And in the vein
of our old favorite, H.P. Lovecraft, here's a bit of the old ultra gothic violence:
Wendigo
This one calls for a low tech system (only recently space faring) with a distant ice ball and a small ship (player's scout or small merchie).
Players are called to perform a rescue mission to a distant outpost by the system's authorities. They lost contact with the outpost over a month ago after a garbled report of a loss of life support. Their only rescue ship (a 1g supply ship) was lost to a catastrophic accident(?) as it was leaving orbit. The player's ship is the first to arrive in system that is capable of supporting a rescue. The purpose of the outpost is highly classified according to the authorities, but everyone they run into has a conspiracy theory they are willing to share.
The trip will take the players deep into the system's Kuiper belt, over two weeks at full thrust. It takes several days alone to outfit the players' ship for the mission; plenty of time for the players to develop an paranoia about what they are going to face.
When the players arrive on scene, the station is deathly quiet; no apparent signs of any life from the outside. Everything appears iced over and the comms antenna is pointing out towards deep space. On the pad sits a small orbital shuttle, covered in a thick layer of ice. Only one area of the station appears to be radiating any heat, but it's deep inside.
Once the players gain access, they find most of the station shut down; equipment iced over, doors extremely difficult to open, lights out, temperatures hover only slightly above absolute zero. But the power plant is still functioning minimally and providing nearly all its output to the station's control center.
When the players approach the control center, they find a single survivor and he's stark raving mad! (Best if this room is made a large windowed area with plenty of viewing for the PC's) He has barricaded himself in the control center and reacts violently to any attempts to access the space. He screams threats and curses, ranting about imaginary assailants and alien monstrosities, kicking about the empty food packs scattered on the floor! He brandishes a make-shift club and his is face is covered in blood (maybe his own?).
Hopefully the players determine a way to calm him down long enough to gain access to the control center. Even so, he remains delirious, acting with only animal instincts. He gobbles down any food offered him, hardly chewing at all. He seeks confined spaces to hide in and refuses to come out. He often becomes extremely agitated, lashing out at anyone who approaches. He raves incessantly about hideous monsters coming from out of the icy darkness!
If the players decide to power up the station (the grid is in working condition) and go looking for the remaining personnel, they find several things:
- there are several crewmen safely tucked away in low berths; the pods are hard welded to the deck and the individuals must be awakened to affect rescue; one looks particularly traumatized when thawed out, the others seem distant and almost hostile
- as things warm up, it begins to stink in here; the smell is akin to rotten flesh and seems to be coming from the ventilation ducts
- all the food stores are empty and empty packets fill a handfull of partially blockaded staterooms; their doors have been pried open or forced and signs of struggle are everywhere
- down near the power plant, a blood trail leads to a pile of bloody uniforms, torn to shreds in some act of hideous violence
- behind an access panel not far from the control center lie what's left of of the remaining crew; frozen, stripped of muscle, and all showing signs of a grissly death
There is really nothing wrong with the survivors (the nut and the popsicles) except they're hiding a gruesome secret. They managed to survive the ordeal by murdering and then cannabalizing their fellows. Unfortunately for the players, the survivors now have a certain taste for human flesh
The lone conscious survivor is faking his lunacy in case he's found out; he knows he can always claim temporary insanity later. Given the opportunity, the survivors will attempt to lure any solitary players into the depths of the station for dinner ... particularly in an effort to cover their bloody tracks!
If the players manage to get everyone on board their ship, the traumatized popsicle will cave into the pressure and spill the beans. When the food starting running low and the hording began, the guy in the control booth coerced the others to murder and then consume the horders. When the news gets out, the cannibals will immediately attempt to take the ship and kill the players to prevent the authorities from hearing of their crimes!
Make sure to bring a couple of NPC's or munchkins as appetizers!
