Veridiccia is a garden world in the perfect range for settlement. While covered in complex plantlife, the green planet has no insects or wildlife. Two years ago the first colony arrived, establishing Errol’s Landing. Six months ago their signal stopped and the local planetary monitoring bureaucrats no longer received reports of the colony’s condition.
Overgrown Paranoia is an adventure suitable for any space game, but was written with the idea of a single-ship, small crew (of PCs) in mind. Stats are not present, but most concepts and enemies should be easy to populate in any tabletop RPG system.
What’s Going On?
Three years ago, a small team set down on the spot of Veridiccia that would eventually become Errol’s Landing. The lush, green world was new territory and had not experienced wildlife of a non-plant variety. Samples of earth, plantlife, and air were taken and the planet seemed more than promising for colonization. The jungle grew faster and thicker than most worlds, but axe and fire could slow that growth.
Once the exploratory team left, the plants began a rapid mutation, creating new defense mechanisms in the form of toxins on their surface oils. Thorns began to sprout. By the time the colonists arrived, the world was more dangerous than reported but the dangers wouldn’t present themselves for another year.
Errol’s Landing was established with 236 colonists. As pre-fabricated settlements were put into place, the new inhabitants began their first war with the plantlife as it attempted to re-grow wherever it had been pushed away. The more they fought against the plantlife the more it seemed to fight against them, tearing at their suits and skins with sharp thorns and leaving some paralyzed with previously unreported toxins. The plants would rapidly evolve, with changes in their density and secretions occurring over a period of months. For some inhabitants it presented unexpected, but not insurmountable challenges. For the colony scientists, this was a potential new discovery with a myriad of applications and they requested the information would not be supplied to other worlds—not until the colony could take credit for any discoveries and research. It quickly became routine: colonists would clear the plantlife around their settlement three to four times a day, taking new samples for study, but returning to what was becoming everyday life.
The plants changed again and began to spread roots further underground, sending small blooms upward and spraying small toxins into the air and filtration units. The effect of these toxins had no outward symptoms; instead, they made the colonists violently paranoid. A minor stress or argument would quickly lead to distrust and violence. The communications array was destroyed in a pique of psychotic delusion. Colonists killed themselves while the plantlife retook its territory.
By the time the players arrive, only thirteen colonists remain, each holed up and dangerous. Only one of the thirteen has maintained enough of her cognition to realize the cause of the problems. Doctor Charlize Lanu hides and works in the greenhouse and has re-purified the thin air inside, hoping to find a way to cure the toxin and discover a poison that will protect herself from the plantlife.
The Player Characters
Space games run a wide gamut of play styles and crew objectives. From my experience, scenarios in space games break down into four generic types. While the adventure was written with the “Transporters” group in mind, I’ve included options for why just about any PC crew would want to land on Veridiccia and embroil themselves in the events of Errol’s Landing.
Mercenaries and Troubleshooters
Some government officials have grown worried at the lack of communication from the relatively new colony. Two years is usually enough time for a colony to establish itself and grow or to confirm territory for additional colonies; with a quarter of their time there in radio silence, it’s time to determine what happened. The PCs are sent to investigate Errol’s Landing and, if possible, restore communications. This type of landing party will likely be well-suited for combat and other types of troubles.
Treasure Hunters (Smugglers and Pirates)
If the PCs typically run afoul of the law, they may be inclined to scavenge a failed colony for loot or examine the settlement as a possible new hide-out. Word reaches them that Errol’s Landing went silent six months ago, but nothing points to any government or pirate raids. That probably means the colonists died or abandoned the planet. The PCs may be alert to possible danger, but the prospect of profit should warrant potential harm.
Transporters
Whether or not the PCs are aware of the possible dangers and non-communication of Errol’s Landing, they have a job they are expected to do. Deliver supplies and receive sign-off from a senior staff member of the colonists. If they can’t do that, their contract isn’t fulfilled. And no contract fulfillment means no pay. It’s a tough job being a transporter, but that’s what brings in the money.
Much-Needed Supplies
Any other PC crew types will land because they need to. Their ship is out of fuel or is otherwise in need of repair and in this remote part of the galaxy Errol’s Landing is their best bet to provide at least partial repair to their ship. These PCs will have no reason to help the remaining population outside of their own morals or sense of survival.
Landing on the Planet
Any attempts to hail the colony will be met with static and silence. Scans will show that the colony structures are there but covered in ivy and other greenery, making it seem older than a mere two years. Any scans for movement or non-plant life will display small blips, indicating the colony is no longer thriving, but that life does remain. If the GM wishes to present a greater sense of mystery to the players, the heat and humidity of the jungle region could present problems for their sensors, providing large heat spots indistinguishable from plantlife or populous.
Attempting to land will apparently set off the colony’s automated defense system as it fires on the landing ship. If the players take that as a cue to abandon the adventure the GM can make the defense system seem erratic and somewhat harmless, potentially enticing the player characters with a lack of a threat; or the GM may have the defense system score a minor hit on the landing ship, forcing it to ground (but, ideally, not crash).
Wildlife
Once on the ground, additional scans may show airborne anomalies, but nothing of consequence. Even characters that choose to play it safe will have to deal with sharp briars and thorns that may tear at their suits and clothing, causing exposure to the plant toxins. If the system of choice has rules for low-grade neurotoxins they may come into play. If discovered early, antitoxins may keep the toxins at bay. Infected players may be told that their characters are more irritable and overly cautious, but shouldn’t use this as an excuse for player-vs-player engagement. Mechanoids and some species may be immune to the toxins, providing an advantage to the group the colonists did not have. All will still need to fight their way through the ivy that has overtaken the colony structures.
Errol’s Landing and The Remaining Colonists
The remains of many colonists will be found strewn throughout the settlement. Most of their bodies will bear evidence of a violent end—at the hands of others or themselves. Some of the colonists have set various booby-traps the PCs may also have to deal with. For treasure-hunting characters, the signs of remains means that any colonist treasures are also up for grabs, meaning the traps may be worth the prize. Player characters may also have to deal with violence from some of the remaining armed colonists. What they do to defend themselves from the living people will largely be determined by the type of players and who they represent. Investigating the settlement and defending themselves from traps and some of the remaining colonists while dealing with the effects of toxins in their own system should be the longest act of the adventure.
The Greenhouse and Dr. Lanu
When the player characters discover the greenhouse they will find it locked down and scans will indicate its air free of the anomalies. If the characters break through the airlocks, the air will no longer be safe, but if they use the airlocks properly or establish communications with Dr. Charlize Lanu, this will give any infected PCs a reprieve. Dr. Lanu will be wary of any individuals but desperate enough for rescue to not shoot strangers on sight. She may implore the PCs for help in the last bit of research for a cure as she needs sample blooms of the toxin-spreading ivy on the ground floor or in the primary air filtration unit. If the PCs agree they will need to deal with more traps and psychotically paranoid colonists. Success will result in a cure for the toxin.
Exiting Errol’s Landing
Depending on the play style of the game, player characters may have the option of curing and rescuing any surviving colonists. Other groups may simply take what they need/want and leave. Characters looking for a possible hide-out should realize that even without animal or insect life, Veridiccia is far too dangerous a planet to stay on for long periods of time. The knowledge of rapidly-mutating plants may prove valuable to different agencies. And, of course, any samples brought back to the player characters’ ship may quickly introduce new problems on board if the GM wants to set up a sequel adventure.
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