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Taking the Reins in Nov Elysia

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I started Solstice Rain with a boom to jumpstart my players into the Lancer system. Now that the dust is settled, the next step for the players is taking the reins and starting exploration of Nov Elysia. Three clear options present themselves: Meeting with Omari Garcia in Downtown, knocking out the anti-air forces at the Train Depot, or heading back to FOB Saber to lick their wounds. Where do they go first?

Traveling in Nov Elysia

When describing Nov Elysia, I lean upon the general notes described within each beat of Solstice Rain. Beat 1 covers the general aesthetic of Nov Elysia (“Tall, gleaming buildings” amidst “a grimy haze of dust and smoke”), in addition to Node 2’s Downtown region. I recommend distilling the features of each location down into a few bullet points. That way, it will be easier to reference later. Doing so will help immensely while contextualizing random encounters to the current region of Nov Elysia. Lastly, to add some ambience, I would schedule a huge rainstorm to occur from 4 PM on the first day to 4 AM on the second. This rainstorm will significantly reduce visibility; combat encounters may be unchanged, but consider the rainfall’s effect on any random encounters.

Random Encounters in Nov Elysia

When the players engage with random encounters in Nov Elysia, their resolution should leave a meaningful impact on the scenario. An easy way to accomplish this is to pick a context-appropriate Reserve from the Lancer Core Book (pp. 51-52) or Solstice Rain (p. 31). Allied NPCs may show up later in FOB Saber or even another node. Escaped enemies may become combatants in later fights. Use any random encounters to breathe life into Nov Elysia and make it feel like a real place — hopefully one worth fighting for!

The Cavalry’s Here: Node 2 – Downtown

Beat 1 and Combat 2 both correspond to Node 2 – Downtown. Unlike the original, Staff Sergeant Omari Garcia and a handful of surviving soldiers are coordinating with the LSA soldiers, providing covering fire while the bus is repaired. (As an aside: I got this idea from other GMs running Solstice Rain on the Pilot NET discord. I wanted Garcia to play a bigger role than a couple of speaking lines in the module, so I decided to adapt this approach.)

Garcia recognizes the PCs on sight and waves them down. Once the PCs are out of the line of fire, Garcia gives them the run-down of the situation. He also mentions a clue: Civilians fled from the harbor as VSAF mechs poured out, but saw that VSAF prison transports were arriving at the harbor (reveal Node 5 – Harbor and any relevant connections). PCs can converse with the civilians hunkered down in the encampment; when doing so, they can overhear the following rumors:

  • A civilian laments how they never thought a “Kiros Incident” would happen in Nov Elysia. If pressed for details, they mention several catastrophes surrounding LSA space programs (this ties into the latest draft of Operation Winter Scar, currently in playtest). Officially, the Vestan Sovereignty denied involvement, but everyone suspects Sorvan Kiros, an infamous VSAF colonel, of leading the sabotage of these projects.
  • A witness fleeing from the train station saw Vestan forces launch a surprise attack from the nearby river. Curiously, a column with shimmering tactical camouflage split from the arriving anti-air team.

Resolving the Evacuation

For the resolution of this node, I would offer the players two options:

  • Punch through the VSAF blockade head-on (Combat 2: Look Both Ways).
  • Circumnavigate enemy forces (Extended Skill Challenge). If the players fail this option, they may still attempt to punch through the blockade.

Garcia and his remaining forces are aboard the bus during Combat 2. To reflect Garcia’s presence, at the end of each combat round, Garcia can shout words of encouragement over a megaphone to a PC of the players’ choice. He might say something like “Rub some dirt in it!”, “C’mon, I have money riding on you!”, or “You’re not gonna let them do that to a Lancer, are you?”. That PC may clear any one condition affecting them.

Finally, I would adjust the stakes of victory and defeat as follows:

Victory

  • Instead of the LSA soldiers providing ambush routes for Combat 3: Downpour, Staff Sergeant Garcia becomes an asset the PCs can leverage. Once during Solstice rain, at any point when the PCs can take a rest: The PCs can contact the Rio Grande to request that Garcia and his forces clear out any two known connections on the map. Those connections must be connected to the same node. For the rest of Solstice Rain, the chosen connections take only 1 turn to travel. In addition, the GM does not roll for random encounters during travel through those connections. Garcia will also be present at FOB Saber when the PCs arrive.

Defeat

  • The bus driver panics, taking Garcia with him. Unless the PCs dedicate precious time and resources to search for them, their fates will remain unknown until the end of Solstice Rain.

Thunderstorm Blitz: Node 3 – Train Depot

Beat 2 and Combat 3 compose Node 3 – Train Depot. Combat 3 is the first fight where new players will encounter both Invisible and templated enemies. Since these foes are harder to kill than most, this remix introduces a skill challenge to let the players get the drop on them. The train depot is a fairly distinct landmark with multiple avenues of approach and many line-of-sight blockers. Therefore, let the players know that they can attempt a stealthy advance to the depot. Basically, ask the players how they plan to approach the train depot. As per the rules for skill challenges in the Lancer Core Book (p. 47), have each of the players roll an appropriate skill check to accomplish this.

On a failed skill challenge, the anti-air team detects the PCs, and the PCs must either initiate Combat 3 or immediately withdraw, costing them 1 hour to do so. On a success, when Combat 3 begins, the PCs may use the ambush point (PDZ B) on the Combat 3 map, in the same way as described in Combat 3. Additionally, the PCs do not have to engage immediately. They can choose to retreat without penalty, or they can analyze their opponents and eavesdrop on their unencrypted comms.

Ear to the Ground

If the PCs choose to analyze their foes, they learn the following clues:

  • The VSAF Rainmaker pilot can be heard whinging about how they wish they had “the Colonel’s laser cannon”. In addition, they lament how the Furies are wasting the Colonel’s dropship-destroying potential while searching for “those Union reps” in the Hall of Consuls. If the PCs catch this conversation or interrogate the anti-air team after Combat 3, reveal Node 6 – Hall of Consuls.
  • The Specter’s chassis is decorated with different battalion markers than the rest of the anti-air team. In addition, its cloaking technology resonates with a distinct, trackable energy signature — reveal Node 4 – Residences as a location that resonates with the same signature.

Rein in the Rainmaker

If the PCs engage the anti-air team, initiate Combat 3. The victory and defeat conditions remain largely the same, save for the following:

Victory

  • In addition to the normal rewards, the PCs gain access to a dropship from the Rio Grande. Once during Solstice Rain, while at FOB Saber, the players may call a dropship to take them and any allies to any other location in Nov Elysia. If the PCs also disable the jamming signal, they can instead call the dropship from anywhere in the city. This travel takes 1 turn, and the GM does not roll for a random encounter during this travel.

Defeat

  • As written.

After the fight, if the PCs proved victorious, they can pick over the wreckage or interrogate any surviving members of the anti-air team for the clues mentioned above.

Resting the Horses: Node U – FOB Saber

When the PCs arrive at FOB Saber, modify the read-aloud text to appropriately match their time of arrival. Garcia is only present if the PCs successfully cleared Node 2 – Downtown; Vonna introduces herself if Garcia is not present. If the VSAF anti-air emplacement is still active at Node 3 – Train Depot, fewer Union personnel are at the base. Those present are more likely to be injured. If Glamdring is still with the party, she can either stay at FOB Saber or continue journeying with the PCs at the players’ request.

PCs that arrive at FOB Saber are not required to perform a full repair; they may pass through to explore other discovered nodes. When the PCs do decide to take a full repair, run Downtime: FOB Saber as written. During any FOB Saber encounters, empower the players to decide how their PCs respond to the encounter. Where applicable, adjust descriptions to be strictly third-person instead of second-person (i.e., remove references to “you”) in order to avoid assumptions of the PCs’ actions.

During the full repair, provide the PCs with their new License Level and allow them to decide which Exotic Gear to requisition, as normal. As per the point crawl procedure, let the players pick a number of pieces of Exotic Gear equal to the number of nodes they successfully cleared.

Scouting Reports

Union scouts return to FOB Saber at 4 AM on the second day. If the PCs are present in FOB Saber at that time or later, provide them with the following information:

  • The jamming signal is in the vicinity of a residential broadcast center, southeast of FOB Saber. Advanced cloaking technology obfuscated the location; any defending Vestans may be equipped with similar tech. Reveal Node 4 – Residences.
  • The VSAF’s initial attack was amphibious. Vestan forces used submersible vehicles to deploy a main force at the harbor and specialized teams from the river. Disrupting Vestan operations in the Harbor will cut off supply lines to the rest of their forces. Reveal Node 5 – Harbor.

Finding the VIPs

With the initial nodes and their accompanying crises out of the way, the PCs can more freely direct their attention towards their primary objective. Farris and Bannerjee remain MIA, but some clues may point to their whereabouts. In the next stage of Operation Solstice Rain, the PCs take the fight to Kiros and the VSAF.

Solstice Rain Remix

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