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  Halfway Station presents… 
  High Colonies 
   
  Scenarios for the High Colonies RPG
   andyslack@bigfoot.com 
  
   
   
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  High Colonies 
  Scenarios for the High Colonies RPG 
   
  High Colonies is a little-known role-playing game originally produced by Waterford 
  Publishing in 1988. Set in 2188, the game posits a future where the Earth has been 
  destroyed by nuclear war, and humanity clings to a precarious existence on a number of 
  space stations scattered throughout the solar system. Player Characters are normally 
  members of the various mercenary units used by the smaller stations to maintain order 
  and provide defence. 
  I ran a High Colonies game for awhile in the early 1990s, which gradually mutated until it 
  merged with my 2300 AD campaign. I wrote these scenarios for the game, which were 
  published in Challenge magazine. They also work well in Traveller or 2300 AD.  
  So far as I know, the copyright to these articles reverted to me when Challenge and its 
  publishers, GDW, ceased trading. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Original material © Andy Slack 1991-1993, 1999. 
  High Colonies is Copyright © 1999, Columbia Games Inc. 
  Space: 1889 is copyrighted and is a registered trademark of Frank 
  Chadwick. All rights reserved. 
  
   
   
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  Table of Contents 
  Beast Man .........................................................................................................................4 
  Lighter Than Air...............................................................................................................7 
  Shuttle..............................................................................................................................11 
  Soldier Ants....................................................................................................................16 
  Kleptomania....................................................................................................................20 
   
  
   
   
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  Beast Man 
  © Andy Slack 1991, 1999. All rights reserved. Originally published in 
  Challenge 57. The map is the generic street map from Space: 1889. 
  This adventure is intended as an introduction to hand-to-hand combat in High Colonies. 
  However, a little surgery on the Background and Refereeing the Scenario will make the 
  adventure suitable for other SF RPGs. As written, the scenario assumes that the PCs are 
  members of Van Owen’s Rangers, a respected mercenary company stationed on Janissary 
  Station in Jupiter orbit. 
  BACKGROUND 
  Even PCs need some R&R from time to time, and the group is taking a few days of well-
  earned leave. In the interests of maintaining security and discipline, Janissary Station has 
  little in the way of amusement for off-duty soldiers. However, Levesque Station in 
  Callisto orbit has recreational facilities catering to the tastes of the large number of ship 
  crews who pass through the Jovian system, including a large red light district where many 
  interesting and generally illegal 
  pleasures are available - at a price. 
  The mercenaries acting as station 
  police turn a blind eye to what 
  goes on in there, partly because 
  they use the facilities themselves 
  and partly because the money from 
  the district (after being laundered) 
  makes up part of their paychecks. 
  Levesque is wary about visitors, 
  though, and the area is isolated 
  from the main bulk of the station. 
  APPROACH 
  The PCs are fresh off the shuttle 
  from Janissary Station, wandering 
  through Levesque’s red light 
  district and wondering where to 
  spend their money. They are 
  unarmed and wearing only light 
  cloth fatigues. 
  Suddenly, a grim figure leaps out 
  from a nearby alley, pounces on a 
  passerby, and begins to savage that 
  innocent with fingers and teeth. 
  MAP DESCRIPTION 
  The map details the vicinity of the 
  attack. 
  Alleyway: This is where the 
  maniac springs from, only a few 
  metres from the PCs. 
  Cafe: This is a French-style 
  pavement cafe, with a bar inside 
  and chairs and tables outside. PCs 
  searching for impromptu weapons may stroll across to the cafe and acquire chairs or 
  bottles from its outdoor facilities. 
  
   
   
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  Sleazy Hotel: This is where the maniac was staying before the attack. There are balconies 
  and fire escapes to swing from if your PCs are feeling exuberant during any fight which 
  ensues. 
  Bar: Additional brawlers enter the fight from here. The bar has a bouncer (see Refereeing 
  the Scenario). 
  House of Ill Repute: Here, mercenaries and ship crews can indulge themselves in tea, 
  crumpets and polite conversation with skilled professional companions (probably biogens 
  in a district this cheap). The house has a bouncer (see Refereeing the Scenario) and is 
  another source of extra combatants. 
  Isolation Doors: Like most stations, Levesque is segmented to minimise casualties and 
  damage if its hull is breached. The isolation doors will automatically seal off the area if a 
  sudden pressure drop is detected on either side. They can also be triggered manually by 
  the station’s security forces in the event of a riot to limit damage and injury to the red-
  light district. Once they are triggered in such a case, the traditional next step is to 
  introduce tranquiliser gas into the air supply to calm things down. 
  REFEREEING THE SCENARIO 
  Most groups of PCs can be counted on to intervene, especially if the innocent victim is 
  young, good-looking, and of the opposite gender. If not, the maniac will assault the PCs a 
  few combat rounds after polishing off the passerby. 
  The maniac is a crewman from a visiting freighter who has sampled one of the district’s 
  more illegal pleasures - a drug and hypnosis combination which allows him to partake 
  vicariously of the life and feelings of a large, ferocious animal. In effect, until the drugs 
  wear off, he is that animal - in this case, a tiger. Afterward, he will remember the 
  experience - a great contrast with his mundane and frustrating daily life. Normally, those 
  indulging in this addiction are securely locked away until the drugs wear off, but this 
  addict managed to escape when a maintenance robot attending to a faulty circuit 
  accidentally opened the door to his room. 
  The maniac believes the passerby he has just savaged is a deer he has been stalking, and 
  that the PCs are scavengers come to steal his kill. 
  Opposing Forces: The beast man will attack the PCs (if they don’t attack first) as if he 
  were a tiger - biting, clawing and roaring. 
  One unarmed maniac, however desperate, is no match against a group of PCs. But just as 
  the PCs start to get the upper hand, a group of the maniac’s fellow crewmen pass by and 
  intervene to help him out. Adjust numbers so that each PC has a single opponent, and 
  match the PC with the best combat skills against the maniac. 
  Additional brawlers can enter the scene from the bar or the house of ill repute. Also, as 
  the situation escalates, fellow mercs may decide to join the fight on behalf of the PCs. 
  Balance out any friendly newcomers by more ship crewmen or members of a rival 
  mercenary company. 
  Enter the Authorities: Several establishments in the vicinity have bouncers. They will 
  not voluntarily enter the fight. However, they will keep a close eye on the activity. If their 
  buildings or customers are threatened, they will try to stop the brawl or divert it elsewhere 
  while someone inside calls the police. 
  A clear victor may eventually emerge from the brawl. Otherwise, a squad of mercenary 
  police armed with clubs and riot gear will arrive on the scene, summoned by locals to 
  break up the fight before too much property damage occurs. 
  Morning After: How the PCs come out of this situation depends very much on what 
  happens during the fight and how it breaks up. Also, the PCs’ fate may be affected by 
  
   
   
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  whether the PCs or authorities trace the madman’s trail back to his hotel room and 
  discover his addiction. Below are several alternative outcomes: 
  • 
  The police who break up the fight can be members of a rival mercenary company, 
  who frame the PCs for causing the riot. This will get the PCs in trouble with the local 
  cops and their unit commander. Traditionally, they can only redeem themselves by 
  undertaking a highly dangerous mission. 
  • 
  The PCs may lose the fight. This earns them numerous cuts and bruises, plus a 
  chewing out from their commander for damaging the unit’s prestige. 
  • 
  The PCs may subdue the madman during the rumble and thus save other passersby 
  from harm. They will get a pat on the back. 
  If the PCs kill the madman in the process of subduing him, they may well be arrested and 
  charged with manslaughter. After all, he had no murderous intent. They will probably be 
  released after an investigation reveals the circumstances, but will acquire several enemies 
  among the ship crew fraternity - the dead man’s friends. 
  NPCS 
  To speed up play, assume that NPCs are all one of the generic character types from page 
  58 of High Colonies, with a score of 13 in all characteristics. 
  Maniac: A generic miner. The maniac will attack with bare hands and teeth, and will not 
  seek to use weapons or armour. 
  Crewmen: Generic miners or pilots. These will be initially unarmed and unarmoured, but 
  will try to grab clubs or other improvised weapons before entering the fray. If you’re 
  feeling nasty, some of them could have knives. 
  Fellow Mercs: Generic soldiers, also initially unarmed. These, too, will remedy that 
  oversight before joining the fun. 
  Bouncers: Generic soldiers, unarmoured, armed with clubs and possibly knives. 
  Mercenary Police: Generic soldiers, equipped with riot helmets and shields, truncheons 
  (treat as clubs), gas grenades and gas masks. To them, this is just an everyday brawl and 
  doesn’t justify the use of firearms. 
  
   
   
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  Lighter Than Air 
  © Andy Slack 1992, 1999. Originally published in Challenge 62. 
  The PCs are members of Van Owen’s Rangers’ Special Action Detachment, currently 
  assigned to Janissary Station in Jupiter orbit. Their mission is to rescue engineers stranded 
  aboard a flying laboratory before it falls out of the sky. They will no doubt expect plague, 
  terrorists, alien monsters and other complications, but they are actually pitted against 
  equipment failure, local weather and their own paranoia. That doesn’t mean the mission is 
  easy - or safe. 
  MERCENARY LIFE 
  The High Colonies are chronically short of trained manpower, and there is little surplus 
  food to support soldiers who do nothing but train and maintain equipment. So clients 
  often maximise the return on their security investment by using mercs for other jobs as 
  well. 
  The smallest and least famous mercenary companies often find their members coerced 
  into working on farms or in factories to fulfill their contracts. The largest are influential 
  enough to spare their troops this ignominious fate. However, they are often called in 
  during natural disasters, where their transport, skills, equipment and discipline can help to 
  save lives and property. Combat engineers are used to construct bases and demolish 
  hazards. 
  The merc companies encourage this for several reasons. First, it hones skills. Even though 
  combat skills are rarely used on this kind of mission, other skills such as Hard Vac or 
  Pilot are exercised, and those, too, are essential. Second, it keeps the troops occupied 
  during long periods of garrison duty where boredom might otherwise be a major 
  disciplinary problem. Third, it looks to the colonists hiring them as if they are doing 
  something for the money. 
  MISSION 
  The PCs are minding their own business in off-duty hours when the intercom system 
  blares into life, urgently summoning them to their unit commander. In the commander’s 
  office, they are informed that a refinery maintenance crew in Jupiter’s atmosphere has 
  lost control of its balloon and is drifting helplessly toward a storm. Crew members must 
  be rescued in a matter of hours, or they will die. Because of their discipline and expertise, 
  the Rangers have been asked to help. 
  The PCs’ commander (Captain Markov, High Colonies, page 94) feels they are the best 
  ones for the job. They need to equip themselves for a trip of several hours in Jupiter’s 
  upper atmosphere, and they will be briefed en route. Time is of the essence. 
  EN ROUTE BRIEFING 
  The PCs are issued with hard vac suits and a Waverider shuttle as they bid a hasty 
  farewell. They are briefed during the first part of the trip. 
  They are to rescue a four-man maintenance and calibration crew aboard the balloon 
  laboratory KX-181, an 85-ton laboratory supported by a 200 metre diameter hot hydrogen 
  balloon. Such laboratories investigate Jupiter’s atmosphere and weather, and they pilot 
  new gas extraction techniques for use by industry. Normally, they are unmanned, but 
  every so often a crew is sent to repair on-board equipment failures, recalibrate 
  instruments and perform preventative maintenance. 
  An unexpected storm has wrenched the crew’s shuttle from the docking port and is 
  pushing the laboratory off-course, toward a region of great turbulence at the edge of one 
  of Jupiter’s bands. Here jetstreams blowing in opposite directions will tear the laboratory 
  to pieces, killing all aboard. 
  
   
   
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  The PCs’ objective is to rendezvous with the laboratory, recover the engineering crew and 
  as much of their equipment as possible, and escape alive. 
  WAVERIDER SHUTTLE 
  Waveriders are streamlined craft intended for atmospheric flight. They are shaped like an 
  arrowhead bent partly in half down the long axis. Made of stainless steel, they are silvered 
  on the lower, concave 
  surface and blackened 
  on the upper surface. 
  In game terms, they are 
  dual-function 
  atmospheric spacecraft 
  as described on page 75 
  of High Colonies. 
  The design dates from 
  the late 20th century, 
  invented by a Professor 
  Nonweiler. The unusual 
  shape traps the shock 
  wave of re-entry inside 
  the ventral cavity, giving the craft its name and making it extremely manoeuvrable at all 
  speeds from Mach 6 down to a few tens of metres per second. 
  The design also has an immense landing footprint and can reach any point of a planet’s 
  surface from almost any entry point. Finally, as the ionised plasma of re-entry is 
  contained under the craft, it can remain in radio contact with orbital stations throughout 
  re-entry, which other designs cannot. 
  The ventral cavity is silvered to reflect the savage heat of re-entry, and the upper surface 
  is blackened to radiate away what cannot be reflected. Both surfaces become very hot 
  during atmospheric flight. Trapping the shock wave under the vehicle means that its 
  dorsal surface has very little wind or turbulence; in fact, it is in vacuum at high speed. 
  When working in atmospheres with some chemical energy present (e.g., those of Earth or 
  Jupiter) Waveriders frequently use external combustion engines. Fuel or oxidiser, as 
  appropriate, is dumped into the ventral cavity and ignited, causing a controlled explosion 
  which generates both lift and thrust. 
  Waveriders are made by the hundreds in a variety of sizes and are the most frequently 
  encountered dual-purpose atmospheric craft. The deck plans shown are for a fairly typical 
  small Waverider, with a crew of two and room for various combinations of small cargo 
  and passengers up to a maximum of 20-some people. As breaks in the ventral surface are 
  potential structural weaknesses, the cargo bay doors and airlock hatch are on the craft’s 
  back. 
  RENDEZVOUS 
  The PC with the highest Atmospheric Pilot skill will be assigned to fly the shuttle. If no 
  PC has suitable skills, an NPC pilot with the skills shown on page 58 of High Colonies 
  will be provided. To rendezvous with the flying laboratory, several successful skill rolls 
  are needed, using Atmospheric Pilot skill. 
  The first roll is to fly successfully through the gap in Jupiter’s radiation belts at speed. 
  These belts have the intensity of a continuous nuclear explosion and prevent extensive 
  colonisation of the four largest moons. Fortunately, as Jupiter’s magnetic axis is offset 
  from its axis of rotation, there is a gap which skilfull pilots can exploit to get into the 
  atmosphere. Failure on this roll indicates that the PCs suffer mild radiation poisoning and 
  
   
   
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  require medical treatment on their return. However, that might just make them seem more 
  heroic. 
  The second roll is to enter Jupiter’s 
  atmosphere successfully. Failure here 
  means the PCs lose time (an hour or so) 
  lining up for another attempt. This has no 
  effect on the scenario, but the PCs should be 
  encourage to think time is running out. 
  Catastrophic failure damages the shuttle, 
  reducing the pilot’s effective skill level by 
  10% for future skill rolls. 
  The third roll is needed to navigate to the 
  laboratory’s predicted position. Failure 
  means the PCs get lost or have to detour to 
  avoid the worst of the storms, and they lose 
  an hour or two looking before they find 
  their destination. The shuttle pilot may roll 
  against Navigation rather than Atmospheric 
  Pilot if he wishes. 
  A final skill roll is needed to rendezvous 
  with the lab. The shuttle will be unable to dock because of damage caused when the 
  engineers’ craft was torn away. Failure on this roll means the shuttle accidentally brushes 
  against the lab, which reduces the pilot’s effective skill level by a further 10% for any 
  future skill rolls. 
  BOARDING THE LAB 
  Give the PCs some time to come up with a way of getting the engineers out by 
  themselves. If they fail to come up with anything better, have an NPC (either aboard ship 
  or in mission control) suggest that they fly directly under the airlock and send someone 
  out into the relative calm 
  on the Waverider’s back. 
  There, he can climb into 
  the lab or jury-rig some 
  way of docking. 
  Assuming the PCs choose 
  that option, conduct the 
  boarding in combat turns 
  to heighten the tension. 
  During each combat turn, 
  the character flying the 
  shuttle must succeed in an 
  Atmospheric Pilot skill 
  roll to hold it steady. In 
  the unlikely event that this 
  is too easy, reduce the 
  pilot’s effective skill level 
  to compensate for fatigue based on the high gravity and turbulence. 
  It takes a character one combat turn to get out through the airlock onto the Waverider’s 
  back. If the pilot fails the skill roll that turn, the PC on the craft’s back must roll against 
  Dexterity x 5% or Hard Vac (his choice) to stay on his feet and in control. A failure 
  means he slips and falls and must make a further roll to regain his feet. A catastrophic 
  failure means the character’s safety line has broken, and he falls to his death. (Anyone 
  with any Hard Vac skill at all will think of using a safety line and can be assumed to 
  suggest it to the others.) In the best TV tradition, the referee may wish to sacrifice an NPC 
  brought along for the purpose to illustrate the dangers to the PCs. 
  
   
   
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  Assuming that the PCs stay in control, it will be obvious that they have no chance of 
  repairing the shuttle dock enough to dock normally. The PCs must carry hard vac suits 
  into the airlock, where the engineers can pull them inside and don them. The engineers 
  may then be brought out through the airlock, braving the dangers of the shuttle’s back, 
  and taken aboard. 
  The above rolls to stay on one’s feet remain in force. Each engineer takes three turns to 
  retrieve - one to exit the lab, one to cross to the shuttle airlock, and one to enter the 
  shuttle. If the PCs are smart, they will rig a safety line between the lab and the shuttle, and 
  get the engineers to clip themselves to it. The safety line gives a 10% bonus to engineers’ 
  rolls to stay in control. Other bright ideas on the part of the PCs should likewise be 
  rewarded with an increased change of success. 
  TAKING A DIVE 
  If someone falls of the back of the shuttle, there is a chance to recover him. The shuttle 
  must immediately disengage from the lab and dive after the unfortunate, hoping to 
  overtake him and catch him in the cargo bay as he falls. This will require a very difficult 
  Atmospheric Pilot skill roll - reduce the pilot’s effective skill to around 30% or whatever 
  you think is reasonable - and only one attempt is allowed. Failure means the falling 
  character smashes into the shuttle hull under 2.5 G of acceleration, or misses the hull and 
  gets crisped in the exhaust from the external combustion engine. Either of these will ruin 
  his whole day, but both are probably better than falling into Jupiter until his suit implodes 
  under the pressure. 
  If the character is lucky enough to get caught, smashing into the cargo bay at high speed 
  will incapacitate him. He takes no further part in the scenario due to his injuries. 
  If there is somebody else on the shuttle’s back when this happens, he must succeed at 
  both Dexterity and Strength rolls to hang on. The pilot may well have to choose just who 
  he lets fall to their death. 
  RETURN 
  To return, the PCs need two successful Atmospheric Pilot rolls. As they are no longer in 
  such a hurry, failures just mean they take longer to get back. 
  The PCs receive no combat pay or other financial reward, but they become heroes 
  throughout the Jupiter system for a few weeks, and the engineers may feel indebted. Just 
  what advantage the PCs gain from being owed favours depends on their own ingenuity. 
  
   
   
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  Shuttle 
  © Andy Slack 1992, 1999. All rights reserved. Originally published in 
  Challenge 63. 
  Terrorists hold a group of colonists captive aboard a hijacked shuttle. The Rangers’ 
  Special Action Detachment is the most likely unit to be assigned this mission if it is 
  available; otherwise, the local garrison commander will make do with whoever he has on 
  hand. 
  The PCs are stationed on Janissary Station at the time, and the scenario begins as they are 
  summoned to their commanders’ officer to be briefed on the situation. 
  BRIEFING 
  The commander (probably Captain Markov, High Colonies, page 94) announces that an 
  inbound personnel shuttle has been seized by a terrorist group, believed to be the Flaming 
  Sword, a group known to be associated with the Band of Humanity (BH). The terrorists 
  have killed the pilot by ejecting him into space without a spacesuit. The terrorists refuse 
  to negotiate with local traffic control or police forces, and the PCs are being placed on 
  alert to undertake a rescue mission. The PCs will take up positions in the shuttle docking 
  bay and prepare for an assault on the shuttle to rescue the hostages, should that be needed. 
  Maps of the shuttle and the docking bay are on hand, and a second shuttle has been set up 
  in an identical bay for rescuers to practice on prior to the actual assault. 
  The unit intelligence officer, Lieutenant O’Hara, outlines what is known about the 
  Flaming Sword terrorist group: Janissary Station was originally built as Purity Station for 
  the Brotherhood of Purity, founding members of the Band of Humanity, in 2102. 
  Following the Purge War, the station was handed over to the Outstation League in 2174 
  as part of the Band’s reparations to the League. The League sold the station to a 
  consortium of mercenary companies in 2176. (Some of its original religious statues and 
  decorations have yet to be replaced, and are occasionally used for target practice.) The 
  Band of Humanity still schemes to recover the station. 
  After the defeat of the Band of Humanity in the Purge War and the loss of their home 
  station, disaffected elements in the Brotherhood of Purity formed the Flaming Sword, a 
  terrorist organisation with goals of striking back at the Outstation League and its allies, 
  and recovering Purity Station for the Brotherhood. 
  While the Flaming Sword’s communiques continue to stress the rhetoric of its cause, the 
  original aims have long since been lost, submerged by an addiction to violence and 
  outrage for its own sake. This explains the group’s co-operation with other terrorist 
  organisations, even those run by its sworn enemies. The goal is now simply to terrorise, 
  and members do not really care who or why. It is not known which members of the group 
  are involved, but they are believed to be funded by BH operatives and normally use BH 
  weapons. 
  The shuttle is carrying a number of pregnant women from the nearby High-G Station. 
  This is an industrial colony in Jupiter orbit, which uses unusually rapid rotation to 
  simulate gravities of 1.5 G and up. Its primary purpose is providing high-G 
  acclimatisation for shuttle crews and other workers who need to venture into Jupiter’s 
  atmosphere. The high gravity causes complications in pregnancy and childbirth, so 
  pregnant women are normally transferred to Janissary Station (the nearest normal-gravity 
  station) to reduce the risk to mother and child. 
  When the hijack took place, the pilot dumped the shuttle’s fuel reserve, committing it to 
  dock at Janissary Station with no spare fuel to choose an alternative destination. The 
  terrorists then killed him in a fit of rage. 
  O’Hara believes the terrorists will drag out the situation as long as possible to embarrass 
  the mercenary companies and gain maximum publicity for their cause. The Rangers are 
  
   
   
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  under pressure to solve this problem fast - who’s going to hire them for security work if 
  they can’t handle a simple hijack on their own turf? 
  PLAN 
  The shuttle will arrive and dock in five hours. The PCs have four and a half hours before 
  they take up positions in the shuttle dock, which they can use to equip themselves and 
  make investigations. Fortunately, like all civilian shuttles, the inbound craft has blind 
  spots - arcs into which neither crew nor passengers can see. These are deliberately 
  included in the design for just such circumstances. 
  Unless the PCs choose to equip themselves differently, each character on the mission will 
  be armed as follows: Heavy cloth armour, metal vest, full helmet and gas mask, auto 
  pistol with spare magazine, machine pistol with four magazines. One or two sniper rifles 
  will be available for those wishing to use them, as will smoke, tear gas and sonic 
  grenades. 
  The PCs will be backed up by a large number of ordinary soldiers, medical personnel etc. 
  Their mission is limited to rendering the terrorists ineffective, with minimum casualties 
  among the passengers. Others will follow to deal with everything else. 
  DOCKING BAY 
  The map shows the shuttle in the docking bay after it lands. Its position after touchdown 
  is roughly, but not 
  exactly, predictable.  
  Mobile Stairs: The 
  mobile stairs are a 
  standard internal 
  station van modified 
  to carry a flight of 
  stairs which reach up 
  to the shuttle’s airlock 
  to allow passengers 
  and crew to 
  disembark. 
  Fuel Bowser: The 
  fuel bowser is a 
  standard internal 
  station van modified 
  to carry fuel hoses and 
  connectors. The fuel is 
  stored elsewhere in 
  the station and 
  pumped into the 
  docking bay by the 
  refuelling machinery. 
  The fuel bowser 
  carries a reel of tough hose connecting it to the refuelling machinery; fuel is pumped into 
  the bay, then down the hose to the bowser and finally into the shuttle. 
  HIGH-G STATION 
  As High-G Station is presumably where the terrorists boarded the shuttle, the PCs may 
  wish to find out more about it. A few minutes of searching and a successful Computer, 
  History or Politics skill roll will reveal the following additional information: 
  Name: High-G Station. 
  Location: Jupiter GSO. 
  
   
   
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  Function: Industry. 
  Population: 3000/2500. 
  League: SFL. 
  Government: Restricted parliamentary. 
  Attitude: Insular. 
  High-G’s political parties are the local councils of the three main spacer unions. Other 
  parties are forbidden by the constitution, and only union members can vote in elections. 
  It was originally intended that staff would serve only short tours of duty on High-G, but 
  over the years, some have become permanent inhabitants. 
  Attempts to get further information from High-G Station will run foul of a pompous petty 
  bureaucrat who refuses to give the PCs any help and who is greatly insulted by the 
  suggestion that High-G’s antiterrorist precautions have failed. 
  REFEREE’S NOTES 
  The leader of the terrorist group aboard the shuttle is Paula Mouton, a well-educated, 
  middle class young woman. She was originally drawn into the Flaming Sword by her 
  infatuation with one of its male founders, who was later killed in a counter-terrorist 
  operation by Van Owen’s Rangers Special Action Detachment. Now a hardened, bitter 
  killer, she sees violence as the only way to get what she wants. She is charming and 
  attractive, and infiltrates potential target areas easily. Isolated from normal praise by her 
  covert and violent life, Mouton puts herself under great and continuous pressure to prove 
  herself; she strives to outdo her male colleagues in ferocity, and often succeeds. 
  If she feels she is losing control, Mouton will escalate the situation past the point of no 
  return and may become suicidal. 
  Mouton and her three followers (two male, one female) should be treated as generic 
  soldiers from page 58 of High Colonies. Mouton has donned the shuttle’s hard vac suit as 
  armour; her followers are unarmoured. Each has a light pistol and two fragmentation 
  grenades, and Mouton also has the shuttle’s flare pistol. One of the terrorists is concealing 
  his identity - as far as the other passengers know, he is one of them. Most of the hostages 
  have been tied to their seats, but they have been told that the undercover terrorist has been 
  left free to act as a waiter. 
  Clearly, the hijackers are outnumbered and outgunned - the challenge is not dealing with 
  them, but doing so without hostages being hurt. 
  The 15 passengers are almost all women in the early stages of pregnancy. If their skills 
  and characteristics become important, treat them as a mixture of generic Miners and 
  Traders from High Colonies page 58. The passengers and co-pilot are not armed or 
  armoured in any way. 
  NEGOTIATIONS 
  The PCs will not be taking part in the negotiations, but will be kept informed. Initially, 
  the hijackers will demand the release of other terrorists held prisoner, a broadcast of a 
  propaganda tape on all channels, a large sum of money, refuelling and a new pilot. None 
  of these are forthcoming, and negotiations break down. 
  During the negotiations, the hijackers state that they have rigged an explosive charge to 
  destroy the shuttle, and they will detonate it if they are attacked or if their demands are 
  not met within 24 hours. (This is actually a bluff, but the PCs have no way of knowing 
  whether there is a bomb aboard.) 
  
   
   
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  After 2d6 hours, the PCs receive the order to assault the shuttle and free the hostages. 
  RESCUE OPTIONS 
  The PCs should come up with the assault plan. If they fail to do so, their commander will 
  suggest that the PCs hide inside internal station vans which approach the shuttle under the 
  pretence of delivering food and fuel, then begin the assault when the terrorists open the 
  hatches to receive the food. 
  If the PCs are having too easy a time, the terrorists may demand that the docking bay be 
  kept open to vacuum. As the shuttle passengers have no vacc suits, this complicates the 
  problem enormously. 
  Underfloor Access: The PCsmay come up with the idea of crawling through maintenance 
  ducts under the floor so as to emerge beneath the shuttle, where they cannot be seen by 
  the terrorists. This requires several hours of work to cut and camouflage hatchways 
  through the deck allowing them to emerge. The shuttle clears the deck by about five feet 
  when grounded. Only a sadistic referee would have the shuttle land on one of the PCs’ 
  concealed hatches. 
  Frame Charges: The PCs may want to blow holes in the shuttle’s walls or roof quickly 
  to gain entrance to its interior. This is best done using frame charges, which cost around 
  1000 EC each and weigh four to five pounds. They take one combat turn to emplace and 
  can be triggered by remote control, timers or a nearby PC. They are precisely tailored to 
  cut a door- or window-sized hole withough causing injury or other damage. Such charges 
  are readily available because of their usefulness in gaining access to crashed or disabled 
  spacecraft to rescue the occupants. 
  Gas: The PCs may try to introduce knockout gas into the shuttle to incapacitate the 
  passengers and hijackers. This can be done either by drilling small holes and introducing 
  gas pipes into the passenger compartment or by tampering with the shuttle’s air supply. 
  The equipment is readily available, and holes can be drilled quietly, provided that the PCs 
  get close enough to the shuttle. Tampering with the shuttle’s air supply is best done under 
  cover of refueling and replenishing the shuttle, but if this is attempted, one of the 
  terrorists will come out to check on whoever is doing the replenishing. That person will 
  need to make a successful Con-Artist roll to avoid being discovered and attacked. If the 
  gas is introduced into the shuttle, each hijacker rolls against Initiative to see if he notices 
  the gas in time to alert the others and take action. Mouton will seal her vacc suit; the 
  others will open the airlock. High concentrations of gas in confined spaces could harm 
  hostages. 
  Surveillance: The PCs may try to bug the shuttle with microphones, low-powered lasers 
  bouncing off the windows, TV cameras or whatever. As long as they can get into position 
  to place the equipment, they should succeed. They will learn that there appear to be three 
  hijackers and one passenger (acting as a waiter) and that the copilot and the other 
  passengers are tied to their seats. If the PCs see Mouton, they learn that she is wearing a 
  vacc suit. One hijacker is always on the bridge, the others don’t stay long in any one 
  place. 
  Mobile Stairs: The PCs may approach the shuttle hiding in the mobile stairs, under the 
  pretext of delivering food or other supplies, then charge up the stairs and burst into the 
  shuttle when the hijackers open the airlock. The hijackers will only open the outer door of 
  the airlock, demanding that the supplies be placed in it. They then close the outer door, 
  open the inner one and retrieve the supplies. Smarter PCs will spot this possibility and 
  just use the stairs to get into one of the shuttle’s blind spots. 
  Fuel Bowser: This is a variant of the mobile stairs option. The PCs hide in the fuel 
  bowser as it approaches the shuttle, then steal into the shuttle’s blind spots under cover of 
  refueling. 
  
   
   
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  Maintenance Hatch: The PCs can easily get into the shuttle’s rear blind spot by 
  spacewalking from the docking bay’s personnel airlock and entering the bay proper 
  through the access hatch in the bay doors. This requires a portable, temporary airlock to 
  be emplaced around the access hatch to prevent loss of pressure in the bay. The 
  equipment is readily available and can be emplaced in minutes. 
  Snipers: A perennial favourite is to put snipers in the viewing gallery or behind the 
  supply pallets to fire on the hijackers through the shuttle windows as the assault begins. 
  These fire at half their usual skill levels because of the obstructions and the need to avoid 
  hitting passengers. 
  ASSAULT 
  When the assault begins, the terrorists are automatically surprised on the first turn. 
  Starting on the second turn, Mouton will turn her flare pistol on the hostages and begin 
  shooting them indiscriminately. One other hijacker will engage the PCs with his light 
  pistol and grenades; the third will drop her weapons and try to hide among the passengers. 
  The last hijacker - the “waiter” - is caught by surprise, asleep on one of the passenger 
  seats. It will take him three turns to wake up enough to do anything. 
  When Mouton and the two other terrorists are dealt with, each character should roll 
  1d100. If the result is less than his Initiative, the character will notice that one of the 
  seated men (the last hijacker) is not tied to his seat like the others. This terrorist will wait 
  for the PCs to get close, then try to arm a grenade with the intent of killing as many as 
  possible of the hostages and troops. The other passengers still think he is one of them and 
  may try to protect him from the rescuers. 
  If the player characters capture any of the hijackers, they will be imprisoned. Several 
  months later, another group of terrorists will seize more hostages. One of their demands 
  will be the release of the first group. The details of this second rescue are left for the 
  referee. 
  
   
   
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  Soldier Ants 
  © Andy Slack 1993, 1999. All rights reserved. Originally published in 
  Challenge 67. 
  The PCs are part of a small unit of Van Owen’s Rangers, assigned to security duty on a 
  small station of the referee’s choice in the asteroid belt. The detachment is small enough 
  for one of the PCs to be in charge, probably no more than a couple of dozen troops. 
  The station head summons the PCs and informs them that a shuttle, expected in from a 
  neighbouring colony, has failed to arrive on schedule. However, a cloud of debris with the 
  orbital parameters expected of the shuttle is approaching at speed. He wants the PCs to 
  locate the shuttle (or what’s left of it), identify the cause for the delay and take 
  appropriate action at their discretion. He will loan them a small shuttle for the duration of 
  the mission; the PCs must provide other equipment themselves. This operation is within 
  the bounds of the PCs’ contract with the station head, so no additional reward will be 
  forthcoming. However, the PC commanding the unit can twist regulations to classify this 
  as combat duty, so that hazardous duty rates (High Colonies, page 94) are paid for the 
  current month. 
  APPROACH 
  The PC with the highest Pilot skill level will be assigned as shuttle pilot (if none have the 
  right skills, allocate the group a generic NPC pilot with the skills listed in High Colonies, 
  page 58). The PCs may fly straight out to investigate the debris (the trip takes one day 
  each way), or they may use remote sensing to scan it from the station. In either case, a 
  successful Astronomy or Astrogation roll from any PC means he can work out roughly 
  where the shuttle broke up from the dispersion of the fragments. A further Astronomy roll 
  will identify which asteroid (there is only one meeting the requirements) was close 
  enough at that time for a spacecraft to fly from it to intercept the shuttle and return on a 
  standard fuel load - there are no known objects close enough to have accidentally 
  destroyed the ship. If the PCs fly out to investigate the debris, or if they make a final 
  Astronomy roll, they notice signs of battle damage on the debris. 
  If the PCs fail to think of these points, or fail their rolls, NPCs on the asteroid will supply 
  them with this data the following day. 
  When he learns of these facts, the station head orders the PCs to investigate the asteroid in 
  their borrowed shuttle; this trip will take two to three days each way. If they think they 
  can deal with whoever is responsible, the PCs have authority to engage; otherwise, they 
  should conceal their presence and report back. (If the party doesn’t think it can take on the 
  base after having scouted it, allocate more NPCs to the group on its return and have the 
  station head send them out again.) 
  RETRIEVAL 
  The PCs will return to base using the shuttle. 
  MAP DESCRIPTION 
  The asteroid the PCs investigate is an abandoned mine, with minimal accommodations 
  for several dozen miners. The PCs should be able to discover this much by browsing 
  through old records (or making a History roll). 
  It has been taken over by a band of renegade Ram-Soldiers (High Colonies, page 83) who 
  are using it as a base. They have destroyed the missing shuttle and carried off its cargo 
  and passengers. The renegades have no passive sensors other that a telescope (used to find 
  suitable victims for piracy), and they dare not use their shuttle’s radar to scan for intruders 
  as it would give them away. The referee should allow the PCs to approach the asteroid 
  undetected. The map shows a small part of a large asteroid, which is rotating slowly to 
  
   
   
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  simulate gravity. A Pilot roll is required to approach and dock safely. The docking bay, 
  observatory and personnel airlock are in 0G. 
  Docking Bay: This contains a small shuttle, guarded by one Ram-Soldier whose duty is 
  to raise the alarm via communicator if intruders enter, then delay them as long as 
  possible. The bay doors cannot be opened from the outside short of using explosives. This 
  will depressurise the area (the airlock will close automatically to prevent loss of air 
  elsewhere in the station), kill the guard and alert all the other Ram-Soldiers. 
  Observatory: The renegades’ telescope is here, currently unmanned as it has broken 
  down. Scattered about are shipping routes and schedules plundered from their earlier 
  kills, used to find future victims. This area has the only window on the asteroid. Airtight 
  doors automatically close to seal off this area if the window is breached. Inside are a slave 
  technician trying to repair the telescope and a Ram-Soldier guard. 
  Personnel Airlock: The PCs’ probable point of entry, this is guarded by one Ram-Soldier 
  just inside the inner door, also under orders to raise the alarm and delay intruders. Initially 
  the airlock itself is depressurised, with both doors closed. Have each character make a 
  Stealth roll if they enter this way; success indicates that they get into the airlock and 
  
   
   
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  pressurise it without alerting the guard. The guard notices the intruders at the first failed 
  Stealth roll or when the inner door is opened. 
  Connecting Passage: This sloping corridor connects the 0G areas of the mine, on the 
  asteroid’s spin axis, with the inhabited areas under spin farther out. It is badly lit, cold, 
  damp from condensation and generally spooky. The apparent gravity gradually increases 
  to Earth normal as the PCs reach the bottom end. 
  Ram-Soldiers’ Quarters: These are spartan and resemble nothing so much as an army 
  barracks. Adult (i.e., ages 3-8) Ram-Soldiers equal in number to the PCs and their allies 
  are present, and one child (under 2 years old) per four adults. The Ram-Soldiers will fight 
  fanatically to protect their children; several older children will join the fighting. 
  Slaves’ Quarters: These have even fewer facilities than the Ram-Soldiers’ quarters and 
  contain as many slaves as there are party members. These slaves are exhausted, chained 
  to their beds, of little use to the PCs. 
  Workshop: Here are a handful of slaves, guarded by one Ram-Soldier, at work repairing 
  and maintaining various weapons and devices. 
  Hydroponics: This area contains a hydroponic farm large enough to feed the base’s 
  inhabitants, being worked by a half-dozen slaves under guard by an armed Ram-Soldier. 
  Abandoned Mine Tunnels: These are empty. PCs who don’t question slaves about the 
  layout can get lost and be ambushed by Ram-Soldiers, who know the tunnels intimately. 
  The PCs get lost almost at once. Thereafter, roll 1d6 every few minutes. On a 1, the PCs 
  find their way out. If there is any reason for the inhabitants to suspect their presence, on a 
  5-6 the party is ambushed by an equal number of Ram-Soldiers. 
  Power Plant: This generates barely enough power to keep the base liveable. The plant is 
  decrepit and worn, and requires constant attention from the two slaves present. 
  REFEREEING THE SCENARIO 
  Ram-Soldiers are biogens (genetic constructs), created by the Band of Humanity to fight 
  in the Purge War many years ago, and long thought extinct. Unlike normal biogens, they 
  are able to reproduce. But like other constructs, they have a very short lifespan - around 
  eight years - and are totally focussed on their programmed tasks - in this case, warfare. 
  Thus, Ram-Soldiers cannot exist in isolation. Like soldier ants, they are overspecialised 
  warriors who must depend on others for support. This band has survived for several of 
  their generations by piracy and slavery; all noncombat tasks are performed by slaves. 
  The Ram-Soldiers are expecting trouble - they’re programmed to - and have alert guards 
  posted. Ram-Soldiers should be played as ruthless and competent. Should they beat the 
  PCs - and the PCs should always think they can - any surviving characters will be 
  enslaved and may be rescued later by a follow-up party from Rangers’ HQ. 
  Slaves range from rebellious to broken, but are all unarmed and want to sit out the fight. 
  The referee can use them to balance the scenario by having them seize the chance to 
  revenge themselves on their captors - strangling them with chains, attacking with 
  improvised clubs from behind, etc. Any slave freed by the PCs can describe the base 
  layout to them. Captured Ram-Soldiers will never talk (they’re programmed not to). 
  NPCS 
  Ram-Soldiers: Most of these are very similar, although older ones tend to have higher 
  skill levels. They are equipped with a wide variety of weapons and armour, either left 
  over from the Purge War or captured since. The referee should choose whatever 
  combinations he finds interesting, bearing in mind that the PCs will probably wind up 
  owning most of it. Use generic Weapons Specialist statistics from High Colonies, page 
  
   
   
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  58, for adult Ram-Soldiers, but for the older children, reduce the skill levels to those of a 
  normal soldier to reflect their lack of experience. 
  Slaves: Use a mixture of generic characters from High Colonies, page 58, with average 
  attributes. Very few will take an active part in the struggle, and those who do will die 
  swiftly, so their precise statistics are not important. 
  ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTS 
  The referee may choose to have one of the slaves be dedicated to civilising the Ram-
  Soldiers. He has been with the band for generations and is revered as a teacher although 
  still a slave. This person will view the Ram-Soldiers as his children, and will try to avoid 
  bloodshed, pointing out that the biogens have only done what they had to do to survive. If 
  the PCs then want to work out a deal with the Ram-Soldiers, good luck to them. 
  
   
   
  20 
  Kleptomania 
  © Andy Slack 1993, 1999. All rights reserved. Originally published in 
  Challenge 68. 
  The PCs are part of a detachment of Van Owen’s Rangers currently on Efrit Station. They 
  may be on garrison duty there, or may be taking a few days of R&R after escorting cargo 
  or passengers from another station. The referee may make any necessary changes to suit 
  his PCs’ situation if they are not members of the Rangers. 
  MISSION BRIEFING 
  While off-duty on Efrit Station (High Colonies, page 26) the PCs are approached by a 
  wealthy trader, James Alden, who has a commission of some delicacy that he wishes 
  them to undertake for him. 
  Alden explains that his wife, Claire, suffers from compulsive shoplifting. Since the 
  penalty for petty theft on Efrit Station is the loss of a hand, this could be unfortunate. 
  Business calls him away from the station for a few days, and during this time he would 
  like the party to follow his wife around and cover up her shoplifting. He has found that 
  the most effective way of doing this is by bribing the offended shopkeepers and any local 
  police who become involved. 
  He will, of course, repay the PCs for any expenses incurred during the commission. In 
  addition, he will pay each party member EC 500 - not a bad wage for a few days of idling 
  around town. 
  MAP 
  The referee should prepare a map of a shopping mall for the scenario. It’s also feasible to 
  run the scenario without a map, by simply describing a shopping area you know well as 
  you go along. 
  REFEREEING THE SCENARIO 
  Since the PCs, the merchant and his wife are all expatriates, it is natural for them to meet 
  at some suitable cafe (alcohol is forbidden on Efrit Station, so there are no bars) or 
  government building. Once they have been introduced, it is equally natural for the PCs - 
  as fellow ex-pats - to offer to escort Claire during her husband’s absence, thus allaying 
  her suspicions. 
  Being off-duty as they are, the player characters are theoretically unarmed and clad only 
  in light cloth fatigues. However, heavy cloth or leather can be worn without attracting 
  attention, and knives or light pistols can be easily concealed. Clubs and other improvised 
  melee weapons abound in the mall - butcher’s cleavers, for instance. 
  Alden will be absent for four days. During his absence, Claire will go shopping daily for 
  several hours, buying fresh fruit and vegetables, imported delicacies, souvenirs and so on. 
  Two or three times each day, she will attempt to steal something. Claire is not good at 
  petty theft, and her attempts will invariably be noticed. Usually, Alden’s plan of bribery 
  will work, although the first few encounters should be rolepayed in detail - enjoy yourself 
  insulting the PCs and haggling for the cash. Each bribe will be 1d6 x EC 50; modify the 
  die roll by -1 if the PCs make a successful roll against an appropriate skill such as Con-
  Artist and -2 for a special success. If the police become involved, there are at least two of 
  them, and each must be bribed. 
  Each day, the referee should implement one of the following special encounters during a 
  shopping expedition. 
  Honourable Merchant: The PCs discover a shopkeeper who cannot be bribed to remain 
  quiet, but insists on calling in the authorities. The merchant (a generic trader) is ignorant 
  
   
   
  21 
  of off-station customs, so if the PCs come up with a good excuse and a successful Con-
  Artist roll, he can be mollified; otherwise, nothing short of a knife in the ribs will shut 
  him up. If he does turn Claire in, the PCs will be arrested as accomplices and sentenced to 
  the same fate. A quick jailbreak is in order at this point, before all concerned lose a hand. 
  Murdering a merchant for reporting a theft is, of course, a serious offence - a full-scale 
  investigation will be launched immediately, and the PCs can expect swift and harsh 
  justice if they are caught. 
  Mistaken Identity: Local police have heard rumours that Claire will be kidnapped and/or 
  murdered by persons unknown, and officers are discreetly following her. Knowing that 
  the PCs are off-station mercenaries, they have decided that the PCs are the ones who will 
  conduct the attack, and the police will try to arrest them. The PCs must talk their way out, 
  as assaulting the law enforcers is a one-way ticket to 20 years on a penal station. If the 
  party selects the latter option, the police are generic soldiers from page 58 of High 
  Colonies, equipped with metal vests over light cloth, acrylic helmets, short range 
  communicators and assault rifles. 
  Terrorists: Local fanatics have decided to slaughter Claire and any other foreigners they 
  can find in the mall that day, to draw attention to their cause and embarrass the local 
  government. The PCs must subdue these ruffians with minimal loss of innocent life and 
  property. The terrorists are generic soldiers, in light cloth and armed with a variety of 
  pistols and melee weapons. The station’s security forces have been bribed by the terrorists 
  and are conspicuous by their absence. Dealing with their attackers could be worth a 
  month’s hazardous duty pay and a commendation for the PCs. 
  Kidnappers: Unscrupulous rivals of Alden attempt to kidnap Claire, in the mistaken 
  belief that this will distract him during the current negotiations. Four thugs are involved, 
  armed with gas grenades, knives and flechette pistols; they also have gas masks and 
  heavy cloth armour. Should the kidnappers succeed, the Rangers will order the PCs to 
  track them down and rescue Claire to restore the honour of the regiment. 
  NPCS 
  James Alden: The merchant is a generic trader from page 58 of High Colonies. He 
  married Claire for the extra capital and influence she provided him, and he cares for her 
  only as a symbol of his status and wealth. 
  Claire Alden: The merchant’s wife is a bored and lonely woman who resents her 
  husband’s frequent absences and has taken to petty theft to attract his attention. She may 
  attempt to begin an affair with a suitably handsome and dashing PC. Treat her as a 
  generic trader from page 58 of High Colonies. Her family is well-off, with a moderate 
  amount of influence in the Outstation League. 
  ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTS 
  For a really confused and complex combat, implement all four suggested encounters in 
  quick succession in the above order, starting one while the PCs are still dealing with 
  another. 
  Fast Combat Rules: The combat system for High Colonies is relatively complex, and it 
  may be worth simplifying if you want to speed up the fights and get on with the role-
  playing. To do this, ignore hit location rolls and deduct damage straight from total IPs. 
  Use the minimum values for armour rather than rolling armour dice. If characters are 
  wearing different types of armour on different hit locations, assume all hits strike the 
  chest, which is the most likely target zone. Armoured characters often have enough 
  layered armour that the average dice rolls are below the total minimums, so this will not 
  distort matters too much. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/High Colonies/High Colonies Scenarios.pdf