Hi everyone,

I'm working on an adventure that centers around a Virus that could kill entire planets, but I have a big plot hole.

A little back story first:

The PCs are contacted by a man that wants passage to the remains of Alderaan to scatter his fathers ashes (the fathers dying wish). He contacts smugglers because The Graveyard is patrolled by the Empire and is a restricted area.

After arriving at Alderaan the players realize that the real reason the guy wants to go there is because there is a super virus that he created, and the last known vile of it is on a half destroyed ship somewhere in the remains of Alderaan. The Empire is searching for it, and since he created the virus he felt that it was his responsibility to find it first and destroy it before the Empire uses it for their own gain.

There is a lot more to the story but that's the gist.

So the problem is this:

After they get the vial with the virus, I want my PCs to travel to a secret medical facility that can dispose of the virus safely. But what's preventing my players from just launching it out the airlock and destroying it?

I had these thoughts:

1. They can't just launch it out the airlock because the transponder attached to the vial can't be deactivated without potentially releasing the virus.

2. They couldn't destroy it because it can survive in vacuum and might drift to a planet eventually.

#2 seems VERY weak though. Can you guys think of any other solutions to this problem? Thanks in advance!

I'm planning on posting the completed adventure, along with maps and everything else, when it's completed. I think that it has some really cool twists that my PCs will love!

Busboy

I think there's an opportunity to add another layer of complication here. The vial has been damaged, and when the players obtain it they become infected with the virus. Now the trip to the medical facility isn't just to dispose of the virus, it becomes a race against time.

I think there's an opportunity to add another layer of complication here. The vial has been damaged, and when the players obtain it they become infected with the virus. Now the trip to the medical facility isn't just to dispose of the virus, it becomes a race against time.

LOVE IT!!

Glad I could help!

Great suggestion, jerrypocalypse!

Another option would be that the virus has the potential to be a powerful CURE for some sort of disease. Perhaps if treated in one way, it can be a cure, but if treated in another way it is a powerful disease.

Perhaps the doctor was intending to design a cure, and arrived at this dangerous virus by accident first. Then he discovered it might be possible to transform the virus into a vaccine and help millions of people.

jerrypocalypse's solution could still work with this idea, too. If the PCs can get back to the medical facility then doctors there can synthesize a cure from the toxic virus and cure the PC and help millions.

I think there's an opportunity to add another layer of complication here. The vial has been damaged, and when the players obtain it they become infected with the virus. Now the trip to the medical facility isn't just to dispose of the virus, it becomes a race against time.

The only complication I can think of? Paranoid players! If they suit up in sealed spacesuit or similar hazmat gear, they wont get infected. You have to breach their gear (or at least just one of their suits) somehow - some kind of firefirght with pirates or defensive droids?

I think there's an opportunity to add another layer of complication here. The vial has been damaged, and when the players obtain it they become infected with the virus. Now the trip to the medical facility isn't just to dispose of the virus, it becomes a race against time.

The only complication I can think of? Paranoid players! If they suit up in sealed spacesuit or similar hazmat gear, they wont get infected. You have to breach their gear (or at least just one of their suits) somehow - some kind of firefirght with pirates or defensive droids?

I have them get into ship to ship combat immediately after finding the virus, the doctor could easily drop the virus in the firefight. There is also potential that they don't know what the guy is trying to get until he actually finds the vial, so that would keep them from being paranoid.

If they are super paranoid and wear protective gear, then I could use the other idea of the virus having the potential to cure some horrible disease if re-synthesized or something. Both are awesome suggestions. The second would require a lot less rewriting (I've almost got the complete outline written) so I might go with that one as the main hook.

These are all awesome ideas thank you!

Great suggestion, jerrypocalypse!

Another option would be that the virus has the potential to be a powerful CURE for some sort of disease. Perhaps if treated in one way, it can be a cure, but if treated in another way it is a powerful disease.

Perhaps the doctor was intending to design a cure, and arrived at this dangerous virus by accident first. Then he discovered it might be possible to transform the virus into a vaccine and help millions of people.

jerrypocalypse's solution could still work with this idea, too. If the PCs can get back to the medical facility then doctors there can synthesize a cure from the toxic virus and cure the PC and help millions.

This is a great idea too!

Oh I've got a good one. It's from Blade Runner.

So the disease that my doctor was trying to cure could be:

http://everything2.com/title/Methuselah+syndrome

it causes quicker than normal aging. The cure that went wrong caused the aging to go even quicker, maybe within 30 minutes or something. All the doctor has to do is re-synthisize the virus. Maybe there is an entire planet that has this and would be cured with the PCs help.

I think there's an opportunity to add another layer of complication here. The vial has been damaged, and when the players obtain it they become infected with the virus. Now the trip to the medical facility isn't just to dispose of the virus, it becomes a race against time.

The only complication I can think of? Paranoid players! If they suit up in sealed spacesuit or similar hazmat gear, they wont get infected. You have to breach their gear (or at least just one of their suits) somehow - some kind of firefirght with pirates or defensive droids?

Just because they don't get infected doesn't mean the rest of their ship won't get contaminated. I doubt they'll appreciate spending a week in spacesuits while they try to find someplace that can decon them without asking questions. If they go for it, there's a good session's worth of roleplay right there, nevermind if they end up throwing the vial into a sun.

Nice! They did the aging disease on Star Trek, too.

If you have a player who is especially a ham or likes to roleplay, they might be a good pick for the character who catches the disease. They could have some fun with their character becoming a crotchety old person.

Nice! They did the aging disease on Star Trek, too.

If you have a player who is especially a ham or likes to roleplay, they might be a good pick for the character who catches the disease. They could have some fun with their character becoming a crotchety old person.

GM: You feel the need to go to the refresher again.

PC: I just went 5 minutes ago!

GM: Make a hard Discipline check

GM: Fail: Too late, you crap your pants. The smell permeates around the ship, as you shuffle to the refresher to minimize the mess fecal matter drips from your pants in a brown smelly trail.

LOL

Thanks for all the great ideas, here is a little teaser:

Connor says “Is this it? Is this the remains of Alderaan?”

He goes back into his room and returns with a datapad and the urn. He sets the urn in the airlock and depressurizes it, but doesn’t open the outer door. He opens his datapad and reads this:

“Father, you told me on your deathbed that you lived life to its fullest, and had no regrets, my only regret was that I didn’t get to spend more time with you, and that I wasn’t able to save you. All the credits in the galaxy couldn’t save you, and I wasted so much of my life chasing credits that I missed the most important thing, family. I hope you find rest here among the remains of Aldreaan along with the rest of our family. I love you dad, I miss you every day.”

He presses the button for the outer door and the small container of ashes slowly floats out of the airlock. You turn the ship so that the container can be seen from the cockpit. Connor comes up to the cockpit and looks for a few moments at the container, then says “Goodbye dad” and presses a button on his data pad. The glass of the container explodes and ashes start spreading out from around the container. After a few moments the metal container suddenly collapses, the metal support rods bend in half allowing the top and the bottom of the container to come together. Small webbing extends between the folded support rods. A small burst of air shoots out from the top of the container, sending the container back towards the ship. It bumps into the top of the ship right above the cockpit and you hear a THUNK as it magnetically attaches itself to your ship. Connor starts furiously typing away on his datapad.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t forthcoming with you. I’m here for something far more important than spreading my father’s ashes.”

He continues typing on the datapad unit suddenly a sonar like beep begins to sound. He turns to the pilot and says

“We need to head to these coordinates” and rattles off a series of numbers.

I have players that would shoot him, no questions asked, as soon as he delivered his "I'm sorry" preamble. What happens if your players take that route? Leave the info encrypted on the datapad?

What are the in-game effects of the virus/disease? Can it kill a PC? If yes, how long does that take? As I read it right now, it's a virus that hastens aging. Does my PC simply die when the GM decides he should, or is there a gestation period followed by advancing stages? Or is it all simply narrative?

I was wondering about Brother Orpheo's thoughts, too. Depending on the characters involved, he might need to make a MUCH better case for why they shouldn't toss him out the airlock when they learn he's got a much more complex plan in mind.

This could be something as simple as bonding with one of the characters on the trip to Alderaan, or perhaps you know the mix of characters you've got and have a good idea of how they might react to his deception.

One idea to push it a bit further might be that he's got on his person one half of the toxic virus, and the sample he's attempting to retrieve from Alderaan is the other half. A player character could then become infected before they arrive, making it a little more compulsory to follow through and find the other half, then take both halves to the medical facility to be resynthesized.

Just a thought. It depends a lot on the mix of personalities in your party.

I have players that would shoot him, no questions asked, as soon as he delivered his "I'm sorry" preamble. What happens if your players take that route? Leave the info encrypted on the datapad?

What are the in-game effects of the virus/disease? Can it kill a PC? If yes, how long does that take? As I read it right now, it's a virus that hastens aging. Does my PC simply die when the GM decides he should, or is there a gestation period followed by advancing stages? Or is it all simply narrative?

I haven't fully figured it out yet.

If they killed him information would be on the datapad, that's a good idea.

I think I'm going to call the virus that he was trying to cure the "Medusa Virus" which cuts life expectancy in half because the cells age a lot quicker. Also your bones begin to slowly fuse together. (Tipped hat to the Medusa story where if you look at her you turn to stone, the victim basically ends up completely immobile towards the end)

The super virus that the doctor creates (Darkrose Death, the name of the doctor is Darian Darkrose)will do the same thing except a lot quicker, within 48 hours or something. Side affects would be slowly upgrading the difficulty of aiming, athletics checks, not allowing the PC to turn an action into a maneuver.... getting worse and worse as time goes on. (Starting with one setback die, then 2, then upgrading the check, and so on)

I was wondering about Brother Orpheo's thoughts, too. Depending on the characters involved, he might need to make a MUCH better case for why they shouldn't toss him out the airlock when they learn he's got a much more complex plan in mind.

This could be something as simple as bonding with one of the characters on the trip to Alderaan, or perhaps you know the mix of characters you've got and have a good idea of how they might react to his deception.

One idea to push it a bit further might be that he's got on his person one half of the toxic virus, and the sample he's attempting to retrieve from Alderaan is the other half. A player character could then become infected before they arrive, making it a little more compulsory to follow through and find the other half, then take both halves to the medical facility to be resynthesized.

Just a thought. It depends a lot on the mix of personalities in your party.

I have a droid, a wookie and a human. The Human is from Alderaan so he hates the Empire, the Wookie is pissed at the Empire because they have enslaved his people, and the droid has a mysterious past that hasn't been fleshed out yet, but he use to work for the Empire and doesn't any more.

I'm fully expecting them to demand more information after he does this. He will explain that the virus could be used to wipe out an entire planet, and that the Empire is looking for it (they are close behind but the PCs have a jump on the location of the virus because the doctor has the transponder key for the virus). Since the first Deathstar is destroyed the Empire is looking for something to control planets, and the virus is a sure way to do it if they get their hands on it. So their hook at that point to keep going is that if they don't help the doctor out the Empire will get it and use it to kill even more people.

“ I’m sorry I wasn’t forthcoming with you. I’m here for something far more important than spreading my father’s ashes.”

He continues typing on the datapad unit suddenly a sonar like beep begins to sound. He turns to the pilot and says

“We need to head to these coordinates” and rattles off a series of numbers.

Now, lets assume you just GMed that bit for my crew. I know for an iron clad certainty, the next words out of their mouth is "Why?" - and should the client stammer or offer up a vague "Because I really, really need to" and not mention why, they will go "Sorry - the contract was to deliver you to the Graveyard to drop off ashes. We're going home now."

You might need to figure out a better carrot to dangle from the end of your stick. More money, perhaps? At the very least, a more solid excuse like "I need to recover some medical supplies from that wreck there." Basically be vague without being vague (or out and out have him lie "I'm going to recover a huge pile of credits. Want to come?").

“ I’m sorry I wasn’t forthcoming with you. I’m here for something far more important than spreading my father’s ashes.”

He continues typing on the datapad unit suddenly a sonar like beep begins to sound. He turns to the pilot and says

“We need to head to these coordinates” and rattles off a series of numbers.

Now, lets assume you just GMed that bit for my crew. I know for an iron clad certainty, the next words out of their mouth is "Why?" - and should the client stammer or offer up a vague "Because I really, really need to" and not mention why, they will go "Sorry - the contract was to deliver you to the Graveyard to drop off ashes. We're going home now."

You might need to figure out a better carrot to dangle from the end of your stick. More money, perhaps? At the very least, a more solid excuse like "I need to recover some medical supplies from that wreck there." Basically be vague without being vague (or out and out have him lie "I'm going to recover a huge pile of credits. Want to come?").

I think at this point the cat will be out of the bag. The PCs will call a complete halt and want more information. The doctor will reveal his real name and the real reason why he's out here. I think it would be too complicated if there are too many twists:

-I want to go to Alderaan to spread my dads ashes

-Twist! I'm looking for a pile of credits

-Twist 2! I'm actually a good guy looking for a virus to keep away from the Empire.

I'd rather just do:

-I want to go to Alderaan to spread my dads ashes

-Twist! I'm actually a good guy looking for a super virus to keep away from the Empire.

There are plenty more plot twists in the story so I don't think I need to extend them, here is a pretty complete summary of everything that happens on the adventure.

-PCs contacted about man wanting to spread fathers ashes around the remains of Alderaan

-Make it to Alderaan, maybe run into Imperial scouts.

-Twist! Actually looking for the remains of a ship that contains a super virus. A friend was trying to smuggle it out of Alderaan to the doctor when Alderaan was destroyed. Empire found out about the super virus and is looking for it, which is why the doc is trying to find it now.

-Navigate through remains, find ship and dock

-Security droids get activated on ship, have to fight them off

-Find briefcase with virus, hidden in a wookie doll that use to be his daughters

-After getting back to their ship they are hailed by an Imperial ship that demands them to hand over virus and doc

-Chase and fight through remains of Alderaan

-Doc needs to talk to best friend about location of medical lab that could destroy the virus/make a cure

-Meets on Ord Mantell

-Friend turns out to be working for the Empire, and that's how the Empire found out about the virus

-Fight through streets of Ord Mantell

-Space ship chase through ravines or Ord Mantell

-Medical Facility is on a space station orbiting Roon

Roon- http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Roon

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Cloak_of_the_Sith

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Manda-Roon_Merchant_Route

-Travel to Roon, have to navigate through "The Cloak of the Sith"

-Arrive at Roon, Imperial Spies on station attack PCs, fight to lab to destroy virus, create cure, cure themselves, maybe have to protect the Doc while he does this.

-Profit?

I agree Busboy80, keep it simple. Especially if your players are motivated enough to want to help him once they understand the stakes and what would result if the Empire gets its hands on this virus, then just have him tell them the truth!

Just a thought but what if an earlier version of the virus was released on the ship and they returned to theirs having been exposed whether because it lay dormant on their spacesuits until it could infect someone not so protected.

Now they assume its the lethal version but that's still safely contained in reality the victim has received a very weak dose that builds up their resistance to the more lethal version meaning they're the cure and what happens if the Empire realises that character is immune to their new terror weapon and the fact they can manufacture their cure using them...

If you thought getting exposed to a lethal new virus was bad... wait until it sinks in that the Empire is chasing you to turn you into a blood bank and their official explanation is that your character is carrying the virus instead of the only known cure!

Hmm what if the original mission is on the level and the truth is they find a ship drifting with its emergency beacon barely operating would your players board the ship if they thought there was salvage or loot involved?

Could have them find out the ship was answering a call of distress before passing through what they thought was a harmless gas identical to one the players witnessed during their trip into the area but its revealed that it managed to get inside the ship even though they followed proper procedures and the evidence there matches up with reports from their own ship revealing its been infected too.

Now reveal your patron thinks he knows what the virus is but to be sure they need to reach a suitable medical station...

Wow, great ideas copperbell!