Sci-Fi: The Andalusian - A Sci-Fi Heist Module

The Andalusian is a free 31 page space opera heist module, designed for my Squishy Space system (also free).

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The Andalusian is not as luxurious as Fhloston Paradise, not as arrogant as Starship Titanic IV, and has fewer amenities than even the smallest Rec Station. It offers little to the pampered ultrawealthy, but it is a pleasant getaway for people who don’t normally have legions of staff attend to their every whim.

It’s an unimportant ship in an unimportant system in an unimportant sector.

But, right now, the Andalusian is very important. Because Rim van Scroot is aboard the Anadalusian. 

And someone really, really wants Rim dead.

 

Featuring:

• Full deck plans for the Andalusian (with over 72 rooms).
  
• A detailed crew and NPC roster (with over 80 NPCs).
  
• Rivals and ongoing schemes.
  
• Additional chaos.

The Andalusian is designed as a "session 0" module, a way to get a group of PCs together.

Why?

While I've run Kidnap the Archpriest in a sci-fi setting before, I wanted to create different sort of heist. Less Ocean's 11, more Smokin' Aces. Less planning, more staying one step ahead of unfolding chaos. A ship to run around, people to run into, and lots of excuses to make bad choices.

While pure random generation and a point/zone/depthcrawl might work for this module, I felt that a "real" map and "real" crew and passengers would lead to better and more amusing outcomes. A sensible ground state for ludicrous improvisation.  

• Ramp up the time pressure. This heist has a strict 12 marbec (12 hour) limit.
• Simplify the information-gathering phase. Deck plans, crew, and passenger roster are easy to find. The problem is knowing what to do with them.  
• Multiple approaches. Infiltrate as legitimate passengers or replacement crew, smash a hole in the hull and start blasting, or try a completely unexpected method.
  
• Randomize schedules and encounters. Instead of a fixed target inside layers of protection, a roving target inside layers of unrelated plots and strange NPCs.

Val & Isaac

Thanks to everyone on Discord who suggested side plots or NPCs. Several of them made it into the final module in a mutated form.

If you spot any typos, errors, or omissions, leave a comment. This is a free module, so it hasn't received the usual level of polish. I've tried to make it as useful as possible, but at the end of the day it's still a collection of personal notes in a fancy format.