MOONBASE BLUES: An After-Action Report 1 of 2

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 MOONBASE BLUES 

concept by D. Shugars
written by I. Yusem
art & layout by W. Denning

itch.co NOW!
DTRPG NOW!

BEGIN REPORT: The crew of the Skiff-class ship Sparrowhawk:

• Marine Cmd. Dukes
• Scientist: Archeology Ysuko
• Scientist: Roboticist Iko

<!--All randomly generated by Saker Tarsos MOTHERSHIP character generator -->

Under the unscrupulous leadership of former corp-union smasher Cmd. Dukes, the three were charting a course to a small lunar facility, AZURE BASE, known in these parts for conducting some sort of clandestine geological work. Dukes was hoping for a quick snatch-and-grab of some valuable intel and a tidy payday.

The three awake in the Security station groggy. All have new clothes on, but only Ysuko has her duffle bag [laser cutter, hand welder, crowbar, body cam, laser cutter (!), mag boots, bioscanner, vacsuit, & other goodies]

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SECURITY: Automated AI clicks on to assign them AZURE BASE tasks including making the beds in HABITATION and to bizarrely look up in 4 hours. Player divide up equipment, download both FACILITY MAPS, and head to the GREENHOUSE.

<!--MOONBASE BLUES comes with a single page spread of the two interior maps for player use as an "in-game" object-->

GREENHOUSE & MED BAY (glass-domed): Players witness one figure being mutilated in the Auto-doc while a second "surgeon" conducts this grisly procedure. 

The figure in the Auto-doc has his cavity split open. Various blue painted mechanical parts are being put inside. The "surgeon" over seeing this butchery blue wires running through his head, neck, eyes, and mouth in a grisly halo.

Horrified by the butchery, Cmd Dukes tries to halt the process. Ysuko jumps in with the laser cutter. Meanwhile Iko explored the hydroponics and stole a tranq gun from another pair of strange figures. 

Their leader has both eyes replaces by prisms with blue paint seeping from the wounds.

All three characters fend off an attack and make for HABITATION. Iko hot-wires the door control shut and Ysuko curses her luck at poor laser-cutter handeling at point-blank range. 

HABITATION:Before entering Iko hot-wires the door controls again to only permit entry after a certain amount of time. Collecting themselves, Cmd. Dukes loses it- the horrible sights of the disfigured people and Auto-doc mutilation- has caused him to fail his Panic Check and gain a phobia of Auto-docs <!--player specified-->. The other two keep it together- mostly. 

Once through the door, the players are greeted by two groups of the Devoted (as they call themselves): Two figures staring off through the open shutters at a bizarrely blue-lit horizon; two figures viciously stabbing themselves in the arms yelling about their unnatural red blood-- "BLUE! BLUE! NOT RED! BLUE!"

Player make it up to the second floor to both unclog the toilet in restroom B (as asked by the AI)and ransack the living quarters (but make the beds as ask by the AI). New gear as follows:

• 2x foil space blanket
• 1x mouse
• 1x jury-rigged shotgun
• 2x AZURE BASE security protocol punch-card

<!--MOONBASE BLUES also comes with a "I Search the Body" d100 chart-->

Before leaving, the two Devoted staring off into the turquoise horizon warn the characters in unison: "You will see the Truth. You will know the Truth. We will make you. All of you."

OBSERVATION & GEOLOGY LAB: More dismay as the characters are confronted with 5 devoted huddled around the telescope in prayer lead by a woman with a face painted blue and one eye replaced by a prism (The Prophet). Seeking to the right, the characters enter the Geology Lab and are immediately struck by the blue light of a meteor fragment. All three players fail a Sanity save sending their characters reeling with early Meteor Psychosis-- the meteor and its light filling their mind's eye. Even Cmd. Dukes' mouse ran up to it.

Ysuko recovered first and blasted the meteor with the laser cutter. Blue dust, one atomized-mouse, and screams from the Devoted filled the air: "The Heretics have destroyed the ORACAL! Bring them to the Truth!". Two figures jumped Cmd Dukes trying to both crush his skull (20 total health lost) and subdue him with a tranq. gun. Iko had stumbled back to the door out of OBSERVATION but fired off a quick tranq. gun shot into one of the cultist who dropped into a heavy sleep <!--Critical 33 vs 34 COMBAT-->. Ysuko seared off the face of the second Devoted.

 AND WE ENDED IT THERE...PART II

<!--Notes to self for the future and to you the reader-->

• Give the players time in the opening (and prompt them if needed) to: (1) get a sense of their surroundings; (2) divide up the one load-out kit.
• Keep describing the Devoted (both singular & groups) as unique. Really layout for the players how wrong these people have become. If the player gag, cringe, or make a face- I've hit the mark.
• I wish I had prepped a little more about what was in each area. Just to ensure I had enough in-game "stuff" around to help players solve problems since guns are low and they start with nothing. Player-driven solutions using in-game stuff is awesome.
• Keep the stress coming! Drop by drop.