When in Rome
A downloadable module
When in Rome is a 24pg adventure module for Mothership RPG, inspired by Alien: Romulus written by Chris Airiau, with art by Brandon Yu.
Everett's Moon is a shithole where the Company sends spacers to die. Captain Archie of the Conrad called you up with a way out: theft from a decommissioned Electorenzo Resources spaceship near Everett's Rings. Get the tech, upgrade the Conrad, and run for freedom on the Outer Rim world of Caer Wydion. Easy, right?
Except Caesar/Augustus is no spaceship, this state-of-the-art research space station has gone cold and errant. What was the Company experimenting on? Where did everyone go? Can you make it out alive?
This module contains:
- Two maps of Caesar/Augustus, player-facing and Warden-facing, containing 10 Sectors with multiple areas to explore.
- New Ship Class, the Mining Hauler, with interior map.
- 6 NPCs and their Drives to complicate your players' lives.
- 8 Xeno frights and their life cycle to terrorize PCs.
- Creature Art by Brandon Yu aka Chaoclypse!
- Digital Assets
- Three Printable Maps: Station, Core, and Spaceship
- Digital Maps, with and without notation
- NPC and Creature Art
- VTT Tokens
- Endgame Seeds to carry on the story
Roadmap
- PDF Bookmarks and Hyperlinking
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Purchase
In order to download this module you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Four More Pages!81 days ago
Comments
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Just finished running this as a two-shot last night and absolutely loved it! In particular I think the Doom Tracker is hugely effective at pacing out the entire adventure by keeping things relatively slow at the start and ramping things up to a breakneck pace by the end. Additionally I think the module does a great job of delivering a Romulus like experience. It's familiar enough to be satisfying but offers enough difference to be an exciting scenario to explore in its own right.
I don't have much too much constructive feedback, but I'll pass on what I have in case it's useful!
Overall, can't recommend the module enough, my table had an absolute blast.
Favorite moment: The crew being trapped in airlock with vacuum on one side, a Traveler on the other, and two infected crew members on the floor.
# of Characters Who Survived: 1/3 PCs, 3/4 NPCs
Awesome report! Sounds like it fired on all cylinders, :)
For Sector 4, there is a very short line in the very start about blast doors closing off the depressurization that really ought to be repeated more clearly
It's funny you mention Hour 5 bc when I did the final proof pass (not sure I caught the 3/4 typo tho), I was waffling on cutting one or two, but erred on the side of, "Ok, GMs will know what they can/can't do, it's fine." I'm glad that gamble worked out, ha.
Thanks so much for the comment! Really makes mt day, :)
the detailed map and "player handout" map are the same, is this intended ? I don't see the warden map vs player map here or maybe I have to look somewhere else ? Thanks a lot
Yes, the png is for VTT use, and the other is a printable pdf. There isn't a Warden version, as that one is in the zine itself. Would one be useful?
yeah I thought the png of the detailed map was the warden map, now I get it, the warden map is just inside the zine ! No need for another, it’s just the digital assets that confused me
Thanks for the clarification
Hello, I have a few question concerning this amazing module ! Mainly concerning the Conrad crew : do they act on their own and enter the station too ? Do they stay inside the Conrad ? Nothing seems to be written about that.
Spoilers below
I'm asking this thinking about the niche case where : players didn't bring or destroyed the hidden patient in the cryopod. How would the pregnant Izabelle would end up wounded if she stays inside the Conrad ? the hour 5 doom event where Travellers would be possibly next to the Conrad ?
Also, I would clarification about the end of the sentence of hour 1 doom track that says :
"For each occurrence, fill One Station Turn at the end of this Track. "
so instead of filling turn at the beginning of the track, we would fill the end of the track ? bringing the "end" closer to us ?
Sorry for the long comment, eager to run this module soon with my friends but I would love some clarifications on those points. thanks a lot !
Hiya!
No worries about the "long comment," I'm happy to help you get this to the table!
So, the Conrad Crew each have their own specialities, as well as Drives, that are meant to help the Warden guide their likely job/location.
Fern is a "ground operator" and accompanies the PCs into C/A. Isabelle is the "EVA specialist" intended to help with the Hangar stuff (and eventual Jump Drive installation). El is the pilot, she sticks to the Conrad. The Captain is keen to help the heist on station, but goes wherever the PCs think they'll need him.
Of course, all this is subject to PC intervention, if they insist on changing up the status quo. Or if the NPCs decide to independently seek to accomplish their Drives. But if PCs leave without cryopods/Jump drive/Warp Core, E/R bounty hunters will capture them and they'll end up in an Everett's Moon gulag.
And yes, certain Doom Clock events advance the end of the Track, bringing C/A closer to crashing into the rings. (There's some clarifying text in the version 1.3 that's on its way next week!) This also scrunches some of the ending events, though it's likely there'll be enough going on that some events would probs be irrelevant anyhow.
Hope that helps! Lemme know how it goes!
thanks for the detailed answer, I highly appreciate it and the work you put into it too :)
Your explanation makes a lot of sense, I just should have read better and think a bit harder !! I should focus on their roles and drive and I’m sure it will all work out !
I’ve seen the Romulus movie and I love that while a lot of the bones of your modules draw from it, you managed to make it original and different ! I really love the traveller design and all other species inside the module, they’re really creepy !
Anyways I will try to make an after action report, maybe on the discord if you’re active there !
thanks a lot for the help
Benjamin
Thanks for your kind words, it's much appreciated, :)
Yeah, no pressure on the after-action report, and feel free to tag me anytime on the official Mothership discord!
The module is really easy to run and read as a reference! This is really great.
I have not seen the movie...yet. But a readthrough of this game has made me feel as if I were a character in the movie. Extremely well written and illustrated, I am amazed at how quickly this was released. Thank you
How long is the game roughly?
The playtest was about 2 hours. Would likely be a little longer with more players, but also depends on how they interact with the Doom Track events.
thank you
Great looking game! Evocatively written -- and the homage is nearly perfect, capturing the spirit of Alien while bringing something new to the table. Can't wait to run this.
Thank you so much. I really didn't expect this adventure to kick off so well and kinda went all out. Let me know how it goes when you run it!