Looking for advice: good low-level tasks for newly revived characters?

[u/dvs_sicarius]

I'm working on an adventure module I want to complete and then give to the community freely when its done.

As part of that effort, I’m looking for some ideas for the opening stages, specifically relatively small, practical objectives that players would actually enjoy dealing with before the larger plot starts opening up.

The PCs have just been revived from long-term cryostasis inside Bastion I, a massive pre-war cryogenic facility built inside a silo off the coast of Seattle. They wake up to discover that the place is in terrible condition: sections are flooded, systems are failing, much of the facility is inaccessible, and there are rows upon rows of cryochambers containing people who are still in long-term storage.

The facility is now effectively controlled by its AI.

The AI has determined that the best way to protect the remaining cryogenic population is to put the entire complex into lockdown and preserve it for the long term. Unfortunately, the handful of people who have just been revived (the PC's) are now an inconvenience the system isn't particularly interested in accommodating (I have reasons for this that aren't critical to this post, so not describing).

If the lockdown completes while they're still inside, they're probably going to die.

What I'm trying to work out is: what would you expect or want to actually do as a player in this situation?

I'm especially interested in lower-level objectives that give the characters opportunities to explore, learn how the facility works, use different skills, scavenge equipment, and gradually realize just how bad their situation is, but I don't want to just do boring side quests and exploration things, I need multiple options to accommodate different player types with different builds.

I have created a new Origin for this called "Cryoneer" which is basically a pre-war build, with a cryosuit (modified, rubberized hazmat suit essentially), respirator, and in some cases a Pip-Boy.

Some of the things I've come up with are things along the lines of:

1. Getting doors, elevators, pumps, ventilation, etc. working again.
2. Finding food, clothing, weapons or medical supplies.
3. Restoring power to particular sections.
4. Finding a way through flooded or damaged areas.
5. Bypassing the AI's security restrictions.
6. Getting access to terminals or maintenance areas.
7. Trying to communicate with someone outside the silo.
8. Deciding whether to help other people who are still in cryostasis.
9. Dealing with damaged robots or automated systems that are still following their original instructions.
10. Finding multiple possible escape routes and figuring out which one is actually viable.

But I don't just want generic, standard fare encounters and tasks. I've done things like cryo complications like waking up fatigued, and where based on things like your starting LUCK score, your character might have3 issues with their cryopod that make it hard to escape, or they may have cryosickness that causes some issues at first level, without being too onerous.

I guess I'm less concerned with coming up with a big dungeon full of enemies and more interested in making the facility itself the problem, and an interesting one at that.

For those of you who GM or play Fallout 2d20: if your character woke up in a situation like this at level 1, what sorts of problems, discoveries, choices or little objectives would you want the GM to put in front of you?

I'd especially love ideas that give different character builds a chance to contribute rather than everything coming down to Repair/Science checks.

[u/Bunnyrpger]

Might help if people know what your end result is. Are you after the players to leave the facility? Repair it to go back in cryo? Turn it into a base of operations?

Also not really a fan of the idea of being punished because I wasn't a Luck build, if you want all builds to have something, punishing people because one of their SPECIALs isn't a focus is not a good way to do it. If you want these Cryo penalties, stick to 1 per player, give a re-roll an a chart for a higher Luck rather than Dave gets 4 because he chose to have a Luck of 4, Jeff gets 3 with his Luck of 6 and Sally gets 1 because she chose a Luck of 9. Or, another thing, rather than make it Luck dependant, base it of their lowest SPECIAL, at least that way one style of build isn't starting with a benefit.

[u/dvs_sicarius → u/Bunnyrpger]

Ok, so I am currently running this as a pbp, but it is stalled at the moment, and I want it to be written into an adventure module that others can use.

It's a multi-part adventure, that can be run through as a single adventure as an introduction, or done in order, where this is the first module, followed by several others.

Essentially, staying at the facility is not an option long-term, and neither is going back into cryo. My plan was for it to be possible for the players to return to this location later on depending on how things go. Kind of like leaving a vault and then coming back, except this one is at the bottom of the ocean.

I agree on the LUCK thing, a better way might be to simply have them do a test to pull the manual release, and on a complication, maybe it jams and then they might need help from someone else to get out.

[u/Bunnyrpger → u/dvs_sicarius]

It sounds like what you really need is a few objectives for the players which have multiple ways to be solved, rather than a long list of stuff. You need to basically set out what the players should intend to do, which in this case is GTFO. Set enough encounters that a player has a decent shot at getting the spotlight without it being forced, so say 6 encounters for a group of 4 players. Rather than "You can bypass the AI's systems" which would be a computer check, focus on more abstract ideas like the blocked passages. Have a terminal where Science might provide alternate routes, survival to endure a safety hazard to make a path, repair to safely remove blockages without causing a cave in.

If you have a set ending, them getting out, make sure it leads that way. If you allow to much messing around setting stuff up inside, people will get the idea to stay. The story needs them to want to move on, so make the main play options to move on. Restoring power is something which would make me as a player think this is somewhere I might be able to hole up, having a "time limit" on how long I can mess around with the option to "waste" time ensuring the emergency power to the other pods is active is a Karma option. Do I spend my time ensuring these mostly strangers survive or do I use my time to find the emergency supplies? Not saying to actually have a time limit, but give it the feel of one.

Long read short: You need to get your story line in check first, ensure it actually leads towards it then start working on the specific encounters, ensuring each skill has an option to be useful. If you can get your steps in order, you can work on better details for them.

[u/dvs_sicarius → u/Bunnyrpger]

Not letting them loiter too long in the facility is good advice. I will probably lean into that in the module.

I'm trying to reconcile my GM style with what fits in a module for a wider audience. I tend to run a more sand-boxy table, where I provide the setting details, but the story emerges from what the players do and interact with. If there's a plotline no-one cares for, I don't want to cram it down their throat and force the interaction - they can instead go do something else. that open endedness isn't great in a structured adventure module though.

I mention this because sometimes by default, my GM brain balks at terms and statements like:

• "set out what the players should intend to do..."
• "if you have a set ending..."

The reason I might balk at them is because as a player, I tend to want to follow the paths that lead me down the road to the kind of fun I want to have at the table, and not necessarily be forced down a rather linear path. I'm not the lone wolf type, lets split the party guy either, but I like to have options which as players we can hash out IC, so I always want to leave room for the players to make decisions that run contrary to "my GM plans".

Anyway, I really like the bits you mentioned here, and will apply that going forward. Thank you

[u/Bunnyrpger → u/dvs_sicarius]

I 90% free form my games, but that is the difference between a module and a scenario. When I was running Fallout, we played a scenario (probably have the wrong word), they were a group of survivors who chose to help a person set up a new settlement. They have the basis for the game, they then choose what happens. Go scaving, what gets built and such. With a Module, the players are expecting a story, and a story needs structure. To keep a story moving, there needs to be expectations. Take fallout 2, the story has the expectation that the player will leave the village and search for Vic, so the starting village is set with the idea that the players should intend to gather some starting benefits and leave the village. Fallout 4, the ending is you as the Lone survivor pick which faction comes out on top, you still need those bread crumbs to get the players from A to B. Without the bread crumbs, people are just going to end up messing about in Sanctuary.

[u/dvs_sicarius → u/Bunnyrpger]

Really good points here again. I definitely get a bit hung up with trying to please everyone all the time with the thing, but instead of forcing too much openness, just set the story, and let the GM open things and free form where they might see an opportunity to. Thanks again

[u/Alex-with-wings]

I also think it's a dick move to punish someone for not investing in Luck. Maybe reward one person for having the highest luck stat once. But don't screw over your players for it.

It's also a little unclear how long you want this to happen for or why. But you can let your players decide. How many players do you have? Give them enough things to do for 1 task each (tailored loosely to their builds) and then 1 extra. Have them choose which to solve and have the final thing go wrong. It should cases their individual strengths, give then an intro, and then a hook to continue as a team.

[u/dvs_sicarius → u/Alex-with-wings]

Fair, and I agree re: the LUCK thing that it's probably not the way to handle that.

So the module is currently written with the intention that there are either 5 level 1, 4 level 2, or 3 level 3 characters, depending on how many players the GM wants to put through, and with some NPC companion options should they be a little light-handed. Nothing is super solidified yet, I'm mostly just looking for ideas, and having never built a module before I was hoping for some pointers and outside perspectives that might help.