Players’ Information:
It is the 11th day of the 285th year since the founding of the Third Imperium. Which translated into the Terran calendar is the 1st November 4802.
The Third Imperium is expanding to Spinward and is encountering the Vargr as they are expanding Rimward. The Imperial research station, in fact an underground bunker on the remote moon of Idmiston Up has gone dark. There have been no communications with them for the last 28 days.
The PCs are tasked with going to the station and finding out what happened.
Idmiston Up is a 5 day in-system trip away, and the PCs have access to a Pinnace to get them there if they need transport.
Imperial scientists were tasked with coming up with a solution to the “Vargr Problem” and the Idmiston Up research station were looking into ways of using Vargr physiology to provide a solution.
Referee’s Information:
One of the scientists was researching into Vargr viruses when they concluded that as Vargr and Humans where extremely close genetically they must have originated from the same planet, and it is at this time that a virus that had been rendered harmless since pre-stellar earth through general spectrum anti-bodies and anti-toxins given to all Imperial personal mutated, with the ironic outcome of not being infections to Vargr, canines, or non-humans.
They find an extensive underground facility with a number of Rage infected human scientists, guards, and administrators.
The power is still on, the computer network is still up as well as the monitoring systems. On the third level down there are holed up in the family quarters, a number of children of various ages between 6 and 17, a guard in cloth armour, two scientists and a house husband. All Human. The corridor between them and the rest of the base is 40 meters long, and has the door at each end of it barricaded shut on the families’ side. Those in the family quarters are relatively secure and have what they need to survive, as long as they power to the base stays on. They have no access to external communications, although they do have access to internal communications. The scientists are a good source of information on the infected having studied them since they have been in hiding.
The guard, scientists, house husband and two elder children are armed with an advanced combat rifle, shotgun, carbine, and auto pistols in that order.
The infected are quiet and are awaiting stimulation. Stimulation being site, noise, or smell of uninfected, or something visual, noisy, or smelly that the infected are drawn to.
When the PCs enter the base, depending on how they enter the base they will likely stimulate the infected in some way.
The infected are not zombies, they are living people infected with Rage whose adrenalin fuelled single minded goal is to violently attack uninfected individuals to spread the infection.
As they are living, they can be killed just like any other human, however they are able to ignore pain and injuries that would be fatal to normal humans such as gunshots to the body that do not instantly kill them, being engulphed in flames, and loss of limbs.
The infected will eventually die of starvation and can die of blood loss.
Once stimulated the infected will run as quickly as they are able at full speed to the source of the stimulation looking for uninfected individuals to infect.
While they use sight, sound, and smell to identify uninfected individuals, in that order, they can be easily confused and distracted. If they cannot see or hear an uninfected individual, they can be distracted away from them by load sounds or seeing other uninfected people.
Infection is through exchange of bodily fluids though a bite or kiss, or blood being ingested through the eyes.
Once infected and depending on the level of infection:
• projectile vomit to the face; instant
• bite or kiss; 15 to 20 seconds
• drop of blood in the eye; 30 to 45 seconds
the individual will painfully convulse for 10 to 15 seconds until they are consumed with anger and become one of the infected.
Stats for the infected remain unchanged for the purposes combat damage, and if they managed to be cured, they would return to their original levels. However, while infected their intelligence and education are reduced to 1 and 0 respectively and their strength is increased by 3 points and their endurance is effectively unlimited (treat as 15) for the purposes of movement and speed. They are unable to use any skills in any manner although they effectively all have brawling-1 attacking with hands and teeth. They have basic survival instincts i.e. they will move away from fire, however if perusing uninfected even these basic survival instincts can and will be overridden.
There are guards in the facility. All but one are infected and ½ the infected are in cloth armour wearing kevlar helmets and have auto pistols in their holsters and night sticks on their belts that they no longer know how to use.
The armoury is open, and the weapons lockers and ammo lockers are open. There are a number of assault rifles lying on the floor along with night sticks and loose ammunition for the assault rifles. There are laser rifles, advanced combat rifles, shotguns, carbines, and a sniper’s rifle in the longarm locker, and auto pistols in the handgun locker. There are shotgun shells, rounds of for the advanced combat riles, carbines and sniper’s rifle as well as for the auto pistols.
The number of scientists, administrators, and guards in the facility should be adjusted to the size of the PC party and its ability to deal with the infected, with the distinct possibility that the party could be overwhelmed by the number of infected attacking at any one time. NPCs (redshirts) may be assigned to the party and can be “sacrificed” so the PCs can gain an understanding of the disease, and encounters can slowly grow in number and intensity as the PCs get furth into the facility. The armoury is intended to allow the PCs to deal with the logistical issues involved in clearing out the facility of the infected.