36

Emergency Situation! mini-scenarios for the starship

greg lynch
troopers roleplaying game

i
t is a situation every Games Master has faced
at least once. For some reason, be it pressures
from work, from school or something else
entirely, he has not had the time he needs to
prepare for the roleplaying session. Fortunately for
him, Signs & Portents Roleplayer has done the work
for him. The six Starship Troopers missions detailed
below offer the busy Games Master a perfect
solution for the night when he needs an adventure
and does not have the time to create his own.

These six adventures are designed to fit perfectly

into a single roleplaying session, and are created to
allow the Games Master to drop them easily into any
Starship Troopers campaign. The missions cover a
range of character levels, but each can be modified
with a minimum of effort on the part of the Games
Master to accommodate practically any character
level.

Blending fast, furious action, unexpected

complications and meant to slip easily into a
campaign, these missions also allow a Games Master
to insert a few unexpected surprises for his Player
Characters, adding a significant jolt of energy to any
campaign. Though all these missions are meant to
be self-contained, a number of them can easily be
expanded and enlarged by an enterprising Games
Master who is interested in following the plot
threads of any particular mission to its conclusion.
 37
live capture th
Enemies: Blaster bug (8), plasma bug (1), tanker
bug (2), warrior bugs (30)
Mission Breakdown: If the Player Characters think
this looks like the kind of mission where something
Character Levels: 6
is bound to go wrong, they are right.
Experience Points: 300 experience points Mission Briefing: ‘Good work, apes. Looks like
someone from up high has been watching you Everything starts out going according to plan. The
Mission Type: Drop, clearance, capture, evac and likes what they’ve seen. What do you get drop takes the troopers directly into the path of
for this? Glad you asked. You get a special a small group of Arachnids moving southwest,
Mission Duration: Twenty minutes assignment. We’re about to hit orbit over the consisting of eight blaster bugs and 15 warrior bugs.
nastiest rock this side of hell. The bugs in this From the time the troopers hit ground, they have six
Terrain: Rocky plains, corrosive and toxic place make what you’re used to seeing look rounds until the first Arachnids reach them. Five
atmosphere, high gravity like ladybugs, but your job here means more rounds after the battle begins, a tanker bug bursts
than killing. The high foreheads in Special from the ground just south of the site of the battle.
Special Equipment: Two FedCom SW-402 ‘Triple Services want one of them for study, and it’s Four rounds after that, another tanker bug arrives
GL’ Grenade Launchers with any grenades, Wyman your job to get it for them. Thing is, it has from the west. Presumably, the troopers will choose
Arms CC-176-ER Combat Prod (one per character) to be alive, and a warrior if possible. We’re one of the 15 warriors as their target for capture, and
tracking a swarm moving across the surface once the remainder of the bugs are dead, they can
Available Support: Viking Landing Boat for EVAC now, and we’re gonna drop you on top of call for evac.
them. Hit ‘em and kill ‘em all. Except one.
That’s what the shock sticks are for.’ This is the point where things truly begin to go
wrong. The Viking Landing Boat will be hit by the
nearby (and heretofore unnoticed) plasma bug as it
makes its approach, turning the craft into a fireball
of wreckage. The Player Characters then receive
a communication from their commanding officer,
telling them another lander cannot be dispatched
until the plasma bug is destroyed. The plasma bug
is nearly half a mile from their position, and time on
the mission clock is certainly starting to run out.

Assuming the troopers have already subdued and

captured a warrior bug, they have a difficult decision
to make. If they leave the bug behind, it will almost
certainly recover and vanish before they can return.
If they leave some of their men to guard it, they will
be reducing their numbers before facing a plasma
bug. If they try to take it with them, they will have
to carry the unwieldy and extremely heavy (900
pounds on this world) captive up a steep slope and
into combat.

Of course, there are some other warriors with the

plasma bug, and another group of 10 that attack from
the north with three rounds of beginning combat
38
red carpet Available Support: Orbital barrage
Character Levels: 5th
Enemies: Plasma bugs (7), tanker bugs (4), warrior
Experience Points: 500 experience points bugs (68)

Mission Type: Clearance, take and hold Mission Briefing: ‘Remember how your History
and Moral Philosophy teacher told you the
Mission Duration: One hour best things in life aren’t free? That’s a lesson
I hope you recall, apes. We finally got some
Terrain: Arctic desert, low gravity relief coming to us on this rock, but Fleet’s
targeted landing zone looks like a damn
Special Equipment: Two GK-12 Geckos, two plasma bug convention. If we’re gonna have
FedCom SW-404 Javelin missile launchers loaded any hope of not getting ground to nothing, we
with M-666C5 HEAT missiles, four FedCom SW- need those reinforcements, and we need ‘em
403 ‘Thud Gun’ Rocket Launchers loaded with now! Fleet’s gonna hammer them from orbit,
M-711A1 ‘Scatterjack’ rockets, 17 M-901HE High but I think we all know that never gets the job
Explosive grenades. done. I’ve given you the best gear we got left
to us, now I need you to get in there and kill
everything that crawls. Clear?’

with the plasma bug, but there is no way for the

troopers to know this. Once the plasma bug (and
all other bugs in the immediate vicinity) have been
destroyed, another Viking Landing Boat will come
for the Player Characters.

For every two size categories of an Arachnid on

this world, the creature’s Strength score should be
increased by one point (rounding up). For example,
a blaster bug would gain +3 to its Strength score,
while a plasma bug would gain +4.

Mission Objectives: The sole purpose of this

mission is the capture of a live Arachnid. So long
as the Player Characters accomplish this, they
receive full experience for the mission. If they
fail, they receive no experience and may be subject
to disciplinary action (at the Games Master’s
discretion).
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Mission Breakdown: The landing zone for the
reinforcements is a 20 minute drive from the Player
As the troopers approach the plasma bug, they will
come under attack by the Arachnids pouring back
warm welcome
Character Levels: 4th
Characters’ current position. As they approach, they into this area after the orbital bombardment (Games
will see the explosions of the Fleet barrage, as well Masters should describe the hundreds of Arachnid Experience Points: 300 experience points
as multiple plasma bursts streaking from the surface corpses and dozens of impact craters littering the
into the sky. area). Just before they reach the landing area, the Mission Type: Clearance, nuclear deployment
Player Characters come under attack by four tanker
The Player Characters enter the map in the northwest bugs burrowing out of the valley walls on either side. Mission Duration: Ninety minutes
corner, in the middle of the valley leading up to the Five rounds later, a group of 18 warriors swarms
landing zone, which is itself practically uninhabited, up from the southeast. Of course, the troopers still Terrain: Mountains
save for one plasma bug and five warriors. The have a plasma bug and its five warriors to deal with
hardest part of this mission comes at the beginning. during this time. Special Equipment: Five modified Pee-Wee
warheads, demolitions kit, GK-12 Gecko
There are seven plasma bugs still active at this point,
marked on the map with a ‘P’. Each of the plasmas Available Support: Viking Landing Boat for EVAC
has five warriors with it as bodyguards. Each of
the plasmas also suffered some damage during the Enemies: Cliff mites (5), hopper bugs (8), Tanker
orbital bombardment, losing 25% of its total hit bug (1), Warrior bugs (24)
points.
Mission Briefing: ‘Just when you think Fleet’s
After the troopers have dealt with all the plasma left us high and dry on this pathetic rock, you
bugs on one side of the valley and are moving find out we’re even higher and dryer than
across to the other side, they have more unwelcome you suspected. You’ve been giving the bugs
visitors, in the form of 15 warriors moving in from hell, apes, don’t think I don’t know it, but
the north. we got problems inbound like you’ve never
seen. Transport bugs, bringing a whole world
The greatest challenge in this mission, aside from of hurt our way. Good thing for us we’re
the sheer size of the Arachnid forces, is completing a damn sight smarter than them. Special
it in the time allotted. If even one plasma bug is Services reports the trajectory of one of the
still alive when the mission time expires (the bugs is gonna bring it right down in our back
same time the Fleet landing begins) it will yard – and there ain’t but one place for it to
destroy one of the incoming ships with every go, the valley on your display. I want you to
shot. get in there, kill everything that crawls, and
rig the site with these modified Pee-Wees so
Mission Objectives: This is an all or nothing we can blow the whole valley to hell when
mission to SICON. If all the plasma bugs are killed the transport bug sets down. Simple enough?
before the landing begins, the Player Characters Then what are you still doing here?’
receive full experience. However, if even one of the
incoming ships is destroyed, the Player Characters Mission Breakdown: This mission is a race against
will be subject to disciplinary action and will receive time. The transport bug is on its way, and if it
no experience. touches down before the Player Characters have
finished their work, they will almost certainly die.
40
cliff mites will attack. Once they are dealt with, the
Player Characters can withdraw to the extraction
point and wait for the transport bug to arrive before
triggering the detonator.

Mission Objectives: SICON judges the success of

this mission based on only one criteria – whether
or not the transport bug and all its passengers are
destroyed upon touching down in the valley. So
long as at least three of the Pee-Wees detonate, the
mission will be accomplished.

It will take the Player Characters 45 minutes to Five minutes after the Player Characters arrive in the
reach the valley in the Gecko, as there is only one valley, a group of eight hopper bugs will swoop in
path the vehicle can take to get there. They will be to attack, continuing to harass the troopers until they
unmolested along the way – the M.I. has done its have all been killed. Five minutes later, a group of
job well on this world and cleared out most of the six warrior bugs will sweep in from the mouth of the
Arachnids (except for those within the mountains). valley. Five minutes later, another group of warriors
(10) will attack from the same direction.
As the Gecko arrives, it will be greeted by a group of
eight warriors and one tanker bug. Once this threat Once all five warheads are set in place, the troopers
is dealt with (a task made simpler by the Gecko’s can climb back into the Gecko for the short trip
weapons), the troopers must set about the business to the extraction point. However, they are not
of emplacing the five modified Pee-Wees – warheads out of danger yet. While they were busy fighting
that have been altered to function as placement bugs and setting warheads, a group of five cliff
charges. The charges should be set at the spots on mites climbed inside the Gecko. Unless the Player
the map marked with an ‘X’. Placing a Pee-Wee and Characters posted a sentry at the Gecko, the Games
setting it with a detonator requires five minutes and a Master should assume the cliff mites slipped aboard
DC 15 Demolitions check for each device. undetected. As soon as the Gecko is underway, the
 41
jail break (Leader) (1). Consult the core Starship Troopers
Roleplaying Game rulebook for exact statistics and
Mission Breakdown: Fortunately for the Player
Characters, the Skinnies have nothing resembling a
Character Levels: 2nd or 3rd
equipment. permanent base on this world, and therefore do not
Experience Points: 200 experience points have much in the way of layered defences to prevent
Mission Briefing: ‘Well, apes, you get the an enemy from doing exactly what the Player
Mission Type: Assault, rescue chance to play hero today. The Skinnies Characters are about to attempt. The first part of the
that have been raiding this rock have got mission is very simple – a three-mile walk from the
Mission Duration: Three hours themselves some prisoners. Seems they got troopers’ current position to the mouth of the Skinny
the drop on Charles’ Commandos and managed cave.
Terrain: Caves to take five of their troopers captive. We
don’t know what the Skinnies do to prisoners, The Player Characters have an approximate GPS
Special Equipment: Lockpick set, mechnical toolkit and we don’t want the Commandos to find position for the opening of the Skinny cave, but it
(basic), TOAD charges (2) out. They’re being kept in a cave just a few is still difficult to notice from the outside, requiring
clicks from your current position. Hotfoot a Perception check (DC 15) to find. Just inside the
Available Support: Viking Landing Boat for EVAC it in there, get the prisoners and I’ll drop cave are two Skinny Raiders (1st level) acting as
a Skyhook on you for evac. One more thing guards. This mission is an excellent way of teaching
Enemies: Skinny 1st level Raider (10), Skinny 2nd – make sure you do this right – I don’t want to the Player Characters the difference between
level Raider (Gunner) (2), Skinny 2nd level Raider have to come after you.’ Arachnids and Skinnies, particularly regarding
enemy teamwork. The Games Master should
carefully consider each move the Player Characters
make – so long as they do not reveal themselves,
they have at least some chance of moving through
the Skinny caves without facing all the enemies
at once. Of course, it is far more likely they will
reveal their presence (probably through the sound of
gunfire) and end up fighting all the Skinnies in the
cave.

If the Skinnies become aware of the Player

Characters, they will assume the troopers are there to
rescue the prisoners, and will see it as an opportunity
to take more prisoners. They will attempt to catch
the troopers in a crossfire at one of the intersections,
or preferably trap the troopers against the 300 foot
deep abyss that runs throughout the caves. The three
Skinnies tasked with guarding the prisoners will
not abandon their posts to join in any fighting, but
that does not prevent the remaining Skinnies from
letting the troopers pass by, then engaging them in a
crossfire with the three guards.

The large room with the Leader in it has a locked

door built into the southern wall of the cave. The
42
shopping spree Mission Briefing: ‘I think we all know
Character Levels: 2 nd turnabout is fair play, right? Well, today you
get your chance to raid some Skinny raiders.
Experience Points: 200 experience points Seems one of the psychics in Special Services
caught wind of a Skinny supply depot in this
Mission Type: Search and report, take and hold jungle. Can’t give you an exact location, but
I can tell you it’s northeast of your current
Mission Duration: Three hours position, and where you find it, you’ll find
Skinnies. Once you find it, you call in and you
Terrain: Jungle hold that ground. The psychic says there’s
something in that depot besides the usual,
Special Equipment: Stryker suits something important, I’m guessing, ‘cause
SICON wants it bad. Under no circumstances
Available Support: Viking Landing Boat for EVAC are you to use any equipment you find in that
depot, apes. You just call in and we’ll drop a
Enemies: Skinny 1st level Raider (6), Skinny 2nd boat to get you and the goods.’
level Raider (Leader) (2), Skinny 2nd level Raider
(Spotter) (6). Consult the core Starship Troopers Mission Breakdown: The Skinny depot is one of
Roleplaying Game rulebook for exact statistics and two Skinny installations hidden in this jungle, the
equipment. other being a holding pen for civilian prisoners
captured by the Skinnies.
lock can be opened with a successful Sabotage skill
check (DC 25) or with a TOAD charge. Inside is
the captured equipment of the Commandos, as well
as extra Skinny equipment (exactly what kind of
equipment is left to the Games Master).

The five prisoners are being kept in a cell at the back

of the caves, guarded by two 1st level Skinny raiders
and one 2nd level gunner. Once those enemies are
dealt with, the Player Characters can go about
freeing the captives. The lock on the cell door can
be opened with a successful Sabotage skill check
(DC 25) or with a TOAD charge.

Mission Objectives: So long as no troopers are left

alive in Skinny hands, SICON will be satisfied. If
the Player Characters also eliminate every Skinny
in the caves, they will receive an additional 50
experience points. If they capture the Skinny
equipment stores, they will receive an additional 50
experience points.
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The jungle the Skinnies are operating in is
tremendously dense, slowing movement rate down
As mentioned above, there are two Skinny positions
in the jungle, each situated in a small clearing hidden
party line
Character Levels: 3rd
to half normal, even with the less bulky Stryker from aerial view by the thick jungle canopies above.
suits issued to the Player Characters. For every 20 The equipment depot is a buried in the ground, a Experience Points: 200 experience points
minutes of travel time, there is a one in four chance 20-foot by 20-foot box of Skinny polymer with only
the troopers will be discovered by a Skinny spotter the top visible. The captive pen is not buried – it is a Mission Type: Surgical strike, capture
patrolling the jungle. If a Skinny discovers the 15-foot by 15-foot cage of Skinny polymer holding
Player Characters, he will not attack them. Rather, 12 civilian captives. Of the two positions, SICON is Mission Duration: One hour
he will hide and send word of the approaching vastly more interested in the equipment depot.
troopers to the other Skinnies. Whether or not the Terrain: Marshes, high gravity
spotter is able to avoid detection depends, of course, Each of the positions is guarded by a Skinny leader
on the Games Master and the Perception skills of the and three Skinny raiders. If the Player Characters Special Equipment: Piranha Combat Jet Ski (one
Player Characters. were ambushed in the jungle, this is reduced to per two characters)
a leader and two raiders. However, if the Player
If the spotter is able to avoid detection, he will Characters managed to evade an ambush, the leader Available Support: None
attempt to bring the other five spotters and two of will be able to call for reinforcements. Five rounds
the 1st level raiders to him in order to lay an ambush after the leader’s call, a Skinny spotter will arrive Enemies: Black Cross Mercenaries (2nd level) (8)
for the troopers. If successful, they will surround at the scene. Five rounds later, another will arrive.
the Player Characters in a ring and open fire The remainder will remain in hiding in the jungle, Mission Briefing: ‘Well, well, guess who’s here,
simultaneously, with two Skinnies attacking each preparing to ambush the Player Characters when apes? The Black Cross, that’s who. Now, you
target. As devastating as this attack may be, if the they leave their current position. may have heard they were just a myth. They
Player Characters make it through, they will have ain’t. Bunch of genuine traitors, scum making
successfully wiped out almost all opposition for the Once the Player Characters find the stash of their living as mercenaries. Turns out they’re
mission. equipment and call for evac, a Viking will be on this very rock right now, negotiating with
dispatched to burn away the jungle above the site the colonists – the same ones as don’t like us
and take on the equipment. much. Look at your display and you’ll see
their position pinpointed. I need you to head
Mission Objectives: The recovery through the marshes and get those traitors.
of the equipment is SICON’s Kill most of them, but keep at least one alive.
greatest concern. So long as it is Special Services is aching to get their hands
recovered (and the container is not on one of them. The rest of the depot prep
open), the Player Characters receive can wait until you get back. Think of this as a
full experience. If the container is break.’
open, they receive no experience
and will be subject to official Mission Breakdown: This mission relies in some
reprimand. part on the Games Master’s discretion, as a good
deal of the action is taking place in the Player
If the troopers manage to rescue the Characters’ absence. SICON has a history of
prisoners as well, they are entitled underestimating the Black Cross, and this mission
to an additional 100 experience is about to prove that nothing has changed. The
points. Black Cross knows the M.I. is on the planet, albeit in
limited numbers, and the mercenaries were listening
in on the briefing the Player Characters just received.
44
The mercenaries will spend 10 minutes looting the
base. While they do this, the lookout will move
to the bank near where the seven mercenaries
were waiting at the start of the mission to warn his
companions if the troopers are returning.

The mercenaries have a stolen Viking waiting on the

bank of the river one mile south of the map’s edge,
which is exactly where they will go once they are
done looting.

The Black Cross is not interested in a toe-to-toe fight

with Mobile Infantry troopers. If they are caught
before reaching the Viking, they will flee (after
dropping a TOAD charge in the midst of their stolen
cargo, if possible), going overland to evade pursuit
by the Piranhas. Unless the Player Characters are
exceptionally clever and resourceful, they will have
a difficult time catching the fleeing mercenaries.

Mission Objectives: There are many ways this

mission can end up being a black mark on a
trooper’s record.

D If the Player Characters manage to capture a

The mercenaries are aware the M.I. is preparing an When the Player Characters reach the designated mercenary and prevent any loss of materiel
equipment depot on the river feeding the marshes target area, they will find it empty, which should from the depot, they receive full experience.
(which is exactly what the Player Characters were be about the time the mercenaries are attacking
working on before getting this mission) and are the depot. The Games Master should roll a Stealth D If all the mercenaries are killed, they receive
hoping to draw the troopers away from the base long check (DC 15) for each of the seven mercenaries. half experience.
enough for them to raid it and steal some much- If they all succeed, they are able to take the base
needed equipment. without an alarm being raised. For every one that D For every mercenary that escapes, they are
fails, there is a 15% chance an alarm will be raised penalised 50 experience points.
The mercenaries have posted a lookout in the large (thus, if four fail, there is a 60% chance). What
lake near the centre of the map, hiding in the dense happens at this point depends largely on the Player D If the mercenaries destroy the contents of the
underbrush and watching the waterways for any Characters. If they spend a great deal of time depot, the troopers receive no experience.
sign of the Mobile Infantry. The remainder of the searching the target area, lying in wait or anything
mercenaries, who have secured a civilian cargo boat else, it is likely the mercenaries will rob the depot D If the mercenaries succeed with their heist, the
(Spd 200), are waiting for word from the lookout blind in their absence. If they return, there is an troopers receive no experience and are subject
on which way the troopers are coming (the north or excellent chance they will catch the mercenaries in to disciplinary action.
south passage). They will then attempt to take the the act.
other pass to the lightly-guarded depot the Player
Characters just left.