TEXT:  
   
   
   
          
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  G        FFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIN
  N
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  W
  WR
  RIITTTTEEN
  N  B
  BYY  
  MICHAEL CHUMBLER 
  JAN HENDRIK FRIEDRICH 
  LAURA GULLETT 
   
   
  B
  BA
  AS
  SEED
  D  O
  ON
  N  A
  A  M
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  NPPLLA
  AYY  B
  BYY  
  JOSS WHEDON 
   
   
  WWW.CORTEXSYSTEMRPG.ORG 
  WWW.SERENITYRPG.COM 
   
  SERENITY © UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
  
   
  3 
  H
  HEER
  REE’’SS  H
  HO
  OW
  W  IITT  IISS  
  Fish! Not a topic most people care to talk 
  about, but in the ‘Verse if you talk fish, you are 
  talking New Melbourne. As fish or fish related 
  products is all New Melbourne is noted for, 
  unless dealing in that commodity, most people 
  give New Melbourne a wide berth. However, 
  since the Crew doesn’t have the liberty to be as 
  selective on the types of work they take and 
  when a shipper needs a cargo taken there, the 
  Crew replies with "How Fast?" Once on New 
  Melbourne, like most folk, the Crew just wants 
  to find an outbound cargo as quickly as they 
  can. However, while looking for an outbound 
  job, they are asked to provide some unusual 
  help and since a job is a job, the Crew agrees, 
  the only problem is it’s what they don’t know 
  that could kill them. 
   
  G
  GM
  M’’SS  N
  NO
  OTTEESS  
  That Sinking Feeling is a beginning adventure 
  designed primarily with Greenhorn level Crews 
  in mind. More experienced Crews can use this 
  scenario, but the GM is going to have to 
  increase task difficulties and the number and 
  quality of NPCs encountered in order to provide 
  a greater challenge to Veteran or higher level 
  Crews. That Sinking Feeling is presented in two 
  acts of three scenes each. The first act starts 
  with Somethin’ Fishy before proceeding to Have 
  I got a Deal for You and Gear Up. Act two 
  consists of Goin’ Fishin’, Dive, dive, dive! and 
  concludes with Discretion is the better part of 
  valor. 
   
  K
  KEEEEP
  PIIN
  NG
  G  UUP
  P  W
  WIITTH
  H  TTH
  HEE  JJO
  ON
  NEESSEESS  
  By any means of measuring success, Jacob 
  Huffington is an extremely successful business 
  man. One would think being, one of the 
  wealthiest ship owners on New Melbourne, 
  would be enough, but for Jacob Huffington, 
  enough is never enough. Even though his first 
  home was one of the finest on the largely water 
  world of New Melbourne, Huffington, knew that 
  better existed in the ‘Verse and that simply was 
  unacceptable to him. He wanted the finest the 
  Core could offer recreated for his new home 
  and the finest wasn’t a home on New 
  Melbourne, but above New Melbourne. 
  Huffington hired the best contractors available 
  to build him a glorious floating estate every bit 
  as luxurious as the ones found on Bellerophon. 
  However, when the wealthy gather, it doesn’t 
  take long for the less wealthy and less 
  scrupulous to arrive and begin trying to 
  separate the wealthy from their wealth. 
  Unfortunately for Jacob Huffington, hidden 
  among the best available contractors was 
  Danny Nohara, an average con man who 
  managed to hit upon a surprisingly clever 
  scheme. Nohara planted a subroutine in the 
  anti-grav unit of Huffington’s estate that 
  allowed him, shortly after the vain Huffington 
  moved in with all his riches, to induce a 
  complete failure of the anti-grav resulting in the 
  entire estate crashing into the sea and sinking 
  a hundred and fifty feet below the endless 
  oceans of New Melbourne. Thus in one lightning 
  swift stroke, the catastrophic failure of the 
  mansion’s anti-grav screen completely 
  eliminated the extensive security of 
  Huffington’s home and opened a window of 
  opportunity to rob the estate before the 
  businessman can get a salvage crew in place. 
  More than a little shocked that his plan worked, 
  the one thing Nohara failed to plan for was 
  exactly how he would recover anything from 
  the estate before Huffington did… 
   
   
  
   
  4 
  SSW
  WIIM
  MM
  MIIN
  NG
  G  AAN
  ND
  D  SSC
  CUUB
  BAA  D
  DIIVVIIN
  NG
  G  
  As "That Sinking Feeling" takes PCs into a 
  whole new realm for the Serenity setting, 
  namely underwater, the following rules are 
  included for GMs to cover swimming and 
  SCUBA diving: 
   
  One AVERAGE (7) Strength + Athletics / 
  Swimming roll is required when the PCs first go 
  in the water, and one every 20 minutes in 
  SCUBA gear or once every five while free 
  swimming. If the swimmer has a professional 
  level skill (i.e., d8 or greater), then the 
  difficulty for standard treading water rolls drops 
  to EASY (3). If a PC fails the roll, they inhale 
  water. The PC suffers d2 points of Stun damage 
  and must try another roll at -1 Skill step the 
  very next turn and every turn thereafter until 
  they drown (i.e., Botches a roll), is rescued, or 
  makes a successful roll. On a Botch, the PC 
  inhales lots of water, takes d4 points of Stun 
  damage, and starts to drown.  
  Drowning characters can hold their breath by 
  making a Resistance roll (Vitality + Vitality) 
  every turn. The Difficulty starts out EASY (3), 
  but each turn the Difficulty increases by 4. 
  Once the drowning PC fails, he suffers d2 points 
  of Stun damage every turn. When he runs out 
  of Stun, the PC falls unconscious and additional 
  damage is taken as both Shock Points and 
  Wounds. The PC will die before long unless he 
  is removed from the water and a HARD (11) 
  Alertness + Medical Expertise / First Aid roll is 
  made. 
  There is a chance of brain damage if the 
  drowning character is saved after more than 
  two minutes without air. The PC must make an 
  AVERAGE (7) Endurance roll (Vitality + 
  Willpower) to avoid a permanent -1 step 
  penalty to Intelligence.  
  Furthermore, if the PC is at a depth greater 
  than 50’ while free swimming or 100’ while 
  diving, if they Botch an AVERAGE (7) 
  Intelligence + Athletics / Swimming roll made 
  while resurfacing, they either ascend too 
  quickly or do not carry out decompression stops 
  after the dive, resulting in possible 
  decompression sickness, or the bends, as small 
  bubbles of nitrogen form in the bloodstream. 
  The PC must make an AVERAGE (7) Resistance 
  (Vitality + Vitality) roll. While a Botch indicates 
  sudden death, a Failure indicates that the PC is 
  completely incapacitated for at least one hour 
  and must make an AVERAGE (7) Endurance 
  (Vitality + Willpower) roll each hour to revive. 
  Each failed roll inflicts d6 points of Basic 
  damage. Once conscious, the PC suffers a -1 
  step Attribute penalty to Agility and Intelligence 
  for at least another hour. An AVERAGE (7) 
  Endurance roll is required each hour to recover; 
  any failure will permanently penalize the PC’s 
  Agility by -1 step. However, the PC’s Agility will 
  only be penalized by -1 step, regardless of the 
  number of failures during their recovery. 
  Success means that the PC suffers from severe 
  pain; they will suffer a -1 step Attribute penalty 
  to Agility and Intelligence for at least one hour, 
  and must make an AVERAGE (7) Endurance roll 
  each hour to recover, but there will be no 
  lasting effects. An Extraordinary Success means 
  no ill effects whatsoever occur. 
  Final note, the specific nature of nitrogen 
  narcosis requires that the PC be treated in a full 
  trauma hospital with a hyperbaric chamber for 
  the above rules to be effective. If such a facility 
  is not available, then the only hope for the PC is 
  a Reviving the Dead roll. This roll starts at 
  FORMIDABLE (15) and increases by +4 for each 
  hour after the first. 
   
  
   
  5 
  AAC
  CTT  11    
  SSC
  CEEN
  NEE  11::  SSO
  OM
  MEETTH
  HIIN
  N’’  FFIISSH
  HYY  
   
  "New Melbourne? Well, unless ya’ll like fish or 
  fish related products, I can’t recommend the 
  place. Not like there’s anythin’ wrong with the 
  critters, I just like my air with less wiff of ‘em is 
  all. Now bein’ the place is short on most 
  everythin’ else, so getting’ a job takin’ 
  somethin’ to the place is purdy easy. The 
  problem is, the big boys like Blue Sun got a 
  solid lock on the bulk fish exports and the 
  cannin’ folk don’t cotton much to small fry 
  operations like what most mid-bulk drivers can 
  offer. So, unless you are dropping’ somethin’ 
  off with a second destination already lined up, I 
  can’t recommend New Melbourne as a friendly 
  place to do business."  
  – Pops McMurty itinerant spacer, long time Rim 
  resident 
   
  Where this adventure starts is immaterial to the 
  plot, with the only hard and fast point being 
  that work on the Rim is hard to find and the 
  Crew is looking for a job. As a relatively new 
  Crew, work is even harder to find as most 
  shippers are hesitant to trust someone they 
  don’t know or comes without a 
  recommendation. In order to gain the trust of a 
  shipper, they will have to make a HARD (11) 
  Intelligence + Influence / Streetwise or 
  Willpower + Influence / Persuasion rolls to 
  convince a shipper to hire the PCs. If one of the 
  Crew has Friends in Low Places and spends 
  three Plot Points, they will locate an old friend 
  that will put in a good word for the Crew to get 
  them the job. 
  Regardless of how the cargo is obtained, the 
  Crew finds a job of taking a large load of 
  lumber to the tree strapped world of New 
  Melbourne. The actual amount of cargo will 
  vary by the size of the PC’s ship and will fill 
  75% of the ship’s cargo bay with cut and 
  banded lumber of various sizes up to 300 tons. 
  The amount the Crew will be paid is also tied to 
  the amount of cargo they are carrying with the 
  rate being the standard €1 per ton up to the full 
  load of 300 tons and a maximum payment of 
  €300. 
  Loading the ship is a long tedious affair that will 
  take the better part of a day. However, the 
  shipper hires the stevedores and the Crew has 
  little to do with the process except stay out of 
  the way. During the time the cargo is being 
  loaded, they can attend to ensuring their ship is 
  fueled and otherwise ready for the trip. In 
  addition, the Crew can use the time to try and 
  take on a few passengers to maximize the 
  value of the run. The Crew can either use 
  Willpower + Influence / Persuasion against an 
  AVERAGE (7) task or Intelligence + Influence 
  versus a HARD (11) task. A Success finds one 
  half of their ship’s passenger capacity, an 
  Extraordinary Success will fill three quarters 
  capacity, while a failure will only find a quarter 
  capacity and a Botch resulting in the failure to 
  locate any passengers at all. 
  As the exact number of passengers will depend 
  on the model of ship the Crew has, the 
  following are the potential passengers looking 
  to travel to New Melbourne. The standard rate 
  for a six day trip is €100. The passengers are 
  listed based on how well the Crew does in 
  looking for fares. 
  On anything other than a Botch, the Crew will 
  take on as passengers Preston Taylor and Frank 
  Jenkins, better known as The Fabulous Taylor 
  and Jenkins. These two men in their 40s are a 
  pair of traveling entertainers and are a bad 
  combination of comics and magicians. They will 
  attempt an Opposed Roll pitting their Willpower 
  
   
  6 
  + Influence / Persuasion against the senior PC’s 
  Intelligence + Influence / Streetwise or 
  Willpower + Discipline / Mental Resistance in an 
  attempt to cut their fare in half as part of a 
  working passage deal. 
  On a Success or better, Jason and Wilma 
  Tucker will also book passage. They are a pair 
  of newlyweds that have found work in one of 
  the dozens of fish packing plants common to 
  New Melbourne. They are both in their early 
  20s, devoted to each other, and exactly as they 
  appear, a young couple relocating to a new 
  planet to get a fresh start. Neither is especially 
  happy about living on New Melbourne, but due 
  to the high turnover in the packing plants, this 
  was the best job they could find. Plot Hook: 
  While they are newlyweds, they eloped and ran 
  away from home. Their parents are worried 
  about them and just want to hear from them to 
  know they are okay An AVERAGE (7) Alertness 
  + Perception will notice they are less happy 
  than newlyweds should be and an AVERAGE (7) 
  Intelligence + Influence will talk them into 
  sending a wave to their parents to bring peace 
  to the family. 
  If the Crew manages an Extraordinary Success, 
  they will also gain Hu Zedong and Cecilia 
  Adams. Hu is a single experienced fisherman 
  returning from a once in a lifetime trip to a 
  family reunion on Sihnon. He is a first mate on 
  a fishing trawler and has come to a fateful 
  decision during his trip. Hu has finally become 
  fed up with being denied the chance at ship’s 
  master and plans to murder his current captain 
  in such a way that it will look like an accident 
  finally giving him his long overdue chance to 
  captain a trawler. Plot Hook: While Hu has 
  made a decision, he is not yet dead set on 
  becoming a murderer. An AVERAGE (7) 
  Alertness + Perception will notice he is out of 
  sorts and an AVERAGE Intelligence + Influence 
  will dissuade from murder and talk him into 
  applying for a new job with a different ship 
  owner. 
  Cecilia Adams is a widowed woman in her 50s 
  traveling to New Melbourne to be a nanny for a 
  wealthy business owner. She is tough and 
  experienced, but is friendly and extremely 
  adept at caring for children. She is a 
  professional and has an impressive list of 
  recommendations. Adams is actually from New 
  Melbourne and is looking forward to returning 
  to her home world. Plot Hook: In actuality, 
  Cecilia is coming home for a reason, she’s 
  dying. She has terminal Dazhong’s Blight and 
  she wants to die on her home world. She plans 
  to commit suicide shortly after returning to New 
  Melbourne. An AVERAGE (7) Alertness + 
  Perception will notice she is depressed and an 
  AVERAGE Intelligence + Influence will talk her 
  into getting a second opinion and she finds she 
  was misdiagnosed and is not dying at all. 
  Once the cargo and any passengers are aboard, 
  they are free to depart. As this adventure is 
  designed for new Crews, the start point is left 
  open to fit the GM’s campaign. The travel time 
  to New Melbourne, again regardless of ship’s 
  speed, should be pre-set at six days. En route, 
  the GM can use any of the following sidebar 
  events to liven up the trip as they choose or the 
  GM is free to simply have the ship arrive 
  without incident. 
  On day two after everything has settled into the 
  typical rhythm of space travel, regardless if 
  they successfully negotiated a working passage 
  or not, Taylor and Jenkins put on a show for the 
  Crew and any other passengers. While not the 
  worst act they ever seen, it is easy to see why 
  the two are traveling to an entertainment 
  nowhere like New Melbourne. Their jokes are 
  stale and their magic is average at best. 
  However, halfway through their routine, which 
  
   
  7 
  features a small monkey as a major part of 
  their act, the monkey escapes and the lightning 
  quick little creature disappears into a cooling 
  vent. This of course brings the show to a halt 
  as the two entertainers attempt to coax the 
  agitated monkey out into the open. The 
  creature is intractable and the two are both 
  soon marked with scratches and other less 
  mentionable things with the monkey showing 
  no signs of allowing itself to be captured. The 
  monkey, Mr. Pebbles by name will continue to 
  be a source of frustration for Taylor and Jenkins 
  as well as the rest of the passengers and Crew 
  as it makes repeated forays for food during the 
  remainder of the trip. 
  Once per day after the monkey escapes, the 
  Crew can attempt an INCREDIBLE (23) Agility 
  + Athletics roll to capture the animal and get it 
  back in its cage. The task drops to HEROIC (19) 
  if the PC can rig up a trap with a FORMIDABLE 
  (15) Intelligence + Covert or Intelligence + 
  Mechanical Engineering roll. On arrival on New 
  Melbourne, Mr. Pebbles will bolt for freedom as 
  soon as the cargo ramp opens giving the PCs 
  one last chance to capture him before he 
  escapes for good. Due to the creature having a 
  restricted and obvious goal, the attempt is 
  easier than it has ever been with each PC in the 
  cargo bay as well as Taylor and Jenkins getting 
  one last FORMIDABLE (15) Agility + Athletics 
  roll to prevent the monkey’s escape. If 
  successful, the two entertainers’ gratitude will 
  be without limit, with them promising to sign on 
  as a permanent act, which they can only be 
  talked out of with extreme reluctance. 
  However, should Mr. Pebbles successfully elude 
  capture, the two will despondently leave the 
  ship obviously heart broken. 
  On day four of the journey, whoever is 
  operating the sensors has to make a AVERAGE 
  (7) Ship’s Alertness + Piloting / Sensors or 
  Technical Engineering / Sensors to detect 
  uncharted wreckage drifting into their flight 
  path. If the roll is HARD (11) or better, their 
  sensors pick up enough information to realize 
  that the wreckage is the remains of a ship 
  destroyed during the Unification War. 
  Regardless of knowing what the debris is or 
  not, the pilot will have to make a Ship’s Agility 
  + Piloting roll to avoid a collision. The difficulty 
  of the second roll depends on the results of the 
  first roll. If the Sensors roll was a Botch, then 
  the Piloting roll is FORMIDABLE (15), a Failure 
  requires a HARD (11) roll, a Success is an 
  AVERAGE (7) and an Extraordinary Success 
  results in an EASY (3) difficulty. A success or 
  better on the piloting roll avoids the debris 
  field, a failure causes 1d4W damage to the ship 
  and a Botch does 1d6W. If the Crew checks 
  there is nothing salvageable from the 
  wreckage. 
  On arrival at New Melbourne and even before 
  entering the atmosphere, the Crew quickly 
  detects that Bedford Island where the cargo 
  has to be delivered is being pounded by a 
  powerful storm. Since their contract is specific 
  on delivery date, if they do not land before the 
  storm hits the island, they will be forced to land 
  elsewhere and will suffer a 10% late penalty. 
  While not quite the same as a hurricane from 
  Earth-That-Was, the storm is large enough that 
  the Crew can’t fly around it and will have to fly 
  through the storm to reach their destination. 
  Safely landing in the storm is a HARD (55) 
  Complex Action of Ship’s Agility + Piloting with 
  each roll taking one round. The Crew has only 
  ten rounds to beat the storm or it will become 
  too dangerous to land. If the Crew fails to land 
  in time, they can pull out with an AVERAGE (7) 
  Ship’s Agility + Piloting and head for the next 
  nearest island to wait out the storm. 
  
   
  8 
  Once safely on Bedford Island, the port’s 
  stevedores begin to unload the lumber and 
  again, the only thing the Crew needs to do is 
  stay out of the way. They can see to having 
  their ship refueled and serviced as well as 
  assisting the passengers disembark. However, 
  while either Preston (or Wilma Tucker if she is 
  aboard) is departing the ship, each PC in the 
  cargo bay must roll an EASY (3) Alertness + 
  Perception to notice that a cable on a crane 
  load of lumber is shifting and is about to come 
  loose. If the PC can roll an AVERAGE (7) Agility 
  + Athletics, they can pull the passenger to 
  safety before the load crashes to the deck. If 
  the PC fails the roll, the passenger and the PC 
  take 1d4S worth of damage, but if the PC 
  Botches the roll, the damage to both increases 
  to 1d4W. If any injuries occur and the Crew has 
  a medic, they can treat the injured. Both 
  Preston and Wilma know that the loaders were 
  at fault and the Crew will not be sued over any 
  injuries. 
  When the last of the lumber is offloaded, the 
  Crew will have some cash in their pockets and 
  in addition to any regular services the ship may 
  need, the Crew may be in a spending mood and 
  are free to explore Bedford and look for more 
  work. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  AAC
  CTT  11    
  SSC
  CEEN
  NEE  22::  H
  HAAVVEE  II  G
  GO
  OTT  AA  D
  DEEAALL  FFO
  OR
  R  
  YYO
  OUU  
   
  "Probably the right slickest way to make coin is 
  one of the oldest in the book of less than legal 
  behavior and known as a con. Bein’ a con man 
  or woman requires huang tong de gao wan1 to 
  look a mark in the eye and get them to actually 
  hand you their money without them realizin’ 
  they are bein’ played for a fool. Workin’ a con is 
  still more art than science and not many folk 
  got the gumption for the job, but iff’n you got a 
  way with words smooth enough to talk a monk 
  outta his only robe and get him pay you for 
  doin’ it, then you might have what it takes to 
  take advantage of the nearly limitless number 
  of suckers in the ‘Verse just waitin’ to hand over 
  their coin." 
  – Frankie ‘Twice Pipe’ Whitaker, Information Broker, 
  Persephone 
   
  As with most visitors to New Melbourne, the 
  Crew is looking to leave as soon as they can 
  line up a job. The search for work quickly runs 
  into a problem when the PC’s discover that the 
  fish and fish related products that are New 
  Melbourne’s claim to fame are only sent in bulk 
  and the Crew’s ship proves to be too small to 
  obtain any fish cargo. After a couple hours of 
  looking for something else and an IMPOSSIBLE 
  (31) Willpower + Influence / Streetwise, it 
  becomes very obvious that there isn’t any other 
  legal cargo to be found. However, all is not lost, 
  with an EASY (3) Willpower + Influence or 
  Covert / Streetwise roll, the crew meet Danny 
  Nohara a. young, affable, bespectacled man 
  that has an unusual job opportunity. Read 
  aloud: 
                                                   
  1 brass testicles 
  
   
  9 
  "Like most of the people on New 
  Melbourne, I am a fisherman, but unlike 
  most of the folk here, I do not make my 
  living from fishing. I primarily work in 
  construction, when there is work to be had 
  that is. Two days ago while out in my 
  small boat pleasure fishing, I witnessed an 
  event that I believe has the potential to 
  make all of us wealthy. Have you ever 
  seen captures of those majestic floating 
  estates on Bellerophon on the Corvue? 
  Well, there is a local businessman here by 
  the name of Huffington that went and built 
  himself one. Now, since you aren’t from 
  my lovely home world, you probably do 
  not know this name, but Jacob Huffington 
  is an obscenely rich man. Being rich itself 
  isn’t a bad thing, but how he made his 
  money and what he does with it is what 
  makes his money obscene. 
  "He made his vast wealth by paying the 
  least and treating his employees the worst 
  of all the major canners on New 
  Melbourne. While he claims to be related 
  to some Earth-That-Was royalty, the only 
  thing royal about him I can see, is he is a 
  royal pain in the pi gu2. His factory has 
  consistently had the poorest safety record 
  on planet and due to the desperation of 
  those needing work, he fires anyone 
  injured on the job and replaces them with 
  one of the legions of unemployed waiting 
  for the chance to work. He shares none of 
  his wealth with those that need help and I 
  for one am ready to exploit so miserable a 
  soul’s misfortune. For you see, this fine 
  floating estate of his sank two days ago. 
  No one was hurt, but the sudden sinking 
  has neatly circumvented the prodigious 
                                                   
  2 behind 
  security of the place. If we act quickly, we 
  can take advantage of his hardship and 
  perhaps relieve him of some of his wealth. 
  If we stage things right, we can make it 
  look like anything we should happen to 
  find look like it was lost in the accident. All 
  I need is a few extra hands to assist in the 
  recovery which we will split fifty-fifty and 
  a ship that can get us off planet as soon as 
  the job is done. Are you good people 
  interested?" 
   
  Assuming the Crew expresses interest read the 
  following: 
   
  "Shiny! Since it is unlikely that you 
  possess the proper gear for underwater 
  salvage, I can assist you with compiling a 
  list of the gear you will need. However, as 
  I mentioned, I am an unemployed 
  construction worker and I am sorry to say 
  that I am not in a position to provide any 
  of the items I will be suggesting. I do have 
  some knowledge of the workings of 
  Bedford and can put you in touch with the 
  purveyors of the needed equipment." 
   
  The reality is that Nohara is out of his league 
  and making stuff up as he goes. He never 
  expected his plan to work and if he gets 
  anything, he’ll be happy. He is sincere about an 
  even split on the take and will be extremely 
  helpful when it comes to acting as a go 
  between on acquiring the gear needed for the 
  job. He claims to have a fence already lined up, 
  but is lying. He will play fencing the goods by 
  ear, just as he’s playing by ear now, he’ll just 
  cross that bridge when he comes to it. 
  Since this story and opportunity are so unusual, 
  if the PCs can roll a HEROIC (19) Alertness + 
  Perception / Empathy or Intuition, with 
  
   
  10 
  Trustworthy Gut and/or Nose for Trouble 
  applying to the roll, they will discern that 
  Nohara is holding something back and if he is 
  confronted, he admits to being fired by 
  Huffington and has an axe to grind against his 
  former employer. 
  With the stage set, Nohara quickly explains all 
  the specialized equipment the Crew will need to 
  obtain for a clandestine underwater shallow 
  salvage operation. However, there is an 
  additional complication that is unknown even to 
  Nohara, The anti-grav unit he sabotaged has 
  begun to rapidly deteriorate due to being 
  immersed in water and his window of 
  opportunity is closing faster than Nohara 
  thought. The Crew is going to have to work 
  quickly if they are to recover anything before 
  everything is lost when the estate sinks for 
  good. 
   
  AAC
  CTT  11    
  SSC
  CEEN
  NEE  33::  G
  GEEAAR
  R  UUP
  P  
   
  "Since long before humanity left Earth-That-
  Was behind, untold thousands of ships were 
  lost beneath the seas. Whether by accident or 
  by deliberate action such during war, 
  sometimes those ships sank with something 
  important enough for the owners to want back 
  what the unforgiving seas had taken. Thus the 
  tools and skills for underwater salvage were 
  developed. Starting with the first primitive 
  diving bells in the 5th Century BCE and 
  continuing to the modern equipment available 
  in the ‘Verse, if it is valuable enough, someone 
  will find a means to go and get what was once 
  thought lost."  
  – Cortex Entry, Elementary Reader Edition 2518 
   
  Armed with a list of necessary gear and given a 
  set of businesses that sell the needed 
  equipment, Nohara tells the Crew that he’s got 
  to make contact with his fences in order to 
  smooth the sale of the goods after the job and 
  will be in touch. In actuality, Nohara is terrified 
  that Huffington’s security is looking for him and 
  wants to stay out of sight until the Crew is 
  ready to make the grab for the goods, but 
  Nohara is just being paranoid as he is too 
  insignificant to have drawn any notice and 
  Huffington is too preoccupied with assembling 
  his own recovery team. 
  The gear needed to salvage the sunken estate 
  consists of: 
  - 
  SCUBA gear for each member on the 
  dive, the exact number is left open 
  based on the size of the Crew, but no 
  less than two and no more than six are 
  recommended. (€50 each for wet suit, 
  two tanks w/valves, regulator, mask 
  w/communications and a built-in 
  headlight, fins, weights, and underwater 
  multi-band) 
  - 
  Diving Sled: An underwater hover mule 
  with a 250 pound payload: €200, one 
  needed for the group in order to carry 
  the bulk of the salvage and provide an 
  additional air supply. 
  - 
  Covert Ops Gear: lockpicks: €14 set, 
  sealed electronic lockpicks: €45 set, 
  mag charge: €27 each, at least one of 
  each carried by the group. 
  - 
  Engineer’s Supplies: cutting torch: €4 
  each with one recommended for each 
  diver 
  - 
  Explosives: mining charge: €20 each a 
  last resort tool, but at least one is 
  recommended to be on hand for the 
  group 
   
  
   
  11 
  Since Danny Nohara is cash strapped and 
  unable to outfit the Crew, this leaves the PCs 
  with three options for obtaining the gear: buy, 
  steal, or jury-rig. 
  Buying the equipment is the easiest route and 
  with the list of businesses provided by Nohara, 
  the Crew avoids tourist prices. The PCs may 
  also haggle with the merchant by making an 
  Opposed Willpower + Influence / Appropriate 
  Specialty skill rolls. The merchant almost 
  always agrees to the new price, but a PC has 
  the choice to refuse the deal. To resolve this, 
  the PC rolls his skill against a Difficulty that is 
  equal to the merchant's skill roll. The new price 
  is determined by PC's roll. A Botch increases 
  the price 25%, while a Failure causes 10% 
  price hike. A Success does not change the 
  price, but an Extraordinary Success means that 
  the PCs get a 10% discount. 
   
  The average cost for a group of four PCs will 
  cost €522 for: 
  Four sets of SCUBA gear = €200 
  One diving sled = €200 
  Both types of lockpicks = €59 
  One mag charge = €27 
  Four cutting torches = €16 
  Mining charge = €20 
   
  Since the average profit for the cargo run to 
  New Melbourne is €700 less docking and 
  refueling costs, this option will wipe out any 
  money the Crew made on the trip to the planet. 
  Still, if the PCs want, this choice is available to 
  them. This option also has the advantage of 
  being the quickest means to obtain what they 
  will need to salvage the estate. 
  If the Crew decides not to risk the money they 
  have already earned, or only a portion of what 
  they earned, they can try to jury-rig functional 
  gear out of salvaged equipment from the local 
  junkyard. However, only the SCUBA gear and 
  diving sled can be obtained in this manner, the 
  other more specialized tools will still have to be 
  purchased. 
  The parts needed for the SCUBA gear and 
  diving sled can be purchased for 25% of the 
  new price, but subject to the same haggling 
  rules as above. However, the Crew will have to 
  also roll a Complex Action of Alertness + 
  Perception with each roll taking 15 minutes to 
  locate the equipment they need. The PCs may, 
  however, assist one another indirectly. The 
  difficulty of the task is based on the number of 
  sets of SCUBA gear they need to find. 2-3 = 
  HARD (55), 4-5 = FORMIDABLE (75), 6 or more 
  = HEROIC (95). 
  Rolling a Botch increases the Difficulty 
  Threshold by one category, while rolling a 
  second Botch results in collapsing pile of junk 
  that the PCs have to avoid with a HARD (11) 
  Get out of Harm’s Way roll (Agility + 
  Alertness). Failing the roll means that the PC 
  takes damage. The Difficulty is treated as an 
  attack roll while the Get out of Harm’s Way roll 
  is treated as a defense roll. Damage is Basic 
  type and a loss of all accumulated time as all 
  items found to this point are lost in the pile. 
  Extremely desperate characters can sneak into 
  the junkyard with an EASY (15) Complex Action 
  of Agility + Covert / Stealth with each roll 
  taking one minute of time. One Botch increases 
  the difficulty to AVERAGE (35), while a second 
  Botch will alert the owner who will take the 
  Crew under fire with a poorly aimed shotgun. 
  The owner won’t actually harm anyone, but the 
  noise and arrival of the police will preclude 
  being able to search the yard any further. 
  Once the Crew has the parts, they will have to 
  roll a Complex Action for each item they need 
  to refurbish using Intelligence + Mechanical 
  Engineering / Mechanical Repairs with the 
  
   
  12 
  SCUBA gear is AVERAGE (35) while the dive 
  sled is HARD (55) and each roll taking 30 
  minutes with Botches having the normal 
  results. 
  If for some reason the Crew is especially 
  strapped for cash, they can attempt a break 
  into one of the businesses that have the SCUBA 
  gear and diving sleds, the more specialized 
  gear not being available at a store front 
  business. Any specialized gear the Crew needs 
  to purchase will be handled as per the above 
  rules for buying new equipment. 
  Reaching the dive shop unnoticed is a AVERAGE 
  (35) Complex Action of Agility + Covert / 
  Stealth with each roll taking one minute of 
  time. 
  Bypassing the security will require an AVERAGE 
  (7) Alertness + Perception to notice the 
  external surveillance equipment, an Optical 
  Bomb and a Mag Charge to disable the 
  surveillance and a set of electronic lockpicks 
  with a successful HARD (11) Agility + Covert / 
  Open Locks roll to actually enter the building. 
  An AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + Covert will 
  know that once inside, the PCs only have 
  twenty minutes to get what they need before 
  the local security realize something is wrong. It 
  will take an AVERAGE (7) Alertness + 
  Perception to locate each set of SCUBA gear 
  needed, but no roll will be needed to find the 
  diving sled 
  Escaping with the goods is another Complex 
  Action of Agility + Covert / Stealth with each 
  roll taking one minute of time, but due to the 
  equipment they are carrying the task is HARD 
  (55). 
  If the PCs fail either Complex Action, they will 
  encounter local police and have to make an 
  AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + Influence / 
  Persuade roll to come with a plausible enough 
  story to be ordered to leave immediately leave 
  the area on the way to the store. The difficulty 
  becomes HARD (11) on the way out with their 
  suspicious looking packages. Failing the roll will 
  result in a trip to the local police station to be 
  questioned more thoroughly. Evading this 
  harder questioning is an Opposed Roll of the 
  questioner’s Intelligence + Influence / Persuade 
  versus Willpower + Discipline / Mental 
  Resistance of the PC. Any PC that fails the 
  Opposed Roll spends in a night in the local jail 
  before being released in the morning with a fine 
  of €10 for trespassing if caught on the way to 
  the store or €100 if caught with stolen goods. 
  Regardless of means, the Crew now has the 
  needed equipment and when Nohara check in 
  with them, he will be ecstatic that they are 
  ready. He will then lead them to his small 
  power boat docked at one of the dozens of 
  public piers that are a fixture on every island on 
  New Melbourne. The boat can seat up to four 
  with their gear comfortably and can crowd in up 
  to seven in very uncomfortable conditions. 
  Nohara suggests that they scout the estate’s 
  location and thinks that they shouldn’t take 
  more than the boat’s normal compliment to 
  prevent drawing attention for now. As soon as 
  the boat pulls away from the dock, go to the 
  next scene. 
  Based on PC actions, the GM should award from 
  1-3 plot points at this time. 
   
  AAC
  CTT  22    
  SSC
  CEEN
  NEE  11::  G
  GO
  OIIN
  N’’  SSW
  WIIM
  MM
  MIIN
  N’’  
   
  "Ya know I done seen a man what could stay 
  underwater for close to an hour? Wouldn’t be 
  believin’ if I ain’t seen it my own self. Not like 
  the guy was a freak o’ nature or anythin’. He 
  just had this equipment he called Scooby or 
  some such thing. Had this tank on his back with 
  
   
  13 
  a hose what connected to a mask and let him 
  swim around like nobodies business. See a 
  place like New Melbourne is powerful short on 
  land, so them as what lives there had to learn 
  to make do with what they got and bein’ able to 
  breath underwater on a world what gots too 
  much seems like a right smart thing what to 
  know how to do iff’n ya asks me"  
  – Pops McMurty itinerant spacer, long time Rim 
  resident 
   
  Danny Nohara deftly pilots his small boat 
  through the busy marina, as only a native from 
  a water world could do and after thirty minutes, 
  he cuts the motor and drops his anchor. Read 
  aloud: 
   
  "Okay, this is as close as we can get 
  without being spotted by Huffington’s 
  proxies. This boat is semi-submersible and 
  I’ll leave it here, but we’ll have to swim if 
  we are going to get any closer. Luckily it’s 
  an easy swim" 
   
  What Nohara considers an easy swim proves to 
  be anything but as his definition of easy, as a 
  native to New Melbourne, compared to the PCs 
  who are not, clearly establishes that the 
  definitions are not the same. Reaching the site 
  will require a HARD (55) Complex Action of 
  Strength + Athletics / Swimming with each roll 
  taking five minutes. A single Botch increases 
  the difficulty to FORMIDABLE (75) while a 
  second Botch will require that PC be rescued by 
  another Crewmember or Nohara if none of the 
  PCs are up to the task, which requires an 
  AVERAGE (7) Strength + Athletics / Swimming 
  roll. When they reach a point in the ocean that 
  doesn’t seem any different from the others, 
  Nohara comes to a halt, effortlessly treading 
  water and makes sure all the PCs are 
  accounted for before speaking. Read Aloud: 
   
  "Shiny, folks, I told you it was an easy 
  swim. No sign of detection so far, now we 
  can move to phase two. We’ll have dive 
  from this point. We need to figure out 
  three main things. First, we’ve got to get a 
  feel for how vigilant Huffy’s proxies are 
  going to be. Second, exactly how well the 
  house is holding up, and lastly, what is 
  going to be the best point of entry. We’ll 
  have to do this in one pass or despite how 
  stupid the proxies are, they will figure out 
  that we are up to something no good." 
   
  Scouting the perimeter of the sunken estate 
  without being detected is a HARD (55) Complex 
  Action of Agility + Covert / Stealth with each 
  roll taking one minute. Each member of the 
  Crew must complete the Complex Action to 
  make a full scan of the estate. If the Crew 
  completes the Complex Action in ten minutes or 
  less, they will escape undetected. In addition, 
  the Crew will be underwater long enough and 
  deep enough that they will have to make one 
  AVERAGE (7) Strength + Athletics / Swimming 
  roll and one AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + 
  Athletics / Swimming roll as per the standard 
  rules for swimming and SCUBA diving. 
  If the PCs take more than ten minutes, a high 
  speed submersible arrives and after a 
  momentary squeal over their SCUBA gear’s 
  communication headsets, a voice will cut across 
  the Crew’s specific channel with "This is a 
  restricted area, what is your business here?" 
  The PCs will have to make an AVERAGE (7) 
  Intelligence + Influence / Persuade roll to come 
  with a plausible enough "just fishing" story to 
  be ordered to leave immediately leave the area. 
  Failing the roll will result in the submersible 
  
   
  14 
  ordering them to the surface where a surface 
  boat arrives to question them more thoroughly. 
  Evading this harder questioning is an Opposed 
  Roll of the questioner’s Intelligence + Influence 
  / Persuade versus Willpower + Discipline / 
  Mental Resistance of the PC. Any PC that fails 
  the Opposed Roll spends in a night in the local 
  jail before being released in the morning with a 
  fine of €10 for trespassing. 
  If the Crew manages to escape undetected, 
  they face another HARD (55) Complex Action of 
  Strength + Athletics / Swimming with each roll 
  taking five minutes to return to Nohara’s boat 
  with the same consequences for the first Botch, 
  but the second Botch results in an encounter 
  with a reef shark. A PC has to roll a HARD (11) 
  Alertness + Perception to spot the predator 
  before it strikes, otherwise, it strikes without 
  warning. 
   
  Reef Shark 
  Agi d10, Str d8, Vit d8, Ale d8, Int d2, Wil d6; 
  Life Points 14; Initiative d10 + d8. 
  Traits: Sharp Sense: Smell (Minor Asset), 
  Memorable (Minor Complication). 
  Skills: Athletics d6 / Swimming d12, Covert d6 
  / Stealth d10, Perception d6 / Sight d8 / Smell 
  d10, Unarmed Combat d6 / Teeth / d8 
  Weapons: Teeth d4W 
  Armor: Hide 1W 
  Run the combat as normal, but the Shark will 
  only fight until it has sustained 4 wounds before 
  it breaks off. If the PCs are having a bad time 
  with this encounter, Danny Nohara will produce 
  a small high-velocity dart launcher and drive 
  the shark away. 
  Once back a Nohara’s boat, the Crew will be 
  able to return to the dock and the safety of 
  their ship to plan the raid on Huffington’s 
  estate. 
   
   
   
   
  AAC
  CTT  22    
  SSC
  CEEN
  NEE  22::  D
  DIIVVEE,,  D
  DIIVVEE,,  D
  DIIVVEE!!  
   
  "Humans have always been curious creatures 
  and one of the most frustrating secrets that 
  faced early man was exactly what was below 
  the sea. Not knowing and not having the means 
  to look resulted in many fanciful tales including 
  a wide variety of mythical creatures as varied 
  as fearsome sea monsters and mermaids. It 
  was that deeply engrained curiosity that 
  eventually led humanity to develop the tools to 
  allow the exploration of the many seas and 
  oceans that comprised 75% of Earth-That-Was. 
  Even with the right tools, the sea remained 
  mysterious as every time humans thought they 
  understood the Mother World, they would find 
  something completely new, and this kept 
  humanity looking out of curiosity to see what 
  other mysteries there were to find. Eventually 
  that unquenchable quest for knowledge led 
  humans to reach for the stars and even though 
  the many planets and moons of the ‘Verse were 
  only seeded with well known animals from 
  Earth-That-Was, the seas are still able to 
  surprise us with the variations the different 
  worlds produce in these known creatures. It is 
  the chance to discover yet another of these 
  unexpected variations that keeps humanity 
  looking beneath the waves, as what good is the 
  ability to ask questions if no one bothers to try 
  to find the answers?"  
  – Cortex Entry, Elementary Reader Edition 2518 
   
  After some discussion, the best time to make 
  the dive depends on whether the scouting 
  mission was completed or not. If not, the 
  consensus is to go at night, which will increase 
  the difficulty of all tasks by one level. If the 
  scouting mission was completed, then the 
  
   
  15 
  decision is to go at dawn, with the initial 
  approach made in Nohara’s boat leaving 
  Bedford in the dark, but with the final approach 
  being in the early morning light. The approach 
  will be from the east, which gives the Crew 
  enough light to make the trip to the estate 
  much easier. Inside the mansion however, what 
  little light there is will not help. 
  Nohara will keep his semi-submersible almost 
  completely underwater, but will be able to 
  reach the same distance as before, the Crew 
  has to take to their SCUBA gear as this time 
  the second part of the swim will be completely 
  underwater. However, Nohara is able to get a 
  little closer, so the swim will only be an 
  AVERAGE (35) Complex Action of Strength + 
  Athletics / Swimming with each roll taking five 
  minutes with same consequences for a Botch. 
  However, this time, the GM will be using the full 
  swimming and SCUBA rules presented at the 
  beginning of the adventure. In this case, this 
  amounts to six swimming rolls and two Diving 
  rolls. As the maximum time in their individual 
  tanks is two hours, the Crew will be using the 
  dive sled’s "buddy tank" oxygen supply during 
  the trip from Bedford to the drop off point to 
  preserve their own personal supply for the 
  entrance of the estate itself. 
  Reaching the sunken mansion is a Complex 
  Action of Agility + Covert / Stealth with each 
  roll taking one minute. The difficulty of the 
  approach is again based on if the scouting 
  mission was successful. If yes, the task is 
  AVERAGE (35), rising to HARD (55) if not. The 
  only real complication from a Botch is the 
  additional time used to reach the estate. 
  Actually entering the estate will require the use 
  of the mag-charge and a HARD (11) roll of 
  Agility + Covert / Open Locks if using the 
  normal lockpicks, while the electronic lockpicks 
  provide a +1 step Skill bonus. 
  When the sabotaged anti-grav unit finally 
  stabilized and arrested the mansion’s decent, it 
  came to a rest is on a steep twenty degree 
  angle with the north facing front of the house 
  lower than the back of the house. The abrupt 
  sinking caused the majority of the contents of 
  the house to end up in a huge jumbled heap. 
  This chaotic pile makes finding anything of 
  value very difficult. Just as the PCs are coming 
  to this unfortunate realization, the entire 
  mansion lurches violently for several long 
  terrifying seconds, though for the Crew it 
  seems as if the shaking lasts much, much 
  longer. The shaking is violent enough to disturb 
  the contents of the mansion again and 
  everyone has to roll against an AVERAGE (7) 
  Agility + Athletics / Swimming to avoid falling 
  debris with the difficulty considered an attack 
  doing Basic damage. 
  Nohara will look panic stricken for a moment 
  before saying: 
   
  "The salt water has gotten to the gorram 
  AG unit! I will need one of you to go with 
  me to the lower maintenance deck and 
  help me get the ruttin’ thing stabilized 
  before we lose everything! The rest of you, 
  quick, grab as much as you can as fast as 
  you can, ‘Cause I don’t know how bad the 
  damage is and if we can stop it from 
  failing!" 
   
  Nohara will then ask the Crew’s mechanic if 
  they are present to help, if not, then the one PC 
  with the highest Technical Engineering, and 
  barring that, the strongest to go with him. Now 
  spurred by a deadline they didn’t know they 
  had, the Crew must quickly rummage through 
  the pile now partially obscured by disturbed silt 
  to find something of value. 
  
   
  16 
  Finding anything of value is daunting, but not 
  impossible task. To find anything, each PC will 
  have to make a series of Complex Actions using 
  Alertness + Perception with each roll taking a 
  minute against a HARD (55) difficulty to find an 
  item. If the item is located in less than ten 
  minutes, it hasn’t had time to settle and is only 
  an EASY (3) Strength + Athletics / Lifting to 
  grab and dump on the dive sled. If the Complex 
  Action takes more than ten minutes, the item 
  has settled into the pile and will need a HARD 
  (11) Burst of Strength (Strength + Strength) to 
  wrestle onto the sled. 
  As the other PCs are attempting to find 
  valuables, the PC accompanying Nohara finds 
  themselves hard pressed to keep up with 
  nimble New Melbourne native. The PC will have 
  to make a HARD (55) Complex Action of Agility 
  + Athletics / Swimming with each roll taking 
  one minute to reach the lowest level of the 
  mansion and the faltering anti-grav screen. A 
  single Botch will raise the difficulty to 
  FORMIDABLE (75) while a second Botch arrives 
  just in time to hear Nohara wail that the unit is 
  going to fail in fifteen minutes. 
  If the PC arrives within ten minutes, is just 
  behind Nohara, they will have to make an EASY 
  (3) Intelligence + Technical Engineering roll to 
  make a quick assessment. If the roll succeeds, 
  the PC will realize there is still time to prevent 
  the unit from failing. If the assessment roll 
  fails, like Nohara, the PC is convinced there is 
  no hope and escape is the only option as 
  without immediate action, the unit will fail in 
  fifteen minutes. If the assessment roll 
  succeeds, the PC will have only one attempt to 
  stabilize the unit. This is a FORMIDABLE (15) 
  roll of Intelligence + Technical Engineering. If 
  the roll succeeds, the Crew will gain 45 minutes 
  before the house sinks beyond recovery. If the 
  roll fails, the anti-grav unit fails in fifteen 
  minutes leaving Nohara and the PC those 
  fifteen minutes to complete a HARD (55) 
  Complex Action using Agility + Athletics / 
  Swimming with each roll taking one minute. 
  Escape for the Crew still on the upper levels of 
  the house need complete the same Complex 
  Action, but only at an AVERAGE (35) difficulty. 
  Exactly what a PC has located is found on the 
  following table: 
  d12 
  Roll 
  Item 
  Weight 
  Value 
  1 
  Intricately worked 
  gold and ruby 
  bracelet 
  1 lb 
  €200 
  2 
  String of black 
  pearls 
  1 lb 
  €250 
  3 
  Large coat of arms 
  inlayed in gold and 
  silver* 
  20 lbs 
  €300 
  4 
  Very large gold and 
  enamel picture 
  frame (painting 
  ruined) 
  25 lbs 
  €400 
  5 
  Elaborate jewelled 
  basket hilted bastard 
  sword 
  3 lbs 
  €500 
  6 
  Solid gold and jewel 
  encrusted crucifix  
  12 lbs 
  €750 
  7 
  Multi-band 
  equivalent to Rolex 
  1 lb 
  €1,000 
  8 
  Matched set of gold 
  trimmed, engraved 
  duelling pistols 
  10 lbs 
  €1,500 
  9 
  Modern art sculpture 
  of burnished steel   
  100 lbs 
  €5,000 
  10 
  Antique early ‘Verse 
  porcelain Vase  
  5 lbs 
  €5,000 
  11 
  Holographic mural of 
  Serenity Valley by 
  Jasper Price 
  10 lbs 
  €7,500 
  12 
  Marble statue replica 
  of the Venus de Milo  
  150 lbs 
  €8,000 
  * A HARD (11) Intelligence + Knowledge / History 
  will recognize this as belonging to the House of 
  Windsor. 
   
  As each item is found, the PC that locates the 
  item can roll an AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + 
  Knowledge / Art to have an idea (±25%) of the 
  value of the item with an Extraordinary Success 
  knowing the full value of an item. 
  
   
  17 
  Based on whether the attempt to stabilize the 
  anti-grav unit is successful or not, the two hour 
  time limit of their air supply means the rest of 
  the Crew will either only have their one initial 
  attempt to grab something of value if the unit 
  fails or a total of three if the unit is stabilized.  
  The time breakdown is as followed: 
  Action 
  Average 
  Time 
  Outbound swim underwater 
  35 minutes 
  Dive to estate 
  10 minutes 
  Initial valuable search/check on anti-
  grav unit 
  10 minutes 
  Escape if unit fails 
  10 minutes 
  Proper resurfacing 
  10 minutes 
  Return trip underwater 
  35 minutes 
  Total 
   
  120 minutes 
  Outbound swim underwater 
  35 minutes 
  Dive to estate 
  10 minutes 
  Initial valuable search/check on anti-
  grav unit 
  10 minutes 
  Additional searches after unit 
  stabilized 
  20 minutes 
  Proper resurfacing 
  10 minutes 
  Return trip underwater 
  35 minutes 
  Total 
  120 minutes 
  If things go especially bad for the Crew and 
  they have reached a critical oxygen shortage, it 
  is recommended that the GM allow the PCs to 
  surface for the trip back to Nohara’s boat. 
  Once back to Nohara’s boat, the Crew can tap 
  back into the buddy tank for the trip back to 
  Bedford. The loss of the Huffington estate has 
  caused such a massive distraction that the 
  return trip will be uneventful, allowing the Crew 
  to safely reach the Bedford docks. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  AAC
  CTT  22    
  SSC
  CEEN
  NEE  33::  D
  DIISSC
  CR
  REETTIIO
  ON
  N  IISS  TTH
  HEE  
  B
  BEETTTTEER
  R  P
  PAAR
  RTT  O
  OFF  VVAALLO
  OR
  R  
   
  "Now what most folk that choose to obtain 
  items from other than what ya call legitimate 
  sources overlook is how to make profit on those 
  goods after they have them. Most goods are 
  tagged in someway and the ownership of non-
  cash goods has to be transferred carefully 
  unless ya’ll like havin’ a passel of Feds droppin’ 
  in for a visit. Now there exists in the ‘Verse 
  and, has probably always existed, a class of 
  business folk that makes a livin’ off of takin’ 
  those perfectly fine goods and getting’ those 
  goods to them as what needs them. Now these 
  folk like to wrap themselves in all sorts of fancy 
  titles, but the one that most folk in the ‘Verse 
  throw around what can be used in mixed 
  company is ‘fence’. A good fence is worth more 
  than their weight in platinum, and while you 
  hear that exaggeration said about a lot of 
  things, but when it comes to someone what can 
  take goods of all kinds and turn them into hard 
  coin when them goods are hot enough that you 
  need to have thermal gloves to hold them, then 
  ya’ll might not want to consider it an 
  exaggeration."  
  – Frankie ‘Twice Pipe’ Whitaker, Information Broker, 
  Persephone 
   
  Nohara and the Crew are either in high spirits if 
  the job went well, or are subdued if they came 
  away with minimal profit. Regardless of 
  circumstances, Nohara again negotiates the 
  busy Bedford harbor with long practiced skill 
  and turns onto row of piers where he usually 
  moors his boat. The Crew must now make an 
  AVERAGE (7) Alertness + Perception / Sight roll 
  to spot guards waiting at the slip. If none of the 
  
   
  18 
  PC’s make the roll, Nohara will and his 
  strangled gasp is clear for everyone to hear. 
  "Shen sheng de gos se!3 It’s Huffy’s proxies, 
  they’re on to me!" He wails and before anyone 
  in the Crew can react, Nohara panics, spins the 
  boat about, and guns the engine. Whether 
  Huffington’s guards were aware of him before, 
  his actions immediately draws attention and the 
  Crew can hear shouts in the distance. The PCs 
  duck in reaction to a few fruitless shots, but it 
  is clear to see the guards calling for assistance. 
  Escaping New Melbourne will be based on if the 
  Crew’s pilot is aboard their ship or not. If the 
  pilot is aboard their ship, the PCs can call for 
  help via their communication gear. It will take 
  an AVERAGE (7) Willpower + Influence / 
  Persuasion roll to calm Nohara down enough to 
  take directions. If the PCs fail this roll with 
  Nohara, they can attempt to knock him out and 
  pilot the boat themselves. Run the combat as 
  normal and use Agility + Planetary Vehicles / 
  Powerboat to operate the small craft. 
  Once someone is in control of the boat, the pick 
  up will require both the boat and ship pilot to 
  succeed in an AVERAGE (7) Agility + Piloting / 
  Planetary Vehicles roll in the same Combat Turn 
  to either scoop up the small boat if the Crew’s 
  ship has a forward facing loading ramp as 
  featured on the Firefly-class or for the boat to 
  drive onto a rear facing loading ramp. If either 
  pilot fails the pickup roll, the pilot that made 
  their roll can attempt to compensate with a 
  second piloting roll with the standard one step 
  penalty for multiple actions against a HARD 
  (11) difficulty if the other pilot rolled a normal 
  failure FORMIDABLE (15) if the other pilot 
  rolled a Botch. If this second roll fails, the two 
  craft will have to line up again for the pickup. If 
  this second attempt also fails, the pursing ship 
                                                   
  3 Holy crap! 
  will take the PCs under fire and all Piloting rolls 
  incur a one-step penalty. Assuming the Crew is 
  picked up, but before they can breathe a sigh 
  of relief, the pilot screams that there is a 
  customs cutter closing rapidly on them and it 
  has ordered them to return to the Bedford 
  docks. 
  If PC’s ship is unmanned, the escape is more 
  complicated. It will again require an AVERAGE 
  (7) Willpower + Influence / Persuasion roll to 
  calm Nohara down enough to take directions. If 
  the PCs fail this roll with Nohara, they can 
  attempt to knock him out and pilot the boat 
  themselves. Run the combat as normal and use 
  Agility + Piloting / Powerboat to operate the 
  small craft. After the boat is under control, an 
  AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + Knowledge or 
  Intelligence + Discipline / Tactics roll for the 
  PCs to figure that diving the boat is the best 
  tactic to avoid pursuit with Nohara doing so 
  automatically. Whoever is piloting the boat will 
  notice that their boat is under pursuit by a 
  surface boat and that the pursuer is closing 
  fast. It will take an EASY (3) Recall roll 
  (Intelligence + Willpower) for the PCs to 
  remember the mining charge they still have 
  with them and that they can disrupt their 
  pursuer’s sonar. An AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + 
  Knowledge or Intelligence + Discipline / Tactics 
  roll will drop the charge correctly and allow the 
  Crew to double back and reach their ship. As 
  soon as their ship lifts off, but before ship can 
  gain altitude, they are intercepted as above and 
  ordered to land by the customs cutter. 
  By now Nohara is useless with fear and will not 
  be able to assist in the escape and when the 
  pilot detects a targeting array attempting to 
  lock onto their ship, the rest of the Crew 
  probably isn’t too far from the same level of 
  panic. Escaping a faster armed ship in their 
  unarmed ship seems to be an almost 
  
   
  19 
  impossible task. The PCs are free to think up 
  any plausible plan they can come up with, in an 
  attempt to escape, but if they are unable to 
  devise a plan of their own, the GM can offer the 
  following solution: 
  As the customs cutter closes all seems lost. 
  However, the ancient Earth-That-Was saying of 
  necessity being the mother of invention applies 
  now like it never has before and will require an 
  Intelligence + Knowledge or Intelligence + 
  Discipline / Tactics roll to come up with an 
  escape plan. The difficulty of the task will 
  depend on if their ship came to them or they 
  had to go to their ship. If their ship came to 
  them, the task is HARD (11), if they went to 
  their ship, then the task is AVERAGE (7) as the 
  idea is similar to how they escaped the 
  pursuing boat. 
  The customs cutter will give the PCs three 
  warnings before opening fire with 50 pound 
  missiles. Run this part of the combat as normal. 
  During the process, the mechanic will have to 
  make an AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + 
  Mechanical Engineering roll to temporarily 
  boost the ship’s anti-grav to assist with the 
  nearly insane maneuver they are about to 
  perform. The mechanic will have to make a 
  second AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + Mechanical 
  Engineering to cause the engines to spew 
  smoke to fake damage from a (hopefully) near 
  miss. If the ship is hit during the evasion rolls, 
  then this task can be skipped. 
  When the mechanic is ready with their 
  modifications, the pilot will have to make a 
  HARD (11) Ship’s Agility + Piloting roll to 
  convincingly make the ship appear to spiral out 
  of control. The pilot will then have to make a 
  second HARD (11) Ship’s Agility + Piloting roll 
  to successfully execute a pancake landing and 
  rapid sinking. If the first roll fails, the loss of 
  control doesn’t look believable enough to keep 
  the cutter from firing and raises the difficulty of 
  the second roll to FORMIDABLE (15). Failing the 
  second roll is more costly as the target number 
  becomes an attack roll versus Basic damage to 
  the ship and to each member of the Crew. 
  However, the boosted anti-grav gives the PCs a 
  plus one-step bonus to their Vitality for the 
  Endurance (Vitality + Willpower) roll they will 
  use to resist the crash damage. 
  After the ship sinks, the pilot will have to make 
  one final HARD (11) Intelligence + Piloting roll 
  to execute micro-burst of pulse drive to fake an 
  explosion and to throw the ship several 
  hundred miles away in the process and 
  remaining underwater. To the pursuer’s point of 
  view, the Crew’s ship will appear to crash into 
  the water, sink and violently explode. By the 
  time the shockwave settles, PC’s ship will be so 
  far out of range of the pursuer’s sensors, that 
  when they realize there isn’t any wreckage, the 
  Crew will have already made their escape from 
  New Melbourne. 
  The trip to Beaumonde is an AVERAGE (7) 
  Intelligence + Piloting roll to plot a course at 
  Hard Burn, which will reduce the travel time to 
  288 hours for a Speed Class 1 ship or 72 hours 
  for a Speed Class 4 ship. The trip will be 
  without incident unless the GM decides there is 
  a need to complicate things for the Crew. 
  On touch down, Nohara is anxious to fence the 
  items they have recovered, but when the Crew 
  presses him about his contacts, Nohara folds 
  like a house of cards. He looks stricken for 
  several moments before he responds. 
   
  "Okay, you’ve got me figured out. I’m a 
  fraud. I’m not an experienced thief as I 
  have pretended to be. In fact, I never 
  thought rigging Huffington’s estate to sink 
  would work and I’ve been making stuff up 
  as I go ever since the damn thing sank. I 
  
   
  20 
  don’t know any fences on Beaumonde, hell 
  I don’t know any fences at all. If we are 
  going to unload any of the things we have 
  taken, I’m going to have to hope that you 
  have some idea of how to proceed from 
  here." 
   
  The Crew’s reaction to Nohara’s revelations will 
  depend on the GM’s players, but outright 
  murder is not recommended. If attacked, 
  Nohara will attempt to fight back, but if a 
  weapon is drawn, he will drop into a fetal 
  position and actually begin to cry. 
  Regardless of how the Crew deals with Nohara, 
  the PCs still have items they need to fence. If 
  any of the PCs have Friends in High or Low 
  places, they can spend 5 Plot Points to know a 
  fence if Low, or a ‘Gallery’ if High that will deal 
  with them automatically. Spending 3 Plot Points 
  will get them a lead on someone that might 
  help that will take a HARD (11) Intelligence + 
  Influence / Streetwise to locate and set up a 
  meeting. If no one has either Friends asset, 
  they will have to go out and pound the 
  pavement cold. This will require a FORMIDABLE 
  (15) Intelligence + Influence / Streetwise roll, 
  but the PCs will be able to indirectly Assist one 
  another. 
  Once in contact with someone that will deal in 
  the goods they have acquired, they will have to 
  haggle for the final price for the items. This is 
  an Opposed Roll pitting the PC’s Intelligence + 
  Influence / Appropriate Specialty versus the 
  contact’s Intelligence + Influence / Negotiations 
  for each item they try to fence. If the PC wins 
  the roll, the contact will pay 10% of its value, 
  but an Extraordinary Success will get the 
  contact to pay 15%. If the PC fails the roll, 
  their contact will only pay 5% of the item’s 
  value, while on a Botch, the contact will refuse 
  to buy the item at all. 
  Note to GM: as the value of the items found by 
  the PCs is random, if the total value of their 
  entire take is less than €5,000, then the 
  amounts paid for the items will be 25% on a 
  success, 50% on an Extraordinary Success, and 
  10% on a failure. If the net take is less than 
  €1,000, then a success gets face value, an 
  Extraordinary Success adds 10% above face 
  value and a failure 80% of face value. 
  When the last of the haggling is completed, the 
  Crew has a couple options of how to split the 
  take with Danny Nohara. Since he was far less 
  useful than he claimed, the PCs would be well 
  within their rights to reduce the initial fifty-fifty 
  split to something more on the lines of 75/25. 
  The Crew can choose to cut Nohara out of the 
  deal completely, but that would be a very bad 
  idea, as the nearest Cortex isn’t that far away 
  and he could easily report them to the Feds. 
  Nohara knows he’s not in a position to bargain, 
  but will settle for a cut of 20%. On anything 
  less he imply that there could be trouble, but is 
  too scared to really report them, except if they 
  take everything, then he will wait until they 
  have departed Beaumonde before making an 
  anonymous report that will give the Crew a 
  Deadly Enemy: Jacob Huffington Minor 
  Complication. The PCs could resort to murder to 
  keep Nohara silent, but this will be up to the 
  GM to handle as it falls outside of the scope of 
  this adventure. 
  After the Crew has settled the Nohara Question, 
  they are free to depart Beaumonde or to look 
  for what work they can find, or the GM can use 
  whatever plot hook they have devised. In any 
  case, the PCs will earn 4-6 Plot Points, but if 
  they do resort to murdering Nohara, they will 
  suffer a -2 point penalty. 
   
  TTH
  HEE  EEN
  ND
  D  
  
   
  I 
  N
  NO
  ON
  N--P
  PLLAAYYEER
  R  C
  CH
  HAAR
  RAAC
  CTTEER
  RSS  
   
  Danny Nohara 
     Agi d8, Str d6, Vit d6, Ale d8, Int d8, Wil d6;  
  Life Points 12; Initiative d8 + d8 
     Traits: Talented: Technical Engineering (Minor Asset), Coward (Minor Complication) 
     Skills: Athletics d6 / Swimming d8, Covert d6 / Open Locks d8 / Stealth d8, Influence d6 / 
  Persuasion d8, Knowledge d4, Perception d6, Pilot d6 / Waverider d8, Ranged Weapons d4, Survival 
  d6, Technical Engineering d6 / Hacking d8 
   
  Preston Taylor 
     Agi d8, Str d6, Vit d6, Ale d8, Int d6, Wil d8;  
  Life Points 14; Initiative d8 + d8. 
     Traits: Two Fisted (Major Asset), Things Don’t Go Smooth (Major Complication). 
     Skills: Covert d4, Influence d6 / Persuasion d8 / Streetwise d8, Performance d4 
   
  Frank Jenkins 
     Agi d6, Str d8, Vit d8, Ale d6, Int d6, Wil d8;  
  Life Points 16; Initiative d6 + d6. 
     Traits: Heavy Tolerance (Minor Asset), Credo: The Show Must Go On (Minor Asset) 
     Skills: Animal Handling d4, Performance d4, Influence d6, Covert d6 / Sleight of Hand d10 
   
  Mr. Pebbles 
     Agi d12, Str d4, Vit d6, Ale d10, Int d2, Wil d8;  
  Life Points 14; Initiative d12 + d10. 
     Traits: Athlete: Climbing (Minor Asset), Lightweight (Minor Complication). 
     Skills: Athletics d6 / Climbing d8, Covert d6 / Stealth d10, Performance d6 
   
  Jason and Wilma Tucker 
     Use Settler Family Father and Mother (pg. 182-183) 
   
  Hu Zedong  
     Agi d6, Str d6, Vit d6, Ale d8, Int d8, Wil d6;  
  Life Points 12; Initiative d6 + d8. 
     Traits: Nature Lover (Minor Asset), Prejudice: Landlubbers (Minor Complication) 
     Skills: Athletics d6 / Swimming d8, Pilot d4, Survival d6 / Fishing d8, Perception d4 
   
  Cecilia Adams 
     Use School Teacher (pg. 183) 
   
  Merchants 
     Use Rim Shopkeeper (pg. 185) 
   
  Estate Guards  
     Use Frontier Deputy (pg. 185) 
   
  Purchasing Contact  
     Use Pawn Broker/Fence (pg. 186) if PCs use Friends in Low Places,  
     use Purveyor of Stolen Goods (pg. 186) if they use Friends in High Places 
   
   
  
   
  II 
   
  VVEEH
  HIIC
  CLLEESS  
   
  Customs Cutter 
     Dimensions (LxBxH): 83 x 48 x 20 feet 
     Tonnage: 40 tons 
     Speed Class: 5 cruise/7 hard-burn 
     Crew: Pilot, Weapons Officer, two Customs Officers 
     Crew Quarters: 4-seat cockpit, with 2 cramped bunks located behind 
     Fuel Capacity: 5 ton (2,500 hours) 
     Cargo Capacity: 4-tons; 4 tons of external weapons 
     Armament: One 1-pound autocannon with 200 rounds. Up to 8,000 pounds of missiles with a 
  standard load out of 8-100 pound explosive missiles and 16-50 pound explosive missiles 
     Price: €3,400 plus ammunition. 
  Agi d10, Str d2, Vit d6, Ale d6, Int d4, Wil d4; Init d10+d6, Life 6 
     Traits: Everybody Has One (the only military ship to have this Complication). 
     Skills: Aerial Transport Operations/Gunship d4; Perception/ Search d4; Space Transport 
  Operations/Gunship d4 
     Complexity: average, Maintenance costs €80 per year 
  Description: The Alliance Customs Cutter is a modification of the tried and true Alliance Short 
  Range Enforcement Vehicle or ASREV. The Cutter has a reduced weapons load out in favor of long 
  range fuel capacity. These ships are not popular with their crews as nothing was changed to make 
  the ships more comfortable, so while the Cutter has an impressive range, it is rarely used, as most 
  of these vessels stay close to the planets that they are assigned to patrol. 
   
  Semi-Submersible  
  P d8, M d2. Seats: 4. Speed: 40 mph surface, 20 mph submerged. Weight: 5 tons. Cost: €500. 
  Capacity: 500 pounds 
     Description: A ubiquitous vehicle on the water world of New Melbourne. Used for a wide variety 
  of purposes from recreation to small scale commercial operation. Built locally by several distributors 
  and known as a Waverider, these rugged vehicles are capable of diving up to 50 feet and have a 
  range of 500 miles. 
   
  Dive Sled  
  P d6, M –. Seats: 1 Speed 10 mph Weight: 1 tons. €200 Capacity: 250 pounds 
     Description: Another common vehicle on New Melbourne is the dive sled and is the equivalent of 
  an underwater hover mule. Designed to assist with underwater operations, the dive sled in addition 
  to carrying cargo, the dive sled extends divers time underwater via a large oxygen supply known as 
  a buddy tank, that can support up to six divers for up to four hours. 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Serenity/Serenity - That Sinking Feeling.pdf