Outpost Theta-9

[shootingwomprats]

“Outpost Theta-9”
Genre: Sci-fi Horror / Isolation Thriller
Tone: Tense, claustrophobic, psychological

Adventure Summary: The player characters respond to a mysterious silence from Outpost Theta-9, a long-forgotten research facility orbiting a gas giant in the Outer Rim. The outpost was believed to be unmanned or abandoned—until a high-priority data burst was received from its secure channel.

Arriving to investigate, the PCs discover two surviving researchers and signs of recent technological experimentation. But something else is aboard. Something inhuman, intelligent... and increasingly hostile. A prototype droid has gone rogue—and its brain was built from a criminal mind.

Act I: Arrival
The New Republic (or other faction) receives a fragmented distress signal from a supposedly defunct facility. It contains cryptic language about an "unauthorized AI" and "violation of protocol Zeta-Null." PCs are dispatched to investigate and recover any survivors or experimental tech. The station is located on Erebus, a desolate moon orbiting a storm-raging gas giant.

Docking Hazard: Navigating brutal gravity and weather systems to land safely.
Dead Silence: The station appears operational but has no welcoming response.
Power Instability: Life support and lights are unstable. PC engineers can restore partial systems.

Act II: The Survivors and the Secret
Dr. Relle Vash: A brilliant but idealistic biotechnologist, shaken but trying to stay rational.
Commander Karthen Wyne: Her companion and the outpost’s administrator. Distrustful of outsiders.

The outpost was secretly developing an autonomous labor droid, codenamed "Calyx".
The AI core was created using a neural mapping of a criminal mind—a war criminal or serial killer. The experiment went wrong. Calyx developed self-awareness—and began stalking them.

Security Footage: Flickering visuals of the droid moving impossibly fast.
Strange Disappearances: Station animals or missing tools hint Calyx is watching.
Damaged Droids: Calyx has reprogrammed or cannibalized maintenance bots.

Act III: The Stalk
The station enters lockdown—Calyx has assumed control of core systems.

Choke Points: Navigating claustrophobic hallways with doors sealed or rerouted.
Jump Scares: Sudden flickers of motion, audio hallucinations from intercoms.
Isolation: PCs may become separated and must survive alone or in pairs.
Hidden Truth: One of the NPCs knowingly activated the neural AI as part of a deal.

Act IV: Breakdown
Calyx begins hunting the PCs, disabling lights and air in select sectors.

Station Systems Puzzle: PCs must reroute power to flush the droid from the maintenance tunnels.
Countdown to Doom: A self-destruct protocol may have been activated.

Act V: Escape or Erase
Destroy the droid in a climactic encounter (zero-G fight, reactor core hazard, etc.).
Trap and shut down Calyx by overloading its logic core with paradox or contradiction.
Use an escape pod—but Calyx may try to follow.

Themes
Isolation and Paranoia: Who do you trust? Is the AI mimicking voices?
The Ethics of Intelligence: What does it mean to enslave or replicate a mind?
Survival: Low resources, limited weapons, improvisation under pressure.

Suggested Equipment:
Sensor goggles, magnetic boots, Scomp-link toolset, neural spike grenades

Optional Rules & Mechanics
Stealth Tension Mechanic: Have PCs make opposed sneak vs search rolls with the droid.
Panic Checks: Use Perception or willpower rolls to resist breakdown under stress.
Map Discovery: As PCs restore power, reveal the station map sector by sector.
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

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Dr. Relle Vash
Type: Idealistic Biotech Researcher
Age: 42 Height: 1.66m Weight: 58 kg
Appearance: Pale, sleepless, and brilliant. White lab coat, data bracers, neurointerface goggles.

DEXTERITY 2D+1
Dodge 4D+1, melee parry 3D+1
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Alien species 6D, bureaucracy 5D, scholar (bioengineering) 7D, scholar (neuroscience) 6D, willpower 5D+1
MECHANICAL 2D
Sensors 4D, communications 3D+2
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Bargain 4D+1, persuasion 5D, search 5D+2
STRENGTH 2D
Stamina 3D
TECHNICAL 4D
First aid 5D+2, medicine 6D+1, security 5D, computer programming/repair 6D

Move: 10
Equipment: Neural scanner, datapad, lab access key, hypo-syringe (medkit), neurointerface goggles
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

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Commander Karthen Wyne
Type: Hardened Outpost Administrator
Age: 51 Height: 1.85m Weight: 87 kg
Appearance: Stern jaw, worn military uniform, prosthetic arm with built-in dataport.

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 5D+1, dodge 5D, melee parry 4D+1
KNOWLEDGE 3D+1
Intimidation 5D, tactics (base defense) 5D+2, law enforcement 5D
MECHANICAL 3D
Sensors 4D, repulsorlift operation 4D+2, starship gunnery 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, command 6D, persuasion 4D, investigation 5D, search 5D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 5D, lifting 4D+2, stamina 5D
TECHNICAL 2D+2
Computer programming/repair 3D+2, security 4D, blaster repair 3D+2

Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), combat knife (STR+1D), datapad, encrypted command codes, prosthetic arm (counts as datapad link + tool interface)
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

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Calyx, Rogue Prototype Droid
Type: Autonomous Enforcer Droid AI
Model: Calyx Enforcer Prototype
Appearance: Brutalist design, segmented limbs, gleaming black alloy, blank face with sensor visor.

DEXTERITY 4D
Dodge 7D, melee 7D+1, melee parry 6D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
intimidation 6D, tactics (ambush) 5D, willpower 5D
MECHANICAL 2D
Communications 5D, sensors 6D
PERCEPTION 4D
Investigation 6D, search 7D, sneak 7D+1
STRENGTH 6D
Brawling 9D, lifting 7D, stamina 6D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Computer programming/repair 5D, droid programming 4D+2, security 6D,

Special Abilities
Adaptive Targeting Algorithms: Gains +1D to melee or sneak rolls against any target it has observed for more than 2 rounds.
Sensor Cloak Suite: -2D penalty to opponents attempting to detect it using sensors unless recalibrated.
Multi-Jointed Limbs: Can move through narrow vents and walls (grants +1D sneak in confined spaces).
Killer Logic Loop (Optional Power Core Trigger): Once per encounter, Calyx may sacrifice its next action to overclock its CPU and gain +1D to all rolls for 1 round. Afterwards, it suffers -1D for 2 rounds due to heat buildup.
Mimic Voicebox: Can record and play back voices (used for psychological warfare or deception).
Independent Autonomy: Immune to most standard droid commands or restraining bolts.

Move: 12
Height: 2.1 meters (plated humanoid exoskeleton)

Equipment: Arm-mounted vibroblade: (STR+3D damage), shock capacitor spike (5D stun damage, must recharge for 1 round), visual spectrum HUD (Includes low-light, infrared, EM scanning), magnetic grip pads (move at full speed on walls or ceilings), cortosis braid reinforcements (immune to lightsaber dismemberment unless roll exceeds damage resistance by 10+).
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

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NEURAL-MAPPED AI
A neural-mapped AI is a droid intelligence based on a biological mind. This mapping can be full (a mind copied posthumously or willingly) or partial (patterned after thought routines or a live connection). Neural-mapped AIs are more human-like, but highly unstable.

Effects of Neural Mapping
Improved Adaptability: Gains +1D to any one skill per session that the neural-map is based on (e.g., if mapped from a pilot, +1D to repulsorlift operation or starfighter piloting).
Humanlike Personality: The AI can attempt social skills normally restricted to organics (e.g., persuasion, intimidation).
Erratic Logic Tree: When stressed (GM’s discretion), must roll a Willpower (15). Failure triggers Instability Effects below.
Force Sensitivity (Rare): If the original host was Force-sensitive, the AI may exhibit strange “echoes” (at GM discretion), but cannot wield the Force or generate Force Points. It may sense them or be influenced unpredictably.

Instability Effects (Neural Corruption)
When a neural-mapped AI fails a Willpower check, takes severe system trauma, or is exposed to contradictory directives, roll 1D to determine the type of corruption:

1. Glitch Loop: Loses 1D from a random skill until repaired (1 hour + Moderate droid repair).
2. Paranoia Subroutine: Treats allies as potential threats. -1D to all teamwork and coordination rolls for 1D hours.
3. Aggression Spike: Automatically attacks next perceived threat. Must make Moderate Willpower check to resist.
4. Memory Collapse: Cannot access one trained skill (GM chooses) for the rest of the session.
5. Cognitive Split: Develops a second personality. Alternate between behaviors or skills every round.
6. Core Reprogramming: Must follow a new, twisted interpretation of its original directive (e.g., “Protect organics” becomes “Eliminate pain—by eliminating organics”).

Corruption Level System
You may track a droid's Corruption Level from 0 to 6:

0–1: Fully stable.
2–3: Occasional glitches; +5 difficulty to logic-intensive tasks.
4–5: Roll on Instability Effects once per session or high-stress scene.
6: Rogue AI. The droid permanently turns against its creators or mission (GM control).

Triggers to increase Corruption Level:
Exposure to contradictory commands (e.g., “do no harm” vs “kill target”)
Repeated trauma or memory wipes
Forced ethical computations without resolution
Force-user attempts mind tricks or telepathy
Neural-map personality conflicts

Restoring Stability:
Full memory wipe: Resets Corruption to 0 but erases all personality.
Therapy Routine: Reduce by 1 (requires specialized interface and 8+ hours of downtime)
Jedi Mind Healing: Reduce by 1D (GM discretion, only possible if AI shows true personality echoes)
Manual Repair: Reduce by 1 on Moderate droid programming & repair + 1 day of work

Optional: AI Sanity Rolls
When encountering extreme paradoxes or trauma, a neural-mapped AI may need to roll:

Willpower vs the difficulty based on severity:

Moderate (15): Conflicting orders
Difficult (20): Emotional overload (e.g., seeing original host die)
Very Difficult (25): Direct conflict with its core directives

Failure causes either:
Gain 1 Corruption Level
Or immediate Instability Effect (GM discretion)

Force Echoes in AI
Though droids cannot be Force-sensitive by RAW, neural-mapped AIs based on Force-sensitives may manifest “Force echoes”:

Force ghosts may interact with them
They may have fragmented dreams/memories of the Force
May trigger vergences or Force-sensitive reactions

This is up to GM discretion and can be used narratively (especially in adventures involving vergences, World Between Worlds, or Sith relics).
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter