Every mercenary ticket plans for the mission and campaign at hand - be that an assault, a training operation, or a full-on war.
Sometimes, plans fail. Your enemy outmaneuvered and out-thought you. You under or over-estimated key factors. You backed the wrong side. Sometimes, it’s simply bad luck.
The point is, occasionally, you lose.
Most times this isn’t a factor. Tickets are written, and agreements in place to protect troops and allow them to evacuate after hostilities. Sure, sometimes there are “fines” - or a more blatant ransom. But that’s part of doing business.
This time, you aren’t so lucky. The party has already heard stories of what has happened to some of the other mercenary companies in the conflict, and you don’t want to be the next violent event.
Now, you have to get off of a planet, with a whole world against you…
(The premise is obvious - the players are outnumbered, outgunned, and on the run. This can work as a one-off scenario, or you could build a whole story arc from it. For this type of scenario to work best, they shouldn’t have a starship readily available. Whether this means a running series of encounters as they try to get to their cruiser, or they beg/borrow/steal their way off world is up to the ref.)
And, what’s an adventure, without some twists:
1 - The new government just happens to be religious/political/social fanatics of whatever nature. To the point that hunting down the party is being publicized as almost a crusade.
2 - The party has evidence of significant war crimes committed by the victors. Should they expose these off world it will lead to the guilty parties being charged. This obviously gives them motivation to stop the party.
3 - The “successful” victors aren’t as popular as they pretend. There is still a sizable part of the population who supported the losing side. Maybe this provides allies for the party to escape. Or, maybe the nucleus of an insurrection.
4 - It’s not just that the locals are after the party. The interstellar government has certain facts about the conflict they’d rather keep quiet. How does this complicate heading off world?
5 - There’s a mole. Or a traitor. Or something. But, somehow, the other side is always one step ahead, waiting in ambush at a spot the party thought was safe.
6 - Buried treasure? Not exactly - but, the party did locate something during the campaign. Be it valuables, or Ancient artifacts, or whatever. It’s too big to take with them now, but if they can somehow come back…
Sometimes, plans fail. Your enemy outmaneuvered and out-thought you. You under or over-estimated key factors. You backed the wrong side. Sometimes, it’s simply bad luck.
The point is, occasionally, you lose.
Most times this isn’t a factor. Tickets are written, and agreements in place to protect troops and allow them to evacuate after hostilities. Sure, sometimes there are “fines” - or a more blatant ransom. But that’s part of doing business.
This time, you aren’t so lucky. The party has already heard stories of what has happened to some of the other mercenary companies in the conflict, and you don’t want to be the next violent event.
Now, you have to get off of a planet, with a whole world against you…
(The premise is obvious - the players are outnumbered, outgunned, and on the run. This can work as a one-off scenario, or you could build a whole story arc from it. For this type of scenario to work best, they shouldn’t have a starship readily available. Whether this means a running series of encounters as they try to get to their cruiser, or they beg/borrow/steal their way off world is up to the ref.)
And, what’s an adventure, without some twists:
1 - The new government just happens to be religious/political/social fanatics of whatever nature. To the point that hunting down the party is being publicized as almost a crusade.
2 - The party has evidence of significant war crimes committed by the victors. Should they expose these off world it will lead to the guilty parties being charged. This obviously gives them motivation to stop the party.
3 - The “successful” victors aren’t as popular as they pretend. There is still a sizable part of the population who supported the losing side. Maybe this provides allies for the party to escape. Or, maybe the nucleus of an insurrection.
4 - It’s not just that the locals are after the party. The interstellar government has certain facts about the conflict they’d rather keep quiet. How does this complicate heading off world?
5 - There’s a mole. Or a traitor. Or something. But, somehow, the other side is always one step ahead, waiting in ambush at a spot the party thought was safe.
6 - Buried treasure? Not exactly - but, the party did locate something during the campaign. Be it valuables, or Ancient artifacts, or whatever. It’s too big to take with them now, but if they can somehow come back…
