OSR Review & Commentary On 'Signs of Life' By Joseph Mohr 'A Pay What You Want' Adventure For Cepheus Engine

"The Talamor Consortium has placed scientists in a domed research facility on a vacuum world in their control. It is a recently acquired planet and competitors have wondered why for some time. The world has no known mineral or research value Suddenly this station has gone silent. The consortium is offering a significant amount of money for a mission to find out what has happened and to rescue any living scientists still on the base. "

So Joseph Mohr has a new nineteen page module suitable for your favorite Cepheus Engine rpg  called 'Signs of Life' & it's a pretty awesome little twist on the usual dungeon crawl across the asteroid because is & it's not;"The Talamor Consortium owns many worlds in the Yuam sub-sector of the Sonora sector. Most of these worlds have obvious value for trade and manufacturing. One world owned by the consortium, however, has always been a mystery to those outside of their influence. 360-530 is a world with a thick exotic atmosphere. It has no mineral deposits that anyone is aware of."

" There are no known indigenous inhabitants. There is no word of any heavy manufacturing going on there. It is just a barren rock with air that is thick and deadly to breath. Recently the consortium placed a domed research facility on the world to study who knows what. Spies from rival political factions in the sector have been unable to discern the goals of the scientists. Even the largest mega-corporations in the sector have been unable to determine the value of such a facility. Now, apparently, something has gone very wrong. There has been no contact with the station for weeks. There is no answer from any of the attempts to communicate with the facility. The travelers are summoned for a meeting with Scientist Esperanza Varga. She tells the travelers about the station and offers CR 100,000 to visit the station and find out what has gone wrong. "
Yeah so 'Signs of Life' isn't your average Cepheus Engine or 2d6 old school Science Fiction rpg adventure bug hunt. Instead this is both could be a horror and survival adventure in one but there's a huge element of corporate politic & espionage in 'Signs of Life'. 
Alright 'Signs of Life' is incredibly well done and could fit into the Hostile universe with some (very little shoe horning). That being said the fact is that its gonna be a better fit with another Cepheus Engine rpg campaign say, 'These Stars Are Ours' or 'the Earth Sector' rpg. The reason for this is while Hostile definitely has the corporate infrastracture within its pages players are going to be expecting this style of adventure. 
And that's fine because 'Signs of Life' is a great unexpected back burner adventure that reminds me of the Dark Horse Alien comicbooks expansion stories back in the 90's. 
The real reason for  'These Stars Are Ours' or 'the Earth Sector' rpg should be used is for two reasons. The Earth sector's unspoke corporate take all on the black frontier of space ideally suits 'Signs of Life'. 
Why do I say,'These Stars Are Ours' you've got some really interesting ways to connnect this adventure back to the Human vs Reticulan wars of the ancient past in Signs of Life.  But not in the ways that the players expect. Using the corporate ties to this adventure makes this have the stakes even higher to the players. 

You can grab  'Signs of Life' By Joseph Mohr 'A Pay What You Want' Adventure Right Here. 

Review & Commentary On 'The pay what you want' An Unfortunate Discovery' By Joseph Mohr For The Cepheus Engine Rpg & Original Edition Traveller rpg

"Edokka IV is a nearly deserted world owned and exploited by the Ilsunsi Directorate. The planet has abundant mineral resources which are necessary for the Ilsunsi production lines on other worlds. The Directorate uses off world miners to extract the ores.

Recently, however, the miners have discovered something in the mines. Some of the miners have begun dying from unknown causes. Other miners are refusing to go down into the mines. The Ilsunsi are willing to pay for someone to go down into the mines to find the cause of the problems and correct it."

Initial Impressions 

Joseph Mohr does a solid adventure with 'An Unfortunate Discovery' a pay what you want title.'An Unfortunate Discovery'  is a solid & easily adaptable module for the Cepheus Engine rpg. The adventure  action of this module is one that I'd adapt to Zozer Games Roughnecks easily. You've got the company planet that is being exploited for its resources in the middle of no place squared.  'An Unfortunate Discovery' has a bit of everything for the party of adventurers. But 'An Unfortunate Discovery'  is only twenty pages so its not a huge commitment of play sessions. 

How can this be done?! Take your party of roughnecks add in a cyberpunk 80's veneer & then simmer over an edge of the frontier system for even more goodness for  'An Unfortunate Discovery'  . The planet is a complete wasteland & the former holdings of an alien empire. So who know what's out there this means the planet is a blank campaign canvas. 

Working  'An Unfortunate Discovery'  
Into An On Going Campaign 

So if we're working  'An Unfortunate Discovery'  into an on going Eighties or Nineties Cepheus Engine campaign the idea would certainly suit a Space Above & Beyond style game with the military elements in full display. The alien forces breathing literally down the backs of the PC's. 

A mix of Cepheus Atom & Cepheus Engine would go a long ways to fleshing out far more of Eddoka IV's former warzones. If Zozer Game's Hostile is used with 'An Unfortunate Discovery'  then things get really interesting really fast. The adventure is a few tech levels above Hostile & the marines with the miner PC's have every reason to get those artifacts out especially for those corporate bonuses. 

But for a really nasty Nineties twist of the wrist of a film to add to this mix the cultclassic Screamers from Ninety five is a good bet for a half remembered VHS rental that fixes this campaign into the realm of sci fi horror. 


Half forgotten today 'Screamers' is  perfect cultclassic for a former  alien battle field with some lurking relics & antique war machines just waiting for the foo erm marines or miners to stumble upon them. 
In point of fact if Screamers is added into Stellagema Publishing's Uranium Fever you get Edokka IV becoming a perfect former Reticulin battle ground world. The miners stumble upon it. The Reticulins left behind their former weapon systems & the miners are in really deep trouble. 

'An Unfortunate Discovery' is flexible enough to take the PC's into the heart of a world with some very deep old wounds. And then even though it seems like a small module An Unfortunate Discovery'  got enough of a middle coating to make this a good mid tier module. 

Review & Commentary On The Pay What You Want Adventure - 'Sleeping Giant' written by Joseph Mohr From Old School Role Playing For Cepheus Engine rpg & Old School Traveller rpg

"The travelers are offered a job with a substantial payday, The only problem is that the job is on a burned out radioactive world in the Sonora sector of space, An alien species, long dead and gone, once used robotic walkers to invade the planet Ceqal IV. The Olonsean Empire would like to have artifacts from these walkers. The patron, however, has other ideas."




 Joseph Mohr is an engine every couple of months a new OSR or Cepheus Engine rpg  adventure pops up on Drivethrurpg. And so its been interesting to see "Sleeping Giant" a pay what you want Cepheus Engine Rpg adventure  pop up yesterday. There been quite a bit of experince at the table top when it comes to using  Joseph Mohr Cepheus Engine rpg adventures that we have had over the last two years. Each one comes with a hook, a set up, the meat of the adventure, & then the conclusion for the PC's. And this isn't a bad thing at all. And this set up is highly effective; "Nehael Thriqu, an intelligence officer of the Ilsunsi Directorate, approaches the travelers when they are in star port with a proposition. The Directorate has received intelligence that the Olonsean Empire intends to send an expedition to the world of Ceqal to recover alien artifacts. The Olonsean Empire is an aggressive species of aliens who are always looking for artifacts which can improve their military. It is believed that the planet Ceqal IV may contain such artifacts as it was once the site of an ancient battle. This battle took place long before any of the races which currently inhabit the Sonora sector evolved or moved into this part of the galaxy. Much of the planet is covered in radioactive zones from the orbital bombardment that took place here long ago. A great deal of hazardous wreckage still orbits the world from the battle that took place in space around the system. It is considered dangerous place to visit and no one has after the first explorers visited the world nearly five hundred years ago. Nehael Thriqu offers the travelers CR 200,000 to visit this world and find whatever it is that the Olonseans are looking for before their own expedition arrives. He offers CR 100,000 as a bonus if the travelers can recover the artifacts and bring them to him. Alternatively he will be quite happy if the travelers can just prevent the Olonseans from recovering the artifacts by destroying them. To this end he will supply the travelers with military grade explosive charges (five) which should accomplish the task." One of the things that really shines out about  "Sleeping Giant" is how easy it is to customize & really play with to suit your campaigns.  "Sleeping Giant" has all of the ingrediants of a good solidly done original  Star Trek television episode in an adventure outline form.  "Sleeping Giant" could easily be adapted to a very gritty & lived in Cepheus Engine rpg setting like Zozer Games Hostile rpg setting.  Here's how it would work  with a Hostile style game. The Company patron comes to the PC marines with a purposal to recover relics or weapons from world of Ceqal before  the Olonsean Empire (effectively a group of alien pirates or marauders) recovers them first. Bonuses will be paid & there is propitiation of future missions. 



 And even the writer says it right at the beginning of the adventure; "This adventure involves an alien robotic walker which was once used in combat during an invasion of this world. The walker is basically a large mechanical warrior in which a crew once lived inside. Consider it a walking tank. It was heavily armored and equally heavily armed. There are many components to this device which the Olonseans would benefit from. Should they recover any of these components they will put them to military use and change the balance of power in the region. This adventure is set in the Sonora sector which is detailed in my previous work “The Frontiers of Space.” But it could easily be moved to some other part of the galaxy if needed." 

To make this work in Zozer Games Hostile rpg setting I'm breaking one of the conceits of this setting. Namely that there are no humanoid alien races within it. The Talon Sector & the Earth Empire that we've been using as the basis of our Hostile games does have humanoid races within it. Its a big galaxy folks and besides this something that the Aliens comic books from Dark Horse also played with. That's another blog entry.  "Sleeping Giant"  has random encounters, the robotic wreckage, and even the possibility of more relics.. There's a bit of problem solving & all together this works very well.  "Sleeping Giant"  is actually a nice campaign set up adventure for some experienced rpgers in the Cepheus Engine rpg. 
Could  "Sleeping Giant"   work for original Traveller rpg?! In a word very effectively because it hits the right buttons for original Traveller. You've got a solid mission, a post apocalytic alien world, a rival enemy hell bent on those same relics. Yes it works nicely.. 

BX Adventure Madness B/X 3 Temple of Mercy By Ben Barsh A 'Pay What You Want' adventure For OSR & B/X Dungeons & Dragons Games

"Many years ago, a fanatic cult claimed a sanctuary as a base for plotting their wicked ways. They named their redoubt the Temple of Mercy because it is where new followers would journey to repent of their sins and be granted mercy. It is unclear how the cult was defeated, but they vanished nearly 120 years ago. The temple has been quiet since the disappearance of the vile clan. Recently, a religious order of holy priests has been interested in claiming the temple as their own. They are looking for bold adventurers to slay sinister monsters, evade treacherous traps, and bring glory to the forgotten Temple of Mercy!"




I grabbed Pacesetter's Temple of Mercy for B/X Dungeons & Dragons. Its an adventure   designed for six, third level characters. This is a pay what you want B/X adventure & has the feel of many of the period Basic Dungeons & Dragons adventures & products. 
 

It wouldn't take much to adapt Temple of Mercy to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition. Why?! Because  Pacesetter's Temple of Mercy is a dungeon romp plain & well made. It takes the PC's & put em through their paces. The characters go the nine yards & then some. There are some interesting tricks & traps that author Ben Barsh puts the adventurers through. This isn't a world spanning adventure with a huge central plot. Instead this is a 24 page dungeon with some good solid design work, interesting adventure encounters & lots potential for campaign play.
Could  Temple of Mercy  be adapted to the Castles & Crusades rpg?! Absolutely & there's just enough here to get the DM into lots of player PC hot water by taking full advantage of the adventure material.
 

Trips & traps abound in  Temple of Mercy meaning that there's plenty of adventurer's handwork to play to during adventuring module. Besides being named checked the players are going to have their hands full dealing with the living history that presents itself in  Temple of Mercy.  Should you grab  Temple of Mercy then I'd throw the adventure into play rotation & see where it leads your player's PC's.