The Silent Station — Mothership RPG
Mothership RPG is a sci-fi horror TTRPG that borrows elements from movies like Alien and Aliens as well as many elements from the SCP Foundation. It’s highly thematic and highly lethal with a lot of tools and tables to make some great quality space shenanigans.
This session was run on 5/4/24.
PERTINENT CREW
- Scientist: ALDERAAN, ELIZA
- Teamster: TIGNER, CONNOR
- Android: WEIGAND, GLENNIS
JOB POSTING
“Attention all crews. Request for assistance: Investigate silent mid-sized space station. Aegis Station seeks welfare check and report. Credit reward offered, with bonus for detailed findings. Contact Station Commander Rhea Voltaire for briefing and assignment details.”
MISSION BRIEFING
Station Commander Rhea Voltaire explains that the mid-sized space station, designated as Station Theta-7, has stopped all communications for the past week.
Initial attempts to establish contact have failed, and there are concerns about the well-being of the station’s crew and the integrity of the station’s systems.
The neighboring station, Aegis Station, is offering a credit reward for a thorough investigation of Station Theta-7 and a detailed report of its status and any discoveries. Additionally, there is a bonus for any crew that can successfully repair the station’s AI, safely shut it down, or recover it.
The crew is told to keep an eye out for the head staff of Theta-7.
- Hubert Kessler, Station Commander
- Marcie Donovan, Lead Scientist
- Patrick Francis, Head Engineer
STATION DETAILS
Station Theta-7 is a research and monitoring station located in a remote sector. It primarily serves as a relay station for long-range communications and houses a small team of researchers and technicians. The station is equipped with an advanced AI system that manages the station’s operations and assists the crew in their work.
OBJECTIVES
- RECOVER CREW MANIFEST
- RECOVER SITUATION LOG
- RECOVER AI [PRIMARY]
Mission Report
CREW CONTACTED COMMANDER VOLTAIRE, RHEA CONCERNING THE ATTACHED JOB POSTING. A BRIEFING WAS GIVEN [SEE ATTACHED] AND COMPENSATION WAS OFFERED AFTER SAID JOB WAS ACCEPTED AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY CREW.
PAY WAS TO BE TWO MONTHS SALARY AT DOUBLE RATE.
CONTRACTED PILOT, SMITH, BOB TRANSPORTED CREW TO THE DESIGNATED SITE. COMMANDER VOLTAIRE HAD GIVEN CREW ALL NECESSARY CLEARANCE CODES AND PERMITS TO DOCK SAFELY AT STATION THETA-7.
AT THIS TIME, NO RADIO TRAFFIC WAS EMITTING FROM THE STATION AND NO REPLIES WERE GIVEN TO OUTGOING QUERIES.
PILOT SMITH DOCKED HIS CRAFT IN BAY 2 OF THE UPPER DOCKING PLATFORM OF THETA-7 AND THE CREW DISEMBARKED.
A BODY WAS DISCOVERED OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE TO THE LIFT CORRIDOR. A CURSORY SEARCH LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF A PDA WITH ID INSERTED. THE ID BELONGED TO ONE MARCIE DONOVAN. THE PDA WAS DRAINED OF CHARGE AND WAS HANDED OVER TO PILOT SMITH TO CHARGE SO THAT POTENTIAL PERTINENT INFORMATION COULD BE RECOVERED.
CREW THEN PROCEEDED TO LIFT CORRIDOR. LIFTS APPEARED TO BE MALFUNCTIONING TO VARIOUS DEGREES, BUT ONE WAS ULTIMATELY TAKEN SAFELY TO THE STATION’S MAIN HUB.
THE HUB HAD VERY LOW VISIBILITY WITH SOME LIGHTS FLICKERING. AN UNUSUAL SOUND WAS EMITTING FROM A DARK CORNER. CREW APPROACHED WITH CAUTION TO INVESTIGATE.
CREWMAN TIGNER PASSED HIS FLASHLIGHT TO CREWMAN WEIGAND AND HOISTED HIS LASER CUTTER AT THE READY. THE FLASHLIGHT REVEALED A PILE OF MANGLED BODIES. A FIGURE HUNCHED OVER AT THE PILE REACHED IN AND PULLED CONTENTS TO ITS FACE. ONCE IT SENSED THE CREW’S PRESENCE IT TURNED, HISSED, AND SCRAMBLED UP AND INTO A DUCT.
CREW APPROACHED THE PILE OF BODIES TO INVESTIGATE. MANY OF THE VISIBLE WOUNDS MATCHED THE VARIOUS ITEMS HELD BY THE OTHER BODIES. CREWMAN ALDERAAN RETRIEVED A CROWBAR FOR PERSONAL USE.
CREW THEN APPROACHED DOORS LEADING TO ENGINEERING. AFTER SWIPING DONOVAN’S ID THE KEYPAD DISPLAY LIT UP RED AND READ “ACCESS DENIED. BITCH!”
ENGINEERING WAS DEEMED INACCESSIBLE.
CREW WENT, INSTEAD, TO THE MEDICAL DOORS. AFTER APPLYING THE ID CARD, CREW GAINED ACCESS INTO MEDICAL.
MEDICAL CORRIDORS SEEMED IN SLIGHT DISARRAY, MORE NOTABLY, THERE WAS PERSISTENT WEEPING EMITTING FROM THE INTERCOM SYSTEM ALL THROUGHOUT MEDICAL.
CREW INVESTIGATED THE OFFICE CUBICLE ROOM. MOSTLY EMPTY, AN INDIVIDUAL WAS DISCOVERED IN THE CORNER. A MAN SITTING WITH HIS ARMS WRAPPED AROUND HIS LEGS ROCKING BACK AND FORTH. OBLIVIOUS TO THE CREW.
ATTEMPTED INTERACTIONS RESULTED IN THE MAN SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT ‘ZOMBIES’. FURTHER INTERACTION RESULTED IN THE MAN BECOMING HOSTILE. THE MAN GRABBED AN OFFICE IMPLEMENT AND ATTACKED CREWMAN WEIGAND.
ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO PACIFY THE COMBATIVE MAN WHICH WERE INEFFECTIVE UNTIL CREWMAN ALDERAAN ATTEMPTED TO SUBDUE THE MAN WITH HER CROWBAR. THE FLAILING MAN WAS HIT ON THE BACK OF THE NECK WITH THE CROWBAR AND SLAIN INSTANTLY. NO FURTHER NOTES ON THIS INTERACTION.
CREW THEN INVESTIGATED THE EXECUTIVE OFFICES FINDING NOTHING OF VALUE UNTIL REACHING DONOVAN’S OFFICE. MANY FILE FOLDERS AND READING MATERIALS STREWN ABOUT HER OFFICE WITH THE COMMON TOPIC OF AI.
CREW RADIOED PILOT SMITH CONCERNING THE PDA LEFT IN HIS CARE. PILOT SMITH REPORTED THAT THE PDA HAD POWER, BUT REQUIRED A PASSWORD FOR ACCESS. THE CREW THEN SEARCHED THE DESK UNCOVERING A NOTEPAD THAT HAD “PDA PASSWORD: Snuffles32@” ON IT.
ON THE PDA WAS INFORMATION ABOUT THE CREW BEHAVING STRANGELY AND ERRATICALLY. IT WAS ALSO MENTIONED THAT ENGINEER FRANCIS WAS A “HUGE ASSHOLE AND CAN ROT IN HELL”.
THERE WERE ALSO SEVERAL NOTES PERTAINING TO AI-HUMAN HARMONICS AND SIMILAR TOPICS.
CREW THEN WENT TO INVESTIGATE THE LAB AREA OF MEDICAL. WITHIN THE LABS WERE THREE CONTAINMENT CELLS. WITHIN THE SECOND ONE WAS THE PRESUMED ORIGIN OF THE WEEPING OVER THE INTERCOM. WITHIN THE THIRD CONTAINMENT CELL, BESTIAL GROWLING COULD BE HEARD.
CREWMAN WEIGAND ACTIVATED THE DISPLAY FOR HOLDING CELL TWO. THE CAMERA REVEALED A CORPSE LYING IN THE CELL.
THE WEEPING PERSISTED.
CREWMAN WEIGAND SUFFERED A MALFUNCTION AND BECAME INERT. [NOTE: THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO A PANIC ATTACK LEADING TO A CATATONIC STATE IN HUMANS.] CREWMEN ALDERAAN AND TIGNOR MILLED ABOUT INITIALLY, NOT KNOWING HOW TO PROVIDE AID. THE GROWLING FROM HOLDING CELL THREE INTENSIFIED DURING THIS TIME AND SOMETHING BEGAN SLAMMING AGAINST THE HOLDING CELL DOOR FROM WITHIN. THIS WAS IMMEDIATELY PROCEEDED BY LARGE CLAWS PIERCING THE HOLDING CELL DOOR MAKING LARGE RENTS IN THE METAL.
CREWMEN ALDERAAN AND TIGNOR GRABBED CREWMAN WEIGNER AND DRAGGED HIM FROM THE LAB. CREWMAN TIGNOR MADE A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE LAB FROM WITHOUT AND NOTICED THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO HOLDING CELL THREE’S DOOR.
CREW AGREED THERE WAS NO FURTHER NEED TO INVESTIGATE IN AND AROUND MEDICAL AND PROCEEDED TO THE STATION’S CREW QUARTERS AREA.
USING DONOVAN’S ID CARD, CREW GAINED ACCESS TO THE COMMANDER’S OFFICE. ACCESSING THE COMMANDER’S COMPUTER THEY WERE ABLE TO OBTAIN BOTH THE CREW MANIFEST AND THE SITUATION LOG.
SITUATION LOG REVEALED ALL VEHICLES, EMERGENCY OR OTHERWISE, WERE DEPLOYED FROM THE STATION SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE TIME ALIGNS WITH THE CREW’S ERRATIC BEHAVIOR.
THE DOOR TO THE COMMANDER’S PERSONAL CHAMBER’S OPENED AND COMMANDER KESSLER STOOD IN THE DOORWAY APPEARING HAGGARD AND DISHEVELED AND HOLDING A REVOLVER. ATTEMPTS OF COMMUNICATION WERE MADE, BUT THE COMMANDER PERCEIVED THE CREW AS ENEMIES AND OPENED FIRE UPON THE CREW. CREWMAN TIGNOR RETURNED FIRE WITH HIS LASER CUTTER SLAYING THE COMMANDER INSTANTLY.
THE COMMANDER’S ID CARD WAS TAKEN FROM HIS PDA AND THEN THE CREW INVESTIGATED THE COMMANDER’S PERSONAL QUARTERS. THE QUARTERS WERE IN AN ADVANCED STAGE OF DISARRAY. CREWMAN ALDERAAN RECOVERED SOME BOTTLES OF VODKA, BUT NOTHING ELSE OF VALUE WAS RECOVERED.
CREW PROCEEDED TO ENGINEERING. USING THE COMMANDER’S ID THEY GAINED ACCESS TO ENGINEERING, ALTHOUGH WHEN THE DOORS OPENED, CREW WAS GREETED BY A JUNGLE LANDSCAPE.
CREW ADVANCED ALONG A CLEAR PATH THROUGH THE PERCEIVED JUNGLE. A VOICE CALLED OUT FROM THE PERCEIVED JUNGLE CHALLENGING THE CREW’S TRESPASS. CREW INQUIRED IF THE VOICE BELONGED TO HEAD ENGINEER FRANCIS, PATRICK. HEAD ENGINEER FRANCIS REPLIED THAT HE NO LONGER GOES BY THAT NAME, HE IS NOW “TEKULA-KILA” AND HE IS ONE WITH THE AI.
HEAD ENGINEER FRANCIS APPEARED FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE PERCEIVED JUNGLE AND SLASHED A VIBRECHETTE AT CREWMAN TIGNOR, SEVERING HIS RIGHT LEG. CREWMAN TIGNOR RETALIATED WITH A POWERFUL BLAST FROM HIS LASER CANON. THE BLAST WAS NOT FATAL.
CREWMAN ALDERAAN, WHILE FIGHTING HER DISBELIEF AND PANIC, READIED HER FLAMETHROWER DISCHARGING IT AT HEAD ENGINEER FRANCIS AND ENGULFING HIM IN FLAMES.
CREWMAN WEIGNER APPLIED A TOURNIQUET TO CREWMAN TIGNOR AND STABILIZED HIM.
CREW THEN WENT TO THE AI CORE AND RECOVERED THE AI. AI WAS DELIVERED TO COMMANDER VOLTAIRE AT STATION AEGIS.
THIS ENDS CREW INVOLVEMENT IN THIS INCIDENT.
DEBRIEFING
This was my second time running Mothership, first time after the game fully released. I went in to it with very little prepared, mostly a general idea of what was there and what was going on and just rolled with what the players wanted to do.
None of the players had read up on the rules, I gave them a brief overview of stuff and used the companion app to generate some characters and we jumped in.
It ran very smoothly despite no one being very familiar with the rules and not having prepped thoroughly at all. The game would certainly benefit with more rules literacy and a little more prep, but not really necessary.
The highlight of the system, for me, is the stress/panic system. It’s somewhat similar to how Call of Cthulhu operates, but feels more inline with how the game runs thematically. Stress builds through failed saves and checks and then things like critical failures prompt a panic check and if you roll under your stress level, you panic. Cool stuff.
I’m looking forward to running more of this, I’ve got plenty of jobs and missions lined up and the game accommodates jump in/out play without effort.
You can get the Mothership RPG Player’s Survival Guide on Drivethru RPG for pay what you want.
It has all the rules you need to get going!
