Treasure Hunt in Space

[DentArthurDent]

I’m considering starting a campaign, maybe twenty to thirty sessions, in a setting where Han Solo and Mal Reynolds would be at home. 

Usually, I create giant sandboxes and give the players a lot of input. But some of the players prefer a more linear story. (I think it helps them evaluate how they are doing. Although, personally, I rate rpg’s on laughs and gasps.) So, this time I’m looking at a “Treasure Hunt in Space” or “Indiana Jones in Space” type of story.

Have you done anything like this before?

Do you have any thoughts about pitfalls to avoid?

What would make interesting high-tech treasure?

What are some high-tech clues to follow?

 

[Duke Bushido]

Yep: linear campaigns are pretty common, as they are a great way to reach a system and /or introduce a world without any real,way for the players to knock things too far out of whack too soon.  they atent my favorite, but they have their  place, especially if you have a pre-planned start, middle, and end.

 

 

Now, as to sci-fi treasure....

 

What kind of campaign is it?   Firefly or Han Solo?  Well that's simple enough: a large cash payoff.  Rumors of an ore freighter from an abandoned mining operation that crashed but was _not_ destroyed completely as previously thought.  The ore may be currency: gold or what not-- or just a high-demand, low danger, medium margin non-descript ore that can be easily sold, legally, without raising any suspicions.

 

Actual _treasure_, like any beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.   For the majority, it is a ridiculous amount of cash or nearly-cash that means instant wealth.

 

Suppose the party is more politically-oriented?  The "treasure" may be anything from proof that certain lands are not owned by the peoples assumed to own them, or certain families are less noble or more noble than once believed.

 

For archeologists or, with a twist, scientists, "treasure" may be conclusive proof of the existence of a highly advanced star faring race that lived and died before the earth had cooled from spinning gases.

 

For the generally adventurous?  A new means of revel: a superior star drive, or a means to open teleportation gates at will.

 

For the affluent or even the con man?  An honest-to-goodness Fountain of Youth.  Go nuts.

 

Seriously, you might want to actively solicit player input into what might put an all-consuming "gold fever" into their characters.

 

Now as for pitfalls--  well, the best advice I can give you is to review other linear treasure hunt adventure fiction.  Specifically, watch One Piece.  Start with the first episode, and watch every single episode.  This should take about ten years.  Notice when you are done that they party is not one bit closer to the treasure, and seem to be sailing through the same,chain of equatorial islands, one after another.

 

Don't.... Don't do that.  Your players wont hang around for it.  Heck, I didnt even hang around for one piece.  I didnt even make it to the big voice-over change.  I left shortly after they took Chopper onto the crew. (just too stinking irritating).

 

Plan some encounters; plan some clues; plan some puzzles and setbacks, but definitely include actual progress in your plans.  You see, the problem with linear adventures is that rhe GM is in almost too much control.  The party isnt one-hundred-percent free to mive about as they please, meaning they arent free to complicate things for themselves they way that they are prone to do, so you will have to do it for them.

 

You will also have to keep in mind that your complications must be far more simple than what players usually do for themselves.  Interestingly, when players decise to examine a gun by loading it, staring deeply down the barrel, and pulling the trigger, shooting themselves in the face-- twice, maybe three times- well, "of course I did!  It was the only practical way to test the gun and be certain!"

 

But if you put them on a path, and place a gun in the middle of the path, next to a few ammo clips, _that_ is railroading, see? 

 

 

[sentry0]

9 hours ago, DentArthurDent said:

I’m considering starting a campaign, maybe twenty to thirty sessions, in a setting where Han Solo and Mal Reynolds would be at home. 

Usually, I create giant sandboxes and give the players a lot of input. But some of the players prefer a more linear story. (I think it helps them evaluate how they are doing. Although, personally, I rate rpg’s on laughs and gasps.) So, this time I’m looking at a “Treasure Hunt in Space” or “Indiana Jones in Space” type of story.

Have you done anything like this before?

Do you have any thoughts about pitfalls to avoid?

What would make interesting high-tech treasure?

What are some high-tech clues to follow?

 

 

I recently purchased https://www.herogames.com/store/product/1056-the-void-pdf/ for $2.  It's a light read for a bunch of space opera-esq ideas set in a specific region of space (The Void) that I think have some cool ideas that would fit nicely into what you describe.

It's crammed full of ideas for a region of space you could conceivably use as a setting (with work) or just as a stop along the way on your travels.

 

Worth $2 IMO.

 

[DShomshak]

"Treasure Hunt" and similar "Search for the McGuffin" campaigns typically follow three possible storylines: the Trail of Breadcrumbs, the Russian Doll, and the Jigsaw Puzzle. I'll discuss each of them in turn in separate posts.

 

Trail of Breadcrumbs: This is the simplest and most straightforward search storyline. The protagonists start with a clue to the McGuffin. Following the clue leads them to another clue, which leads to a third clue, and so on until they reach wherever the McGuffin is hidden. Like, an unusual object and a code-key owned by a murdered man leads to a treasure map in an obscure language, which leads to a scholar who can translate the language, which leads to another location where the next clue is found, et cetera.

 

As a campaign, the Trail of Breadcrumbs has the advantage that players don't need to think very much. They just need the gumption to follow each clue to receive the next plot coupon. Though sometimes players can be amazingly obtuse in walking right by clues no matter how blatantly you place them. OTOH it's all a bit railroady and some players don't like that, no matter how much they actually need it.

 

The movie National Treasure illustrates a few basic issues with the Trail of Breadcrumbs. First, why would someone set up such an elaborate series of clues? If you want to hide the treasure for good, don't set up the Trail of Breadcrumbs in the first place. If you want to make sure the treasure can be found but only by the right people, don't hide the clues in a series of unique objects, any of which could be lost. (The Da Vinci Code is another example with the same problems.) All in all, a bad model for such a campaign.

 

Dean Shomshak

Edited September 7, 2023 by DShomshak

[DShomshak]

The Russian Doll plan is similar but operates on a longer rhythm. In it the protagonists start out investigating one mystery or McGuffin. When they reach is, though, they find that it is only the surface layer of some other mystery or clue to some greater prize. The "Russian Doll" name is a little misleading, because typically each new layer is bigger than the one before.

 

Example: The PCs seek a lost ore freighter loaded with valuable rare earth metals. When they find it, they learn from the ship's log that it wasn't lost in an accident: It was attacked by space pirates whose ships are of an unusual design. When they find the space pirates (who are responsible for other mysterious losses to shipping), they find that the pirate leader is an android operated by an alien of a hitherto-unknown species. Seeking information about the alien, they find that other alien-operated androids have infiltrated government and megacorporations. It's a secret invasion! But the aliens also have advanced technology for a greater prize...

 

The advantage of the Russian Doll plan is that it gives players a greater feeling of making significant discoveries as the puzzles and prizes get begger. Just be careful not to string it out too long. And though a big reveal that the true situation is not what the players thought can be cool, goo many twists can make the storyline seem silly.

 

You also have to make each new layer sufficiently compelling that players want to pursue it. Like, if the PCs are just out for the money and won't give a rat's ass if aliens are secretly conquering the Galaxy, tempt them with ever-greater treasures and profits.

 

Dean Shomshak

[DShomshak]

Third is the Jigsaw Puzzle. It's the least linear plan and offers the most freedom for both PCs and GMs. The clues to the McGuffin are scattered instead of in a neat sequence like the Trail of Breadcrumbs. The first clues might seem unrelated until the PCs gather enough to spot the connections between them. The storyline really gets going once the PCs realize there *is* a Jigsaw Puzzle and start searching for additional clues. Eventually they get enough to put the metaphorical (or literal!) picture together and learn the location of the prize.

 

The scattering of the clues avoids the failure-point problem of the Trail of Breadcrumbs. If the PCs miss one clue, well, there are others to find. When they learn more, maybe they'll realize they missed something and go back to seek what they missed the first time around.

 

Another benefit: Other searchers who are collecting their own pieces of the puzzle. These NPCs can be outright enemies, semi-friendly rivals, or potential allies. (and sources of replacement PCs if someone dies.) Create options for stealing each other's clue, information swaps, aliiances and betrayals. And of course defeating a rival searcher can reward the PCs with a big wodge of fresh clues.

 

OTOH this places more plot responsibility on the players' shoulders. If they want something more structured, well, you'd better be sure to provide enough leads that they always know where they're going. Or at least that there's someplace to go.

 

Dean Shomshak

[DShomshak]

Finally: Depending on how long you want the campaign to run, you can combine these three models. For instance, you might structure the treasure hunt as a Jigsaw Puzzle in which the PCs have to gather a limited number of plot coupons. Say, the six parts of the treasure map that were scattered, or the six objects that hold the computer chips carrying the plans for the ultrawarp space drive. Each puzzle-piece, though, can come at the end of a short Trail of Breadcrumbs. Then when the PCs put the puzzle together and find the prize, you can pull a Russian Doll plot twist and reveal the "treasure" leads to something even more important. Sequel campaign, maybe?

 

Dean Shomshak

[DentArthurDent]

DShomshak,

 

Excellent explanation and examples!

[DentArthurDent]

14 hours ago, sentry0 said:

 

I recently purchased https://www.herogames.com/store/product/1056-the-void-pdf/ for $2.

The Void is a fabulous product! 
 

And a wonderful setting for a Treasure Hunt! The HERO community comes through again.

Edited September 7, 2023 by DentArthurDent

[Steve]

I would suggest the Pirates of Drinax setting put out by Mongoose for Traveller. It easily has enough meat for twenty to thirty sessions, and it also has several treasure hunts. It’s a terrific space setting with a lot of plot potential, and I’ve been running it as a Traveller Hero campaign for many months now.

[Lord Liaden]

IME, in science fiction stories, one the most common and valuable types of "treasure" is advanced technology. Finding or stealing an artifact from a more advanced civilization can make a huge difference to a less advanced one. This doesn't necessarily have to be some kind of super weapon. An episode of Star Trek: Voyager featured an attempted theft of a replicator, able to instantly convert energy into any type of matter, which would revolutionize a planet's economy.

 

Per the most common tradition, the desired technology was the product of an ancient civilization which has apparently gone extinct. Another example from Star Trek is the long-dead Iconian race, who created a system to generate portals providing instantaneous transportation to any point in space across light-years. The products of such dead races would add archaeological trappings to a techno-treasure hunt.

 

In sci-fi stories set in his "Known Space" universe, author Larry Niven introduced the concept of a "stasis box," a receptacle produced by several ancient advanced cultures which generated a field suspending time for the contents of the box, preserving them indefinitely. Although rare, the boxes often contained devices that led to scientific breakthroughs for those who found them.

 

Hero Games' own Hero Universe offered an interesting variation to this type of treasure hunt, with the potential to lead into much bigger events. The Mandaarians are one of the most advanced peoples in the galaxy, technologically and socially. However, some six centuries from the present day, practically their entire population departs the Milky Way for unknown reasons. Although they scoured their former worlds very nearly clean of their tech, a few examples could sometimes be found, and will be highly sought after by other space-faring peoples.

 

The hunt for Mandaarian artifacts could lead into the greater mystery of where they went, and why.

Spoiler

Officially, Mandaarian telepaths could sense the approach toward the Milky Way of a highly destructive, psionically powerful species, the Nibu Gemani. The Mandaarians sought to intercept them in intergalactic space before they could ravage the galaxy, but were defeated and the survivors forced to retreat back to their worlds after centuries, to attempt to rally a defense.

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Lord Liaden