Derelict Starships

8/18/2019 Derelict Starships

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Writers:Daniel M. BrakhageK. H. KeelerMarcella Ganow

Nathan RockwoodJim KeckMark PotterDarren PearceJens Rushing

Vicki PotterTim GanowMatthew PaisieJim YeeD. J. BurnettSteve HoneywellKelly RobertsJohn WalshMartin RalyaMartin Greening

“Skeletons in Space” article: Marcella Ganow

Editor :Vicki Potter

Layout:Marcella GanowVicki Potter

Cover Art:Jeff Uryasz

Interior Art:Jeff Uryasz

Border Art:Jeff Uryasz

Product Update Password for Into the Future: Derelict Starships - Skeleton

Copyrigh t ©2009 Tabletop Adventures®, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Tabletop Adventures ®, the Tabletop Adventures logo, Derelict Starships and Into the Future are trademarks ofTabletop Adventures. Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes a challenge to therespective copyright holders of that material. This material is protected under international treaties andthe copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of thematerial is prohibited without the express written permission of Tabletop Adventures. This product is awork of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places or events is purely coincidental.

http://www.tabletopadventures.com


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction _______________________________________________________________________Welcome! ___________________________________________________________________________________ 3Harried Game Masters, or How We Came to Write This Book____________________________________________ 3

How to Use This Resource ____________________________________________________________ What are Shards and Bits™, Anyway? ______________________________________________________________ 4 Printing This Product (Includes permission to photocopy Bits Cards for personal use) __________________________ 4

Bits of Starships ____________________________________________________________________

Derelict Shards______________________________________________________________________ Hatches, Doors and Entryways___________________________________________________________________ 19 Corridors and Passageways _____________________________________________________________________ 20 Tubes, Tunnels and Lifts _______________________________________________________________________ 24 Bridges and Administration _____________________________________________________________________ 25 Medical and Sanitation ________________________________________________________________________ 26 Engineering and Technical______________________________________________________________________ 28 Security and Weapons _________________________________________________________________________ 29 Environmental_______________________________________________________________________________ 31 Recreation__________________________________________________________________________________ 33 Crew Cabins ________________________________________________________________________________ 36 Cargo and Small Craft _________________________________________________________________________ 37

Skeletons in Space __________________________________________________________________

Index _____________________________________________________________________________

Bits of Starships - Cards ______________________________________________________________


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INTRODUCTION

Welcome

Welcome to Into the Future: Derelict Starships ™,Tabletop Adventures’ book designed to help you, theGM, bring those dead spaceships to life. Here youhave a whole book of descriptions that can assist youin providing the images and experience of being in aderelict starship, building apprehension for your

players with each step as their characters explore theunknown. These pieces do not answer the question ofwhy a ship has become a derelict. Instead they aredesigned to augment your own campaign and game

plans without taking your story a completely differentdirection from where you wanted it to go. These arefor all those places in the ship that are not key to thestory. Think of it as camouflage to avoid the“Cunning Player Syndrome”: “Oh, if the GM tooktime to explain this it must be a trap – we draw ourType 75 super-duper dual phase laser cannon andsweep the area.” Now you have descriptions for itemsand damage that are just what they appear to be – ormaybe a bit more. Damage that, while it may bedangerous (as being in any wrecked ship or housemight be), is merely damage to the ship and nothingmore. Some descriptions are creepy or may causecharacters to go “ewwww,” while others may behumorous, but the overall effect should be to ramp upthe tension in your players.

These written pieces range from descriptions ofspecific places like the ship’s bridge, hydroponics,gun turrets, observation decks, crew quarters, and soon to small “bits” of description that can be usedanywhere: wires and conduits that have broken loosefrom their fastenings and spill into a room orcorridor, damaged control and interface panels, dead

bodies, and much, much more.Harried Game Masters,or How W e Came to Write This Book

So, I hear you ask, “Why write a book like this?”Well, I’m glad you asked. We wrote it for all those

Game Masters who have ever lamented not havingthe time that they wanted to spend on their game

because those unforgiving intrusions to gaming (life,work, family, school) interfered. We wrote it for allthose game masters who have come home from ahard day of work or just finished a grueling finalsweek and had friends call up and say, "Hey, let's playtonight. I had a rough day and I want to get mind offit." For all of you who need more than 24 hours in aday, welcome to Tabletop Adventures’ line of

products for the Harried Game Master.

We here at TTA believe that description is a veryimportant part of game mastering and that vividdescriptions can make a world or an adventure comealive. However, we have noticed that the more rushedor frazzled a GM becomes, the more mechanical thegame tends to be. So we have written a book thatwe’ve always wished to have, one that would havemade our lives easier over the years. TabletopAdventures’ “Harried Game Master” products aredesigned to be products that you can buy today and

play tonight. We have taken care to make DerelictStarships flexible so it could be useful in virtuallyany space game. Our products are to help you, theGame Master, make the maximum use of the limitedtime you have available.

This tool provides the GM with a way to stimulatethe characters’ senses and the players’ imaginations.The descriptions can give players a “feel” for asituation; a better image of what is happening or whattheir characters are experiencing. They are intendedto enhance role-playing by encouraging character

building, reaction, and interaction. These slightly off-kilter descriptions are made for you, to ease the life

of the Harried Game Master.Enjoy, have fun, and create fun for others!

The good people at Tabletop Adventures,and the Overlord.


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HOW TO USE

THIS RESOUR EWhat are Shards and Bits , Anyway?

Shards and Bits™ should be viewed as small piecesof an adventure. Think of the scientist or daringexplorer who is gathering together the diverse piecesof a mystery until they fit together into a sometimes-surprising ending or revelation. Bits are tiny pieces ofdescription that can be thrown in to provide “color”or add a little excitement as characters move fromone place to another. Shards are longer and moreelaborate, meant to be selected rather than added

randomly. They may describe a certain area or aspecific thing. They can be a wonderful way ofgetting your player-characters back on course,reminding them they are in the middle of a deadspacecraft and if they don’t want to end up that waythemselves they should stay alert!

One thing to remember in using this product is thatwe provide you products that will add a bit of dramato your game, therefore, delivery is important. Theway you choose to deliver the descriptions here canhave a tremendous effect on the subsequent

playability of the situation involved. With proper use,our Bits and Shards can add a greater depth to yourgaming experience and make everything seem more“real” and exciting for your players.

Bold print is to be read aloud to the players ; light print is for the GM. This may include optionalchanges, such as “ stairs going up [down]”, or thenotes could be additional information. As with our

previous fantasy and horror products (such as the Bitsof Darkness ™ series and Halls of Horror ), these

pieces have been numbered so that a GM can roll percentile dice or pick a card to randomly generate a

dash of description for an adventure. An Index is provided in case a Bit is needed to fit a particularsituation, and we have included many Shards forspecific locations or circumstances. These all canhelp you flesh out areas or give you an “instant”description for those occasions when your players gosomeplace you didn’t expect and catch you off-guard.

Don’t feel that you have to use a Bit or Shardverbatim! As GM, you can and should feel free toadapt them to get the effect you want. Some mayneed to be adjusted to fit your setting. For example,many pieces have alternate descriptions or choices ofmore than one word that allow you to tailor thedescription to whether the ship has gravity or not, orif it has atmosphere, or not. Another thing to consideris that some of the Shards or longer Bits are writtento be used gradually. Read one sentence and wait fora response or action; depending on the action youhave another there ready. Whatever the situation, wehave tried to make your life easier and give you thetools you need to make even an impromptu game awonderful adventure.

In some instances these pieces may even give youideas for additional adventures for your group. TheseBits are for whatever you want! If a piece sparks yourimagination (or those of your players) and you wantto build on it, then go for it.

Printing This Product

If you have the electronic version of DerelictStarships , you can print it on regular paper. However,the final pages are formatted to be printed on cardstock. (The same result can be achieved by

photocopying those pages from the printed book,which you have permission to do.) As cards, they can

be shuffled and drawn randomly during play orsorted ahead of time, with the GM selecting certain

pieces for use and placing them with the appropriatemap or other materials. Some GMs prefer to just rollrandomly as needed, or write the correspondingnumber on the GM’s map and refer to it when the

characters arrive there.Other Products from TTA

Tabletop Adventures continues to bring you highquality products with lots of description, to augmentyour imagination and enhance your role-playingexperience. For more information visit our website atwww.tabletopadventures.com .


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13. The area is littered with debris. Scorch markslead to a number of holes on the wall,suggesting it as a primary source for theflotsam. Of the bits and pieces scattered on thedeck, not much is identifiable except a fewhand-sized pieces with metallic etching[computer components] and a meter-longsection of a twisted metal beam which now hasa sharp edge. Everything else appears similarto badly made confetti.

14. The “wrongness” of a ship in this conditionweighs on you. Your peripheral vision catcheson all the out-of-place things and moving evena short distance is a safety concern when sharp

edges and broken bits can be anywhere. Theconstant need to be careful is just one moresource of stress.

15. A huge breach has been blown into the wallhere. You can see through multiple barriersinto an open area, perhaps a docking bay, andthen on into space. Somewhere between hereand there an energy barrier is up, protectingyou from open space. [If main power is out,some emergency power source is keeping this

portion of the ship intact.]

16. A pipe in the wall has developed a small holeand a fine mist of water sprays outward, fillingthe area with a rainbow reflected from thelighting. It looks very pretty, almost festive— though it may mean that the pressure in thesystem is too high, potentially allowing formore dangerous eruptions. [Zero gravity: If theship has no artificial gravity, floating water could bedangerous to characters, since it would immediatelyspread out upon contact and could cause drowning,damage to gear, obscured views through helmets,and so forth. If the area has no heat and has cooledto the icy cold of space then this is a twisted,

piercing, crystalline formation of ice.]

17. A massive cable assembly has fallen; hangingfrom the ceiling it very effectively forms abarrier in this area. There is no chance ofpassing through here without having to pushcables aside at some point. The cables are amulticolored web, effectively impeding your

progress. [If the boarding party scans the cablesthey will find that many of them carry a powercharge. They are so twisted about each other that itis almost impossible to find an area which does nothave a charged cable across it. These cables may besafely insulated, or not, at the GM’s option.]

18. An access panel lies bent and discarded on thefloor, as if torn off in a hurry. Tangles of wiresand cables spill out of the hole it once covered,snaking together in an incomprehensible mess.Some of the wires have been cut and re-splicedinto other wires, sloppily and unprofessionally.Underneath the panel lies a corrodedscrewdriver, a few dusty scraps of torn-off

insulating tape, and a smashed datapad. [Ifinvestigated, the datadisc inside the pad is labeled Do-It-Yourself Starship Repair .]

19. Scattered reflections sprout in the many-faceted dome of a fractured control surface.Almost any stray piece of debris could haveshattered this fragile panel. Upon inspection,the dome seems to be held together by aflexible piece of film-and-adhesive overlay. It isone of the few controls remaining somewhatintact. [Optionally the readout may still function,

but any additional pressure risks tearing the

overlay holding the dome together.] 20. A rumble rolls through the vessel, shaking the

deck and causing you to stumble briefly; it isechoed by a clanging crash. You have no ideawhat caused the ship to shake. Nothing elseseems to have changed, at least as far as youcan tell. [The rumble may have been caused by a(harmlessly) malfunctioning piece of equipmentnearby, an outer compartment explosivelydecompressing, a ship docking with the derelict,different metals heating and cooling at differentrates, or anything else the GM desires.]

21. A clunky panel in a metal housing, sittingagainst the wall, has rounded keys, numbers,and letters on its surface. An old liquid crystaldisplay with a crack down one side glowssteadily in garish green. Even though the panellooks as if it should not be able to work, itseems to still function.


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22. A view panel is set into the wall to the right.There are no controls by it other than whatseems to be a small com device. [The screen is

touch-activated.] When touched the screenlights up and displays a map of the ship. It isnot detailed; it looks as if it shows only themain areas. [It is password or voiceprint

protected. Whenactivated it willshow a map of theship with a red dotto represent eachliving being on theship. There may

be a malfunctionin the panel thatcauses additionalred dots to flickeron and offoccasionally.]

23. In this area are three lockers marked“Emergency Supplies.” Each of the doors ispartially open but you cannot see inside fromthis angle. [If the characters approach:] You findthe contents have been removed from all threelockers. Each holds charging stations foremergency lights and spacesuits.

24. The bulkheads here are black with lighterareas, but there is no discernible pattern. Theceiling is twisted and distorted, hanging fromits supports which sag as if they just could nottake the weight anymore. The deck ispockmarked with bright white spots and littlemounds. Each mound looks like a pile of slagdripped on the floor of some industrial wastefacility. [If the boarding party is not inenvironmental gear:] The smell of burnt paintand metal still permeates the atmosphere inthis area, and the sour tang of burnt syntheticsis sharp on your tongue.

25. A cast-off spacesuit lays sprawled in themiddle of the floor like a broken toy. A crackin the faceplate reflects light, the fissuresparkling through a layer of dust.

26. This console was obviously intended for aspecies with far more digits than you. A

carnival of flashing lights dizzies the eye; acacophony of buzzing and beeping assaults theear. Closer inspection reveals a wild variety

among the buttons: some labeled in aswimming script, others in bizarrehieroglyphs; some intended to be twisted, somedepressed, others to be manipulated in waysthat defy the imagination. The sides of theconsole are long curves, and except for asudden jagged outcrop of metal at the top, theentire thing has a richly organic look.

27. A tiny figure darts from the edge of yourvision. It appears to be a small grey creature,scurrying at such a speed that you do not get agood look at it. It looked to be a large mouse or

something similar but it is gone almost as soonas you see it, disappearing behind anunsecured access panel. [This mouse-like thingcan be a mouse or some small alien creature thatmay have come aboard with cargo or supply atsome point. If the ship has no atmosphere and/orgravity, however, then it could not have been amouse. Instead it may be a small mechanicalobject or some more-exotic alien species.]

28. This device is round and covered in smalllights; there are several digital readouts on it.It is about the size of a tennis ball and coloreda flat grey. A small panel on the sphereindicates usage. [In the language of the ship’sowners, it reads: Arm with sequence detonator

button, obey aural instructions, do not use aboardship.]

29. On the floor in front of you lies what looks tobe a common laser rifle that has been bent inhalf. The metal and composite portions of therifle around the bend are curved and stretchedwhile the lightweight components are crushedand broken, exposing the electronics

underneath the casing. It would take amazingstrength or unusual forces to do that sort ofdamage to the weapon.

30. A red octagonal assembly is attached to theceiling. It is semi-translucent and a light beamshines from it in a rotation that covers most ofthe room. The beam moves slowly within thestationary assembly but never pauses or stops


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turning in its steady round. [This is merely avariation of the red alert lights that are foundthroughout the ship. It turns slowly because it was

partially damaged and the rotator does not workas it should. Or, it could be a defensemechanism…]

31. A dark cable as thick as a man’s arm snakesout from a ruptured conduit and thendisappears back into the tube. A fire burnedhere, apparently melting the cable’s protectiveinsulating cover and blackening the areaaround it. Both the wall and floor are charred.A twisted access panel to the conduit lies onthe floor [or: floats by], having apparently been

blown open by whatever incident occurredhere.

32. Jagged metal and tattered fabric remnantsring the void in the structure in front of you. Agaping hole has been punctured into the spacebeyond [or: the next corridor, room, conduit,etc.]. The hole looks large enough for a mid-sized suited human to pass through. [The metalshards may catch or rip individuals in spacesuits.]

33. [The GM may use this in any location orintentionally use it in a control room or ship’s

bridge.] You notice the control panels andviewscreen here have been splattered with adark red substance that has dried onto thesurfaces. [The substance is dried blood. If acharacter tries to brush it off, he or she finds itcannot be merely brushed away. It would need to

be scrubbed off or scraped with a blade. If thesurfaces are not cleaned the GM can periodicallyremind the characters that someone bled on thesecontrols.]

34. The area ahead has lost all normal lightingand is now lit only by the red emergency

lighting panels along the lower parts of thewalls. You get the impression that there issomething in the air, but it may be an effect ofthe diffused red light. [This haze may be watervapor, smoke, or simply a trick of the eye. Itcould even be some sort of chemical that hasescaped into the air and has made it deadly toanyone without breathing apparatus. If the GMchooses the deadly option then characters that

take the time to scan should have a chance todetermine its hazardous nature before entering.]

35. A computer display catches your eye; a streamof characters and symbols scrolls across thescreen. At first you think it is entirely random,but you notice that it seems to run through asequence, emit a faint, high-pitched note, andthen play the same sequence over again. Italmost appears to be some kind of code, set todisplay as a loop. [The characters may just begibberish caused by an error, but if the GMwishes to make things more complicated for the

boarding party, the code could be a messagescrambled by a virus or malfunction, or an

honest-to-goodness coded message] 36. Ahead you see a person in a white vacuum suit

who seems to be standing with his back to you.[There is no response from the suit to calls orexclamations. If the characters approach the suit:] The person in the white suit does not move asyou approach. [When the party gets to the frontof the suit:] The first thing you see is a largebloody hole in the center front of the vacuumsuit, but there is no face behind the visor andno body in the suit. The gravity boots arekeeping the feet of the suit on the floor and thestiffness and structure of the suit is keeping itupright and somewhat motionless as it stands asilent and ineffective guard.

37. In your light you see sparkles from some typeof fine white crystalline powder. It coverssporadic portions of the deck, concentratingmore heavily at the base of and on the wall toyour left. There it appears as if some type ofmajor conduit inside the wall exploded. Themetal of the wall is ruptured and bent outwardlike some insane metallic flower. Its edges andinterior are blackened and partially melted,the unmistakable signs of a plasma fire nowlong extinguished.

38. The deck is streaked with a brown substance[blood?] leading to a battered console, with amaintenance door ajar and somewhat crooked,hanging by a hinge. A dim light twinkles fromthe corner of the console but the screen,cracked from one side to the other, lies dark.


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Buttons, knobs, and switches descend along theside of the screen, each with its own color; someform of marking can be vaguely seen next to

each control. The bulkheads have little beads ofgreen splattered on their plates and scratcheson the plates at about shoulder height. [Ifsomeone investigates:] Inside the maintenancedoor you see the components for the consoleincluding an oblong object with a conduitleading into it [independent emergency battery].

39. A structural beam from the right wall bowsoutward into this area and metal plates havebeen wrenched from the wall and ceiling.Cables of some sort have spilled outward in amass [in zero gravity: and sway gently to and fro

like tentacles seeking prey]. The metal in therest of the wall is stressed and of uncertainstructural integrity. What caused the wall tobuckle is not immediately apparent.

40. The first thing you notice in this area is thebody of an apparent crewmember. The causeof death is obvious – a single blast directly tothe torso. The reek of charred flesh hangs inthe air. The corpse’s eyes are fixed, staringblankly ahead, and its gloved hands grip asmall item. [This may be a datapad, holocube,keycard, or other item. If the boarding party isfamiliar with uniforms, they may see that thisuniform marks him or her as alieutenant/mechanic/medic/cook. The body may

be mummified from long exposure to amoistureless environment, or the person mayhave been dead only a few hours.]

41. One panel has a tiny blue light blinking slowlyon and off. It is not bright, but it stands out inthe gloom and catches your attention. It is evenmore striking since the rest of the controlpanel lies black and silent. Slowly, patiently, it

blinks away… almost as if it is beckoning toyou. [This panel can be anything from a regularcontrol console to a small intercom panel on thewall. The GM could insert personal logs from acrewmember, or computer reports, here. The

button could restore emergency power to the panel or simply turn on regular lighting in thisarea. Even if power returns to the console, amessage could simply indicate that the party

cannot do anything from this panel since it has been overridden by controls from ]

42. The ceiling in this area seems to have givenway; some metal panels have fallen down,revealing a mass of wiring to the lights and theship’s intercom, several pipes—one of whichrattles and shakes—that might contain almostanything, and a power conduit. Though theconduit seems to be damaged, occasionallythrowing off lances of energy that arc to thenearby pipes, the power flow is strong anduninterrupted. [Even if the ship is generally

powerless, this cable could be powered by a battery or other independent source that had not

yet been detected.] 43. Any time you try to use a communications

device you get a great deal of static, making ittricky to understand messages. You are notsure if there is some other type of signalblocking your communications or if it is just theweight of dead metal around you which ismaking it difficult.

44. A great polysteel beam lies twisted and fallenacross this area. It angles, with the low end onyour left and the high end about 1.5 meters off

the deck on the right. There is other debris allaround that looks like fragments of shatteredgrey glass. On closer inspection you realize thatthe tiny shards are not glass at all but rathershards of shattered metal. They are sharp andstrewn across this area like tiny caltrops, but itis unlikely that any are actually big enough topenetrate your boots. As for the beam you needto either climb over it or go under it if you wantto proceed any farther. [While not penetrating,the metal splinters will still imbed themselves in

boot soles. This will cause the boots to click and

scrape as characters walk; other effects are left upto the GM.]

45. Freeze-dried remains of various foodstuffs litterthe deck [or: float aimlessly]. A storage cabinet isopen not far away and other personal effectsare scattered nearby. Unsecured items areeverywhere. It is hard to move without steppingon [or: bumping into] one item or another.


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46. A live high-energy cable hangs from theceiling. It dances around like an angry serpent,its power arcing across to the metallic surfacesin the area. You are not sure if it is powered bythe main power or if it has some other powersource – perhaps one that was triggered whenyou came aboard. You might be able to get byit without being caught by the cable but it isuncertain. [If the characters are in vacuum suitsof some type they are probably insulated; if theyare not the jolt could cause major damage and

possibly even be fatal.]

47. A red warning light strobes overhead, theklaxon that once accompanied it having long-

since faded into silence. The emergency thattriggered the alarm is past and those it wasintended to warn long gone yet it faithfullyspins, flickering and casting odd shadows withits eerie red light.

48. This section is empty except for a structure inthe middle of the area. A square pillar risesfrom the deck halfway up to the ceiling. Alarge rectangular object made of some type oftransparent material stands on top of thepillar-like structure. Several indentationstwinkle from the side of the pillar. A closerinspection shows that each indentation has avarying number of pins attached inside.

49. Scattered on the ground [or: Floating slowly inthe area] are the contents of a small toolkit. Thetools are intricate and appear to be for highlydetailed electrical work. The toolbox itself liesoff to one side. It appears to be still locked;something opened it by cutting off the topentirely, shearing through the metal cleanlyand evenly. Apparently whoever opened it didnot want the tools, which look to be still ingood condition. [The tool box has been designedto be affixed to the area where the worker isworking, either magnetically or with some type ofrepositionable adhesive.]

50. The screen here is dark. Whatever readouts itused to display or duties it performed, it issilent now. A thin crystalline pattern frosts thedarkened surface of the screen, looking likecrystals of frozen water vapor that could have

naturally been in the air itself. [If the vessel hasatmosphere and heating these crystals are of someunidentified substance. If the vessel is dead and

power has been out for a long time then it isindeed tiny crystals of ice.]

51. The deck creaks beneath your feet, groaningand rumbling as you walk. It seems sturdy,and in your experience strange noises arecommonplace on starships, but it adds to theabandoned feeling of your surroundings.Normally there would be too muchbackground noise and idle chatter for thecreaking and thumping of the ship to be

noticeable, but here

there is nothingaround you but emptyspace and deadsilence.

52. You see a flatscreen set into a smallmetal housing; thescreen is slightlybigger than your hand

and has an outline for placing a ‘handprint’against it. There are several small buttonsbeneath the outline but none of them aremarked so there is no clue as to their function.

53. As your eyes scan the area it appears that inthe center, the solid deck plating is parted byfour large grated panels that can be lifted toaccess the area below. [As the boarding partyapproached the grated area:] As you approachthe grated area you can clearly see that a crawlspace or access tunnel runs beneath the gratesand appears to continue under the solid deckof the rest of the area. It is impossible to tellwhere it leads but through the grating you cansee conduits and at least one control box orreadout monitor along the way. Vaguely youcan see a small yellow light blinking on thelower left-hand side of the box.

54. A view panel is set into the wall to the right.There are no controls by it other than whatseems to be a small com device. [The screen istouch-activated.] When touched the screenlights up and displays a map of the ship. It is


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not detailed; it looks as if it shows only themain areas. [It is password or voiceprint

protected. When activated it will show an

extensive map of the ship with all damaged areashighlighted in various colors (or yellow and red)according to the severity of the damage. If thescreen is touched on one of the damaged areas, alisting (in the language of the ship’s previouscrew) of the damaged systems and their specificdamages replaces the map. When the touch screenis tapped again the view goes back to the map.]

55. There is a meter-wide screen on the wall here,possibly a viewscreen or a touch screen controlpanel, though it has no power to it now. Theclear screen has been cracked into small pieces

and most of them are loose. Tiny shards andfilaments of broken glass fill the air [or: liescattered on the floor] and sparkle in your light.[Glass shards in the air could be very hazardousto unprotected eyes, and anyone not wearing

breathing apparatus is in danger of inhaling theglass and being damaged internally.]

56. The wall is scarred by scorch marks, black andbrown starbursts tracing the impact of whatappears to have been stray weapons fire. Thesteel has melted in little frozen rivulets wherethe blasts hit.

57. This entire area is virtually blocked by a jungle of twisted metal, wires, pipes andgirders that were once part of or concealed bythe walls, deck and ceiling. The general effectis as if this area buckled and ruptured fromsome type of tremendous force that left it incomplete ruin. [If the derelict’s destruction wasrecent and there is atmosphere read: It is difficultto see as the smoke roils through the area; flameslick hungrily at the air and metal as sparkscascade down from above.] Traversing this area

will be a challenge and require some carefulmaneuvering; jagged pieces of metal seem toreach out from everywhere like deadly fingers.[If the characters are in environmental suits thereis a possibility of one being ripped.]

58. An information panel greets you from the wall.'Welcome Aboard,' the holographic hostess'smiling face tells you. 'Welcome

aboard...welcome aboard...welcome aboard...'she intones, the screen flickering. The looprepeats over and over again as you walk past,

until it is lost in the distance.59. Layered, translucent panels compose a unique

display. Ever-changing language motescascade from the top of the panels. Nearby, aglove-shaped haptic display controller, and ahalo unit with a small square secondary visualreadout, sit abandoned. The display, thoughunique, appears to have been in use up untilthe recent abandonment of this vessel. [Thesecontrollers are similar to some virtual realitycontrollers. The glove unit allows control by handmotions, and the halo unit is worn on the head,

with the visual readout giving information at thewearer’s eye level.]

60. [For characters in spacesuits, read:] You cansmell the metal and synthetics of your suit andthe air from your tank has its usual functional,but distinctly canned, sense to it. Around theedges of these more pervasive scents is thescent of sweat. The disadvantage of closing outall unwanted effects means that you also lockin a completely different set of unpleasanteffects. Once again you are reminded of theloss of tactile ability through the gloves youwear.

[For characters not in protective suits:] Theair here smells stale and there is a hint ofdeath that seems to creep around the edges ofyour consciousness. You can see your breathas the air here is distinctly colder than you areused to. The chill runs through your flesh asyou gaze about the dead vessel before you.

61. A strobe light dominates this area, splashing ayellowish-white glare over everything and thenreturning it to darkness. The light spinsinsistently and annoyingly, signifying somemanner of alert or warning. The brightflashing provides such a contrast to the dimemergency lighting that it makes visiondifficult. [Anyone using mechanical visionaugmentation based upon light will have the same

problem since their device will not be able tocompensate rapidly enough between the blinding


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flash and the dark. Characters’ ability to detectthings will be decreased until they block or putout the strobe light. Subtract 15% fromappropriate checks.]

62. A number of ceiling panels have fallen to thedeck here, and they will make going throughthis area difficult. Several cables have beenpulled out of their proper position; three arehanging across your path. One is yellow andone is green; the third one is red and it hangslow enough that you will have to duck to getunder it. Two others run along with yourdirection of travel. The grey one is out of yourway, but another red cable is hanging low

enough to be a hazard. [These standard powercables are color coded for maintenance. Despitetheir detailed descriptions, they are not actually ofimportance.]

63. An alarm klaxon suddenly blares into life,piercingly loud, accompanied by flashing redemergency lights which give everything anominous cast; the shadows in the derelictappear to move on their own. Then, just asabruptly as it began, the alarm ceases. All isquiet. As you look around it seems thatnothing has changed. The cause and meaningof the alarm is unknown. [The alarm may have

been set off by the PCs inadvertently, by acomputer malfunction, or by someone orsomething else.]

64. As your lights pierce the gloom, common items – a chair, a standing console – take on strangeshapes before resolving into somethingfamiliar. The flickering shadows suggest thatsomething else is moving just at the edge of

your vision, but thatseems unlikely givenwhat you know of theship. It is no doubt justan illusion, but it doestend to put you on edge.

65. Ahead of you on thefloor is an odd mound,rounded and withsmooth curves, aboutknee high. In the light it

is ivory in color and appears dry and crusty.[If touched:] The substance is fragile andcrumbles where you touch it. [A firesuppression nozzle malfunctioned and sprayed amound of foam onto the deck.]

66. Set into the wall to the right is a large light-grey board that seems to have electronic paperof some sort on it. The space is filled withdocuments and bulletins. [These are in thelanguage of the ship’s last inhabitants. Theelectronic board will continue show the bulletinseven if there is no power. The types of things

present are rule changes aboard the ship and workschedules as well as schedule changes for various

classes and events.] 67. A partially devoured food bar, the wrapper

pulled back from one end, floats by yourfaceplate [or: lies on the deck]. Apparentlywhoever had been eating it was distracted bysomething more urgent than hunger!Whatever preservatives are in it will mostlikely guarantee its existence for quite sometime. It floats [or: rests] in mute testimony tothe normal lives that had been lived here onceupon a time.

68. The inertial dampeners obviously went out inthis area of the ship as every loose object ispiled against one wall; most things aresmashed into unrecognizable bits of whateverthey were. Even the furniture that wasconnected to different parts of the room havebeen torn away from the bulkheads andsmashed, leaving behind ragged holes exposingruined conduits and control systems. [In zerogravity: the material in this room could all bestuck in the place where it had been crushedtogether or various objects could have brokenaway and be floating around the room.]

69. The deck looks normal in this section. Thebulkheads have some odd gashes, but nothingthat a damage control team with a little sealantcould not fix. Something small moves along thefloor into one of the gashes and you hear afaint rustling echoing in the bulkhead. [If the

boarding party looks into the gash or opens itfurther:] A horde of insects moves as one along


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the inside of the bulkhead and its conduits.They writhe and pulse, inching along as asingle body. The cluster notices you and

scatters! Some move further into thebulkhead; others move along the ceiling,dropping occasionally onto the deck [or partymembers]; still others cross the deck,scrambling over your feet in a mass effort toget to the other side.

70. A small red button blinks from the side of anintraship communications panel. Next to it area speaker and an assortment of other buttons.One button has a trace of an identifying tag byit; no doubt when the ship was new there wasone next to each of the buttons explaining its

significance. [If a character presses the button:] Aklaxon begins sounding loudly throughout thearea and a recorded voice cuts through thenoise: “Abandon ship! Abandon ship! This isnot a drill.” [If the button is not pressed again,the klaxon and the instructions continue.]

71. A girder and several wiring harnesses havefallen from the ceiling and block this area. Thegreat weight of the girder, coupled with theimpact of the fall, has wedged it across yourpath and made it difficult to get by withouttouching the wires. You see no indication thewires are live—but that just means they arenot arcing across to the metal and does not, initself, guarantee that they are dead. [The girderobviously fell when artificial gravity was active.Because it has wedged itself in place when it fellit will be difficult to move even in zero gravity

because it must be dislodged from where it isstuck. If the party has a cutting torch they couldcut through it but it will take 10 minutes or more.]

72. Some type of web-extruding creatures wereevidently active here for a period of time after

the ship was abandoned, because veils offragile cobwebs drift from the open panelabove to the console in front of you.

73. A view panel is set into the wall to the rightwith several [20] buttons beside it. Each buttonis labeled [in the language of the ship

builders/users] for a different place on oraround the ship. [When a button is pressed, the

panel shows a view from that spot on the ship inreal time. Some of the buttons provide externalviews.]

74. Shafts of cool radiance stream from the gridsuspended overhead. Miniscule square beamsof blue-green luminescence bathe individualsin your group as they advance. Portions of thegrid have been wrenched away and above ityou can see a glowing gel-like substance. Globsof the shining goo ooze slowly from [or: floatnear] the damaged grid.

[If oxygen is present the substance can beorganisms emitting bioluminescent light. If noatmosphere is present, a chemical reaction could

be supplying the glow or this could be remains ofan alien presence.]

75. A dull gray hemisphere juts from the bulkheadat about shoulder level. Its metal surface isetched in a cross-hatch pattern and on theupper slope it has a tiny screen and three smallbuttons. The screen displays a flashingmessage: “Are you sure?” [This is an armedexplosive device. Two of the buttons set thetimer, and the third irrevocably starts thecountdown. The display is waiting for someone to

press the third button again to verify countdown

start. The GM may determine exactly which is the“third button,” and for how long the timer is set.]

76. You come upon a spot in the wall where asmall junction box has had its access panelremoved. A tool is sticking out of the box at anodd angle. On the deck below the junction boxthere is a large quantity of a dried reddishbrown substance [dried blood]. There are alsomarkings that lead off to your left, as ifsomething were dragged through thesubstance and smeared it. The trail continuesabout three meters before it disappears.

77. The only light here is cast by the steadypulsations of the emergency alert signal thatflashes slowly, like the beating of a dyingheart. Whatever other lighting was hereapparently no longer functions. The signalwinks on, bathing the area in an unnatural redlight, then blinks off into darkness. The redtableau disappears and then returns again


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with each flash, in a warning of what went onhere before and a caution for your future.

78. You see a panel with several screens. Thereseem to be no keys or other input devices but acloser look at the screen shows several smallfingerprints on the surface over the controlsdisplayed there.

79. A series of small, pressurized tanks lines thewall; all are secured into place. Their one-timecontents are labeled - water or variouschemicals. Some have been punctured andtheir contents spilled (and since evaporated),but others are still intact.

80. On the wall to your right you see a strangethree-sided symbol that seems to be drawn onthe wall in some reddish-brown substance thatis now dry [blood]. Dried drip marks extendtoward the floor, where there is a large blot ofthe same dark brown substance.

81. Your boots clank on the echoing surface of thefloor. The flooring in this area is of modulardesign, simple meter-wide square gratesdropped on a grid of alloyed pipes, almost likescaffolding. The system is cheap and easy tocustomize, but hardly sturdy. It is clear that

these are set so that the piping and wiresbeneath the grates can be easily accessed.

82. Something is strewn about the floor in thisarea and a small case sits off to one side. Oncloser investigation the spilled contents appearto be tubes of antibiotic cream, bandages madeof cloth, and other supplies from an emergencymedkit. Near the kit itself there is a large stainof dark red on the deck plates. An open roll ofotherwise-unused bandages has some blood

staining the end of it. [If there is no gravity, theGM should describe these contents as floatingrandomly about. The dried blood is still on thedeck plates.]

83. Scorch marks and small bursts pepper thedeck. Stray blasts have left their mark on theadjacent walls and the surfaces overhead aswell. It looks as if there was a firefight betweentwo opposing factions at some point, and theafter-effects have yet to be expunged. You seeno weapons or corpses, though, and nounusual marks other than small chips andblast marks left by the past actions.

84. Ahead you see a dark gray datapad floatinglazily in the air about head high. The screen ofthe pad is still lit and you can see that it has aheading separated from the text by a fewspaces [It is in the language used by the derelictship’s occupants. It reads:] “Chapter One: Itwas the best of times. It was the worst oftimes…”

85. A light flickers just at the corner of your visionbut when you turn to examine it, it is gone. [Ifthe ship has some power, this could be a light on a

panel or a safety light, almost worn out but stillflickering from time to time. Otherwise this could

be a reflection from a character’s own light or thatof a colleague, or of some light from outside theship. Of course it could also be something strange,supernatural, or unexplained, if the GM desires.]

86. Out of the corner of your eye you see a suddenflash of color and movement. You spin towardit and discover a rectangular device stuck ontothe metal bulkhead at an odd angle, with ascreen displaying bright views of some touristbeach. The device is fairly flat and the screenbarely a handspan wide. Most of the rotating

views feature a dark-haired young woman.[The device is a type of personal viewer. It isfastened to the bulkhead by magnets on the backand activates when it detects motion. It wasdropped accidentally when the ship wasabandoned (or damaged) and someone who foundit stuck it to the bulkhead haphazardly rather thanletting it be stepped on and destroyed.]


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87. [If in zero gravity: Floating in the air, weightlessas a balloon, you see the skeletal remains of whatwas probably one of the ship’s crew.] The

darkened shape of a body casts strangeshadows as light passes through the exposedbones. Hanging from the corpse are thetattered remains of clothing, along with whatappears to be a pack of some kind, clutched inone hand. It is easy to imagine that the leeringskull regards you reproachfully as you ogle itsgear. [The pack contains blank data storage units,a sealed packet of food (still good), and a smallamount of cash.]

88. A few boxes and crates are scattered here;some have been piled up to reach an opening

in the ceiling. Next to one of the larger boxeslies a small metal case. The grating from theopening above is lying on the ground on theother side of the stack, broken. [The metal caseis similar to a briefcase. It may containdocuments, ship schematics, repair manuals,maps of the space lanes, master security cards orwhatever else the GM desires.]

89. A shadowy humanoid figure slumps againstthe wall ahead of you. [If the boarding partyinvestigates:] This figure is not a human but isactually a ’bot of some sort. Judging by itsequipment you would guess it is a maintenancerobot. It will take some additional work andinvestigation to determine if it is at allfunctional. As you look at it you realize it is notquite as humanoid in shape as you originallythought.

90. A grate set into the wall seems to cover anaccess to a maintenance tube. The tube runsperpendicular to the wall at deck level. Thegrate is standing ajar and just inside the tubeentrance you can see the desiccated body of a

small rodent, its head caught in the trap thatbroke its neck.

91. The shadows of this place are very deep andmay conceal many secrets. The area before youis dimly lit by the red hues of the emergencylight panels. It seems to give an eerie glow tothe whole area and there are deep shadowsthat the light does not reach. That will make it

even more difficult to determine what hashappened here and what may lie ahead. [Iflighting is functioning in the ship, this may be an

area where the normal light panels are inoperativeor malfunctioning.]

92. You hear a drip... drip... drip.... A puddle onthe floor reflects the light onto the bulkheadsand it ripples with each succeeding drip.Above, drops descend from a fissure in theoverhead. [If the boarding party investigates thefissure:] Conduits lead up into the spaces aboveand out of sight. A small cleft has been etchedinto one conduit from the years of dripping. [Ifthey are not in environmental suits:] The liquidsmells of old hydrocarbons and the air tastes

metallic on the tongue. [If they investigate theliquid:] It appears to be hydrocarbon based[coolant]. It is contaminated with variousmetals [mostly from contact with the conduits]and age has made the liquid more volatile.

93. Along the right wall a grate slightly less than ameter square sits just above floor level. It isbroken, with a large hole in the middle of it.The metal of the grate is still attached to thewall but has been bent until it sticks straightout. The ends of the jagged metal are torn andpartially melted but there is no evidence ofburns around the sides of the service tube onthe other side of the grate.

94. Ahead of you on the ceiling you notice a smallred light. It flashes every three seconds and ispart of a device mounted on a swivel. Thesmall device points in your direction, and asyou approach it swivels back and forth,tracking your movements. Suddenly you seemto pass some invisible line and the devicezeroes in on you [or: on the person in the lead]. A bright spark flashes from the device and you

hear a metallic “click, click, click” but nothingelse happens. [This device – a laser cannon orother energy weapon – has malfunctioned. Itsmotor still works, but happily for the charactersthere is a short circuit in its firing system.]


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95. [If the boarding party is in environmental suits, pick a specific character and apply this to that one person alone.] The air smells stale and old andis reminiscent of long unused storage areasand stale dirty laundry. [To a single person,add: You can clearly smell the accumulation ofsweat and it reminds you of a gym locker that hasnot been cleaned.] [If not in environmental suits:] Clearly, there is a malfunction in theatmospheric circulatory system of life support.It is probably nothing serious but it does makethe exploration of this vessel less comfortable.

96. A ceiling panel ahead of you has been openedand several wires dangle from it. The access

cover for the panel is on the floor and it looksnormal, but the wires and conduit from theopen maintenance hatch are extensivelydamaged, as if a torch were held close to themand the wires and conduit melted and burnedthrough. A set of wires hangs with loose endsand a spark arcs from one of the disconnectedends to the other at 3- to 5-second intervals.

97. Along this bulkhead, narrow bands of lightline the walls above and below decorativepanels. This section of wall has remainedintact amongst the mess that surrounds it. [The

panels can be an odd art installation, acommemorative plaque, or generic decor.]

98. This area was ravaged by fire and all aroundyou can see the blackened testimony of itsdestruction. You notice that soot is rubbing offon any part of your clothing or equipment thattouches it. [If the characters are breathing the air,even through a rebreather or similar equipment:]You can smell the soot and the odor of burntremains fills your nostrils [or: filters throughyour mask]. [Unless the GM rules otherwise:]The blaze destroyed anything in this area thatwould have been useful.

99. An entire wiring harness with two largerflexible tubes or cables hangs down from theceiling to the right. One of the large tubes hasbeen ruptured and a fine vapor [smoke, gas, orsteam] is shooting out of it, gathering in smallclouds that twist lazily through the area. Theaccess panel lies on the deck beneath a tangled

mass that looks like multicolored snakeshanging and twisted together. The intactlarger cable has a silver cylinder that seems toconnect two parts of the cable. The cylinderhas tiny lights, changing color in a sequentialpattern: red, red, blue, blue, green, and repeat.[The colors may simply mean that this particularcable is working, or at the GM’s discretion theremay be is some nefarious meaning to the code.]

100. You cannot see in this inky gloom; thedarkness before you seems almost thickenough to touch. Each step you take into thisarea echoes dully, amplified by the blackness.A low groan breaks the gloomy atmosphere,

quickly followed by a creaking sound. Thecause of those sounds is uncertain. It could bethat a change in structural temperature hascaused a shifting of the metals as the outsidetemperature is affecting the ship, or it could besomething more. From here you cannot telland you do not hear it again.


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DERELICT SHARDSERELICT S AR S01 In Endless NightRunning on low power, the huge warship swimsthrough the black like a ghostly shark. No runninglights, no querying scans, no attempt to signalanyone... not even a distress beacon. The only signof activity is the wash of light and waste from theengines. Without any rupturing of the hull, theship may still have atmosphere, life support, evenwater and food if supply levels were properlymaintained. The colossal vessel may be carrying acomplement of weapons extreme enough to

devastate a continent from space and yet sheglides, empty and alone, through the endless night.There is no external sign of damage, of combat, ofanything to empty such a fortress of herguardians, nor is there an indication of whatmind—if any—set the course she now followsunwaveringly.

HATCHES,DOORS, ANDENTRYWAYS02 Ship’s AirlockThe airlock hatch hisses open. Even through yourprotective suit you can feel the bitter coldness thatwaits aboard this hulk. Your spotlight flickers tolife and burns away the darkness of thecompartment. A crystalline layer of frost coversevery surface in the room. To the left are severalempty suit lockers, and to the right a tool chesthangs on the bulkhead, still holding three or fourwrenches and other implements for repair work.Further into the room sits a long dead control

console.

03 Airlock InteriorAfter entering the airlock, you see that theinternal design of the abandoned vessel is asunfamiliar as the hull configuration: traditionalparts, pieces you might see on almost any vessel,have been cobbled together in ways you wouldnever have expected. The external portal of the

airlock is perfectly standard, but instead of asingle internal portal letting into an accesschamber, you find that the airlock has beenaltered to contain two portals, each dimly visiblein the poor emergency lighting. A moment laterthe indicators on each door’s control pad blinkgreen, indicating that pressure has been restored.

04 Exterior HatchThe exterior hatch [outside entrance to the ship] is areinforced pair of doors of several dark metals.There is a panel beside it but it does not respond.[They must force it open]. Some air rushes out asyou step inside, but it is clear there was notnormal pressure in this compartment. There is nogravity. Inside, the entry room is relativelyspacious but dark and cold; the lights do notrespond. The ship is silent: no motors can beheard anywhere. Your breath and smallmovements seem exceedingly loud. The reinforceddoor leading from this room to the rest of the shipseems intact. It is not locked but must be openedmanually. [Beyond it there can be air.]

05 Sealed DoorsYou come to a set of sealed blast doors. Through aview port you see that the chamber [passage] beyond is damaged beyond recognition, and isexposed to vacuum.

06 Closed Blast DoorsA set of blast doors are solidly closed before you.To the left of the doors as you are facing them,there is a small control surface that appears to bethe operating mechanism for the door. Thereseems to be no power to the unit and you see nomanual safety release on the door itself. This wayis blocked unless you can find a way through thesealed blast doors. [The GM may allow thecharacters to remove the panel and hot wire it if theyhave the skill – assuming that there is still someemergency power operating in the vessel or that theyhave an alternate power source.]


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07 Broken HatchwayYou see a circular hatchway that shows signs ofdamage; the metal is torn and twisted in severalplaces. The strong material was bent backwardsand forced outwards, there are several irregularpock-marks against the sides of the hatch, slightlycharged around the edges. [This could be the resultof weapons fire or tiny space particulates, or, at theextreme, it could be the result of an alien attack.]

08 Damaged Door ControlsThe access panel by the door has been pried off,scratches on the steel indicating the rough use of acrude tool. The panel’s wiring has been torn outand dangles in sparking bunches, crackles of blue-white arcing amongst the exposed ends. Thecontrols are a melted mess of useless material.

09 Door to StaircaseThe door is plain, its handle simple. It is notlocked. Opening it reveals an open set of metalstairs circling up and up [down and down/ up anddown]. The treads are open grids of sturdy metaland it has a handrail of the same material. Atintervals are landings with plain doors leadingfrom them. [The staircase runs from the top to the

bottom of the ship—however many levels there are.There should be a similar staircase several places inthe ship as a safety feature.]

10 Broken HatchYou can see the underside of a small hatch; thehatch itself has several broken sections and asmall flashing red light illuminates a panel off toone side. The light’s continuous pattern is brokenup by an occasional spark from the panel.

11 Swinging Hatch

A hatch swings back and forth lazily on its hinges.The occasional thump and groan of the hinges arethe only noises in the area. [The latchingmechanism is broken so the hatch cannot be secured.]

12 Hatch with LadderA long ladder leads up through a small circularhatchway. The ladder is made of metal but colored

red. On the wall an arrow, stenciled in a garishyellow and green stripe, points upward.

13 Door MalfunctionPushing through a mass of torn and sputteringcables, you come upon a malfunctioning hatch. Itis oval in shape, with the automatically slidingdoor stuck half-open. [The opening is big enoughfor player characters of average human size orsmaller to squeeze through. Larger characters or thosein spacesuits will fit through if the door is forcedopen. A person of average strength has a 25% chanceto do this.] On the other side of the door, lightsflicker randomly accompanied by a harsh buzzingnoise. The smoke from burnt wiring stings your

eyes. In the distance you can hear a muffled,rhythmic thumping.

CORRIDORS ANDPASSAGEWAYS14 Silent PassagewayThe passageway behind the door is clean andwhite—sterile, like a hospital ward, an impressionenhanced by the acrid, chemical smell that hints atdecontamination gear or automated scrubbers.The hall, with its out-curving walls forming abowed arch above you, terminates in a sealed blastdoor. Only a few steps into the hallway, you arestartled by the hiss of the hatch closing behindyou—and realize for the first time the unnaturalsilence of the ship. There is no sound: no hummingof machinery, no echo from distant movement.Even the sound of your footsteps seems to besucked away, vanishing into the dead blankness ofthe hulk. You can hear nothing so loud as yourown heartbeat.

15 Disturbed in PassingAs you drift down the corridor,your passing disturbs severalloose items. Nuts and bolts, adiscarded food wrapper, andeven a sonic toothcleaner spinaway as they bump off of your vac-suit.


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16 Littered with DebrisHere the passageway is littered with debris.Illumination panels hang down, tangled in a rat’s

nest of wiring. Pieces of the bulkhead are strewneverywhere and a support beam sits across yourway like a hash mark.

17 Swaying and TappingAn intermittent tapping sound resonatesthroughout the corridor. As you move into a

junction, you discover that one of the side passagesis blocked by debris. You see a conduit danglingdown which is swaying and occasionally bumpingagainst the deck.

18 The Bulkhead is MarredAs you move along this passageway, you beginnoticing several perforations in the bulkhead thatvary in size from one to five centimeters indiameter. There is no pattern to their placement,and there are no scorch marks around the holes. Italmost looks like the result of a meteor storm.[This could be mysterious if this area is not along theexterior of the ship.]

19 Sudden StaticAs you walk down the corridor, a sudden burst ofstatic sounds on the intercom, which then returnsto silence [This is caused by a malfunction andoccurs occasionally.]

20 Objects in the LightThe passage before you is dark, with only thesickly reddish glow from the emergency lightsalong the ceiling and floor to guide you. The lightsregularly dim and brighten and the flickeringglow is disorienting, making it difficult to focus onanything. Worse, the strobe effect of the lightmakes it seem that there is something moving inthe gloom in front of you. As you step forward,you realize that it is not the flickering light—thereare objects moving through the corridor. Allaround you, items float through the hall, set adriftwhen the artificial gravity of the ship failed. Aglove spins aimlessly, hovering in place; a foodcontainer rebounds off a bulkhead at a crazyangle and continues down the passageway.

21 Attack of the Toy RobotSuddenly, standing out in the dim light of thecorridor, a flash of movement by the base of the

wall catches your eye. The source is at firstobscured by the detritus of metal and junk thatlitters the hall, but emerging from behind a lumpof fused sheet-metal you see the glimmering formof a child’s toy robot. The gadget falls, tripped bya wire wrapped around one leg, and the metallicrattle echoes through the corridor.

22 Damage in the CorridorDamaged consoles spark and hiss along the wallsof the passageway, throwing off the sharp smell ofozone. Somewhere, you can hear an automated

door repeatedly attempting to close andapparently striking something that blocks it, thesound a slow beat in the background.

23 Dark CorridorThe corridor ahead is dark. The pale gray metalwalls reflect your light back poorly. At intervalsyou see a wall section that is not gray, but ratherthe same material in light yellow. They areirregularly spaced and do not seem to open [theyare decorative]. The floor is more gray metal, withregular raised treads. You float above it. A long

bar runs along the wall on both sides. When youattempt to use it as a handrail, you find it is set tooclose to the wall for you to get your glove all theway around it. Overhead, the ceiling is plain whitewith tiny holes in the synthetic squares.

24 Twisted PanelsThe passageway is long, stretching farther thanyour lights illuminate. It is wide enough to movefreight through, about 2.5 meters across. The flooris solid metal plating with ridges across it andsections of softer material [synthetic mats] . Theceiling is about 3 meters up, smooth with recessescontaining the lights. All is dark. The air is bittercold and smells of some kind of fuel, but it isbreathable. The walls of the corridor are simplebrass-colored metal. Several panels are twisted andripped, revealing the pipes and cables behind thepaneling. Two panels appear to have been pulledinto the corridor by one corner, but the third seemsto have been shoved outward with great force.


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25 Corridor of DoorsThe dark corridor curves gently around theoutside of the ship. On the inside wall are simpledoors [to sleeping compartments] at regularintervals. The doors each have a design and metalsign in the middle [in the ship’s language, the nameof the resident, for example M. Thomas, or Zhou, P.].These doors are locked. The outside of the curve isgenerally just a solid beige metal wall, but it isdecorated with panels in bright colors andpatterns. Overhead, there were lights protected bygrills but they are dark now. The air reeks of somekind of petroleum-based fuel. After seven doors,there is an intersection with another corridor.

26 Echoing FootstepsThe ship is dark and silent. When you stopmoving, you are struck by the stillness. The usualsounds of a ship—engines, ventilation,machinery—are missing. As you walk, yourfootfalls make hollow echoes, louder on thecorridor’s metal flooring than on the carpeting inthe various rooms. Your lights illuminate thepanels on the walls. Most of them are intact, butothers are loose and floating, like metal ghosts inthe corridor. When you move on to look atsomething else, the dark and silence that returnsseems even more oppressive.

27 Flickering LightOne flickering fluorescent tube provides the onlylight in this long hallway. Various words andnumbers printed on closed hatches and openedstorage lockers are barely visible, much lesslegible. Equipment lockers here have been lootedor otherwise emptied, their doors hanging openand darkness staring palpably out of them.

28 Shattered WallsThe corridor runs left and right around theexterior of the ship. It is dark and the light panelby the door does not respond. The air is chilly [andsmells metallic—if they are not in suits]. The hall’sfloor has a simple textured pattern. The walls arecovered by molded paneling, mostly a soft yellowand orange pattern that seems very washed out inthe illumination from your lights. A railing along

the wall a meter and a half high on each sideenables you to move easily down the hall in thezero gravity. A few meters from the door you

entered, the panels on both sides of the hall areshattered or crushed, as if by an explosion. Ameter farther on, a solitary heavy glove is wedgedbetween the rail and the wall.

29 Bodies in Intersection A fierce battle took place at this intersection.There are several scorch marks over the length ofthe corridor’s bulkhead. The bodies present(probably crewmembers) are riddled with holes. Itlooks as though the victors took the spoils as anyweapons or personal effects are gone.

30 Dying CrewmanA ragged cry from the darkness at the end of thepassage catches your attention. Shining your beamin that direction, you catch movement in the half-light – the wave of a gloved hand from beneath apile of rubble. As you draw near, you can makeout the outline of a man pinned beneath a heavypanel fallen from the ceiling; one leg hangs at anuncomfortable angle, obviously broken. “Helpme!” he rasps with a desiccated voice. [Thecharacters can choose to pull him free, leave him to

die, or question him.] His condition is poor anddeclining rapidly. He has numerous cuts across historso and face, the flesh is torn and raked withred-black blood crusted around his eyes andmouth. As you approach, he begins to fade in andout ofconsciousness,mumbling allthe while, butbecomingincreasinglyincoherent.

[Playercharacters withthe propermedical skillcan tell that heis dehydratedand in shockand will diesoon without


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proper attention. If they approach him, he grabssomeone’s arm.] “ It killed them – all of them, theni t killed me. It is going to kill you, too.” [It could bean alien menace, typhoid, a deranged robot, anenormous man-eating plant, or whatever.]

31 Scorched CorridorA terrible fire must have raged in this corridor,because every surface is scorched and covered inhardened fire suppression foam. [There is nolighting in this corridor .] Long since dried out, thegray foam crunches underfoot as you walk downthe hallway. The floor vibrates with your steps,dislodging flakes of ash, but the sound is deadenedby the foam. Overhead, the covers on the ceilinglights have been peeled away by the heat, leavingbrown runners of melted material dangling downinto the passage. At the far end of the corridor, abody in a spacesuit is slumped against a sealedairlock door. The suit is charred and blackened inplaces, and the right glove has melted and becomestuck to the door mechanism. The cracked domeof the suit’s helmet is facing you, twisted back atan odd angle, and through it you can make out askull covered in desiccated flesh and paper-likeskin.

32 Access CorridorA hexagonal passageway stretches across openspace, connecting two hatches. At one end of the

corridor is a door with a panel at one side. It hasseveral buttons marked on it, one of which reads:“Purge Access.” At regular intervals you can seesmall circular windows showing the backdrop ofspace.

33 Sealed BreachOne side of the corridor, which is along the outerskin of the ship, has been damaged by anexplosion. Judging from the shape of theremaining twisted metal, it happened inside thecorridor and forced a hole through the wall. The

hole has been completely sealed with foam and isnow safe.

34 Blue LightingMaking your way down a deserted, dark corridor,you discover the doors to all the rooms standingopen, exposing the furnishings of each in a soft,blue glow. Looking closer you see that the blueglow in each room comes from a blue bulb on topof a small black box sitting on the floor. [These

boxes may be portable emergency lighting, alienmind control devices, proximity bombs, or whateverthe GM desires.]

35 Alone in the DarkBoth main and emergency lighting seem to be outin this section. As you flash your light around thearea, the darkness and shadows accentuate theisolation of this place: a vessel once filled with lifeand activity, now nothing but a dead hulk. Thereis nothing here but empty silence. Anyone who hasnever entered a ship lying derelict in deep spacecannot understand the feelings of aloneness insuch a situation. [The GM may have a charactermake a perception check, or simply tell a character:] You think you see something dart in and out ofone of the shadows just at the edge of your vision.[Nothing is there, but any character the GM choosescould be certain they saw something.] When youfocus on the area you can see nothing unusual, butnow the shadows seem deeper and the gloom evenmore oppressive.


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36 Lights on Sensor[If power is not available, set this aside until it isrestored. Once power is restored the lights instantly

brighten where the characters are. However, the lightsin other areas will only go on if someone enters thatarea and they will extinguish themselves to conserve

power if there is no one present]. The next area isdark and with the emergency lighting nowextinguished it isreplaced only by a softblue glow strip alongthe walkway thatsomehow manages toprovide no useful lightat all. As you approachthe area's sensorsdetect you and thelights come up to fullintensity so thateverything is nowclearly visible.

TUBES,TUNNELSAND LIFTS37 Maintenance TunnelThe interior of this space is confined, as you wouldexpect in a maintenance tunnel, there is certainlyno room to turn around in here. The ducting iscramped and echoes as you move along it. Off inthe distance you can hear a faint ‘swoosh-swoosh’sound as if something large is turning very slowly.

38 Crawl Tube[This corridor is at zero gravity.] This corridor is a

narrow tube only two meters in diameter. It runsa few meters and comes to an intersection. Pullingyourself along using the evenly spaced handholds,you reach the intersection and find the last gripcovered with a dark dried substance. Lookingaround the area, you see that the bulkheads arespattered with it as well. [Analysis shows thesubstance to be human blood.]

39 Dead WorkerA hatch to a maintenance tunnel [crawlway, tube] is swinging to and fro slowly on its hinges.Looking inside, you see the body of a human malewho was apparently working on something whenhe died. No cause of death is immediately visible.The corpse appears to be looking into a small opencontrol panel and his right hand still grasps one ofthe tools he was using. He may have beenattempting to repair something when deathcaught him unexpectedly. [In zero gravity: Theman had one hand holding him in place and so thecorpse now literally has a death grip on one of thehand supports.]

40 Zip TracksThis passageway seems to proceed along thecenter axis of the ship, with no apparent up ordown. The only distinguishing parts of thecorridor are the zip tracks on opposite sides ofthe corridor. With main power down the zip

tracks are no longer functioning, but it is obviousthat this corridor was designed to move peoplequickly from one end of the ship to the other. [If

power is restored the zip tracks will start up again asthey have not been damaged. Consisting of a series ofevenly spaced handholds on a track, a zip trackallows personnel to move distances quickly andeasily in zero gravity situations. Using the zip tracksthe characters can go from one end of a long ship tothe other in less than a minute.

41 Wide Lift, Small StairAhead of you the corridor ends at a lift with asimple stairway beside it. A control panel betweenthe lift and the stairs has a speaker and a numberof color-coded buttons. A red light on it isblinking, the only light in the corridor. The liftappears wide enough for a heavily loadedmotorized cart to enter, but the door will not open.The stair beside it is about one person wide, with asmooth gray metal handrail on both sides. Thestairs are very steep but that is no problem in thelow gravity of the ship.


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42 Working LiftThe door is large and appears to slide open. Acontrol panel is set in the wall beside it, about 1.5

meters up. The corridor is dark but the buttonresponds to your touch and you hear a whirring.The sound increases and then the door slides opento reveal a lift. It is large enough to hold two orthree persons but not much equipment. A smallrectangular object leans against the far wall [a

briefcase, portable battery, communications unit orother item] just below a line of scorch marks.

43 Destroyed LiftA huge burnt-edged hole gapes towards you fromthe wall at the far end of the hallway. [If the

characters investigate:] Flickering light fromnearby panels reveals the tangled mess of aninternal lift car lying at the bottom of its shaft.Dark scorch marks cover everything, though thereason for this is not immediately obvious. Thesturdy carpet that covered the floor of the lift caris charred and pieces of the steel underneath havebeen driven up through the ashes. Splattereddried blood lies everywhere inside the elevator car,along with some shreds of cloth on blackened steelfragments.

BRIDGES ANDADMINISTRATION 44 Ship’s BridgeThis is apparently the bridge or control center ofthe ship. The central window shows theenvironment outside. Several chairs sit in front ofsmall consoles, with controls and displays on each.The panel on the right has a large joystick controlyoke and several banks of interesting switches,three of which are illuminated. [These switches cando what ever you want them to – as long as they areused for something important, time-critical, orinteresting] The bridge has seen better days andthere are some broken pieces of equipment, whileothers look to have been repaired with adhesiveand luck.

45 Bodies on StationThe flickering computer displays and the dull redof emergency lighting are all that illuminate this

room. Several crewmembers bend over theirconsoles seemingly oblivious to two of their fellowslying on the floor near a row of damagedinstrument panels. Looking more closely, through,you realize that the crewmembers are actuallydead and slumped over their stations. The ones onthe floor seem to have been victims of a closerange explosion. The vacuum has kept the bodiesfrom decaying properly, and the poor lighting wasenough to trick your vision at first.

46 Small BridgeYou force through the portal to the bridge and arewelcomed by the odor of two bodies slumped inthe pilot seats. Multiple lights glare at you fromthe control panel, some blinking mournfully,others steadfast in defiance.

47 Sooty Conference RoomThis small room seems to be set up as a conferencearea. A large table dominates the space, with seatsplaced around it. The area smells of smoke andyou can see scorch marks around the room’sventilation shaft, turning the circular grille intothe iris of a black-petaled flower. Whatever causedthe blast, it turned paper to ash and left much ofthe room sooty with the remains of whatever noteswere on the table. The only undamaged item is asmall handheld computer, still beeping feeblywhere it fell to the floor.

48 A Simple OfficeThis small office could have been almost anyone’s,as far as can be told from the layout. A simplechair and desk, with a computer display blinkingcontentedly away on it, account for most of thefurnishings. However, floating in the weightlessvacuum [or: lying in heaps on the deck] areinnumerable papers. Scattered and mixed andrandomized, it would take ages—or sheer luck—toput something together to give you any idea whatthe writings might be about, or their author.


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MEDICAL ANDSANTITATION 49 Medical BayThe beam of your light reveals a dozen slabs, halfof which still contain occupants. Their eyes areclosed in endless sleep, their bodies in variousstates of decay. Discarded supplies [spray hypos,medkits, synthflesh applicators] litter the floor. Amedical bot with nearly-dead batteries jerks andwhirs spastically in a corner. The air is absolutelyfetid with the stench of the dead.

50 Inoperative Operating Room

The ship’s small operating theater is a chaotic,disgusting mess, making it almost unfortunate thatthe bright lighting is still active: the final patientto have entered here is still lying on the table, atube still running to one putrefying limb, anattached rebreather still cycling away; the soundof the pumping air gives the corpse a mockery ofliving breath in an unrising chest. The sicklystench of decay is almost overpowering, and thescattered tools and medicine vials make evensimply walking around none too easy.

51 Body BagsEight body bags are sealed up and apparently full.[If there is no gravity: The bags rotate slowly beforeyou.] They seem to have been laid out awaitingtransport to the ship’s morgue or possibly to thetubes for burial in space. They are still waitingpatiently for someone to return to finish the task.[If the bags are investigated:] These are indeed themummified remains of crew persons, some inuniform and some clad in only theirundergarments.

52 Stasis ChamberYou see what looks like a small stand-up coffin,made of metal and connected to the wall with aseries of cables and struts. The front of the coffinhas a clear section through which you can see asmall headrest. This is evidently designed for theliving rather than the dead, however, since a singledisplay off to one side would give information onlife-signs and various readouts for the occupant.

[This can be a cryogenic sleep chamber, a medicalmonitoring chamber, or whatever suits the GMsgame. It is empty, unless the GM wishes to fill it with

something....] 53 Hibernation PodsThere are five pods in the room, arranged like therays of a star around the terminal monitoringthem. Each is about 2.5 meters in length,appearing more like a coffin than anything else.The head of each is covered in wires and hosesleading from the pod back into the terminal.About half a meter from the head of each is asmall view port; within them you can see fivefrozen faces, sleeping and rimy. The terminal

hums constantly, and every once in a while exhaleschilly little gusts.

54 Sanitary CubicleA small cubicle that is obviously designed forsanitation, it is immaculate and lit with a brightwhite light. There are three strange pyramids on ashelf that seem to fulfill no apparent function.


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Shard Set: Decon Unit (55-59)55 Emergency Shower Room[Illustrated instructions show an outline of the typicalship occupants. Built to be an independent unit thatfunctions in an emergency, under most circumstances itwill still be working.] The door is just smaller thanthose into living quarters. It is sturdy and has anembossed metal sign in the center. [In ship’s languageit reads “Decontamination Shower,” with the universalsign or hieroglyph with the same message]. The dooropens to show a room 2 meters square. The lightgoes on as you enter. [It is on an emergency batterysystem independent of the rest of the ship.] The roomholds a cabinet and large basin to the left, a 2-meter-wide sealed door straight ahead, and a lowopening on the right. The ceiling is 2.5 meters high,and solid metal except for small, hinged openings,all closed. The floor is of some highly resistantmaterial, very plain. A safety bar runs along thewall to the right, about 1.5 meters high. A set ofpanels beside the entry door to your right arelabeled [in the ship’s language and in universal safetysymbols and pictures]. Buttons will close the door,turn on a fan to pull air out, turn on a shower ofwater throughout the room or initiate a warning .[The signal will sound throughout the ship and ifactivated other functions may be included.]

56 Decontamination ChuteTo the right there is a heavy door about one metersquare at the bottom of the wall. It is of someunusual metal, light but strong and reinforced,with a hinge at the bottom, so it swings downeasily to show a chute. Above it is a metal squareshowing instructions in bold print, both in thelanguage of the ship and in pictures. The picturesdemonstrate putting a worksuit into a bag anddown the chute, without touching it. The bags[four, of extraheavy flexible synthetic material] are

on a shelf set into the wall above the chute door.57 Worksuit ClosetTo the left is an inset cabinet as tall as the room,closed. The surface is covered with instructions ona metal square. The instructions are in the ship’slanguage but also represented in pictures. [“Cleanworksuits. Do not contaminate. Follow instructions.”The pictures are of worksuits, with the universal

hieroglyphs for “clean” and “do not contaminate.”]The cabinet is not locked. Inside are shelvesholding four clean worksuits for use within theship [2 large, 1 medium, 1 small] , several sets ofclothes for crew not on duty, and one large-sizedsuit suitable for work outside the ship or withdangerous chemicals. The worksuits are sealedinto individual bags; the clothes simply sit, neatlyfolded, on the middle shelf. In the bag with eachworksuit are instructions on how to put them on,in the ship’s language and with pictures.

58 Shower ControlsBeyond the metal cabinet on the left is a large,deep basin, with heavy-duty mirror solidlymounted on the wall above it. A number ofinstructions are glued to the mirror, reducing itsusable area. [They are more safety instructions, inship’s language.] Next to it a large sealed door,extends from the floor up 2 meters. It is labeled inlarge dark letters in ship’s language with universalsymbols and with a picture. [“DecontaminationShower”] It has a bar across it at 1.5 meters, whichsticks out farther from the door than the standardsafety handholds. [It is easily grabbed for openingthe door in an emergency.] An extensive console ison the wall to the left of the door beside the bigbasin. A comm connection dominates the console,

but it also has a variety of buttons and large labelsin the ship’s language and the universal symbolsand pictures. [The controls include water and watertemperatures for the basin; open and close the basin’sdrain; add decontaminating materials to the incomingwater, such as acid or base to help neutralize a spilledchemical. It also has instructions for the shower,clearly indicated with pictures; a button that opens theshower and others that control it.]

59 Decontamination ShowerThe shower, although sealed, opens easily. [It is

opened by a pull on the bar across it or by the buttonon the console beside it.] It a square area 2 x 2meters, with a series of nozzles in the wall, a drainin the floor, some kinds of vents in the ceiling and acontrol panel and com unit on the wall. A safetybar runs around the room. [Run on emergency

batteries, all the buttons and panels are functionalalthough there is not much water in the system] .


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/ENGINEERINGTECHNICAL60 Power CoreA massive tube of metal stretches upward to theceiling; hundreds of wires and tubes flow up andacross from it, each fitting into its own circularconnector. The central mechanism has a row ofindicators that evidently display importantinformation about the object. Off to the left andright are two pedestals which are home to abewildering selection of controls, buttons,switches, and panels. The only thing visibly wrongwith this power core is the notable lack of any

power.

61 Collapsed Engine RoomThe remains of the engine room can hardly beconsidered a room any longer. With collapsedbulkheads and debris [floating about] everywhereit is hard to tell where the engines originally were.The few control panels that can be recognized areburnt out and unusable; what gauges are left arered-lined and frozen. From the damage it is awonder this section of the ship is even stillattached, much less able to hold an atmosphere.

62 Live WireA live power cable dances before you with blue-white sparks of electricity spraying out into thesurrounding area. The power surging through itmay come from batteries or from some smallgenerator. Of course, on a space vessel "small" isrelative. Even the power of the batteries could beenough to seriously injure someone and therecould be some question as to whether theinsulation in your suit would be enough to protectyou. At the very least the circuitry and life support

in your suit could be damaged. The cable swaysabout erratically and bolts randomly arc toward abulkhead or control panel. [Characters who enterthe area have a one in four chance of a bolt arcinginto or through them. Damage can va

Derelict Starships

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