WRITTEN BY ART BY

D. KENNY VIL
 WRITTEN BY

visit www.tuesdayknightgames.com or contact [email protected].

trademark of Tuesday Knight Games. All rights reserved. For additional information,
Tuesday Knight Games. This product is published under license. Mothership RPG is a
This product is based on the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror Role Playing Game, published by
D. KENNY
ART BY
VIL
DYING HARD ON EDITED BY
JARRETT
HARDLIGHT STATION CRADER
LAYOUT BY
ERIC K. HILL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WELCOME TO HARDLIGHT STATION............................4
WHEN THE QUARANTINE FAILS...................................6
FACTIONS - HEALTHTEK..............................................8
FACTIONS - BLACKSHIELD........................................10
FACTIONS - NAKATOMI SOLUTIONS...........................12
HARDLIGHT STATION MAP........................................14
THE CORE..................................................................16
SECURITY AND ADMINISTRATION.............................17
THE DOCKS...............................................................18
THE HEALTHTEK MODULE.........................................19
HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER.............................20
APPENDIX.................................................................26

Second Printing
Copyright 2022 © Magnum Galaxy Games
 5

WELCOME TO HOW TO USE THIS

HARDLIGHT MODULE
Dying Hard on Hardlight Station is both an

STATION
open-ended adventure and a plug-and-play setting.
Your team of grizzled PCs will be torn between saving
friends locked in the Healthtek facility or crawling
to freedom in the vents of the corporate-controlled
Hardlight Station is a small yet bustling commercial Hardlight Station, all while trying to avoid capture
outpost, orbiting at the edge of the Epsilon Eridani by the brutal Blackshield Mercenary Company.
system. Administrator Takako McClane of Nakatomi Unbeknownst to all, Blackshield’s invasion has
Solutions Inc. rents space to any organization caused the containment protocols at the Healthtek
looking to conduct business in the privacy and facility to malfunction. Before long, Healthtek’s THREATS
seclusion such a remote location can provide. It also half-human, half-alien hybrids will be rampaging Each faction vying for control of the station carries with them an associated threat consisting of a major
offers brisk trade in fuel and supplies as a waystation through the station - testing old alliances and sequence of events they have put in motion. All threats have a goal or end state. The approaches are the ways
on the busy route between Earth and the colonized perhaps forging new ones, as all parties are pressed in which the threat worsens as time passes. Start with those at the top. As time goes on, move down the list. If
systems of the local cluster. to contain this new, deadly onslaught. the PCs don’t intervene, the threats become reality.

HOW TO “WIN” OTHER WAYS TO USE THIS MODULE CORPORATE INVASION THE HORROR FROM TAU SIGMA 7
Here are some possible scenarios on how this all Do whatever you want. Take what you like and forget Corporal Hanne Gruber and the Blackshield In the bowels of Healthtek, Dr. Holland Gennero
might end: the rest. Here are a couple of ideas for adjusting the Mercenary Company are being paid very well to has created something monstrous - an unholy hybrid
■ Rescue (or heartlessly abandon) your friends timescale up or down, or taking a whole different secure a sample of the Tau Sigma Substance and of DNA from the infected survivors of the Tau Sigma
in the Healthtek facility, sneak onto a ship and approach. will stop at nothing to get it, even if it costs the lives incident and the crimson goo that has invaded
get the hell out of dodge. Good luck getting past ■ Just run one of the two scenarios: either of everyone on Hardlight Station. their bodies. Unleashed by the failed containment
Blackshield’s command ship: it’s called Breaker Blackshield invades to attain a sample of the Tau system, the Hybrids set out to hunt, sating a hunger
for a reason. Sigma substance with no quarantine breach or APPROACHES that the inhabitants of Hardlight Station alone
■ Team up with Blackshield to fight the crimson no Blackshield just containment breach. ■ Blackshield crashes Breaker into the docks and cannot satisfy.
goo hybrids. When the dust settles, make sure ■ Start as inhabitants of the station enjoying the initiates their invasion.
you have collateral to hold Blackshield to any yearly Nakatomi Christmas party. Bummer about ■ Hack station comms and begin overriding APPROACHES
deal they made. the invasion. McClane’s security measures. ■ Rampage through Healthtek before breaking free.
■ Hide out while the hybrids make mincemeat ■ Use Hardlight Station as a location in an ongoing ■ Gather personnel in the atrium; interrogate for ■ Slaughter the Mercs in the hallway, sending
of everyone on the station. There, job done, the campaign. Get your players used to stopping by info on the Tau Sigma Substance. survivors running in panic.
coast is clear… except for the legion of infectious before springing the calamities herein upon ■ Squads spread through the station and cut ■ Crash the party in the atrium and run amok.
Goolings escaping on the ships. them. open the containment doors into Healthtek. ■ Take to the vents and spread through the station.
■ Join Administrator McClane and the battered ■ Go full “John McClane” mode and play with a ■ Offer a deal in exchange for help securing the ■ Infected civilians rise as Goolings.
remnants of the station’s security forces to fight single PC. Bump up their stats a bit and see if Tau Sigma Substance. ■ With the station overrun, the horde converges
off the twin threats. Hope you brought extra they can survive the night. ■ Capture a hybrid and drag it sedated back to on Blackshield’s final bastion on the docks.
bandages and ammo! ■ Assign your PCs the optional secret agendas in the Breaker. ■ Blackshield’s defences crumble and Goolings
■ Overload the reactor and blow the whole damn the appendix. Fear the enemy within. ■ Leave the survivors to fend for themselves against board ships, blasting off to nearby civilized ports.
place up. Sure, you’ll go down with the ship, but the rampaging infection.
by god you’ll take the bastards with you.

4 5
 FAILS
WHEN THE QUARANTINE WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
Tonight is Christmas Eve, decorations line the halls and many of the 100 or so
residents of Hardlight are in the midst of a wild night of festive revelry when
Blackshield crashes the party, mercs corralling locals into the atrium for
questioning. Administrator McClane has locked the station down from
her office, where she has barricaded herself behind a phalanx of
automated defences, and Dr. Holland Gennero, Healthtek project
lead, has mysteriously gone missing.

Blackshield is here on a mission: they want AWAKENING

samples of the Tau Sigma Substance - aka “the You awake in the medbay to the sound of klaxons
Crimson Goo.” They are rounding up Healthtek and the red strobe of emergency lights. It’s been
personnel, looking for a way into the research facility. three weeks since you escaped the disaster on
So far they have been stymied by Administrator Tau Sigma 7. You still can’t quite believe what you
McClane’s lockdown. Every blast door is closed saw and experienced there - tentacled creatures,
and every non-emergency system is shut down. dripping infectious Crimson Goo, implacable
They work furiously to try to find a way to override hunters uncovered in a subterranean alien structure
McClane’s authority. that stalked the crew. You and the other survivors
Meanwhile, deep in the Healthtek laboratory, just managed to destroy the outpost and escape
things have gone terribly wrong. The experimental on the last emergency shuttle - hopefully ending
cure for the infected survivors from Tau Sigma 7 has the nightmare for good. Five days ago you docked
some unintended side-effects. And now, with the at Hardlight Station and reported your story to
station in lockdown and all systems in emergency the authorities. Since then, you’ve been mourning
power mode, the containment protocols have those you lost and recuperating with the help of the
failed. Outside, Blackshield is doing everything station doctors.
they can to break the quarantine seals around the Now, in semi-darkness, you take in the ward where
lab, but, when they do, whatever is trapped inside is you and your crewmates have been recovering. Over
getting out, and that is when the real party begins… the usual tang of antiseptic hangs an acrid tinge of
smoke. An emergency broadcast goes out over the
station intercom. It’s Administrator McClane - the
station is under attack [play emergency broadcast
two]. Only a few minutes after the broadcast ends
you hear the droning of the ventilation fans wind
down, their hum replaced by faint shouting in the
hallway corridor. You hear gunfire and screams.
Heavy boots pound the plasticrete floors. Someone
is banging on the door, “Blackshield Mercenary
Corps, we’ve commandeered the station. Open
up or we’ll shoot!” The only way out is through the
door or the air vents in the ceiling. Another message
[emergency broadcast 3] is blinking on your comm
pad. What do you do?

7
6
 HELL UNLEASHED FROM HEALTHTEK
FACTIONS

Attracted by the seclusion of far-flung Hardlight At first the experiments were unstable, patients’ genes DR. HOLLAND GENNERO
Station, Healthtek AG lead researcher Dr. Holland shredding as alien DNA commingled with their own. C:20 Tranq Pistol I:70 H:2(25)
Gennero has conducted grey-market genetics Failed subjects were locked in containment. The
research in the high-security module for years. Skilled doctor continued, perfecting his cure, until on the SPECIAL ABILITIES:
in editing animal and human DNA, the temptation of eve of Christmas he administered the first dose of ■ The Cure: has D10 doses of his antiviral cure
the highly mutagenic “Tau Sigma Substance’’ was the working antidote. The results were rapid, but for the Tau-Sigma infection. Can be used to save
too great for him to resist. Singularly equipped to incomplete, when Blackshield’s invasion triggered infected crew, destroy hybrids or potentially be
cure the biogenetic parasite, Administrator McClane the station-wide lockdown with catastrophic timing. distributed on a wider scale through the station’s
authorized Gennero to study the infected survivors The tanks with the early failures unsealed, and the ventilation system, but to what effect?
in an attempt to flush the infection from their hybrids emerged. Half-human, half-alien, their only
systems. In this, Gennero seems to have succeeded. desire is to spread their kind far and wide - feeding Single-minded, brilliant research scientist in charge
But the cost was great. To work with the molecule, the hunger that burns in their blood and gnaws at their of Healthtek at the station. Dedicated to his work,
he combined it with human DNA, rendering it very DNA. hates ethics boards with a passion. Has a cure for
recognizable to his CRISPR gene-editing treatments. the Tau Sigma infection—but what will it cost to get?

SURVIVORS FROM TAU SIGMA 7

The very sick crewmembers from Tau Sigma 7 were
TAU SIGMA HYBRIDS GOOLING taken for “intensive treatment” in the Healthtek labs.
C:65 Tentacle Lashes 2d10/2d10 and Gnashing Teeth C:40 Proto Claws 1d10/1d10 I:30 H:2(20) Along with Dr. Gennero, they haven’t been seen
2d10 I:50 Hits:3(30) since. How many were cured and how many have been
SPECIAL ABILITIES: turned into the ravening alien hybrids?
SPECIAL ABILITIES: ■ Vomit and Bleed Crimson Goo: Body Save or
■ Vomit and Bleed Crimson Goo: Body Save or become infected (1d5 DMG/round until treated). 01 Jengo Watson: xeno-archeologist, blonde, playboy.
become infected (1d5 DMG/round until treated). If HP is reduced to zero by the infection make 02 Wian Rensburg: data analyst, takes his work
If HP is reduced to zero by the infection make another Body Save. On success the PC has fought seriously, hates Jengo.
another Body Save. On success the PC has fought off the infection and is unconscious but alive. On 03 Ruan Human: nurse, escaped a cybermod cult,
off the infection and is unconscious but alive. On failure, die. On critical failure, the PC rises as a don’t ask about the scars.
failure, die. On critical failure, the PC rises as a Gooling controlled by the Warden. 04 Elize Van Schalkwyk: human resources, charming
Gooling controlled by the Warden. and kind, winks a lot.
■ Camouflage: when still, they blend nearly The infection spreads quickly. Skin bubbles, melts 05 Marieke Young: maintenance department, tough
seamlessly with their surroundings. and cascades away. Still wearing the shredded as leather, both literally and metaphorically.
clothes of their former selves the goolings rise with 06 Kubrick Puku: videographer, excitable, Tau Sigma
Healthtek’s gene therapies have commingled with a scream. was his first paying gig.
the alien DNA of the Crimson Goo, causing it to 07 Nkeng Barkindo: cook, quiet, sad eyes, pictures
evolve and create monstrous half-human hybrids of family in his wallet.
of the infected survivors from Tau Sigma 7. Their 08 Taleh Zula: fashionista, loud, lots of fun at a
bodies drip with goo and stretch like silly putty. Their Christmas party.
limbs distend into whiplike clawed tentacles, their 09 Callum Ebodé: studious, student on a scholarship.
mouths gape and ooze, they are coming for you. 10 Arsène Belle: corporate lead at Tau Sigma 7,
highly capable, will do anything to cover up what
really happened on Tau Sigma.

8 9
 THE BLACKSHIELD MERCENARY COMPANY
FACTIONS - ON CONTRACT:

Founded by former officers dissatisfied with the CORPORAL HANNE GRUBER

inefficiencies of Earth’s Colonial Navy, Blackshield Corporal Hanne Gruber - C:70 Mastercrafted SMG
Mercenary Company rose quickly in power and “Liebling” 3d10 I:60 Hits:4(40)
prestige as it seized several lucrative contracts from
various major Earth military organizations. However, SPECIAL ABILITIES:
their golden age was short lived. Culminating a series ■ An Offer you Can’t Refuse: When desperate,
of lesser events and shady dealings - the Io Incident, Gruber draws on her corporate contacts to make a
when a team of Blackshield security contractors were tempting offer to turn antagonists into allies. This
caught on the feed firing into a union mining protest can be to the PCs directly or to any bystanders.
killing and wounding scores of civilian protesters Hopefully the former. Probably the latter.
- put an end to their rapid rise. In damage control ■ Body Shield: If Blackshield Troopers are present
mode, Blackshield rebranded its mainstream training and reasonably able, Gruber can have them take
and technology businesses as Ally Securities. The a hit that was intended for her.
remnants of the paramilitary arm of the company
calved off, maintaining the name Blackshield and Head of the Blackshield Mercenaries. A ruthless
moving deeper into the shadowy grey and black woman who puts self, mission, and crew above all
markets of high risk security, intimidation, corporate else (in that order). Despite being prone to sudden
espionage, and asset seizure. Though officially bursts of calculated, brutal violence, Gruber can be
no longer on Ally Securities’ payroll, many in the hypnotically charming when she wants to, much like
intelligence community suspect Blackshield operates a cobra.
as the secret knife behind the back of their powerful
parent company. 1D10 BLACKSHIELD MERCENARIES
01 Arlo Virak: fiery and vengeful, Gruber’s right hand.
BLACKSHIELD ASSAULT SQUAD 02 Toni Virak: master of disguise, comms officer.
Combat 35 + 5% per unit Instinct 35% + 5% per unit 03 Theo Claymore: arrogant, hacker, loves jokes.
Hits 1 (20) x units in squad. 04 Aria Shadee: mysterious, intelligence officer, very
Roll 1d10 or pick what each trooper carries. into knives.
01 Combat Shotgun 05 Franco Collorotto: former powerlifter, bald,
02 Flamethrower scarred, bad knees.
03-06 SMG 06 Sarah Elbridge: all business, no pleasure,
07-10 Revolver and Stun Baton crack shot.
07 Karl Dogunov: unlucky, former dancer, good with
SPECIAL ABILITIES: an SMG.
■ Formation: The squad fights as a unit. There 08 Fritz Alexander: mechanic, uniform always filthy,
are always at least three troopers on any given heavy weapons specialist.
patrol - one of which is heavily armed. 09 Roxette Marcos: unpredictable, pilot,
likes explosions.
Black-clad thugs, well-armed and out for a buck. 10 Uli Heinrich: sweet tooth, really nice, pyromaniac.
Lucky for you their orders seem to be to apprehend
rather than kill if possible. What do they want you for?

10 11
 NAKATOMI SOLUTIONS INC.
FACTIONS - HOLDING ON TO HARDLIGHT:

Administrator Takako McClane was appointed head PEOPLE OF THE STATION:

of Hardlight Station as a punishment for disobeying Hundreds hustle, work and live their lives full time on
the orders of Nakatomi Solutions Inc’s decadent and Hardlight Station. These are just a few of the more
corrupt CEO (her cousin) Tomiichi “Tom” Yoshinobu. interesting personalities.
Though only a fraction of the multi-armed megacorp’s 01 Merlin Kiani: drone wrangler, rotten chrome
vast holdings, McClane has done everything in her teeth, bloodshot eyes, distracted.
power to spite her cousin by making Hardlight Station 02 Pascal Moneaux: corporate soldier, nice coat,
a success. Despite numerous harsh budget cuts her tribal falcon face tattoo, calm.
plans have worked. However, part of Hardlight’s 03 Zeb O’Mori: pimp, athletic and wiry, huffs fast
success has been built on the back of McClane’s food, superstitious.
“no-questions” policy for the station’s business 04 Fleur Omewego: recyc-plant worker, dirty
tenants, including her contract with Healthtek AG. coveralls, aviators, solidarity patch, sings.
With the invasion underway, McClane does anything 05 Noriyumi Tronstad: pilot, weary, apathetic,
to maintain control of the station she has fought wearing a soiled Santa suit, drunk.
so hard for for so long. And, if she can’t keep it, no 06 Giselle Quintan: reporter, heavyset, always cold,
one will. cybernetic implants, brash.
07 G8R-44 “Gator”: sex-worker, battered synth,
ADMINISTRATOR TAKAKO McCLANE needs repairs, vinyl clothing, smokes.
C:45 Custom Concealed Handgun “奥の手/Okunote” 08 Bones: med-bot, wireframe chassis, antenna,
2d10 I:70 H:3(30) crackly electronic voice, helpful.
09 Zoe Qi: gambler, infected neck cybernetics,
SPECIAL ABILITIES: pitiless blue eyes, desperate to escape.
■ Administrative Access: Controls most systems on 10 Otto Braun: amateur cybermod hacker, hairless,
the station from the administrator’s terminal in her eager, awkward, devoted to Zoe.
office, including communications, cameras, doors,
life support, and airlocks. Blackshield has locked
her out of the docks and is trying to seize control
of more. Contacts the PCs over private comms to
enlist their help in regaining control. Does not take
kindly to those working against her.
■ Self-Destruct Protocol: If she believes that she
will lose control of the station she calls on the
PCs to destroy it by inserting her hard key into the
reactor. Once the key is inserted and activated the
station explodes in 10 minutes.

Exquisite manners, and ruthless focus, the stoic

head-administrator of Hardlight Station took your
report on the events at Tau Sigma 7. Now she’s trying
to stop Blackshield, save the station and figure out
what’s really going on.
EVERYONE ON HARDLIGHT STATION WANTS SOMETHING. THESE ARE ONLY THE BIGGEST PLAYERS.
12 13
 When PCs enter a new location, advance
one or both threats and describe
the chaos before them. Explain how
the location has been altered by the
advancing threats, and don’t forget to
deck the halls with blood, madness, and
charming Christmas details.

VENT PROMENADE FREIGHT

FRELEVATOR
14 15
 THE CORE: SECURITY AND ADMINISTRATION:
INVASION GROUND ZERO NAKATOMI’S LAST STAND
The battle for Hardlight Station rages through corridors decked for the big party. Blackshield patrols are The administration center of the station, McClane fled here when Blackshield broke into the Hangar. Now she
rounding up any stragglers they can find and herding them into the atrium, where Gruber is interrogating waits with the remnants of the station’s security forces, broadcasting an SOS to anyone who will listen and
Healthtek personnel for info on the Tau Sigma Substance. PCs have to be sneaky if they want to avoid getting doing her damndest to keep Blackshield from seizing her sanctum.
caught in the chaos.

LOCATIONS D10 ENCOUNTERS AS YOU NAVIGATE THE STATION LOCATIONS D10 PIECES OF CONTRABAND
01 The Medbay (Start Here): Left with only a skeleton 01 Something in the vents! 01 Entrance Hall: flechette riddled mercenary 01 Matched pair of pistols: snakes with diamond
staff while most of the personnel celebrate 02 Couple lying low to avoid the Blackshield patrols. corpses clog the hastily erected barricades that eyes carved into the grips.
Christmas. It now crawls with Blackshield mercs They’re hiding something. block the hallway to Security and Administrator 02 Smuggler’s sawed off shotgun: useless at range.
searching for survivors of Tau Sigma 7. Medical 03 Blackshield Assault Squad on patrol. McClane’s office. A pair of motion-activated Brutal up close.
supplies can be scrounged here. 04 Infected scientist fleeing the Healthtek facility. defence turrets blink in their roof mounts in front 03 Illegal Algolian absynth: may relieve stress. Will
02 The Atrium: A geodesic dome with a grand view “Run for your lives. They’re coming!” of the sealed office doors. Out front, a Blackshield definitely cause hallucinations.
of the stars. Currently decorated for Christmas. 05 Station Dweller in a Santa hat begging for you to Assault squad attempts to breach again. 04 Set of shuriken: replicas or the real deal?
Partygoers huddle terrified as Blackshield take them with you. Useless. 02 Station Security Precinct: the cramped quarters 05 Ancient videotape labelled “do NOT watch” in
Mercs search the crowd for anyone who might 06 Crew of smugglers using the chaos to loot. of Hardlight Station’s meager security forces. A thick, messy handwriting.
know the whereabouts of the head of Healthtek, 07 Station security officer trying to round up handful of desks, cheap terminals, and teetering 06 Fireworks: “Fireworks, seriously? Who smuggles
Dr. Gennero. defenders. Will deputize you. piles of unfinished paperwork. fireworks onto a goddamn space station?!” -
03 Living Quarters: A warren of tiny apartments, all 08 Tough-looking Teamster. He’ll show you a secret 03 Holding Cells: usually used to corral drunks and Chief Security Officer Powell
locked. A few scared families huddle inside. way into the docks if you rescue his family. delinquent pilots late on paying their docking 07 Black Market Stims: like regular stimpacks but
04 Commerce District: Empty for Christmas. The 09 Lost child in an elf costume. Looking for mama. fees, now a small group of station crew and they kick like a mule and are highly addictive.
shops are shuttered but might have some useful 10 Fight! Roll twice and combine results. Healthtek personnel huddle here hoping the 08 Modified Vibechete “Lil’ Ripper”: extra big teeth
mundane supplies on the shelves. reinforced walls will provide protection from the cause extra large wounds. 4D10 damage. Loud.
05 Engineering: Filled with the drone of the reactor D10 STUFF FOUND IN Blackshield roundup. 09 High quality Forged IDs: enough for the whole
core and the myriad other machines that run the THE MEDBAY ENGINEERING 04 Armoury: locked behind an impressive, security crew. Fill in the blanks with whatever you like.
place. Along the wall is an engineering command 01 Scalpel Crowbar hardened door, the station police’s small “Should” work at all but the most high security
panel and a row of lockers for vaccsuits and 02 Pain Pills Foam Gun collection of firearms and security equipment has ports of call. At least once, anyway.
maintenance gear. The only access to the void 03 First Aid Kit Hand Welder mostly been put to use suppressing the invasion. 10 640 MCR in ancient US bearer bonds: worth a
other than through the Docks. 04 Med Scanner Laser Cutter The contraband locker is untouched and might fortune if you can find anywhere to cash them.
05 Automed Nail Gun contain a few items of interest.
06 Tranq Pistol Rigging Gun 05 Administrator McLane’s office: Lushly appointed
07 Oxygen Tank Electronic Tool Set meeting area with a view of the stars. Heavy
08 Stimpaks Lockpick Set leather chairs, expensive gene-edited flowers
09 Hazard Suit Infrared Goggles and greenery decorate the space in front of the
10 Cache (Roll Twice) Cache (Roll Twice) imposing desk. The few remaining station security
officers guard the entrance. Behind the desk,
McClane waits at the admin command terminal,
trusty revolver in hand.

16 17
 THE DOCKS: THE HEALTHTEK MODULE:
BLACKSHIELD’S TEMPORARY HQ ENTER THE DEVIL’S MOUTH
The station’s ship hangar is filled with cargo, fuelling berths, and a motley assortment of deep-space ships Bolted to its underbelly, Healthtek AG’s advanced research module is Hardlight Station’s most lucrative
including that of the survivors of Tau Sigma 7. Blackshield has set up HQ on their ship Breaker and they’ve contractor. Once a pristine paragon of high tech, utopian sterility, the brilliant white hallways are now a
fortified the docks for battle. charnel house of blood, gore, and crimson goo. Smashed medical equipment strews the floors. Shatterproof
windows are buckled and spidered and somewhere, not too far away, a human scream is cut viciously short.

LOCATIONS D10 SHIPS IN THE SPACE DOCK LOCATIONS D10 HEALTHEK ENCOUNTERS
01 Breaker Hold: guts of Blackshield’s ship. Jammed 01 Breaker: Blackshield’s fortified HQ Frigate. Roll or select from the Healthtek Encounters list 01 Eerie quiet punctuated by the faint crackle of
with expensive military gear and a series of newly 02 The Roasty Jack: Deep space trade ship. Definitely every time PCs move to a new room. electricity and the beeps of broken machinery.
installed cryo tanks. not a smuggler craft. 01 Reception: Cold and corporate, the slick 02 Tau Sigma survivor in Quarantine calling through
02 Breaker Bridge: command center with access to 03 La Cartera Roja: A converted hauler on a reception area was once an interior decorator’s the vents: “Help, we’re trapped in here. Come let
comms, defenses and engines. Heavily guarded humanitarian rescue mission. Hold full of wet-dream of white leather and soft light. Now it us out!”
in all but the most dire of emergencies. frightened orphans. is a bloodsoaked orgy of slashed ottomans and 03 Ragged hole the size of a man torn through a wall.
03 Barricades: formidable fortifications blocking the 04 The Mother of Pearl: Salvage ship filled with overturned tables. The corpse of a lone scientist Pieces of flesh drip viscous red goo from snarls
main access from the station. Auto turrets and scrap from a derelict terraforming op. is slumped over the white marble front desk. The of rebar.
razor wire. None shall pass. 05 Busty Prince Billy: A decommissioned vintage wound in his back bubbles with noxious red goo. 04 Moans of an infected lab tech crawling away, long
04 Freight Elevator: Direct connection to engineering. pleasure craft. Fur. Lined. Walls! 02 Cryo Sample Storage: Cold storage for Gennero’s trail of blood and goo bubbling behind them.
Unnoticed and unguarded. 06 Mystery Ship! What’s under the tarp?! Probably dangerous and rare specimens. Up until hours 05 Thump and snort of something large in the next
05 Dockmaster’s Office: converted hauler container. just boxes… but maybe… ago, this is where the hybrids were held. Now the room. The hybrids are hunting.
A mess of invoices, tangled cables, and empty 07 The SS Funtimes: Playground for Teamster kids. glass of their tanks is smashed open from the 06 Crashes and clangs - a solitary hybrid is tearing
donut boxes. Walls and doors are reinforced to Looks like a retro rocketship. Comes with genuine inside and trails of red goo lead from their tanks apart the room, looking for something, hasn't
survive the dangers of deep space. work orders! into the halls of Healthtek. noticed the PCs, yet.
08 The Time Bird: Cheaply made knockoff of the 03 Quarantine: The infected survivors of Tau Sigma 7 07 Huddled Healthek survivors. They’ve locked
D10 BAD BREAKS AND LUCKY FINDS galaxy’s most famous ship. have been sequestered here for treatment since themselves behind the door and aren’t coming
01 Cargo hauler mech with the keys left in the 09 The Dream Deferred: Chunky old garbage scow. arrival. Most succumbed to the infection but out until the coast is clear.
ignition. 10 ZZ-1984: High tech drone bristling with sensors. others fought it off and survived. The quarantine 08 Pile of bodies—scientists caught unawares when
02 Toppled over crate of mining charges. protocols that imprisoned them have so far kept the Hybrids first escaped. Blood leaks from
03 A Blackshield Merc asleep at their post. them safe from the rampaging hybrids. But how numerous gaping wounds. One of the mangled
04 1D10 terrified children hiding out in a shipping long can the seals hold? bodies twitches and, impossibly, begins to pick
container. 04 Lab: Centrifuges, supercomputers, and all manner itself up from the blood slicked floor.
05 Tabby cat that jumps out when least expected. of high-tech equipment are smashed and strewn 09 Dr. Holland Gennero hidden in a maintenance
06 Rough and tumble vaccsuits in a range of sizes. across the Healthtek lab. Crimson goo stains the closet. The hybrids have a special hate for him
07 Interstellar transmission terminal with a walls. Medicines and basic medical equipment and are never far from his location.
working uplink. can be scrounged here. 10 Hybrid laying in wait. Only one is visible but they
08 Blackshield patrol scouting perimeter. 05 Operating Theatre: Centered around a large hunt in pairs.
09 Open access hatch to the Breaker, no one operating table, this is where Gennero conducted
seems to be around. many of his tests. Strangely this room has been
10 Load of D10 infected Teamster Goolings spilling left untouched by the madness outside.
out from the freight elevator.

18 19
HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER
A GUIDE TO THE PEOPLE AND PLACES OF THE STATION FOR WHEN EVERYTHING HASN’T QUITE GONE TO HELL HARDLIGHT HOTEL, BAR, BANK & CASINO HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER

THE HARDLIGHT HOTEL, BAR, BANK & CASINO

“The Best Place to Blow Your Pay in Outerspace”
D10 WAYS TO BLOW A MONTHS PAY IN FIVE MINUTES (AND OTHER USEFUL SERVICES)

01 Play a game of “Critical Success!”: the most 06 Gamble Big on Corporate Stocks: who said only
More like the only place. The Hardlight Hotel, Bar, Bank and Casino is the popular game on Hardlight Station. Beat the the bigwigs get to manipulate the market? Get
main attraction on the station. It’s also the central hub that station business target number of 50 with a critical success and in on the action by buying shares in Nakatomi,
funnels through. Conflict of interest: what’s that? The Space Bar caters to double your money. Critical fail and you lose it all. Straylight, or Ally Securities, and applying a little
both the itinerant traders and long-haulers as well as the stevedores from The house wins on “50” and “00” and takes 10% elbow grease to get those stocks soaring.
the Teamster local and the two don’t always get along. All and all it’s a wild of all winnings.
place on a Friday night.
02 Have fun at the Holopark™: journey to a fantasy 07 Fight it Out: those looking to blow off some
D10 RUMOURS OVERHEARD AT THE SPACE BAR world pumped directly into your prefrontal steam or win quick creds can find their way
cortex. Experiences are made from 100% real into the backroom of the Space Bar for the
01 One of Dr. Gennero’s lab rats escaped into 06 A killer stalks the residential section and the recycled memories. One reviewer described the Saturday night fight club. Fight for prizes against
the vents recently. Except it didn’t look much security team is stumped. The victims all have had potentially seizure-inducing effects as “charmingly the station’s toughest teamsters. Though not
like a lab rat anymore... their cyber mods torn out. retro”! (Holopark™ takes no responsibility for technically legal, Station Security only conducts
nightmares, persistent visions or lingering voices raids when the rent’s not paid on time.
02 A whistleblower is trying to get the word out 07 There’s good money to be made over at the you may experience after using their products.)
about the unlawful experiments going on Nakatomi outpost on Tau Sigma 7. Something
at Healthtek AG. They are currently in hiding about securing minerals from a dig site. 03 Seize a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: “Yes, 08 Donate It: the Starlit Path Relief Initiative is in
trying to find a way off the station. this pallet of expensive electronics just fell off the need of funds to pay for humanitarian efforts
transport hover. No, the owners don’t want it back. in the war-torn Rigel cluster. Won’t you consider
03 A ship came in last week with no one 08 The terrorist organization Jiyu Jinmin has put Hey listen, I can’t use them but I’m sure a savvy giving to help a family in need today?
on it. All the screens were static and the Nakatomi Solutions on their hit list. Apparently, business person like yourself can. Now hurry with
crew completely disappeared. Customs they want to seize the ancient US bearer bonds in the cash; I think I heard a siren.”
seized some kind of weird data tape from Hardlight Station’s contraband locker. What they want
their computer and are holding it in the them for is anyone’s guess. 04 Dance, Dance, Dance!: G8R-44 and the other 09 Install a Cyber Tattoo: the guy behind the
contraband locker at Station Security. dancers work their magic every Friday and counter swears his sub-dermal wire patterns are
Saturday night. Free shot of SynthSinthe with all the rage. He’ll do any shape you want and
04 Administrator McClane’s been looking over 09 That weird drone ship in the port isn’t from here… cover. Maybe make a new friend, maybe get when you’re close to an energy source they glow!
her shoulder an awful lot as of late. Perhaps as in like from anywhere around here. Its origin and robbed. Who knows!?
the increase in corporate traffic in the starport mission are completely unknown.
has something to do with it? 05 Treat Yourself to the Rim’s Finest: enjoy a 10 Buy into a Time-Share: who said there is no such
decadent meal of soysteaks and real simulated thing as a free lunch? Come watch the Sunward
05 Sad Jack is plotting to win back the station - 10 The booze is watered down and all the tables are Terran vegetables in the VIP lounge of the Space Realty presentation on vacation home investing
and this time he’s serious. rigged at the Hardlight Casino. This is not a rumour. Bar. Often filled with station notables, the Space right here on Hardlight Station and access to the
Bar lounge is perfect for a romantic night out or Hardlight Hotel pseudo-seafood buffet is on them.
impressing your corporate contacts. It’s a win-win!

20 21
HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER
SAD JACK'S SPACER SUPPLY CO HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER INTERSTELLAR OPPORTUNITIES TEMP AGENCY HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER

SAD JACK’S SPACER SUPPLY CO

One-stop shop for all your interstellar needs. Sad Jack’s been running
INTERSTELLAR OPPORTUNITIES TEMP AGENCY
Down and out and looking to make a quick buck? Interstellar Opportunities
the store here since the station opened. Why’s he so sad, you ask? He may just have a job for you. From salvage contracts to overrun colony
used to own the station until he lost it on a roll of the dice to a passing clearouts they’ve got plenty of work for the high-risk/high reward crowd.
Nakatomi rep over at the Hardlight Hotel Bar and Casino. His prices are
notoriously high but he’s known to give deep discounts to those in his
good books.

D10 MOSTLY LEGAL THINGS SAD JACK IS SELLING D10 MOSTLY LEGAL THINGS SAD JACK IS BUYING D10 CONTRACTS ON OFFER

01 Smugglers rags. Unremarkable old clothing sewn 01 Up to date corporate intel, especially on 01 Xero Corp has posted a one-month contract for 06 Eden Astrocolonies is looking for teams situated
full of secret pockets and pouches lined with Nakatomi Inc. night cleaners at their for-profit Prison facility in in rim space to investigate a distress signal
scanner-spoofing filaments. 02 Human organs; lightly used. orbit around Carnath. The pay is surprisingly high from their survey mission on the garden world
and includes one-way transit. e789b2, designation: “Somerset.”
02 Counterfeit chips for the Hardlight Casino.
Guaranteed to work at least half the time. 03 Blackmail materials on station notables. 02 The Dyson Initiative is looking for a salvage 07 Dr. Gennero has posted a job for a sample
03 After-Market Weapon Mods. crew able to locate and return a missing collection run. He is requesting live samples of
04 Any and all musical instruments for some corporate freighter carrying classified hyperdrive six pre-specified xenoflora and fauna. Along with
unknown reason. technology. The only clue is a few scrambled an excellent compensation package, he will outfit
04 Two-year-old hacked corporate data (insider info, signals originating from Achernar - rambling about any willing ship with specialized cryo facilities for
r&d data, old passwords, private emails, etc). He 05 Arcturian Civil War memorabilia. “a hunger deeper than the void.” secure sample storage.
sells dirt on Nakatomi at half-price out of spite.
05 Bio-Engineered Organs. Great for skirting around 06 An old photo of Jack and Takako that the 03 Director Sheppard of the Outland titanium mine 08 Lodestone Reclamations has a repo contract out
bans on cyber mods. Administrator is rumoured to keep in her office has put out a contract for private investigators for the former asteroid mansion of a disgraced
06 Repossessed Cyber-Ware. Cleanliness mostly desk. He reminds you not to tell anyone you’re willing to solve a string of mysterious crew holo star. It has recently drifted into the Charybdis
guaranteed. looking for it. Everyone is looking for it. disappearances. Specifically, he wants his chief magnetic anomaly zone making retrieval
geologist, Dr. Mario Lacerta, found and safely challenging. Must be why the pay is so high.
07 Bad Bounty Bundles: hard-to-collect contracts 07 Trading Cards of the Rocket Age! Limited edition returned.
available for a fraction of the cost. cards of the heroes of early space exploration.
08 A deck of playing cards. The images on the face The holofoil Gagarin card is worth its weight in 04 A research team from Landis University on Venus 09 A client known only as “M” seeks mercenaries
cards are made of tiny letters that seem to spell plutonium! is looking to hire a crew to escort priceless with corporate experience to neutralize a
out some kind of encoded message. 08 Fresh Memories for the Holopark. Upload at cultural artifacts through the warzone that has high-ranking employee of a corporation listed
your own risk. engulfed the Rigel system. only as “NS Inc”. Details upon confirmation of
09 Slick world software scraps made from the contract.
discarded memories of the dead. 09 Your body. Jack installs the puppet software free
10 The blueprints for Hardlight Station. of charge. Help yourself by helping others help 05 The RAMA Early Detection Network has picked up 10 The Light of the Interstellar Way is requesting
themselves by using you to help them. Pay is per signs of a large alien habitat cylinder drifting dark discrete pickup and transport of 12 of their
day. in the Medusa Nebula. Its massive hyperdrive is members to their temple complex on Haruna.
spinning up and looks as though it will activate Their religion dictates that the cryogenically frozen
10 Romance novels from the popular Corporate in the next few weeks. RAMA is offering to fund bodies must not be viewed in any manner before,
Liaisons series. Buy, sell, or trade! Find one he an expedition to unlock its secrets before it slips during, or after transport.
hasn’t read and you’ve made a friend for life. once more into the darkness between the stars.

22 23
HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER
THE DOCKS HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER 10 MORE BUSINESSES HARDLIGHT STATION GAZETTEER

A DAY ON THE DOCKS

When not being invaded by Blackshield the docks are busy with Teamsters
TEN MORE BUSINESSES
Though the businesses listed previously are the main players on Hardlight Station - the corridors are bursting with
loading and unloading ships. The Dockmaster, Grib Tanza, barks orders eclectic locations of questionable repute. Wander through the tangle of corridors in the commerce zone to really
from the sweltering innards of his cargo container cum office. Docking here dig into the irradiated underbelly that makes Hardlight Station beloved and loathed by so many.
is slightly above galactic standard though many agree the reliable service
justifies the price. Transport can be arranged to a variety of local sector
locations and there are always captains looking to hire experienced hands.

D10 PORTS OF CALL ACCESSIBLE FROM HARDLIGHT STATION D10 BUSINESSES

01 TeraTek Amalgamate Mine Works on Carnath: 06 Sounder 4 Wormhole Research Station: Top 01 Galaxy Dan’s Hardlight Hotdog Cart: Definitely 06 The Drone-Atorium: Black market drone races
Life is hard in the mines - the people that work scientists study the strange phenomena that not meat, potentially edible, somewhat delicious! every Friday night in the void above the Atrium.
them, harder. proliferate around these tears in space-time. Station security not welcome.

02 Excelsior Cloud City on the gas giant Virago: 07 Tau Sigma 7 Nakatomi Orbital Station: Initially 02 One with the Void Zero-G Spa: Experience the 07 The Light of the Interstellar Way Mission:
Exclusive resort for the sector’s wealthy and a terraforming prospect, all work halted when bliss of nothingness in O2 enriched cocoons Proselytizers draw in passersby with promises of
famous. alleged alien ruins were uncovered on the surface. tethered 1km from the station. travel through the stars. Spaceship not required.

03 Medusa Station: Few ships come and go from 08 Bodhisattva IIa Neo-Buddhist Colony: A religious 03 Mink’s Inks: High-end, intradermal circuit 08 Nothing Lasts Forever Books and Candy:
here, and the ones that do travel in secret. refuge and H20 Farm subsidized by Straylight LLC. tattoos at unbeatable prices. The best place to A dada-esque mashup of sugary treats and
There have been rumours of trouble recently. record your conquests or memorialize the fallen. nihilistic philosophy. Grab a snack and book
TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR REPAIR. before heading back into the black.
04 Champion Downs Asteroid Sports Complex: The 09 Hellmire Exclusion Zone: Poorly manned patrols
premier entertainment destination in the sector. haunt the perimeter of the zone. Automated 04 Möbius Toy & Gift: Your one stop shop for 09 Sin/Stim: Hardlight Station’s premiere adult
Home to the Nakatomi Nightjars Gravball team. beacons broadcast “All trespassers will be shot… novelties, games, and souvenirs that defy the laws braindance club, where your wildest fantasies
for their own good.” of thermodynamics. become virtual reality.

05 Charybdis Debris Fields: The shattered remnants 10 Behemoth 3 Megafauna Game Reserve: People 05 The Star Chamber Lounge: Your secrets are safe 10 Count Maru’s House of Games: Need for speed?
of a long-dead alien civilization. pay big bucks to hunt the massive creatures that at this exclusive escape thanks to the state of Thirst for blood? The thrill of competition awaits
stalk the grasslands on this Super Earth. the art privacy controls. Enter through the access you at The Count's classic neuronet arcade. Over
hatch behind the atrium water feature. Strictly 150+ vintage brainsofts to choose from!
invite only.

24 25
 APPENDIX
OPTIONAL FOR INCREASED D10 THINGS YOU’D FIND AT A D10 HARDLIGHT STATION
INTRIGUE: CREW QUESTIONS, CHRISTMAS PARTY IN SPACE “ACHIEVEMENTS” FOR GAMEPLAY
CONNECTIONS & SECRET 01 Android, specifically built to CHALLENGES.
AGENDAS look like Santa. 01 Slappers only: No weapons
Use the crew questions to tie your 02 Dehydrated fruit cake. It - survive the station with just
players into the adventure and still weighs a ton and no one bare hands and brains.
raise the stakes. wants it. 02 Don’t go in the vents!
■ Marine: Why did you secretly 03 Stockings hung ‘round the Whatever you do, don’t go into
alert Blackshield to both your reactor/terminal with care. the vents.
discovery on Tau Sigma 7 and “Takagi, Powell, Argyle, and Ellis.” 03 No man left behind: Save the
your current location? Now that 04 Someone’s pet mogwai chows survivors of Tau Sigma 7.
they are here, what tells you down on the snacks while no 04 A deal they can’t refuse:
they intend to silence those one is looking. Negotiate a deal with
who know what went on there, 05 Forklift strung with lights, a Blackshield and hold them
including yourself, for good? red strobe taped to the front to it.
■ Teamster: You have a and “Rudolph” painted on the 05 Take the bastards with you:
connection to one of the side in big sloppy letters. Activate the self-destruct
infected from Tau Sigma 06 A massive holo-projection of sequence on the Station and
who has been taken into the an animated Christmas tree. go down with the ship.
Healthtek facility. What is the 07 A flickering arcade console 06 The darkest of all timelines:
connection and why do you feel “Splatterhouse Elves: 2143.” Allow the hybrids to escape
compelled to rescue them? 08 Video-feed of carolers in and spread the alien infection
■ Scientist: You work for one of pixelated Christmas sweaters throughout the galaxy.
Nakatomi Solution’s corporate singing “Auld Lang Syne” on loop. 07 Fresh Faces: Finish the
rivals. You were contracted They still don’t know the words. adventure with none of the
to attain a sample of the Tau 09 Lift decorated like a chimney; original characters.
Sigma substance and ensure says “ho ho ho” every time the 08 Body Snatchers: Become
that no others have the same doors open. infected and turn on the party.
opportunity. What drives you to 10 Fake snow mists windows 09 VIP Secure: Ensure both
complete this mission? and gauges; obscures real Gennero and McClane survive.
■ Android: Created in a lab, born problems. 10 Find the Cure: Eradicate the
in a tank, with no name until alien infection from the station.
you joined the crew on TS7,
they have come to be a family
for you. And you’ll do anything
to protect the ones you love.

26
WELCOME TO HARDLIGHT STATION.
DYING HARD ON HARDLIGHT STATION IS AN OPEN-ENDED ADVENTURE
AND PLUG-AND-PLAY SETTING FILLED WITH UNIQUE LOCATIONS,
SCHEMING NPCS, AND TERRIFYING HORRORS ON THE HUNT.
A CYBERPUNK, CHRISTMAS MASHUP INSPIRED BY THE BEST OF 80'S
ACTION FILMS AND WORKING-CLASS, SCI-FI HORROR - A NIGHT ON
HARDLIGHT STATION IS ONE YOU WON’T SOON FORGET.