TEXT: The TRAILBLAZER Fleet 
  Trailblazer 9 Heavy (TB9H from here on out), 
  puts your characters on one of the oldest, most 
  venerable, dilapidated, and important 
  spacecraft in the Cauldron. TB9H is one of the 
  Trailblazers, colossal ships which bully their 
  way through space and open up secure and 
  safe routes for trade and travel between 
  worlds. They’re icebreakers, messengers, 
  freighters, and explorers all rolled into one. 
     They’re also a really good place to 
  disappear… 
     We’ve given you details on the two worlds 
  TB9H is connecting, some breakdowns of why 
  space in the Cauldron is so hazardous, and an 
  adventure that pits your characters against the 
  very vessel they’re riding on. But, like the TBH 
  vessels themselves, the adventure has some 
  optional passengers too. The final section here 
  contains some sub plots for extra material to 
  make the voyage a little more eventful. 
     A lot more eventful. 
  Space Travel In THE CAULDRON 
  ‘Three things will kill you out here. Radiation, 
  rocks and the rise.’ 
     The Cauldron is a stellar nursery. A huge 
  cloud of particulates and gas that, over 
  millennia, has formed the stars and planets of 
  the sector. 
     It’s not done yet. 
     The electromagnetic scream of birthing stars 
  is enough to kill outright anyone not wearing 
  a ‘THUG’ class industrial spacesuit or hiding 
  behind ten meters of shielding.  
     This is the first job the TBH vessels do: clear 
  paths through that radiation. The buoys that 
  the TBH vessels place contain 
  superconducting magnets in carefully 
  arranged fields to deflect the radiation away 
  from the shipping lanes. This is incredibly 
  power intensive, which in turn requires that 
  the magnets only be turned on for short 
  periods of time.  
     For most ships, travel in the Cauldron not 
  along a trade route takes twice the normal 
  time, and travel through a nebula takes three 
  times normal; both count as dangerous space 
  for the purposes of attribute checks. Travel 
  along a shipping lane takes place at normal 
  speeds and is considered friendly space. 
     The radiation of the Cauldron causes 
  radiation damage to anybody outside a vessel 
  not wearing a THUG-rated space suit. 
   
  Radiation Damage
  No Suit
  1d6/round
  Standard Spacesuit
  1d6/hour
  THUG Suit
  None
  TRAILBLAZER 
  9 HEAVY 
  ———————by Alasdair 
  Stuart
  The Trailblazer Heavy Fleet is old and designed to cut routes through 
  dangerous space. Now one has been sabotaged and sent on a runaway 
  course directly at an innocent world!
  
   
  Rocks 
  The aftermath of stellar creation is never tidy. 
  There are billions of tons of rocks scattered 
  throughout the Cauldron, everything from 
  dust mites to continental lumps. These are a 
  different but no less insidious danger for 
  shipping, and the second role the TBH vessels 
  fulfil. 
     TBH vessels are amongst the most heavily 
  armoured civilian ships in the Cauldron. They 
  also carry forward facing railguns and the 
  Maw. The Maw is, in essence, an array of 
  football field sized chainsaws. It deploys from 
  the front of the ship, tears the larger rocks 
  apart and guides them into the assembly line 
  that runs down the TBH’s spine. This is 
  complex, dangerous work, and rock wrangling 
  (rock wrangling is a skill) takes up most of the 
  first stage of any TBH ship‘s journey between 
  worlds. Once the holds are full of rock, buoy 
  production begins and the buoys deployed 
  from the ship’s stern. Once an area is 
  complete, they move on and repeat it until the 
  rocks are cleared or the journey is complete. 
     Using the Maw requires a Challenging [13] 
  AGI check to make sure your movements are 
  being mirrored by the building sized blades 
  you’re wielding. 
   
   
  The Rise 
  The Rise is the one thing that even TBH crews 
  fear. The Cauldron is never quiet and, 
  periodically, a region will ignite, with gasses 
  and other material cooking off as nuclear 
  reactions start and a new star begins to be 
  born. This process may take centuries but the 
  first stage is instantaneous. Massive waves 
  ripple through the Cauldron’s gasses, and 
  radiation spikes and firestorms break out 
  across the area. Smart ships run; unlucky ships 
  are never heard from again. 
     On any journey in the Cauldron not along a 
  shipping lane, roll 1d6. On a roll of 6, the Rise 
  occurs. The Rise takes three rounds to fully hit. 
  In the first, as the radiation levels spike the 
  ship takes an automatic 2d6 radiation damage 
  which can be soaked by the shields. In the 
  second round, the damage doubles to 4d6. In 
  the third, it doubles agains to 8d6.  
  The Trailblazer Fleet 
  The TBH vessels are over a hundred years old 
  and were designed to cut routes through the 
  nightmarish hazards that fill the space of the 
  Cauldron. Initially floating cities with crews of 
  over a thousand, they’ve been retrofitted to the 
  point where a crew of ten can now handle 
  everything needed to keep the vessel 
  
  operational and performing it’s two jobs: 
  clearing a path through the vast amount of 
  debris and hazards between the various 
  Cauldron systems, and defining shipping 
  lanes by deploying buoys. 
     The first task is achieved through a 
  combination of brute force and astrodynamics. 
  TB9H vessels have a ‘maw’, a huge, conical 
  hole with walls fifty metres thick. Made of 
  burnished asteroid rock, the maw is designed 
  to catch and process the larger debris.  
     Once the vessel has cut a path, it then defines 
  it for others to follow. This is done by 
  manufacturing triple purpose buoys. These 
  define legal shipping lanes, use electro-
  magnetic resonance to disrupt and scatter the 
  radiation fields and asteroids, and also act as 
  towers of refuge for stranded crews. 
     Essentially, Trailblazers are an automated 
  buoy assembly line with a lot of armour 
  around them. These assembly lines are 
  notoriously fussy, so they have to be manned; 
  and the crew in turn need accommodation and 
  more protection. These ships are expensive, 
  have never really been updated and are run on 
  a shoestring. As a result of that, they also serve 
  as ersatz Pony Expresses, running cargo 
  between their two destinations. Anything to 
  cut the amount a TBH goes into the red is 
  viewed as a worthwhile investment. 
  And not just by the governments that hire 
  them either.  
     TBH crews are lifers, men and women either 
  born into the work or who’ve found their way 
  there and never left. No one knows their huge, 
  quiet, labyrinthine vessels better than they do. 
  Crew members regularly go into business for 
  themselves, smuggling contraband, freight 
  and even people aboard their vessels. This is 
  criminal but the crews have a strict code of 
  honour that forbids them from smuggling 
  drugs or human trafficking.    
     As of the present day, nine of the ten original 
  TBH vessels are in regular service. They travel 
  constantly, either cutting routes or running 
  freight, and are a vital back channel of 
  communication for many of the outer 
  Cauldron worlds. 
  Timeline
  The following events will happen, assuming 
  the PCs do not interfere. 
  1.
  Captain Billi Romano of Trailblazer 9 
  Heavy will accept a contract to cut a 
  route between Orionis and Diana. 
  2.
  At the exact halfway point of the journey, 
  TB9H will malfunction and its engines 
  will accelerate past safety levels. 
  3.
  The ship will take severe damage from 
  the space debris that litters the Cauldron. 
  4.
  The ship will impact on Verbius, one of 
  Diana’s moons. The impact will kill the 
  crew, destroy TB9H and blow a third of 
  Verbius’ mass away. The resulting havoc 
  on Diana will lead to hundreds of 
  thousands of deaths and the economic 
  collapse of X. 
  What causes that malfunction is up to you. 
  The options you have are: 
     Strictly Business. Tired of the near 
  monopoly Diana has on energy production, 
  Tempest has planted two commandos 
  amongst the crew. The plan is to hack TB9H 
  so it smashes into Verbius, one of Diana’s 
  moons, destroying it. Once that happens the 
  tides will fall and Tempest will buy the 
  world cheap.  
     Shardhawk. There is no saboteur. Instead, 
  Trailblazer 9 Heavy has been infested over 
  the course of its time in active service with a 
  shardhawk, a creature from the same world 
  as the Houseki. This crystalline entity is 
  migratory and has fused with TB9H’s 
  computer. In doing so, it’s sensed another 
  shardhawk in Verbius, unable to break out of 
  its hatchery. It’s heading there to make 
  contact with it. The entity can be 
  communicated with psychically or directly if 
  the characters engage in a little smart 
  engineering. 
     Diana’s Sword. One of the passengers, 
  Idrin Hochalka is a Diana’s Sword plant 
  who has been ordered to sabotage the 
  engines. The thinking is that by destroying 
  or damaging Verbius, the ship will alter the 
  tides and help Diana’s Sword drive Zephyr 
  off world and lower the tides.
  
  The Crew & Passengers 
  Billi, and arguably Polk, are the only two 
  NPCs who are essential. The others can all be 
  swapped out for the characters (or have two of 
  them secretly be the Tempest commandos). 
  They’re provided here to give an idea of the 
  usual crew layout for TB9H. 
  Captain Billi Romano 
  Billi Romano is a 5’6, broad shouldered black 
  woman in her late 40s. She’s got cropped hair, 
  never wears anything with sleeves and always 
  has a baseball cap on that reads BORN THIS 
  GOOD with an image of TB9H under it. 
  First Mate Polk 
  Polk is a 7 foot tall, 6 foot wide wall of 
  crystalline muscle. He’s blue in colour and 
  moves with the same tinkle/grind noise all 
  Houseki do. He’s perennially in a muscle vest 
  that reads I KNOW I’M PRETTY and a pair of 
  combat trousers. 
  Navigator Scorch 
  Scorch is a small, well dressed human man in 
  his late 20s. His hands are a network of burn 
  marks and scoring although he seems to be 
  unusually dextrous. 
  Cargo Chief Yana Delancey 
  Yana Delancey never sits still. A small, precise 
  woman in her late 50s, she moves with the 
  unconscious grace of someone born in zero-g. 
  She has a shaved head, always wears TBH 
  coveralls and is never without her comms 
  headset. 
  Buoy Wrangler Tank Higgins 
  Tank Higgins is nine feet tall. Born on a low 
  gravity world Tank needs an exoframe to 
  function in normal gravity. He’s gotten very 
  comfortable with it and wears the cargo 
  handler all the time. He often idly juggles 
  crates and tries not to leave the suit wherever 
  possible. 
  Deck Hand Double 
  Double is/are twins, or at least that’s what the 
  crew tell you. One male, one female, both with 
  shaved heads and identical frames, they talk 
  the same way, finish each other’s sentences 
  and seem to know everything the other one 
  does. Deceptively strong for their small 5’3” 
  frames, Double works as a Deck hand and a 
  buoy wrangler. Although you never see them 
  both in the same place at the same time… 
  Deck Hand Jax 
  Jax is one of the most powerfully built people 
  on the ship and works very hard to hide it. She 
  hunches, tries hard not to stand her full height 
  at all times but has incredible presence and 
  physicality. She’s also cautious, keeping the 
  others at arm’s reach even though she’s be on 
  board a year. 
  Paﬆor Moran (Passenger) 
  Daniel Moran is a Priest of the Fifth, a church 
  sect who believe that only a fifth of God is 
  present at any one time in the universe. They 
  also believe that the fifth is incarnated 
  somewhere and intend to track it down. 
  Chef Idrin Hochalka (Passenger) 
  Idrin Hochalka is the number one chef on 
  Diana. Recording a new travel show about life 
  outside the system, Idrin’s charming frame 
  and cheerful nature are disarming even as he 
  gets under foot. He can certainly cook though. 
  A tall, broad man with a goatee beard, he 
  perennially has a towel over one shoulder, a 
  camera rig on the other and a chef’s jacket on. 
  
  The Route 
  Trailblazer 9 Heavy is travelling 
  from Orionis to Diana, through 
  the Serpent Nebula, a journey 
  of 15 parsecs, including 2 
  parsecs of nebula travel. 
  Lacking an existing shipping 
  lane, this journey is effectively 
  one of 32 parsecs, roughly a 
  month’s travel at FTL-10. 
  Orionis (G12-l3M-
  C9iii-5ckB) 
  A white and blue world, sixth from 
  its star and surrounded by a large 
  ring of debris. It has no satellites. 
  Orionis is a cold world, distant 
  from its sun. The oceans are 
  frozen over but still accessible 
  and early colonies were under 
  water to protect from radiation 
  storms. Once technology 
  improved to the extent 
  buildings could be shielded, 
  the Orionisians headed back to 
  land. 
  Orionis is recovering from 
  what’s termed a ‘Sparta Event’. 
  This is a common moment in 
  the lifetime of outlying, 
  isolated colonies where they 
  initially idolize and then turn 
  entirely in on their own armed 
  forces. For the last decade, Orionis has had 
  mandatory military service for all citizens, a 
  series of inter-state wars, and a single, 
  disastrous attempt at launching a war with 
  another world. 
     Their single battleship, bought from one of 
  the corporations, was shut down immediately. 
     This was the cold glass of water to the face 
  that Orionis desperately needed. The military 
  government fell, the nations of the world 
  regained a measure of sovereignty and the 
  planet took stock of just what it had done. 
  Almost an entire generation had been lost to 
  various wars, they were the laughing stock of 
  their region and they only had themselves to 
  blame. 
     What’s followed is a lot of very cautious, 
  very unsure diplomacy. Most surrounding 
  worlds want absolutely nothing to do with 
  Orionis. The corporations rent most of 
  Orionis’s armed forces as on-site security, and 
  the combat sport leagues of the Cauldron are 
  dominated by Orionis fighters, but aside from 
  that they’re pariahs. Worse, they’ve become 
  jokes in some circles. Every world has a 
  Spartan Moment but Orionis has committed 
  the sin of having their Spartan Moment 
  recently. 
     The planet is now ruled by a single, 
  democratically elected government who are 
  trying to work out where to begin with the 
  rebuilding process. There have already been 
  inroads by several munitions firms but Orionis 
  wants, and needs, to expand what it does. In 
  order to do that, the government has to open 
  trade negotiations. In order for that to happen, 
  they need to find a trading partner who will 
  take them seriously and that just hasn’t 
  happened. 
     Until now. 
     Diana’s government needs security, it needs 
  workers and it needs someone who isn’t the 
  corporations. They need Orionis as badly as 
  
  Orionis needs a trading partner and there are 
  few trading partners better than Diana. But a 
  direct route needs to be cut and that’s where 
  Trailblazer 9 Heavy comes in. 
  Diana (B5-m4M-I9v-2cpB) 
  A large, sunny world with two moons. There are 
  three primary landmasses, named Athena, Artemis 
  and Hera, each of which is half flooded every day. 
  Diana is the least likely success story in the 
  Cauldron. It’s a world with two very close, 
  very large moons: Egeria and Verbius. As a 
  result of their complex interactions, Diana 
  suffers inconceivably huge tides with waves of 
  up to 1,000 feet tall hitting and burying the 
  coastal regions every day.  
     As a result, only the central, highest points of 
  each continent are settled. Although, in several 
  cases, foolhardy adventure seekers have gone 
  into the Tidelands. There are stories of the 
  tides unearthing huge, alien vaults filled with 
  riches. None of these stories have ever been 
  confirmed. Because none of the people who go 
  looking for the vaults return. 
     Despite these horrifying conditions, Diana is 
  a thriving hub of commerce and culture. This 
  is because of the planet-wide tidal power 
  generators that cover Diana. That harvested 
  energy is in turn used by Zephyr, one of the 
  largest power pack manufacturers in the 
  Cauldron, as well as being exported to other 
  systems directly via TBH-cut shipping routes. 
  Of course, humanity being humanity, there are 
  other consequences of the tides and the 
  
  mythical names the world and its moons have. 
  Rumours persist that Diana is home to a sect 
  of female warriors who have taken it upon 
  themselves to maintain law and order in the 
  nearby systems. Rumours of their presence 
  remain unconfirmed, and many speculate that 
  they may be a myth wrapped around a 
  deniable corporate mercenary team.      
     Regardless, one island, Hervor, named for 
  the Viking shield maiden from the Hervarar 
  saga, is interesting. The tidal power stations 
  ring it, it’s listed as having a monitoring staff 
  of only five, and yet somehow has a functional 
  spaceport with frequent launches to high 
  orbit… 
     Other esoteric groups have very different 
  views of Diana. A group of daredevils are 
  working out how to surf the thousand foot 
  high waves and live while Diana’s Sword, a 
  group of extremist environmentalists, are 
  convinced the world is intelligent and does not 
  want them there. They have carried out 
  several direct actions against the power plants 
  and it’s only a matter of time before they kill 
  someone. 
     Maybe not very much time at all… 
  Serpent Nebula 
  The Serpent Nebula is a not a naturally 
  occurring phenomenon. It is a remnant of the 
  Seven-Year War between the First Union and 
  the Drahzik Concordant which rocked the 
  Cauldon in times past. The Cauldron is 
  lettered with wrecks which provide a living 
  for scrapers, and radiation hotspots which 
  interfere with navigation systems and tend to 
  make crews sick. 
  Act 1: All Aboard! 
  If this is your first adventure in The Cauldron, 
  then TB9H works pretty well as a roaming 
  campaign base. The optional plots detailed 
  later could make for further adventures and 
  it’s not like the ship isn’t constantly moving. 
  Alternately, if you want to get your characters 
  aboard from an established campaign, then 
  consider one of the following. 
     On The Run. They’ve annoyed someone 
  they shouldn’t have and need to lie low for a 
  while. 
     Broke. The characters need money and Billi’s 
  always hiring. The job pays 1,000cr each. 
     Incognito. The characters need to get to 
  Diana or somewhere nearby quietly and TB9H 
  is their ride. 
     Skiptracing. The characters have got word 
  that Jane ’Jackhammer’ Devries, the CFA 
  athlete who skipped out on a title fight and 
  cost the organization billions, is on board. 
  Their job is to go undercover, find her and 
  bring her in for the 5,000cr reward.  
     All these options work, so go with whatever 
  works best for you. Regardless, use Act 1 as a 
  means of getting the characters introduced to 
  the ship and their duties. TB9H may not have 
  a big crew anymore but they are always, 
  always busy. 
     The characters’ duties for the first act of the 
  adventure are an unusual combination of 
  dangerous and mundane. Over the course of 
  the first week out, they’re required to do what 
  every TBH crewmember does: whatever’s 
  needed. 
     The best way to run this first Act is as a 
  means of walking your characters through the 
  situation you’re about to trap them in. Use as 
  much as you want from the list below, throw 
  in interactions with the crew and whatever 
  subplots you desire. Then, just as you’ve lulled 
  them into a false sense of security, hit them 
  with Act 2. 
  Aﬆeroid Clearance 
  Your characters get to shoot very large asteroid 
  suppression systems. There are, of course, 
  inter-crew competitions and endless trash 
  talking while everyone’s doing this. Lots of 
  opportunities to drop in other sub plots too. 
  Maybe Jane’s unusually good at it. Maybe the 
  lights flicker every time a crystalline mineral 
  deposit is blown apart, that sort of thing. 
   
  E.V.A. 
  Once the big rocks are broken down, someone 
  has to go outside. Guess who?  
     Duties involve checking the Maw for 
  damage, repairing it where necessary and 
  removing parts where not. It’s not uncommon 
  for ‘beachcombing’ crew members to find 
  nuggets of precious metals out here. If you’re 
  using the shardhawk, have them find an 
  unusual amount of crystals too. Anyone 
  tracing the crystals back through the ship will 
  find they terminate in the central computer 
  core with the shardhawk. Its discovery will 
  kick off the events of Act 2. 
  
   
  Working the Maw 
  This is a four person job that requires two 
  people to work the ‘mandibles’ and two to 
  make sure the Maw line is clear. If too large a 
  rock gets dragged in, that can block the line 
  which slows down buoy production and no 
  one’s happy. 
  Crows Neﬆ 
  A pressurised bubble deployed 500 meters 
  above TB9H when it’s stationary, the crow’s 
  nest is a last line of defence. It has a master 
  over-ride for the asteroid cannons, a secondary 
  sensor suite and a log buoy in the event of the 
  ship being lost. The officer who works the 
  Crows Nest must remain suited at all times 
  and alert. Not easy when everyone else is 
  having fun with the big toys. 
  Buoy Set Up 
  The buoys are three storey tall magnetic 
  generators and small scale lifeboats. They are 
  cold launched from the aft of TB9H and self-
  steer into position. Except for when they don’t. 
  So characters will be spending some time 
  hauling around small houses in zero gravity 
  (Challenging [13] STR or AGI rolls galore) and 
  then doing the internal walkthroughs to make 
  sure they’re online. 
  Research & Inspiration 
  The following books, comics, movies, and 
  games provide great research material for 
  GMs looking to portray life in a deep space 
  vessel. 
  Books 
  Orbital Decay. Allen Steele’s debut novel is a 
  great look at blue collar life in space and 
  what happens when your loyalty collides 
  with your mission. 
  The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet/A Close 
  and Common Orbit. Becky Chambers’ two 
  linked novels are far more overtly futuristic 
  in some ways than TB9H. The crew 
  dynamics are absolutely what you should 
  aim for here though. 
  Comics 
  Southern Cross. Cloonan, Belanger and 
  Loughridge’s story of worrying events on a 
  long haul freighter was a huge influence on 
  this module. 
  Movies 
  Dark Star. John Carpenter’s debut movie is 
  also an early dry run for Alien for 
  scriptwriter Dan O’Bannon. Slow, dated but 
  a great look at blue collar space life. 
  Alien. See above. 
  The Abyss. DeepCore is way smaller than 
  TB9H but the feral nature of the crew and the 
  design work is pretty much spot on. 
  Games 
  Dead Space. Ignore the shrieky stabby 
  monsters and focus on the gloriously huge 
  and derelict industrial spacecraft. A big 
  influence on TB9H. 
  Television 
  Red Dwarf. The original ‘Endearingly rubbish 
  people in spaaaace!’ show. The early seasons 
  are especially good to get an idea of what 
  TBXH life is like. 
  Firefly. TBXH crews aren’t as together as the 
  Serenity’s family, but they’d like to be. 
  Doctor Who: 42. The terrors of being on a very 
  large, very broken spacecraft are especially 
  nicely handled in this episode. 
  
  Act 2: Fun  & Games 
  After a hard two weeks of hacking and 
  smashing their way through the route to 
  Diana, the crew have reached Midway. The 
  Midway Feast traditionally takes place in the 
  Biospine and is a chance for the crew to relax, 
  kick back and reflect on the back breaking 
  work they’ve just done. 
     As a GM, this is your opportunity to throw 
  all kinds of fun and games at them. The 
  optional plots included give you lots of fun 
  stuff to do here but there’s also a chance for 
  some good roleplaying too. This is the first 
  time the crew have had off duty that wasn’t 
  sleeping and the party gets raucous really fast. 
  Some fun stuff that you can throw in includes: 
  • Polk singing some astoundingly filthy 
  Houseki songs on request. Which, if you’re 
  going for the shatterhawk option, wakes it 
  up. 
  • Tank leaving his exosuit for the first time 
  since the characters met him to reveal limbs 
  absolutely covered in tattoos. These include 
  the names and coordinates of everywhere 
  he’s been, Houseki crime family tattoos, two 
  corporate logos (in white, which shows he 
  served time in their prisons) and a name: 
  Peter Finch. When pressed all he’ll say is 
  that Finch is ‘the reason he’s there’. 
  • Scorch turning out to be an extraordinary 
  chef, even though he still isn’t talking to 
  anyone. 
  • Double carrying on the same conversation 
  with the characters even though they’re 
  certain they’ve talked to both of him/her. 
  • Jax and Chief Delancey getting into a heated 
  argument when Jax refuses to arm wrestle 
  her. Incidentally if any characters persuade 
  her to arm wrestle them it’s an opposed STR 
  check; the first to three victories wins. 
  • Captain Monroe leading the crew in a 
  rousing chorus of ‘Fine Thochi Ladies’. 
  • If you’ve folded in Jape of the Decade (see 
  below) then triggering it now is going to be 
  fun. And by fun we mean awful and 
  horrifying. Although if your characters 
  figure out that the shatter plants can be 
  used to suck up the oxygen in in the 
  Biospine then reward them heavily. 
  You can work as much of this in here as you 
  like but sooner or later, TB9H will get 
  underway again. The moment it does, it 
  accelerates to full speed and keeps going. The 
  ship immediately starts to shake apart and the 
  characters must shut it down before it destroys 
  
  itself and, as they’ll find out when they go to 
  Flight Control, Verbius too.  
     There are three places where the problem can 
  be solved: flight control, the engine room, or 
  the computer core. Details of what you can 
  find at each one is included below.  But first, a 
  quick note about getting around the ship. 
     Between the Biospine and everywhere else 
  there are countless pressure doors. Whether or 
  not these are open or not is entirely up to you. 
  It makes sense for the ship to get more 
  dangerous as it accelerates past safety limits so 
  maybe hold some of those ‘We need to get the 
  door open, now!’ style moments for then. 
  Never let your players slow down; always 
  keep them working. 
  Flight Control 
  Flight control is the easiest part of the ship to 
  get to from the Biospine. This is the bridge, 
  where the ship’s flight crew coordinate 
  maneuvers for the colossal vessel. It’s well lit, 
  has a panoramic front window that is cracked, 
  chipped and covered in graffiti around the 
  corners and looks like the cab of a very large, 
  very busy, very old truck. 
  Saboteur.  If Idrin is your saboteur then here’s 
  what your characters will find when they go 
  looking. The first four clues will be very 
  obvious. The next four will be findable via 
  Challenging [13] INT rolls. Any deductive skill 
  can be added to this. 
  • The guidance computer has been 
  programmed to ‘dock’ the ship with 
  Verbius, one of Diana’s two moons, at full 
  speed. 
  • The ship’s safety programs have all been 
  bypassed and are being controlled by an 
  external unit. 
  • The subspace radio has been torn out of its 
  housing. 
  • A new course has been entered, aiming for 
  Verbius, one of Diana’s moons. 
  The following can be discovered via 
  Challenging [13] INT checks or any hacking or 
  computer relevant skill. 
  • The flight controls have been cut using a 
  very sharp knife. Closer examination will 
  reveal the cut pattern is identical to Idrin’s 
  boning knife. 
  • The acceleration limiter has been 
  overridden, apparently via an external 
  device of some sort. 
  • A single transmission has been sent from 
  TB9H to Diana. The messages reads ‘It’s 
  done’. 
  • That transmission and the new course were 
  both laid in from a terminal near the galley. 
  • Security camera footage will show Idrin 
  entering the bridge and sabotaging the 
  vessel. 
  Shardhawk. If you’ve gone with the 
  shardhawk as the culprit then the following 
  evidence is found. 
  The course for Verbius has been entered 
  from within the system, not via an external 
  terminal. It’s as if the computer 
  reprogrammed itself. 
  The acceleration limiter has been burnt out. 
  The ship’s subspace radio is on and active 
  and very loud, repeating what seems to be a 
  static call over and over. 
  The ‘Spud’ Guns 
  Everything on the TBXH vessels is designed 
  around the rocks they work with including 
  the weapons that protect them. The ‘Spud 
  Guns’ are turrets that line the spine and 
  ventral run of the TBXH vessel and are 
  designed to use rock offcuts fired at 
  supersonic velocity to destroy larger rocks. 
  Their damage is as follows:
     
  25 x Duffy Avionics Spud Guns (range 1; 
  damage 3d6 ballistic; attack +0d6)
     
  The Spud Guns are huge, turreted affairs 
  which gimble and turn in order to target 
  effectively.  
     In addition, the ship has a point defense 
  network of eight Ultrastellar Railguns slaved 
  to the central guidance system that are 
  constantly working.
  In Houseki myth, shardhawks were the 
  natural equivalent of the Trailblazer ships. 
  Huge, carapaced space going creatures that 
  cleared paths between the worlds and 
  enabled the Houseki to spread into space. 
  They were supposed to have died out 
  centuries ago…
  
  And this is what the characters can figure out 
  with Challenging [13] INT rolls. 
  • There are small veins of crystal running 
  through the hole where the subspace radio 
  was. If they take other panels off they can 
  trace these back to the central computer core 
  cable duct. 
  • The signal is Houseki in nature and shares 
  some similarities with Polk’s humming. If 
  this issue is raised with Polk or if there are 
  any Houseki or psychic characters in the 
  group, they get a very clear image of 
  Verbius and something glowing beneath its 
  surface. Any Houseki who make a 
  Challenging [13] INT roll will figure out it’s a 
  shardhawk. 
  The Computer Core 
  The computer core is the only room on TB9H 
  taller than one storey. A huge, cylindrical 
  server farm it’s precise, clean and silent.  
  Saboteur. The following evidence is instantly 
  discoverable. 
  • The computer core has been accessed from a 
  corridor that leads to the guest quarters. 
  • The computer core is noticeably warmer 
  than it should be. 
  • A bypass device has been wired into one 
  terminal. It uses a Dianian power supply. 
  The following evidence can be found via 
  Challenging [13] INT rolls. 
  • Idrin’s fingerprints are on the door and the 
  bypass device. 
  • The bypass system is corporate level 
  equipment and is fitted with an anti-tamper 
  device. Whoever wants TB9H and Verbius 
  dead is working for one of the corporations. 
    
  Shardhawk. If you’re using the Shardhawk 
  the PCs find out the following straight away. 
  • Every vent in the computer core is broken 
  open, the crystals they saw on the bridge 
  pouring out of them. 
   
  The crystals are electrically charged and will 
  do 1d6 electricity damage if touched. Psychics 
  picking them up will get a strong emotional 
  sense; either pain, desperation or longing. 
     Down here, the psychic signal is even 
  stronger. Again, there’s an image of Verbius 
  with something glowing and moving inside it. 
  Difficult [16] INT checks will reveal it’s another 
  shardhawk. Houseki characters get +1d6 to 
  that check. 
  
     The shardhawk has grown into the central 
  computer core. It’s in agony and partially 
  fused with the system, using it as an ersatz 
  nervous system. It will lash out if it appears 
  threatened but a successful Psychic Suggestion 
  or Telepathic Message usage will enable the 
  characters to communicate with it. 
  The Engine Room 
  One of the longest rooms in the ship, the 
  Engine Room runs directly underneath the 
  buoy assembly line. Vast pipes drag the fuel 
  cracked out of the asteroids down from the 
  buoy line into reactors almost a mile long. The 
  noise is deafening and single person cable cars 
  run on a constant loop to help crew get from 
  one end to the other in a hurry. 
  Saboteur. The following is easily discoverable. 
  • Every console has been sabotaged, ensuring 
  the engines can’t be slowed down. Again 
  this is being done from an external device. 
  • The saboteur has opened every valve in the 
  buoy line and huge chunks of unprocessed 
  rock are being dropped into the ship’s 
  ignition chambers. This means characters 
  must make a Routine [10] AGI check every 
  turn to stay upright as the ride gets 
  progressively choppier. 
  The following is discoverable via Challenging 
  [13] INT checks. 
  • The saboteur is still in there. Jump straight 
  to THUG Suits in Chapter 3. 
  • The valves can be shut off but at least the 
  first two have been booby trapped. 
  Challenging [13] LOG checks are needed to 
  defuse them; a failure causes 3d6 electricity 
  damage to the defuser. 
  • A THUG suit is missing. The saboteur is 
  planning to make an escape. 
  Shardhawk. The following is easily 
  discoverable. 
  • There is a cloud of noxious asteroid dust 
  and gas filling the Engine Room. This will 
  do 1d6 poison damage to characters per 
  turn and cuts visibility down drastically. 
  The shardhawk has cut into the gas inlets. 
   
  Any psychic character entering the room must 
  make a Challenging [13] PSI check or take 1d6 
  amount of damage. They get an image of a 
  glowing, mobile, crystalline form underneath 
  the surface of Verbius’ largest crater. They also 
  get the clear impression of screaming. 
     The following can be found out via 
  Challenging [13] INT or relevant deductive skill 
  checks: 
  • The shardhawk is tearing parts of itself off 
  to feed into the engines to speed them up. 
  • The shardhawk is in agony and will lash out 
  at anyone who gets too close. 
  • Most of the consoles around it have been 
  smashed but Challenging [13] LOG 
  (engineering) checks can jury rig an engine 
  shut down. 
  • The crystals are all aligned towards the 
  Maw. The shardhawk must have been hit by 
  TB9H and its crystals embedded in the Maw 
  and slowly worked backwards over 
  decades. 
  The Engine Room has been badly damaged 
  and, worse, is shaking itself apart. If you’re 
  using the shardhawk, then it will open to 
  vacuum in three turns. If you’re using Idrin, 
  he’s placed shaped charges that he will 
  detonate if he sees people approach him. 
  Ticking Clocks 
  This adventure has to be down to the wire. So, 
  any time your players slow down, throw one 
  of these challenges at them. 
  • Oncoming asteroids. Someone has to fire the 
  suppression cannons. There are 1d6 
  asteroids, with DEFENSE 15 and 30 
  HEALTH. Form a 3d6 slow countdown 
  which represents the incoming asteroids. If 
  it reaches zero, the remaining asteroid(s) 
  strike the ship, and kill a random 
  crewmember.  
  • Pastor Moran kidnaps Jax, convinced she’s 
  Jackhammer. This is, in fact, true. 
  • Pastor Moran attacks the characters, 
  worried they’ll steal his bounty. 
  • Jax herself. The truth is, she is the missing 
  CFA athlete and ducked out of her fight 
  because of the illegal combat enhancements 
  she’s been fitted with. Jax wants to win fair 
  and square, but the cybernetics firm and the 
  mobsters who financed her work see things 
  very differently. Regardless, with her 
  boosted strength and stamina, she’s a 
  powerful ally or enemy, and the characters 
  
  will get to choose which during the closing 
  stages of the adventure. 
  • Booby traps set by the saboteur and waves 
  of psychic assaults from the shardhawk. The 
  ship is shaking itself apart from within and 
  outside, so your characters are going to 
  have to work fast and be adaptable. 
  
  Act 3 
  Act 3 is where the two possible 
  plots diverge. If you’ve gone 
  for either saboteur option, then 
  go to THUG SUITS. If you’ve 
  gone for the shardhawk, go to 
  VACUUM HARMONICS. 
  THUG SUITS 
  Both possible saboteurs have 
  the same escape plan: run to 
  the stern of TB9H and deploy a 
  buoy from there. With the 
  Engine Room and assembly 
  line filling with gas, the only 
  option is to risk a run down the 
  outside of the vessel. The 
  commandos will be picked up 
  long before any search parties 
  get to them. Idrin will simply 
  be able to tell the ‘truth’; he 
  was a guest who was thrown 
  overboard as the heroic act of a 
  dying crew. 
     Your characters have two 
  possible reasons for pursuing 
  them: either to capture and 
  bring them to justice or to 
  retrieve the override for the 
  computer. That’s the good 
  news. The bad news is that the 
  saboteur has stolen a THUG 
  suit and is making a run for it down the 
  ventral spine of TB9H. 
  Outside. 
     The chase down the spine should be like a 
  journey through hell. The rocks are coming 
  thick and fast, the radiation counter’s spiking 
  and if your characters are chasing the 
  commandos, they will be firing as they go. 
  Throw everything you can at your characters, 
  including: 
  • Someone gets knocked off the ship and has 
  to be rescued. 
  • Improvised booby traps dropped by the 
  saboteur. 
  • Asteroid impact. 
  • The Rise (You mean you haven’t thrown this 
  at them already?) 
  When they make their way to the last buoy, 
  again, you have two choices: 
  THUG life 
  Trailblazer Heavy Usage Garments are the 
  last line of defence for the crew. THUG suits 
  are heavily modified, and expanded, old 
  models of Naval armour designed to be 
  outside for extended periods of team. 
     They’ve been reconfigured to move faster 
  on all fours, magnetic locks in the palms, 
  knees and feet ensuring that the wearer is 
  attached to the hull at all times. This gives 
  the wearer an extra d6 on all movement rolls 
  outside the ship. 
     The idea is THUG Suits are used if the 
  crew have to evacuate in a hurry. The reality 
  is no TBXH crew working would leave their 
  ship if there was the slightest chance it could 
  be saved or people would die if they left. So, 
  THUG Suits tend to gather dust aside from 
  the odd drunken race and long range EVA 
  SOAK 8 (12 vs radiation); Cost 5,000cr; Type 
  Heavy; Weight 165lb; Avail 9A; powered
  
  • The saboteur escapes. The characters can go 
  after them but if they do they won’t be able 
  to get back aboard TB9H. That’s not a deal 
  breaker (especially if previous attempts to 
  brake have been successful) but it won’t go 
  down well with the crew. 
  • The saboteur is caught. If you’ve gone with 
  the idea they have a device on them 
  overriding the ship’s safety measures then 
  congratulations! The ship is saved! If you’re 
  not then the characters still have some work 
  to do. 
  VACUUM HARMONICS 
  If you’re using the Shardhawk as your 
  ‘saboteur’ then things get really interesting 
  once TB9H breaks through to Diana. Listing 
  and badly damaged, the vessel will be 
  dragged towards Verbius by the shardhawk. 
  It’s half mad with pain and will break TB9H 
  and Verbius apart to free it and its mate. 
  There are three options for your characters 
  here: 
  • Psychic link. A series of contested rolls will 
  convince the shardhawk to not kill itself. It 
  will, however, burn an extraordinary 
  amount of its body mass to slow down and 
  enter Verbius orbit. This will cause immense 
  discomfort to any psychics aboard and 
  cause the ship 2d6 damage. For extra 
  tension, maybe have the Dianian navy be 
  aware of TB9H’s course and preparing to 
  blow it out of the sky as your characters are 
  frantically reasoning with the Shardhawk. 
  • Bargain. The characters could convince the 
  shardhawk to spare Verbius on the 
  condition its cut free from TB9H and its 
  mate is released from Verbius. That’s going 
  to be a lot of work and a LOT of meetings 
  but the PR victory for Billi, Diana and 
  Orionis is going to be colossal. 
  • The Needs of the One. The characters could 
  persuade Billi and her crew to abandon 
  their BIlli’s a good person and while she’ll 
  mourn TB9H, she’ll readily accept that 
  sacrificing her ship is for the greater good. 
  Regardless of which option you choose, unless 
  your characters can convince the shardhawk to 
  slow down or the saboteur to give them the 
  override code then they’re going to have to 
  actually slow the ship themselves. Here are 
  some ways to do that: 
  • Collision. The ship is still, just, steerable. A 
  series of Challenging [13] AGI rolls using 
  piloting skills will drive it, maw first into 
  the nearest big rock. TBXH vessels are 
  almost unkillable so the chances of it 
  surviving are pretty high. The chancers of 
  the characters having to run like Hell 
  through a collapsing, crashing ship are even 
  higher… 
  • Brakes. A similar option is to run to the ship 
  into a variety of smaller rocks, putting it 
  into a dead spin but at the same time 
  throwing it off course. Then all the crew 
  would have to do is put out fires, get a deck 
  of cards and wait. Unless doing this has 
  woken anything else nasty onboard of 
  course… 
  • Vacuum Breaking. A series of Difficult [16] 
  AGI and STR rolls will allow the characters 
  to steer TB9H at rocks and slow it down 
  through collision and anchoring it in place 
  with the Maw blades. Again, it’s going to be 
  a hellaciously bumpy ride but with a few 
  hundred thousand tons of rock banging 
  along with it, TB9H will at least slow down. 
  • Aerobraking. Challenging [13] AGI checks 
  will be needed to drop the ship into Diana’s 
  upper atmosphere, hold it together as it 
  burns and ‘skip’ it off the atmosphere into a 
  stable orbit. 
  Aftermath 
  If the saboteur has been captured or their 
  identity can be proved then the scandal will 
  rock Dianian society to the core and start a low 
  level corporate war. The characters will be 
  front and centre as character witnesses and 
  targets for both bribery and assassination. 
     If the shardhawk has been convinced to not 
  break itself free then, again, the characters will 
  be asked to explain what happened. They’ll be 
  aboard TB9H when Billi authorises the ship to 
  be disassembled around the creature and will 
  both help with that and the effort to excavate 
  the one trapped on Verbius. Again, there’ll be a 
  lot of corporate attention on both sites. Not to 
  mention the oher TBH crews who will come in 
  to assist the reconstruction of TB9H. The two 
  shardhawks will begin to bond, and 
  eventually, form a third moon. A Houseki 
  delegation will arrive to help nurse them and 
  Diana will have gained an unexpected but 
  very useful trading partner. 
     If the saboteur succeeded in destroying 
  Verbius then the ecological damage on Diana 
  
  will be incalculable. Flash floods, mega 
  tsunamis and asteroid strikes will hit planet 
  wide, hundreds of thousands will die and 
  Zephyr will move off world. They will also 
  track down the people responsible and take 
  very public vengeance. The characters will 
  almost certainly be involved either as a target 
  or as possible accomplices. 
     If the shardhawk tore itself free of TB9H and 
  its mate tore free of Verbius then there’ll still 
  be wide-scale destruction but the moon will 
  remain largely intact. 
     If Moran gets off ship with Jax, a news story 
  will run talking about how Jane ’Jackhammer’ 
  Devries has resurfaced and the title fight is 
  back on. Jane is, of course, unavailable for 
  comment. 
     If the characters help Jax stay off the radar 
  she’ll owe them a big favour. And the 
  Orionisian Cybernetics firm that built her 
  combat enhancements will be very, very 
  unhappy. 
     Regardless of your choice, the characters will 
  have served their tour on TB9H and be free to 
  return home. They’ll be given a mission patch 
  from the ship and a code word they can give to 
  any TBH crewmember in settled space. That 
  word certifies them safe passage and work on 
  any vessel at any time. 
  Jape of the Decade  
  This is an optional sub-plot. 
     Captain Joseph Romano runs TB10H. He’s 
  Captain Billi Romano’s younger brother. 
  He’s never really got over that. 
     When a mail delivery is ‘accidentally’ sent 
  to TB10H instead of TB9H, Billi suspects 
  trouble. When it’s redelivered and fires 
  ambulatory, shrieking shatter plants from 
  Thochi all over the vessels, her worst fears 
  are confirmed. 
     The Prank War is back on. 
     The characters must track down and 
  capture the shatter plants before they sprout 
  and cover the entire vessel. Once they’re 
  back under control, Billi calls a council of 
  war. She explains that she and Joe have done 
  this for years but an uneasy cease fire was 
  called around the time of the last family 
  dinner. That ceasefire is now over. 
     TB10H is in the Diana system, 
  moonlighting as a freighter. Once TB9H is 
  repaired, they’re going to meet up. Joe is 
  going to be expecting trouble. 
     He’s not going to be expecting having his 
  ship stolen with him aboard. 
     Billi’s open to suggestions so anything the 
  characters come up with is very much on the 
  table. In case they don’t have anything, she 
  does: 
     They’re going to swap ships.  
     Billi is going to drink her brother under the 
  table. The characters are going to feed 
  knockout gas into TB10H. Then, they’re 
  going to transfer the entire crew across to 
  TB9H, along with all their belongings. 
     Oh and the shatter plants in a sealed, timed 
  release capsule. 
     The characters will have to: 
  • Fend off the counter pranks from the 
  TB10H crew. 
  • Transport them across. 
  • Deal with any nasty surprises aboard 
  TB10H.  
  • And then get out of system, fast. Because 
  no one holds grudges like TBH crews. 
  And Joseph is even more creative than his 
  sister…  
  
  APPENDIX: NPCs & 
  MONSTERS 
  Here are complete breakdowns for the crew of 
  TB9H, the two Tempest Corp saboteurs and 
  the two optional passengers, plus the shatter 
  plants and the shardhawk. They’re presented 
  here in full, but use as many as you need. 
  Chances are the characters, and the saboteurs, 
  will take some of these people’s places. 
  Captain Billi Romano 
  Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) 
   
  Captain of TB9H and queen of all she 
  surveys. 
   
  STR 6 (3d6)  AGI 5 (2d6)  END 6 (3d6)     
  INT 7 (3d6)  LOG 5 (2d6)  WIL 7 (3d6) CHA 8 
  (3d6)  LUC 3 (2d6) REP 7 (3d6) 
   
  HEALTH 22 
  MELEE DEFENSE 12; RANGED DEFENSE 
  10; MENTAL DEFENSE 21 
  SOAK 2 (overalls); VULN -     
   
  INITIATIVE 5d6 
  PERCEPTION 5d6 
  SPEED 5; CLIMB 4; ZERO-G 4;  JUMP 10’/6’ 
  CARRY 120lb (max lift 300lb) 
   
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'    
   
  Brawling 5d6 (1d6+3 blunt damage)                    
                                                                    
  Skills accounting 2 (1d6), law 3 (2d6), tactics 3 
  (2d6), brawling 4 (2d6), light armour 5 
  (2d6), perception 4 (2d6), zero-g 6 
  (3d6), climbing 3 (2d6), leadership 9 
  (3d6), astrogation 6 (3d6) 
  Gear Spacesuit, baseball cap, pocket knife 
   
  Trailblazer Captain. Without the TBXH 
  crews, no one flies. Once at any 
  spaceport location, Billi can 
  automatically win a single social 
  contested roll. 
  Platoon Leader. Billi can grant her entire 
  party a +1d6 INITIATIVE bonus as long as 
  they are within 30’ of her. 
  Chef Idrin Hochalka 
  Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) 
  A gourmet chef on the way back to his 
  home restaurant. 
  STR 8 (3d6)  AGI 7 (3d6)  END 7 (3d6)     
  INT 6 (3d6)  LOG 6 (3d6)  WIL 10 
  (4d6) CHA 6 (3d6)  LUC 3 (2d6) REP 5 (2d6) 
  HEALTH 20     
  MELEE DEFENSE 11; RANGED 
  DEFENSE 11; MENTAL DEFENSE 14 
  SOAK 0; VULN -     
  INITIATIVE 3d6 
  PERCEPTION 4d6      
  SPEED 6; CLIMB 3; ZERO-G 4; JUMP 14’/8’ 
  CARRY 130lb (max lift 400lb)     
  
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'           
  Laser pistol 3d6 (1d6+4 heat damage; range 
  10) 
  Knives 5d6 (2d6+2 piercing damage)                
                                                            
  Skills knives  4 (2d6), brawling  2 
  (1d6), intimidate 1 (1d6), stealth 2 
  (1d6), thievery 3 (2d6), zero-g 1 (1d6), bluffing 1 
  (2d6), cooking 3 (2d6),  
  Gear knives, override device, comm link 
   
  Chef’s knives. As a chef, Idrin knows exactly 
  how to cut meat. Against mammals, every hit 
  from his lives pushes the target one step down 
  the Bleeding status track. 
  Corporate Commando 1 
  Medium sentient humanoid (6d6) 
  A Tempest Commando, short, dark haired, 
  excels at violence. 
  STR 7 (3d6)  AGI 4 (2d6)  END 10 (4d6)     
  INT 10 (4d6)  LOG 4 (2d6)  WIL 8 
  (3d6) CHA 3 (2d6)  LUC 2 (1d6) REP 1 (1d6) 
  HEALTH  26 
  MELEE DEFENSE 14 ; RANGED DEFENSE 
  14 ; MENTAL DEFENSE 14 
  SOAK 5 (flak jacket); VULN -     
  INITIATIVE 6d6 
  PERCEPTION 6d6   
  SPEED 5; CLIMB 3; ZERO-G 4; JUMP 8’/7’ 
  CARRY 170lb (max lift 350lb)     
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'         
  High quality laser pistol 6d6 (1d6+4 heat 
  damage; range 10) 
  Martial arts 5d6 (1d6+3 blunt damage) 
  Skills reactions 5 (2d6), dodging 4 (2d6) martial 
  arts 4 (2d6), pistols 4 (2d6), rifles 3 (2d6), heavy 
  armor 3 (2d6), perception 3 (2d6), insight 3 
  (2d6), zero-g 3 (3d6) 
  Gear high quality laser pistol, flak jacket 
  Predictive Reflexes. The commando gains a 
  permanent +1d6 to INITIATIVE checks 
  (included above). 
  Corporate Commando 2 
  Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) 
  A Tempest Commando. Tall, wiry, blonde 
  and FAST. 
  STR 7 (3d6)  AGI 8 (3d6)  END 7 (3d6)     
  INT 10 (4d6)  LOG 4 (2d6)  WIL 6 
  (3d6) CHA 3 (4d6)  LUC 1 (1d6) REP 1 (1d6) 
  HEALTH 21    
  MELEE DEFENSE 13; RANGED 
  DEFENSE 12; MENTAL DEFENSE 14 
  SOAK 5 (flak jacket); VULN -     
  INITIATIVE 4d6 
  PERCEPTION 4d6             
  SPEED 8; CLIMB 4; ZERO-G 4; JUMP 16’/7’ 
  CARRY 140lb (max lift 350lb)     
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'                                                               
                                
  High quality laser pistol 6d6 (1d6+4 heat 
  damage; range 10) 
  Martial arts 5d6 (1d6+3 blunt damage) 
  Skills  martial arts 3 (2d6), pistols 3 (2d6), heavy 
  armor 3 (2d6), climbing 4 (2d6), zero-g 2 
  (1d6), thievery 3 (2d6), escape artist 3 
  (2d6), climbing 5 (2d6), tactics 3 (2d6), dodging 3 
  (3d6) 
  Gear pistol, flack jacket, override device 
  Fleet of foot. The commando gets +2 to her 
  SPEED score (included, above). 
  
  Double 
  Medium sentient humanoid (4d6) 
  Deck hand. Her brother works on TB10H, 
  or is it the other way round? 
  STR 5 (2d6)  AGI 6 (3d6)  END 6 (3d6)     
  INT 7 (3d6)  LOG 7 (3d6)  WIL 7 (3d6) CHA 3 
  (2d6)  LUC 4 (2d6) REP 5(2d6) 
   
  HEALTH 16 
  MELEE DEFENSE 13; RANGED DEFENSE 
  12; MENTAL DEFENSE 15 
  SOAK 2 (overalls); VULN -     
   
  INITIATIVE 3d6 
  PERCEPTION 4d6                                               
                
  SPEED 5; CLIMB 3; ZERO-G 3; JUMP 12’/5’ 
  CARRY 110lb (max lift 200lb) 
   
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+2 
  REACH 5’ 
  Brawling 4d6 (1d6+2 blunt damage)                   
                                                                            
  Skills brawling 3 (2d6), perception 2 
  (1d6), concentration 3 (2d6), jumping 1 
  (1d6), zero-g 2 (1d6), bribery 1 (1d6), piloting 3 
  (2d6), rock-wrangling 3 (2d6) 
  Gear spacesuit, comm link, pocket knife, cosh 
   
  Quickstand. Once per turn Double can stand 
  immediately from prone as a free action. 
  Dodge. Double can spend a reaction to make 
  an opposed AGI check vs. an attack roll to 
  negate the attack. 
  Jax 
  Medium sentient humanoid (6d6) 
   
  The newest hire. Tall, strong, silent and 
  haunted. 
  STR 10 (4d6)  AGI 5 (2d6)  END 10 (4d6)     
  INT 6 (3d6)  LOG 5 (2d6)  WIL 10 
  (4d6) CHA 7 (3d6)  LUC 2 (1d6) REP 2 (1d6) 
   
  HEALTH 35    
  MELEE DEFENSE 17 RANGED 
  DEFENSE 10; MENTAL DEFENSE 17 
  SOAK 5 (overalls plus enhancements); 
  VULN -     
   
  INITIATIVE 6d6 
  PERCEPTION 3d6                                               
                
  SPEED 6; CLIMB 4; JUMP 10’/10’ 
  CARRY 200lb (max lift 300lb)     
   
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+4 
  REACH 5'  
  Boxing 6d6 (1d6+ blunt damage)                          
                                                                    
  Skills tactics 3 (2d6), boxing 3 (2d6), light 
  armor 1 (1d6), concentration 3 (2d6), bravery 3 
  (2d6), intimidate 3 (2d6), bluffing 1 
  (1d6), driving 3 (2d6) 
  Gear spacesuit, handwraps, gum shield, 
  comm link 
  Fighter’s Eyes. Jax knows what strike you’re 
  going to throw before you do, gaining a +1d6 
  INITIATIVE bonus (included, above). 
  K.O. Max can spend 2d6 to render her target 
  disoriented on a successful hit. 
  
  Paﬆor Moran 
  Medium sentient humanoid (5d6)  
  A priest spreading the good word. 
  STR 6 (3d6)  AGI 3 (2d6)  END 10 (4d6)     
  INT 8 (3d6)  LOG 6 (3d6)  WIL 10 
  (4d6) CHA 8 (3d6)  LUC 3 (2d6) REP 10 (4d6) 
  HEALTH 37    
  MELEE DEFENSE 14; RANGED DEFENSE 
  12 ; MENTAL DEFENSE 17 
  SOAK 5 (leather armour under 
  clothes); VULN -     
  INITIATIVE 3d6 
  PERCEPTION 5d6      
  SPEED 5; CLIMB 3; JUMP 6'/6' 
  CARRY 160lb (max lift 300lb)     
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'                                                               
                                
  Knife 5d6 (2d6+3 piercing damage) 
  Cryo pistol 5d6 (1d6+3 cold damage) 
  Fear of God 5d6 (1d6+3 psychic damage) 
  Skills knives 3 (2d6), pistols 5 (3d6), tracking 4 
  (2d6), martial arts 2 (1d6), perception 3 
  (2d6), concentration 3 (2d6), bluffing  3 
  (2d6), piloting 3 (2d6), tactics 2 (2d6), dodging 2 
  (2d6) 
  Fear of Gods. A tremendous orator, Moran can 
  put the fear of God(s) into everyone within 30’, 
  making a mental attack and doing psychic 
  damage with a successful hit. 
   
  Polk 
  Large sentient crystalline humanoid (7d6) 
   
  First Officer. Houseki. Gym rat. Polk. 
   
  STR 10 (4d6)  AGI 3 (2d6)  END 10 (4d6)     
  INT 6 (3d6)  LOG 6 (2d6)  WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 5 
  (2d6)  LUC 3 (1d6) REP 7 (3d6) 
  PSI 1 (1d6) 
   
  HEALTH 30   
  MELEE DEFENSE 21; RANGED 
  DEFENSE 10; MENTAL DEFENSE 12 
  SOAK 5 (natural); VULN 1d6 (sonic), double 
  damage from falling 
  STATUS IMMUNITIES bleeding    
   
  INITIATIVE 3d6 
  PERCEPTION 4d6 
  SPEED 5; CLIMB 3; JUMP 6’/6’ 
  CARRY 200lb (max lift 500lb) 
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 2d6+4 
  REACH 5'  
  Brawling 7d6 (2d6+4 piercing damage)              
                                                                            
  Skills linguistics 3 (2d6), brawling 6 
  (3d6), pistols 6 (3d6), cooking 3 
  (2d6), concentration 1 (1d6), telepathy 5 
  (2d6), astrogation 3 (2d6), driving 3 
  (2d6), survival 3 (2d6), local knowledge 3 (2d6),   
  Gear overalls, com link 
   
  Always the Quiet Ones. Polk’s silence can be 
  mistaken for stupidity but he’s always 
  listening and always watching. He gains +1d6 
  to perception checks. 
  Crystal Healing. A Houseki’s crystalline body 
  repairs itself at a rapid rate. Polk gains 1 
  HEALTH every hour (up to his maximum 
  HEALTH). This repair can be visibly seen as 
  new crystals form and grow on Polk’s 
  body. 
  Non-breather. Houseki can exist comfortably 
  in a vacuum. Polk does not need to breathe, 
  and his crystalline structure means that 
  pressure differences do not cause him damage. 
  
  Scorch 
  Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) 
   
  Ship’s navigator. Burnt hands and a razor 
  sharp mind. 
  STR 6 (3d6) AGI 7 (3d6)  END 7 (3d6)     
  INT 9 (3d6)  LOG 7 (3d6)  WIL 7 (3d6) CHA 3 
  (2d6)  LUC 4 (1d6) REP 5 (2d6) 
   
  HEALTH 21 
  MELEE DEFENSE 12; RANGED 
  DEFENSE 12; MENTAL DEFENSE 13 
  SOAK 2 (overalls); VULN -     
   
  INITIATIVE 3d6 
  PERCEPTION 3d6 
  SPEED 6; CLIMB 3; ZERO-G 4; JUMP 14’/6’ 
  CARRY 130lb (max lift 300lb) 
   
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'      
  Brawling 3d6 (1d6+3 blunt damage)                  
                                                                        
  Skills linguistics 1 (1d6), pistols 2 
  (1d6), insight 3 (2d6), concentration 3 (2d6), zero-
  g 4 (2d6), astrogation 3 (2d6), computers 3 
  (2d6), engineering 6 (3d6) 
   
  Gear space suit, comm link, old compass 
  Can’t Take The Sky. Show Scorch the stars, 
  anywhere and he’ll know where he is. 
  Shardhawk 
  Enormous sentient crystalline entity (6d6) 
  A living crystalline entity, trapped in and 
  grown through the computer conduits of 
  TB9H. 
  STR 12 (4d6) AGI 2 (1d6) END 25 (7d6) 
  INT 12 (4d6) LOG 12 (4d6) WIL 15 (5d6) 
  CHA 1 (1d6) LUC 0 (0d6) REP 10 (3d6) 
  PSI 10 (3d6) 
  HEALTH 70 
  MELEE DEFENSE 12; RANGED 
  DEFENSE 10; MENTAL DEFENSE 15 
  SOAK 8 (crystal skin); VULN 1d6 (rapid 
  temperature shift 
  INITIATIVE 4d6 
  PERCEPTION 3d6 
  SPEED n/a; CLIMB n/a; JUMP -       
  CARRY n/a 
  ACTIONS 4 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 4d6  
   
  Psi-blast 6d6 (3d6 psionic damage; range 30’) 
                                                                 
  Skills combat 3 (2d6), telepathy 6 (3d6) 
  Hypercognition. The Shardhawk gains an 
  extra action each round, although it cannot 
  repeat an action more than twice. 
  Cannibalize. Choose any number of d6s, and 
  roll them. The Shardhawk takes that much 
  damage but gains that much psionic energy. 
  Empathy. The Shardhawk can automatically 
  sense strong emotions with 30’. 
  Telepathic Message. The Shardhawk can 
  communicate telepathically with people 
  within 50’. 
  
  Shatter Plants 
  Small non-sentient plant (3d6) 
  Ambulatory plants the size of small dogs
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STR 3 (2d6)  AGI 6 (3d6)  END 6 (3d6) 
  INT 3 (2d6)  LOG 1 (1d6)  WIL 1 (1d6) CHA 1 
  (1d6)  LUC 0 (0d6)  REP 0 (0d6) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  HEALTH 16 
  MELEE DEFENSE 15; RANGED DEFENSE 
  15; MENTAL DEFENSE 10  
  SOAK 5 (bark); VULN 1d6 (fire) 
  INITIATIVE 4d6 
  PERCEPTION 2d6 
   
  SPEED 4; CLIMB 3; JUMP 12'/3' 
   
  CARRY 90lb (max lift 150lb)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  ACTIONS 2  
   
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+2 
   
  Seedling 3d6 (1d6 damage; range 5)  
  Skills climbing 3 (2d6), reactions 3 (2d6)  
  Gear -  
  Plant. Plant creatures are vulnerable (1d6) to 
  fire, but have an additional 5 SOAK. (included, 
  above). 
  Oxygen vampire.  Shatter plants feed 
  voraciously on oxygen and swell to three times 
  their size. Once they do (this takes 3 rounds), 
  they fire 1d6 seedlings across a wide area 
  which grow and repeat the cycle. The area 
  within 10’ of each shatter plant is a vacuum - 
  creatures must form a suffocation countdown 
  pool. 
  Tank 
  Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) 
   
  Chief Buoy Wrangler. Rarely outside his 
  THUG suit 
   
  STR 8 (3d6)  AGI 8 (3d6)  END 7 (3d6)     
  INT 8 (3d6)  LOG 6 (3d6)  WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 5 
  (2d6)  LUC 1 (1d6) REP 5 (4d6) 
   
  HEALTH 18     
  MELEE DEFENSE 12; RANGED DEFENSE 
  10; MENTAL DEFENSE 11 
  SOAK 12 (THUG suit); VULN -     
   
  INITIATIVE 3d6 
  PERCEPTION 4d6  
  SPEED 6; CLIMB 3; ZERO-G 4; JUMP 16’/8’ 
  CARRY 150lb (max lift 400lb)     
  ACTIONS 2 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'     
  Boxing 5d6 (1d6+3 blunt damage)                       
                                                                
  Skills boxing 3 (2d6), heavy armor 6 (3d6), zero-
  g 3 (2d6), concentration 1 (1d6), singing 1 (1d6),  
  computers  2 (1d6), rock-wrangling 6 (3d6)  
  Gear THUG suit, heavy wrench (2d6), comm 
  link 
  Born For This. Tank gets an extra 1d6 on any 
  roll carried out in his THUG suit. 
  
  Yana Delancey 
  Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) 
   
  Deck Chief of TB9H. Brawny, friendly and 
  nosey. 
  STR 6 (3d6)  AGI 5 (2d6)  END 6 (3d6)     
  INT 7 (3d6)  LOG 7 (3d6)  WIL 8 (3d6) CHA 5 
  (2d6)  LUC 2 (1d6) REP 5 (2d6) 
   
  HEALTH 24   
  MELEE DEFENSE 14; RANGED 
  DEFENSE 10; MENTAL DEFENSE 18 
  SOAK 2 (overalls); VULN -     
   
  INITIATIVE 3d6 
  PERCEPTION 3d6  
  SPEED 7; CLIMB 4; ZERO-G 7; JUMP 10’/6’ 
  CARRY 120lb (max lift 300lb)     
  ACTIONS 3 
  NATURAL DAMAGE 1d6+3 
  REACH 5'       
  Wrestling 5d6 (1d6+3 blunt damage)                 
                                                                        
  Skills history 1 (1d6), wrestling 3 (2d6), light 
  armor 6 (3d6), pistols 4 (2d6), concentration 4 
  (2d6), running 3 (2d6), zero-g 3 (2d6), climbing 3 
  (2d6), rock-wrangling 3 (2d6)  
  Gear comm link, spacesuit 
   
  Multi-Tasking. Yana’s job means she excels at 
  doing three different things at once. She has 
  three actions per round, but cannot perform 
  any given action more than once. 
  Zero-g Monkey. Yana has an effective fly 
  speed equal to her regular speed in zero-g. 
  
  Trailblazer Class XVIII 
  Breaker 
  Weight 491,780 tons; Cargo Units 5000 (822.0 
  available; capacity 41,100.0 tons) 
  Hull Class XVIII (INIT -3d6) 
  Crew 4,750 (cost 95,0000cr/m); Troops 0; 
  Passengers 0 (0 standard, 0 luxury) 
  Automation Kershey Electronics Class XVIII 
  Automation System (crew 10) 
  Command & Control Syﬆems 
  Computers 3x Terra Prime GM-2 Command 
  Computer (CPU cycles: 60; max FTL: 14; 
  checks: +0d6) 
  Sensors Intergalactic Foundation GS-1 (range 
  11; check +0d6) 
  Engine & Propulsion Data 
  Subluminal 1x Narita-Guo Union LF-1 Fusion 
  Reactor (power 53 ; SPEED 2.9; fuel efficiency 
  1.2) 
  FTL 2x Yang Astrotech GA-1 Antimatter 
  Engine (power 72 ea; FTL 8.0; fuel efficiency 1)  
  Backup FTL 1x Panwatch-Microbeam EA-2 
  Antimatter Engine (power 57 ; FTL 3.2; fuel 
  efficiency 1) 
  Operational Range 5,832 parsecs 
  Defensive Data 
  Superstructure 84  
  DEFENSE 10 E-DEFENSE 30 
  Armor 30x ablative (SOAK 3 ballistic, 2 
  energy) 
  Shields - 
  Point Defenses 10x Arlington-Driver Tech 
  LT-1 Automated Railgun (+1 vs. missiles and 
  fighters; aura 5) 
  Weapons Data 
  25 x Duffy Avionics Spud Guns (range 1; 
  damage 3d6 ballistic; attack +0d6) 
  Facilities 
  Luxury 56% (Poor -1d6; negated by 
  automation systems) 
  Facilities Arboretum (50), Gymnasium (50), 
  Galley (100), Stellar Cartography Room (10), 
  Zero-G Sports Hall (50), Messhall (100), 
  Chapel (10), Brig (10), Bar/Restaurant (50), 
  Sickbay (200), Swimming Pool (25), Cinema/
  Theater (25), Cabin, Double (1000), Cabin, 
  Hotbunk (1000), Turbolifts (1000) 
  General Syﬆems 
  Fueling - 
  Electronic Warfare - 
  Tractor Beams 2x Warp Sun Metallurgy G75 
  Tractor/Pressor System, 
  Cloaking Device - 
  Engineering - 
  Hangars & Bays 
  Shuttles 4 ( 1x Megalight EI93 Hangar Deck, ) 
  Fighters 0 
  Vehicles 0 
  Market Value 22,315 MCr
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/WOIN/EONS Magazine/Eons 33 - NEW, Adventure - Trailblazer 9 Heavy (Cauldron).pdf