Tschaikovsky Colony GURPS Material
Download The Computer Game Version
Planetfall 2158The saved Alpha Centauri Game This Scenario is based on. Requires both the Firaxis Alpha Centauri, and Alien Crossfire Computer Games.
Pregenerated GURPS Characters
All the player characters for this scenario were generated as 125 point characters under the premise the Scout Teams would be highly trained and motivated.Dr. Padov
Dr. Yuri Padov (MD), Colony Mission Commander
Vadya
Vadya Ilov, University Media Representative, Cameraman
Konstantin
Sargeant First Class Konstantin, Scouts Leader
Yemenov
Sgt. Yemenov, Scout Gunner,
Yergi
Corporal Yergi (F), Scout Driver, Sensor Ops
Zhudkov
Corporal Zhudkov, Scout
Maps
Encounter Tables
Encounter TablesIndigenous Lifeforms
BeachInland
Storyline, Events & Rumors
The Sea VoyageThe Sea Voyage
Landing Location
Landing Location
Initial Reconnaisance
Initial Reconnaisance
The Fungal Tower Forest
The Fungal Tower Forest
Unity Pod Beacon
Unity Pod Beacon
The Unity Pod
The Unity Pod
The Mysterious Faction
The Mysterious Faction
The Usurper Vendetta
The Usurper Vendetta
Colony Pod Deployment
Colony Pod Deployment
Data Angels Faction
Data Angels Faction
Inland Reconnaisance
Inland Reconnaisance
The Monolith
The Monolith
Refugees
Refugees
New Mission
New Mission
University Defense Mission
University Defense Mission
Click to view Closeup!
2nd Session - University Faction, Planetfall, Mission Year 69
Sunday, June 28, 8AM
University Scout Team Profile=============================
Dr. Yuri Padov (MD), Colony Mission Commander
Vadya Ilov, University Media Representative, Cameraman
Sargeant First Class Konstantin, Scouts Leader
Sgt. Yemenov, Scout Gunner,
Corporal Yergi (F), Scout Driver, Sensor Ops
Corporal Zhudkov, Scout
Equipment:
1 Scout Rover 5M x 3M x 3M, Speed 60 Kph, with an atmospheric chamber, power supplies, power and battery recharging facilities, rations for 90 days, water distillery, 50 Km Air & Surface Radar, 1.5 Km Ground Penetrating Radar, winch, additional equipment storage capacity, shortwave radio datalink, rope, mechanical tools, climbing gear, electronics tools, and a gimbal mounted Twin Laser Cannon.
3x Sandcrawler Rovers, 2x1x1 M, Speed 80 Km/h, open
topped 2 man fast recon dune buggies with a 10 hour battery power supply.
Attached to the Scout Rover with a towbar unless in use by the scout team.
No weaponry, and no sealed environment, but fast!
4 Shallow-Water High-Speed Hydrofoils, Speed: 70 Km/h, Zoloto-Gold Colony, Crew of 36 including 6 captains, 6 sensor ops specialists, 6 communications specialists, 6 laser cannon gunners, and 12 additional sailors.
1 Colony Pod, (300 M long, 100 M high, 100 M wide). This amphibious vehicle with treads travels approximately 20 Kmh overland, but must be towed over the ocean. Crew 152 including a colony commander, a comm team, a medical team, a sensor team, an agricultural team, as well as a logistical team, and additional personnel to setup sensors, colony defenses, electronics, communications, fabrication facilities, quarters, oxygen scrubbers, air circulation systems, water purification systems, and other colony domes. Unarmed.
The Scout team was dispatched with a Scout Rover and three Sandcrawlers (2 man fast scout vehicles) in a foil to escort the Tschaikovsky Colony Pod and 150 or so settlers, approximately 1,100 Km west of the Garland Crater/University area to establish a colony on a newly discovered continent (Tschaikovsky). While the high speed scout foil provided seaborne recon, three additional fleet foils slowly towed the amphibious colony pod over the open seas.
GM's Notes This scenario was designed as an extended two-part event, unfortunately, it was not correctly listed as such due to a computer programming error with the Origins event registration system. With different folks attending each round it made good sense to duplicate the scenario and let each group play the same event from the beginning. While the storyline is virtually identical, the event for the second group played it differently on a number of key points. Three players played in the second round and doubled up, each taking two characters to play.
Days 1-9 rainy, relatively uneventful sea crossing. The players busied themselves with modifying their equipment, rigging sensors, communications, and video links to the sandcrawler rovers, and tying all the sensors together. Landfall.
Day 10 Dr. Padov orders an inland sensor sweep, and immediately
picks up the broadcast from the crashed Unity Pod. The scout team is ordered to land with all
rovers and locate the Unity Pod. Preliminary sensor information indicate minimal xenofungus
groundcover and good mineral content in the soil.
Sgt. Yemenov mans the laser cannon on the scout rover, Corporal Zhudkov, and Corporal Yergi
are dispatched ahead of the scout rover each in a sandcrawler rovers. SFC Konstantin drives
the scout rover and Dr. Padov remains in the Scout Rover in charge of the recovery expedition.
The team travels inland on shallow hills lightly covered with xenofungus and
detects a fungal tower forest extending an unspecified distance to the southwest
of the landing area, travelling parallel to the forest and inland to the
foothills of a mountain range the team proceeds to locate the Unity Pod.
The team makes for the Unity supply pod within two hours of hitting the beach to find it crash landed, and it is canted at a 30 degree angle into the earth. On the side of the Unity pod is an abandoned Sandcrawler with the doors open. The scout teams approach, all sand crawlers, and the recon rover are dispatched to investigate the abandoned sandcrawler. Two decomposiong human bodies are discovered.
The team investigates the Unity supply pod and manages to gain access to the pod by throwing a rope over the pod and then grappling the airlock hatch. Without investigating, they simply break into the Pod and begin gathering serial numbers initiating a historical database check of the Unity records to discover an Agricultural Terraforming Pod
GM's Note: I rolled for the contents of the Pod both times, and came up with the same contents each time. Having much more daylight time remaining, the team expends more time in
investigating the abandoned Rover. They determine it belongs to a previously undiscovered faction,
and that the foreign sandcrawler rover team had been attacked by mindworms...
Some of the team
concentrated on getting two agricultural robots found in the Unity Pod activated, and were successful.
The AG robots began to automatically deploy the agricultural pod, sifting through the contents of the
damaged pod and then constructing Farm Domes as well as terraforming in preparation for planting. Dr.Padov
then had the team conduct a survey to locate a suitable site to establish the colony.
Operations ended for the day as nightfall approaches. The team rotates guard duty and expends extra time in monitoring sensors throughout the night in order to avoid surprises. (Especially wary for Mindworms) In the morning, Dr. Padov orders the colony pod landed, and orders colony construction to begin on the Coast. The University mainland colonies announced it they were under attack from the Usurpers, and that a Vendetta had begun. The Colony was ordered to expedite the setup and construction processes. The Unity foils are stripped of their lasers and some of the sailors by the scout team, and the lasers are installed around the perimeter of the new colony to provide it with a small measure of additional defense.
Days 11-35The Scout Team splits into two teams, with one team providing security for the newly established Tschaikovsky colony. The other team sifts through the foreign sandcrawler, and begins research into the technology. In short order they discover better communications and navigation tech on the foreign sandcrawler and recover the inland map. They proceed to cannibalize the foreign sandcrawler, upgrading one of the Alpha squadron sandcrawlers, and forward their new discoveries on to the University.
As the construction of the new Colony proceeds smoothly, the scout team keeps themselves busy in between stints of guard duty by going through the damaged Unity Pod repairing gear they find. Alpha Rover Squadron adds a portable chemical scanner to their equipment inventory this way. Around day 20, University Base falls, and the Cosmodrome Launch Center is besieged by Usurpers. The Tschaikovsky colony foil squadron is recalled to University territory to support the war effort, and the University high council fearing for the worst, instructs Dr. Padov to prepare the colony to receive refugees.
Dr. Padov and the Scout team help deploy the Unity pod agricultural stations and setup a timetable for crop production to accomodate the new citizens of Tschaikovsky Base. As the war continues to go badly for the University, the scout team is provided with new orders from the University high council to travel inland and make contact with other factions in an effort to establish diplomatic relations with the mystery faction and if possible, obtain help for the war effort. Here the session ended about ten minutes early, as this GM was out of steam after gaming for three straight days!
GM's Comments
I would like to thank everyone that participated, both sessions contained some excellent roleplaying. I would like
to thank the folks present from Steve Jackson Games in the MIB room for providing exceptional support, and look forward
to hosting GURPS rounds next year at Origins!
I was happy for the opportunity to demonstrate the game for a few new Alpha Centauri fans that had purchased
the GURPS supplement at the convention, and perhaps I'll get a chance to play next year as well! Finally, my apologies
go out to the second session players for ending the session a bit early, and in my disorganized conduct at the end of
the session. I was simply exhausted by the end of that gaming round, and have already made plans for next year to scale
back a bit and limit my hosting of gaming sessions to one a day, as well as scheduling the sessions later in the day, so
that I arrive fresh, rested, and properly motivated to do a great job!
