If you have not already introduced your players to the alien race, that humanity has named Pentapod, then this is the adventure for you.  My thanks to Andy for granting permission for me to host it on my web site. -Kevin Clark - Mar 1st, 1999.

INTRODUCTION

It was a quiet evening.  Most of the Pentapods had gone dormant, and the only one left -- we called it Rosebud because it was that colour -- was puttering about eating bits off treees.  Chan said it was sampling them, but who knows?  Stanford was playing stone-scissors-paper with her by the fire, when he suddenly looked up and saw things dropping in for supper from the trees.  The only problem was that it looked like we were on the menu...

This scenario is set on Beta Canum sometime after the Kafer invasion has been repelled.  The referee will need the 2300 AD rules.  Access to Beanstalk, Invasion or Colonial Atlas may be helpful, but is not required.
 

MISSION BRIEFING

With the end of the current Kafer invasion, the surviving Pentapods on Beta Canum are once more investigating local wildlife to find source material for their genetic-engineering projects.  The PCs are recruited to guide and protect an expedition of Pentapod biologists in surveying an area of Beta Canum near the east coast of the French Continent.  Each party member will be paid Lv 300 up front and Lv 300 on successful completion of the mission ( defined as the safe return of the Pentapods and all their samples to their enclave), plus Lv 100 per day spent on the expedition.  Payment will be made in genetically engineered Pentapod artifacts ( e.g., biocontacts) to the agreed value, not in cash.

The party will be provided with suitable camping gear and Songbird hovercraft, as well as rations for several weeks.
 

APPROACH/RETRIEVAL

The PCs and their Pentapod charges will be dropped off by tiltrotor on the edge of the region map at a prearranged point.  They will be picked up at the same place three days later -- or earlier if they radio for help.  Local authorities are keen not to endanger relations with the Pentapods, and while they cannot spare resources from the reconstruction effort to escort them, plenty of backup is only a call away.
 

MAP DESCRIPTION

The referee must prepare a map showing a region of the French Continent near the Pentapod enclave.  The party should drive backward and forward across this area with the aim of surveying each 100-kilometre hex.  This is a preliminary survey only, so one to two days per hex should be sufficient to gather the data the Pentapods need.  The map should indicate the dropoff/pickup location for the party.  The main encounters of the scenario are not placed, as the referee should introduce them whenever he feels it best to maximize enjoyment of the adventure.
 

REFEREEING THE SCENARIO

Use the normal 2300 AD travel rules to resolve the party's movements.  If desired, generate one or more animal tables ( or other encounters) and use them to extend the adventure.  At suitable points during play, the referee should implement the following encounters:

Gatherer: The PCs enter a small clearing, occupied by what looks like a small hut.  As they investigate further, a small, apelike creature appears, hesitantly at first but with growing confidence, and approaches one of the characters.  It begins to trace complex patterns in the dirt at his feet.

Contrary to appearances, this being is not sentient.  Its apparent writing is a courtship display intended to attract a mate, normally triggered by seeing a particular bright colour which is prominently displayed on the chest fur of the female of the species.  By chance, one of the PCs is wearing a shirt of this colour, and the animal is performing its display for him.  Subsequent events must be adjudicated by the referee.  The creature's statistics are: Number Appearing: 1D6-2; Initiative: 3; Hit Chance: Difficult; Size: 60 kg; Speed: 85 metres; Armour: 0; WPM: -1; Consciousness Level: 2; Life Level: 6; DPV: 0.1; Signature: -1.

Flying Chaser: As they set up camp for the evening, the PCs are attacked by a group of creatures vaguely resembling giant bats.  These carnivores have spikes protruding from their chests, and they attack by swooping down and impaling their victims.

Normally these predators would simply consume their prey, but as this is the reproductive season they will instead give birth to small larvae which they entomb with the victim under a mound of rocks to keep scavengers at bay.  The larvae then gradually eat the host alive.  Statistics for these beasts are: Number Appearing: 2D6; Initiative: 6; Hit Chance: Routine; Size: 40 kg; Speed: 220/55; Armour: 0; WPM: -3; Consciousness Level: 1; Life Level: 5; DPV: 0.1 plus DPV 0.5/turn stun poison.

Kafer War Band: The PCs stumble on a squad of 2D6 Kafers, armed at the referee's discretion, left over from the invasion of 2301-02.  As soon as these are roused from their normal stupor, they attack.
 

NPCS

There are several ways to play the Pentapods; the most appropriate depends on the type of game your players prefer.  It's even possible that the Pentapods have a hidden experiment going and send a couple of each type along to see which gets on best with humans.

Enigmatic Pentapods: These spend most of their time dormant, and the rest of it engaged in mysterious or apparently futile tasks.  They inconvenience the PCs by strange rituals which they have to perform at odd hours, speak hardly at all and are equipped with a variety of weird-looking genetic constructs.

The PCs eventually work out that each is analogous to a human sampling kit or tool, but PCs may be repelled by the slimy, disgusting nature of the devices -- only products sold to humans make any pretense at being presentable.  Enigmatic Pentapods make occasional puzzling references to their gods.

Humourous Pentapods: These may have trouble communicating with humans, in which case they speak in gibberish a lot of the time ( and the PCs have to work hard to understand what they mean by phrases like "The faint sound of machine-wrapped litterbins eloping with custard").  Or they may have learned their human languages from old videos sold to them by unscrupulous traders ( and while their speech is appropriate and easy to understand, it consists of cliches and advertising jingles -- "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it.").

Sinister Pentapods: These may be enigmatic or humourous, but they have a dark side to them, caused by their lack of concern for pain or individual survival ( theirs, or anyone else's).  For example, their equivalent of the tranquiliser dart gun may kill creatures stone dead; captured creatures are tied down and vivisected -- without anaesthetic; or they may cheerfully use one of their number or one of the PCs as bait for carnivores.
 

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTS

If the Pentapods don't appeal as patrons, or if your group is not on Beta Canum, there are several alternative patrons who can be used instead:

Royal Society/Foundation for Practical Knowledge: These organisations can turn up anywhere, and differ only in their use of the results.  The Royal Society seeks knowledge for its own sake and has sponsored a team of biologists to survey the region for that reason.  The FPK, in contrast, seeks applicable knowledge and, like the Pentapods, will be looking for some plant or animal usable as rootstock for genetic engineering.

Trilon ( or another Megacorporation): Again seeking raw materials for bioengineering, this party differs from academically funded ones in being more commercially aware ( and so harder to persuade if the PCs are trying to increase their wages by argument), and less concerned for the long-term impact on local ecologies.

Smugglers: These will probably pretend to be one of the other types of patron, but they, in fact, are seeking the gatherers ( from the first encounter, described above) for sale as pets on the black market.  In this case, the referee may opt to have the gatherers carry some hideous, virulent disease which breaks loose amongst the owners later, with the player characters being sought by law enforcers to explain their involvement.  Smugglers may also replace the Kafer war band ( the third encounter) if that suits your campaign better.

In this case, they are Experienced NPCs with military-grade weapons, equal in number to the party.
-Andy Slack

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