Rosewood
A Savage Worlds space horror adventure
The Story So Far...[edit]
It is the waning days of the 21st century. Humanity has begun to expand beyond the bounds of an overpopulated Earth. Although interstellar travel is still a distant dream, an international collaboration of space agencies has developed powerful and reliable spacecraft, resulting in the existence of several colonies on the Moon, and more recently, on Mars.
Five years ago, the first full Martian colony, Ares I, was established, with a goal of terraforming the harsh environment of Mars. All seemed to be going well until nine months ago, when all communications from the Mars base abruptly ceased. An emergency rescue mission was organized and left for Mars six months ago. Nothing has been heard from them since.
Now, a second rescue mission is being sent, composed of whatever skilled individuals were on hand and willing to risk an unknown fate on the red sands of an alien world.
Your mission: find out what happened on Ares I.
Setting Rules[edit]
- BORN A HERO: Player characters ignore Rank requirements for Edges during character creation.
- FANATICS: Enemy thugs take the damage for their masters
- GRITTY DAMAGE: When Wild Cards take a Wound, they roll on the Injury Table and apply the results.
- MORE SKILL POINTS: Player characters in advanced or specialized settings start with 15 skill points.
Notable NPCs[edit]
- Commander Sasha Andreyevna Spender, Mission Commander
At 55, Commander Spender is a veteran of multiple space missions, including the record-setting longest consecutive residence on a space station. She accepted command of Ares I as a form of working retirement, partially in the belief that her space-adapted physiology would not handle Earth's gravity very well in her twilight years.
- Dr. Elektra Heliades, Sustainability Officer
Dr. Heliades holds multiple advanced degrees in genetics, botany and ecology, and is responsible for the advances in hydroponics which have made long-term survival on Mars possible. She oversees oxygen, food and waste cycles to minimize the number of resupply shipments necessary to sustain the colony.
- First Lieutenant Benjamin Driscoll, Communications Officer
A veteran of the US Air Force, Lt. Driscoll is an expert with drones and long-range sensors, and has worked extensively with mining survey robots for several asteroid mining companies. He has the least actual space experience of the Ares I crew, and his file contains a note to monitor his psychological adjustment carefully.
- Dr. Michael Chaptal, Medical Officer
Although not the foremost authority on low-gravity health risks, Dr. Chaptal has studied extensively under those who are, and has published several papers specifically studying Commander Spender's medical history. A trained astronaut with extensive experience on the International Space Station, he joined the Ares I mission in part out of loyalty to Commander Spender.
- Hauptmann Werner von Opel, Engineering Officer
A scion of the wealthy and famous von Opel family, Werner has served in the Luftwaffe as a notably fearless pilot before transferring to space exploration. He enjoys working with his hands, and has a knack for improving the performance and efficiency of propulsion systems. He applied to join the Ares I mission primarily for the prestige and honor to his family name, and has made it clear that he expects to be transferred back to Earth eventually.
The Heroes[edit]
| Erebus Matheson, space engineer played by Elfwine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributes | Derived Stats | Skills | Gear | |
| Agility d6 | Pace: 6" | Athletics d6 | ||
| Smarts d8 | Parry: 5 | Common Knowledge d6 | ||
| Spirit d8 | Toughness: 5 | Electronics d6 | ||
| Strength d6 | Bennies: 3 | Fighting d6 | ||
| Vigor d6 | Intimidate d6 | |||
| Edges | Hindrances | Notice d8 | ||
| Brave | Heroic | Persuade d4 | ||
| Loyal | Piloting d6 | |||
| Quirk: Would immediately volunteer for a Trans-Antarctic Expedition on a big wooden ship |
Repair d8 | |||
| Shooting d6 | ||||
| Stealth d4 | ||||
| Denarious Johnson, space cop played by Regular Guy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributes | Derived Stats | Skills | Gear | |
| Agility d8 | Pace: 6" | Athletics d6 | ||
| Smarts d8 | Parry: 5 | Common Knowledge d4 | ||
| Spirit d6 | Toughness: 5 | Driving d6 | ||
| Strength d6 | Bennies: 3 | Fighting d6 | ||
| Vigor d6 | Notice d8 | |||
| Edges | Hindrances | Shooting d8 | ||
| Alertness | Arrogant | Persuade d4 | ||
| Doubting Thomas | Survival d6 | |||
| Loyal | Taunt d6 | |||
| Stealth d4 | ||||
| Quinn C. Beckett, computer scientist played by IMGoose | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributes | Derived Stats | Skills | Gear | |
| Agility d6 | Pace: 6" | Athletics d6 | ||
| Smarts d10 | Parry: 3 | Common Knowledge d6 | ||
| Spirit d6 | Toughness: 5 | Electronics d10 | ||
| Strength d4 | Bennies: 3 | Fighting d4 | ||
| Vigor d6 | Hacking d8 | |||
| Edges | Hindrances | Healing d6 | ||
| Calculating | Curious | Notice d8 | ||
| Hesitant | Persuasion d6 | |||
| Quirk: TBD | Shooting d6 | |||
| Stealth d4 | ||||
| Dr. Ari Bjerke, space operative played by Edgehawk | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributes | Derived Stats | Skills | Gear | |
| Agility d6 | Pace: 6" | Academics d4 | ||
| Smarts d10 | Parry: 4 | Athletics d4 | ||
| Spirit d8 | Toughness: 5 | Common Knowledge d4 | ||
| Strength d4 | Bennies: 3 | Electronics d4 | ||
| Vigor d6 | Fighting d4 | |||
| Edges | Hindrances | Intimidation d6 | ||
| Jack of All Trades | Curious | Notice d6 | ||
| All Thumbs | Persuasion d4 | |||
| Pacifist | Piloting d4 | |||
| Research d4 | ||||
| Science d10 | ||||
| Shooting d4 | ||||
| Stealth d6 | ||||
| Thievery d4 | ||||
| Clara Lake, space medic played by NPC | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributes | Derived Stats | Skills | Gear | |
| Agility d6 | Pace: 6" | Athletics d6 | ||
| Smarts d8 | Parry: 5 | Common Knowledge d6 | ||
| Spirit d8 | Toughness: 5 | Electronics d6 | ||
| Strength d4 | Bennies: 3 | Fighting d6 | ||
| Vigor d6 | Intimidate d6 | |||
| Edges | Hindrances | Notice d8 | ||
| Healer | Mild-Mannered | Persuade d4 | ||
| Loyal | Piloting d6 | |||
| Yellow | Repair d8 | |||
| Shooting d6 | ||||
| Stealth d4 | ||||
