Aberrant: Exile

MJ12-run potential Aberrant game.

General Notes

This game uses the Aberrant 2.0 rules changes to improve character survivability, combat playability, and increase character power. Read the errata and changes to powers while doing chargen.

Background

The launch of the ISV Unity in 2030 was the highlight of the Nova age, an age few remember, and those who do remember it with dread and loathing. It was crewed by a mixed group of Novas and humans, a testament to Utopian cooperation, the Daedalus League's research and development, and named after the emotion it was supposed to engender. Few participating in the launch realized what would happen merely 25 years down the line.

Intended to establish observation posts and enact a year-long exploration mission around a faraway star, a series of unfortunate accidents stranded it in space and forced it to return to Earth via slower-than-light travel. Its crew of brave astronauts pointed the vessel towards Earth, stepped into their stasis chambers, and waited for the century long journey to end. Estimated time of arrival was to be the year 2150. Arrival was successful, but the Earth and humanity they came back to was one different indeed, one which remembered the old golden age with horror and fear, and those who call the Novas something other than Novas...

They call them Aberrants.

The World of 2150

Party Possessions

The party's current possessions.

• 1 x Combat Armor with Powered Armor and Low-Light options (+8B/7L soak, Penalty -1, +2 Strength, +1 Awareness)
• 1 x ClinTech M-60 (Acc +1, Dmg 9L [5], Range 600, Rate 50/10, Magazine 100, Burst (5), AP (2), Mass 15, Min Str. 3)
  • 3 spare ammunition boxes
• 1 x Banji 02 Hornet (Acc + 4, Dmg 10L, Range 200, RoF 60, Magazine 60, AP(1), Conceal O, Mass 4, Min Str. 3 )
  • Attachments: ECS + Aberscope, 8 spare magazines
• 1 x L-K Killjoy (Accuracy +2, Dmg 12L [6], Range 2,500, Rate 1, Magazine 4, AA, Exp(3), Guided, Mass 20, Min Str. 3 )
  • 2 reloads

Finances

The party currently possesses approximately 150,000 Yuan (between Resources 2 and Resources 3) from theft and other odd jobs.

ISV Unity: Statistics

Rest in peace, Unity.
Length: 95.4 m
Width: 13.8 m
Height: 13.8 m
Mass: 9,250 metric tons

Crew: Up to 50 (launched with 6 Novas, 44 baselines), Indefinite life support duration

Drive System: Antimatter Breeder Drive**

Life Support Systems: Hydroponic garden* (geneboosted flora), Oxygen Scrubbers, Stasis Chambers* (50)

Amenities: Food Synthesizer*, Entertainment System with 500TB capacity, mini-gym, microbrewery, ship-based local network (for gaming or chatting)

Support Craft: 3 parasite small craft, surface-crawling repair drones with limited AI.

Sensor Array: Foldable optical and radar scan arrays.

Defenses: Micrometeroid and Radiation shielding, antimeteoroid lasers.

A (*) represents a superscience system while a (**) represents a full on Gadget which was built for indefinite (or at least arbitrarily long) lifespan.

Inventory

Spacesuits, 15: Soak 6B/4L, Penalty -2, Mass 20

The ISV Unity carried several semi-hard shell spacesuits for exoplanet exploration operations. Designed with memory-metal shells, these suits could expand and contract to fit most members of the crew.

Maneuvering Packs, 10: Soak 6B/4L, HLs -0 x 1, -1 x 1, -2 x 1, Disabled, Acceleration 0.1 G, Mass 60

Surprisingly primitive binary-propellant maneuvering packs were supplied for extravehicular activity as well as operations in very-low-gravity areas such as large asteroids. These maneuvering packs had roughly 12 hours of powered endurance if used sparingly.

Vacuum Suits, 50: Soak 2B/3L, Penalty -0, Mass 5

Designed for emergency and short-term vacuum use, all crewmembers were issued lightweight counterpressure vacuum suits. Designed for short-term use, these suits had approximately 2 hours of endurance due to their integrated oxygen scrubbers and small oxygen supply.

Rapid Prototyping Systems, 3

A few rapid prototyping systems were installed onboard in the event that simple components (such as nuts, bolts, and hull plates) needed replacement.

Personal Effects

All crewmembers were allotted 15 kg of mass budget for personal effects of any sort, with a few exceptions: Weapons, addictive drugs, explosives or incendiaries, or other objects potentially harmful to crew unity or the ship itself, were not allowed under any circumstances.

Dramatis Personae

Mallory Gibbs: Comm officer.

Marie Clements: Secondary (baseline) helmswoman and pilot of one of the two landers.

Dr. Madukhar Gupta: Chitra Bantu Quantakinetic. Gifted with a talent for passing on uncomfortable truths.

Notable Attributes/Abilities: Academics (Theology) 3, Science (Noetics) 4 [Theistic Noetics + 2], Science (Quantum Physics) 4 [M-R Nodes + 2], Etiquette 2 [Uncomfortable Truths + 3], Psi 4 (Quantakinesis: [Enhancement 1, Energetics 1, Transmutation 3], Vitakinesis: [Mentatis 1], Mega-Stamina 1 (Adaptability), Mega-Intelligence 2 (Scientific Prodigy, Medical Prodigy), Intelligence (Brilliant) 6

Dr. Jasmine Omidi: A beautiful younger Chitra Bantu Quantakinetic. Quieter but no less dedicated to her work in finding a cure for Taint.

Special Rules

Aberrant 2.0 Psion Rules
Aberrant 2.0 Trinity Gear
Aberrant: Exiles NPCs
The Aeon Graybox
Sanctum
Characters start with 50 rather than 45 NP.

Due to the circumstances, characters may not take the backgrounds listed below and must buy them with XP during downtime or earn them in play:

• Allies
• Backing
• Cipher (everyone gets this free at 4 instead due to the OpNet crash)
• Contacts
• Followers
• Influence
• Mentor
• Resources

These backgrounds (and some social merits/flaws) require the characters to be known, and as they are not known besides for "Aberrant Invasion!" headlines, that's a current problem.

Similarly, the characters in question were chosen to psychological suitability, and should not have any egregious mental flaws, a Taint higher than 3-4, or significant physical flaws. Utopia selected for stability rather than raw power, and also suitability for the mission. That is to say, all Nova characters should be able to survive (and possibly maneuver) in space, and have gotten training to do so, granting them a few abilities and specialties for free. Characters should buy up relevant or related skills to the

Training Package

All characters gain these abilities and specialties for free, which can be bought up as normal.

• Microgravity Ops 1
• Engineering 1 + Engineering (Spacesuit Maintenance) +1
• Science 1: Choose a valid field for exploring a new and potentially Earthlike planet. Examples of valid fields are Geology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, or Biology. This is not an inclusive list.

New Skills

• Helmsman (Guide to the Technocracy, page 147): A must for flying starships.
• Microgravity Ops (Guide to the Technocracy, page 150): Note that instead of capping the number of die a character has in physical skills, this reduces the difficulty penalty microgravity inflicts instead, by 1 point per dot. It is also used to fly around using a MMU or other sort of Zero-G personal propulsion, and completely replaces Athletics for movement in Zero-G.
• Science (Xenology) (Trinity Player's Guide, page 111): An entirely theoretical field!
• Science (Noetics): This ability covers the scientific understanding of Psions and the subquantum (noetic) force. Noetic science is an extremely unfamiliar field and is never bought at half cost for anyone outside of a few groups (in Aeon and the Aesculpians).
• Engineering (Bioapps): Related to bioengineering but not identical, bioapp engineering is used for producing psionically-active biotechnology (versus just genetic engineering as bioengineering covers). A character does not need to possess this ability to produce biotechnological systems but does need it if he wishes those biotech systems to be formattable by Psions.

Languages

• Chromatic, Qin, Coalition Languages. The Chromatic language takes 2 slots (and has no formal variant), the Qin language takes 3 slots (6 as its formal variant), and the Coalition language 4 slots (with no formal variant). Note that all three of these languages require inhuman features to communicate. Chromatic languages require Bioluminescence or Chromatophores, the Qin language requires Telepathy, and the Coalition requires pheromonal ability (10 XP to buy the variable and flexible pheromone suite necessary). Without these advantages, the character must use technological aids instead, or hope the aliens in question understand human language.

New Powers

Psi (Noetic) Mastery

Minimum Requirements: Information Mastery 1, Quantum 5, Huang-Marr Bioapp (Body Modification)

Dice Pool: Bioapp Pool + Psi Mastery

Duration: Maintenance

Description
Much as Quantakinesis is the manipulation of Quantum forces with a Noetic glove, Psi Mastery uses the interconnection of subquantum forces and the universe's information content to act on Psi forces. Psi Mastery is not technically a Suite power, it instead gives the Nova an artificial Psi score equal to (Noetic Mastery) and an artificial Psi pool equal to (Noetic Mastery + Willpower). Each time Psi Mastery is used, the Nova also rolls his Taint + Quantum at the end of a scene. Successes on this roll become unsoakable aggravated levels of damage, as channeling Psi disrupts the M-R node, which is all that is holding the Nova's informational template together at this point.

On the flipside, a Psi-Mastery capable Nova does not have to pay for modes-He gains 2 dots in Modes free for each point in Psi Mastery (but their permanent bonuses are halved, rounded down). Psi Mastery does not have Mastery levels-being capable of Psi is mastery enough. The artificial Psi score granted by Noetic Mastery can be used for any usage Psi has, including Attunement, Formatting Bioware, and so on. Novas which format biotech suffer from it though-each point of Tolerance a bioapp reduces the Nova's Quantum Pool and maximum Quantum/Turn expenditure by 1.

A Nova may not raise his Psi Mastery power to a rating higher than triple his Information Mastery.

New Extra: Integrated (requires Psi Mastery 10, Quantum 10, Taint 0, Mega-Wits 6 + Mind over Matter, Mega-Stamina 6)

Like how originally Quantum and Psi were thought to be the same force ("Z-Rays"), they can artificially be balanced with each other with proper control, or low concentrations of either manipulative force. A Nova who has managed to purchase this Extra gains several significant benefits. Note that doing so is quite reasonably compared with combining matter and antimatter to build something, and any failures on the research roll or any other support roles may cause retroactive information dissolution (i.e. you never existed). This is possibly at least one reason why nobody's ever heard of it or even theorized it. Yet.

He no longer suffers the negative backlash effects of Psi Mastery.

The Nova's Psi Mastery score becomes his Psi score for all intents and purposes. The Nova still lacks a "natural" noetic template but has created one.

The Nova's Quantum pool and Psi pool can coexist-Psi points no longer reduce maximum Quantum.

The Nova gains enhanced Dormancy: A dormant Nova with this Extra counts as a Psion for any effect which detects Quantum rather than a Nova.

The Nova no longer needs a Huang-Marr Bioimplant to use his psionic powers.

The permanent bonuses gained from levels in Psionic Modes apply to the Nova in full.

Obviously creating this power would require research and development far above and beyond what has been done, and the Integrated Extra or hints of its existence would require finding information from sources dating back to the Hammersmith Incident, possibly via means as extreme as time travel.

Huang-Marr Bioapps

Directly implanted biotechnological applications combining Psion and Aberrant DNA, these systems are extremely difficult to acquire, seeing as the Huang-Marr scandal has mostly blown over and there are only a handful of examples of the data stored in secure caches or evidence lockers. Unlike other forms of Enhancement and unlike any Bioapps, Novas can format Huang-Marr bioapps owing to their origins. Doing so transforms 10 points of a Nova's Quantum pool into 10 Psi points instead. Formatting a H-M bioapp as a Nova requires an XP surcharge of 6 XP per App.

These Bioapps give their user +4 to Psi, as well as +1 to all Modes a user possesses, or +2 to a single mode a user does not possess. Each additional Huang-Marr Bioapp after the first increases the user's Psi by an additional +2, and adds all bonuses to Mode scores (up to a maximum of 5 in any mode), and Psions further gain a -1 Psi cost break to all Psi use (not cumulative with multiple installations). However, both Psions and Novas using these bioapps suffer horrific side effects. Psions have to check for Bioapp assimilation (once per week the Psion and the bioapp make opposed Psi rolls, if the Psion loses 1 point of his Psi transfers to the App), while Novas "merely" suffer zeroed Quantum regeneration rates and a cost surcharge (Novas no longer regenerate Quantum normally and must roll Stamina + Node to "accelerate" regeneration, use the Quantum Regeneration power, or burn HLs to fill their Quantum Pool, all non-permanent powers cost +1 Quantum to use). The negative non-surcharge effects of multiple implanted HM Bioapps is cumulative-a Nova that installs 2 Huang-Marr Bioapps requires the user to triple his normal Quantum regeneration rates (via Quantum Regeneration or Node stressing) to regain Quantum at all.

Characters

Format: Name (Player): Role. e.g. Shen-Ji Yang (The Computer): Chairman of the Human Hive.

Quasar (Andronicus): Ships Daedalus League Warper and Emergency Situations Advisor.
Starlance (Exhack): Ship's Helmsman and Weapons Expert
Custodian(Bossmuff): Ship's Morale Officer and Alien Relations Expert
Alexander Vincent (Norseman): Ship's mechanic and technician
Dr. McAllister (OmegaPaladin): Ship's Medical Officer and Scientist
Scarlet (FBH): Captain.
Aya (Silence): Not part of the crew, but a magical girl.