The idea of a shipwreck leaving passengers stranded and having to survive a harsh environment has been an interesting starting point for many a story. The "starship crash on an isolated alien planet" particularly has been used a few times in media that I love, for example in Scavengers Reign and Rimworld, so it makes sense for me to use it to frame a TTRPG campaign. (There is also its sci-fi counterpart, the "Otherworld Arrivant," mentioned by Old Gus on the NSR Discord.)
This is the first worldbuilding post of my "Sandboxing Volturnus" adventure, discussed in
this previous post. In it I will cover the starship crash that kicks off the campaign. Although this is a sandbox adventure intended to give players open ended control, railroading the crash is necessary for the concept to work. So we'll kick off the campaign in medias res, with the players on a starship that is severely disabled by a pirate attack. There is no safe way home from here, and the players will have to survive the planet and find a way off on its own alien terms.
The players are members of a survey crew, sent on a mission to explore a little known remote alien planet. The previous survey crew sent here has gone missing, so their mission is to find out what happened to them. Unfortunately, soon after arriving at the planet, while the players were still sleeping, there was a surprise pirate attack which destroys the survey ships engines and defensive capabilities. Their pirate scrap ships have attached a boarding tube and are overwhelming the survey ship's meagre defenses. And to make matters worse, the ship is slowly plummeting into the atmosphere and will burn up in a few hours!
The players wake up in their own private quarters or perhaps are awoken from cryosleep. In the case of cryosleep, their belongings will be stowed away in a luggage compartment. The ship is mid-siege and the damage to the ships systems is done. Pirates have boarded through two boarding tube breach points near the front of the ship each guarded by two pirates. Twelve pirates boarded from each of their ships, and a pilot remains on each one. If anyone other than a pirate attempts to cross the boarding tube, the pilot will immediately eject the tube. With superior numbers and firepower, the pirates quickly took over the bridge and are looting the stores looking for valuables.
The crew quarters are the furthest point away from the bridge, with separate rooms for engineering, telemetry, cargo, mess hall and a gym between. Aside from the players there are a few specialists on the crew, who can be saved and possibly help out later. There are probably no more than 15 crew on the survey in total.
The safest way off of the ship is to sneak to the escape capsules near the bridge and escape in the chaos of the attack. If the pirates complete their raid, or if all pirates on the ship are neutralized, the scrap ships will detach to allow the survey ship to crash on the planet. If the escape pods are not used, the ship can possibly be navigated to land "safely".
Pirate Ambush Encounter Table
1. Terrible noises coming from the engine
2. Gunfire and screaming from down the hall
3. Running injured survey crew member
4. Pirate chemheads, out of their minds on chem
5. Pirate goon squad, looking to hurt people
6. Pirate leader, sadistic, melodramatic and loves the arts
Possible crash sites
1. Desert
Home of the Ur-Octopod land-dwelling octopii people. They possess an extra neuro tentacle similar to those in the Avatar movies, and are friends to many animals. To win entry into their tribe and gain their trust, you must make a pilgrimage to their holy city through the Rocky Badlands and prove yourself in battle with a terrible beast.
The desert also holds occasional ruins of an ancient advanced dinosaur civilization which might be used as shelter and water sources.
2. Glass Grasslands
The grass itself is incredibly sharp and prohibits free travel. Certain native fauna have evolved ways to clear paths in the glass grass, and following their trails is the best approach to travel.
3. Megaflora Forest
Home to the Kohnots, a species of furry and diminutive tree dwellers who build tree villages with hanging walkways and swing by vines. They have also developed hang gliders which allow them to foray safely into the adjacent Glass Grasslands. The Kohnots have a complex social life characterized by ritual and paying respect through gifts and favors.
4. The Northern Hills
Cold hilly lands occupied by the Plodin, a species of land bound crustaceans whose bodies have a three-fold axis of symmetry. They have an animistic religion and have a different spirit to worship for just about everything and every situation. They have carved a great temple out of a naturally occurring crystal occupied by the highest ranking members of their religion.
5. Rocky Badlands
The holy city of the Ur-Octopod octopii people is here, only accessible through dangerous networks of caves that contain many terrifying creatures. In the holy city, outsiders can do battle with a terrifying beast in their ancestral tradition to enter their tribe.
6. Volcanic Wastes
The wastes are largely uninhabited and present many natural hazards.
A group of pirates led by The Star Kraken also make the planet their home, and have established a few bases of operations on the surface, as well as an hidden mothership in orbit. The attack that downs the players' ship is made by a few smaller vessels that come from this mothership. The Star Kraken has connections to corrupt officials in the government in the more civilized regions of space, and make a fortune by trading resources mined here. Their operation depends on labor of the Plodin, who they have deceived into working with them by pretending to be gods that speak to their religious leaders.
The pirates have two main planetary bases, one to the north near the Plodin, and another near the forest, where they often clash with the Kohnot. The southern forest base is their main scientific facility, where they bring unconscious Plodin religious leaders for surgery that renders them pliable to Star Kraken control. Each facility has considerable defenses: electrified fences, artillery guns, atmofliers and a host of robots in addition to the hardened pirates themselves.
