[Space] Random Crisis Generator for Space Opera campaigns

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

If all things go as planned, I'm going to GM a moderately cinematic space campaigns. So, I'm interested in compiling a long list of random events - Crisis Events - that may randomly occur in such campaigns and demand some sort of resolution on the part of the PCs. The idea was inspired by the boardgame for Battlestar Galactica (which is the source of using the word crisis for such events), and the intended use is similar: filling the PCs' hands as time passes. Of course, not all events fit well within all types of campaigns, so they need to be either split by category, or rerolled often. I'm aiming for events suitable to a campaign involving a fleet of various ships, a single (reasonably large) ship, or a Babylon-style space station. I decided that it is best to throw out my ideas into the forum for cross-pollination: somebody will (hopefully) find use for mine, somebody will (hopefully) throw in their own.

1. Von Neumann threat.
A group of self-replicating machines is found, either hostile, or otherwise potentially dangerous. Typically they are a TL above that of the adventurers, and highly resistant to reverse-engineering. Solutions typically involve fooling them into stopping replication.
Relevant skills: Computer Programming if this is done through transmitting a script of commands, Engineering if it involves getting access to the controls, Electronics Operations (EW and Comm) to imitate their 'native' signal.

2. Onboard Contamination (disease)
Whether due to faulty precautions or other causes, there is a disease aboard, probably since the last landing/contact. Its threat level may vary.
Relevant skills: medical skills to actually find a cure and apply it; political and PR skills to properly handle the situation - declare quarantine in a non-panicking yet convincing manner etc.; various administrative and similar skills to handle distribution of cure, rare resources (if any) and the like.

3. Faulty FTL drive
One of the ships in the fleet is left behind when everybody moved on. Details depend on FTL type. This may be a minor malfunction, or a serious sabotage - or even an FTL-jam attack used to set up an ambush by some enemy faction/race/pirates.
If there is only one capital ship, but some minor craft in hangars, craft missing instead, either due to a misreported return, or due to an unauthorized launch right before the initiation of FTL (or in-flight!).
On a space station, a scheduled FTL ship fails to arrive with no explanation instead.

4. Computer virus/trojan
A particularly nasty computer virus, or an attack using a trojan, managed to cripple the computer network of the fleet/ship. How of a much malicious intent was behind the event is left for the crew to find out.
If the setting uses electromechanical computers, a power surge (accidental or sabotaged) was the reason of crippling instead. If the setting uses bio-computers, treat as a biological disease or a not-quite-fatal biobrain life support failure instead.

5. Misplaced FTL arrival
An FTL journey ended up in the wrong spot.
For Hyperspace, some sort of hyperspace flux prevented proper navigation.
For Jump, either a miscalculation or an anomaly caused it.
For Warp, something 'pushed' the ship during the journey.
For a space station, treat as 'Faulty FTL drive' instead.

6. Journalistic scrutiny
For one reason or another, the life of the crew and passengers of the ship/fleet/base came under closer journalistic scrutiny than usual. Roll all Secrets twice during this period; the second roll means one of the journalists is poking into the secret, but doesn't know about it yet. For everybody, roll 3d6 against the sum of their Rank and Status plus the absolute value of their Reputation. Success means a 'dedicated' journalist has 'locked on'; treat as a Watcher with the same number as the Frequency of Appearance and roll it for each day separately. Should a journalist find anything interesting, it risks becoming an extra temporary reputation.
Relevant Skills: whatever skills are used in hiding from, or dealing with the journalists; Public Speaking, at -10 to negate the effect of a bad secret in an interview, -5 to twist a neutral fact into a positive, and +0 to guarantee a mostly uninteresting but positive fact into some sort of positive reputation (temporary, unless bought with points).

7. Food/water contamination or loss
A statistically significant part of food or water storage or production/recycling facilities is contaminated, damaged or lost. While nobody is going to die of hunger (yet), this is still bad news and a big loss. People don't like having their shower quotas reduced.
Relevant skills: Administration to properly set up rationing for the time being. Public Speaking or other PR skills to keep the morale of crew/passengers from being affected too much. Whatever maintenance skills that are relevant to the fixing of the actual problem.

[Kissamies]

Hmm, how about:
Cosmic event
A natural space disaster to threaten the PCs, or possibly a nearby friendly colony. Could be a solar flare, an unespected massive celestial body on a collision course, the classic meteor storm.
Relevant skills: Sensors, navigation and piloting to accurately detect the threat and chart a safe course past it. Mechanical skills to deal with the aftermath. Administration, Public Speaking, Leadership and such to get an endangered colony evacuated in time.

The Von Neumann threat could be expanded to cover all sort of "space monsters" with VN's being just one subcategory. I'm reminded of Sword of the Stars, which might be good inspiration for such threats: http://sots.rorschach.net/Unknown_Menace

[Phantasm]

8. Blockade. Some organization - a rival planet, nation, species, or corporation, or maybe just pirates - has blockaded a space station, asteroid mining base, jump point, stable wormhole, or planet, preventing traffic to and from it.

9. Pirate Activity. Operating out of an abandoned asteroid mining base (whose ore has run out), pirates are harassing ships moving through this region of space. They'll attack any ship they feel is worth it, but tend to go after cargo vessels, selling the ships' cargo and possibly crew through underground channels.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Kissamies

Hmm, how about: [ . . . ]

Integrating it into the list, since you gave no number, and there's already a post with more numbers:

10. Cosmic event
A natural space disaster to threaten the PCs, or possibly a nearby friendly colony. Could be a solar flare, an unexpected massive celestial body on a collision course, the classic meteor storm.
Relevant skills: Sensors, navigation and piloting to accurately detect the threat and chart a safe course past it. Mechanical skills to deal with the aftermath. Administration, Public Speaking, Leadership and such to get an endangered colony evacuated in time.

11. Space Monster
A space monster of some sort threatens the PCs and their fleet/ship/space station.
Relevant skills: This is usually a straight combat crisis, possibly with some research opportunities thrown in.

[sgtcallistan]

I feel you could use almost anything you've heard of being done in TV SF:

-everything from 'bar fight',
to
'civil war/s break out',
to
'collective gravitational influence of the enormous enemy fleet causes universe to collapse, generating a new universe; victory condition: survive'.

I recomend Babylon 5 for a space station, ST:TOG and ST:TNG for an exploration ship, Firefly for a colony world or privateer ship.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by sgtcallistan

I feel you could use almost anything you've heard of being done in TV SF:

-everything from 'bar fight',
to
'civil war/s break out',
to
'collective gravitational influence of the enormous enemy fleet causes universe to collapse, generating a new universe; victory condition: survive'.

I recomend Babylon 5 for a space station, ST:TOG and ST:TNG for an exploration ship, Firefly for a colony world or privateer ship.

I just think that filtering the less generic and the more silly ones, while providing a numbered list of more playable ones, is a good idea.

[sn0wball]

12. Hijackers.
Criminal elements try to take control of the ship with the intent to capture it, take hostages or steal the cargo. The hijackers have entered the ship legitimately as passengers or new crewmembers, or by stealth as stowaways. They can be petty criminals or terrorists. The crisis can be solved by force or negotiation.

13. Mutiny.
A group of crewmembers tries to take control of the ship because of the potential profit involved, ideological reasons or displeasure over the current command.

[Phantasm]

How is 12, "Hijackers", different from 9, "Pirate activity"?

[RyanW]

14. Crooked Dealings
The cargo the PCs are carrying turns out to be stolen/contraband (or even worse than they thought if they already knew it was illegal). The PCs have to decide whether to dump it, trade it on the black market, or hope for leniency if they cooperate with the investigation.

[sn0wball]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

How is 12, "Hijackers", different from 9, "Pirate activity"?

Generally, pirates attack from outside the ship, whereas hijackers work from within. Of course, combinations are possible and even more dangerous.