (▶218, EP2); in this case, apply damage to
Notes: Hookbladders breathe through their skin membranes. They will both the hookbladder and its victim.
ignore synthmorphs and robots unless attacked. Their hook attack can still Killing Machines: Hookbladder zombies are pre-occupied with murder,
damage synthetic shells, but the parasitization only affects biomorphs. with little regard for their own protection. They make aggressive
Pain Tolerance: In their breeding cycle, hookbladders develop a resistance attacks (▶205, EP2), receiving either +10 to attack or inflicting
to pain. They ignore the effects of 2 wounds and will not react to fire, +1d10 DV, but taking −10 to Fray. Zombies are sometimes clever
acid, or agonizers. (This tolerance does not apply to infested victims.) enough to use melee weapons, but are unlikely to use ranged weapons;
Removal: The only way to remove the hookbladder is to kill it or forcibly most simply attack unarmed.
pull it off with an Opposed Melee Test; grappled victims suffer −30 on Linked Metabolism: Zombies can “breathe” underwater or in Teragula’s
this test. Forced removal inflicts DV 1d10, no defense, as the hook rips atmosphere.
free. Biomorphs saved from hookbladder infestation quickly (in less Muses: The hookbladder’s minuscule intelligence makes mesh inserts
than 10 minutes) recover rapidly, but those infested longer require time useless, but muses belonging to the victim are unaffected and may
in a healing vat to repair damage to their nervous system (−10 to all contact others via the mesh in search of help. Cutting down a zombie
actions until they do). while their muse pleads for mercy inflicts SV 1d6.
Shock Resistance: The primitive neural systems of hookbladders are Random Augmentations: Some infested may have additional ware or
immune to shock effects. gear; see the Zombie Augmentation table.

20¹ CREATURES & NPCS • hookBladder

INFESTED PlATFORM CREW Infested Brontops
Transhuman, Medium Size Stress Test: SV 1d6 Threat Pool 2
Threat Level: Orange
Niche: Teragula's marrow swamps Initiative: 8 • Fray: 40 • AV: 5/5
Numbers: 1–10 WT: 12 • DUR: 60 • DR: 90
Infested crew look as if they’re wearing a hookbladder for an execu-
Bite: 60, DV 2d10 + 4
tioner’s hood — a slimy, translucent cowl beneath which the hookblad-
der’s simple organs and the victim’s features may be blurrily seen. The
Gore: 70, DV 3d10 + 8, target impaled on a superior success (treat as
hookbladders compel them to hunt uninfested crew, meaning most grappled with no choke ▶205, EP2); impaled targets will be bashed for
of these victims already have the blood of their colleagues smearing DV 3d10 on subsequent turns.
their coveralls. The infested retain enough intelligence to use blades, Ram/Stomp/Trample: 60, DV 4d10, Knockdown
axes, and loose pipes as weapons, although many are unarmed. They
Perceive: 50 (40)
are otherwise incapable of communicating, reasoning, or anything
other than tearing the PCs apart. Move: 8/32 Walker, 4/12 Swim
COG: 1 3 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 1 3 • SOM: 20 60 • WIL: 15 45
Skills: Athletics 40 (Swim 50), Melee 60 (Gore 70)
INFESTED BRONTOPS
Xenofauna, Large Size Ware: Enhanced Respiration
Threat Level: Red
Niche: Teragula's marrow swamps
Notes: Due to their large size, brontops arer easier to hit and spot (+10)
Numbers: 1–2 but get a +10 Reach advantage in melee (Large Size ▶ 227, EP2).
Brontops are docile, moose-sized, wading grazers. They subsist on
a combination of microbes and arthropod-analogs filtered from the
swamp waters, fungus, and cartilage/coral — except when infected by
a hookbladder, in which case they subsist on goring and stomping
other animals to death to feed baby hookbladders. The GM is
cautioned against throwing too many of these zombified cervidoids
at the team, as more than a few of them could do to the team what
the trolls were going to do to Bilbo, only not in a sack, so way messier.
Once the team finds a guns, brontops are less of a threat.

RANDOM ZOMBIE AUGMENTATIONS

All of these augmentations are listed in EP2.
Roll 2d10 and add the results for a random augmentation or assign one appropriate to the situation.

2d10 Augmentation Effect

2–3 Emergency Farcaster The crew member’s ego is broadcast to a safe location if killed and retains memo-
ries of the events. If the PCs were particularly brutal in their handling of infested
crew, this could come back to haunt them.
4 Chameleon Skin +10 on Infiltrate Tests.
5 Novacardium +1 Threat Pool.
6 Eelware Their touch/unarmed attacks are Shock, Touch-Only.
7–8 Muscle Augmentation +1d6 DV on melee attacks and +10 SOM Checks.
9 Oxygen Reserve The crew member can survive underwater for up to 3 hours.
The hookbladder’s usual use of asphyxiation won’t kill the crew member, most
likely leaving them alive but paralyzed due to nerve damage on a pile of corpses
when the hookbladder decides to explode. If left without rescue, hookbladder
larvae may begin to eat them. Fortunately, they should regain use of their mesh
inserts after the hookbladder ruptures.
10–12 Armor Vest AV 4/10.
13–14 Enhanced Vision Grants +20 to Perceive Tests to spot PCs.
15 Grip Pads Grants +30 to Athletics Tests for climbing.
16–17 Toxin Filters The linkage between the hookbladder and its hosts metabolism means that Anti-
Hookbladder Toxin ▶19 won’t affect this zombie.
18–20 Cyberlimb Plus +1 Threat Pool, +5 SOM Checks

CREATURES & NPCS • inFesTed PlaTForM Crew–inFesTed BronToPs

¾21
 AVERAGE PlATFORM CREW
NPCs Brokenridge Indentures and Personnel
A selection of NPCs the characters may interact with. Motivation: +Escape −Injury +Survival
These indentures, engineers, scientists, and other workers are just
average folks who don't want to be murdered by the infested.
ESTES CHUNG
OVERRUN

Platform Manager
Motivation: +Career +Efficiency −Making Waves
Average Indenture
A career bureaucrat who takes satisfaction in making things work Morph: Worker Pod Threat Pool 1
efficiently. He is not pleased about being on Teragula, but he's working
Initiative: 7 • Fray: 50 • Armor Value: 0/0 or 1/3 (Armor Clothing)
hard in hopes of a promotion to a better station. He's slightly uncom-
Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53
fortable about Brokenridge's use of indentures, but is Kerensky's push-
over, so has adopted some unpopular measures to stifle labor unrest. Club: 50, DV 1d10, +10 Reach
Flex Cutter: 50, DV 1d10 + 3, Concealable
Manager Chung Perceive: 50
Morph: Exalt Threat Pool 1 Move: Walker 4/20
Initiative: 6 • Fray: 50 • Armor Value: 1/3 (Armor Clothing) COG: 15 45 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 10 30 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 10 30
Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53 Skills: Athletics 50, Guns 30, Hardware: Industrial 50, Kinesics 45,
Club: 40, DV 1d10, +10 Reach Know: Habitat Ops 50, Know: Terraforming 50, Infiltrate 50,
Melee 50, Provoke 45
Perceive: 60
Move: Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts,
Mnemonics, Puppet Sock
COG: 20 60 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 10 30 • SOM: 10 30 • WIL: 10 30
Skills: Athletics 40, Guns 30, Hardware: Electronics 40, Interface 70,
Kinesics 50, Know: Accounting 65, Know: Administration 65, Average Specialist
Know: Habitat Ops 60, Know: Terraforming 70, Melee 40, Persuade 60 Morph: Splicer Threat Pool 1
Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts Initiative: 5 • Fray: 40 • Armor Value: 0/0 or 1/3 (Armor Clothing)
Note: As a zombie, Chung acquires characteristics common to other infested. Wound Threshold: 6 • Durability: 30 • Damage Resistance: 45
Club: 40, DV 1d10, +10 Reach

KERENSKY Perceive: 60
Security Chief Move: Walker 4/20
Motivation: −Autonomism +Career +Security
COG: 20 60 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 10 30 • SAV: 15 45 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 15 45
A company woman who only believes in rules so far as it keeps
the rabble in line. She primarily keeps an eye on the indentures,
Skills: Athletics 50, Guns 30, Hardware: Electronics 60, Infiltrate 30,
knows the neo-pigs are trouble and suspects them of stealing corpo- Interface 60, Kinesics 40, Know: (As Appropriate) 60, Melee 40,
rate property. Persuade 50, Research 50
Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts
Chief Kerensky
Morph: Olympian Threat Pool 2
Average Security
Initiative: 6 • Fray: 50 • Armor Value: 4/10 (Armor Vest) Morph: Worker Pod Threat Pool 1
Wound Threshold: 8 • Durability: 40 • Damage Resistance: 60
Initiative: 6 • Fray: 50 • Armor Value: 4/10 (Armor Vest)
Medium Pistol: 60, DV 2d10, SA/BF/FA, Ammo 15 + 1, Range 30 Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53
Club: 50, DV 1d10, +10 Reach
Medium Pistol: 50, DV 2d10, SA/BF/FA, Ammo 15 + 1, Range 30
Perceive: 60 Club: 50, DV 1d10, +10 Reach
Move: Walker 4/20
Perceive: 50
COG: 15 45 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 10 30 • SOM: 20 60 • WIL: 15 45 Move: Walker 4/20
Skills: Athletics 60, Guns 60, Infiltrate 40, Interface 40, Kinesics 55,
Know: Security Ops 60, Melee 50, Pilot: Nautical 50, Provoke 55 COG: 10 35 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 15 45 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 10 30
Skills: Athletics 50, Guns 50, Infiltrate 30, Interface 40,
Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts Kinesics 50, Know: Security Ops 50, Melee 50, Provoke 45
Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts,
Mnemonics, Puppet Sock

22¹ NPCS • esTes Chung–aVerage PlaTForM Crew

 Frank
ERNESTO ERNESTO Morph: Neo-Pig Threat Pool 2 (as NPC)
Indenture, Former Pirate
Motivation: +Crime +Freedom +Uplift Rights Initiative: 6 • Fray: 40 • Armor Value: 1/3 (Armor Clothing)
Ernesto and his brother Frank were born in the ice caves of Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53
Europa. Ernesto went from semi-legit infosec jobs to a career in Insight 0 Moxie 1 Vigor 1 Flex 2 (as PC)
undersea piracy, and dragged his brother along with him. They were
caught, sentenced to indentured service, and Brokenridge bought
Flex Cutter: 50, DV 1d10 + 3, Concealable
their contracts. They've been stealing supplies in the hopes of even- Club: 50, DV 1d10, +10 Reach
tually breaking out and getting back through the gate. Perceive: 80
Move: Walker 4/20
Ernesto Ernesto COG: 20 60 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 10 30 • SAV: 15 45 • SOM: 10 30 • WIL: 15 45
Morph: Neo-Pig Threat Pool 2 (as NPC) Skills: Athletics 50, Guns 40, Hardware: Electronics 40,
Initiative: 7 • Fray: 60 • Armor Value: 1/3 (Armor Clothing) Hardware: Industrial 60, Hardware: Nautical 50, Infiltrate 50,
Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53 Kinesics 45, Know: Black Markets 60, Know: Engineering 50,
Insight 0 Moxie 1 Vigor 1 Flex 2 (as PC) Know: Europa 50, Know: Exoplanets 50, Know: Habitat Ops 70,
Know: Sociology 50, Know: Uplift Rights 60, Melee 50,
Flex Cutter: 50, DV 1d10 + 3, Concealable (in security office)
Persuade 45, Pilot: Nautical 80, Program 50, Survival 40
Perceive: 60 Rep: @-rep 25, c-rep 25 • g-rep 30 • x-rep 20
Move: Walker 4/20
Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Direction Sense, Enhanced Respiration,
COG: 10 30 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 10 30 • SOM: 20 60 • WIL: 15 45 Ghostrider Module, Mesh Inserts
Skills: Athletics 60, Deceive 50, Guns 60, Infiltrate 60, Infosec 70, Gear: Breather, Utilitool
Interface 50, Kinesics 50, Know: Computer Science 70,
Note: Frank carries Nat ▶24 within his ghostrider module.
Know: Criminals 40, Know: Economics 40, Know: Piracy 50,
Ego Traits: Common Sense
Know: System Administration 40, Know: Uplift Rights 70,
Melee 50, Program 50, Research 50, Survival 40
Rep: c-rep 15 • g-rep 50 • x-rep 35 lINARD
Extropian Engineer
Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Direction Sense, Enhanced Hearing, Motivation: +Career +Extropianism +Hypercorps
Enhanced Respiration, Mesh Inserts Linard enjoys the challenges of working in a remote outpost with
Gear: Breather (in security office) limited resources. However, he has the worst stereotype of an engi-
neer's personality — exacting, argumentative, and hyper-analytical at
inappropriate times — so he isn't exactly popular with the other crew.

FRANK linard
Indenture, Former Pirate
Motivation: +Freedom −Hypercorporations +Uplift Rights Morph: Exalt Threat Pool 2 (as NPC)
Frank's real name is Duncan, but ever since some bigot called Initiative: 6 • Fray: 40 • Armor Value: 1/3 (Armor Clothing)
him a "frankenswine," he's gone by Frank. He grew up with his
Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53
brother Ernesto on Europa's fringes, fell in with a group of subsur-
Insight 1 Moxie 1 Vigor 1 Flex 1 (as PC)
face pirates, got busted, and is now doing time as a terraforming
worker. When Nat made contact and offered to help the brothers Perceive: 60
out with their escape plans, Frank agreed to let take up residence in Move: Walker 4/20
his ghostrider module.
Frank's ghostrider module originally housed a Brokenridge COG: 20 60 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 10 30 • SAV: 15 45 • SOM: 10 30 • WIL: 15 45
snitch ALI for the purpose of monitoring the indenture's activities, Skills: Athletics 40, Free Fall 50, Guns 30, Hardware: Electronics 60,
but Nat removed it. Hardware: Industrial 80, Hardware: Robotics 60, Infiltrate 30,
Interface 60, Kinesics 45, Know: Board Games 60, Know: Chemistry 60,
Know: Economics 50, Know: Extropians 50, Know: Habitat Ops 70,
Know: Hypercorps 40, Know: Terraforming 60, Persuade 35,
Pilot: Ground 30, Program 60, Research 50
Rep: c-rep 10 • c-rep 50 • r-rep 10 • x-rep 30
Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Electrical Sense, Mesh Inserts, Skinlink
Gear: Grip Tape, Repair Spray
Note: Linard is injured by a brontops when the onslaught begins, taking 1
wound and 12 points of damage.

NPCS • ernesTo ernesTo–linard

¾23
 Nat
DR. MEG NOGUMI Morph: Agent Threat Pool 2 (as NPC)
Lunar Astrobiologist
Motivation: +Curiosity +Science +Survival Initiative: 6 • Fray: 40
Nogumi's intellect has carried herself from the slums of Earth to Wound Threshold: 8 • Durability: 40 • Damage Resistance: 80
research labs of Luna, but her fascination with alien life has landed Insight 4 Moxie 0 Vigor 0 Flex 1 (as PC)
OVERRUN

her in Teragula's backwaters. Her official job is to investigate local

life for possible commercial applications, but she's more interested
Perceive: 65
in analyzing whether the cartilage coral and swamp water act as a COG: 20 60 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 10 30 • SAV: 15 45 • SOM: 10 30 • WIL: 15 45
vast macro-organism before Brokenridge's activities inevitably kill Skills: Athletics 30, Deceive 55, Guns 45, Infiltrate 70,
it off. Infosec 80, Interface 70, Kinesics 45, Know: Accounting 45,
Know: Current Events 50, Know: Mathematics 80,
Meg Nogumi Know: Psychometrics 70, Know: Psychology 60, Know: Spycraft 60,
Morph: Exalt Threat Pool 2 (as NPC) Persuade 50, Pilot: Air 40, Program 70, Research 65
Rep: @-rep 20, c-rep 20 • i-rep 30 • r-rep 30
Initiative: 6 • Fray: 70 • Armor Value: 1/3 (Armor Clothing)
Wound Threshold: 7 • Durability: 35 • Damage Resistance: 53 Ware: Drone Rig, Enhanced Security, E-Veil, Mnemonics
Pools (as PC): Insight 1 • Moxie 1 •Vigor 1 • Flex 1 Morph Traits: Digital Speed, Exotic Morphology (Level 3)
Insight 1 Moxie 1 Vigor 1 Flex 1 (as PC)
Note: Nat resides in Frank's ghostrider module.
Club: 45, DV 1d10, +10 Reach
Perceive: 50 STEVEDORE
Move: Walker 4/20 Automech ALI based on a gamma fork
Motivation: +Curiosity +Happiness +Hard Work
COG: 15 45 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 15 45 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 15 45 Unknown to Brokenridge, the tech who installed this automech's
Skills: Athletics 45, Guns 45, Hardware: Robotics 55, Infiltrate 45, ALI used one based on one of their own gamma forks, heavily
Interface 45, Kinesics 65, Know: Astrobiology 75, Know: Black psychosurgically modified. Stevedore doesn't really retain any of
Markets 55, Know: Chemistry 40, Know: Field Science 45, Know: their old ego's memories outside of a few childhood fragments.
Hypercorps 55, Know: Lunars 40, Know: Smuggling 45, Medicine: Their personality is remarkably cheerful and inspired by life, far
Forensics 55, Medicine: Paramedic 55, Melee 45, Persuade 35, more than most other ALIs.
Program 45, Research 50, Survival 45 Stevedore's automech shell has been modified for working within
Rep: c-rep 20 • g-rep 20 • r-rep 40 • x-rep 20 the marrow swamps. It uses waterjets or walks on legs in the swamps,
then retracts those limbs to maneuver by wheels on the platform.
Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Smell, Gills, Mesh Inserts Stevedore was not affected by the termination order that shut
Gear: Portable Lab, Viewers down the platform's bots because they found the hardware lock that
Brokenridge installed to be too itchy and removed it themself.
Ego Traits: Danger Sense

NAT Stevedore
AGI Psychometrician and Spy Morph: Automech Threat Pool 1 (as NPC)
Motivation: +Analyze Data +Understand Transhumans −X-Risks Initiative: 5 • Fray: 30 • Armor Value: 8/6
Nat was originally programmed for psychological measurement,
Wound Threshold: 6 • Durability: 30 • Damage Resistance: 60
to help hypercorps analyze and manipulate consumers. After being
Insight 0 Moxie 0 Vigor 1 Flex 1 (as PC)
liberated from virtual enslavement, she works as a spy for Firewall,
infiltrating corporate networks to identify incipient threats. She Club: 40, DV 1d10, +10 Reach
thinks data sets are sexy, sexy things and gets a thrill from creating Flex Cutter: 40, DV 1d10 +3
behavioral models.
Perceive: 40
Move: Swimmer 4/12, Walker 4/20, Wheeled 8/40
COG: 15 45 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 10 30 • SAV: 10 30 • SOM: 10 30 • WIL: 10 30
Skills: Athletics 30, Hardware: Robotics 20 (Automechs 30),
Infosec 20, Interface 30, Kinesics 30, Know: Automech Specs 80,
Melee 40, Provoke 30, Research 20
Ware: Electrical Sense, Magnetic System, Mesh Inserts,
Radiation Sense, Retracting Limbs, Tool Kit, Utilimod,
Weapon Mount (Articulated, Flex Cutter)
Traits: Edited Memories, Enhanced Behavior (Happy, Hard-Working,
Obedient ; all Level 3), Real-World Naivete

24¹ NPCS • dr. Meg noguMi–sTeVedore

player map

TERRAFORMING TERRAFORMING PLATFORM

PlATFORM GANGES-4 3A GANGES-4
PlAYER MAP
One Square
= Ten Meters
14 13

2A
16

4 1
2B
11
9 5
10

8 6

7
12

3B

1 Comm Tower ▶9 6 Machine/Fabber Shop ▶ 10 11 Research Lab / Med Bay ▶ 11

2 Electrolysis Plants ▶9 7 Security ▶ 10 12 Fusion Reactor ▶ 11
3 Water Intakes ▶9 8 Admin Office / Manager’s Quarters ▶ 10 13 Hovercraft Maintenance Bay ▶ 11
4 Heavy Equipment Bay ▶ 10 9 Specialist Quarters ▶ 11 14 Hovercraft Dock ▶ 11
5 Indenture Quarters ▶ 10 10 Researcher Quarters ▶ 11

TERRAFORMING PlATFORM GANGES-4 • Player MaP

¾25