For centuries, humans have looked up at night to the stars and wondered. Are we alone? Can we truly be the only sentient beings in the entire universe? Humanity has been to the moon. Humans have been living in space for decades now –albeit only for short periods of time. Our man made machines and spacecraft have been to Mars and a few of the other planets in our solar system and we have been able to use technology to see across billions of light years into other galaxies. And yet the answer to that centuries old question, are we alone in the universe, has always been a resounding no.
Or has it?
Ask any conspiracy theorist and they will regal you with tales of government cover ups and covert obstructions of the truth. Aliens are real they will say usually offering the famous Area 51 or Roswell, New Mexico as their proof. The government will tell you that the people claiming to have been abducted by little green men or gray skinned aliens with enlongated tear drop shaped heads are nut jobs who are three beers short of a six pack and that the UFO that millions of people saw was actually just some sort of experimental military aircraft. Nothing to see here folks. Move along. While most of these stories are indeed flights of fancy or just not true, some of them just might be real.
Most Americans have studied the details of America’s trip to the moon in the 1969. A few might even remember the tragedy of Apollo 1. The official story is that the Apollo 1 exploded on the launch pad, killing all three astronauts on board. It was all over the news in splendid black and white color for the world to see. Or perhaps the world only saw what those in power wanted them to see. What if the truth was far more heinous?
A few years later Apollo 16 made its unprecedented and world famous moon landing. There was much rejoicing. According to public records nothing unusual occurred other than the obvious fact that mankind had just walked on the moon for the first time. Then on June 28th 2019 Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke in an interview celebrating the event’s 50th anniversary shared a story that had been untold until now.
The story begins with Duke and mission commander John Young having just a
few moments left on the Moon’s surface before needing to retreat back to
the lunar module. Not wanting to waste the precious minutes on another
world, Duke decided to engage in what he called the “Moon Olympics,”
performing feats that would be impossible back on Earth.
Duke, who admits he was “horsing around,” did his best to perform a high
jump, launching himself several feet off the lunar surface thanks to the
dramatically reduced gravity. Unfortunately, the weight of his suit and
life support system strapped to his back proved too much to handle, and he
crashed onto his back — and the vital systems in his backpack — at a
potentially dangerous angle.
“The backpack weighed as much as I did. So I went over backwards,” Duke
explained. “It’s a fiberglass shell, and it contained all your life-
support systems. If it broke, I was dead.”
Young eventually helped Duke to his feet, and the shaken astronaut spent
the next several seconds listening closely to see if he had broken any of
the pumps or other mechanisms that were chugging along inside his backpack
to keep him alive. He didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary, and no
hissing that would indicate a tear in his space suit, but he made sure to
stay grounded for his remaining moments on the Moon.
“I learned a lesson,” Duke said. “Never do anything in space that you
haven’t practiced. And we had not practiced the high jump.”
Few noticed anything strange or out of the ordinary and took it for what it was intended to be, a small, perhaps humorous story about a legendary event. Some however, might have noticed a slight hint of fear hidden behind his jovial mask. They wondered if perhaps the story was a lie, a fabrication to hide a far more sinister truth. Were they right to wonder?
A few years ago scientists and astronomers decided that Pluto should no longer be considered a planet. They concocted an elaborate and detailed reasoning as to why. It was believable enough that most people just accepted it and moved on. Do you?
Also recently, astronomers have discovered several gargantuan planet sized asteroids entering the solar system. Right now they appear to be nothing more than possible impact hazards that are still billions of light years away. Though they are simply being monitored due to their sheer size and the fact that they are new arrivals to the system, a few scientists have begun expressing curiosity regarding their travel vectors, which seem to alter trajectory more than usual
Other strange and bizarre sightings/ rumors have also occurred over the years. In the mid-eighties through the mid-nineties there were hundreds if not thousands of reports about small furry, bipedal rodents and/or reptilian like creatures causing chaos or otherwise running amok. Many of these stories happen late at night and often involve food or water. None of these creatures have even been found or proven to exist. At least not officially.
Welcome to G.E.A.R.S.
About a year ago a highly covert task force similar to NATO was formed. This group’s task was to monitor the world for any mysterious or extraterrestrial findings and sightings. Strike teams are sent out to investigate the growing number of UFO sightings, reports of alien abduction and other bizarre reports. Their mission is to collect any relics, destroy/capture any possible aliens and to quiet all witnesses. This task force goes by many names. The most common names are the Men In Black, The Company, Sector 9 and Bureau 13. Officially they do not exist. Unofficially they are the Global Extraterrestrial and Anomoly Response Specialists(G.E.A.R.S).
Player characters will new recruits forming a new squad of G.E.A.R.S. agents.
PLAYER CHARACTERS
Player Characters will be created via SWADE rules with the exception of funds and gear purchases.
PC’s may take up to 3 Weapons, 2 Explosives and 1 Armor.(A list will be made available in the game threads)
In addition the PC will gain the following Hindrance:
Loyalty – G.E.A.R.S: The character is expected to remain loyal to their employer. Should they go rogue, try to leave the agency, etc, they will gain the Hunted and Enemy Hindrances. Depending on their digressions they will either be hunted down and killed with extreme prejudice or brought in to have their abilities removed and their memories wiped.
Background: The player should come up with a brief background explaining an extraterrestrial or other bizarre run in of some kind. During the encounter they should have been handily defeated and narrowly escape. They should then explain how this lead to them being recruited by (G.E.A.R.S.).
Edges
The following edges are banned:
- All Arcane Backgrounds except for Weird Science (See below)
- Arcane Resistance
- All power Edges except gadgeteer, Power Points and New Powers
Weird Science – Weird Science works as per SWADE except for the gadgets/trappings come from extraterrestrial sources. The scientist gets his ideas by studying alien artifacts and other unknown devices and then reverse engineering them.
Other AB’s – Although not available at character creation a character may acquire AB Psionics during game play. This should come about due to in game events, with the most likely being after suffering some sort of severe damage or perhaps volunteering for experimentation by G.E.A.R.S. scientists. This AB works as per SWADE with the following changes.
- The character gains their powers via grafting alien DNA with theirs, a risky process. The character should work with the Storyteller to come up with a suitable side effect based on the alien DNA used.
Or instead of alien DNA the powers are a result of an experimental serum.
- The character may only gain this AB through game play. If they do not have an advance available it uses up their next available advance.
Hindrances
The following Hindrances are not available:
- Doubting Thomas – You have survived an encounter with an alien, monster or some other supernatural being. You know that these things exist.
- Outsider – unless you have a convincing reason to have it.
- Pacifist – As a part of G.E.A.R.S. killing is expected of you. As with Outsider if you can sell me on allowing it I will consider it, but expect a hard sell.
Skills
Characters have 15 skill points instead of 12 at character creation. All of the skills listed in SWADE are available. There are no special/new skills for this campaign.
MISC.
Please see the game threads for other information.
GAME INFO:
This game is a custom savage worlds campaign beginning on 20 December 2012 The game will make use of the new Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE). The game is open to players new to Savage Worlds and veterans alike.
Please note that the rules (mainly stats for the enemies) for this campaign are still very much untested. As such this will be a
play test of the setting specific rules. Things can and most likely will change based on player feedback and GM observations. Players are highly encouraged to provide their thoughts and feedback in the appropriate thread.
POSTING GUIDELINES/EXPECTATIONS:
I would like to keep a post rate of two-three Storyteller posts per week. At a minimum there will be a post at least once per week.
INITIATIVE:
- GM Deals cards for everyone involved.
- Players post in order of initiative. A player will have three days to post. After three days the next player in the initiative order may post and the previous player will be assumed to have held their action until the end of the combat round. If the player has contacted the GM, that player may post their action at the end of the round. If they have not they will be controlled by the GM for the round.
- If a player is absent for three consecutive rounds, the character will be played as an NPC and slowly phased out of the game. Should the player return and after discussing it with the GM the character may be allowed back into the game. Otherwise they will be either phased out or become a permanent NPC.
DICE ROLLS & BENNIES:
- Any dice rolls should be done via the site dice roller and added in a secret tab to the GM.
- This secret tab should also include any other pertinent information such as Edge or ability use or the use of a Bennie.
- If a player would like to use a Bennie to affect the story, make an item suddenly appear right where it is needed etc, they should PM the GM before posting with their idea. Once the GM okays the idea they may spend the Bennie and make their post.
RTJ
If you would like to join, please send me a character write up via PM in whatever formatting works best for you. You do not need an elaborate bio/background, but I do need to know what type of encounter you had that led to you being recruited by G.E.A.R.S. (See Player Character section above).
