Novem-Build #22: Finding a Way Home When You Don’t Know Where You Are

Exploration by Faith… and a d20...and a d10 (Oh, and a d6 as well...)

Photo by Mudassir Ali: Pexels

We are progressing with the 30-Day Worldbuilding Challenge with the help of Black Oath’s Across a Thousand Dead Worlds. We’ve reached Day 22, which means there is already a massive repository of worldbuilding, narrative and gameplay—so if you have missed anything, you can find links on my curated Contents Page, accessible via the button below.

Dante froze mid-step. One sharp thought cut through the fog in his head. Where the hell were they? The teleport trap spat them out in some random wing of the station. No markers. No map. No obvious route back to the ship. One thing was uppermost in his mind. They had to dodge the Guardian that stalked the halls.

He turned to the team. His voice rose with steady force. “Listen up. We gear up. We move now.” March blinked. “You got a plan.” “Well, first things first,” Dante barked. “Stay alive long enough to find our ship. Then find a path home.”

Phoebe rubbed her head. “The Guardian feels close.” Dante stepped in front of her. “Keep your head up. Gird your loins. Time to move.” March let out a short grunt. “Fine. Lead the way.”

They lined up behind him. No one spoke. They pushed off from the room, left behind the dead aberrations, and slipped into the hall. Each step set echoed on the floor. Each breath kept them sharp. The hunt for a way out had begun…

We could keep exploring. But we have enough loot to sell back at Karum that would enable us to level up—and that feels like a decent “win” for this first mission. I decide heading back towards the ship, whilst exploring whatever we chance upon, is likely our best chance of staying alive…

Yes, I suddenly twigged that my carefully drawn map was worthless. Since the teleport trap, we have no way to know where we are in relation to where we were! All we can do is keep exploring and hope to find our ship.

In the absence of any clear rules, I decided that I’d make an oracle check in each room, starting with “almost impossible” and increasing the odds of success with each new room on the basis that each room explored makes the chances of the landing bay being the next room slightly shorter.

If that makes sense…

So we head for the only exit from this location (the storage room is a dead end), which is the corridor the Etokutreo came down.

At the end of this hallway is a door leading to the next room. We roll a d20 on the Area Connector table—it’s another corridor. There’s a 20% chance of an ambush, but my dice roll says the corridor is quiet. We can explore this corridor, and the d10 roll is a 10, indicating a random occurrence.

The Random Occurrence table is d20, and it comes up with a six. We find some Alloy Cubes. Yipee! How many? The table doesn’t say, so we’ll roll a d6, and it’s a two. March tucks the cubes into his backpack, and we move on….

A Short Digression: Carry Capacity

I should mention that, unlike some computer games, we don’t have infinite carry capacity—we are limited by filled “Gear Slots.” Each PC carries a standard-issue KSA backpack with 15 gear slots. Light items can fit in pockets or a backpack at a ratio of 10 light items per gear slot.

We only count “carried items”—gear or weapons which are carried don’t count in that allocation. So, our primary weapon and body armour don’t count, but if we bring a spare gun or a Hazmat suit, then it takes up a gear slot.

I won’t bore you with long lists of gear, but when we arrived at this station, the “state of play” (largely food, medicine and rations) was:

• Dante: 3 gear slots filled

• Phoebe: 3 gear slots filled

• March: 4 gear slots filled

Now, keep in mind that scavenging takes up gear slots. Data Crystals are light, so we can keep up to 10 in our pocket; after which, they take up a gear slot. However, each Alloy cube, Arsaidh scrap or artefact takes up one gear slot! So far, we have scavenged nine Data Crystals, eight Alloy cubes, one chunk of scrap and one artefact. Let’s assume we are using March as our mule (since Phoebe would probably start stroking and cooing over the Arsaidh materials).

I reckon that what we have collected so far has filled March’s backpack (and pocket) to capacity, with two items now carried by Dante. That means we can carry up to another ten items before we have to start letting Phoebe carry stuff!

---

We open the door to the next room. We make an oracle roll, and need 16 for this to be the Ship Landing Pad. It’s a twelve, so it is not. Instead, we roll on the Connecting Room table, and this time it's stairs going down. Next, we roll on the Site Exploration table and we get a four! We have found a Xenoanthropological Artefact. Phoebe gets very excited at this discovery! We roll the d20 to see what we find, and it turns out we've found a mysterious stone cube. It’s light enough to fit into the pocket. March slips it into his pocket, and his pocket is now as stuffed as his backpack.

Encouraged by the discovery, Phoebe makes the single Arsaidh skill check she is allowed in each location to determine whether there are more alien items to find here. She rolls a 7 on her d20 and adds it to her Arsaidh Tech rank of 10—it’s a fail. There’s nothing else here…

Is there an alien spaceship through the next door?

…and the answer is “no”—even though the number we need has been reduced down to 14 this time around. We roll a nine, so it’s not the landing pad. Instead, the Room Connector table tells us it’s a grand, wide hallway. Again, I roll the d10 for the Site Exploration Event, and it’s a “Dread Event.”

We head to the Dread Event Oracle and get 12, which means a random PC must pass a Resolve Check or roll on the Trauma table.

OK, so which crew member is affected? I grab a d6 and decide: Dante will be 1-2; March 3-4, and Phoebe 5-6. The dice stops rolling on a three. It’s March! He rolls against his Resolve of 10. He needs a 10 to pass, but only gets a four…

So, he rolls a d10 and gets two, which means he has been permanently affected by a Negative Trait. We flip over the page and roll on that table, and this time the d20 comes up as a ten. March gains the Apathetic trait—he loses the will to fight, and takes a -1 hit to his WIL.

Meanwhile, Phoebe has been busy scavenging for tech and—good news—she finds another “gear slot” worth of Arsaidh scrap, worth (d100) 95 Drake Coins. She looks wistfully at the metal as she hands it to Dante.

March vacantly stares out of the window into space. It’s time for Dante to step up and show his leadership prowess.

March sat on a crate. His hands are loose at his sides. Dante crouched in front of him. “March, look at me.” His friend raised his eyes with effort. “I feel nothing. No drive. No point. Just leave me here.” Dante shook his head. “No. If you stay here, this place will chew you up. I need you on your feet.” March let out a slow breath. “I can’t, Dante. I can’t move. My mind feels like it’s packed with sand.”

Dante leaned in. “Hear me. You held strong when you were trapped in that room. You stood tall when those things came down the corridor. You kept Phoebe safe from those aberrations. You did all that with grit and a clear head. That same grit sits in you right now.”

A faint spark showed in his eyes. Dante pressed on. “Stand up... Stand up so we walk out of this station alive.” He rubbed his face with both hands. March pushed off the crate. His legs shook. His voice rasped out. “Fine. I’m up.” Dante clapped him on the shoulder. “Good. Stay with me. We move as one.”

The dull haze still clung to him, but he walked forward. Dante kept pace at his side, ready to push him forward with each step.