OUT OF THE BLUE #

OUT OF THE BLUE is an independent production of Phantom Funeral Press and is not affiliated with Monkey’s Paw Games.

Designed for use with INTO THE BLACK by Noora Rose, but it shouldn’t be difficult to adapt it to your space-fantasy game of choice.

Words and design by Jason Wardell, June 2021. Revised November 2022.

Map tile art by Adam Vass and World Champ Game Co., Highland Paranormal Society, and Cone of Negative Energy.

Art and text may not be reused. All artists maintain copyright of their work.

Peace to the gnomes.

INTRODUCTION #

You are screaming across the alkali flats in Boss Blue’s hacked-together ground-fighter, way over-limit for how many of you are hanging on. The ship rattles bolts off with every loose pit of dirt below. A flash, followed by a 150 dB crash of metal and plasma a hundred yards ahead.

A miss.

They are not very good at this, which is either great news (you might get away!) or terrible (they won’t be able to kill you quick like they should). Corp Suits. It’s so much easier to deal with pirates; at least they’ll–

Another crash, much closer to the flash. They’re gaining on you, but you still have no visual. They might be flying a Hefty Boy, which would explain the lack of finesse. It’s heavy artillery. The cost of those shells alone, they’ll probably get added to your tab. A cloud of caustic dirt erupts immediately in front of you and… wait–

Who’s driving this clunker anyhow?

PILOT ON, YOUNG PILOT! #

THE SCENE #

The violet sky shimmers as the cloud cover splits and dissolves. A rinky-dink fighter makes its approach, lopsided from the out-of-spec railgun giving you visions of paint spatter and canned tomato-substitute.

Clattering and pulsing with energy in their decent, their pilot has set a collision course with your poor, fragile carapace.

YOU ARE BEING CHASED BY #

3 Corp Suits (1HD 1AC) + 1 Manager (as Soldier of level 1d6+2). They fly an attack skiff retrofitted with a Big-Ass Gun (B.A.G.).

“Azure”-Class Single-Use Fighter Cost: 900C (lucky to get half) AV: 2 SP: 4 HP: 3 Crew: 1/3 Mass: 7 Class: Shuttle Modules:

• Standard loadout, minus Life Support
• B.A.G. (50,000 C)
  • Hardpoints: 2
  • Critical: 5
  • Effect: +1d6 damage
  • Range: Close
  • Reload: Every shot

PHEW. THAT WAS CLOSE. #

Assuming it was retrieved in a couple (fewer than a dozen) pieces, the travelers discover the ship is incapable of breaking out of the atmosphere, and only the gun is worth anything. Any surviving Suits are loyal to Boss Blue to a fault. Not a great look for some ersatz bounty hunters.

Getting back to the spaceport is gonna be rough. You’ve been racking up dock storage fees since you’ve been here. A few points of order:

• Why were you here to see Boss Blue?
• How long ago was that?
• Besides the ship, what did you take from him?

Before this interruption, you’d set a course: 50 miles SE as the crow flies should’ve brought you within spitting distance of the spaceport. With the confusion from those Suits and the flatlands stretching to the horizon in every direction, it’s hard to say where you need to point.

Who’s leading this crew? In the absence of volunteers, nose goes.

THE MAP GOES HERE. #

Start at the NW edge of 1-1. It’s easy to tell SE from here: just trace an arrow outward from the debris.

MAP LEGEND #

1-1 - Alkali wastes. Treacherous, caustic soil. So long as you’re in your wagon, you should be good, but even then you probably won’t want to linger too long. Desert Encounter every Shift after the first

1-2 - More of the same wastes. Have you been here before? Are you going in the right direction? Would you know if you weren’t? Desert Encounter every Shift

1-3 - Flats break into rolling dunes and desert. Finally, some flora. The sand grits in your teeth with a faint sweetness. Desert Encounter every Shift

1-4 - Sheer cliff faces butt against the sprawling desert. This is nearly impassable terrain on foot and just forget about ground vehicles, so you may need to find another way or learn to fly. Mountain Encounter every Shift

2-1 - A crystalline complex built around a titled mesa. Built? Grown? Discovered? Safe

This structure is populated by small (~1 ft. tall) semi-translucent gnomes, who use Kinesis to shape their surroundings into complex and paradoxical geometric figures.

They don’t have any apparent tech of their own, but are fascinated by it. They are talkers, and may have a trinket or two to share or trade—a hand-held crystal of impressive artistry, probably expensive—assuming they are indulged.

2-2 - Vast stretches of silent sand desert, stock-still. Even the few clouds above seem locked in place. Desert Encounter every Shift

2-3 - Badlands. Extremely difficult to navigate, with winding canyons and stone crevasses grasping into the edge of the desert and meandering to the mountains. You’d better have a good navigator for this bit.

All navigation rolls are with Disadvantage. Desert Encounter & Mountain Encounter every Shift

2-4 - More monumental and impossible cliff faces jut out of the canyonlands, spilling into jagged spires of rock. There’s a steady thrum in the air from the starport, periodically split by the sonic boom of vessels breaking into the atmosphere. Mountain Encounter every Shift

3-1 - Rolling hills of a spiny yellow plant, endless.

It pops the tires of ground vehicles and propagates quickly in any damp soil. An illegal and invasive plant, it fetches a high price on the underground market. Grasslands Encounter every Shift

3-2 - Windswept heath, like there’s any other kind of heath. The winds, too, are classic. A timeless pastoral setting. Grasslands Encounter twice every Shift

3-3 - A scattered array of earthen mounds, populated by opaque gnomefolk. They aren’t especially eager to see you.

The gnomes are quiet and deeply superstitious of tech and Kinesis, shutting their doors to any who openly brandish either. Under extreme duress or persuasion, they can energize a paradoxical icon in exchange for the permanent loss of a Traveler’s Kinesis ability. The gnome who performs this ritual loses some of their essence in the process, becoming translucent and beginning their long walk into the west. Grasslands Encounter upon entering

3-4 - The Limlo Spaceport. Angular. Sleek. Expensive. There’s a cost to anythign you might do here. Safe unless they start something.

YOU MADE IT! #

Well, that was sure a fun tour of the varied biomes on this tiresome rock. By now, your dock fees must be astronomical (pun absolutely intended), but it’s good to feel the steel beneath your feet again. Take a breather. Check your bank account. See if you can afford a drink of water.

THE LIMLO SPACEPORT #

The Limlo Spaceport is a one-stop shop for those coming and going from the region. They offer fuel, supplies, personnel, storage, and entertainment: all at what they would call reasonable prices. There are plenty of opportunities for barter through the benefactory good-will of the local corp, led by Boss Blue, who keeps the whole Spaceport staffed with his finest Suits.

In fact, a small crowd has gathered around the ship’s dock to gaze upon his beneficence! Tall and immaculately-postured, Boss Blue has come down to meet directly with the Travelers. The crowd has taken note of them, too, and are wildly engaged in gossip about who these hot-shots must be to warrant a meeting with the Boss–and at their own Spaceport, no less!

He’s decided to let bygones be, provided he is reimbursed the expenses of chasing the Travelers: the cost of the skiff, the B.A.G., and any Suits who may have been thrashed along the way.

Of course, he mentions with a wink, should you happen upon a Charged Paradox Crystal, that would be more than enough, and he’d even take care of your dock and refueling fees, to boot.

ENCOUNTER TABLES #

These tables are to be interpreted wildly, liberally, and irresponsibly by the Chronicler.