Epilogue: After the Solstice Rain

In this Remix Epilogue, I explore different narrative threads for PCs to pursue after the completion of Solstice Rain. Plenty of open questions remain regarding Cressidium’s factions: How Union & the LSA proceed with recovery, how the Vestans progress their agendas, and how the Republic of Okasnia could be related to the rest of Cressidium’s events. All along the way, I present hooks for future missions on Cressidium.

Union & the Leandric States Alliance

Player Characters

The player characters receive a promotion to License Level 2 for their service during Operation Solstice Rain. This occurs even if the PCs didn’t even take a Full Repair! If they managed to steamroll 4+ combats to save Farris and Bannerjee, they’ve earned their stripes (though make sure they are still rewarded with appropriate Exotic Gear as if they did take a Full Repair).

Rio Grande

Regardless of the outcome of Operation Solstice Rain, the Rio Grande remains in orbit around Cressidium. Union would want to keep an eye on a force prone to terrorism like the VSAF, and it would want to retrieve any captured VIPs and POWs before abandoning them to uncertain fates.

If the PCs rescue Farris, her expertise and connections should be treated as a boon for the party: She can grant each PC a random Mech Equipment and Gear reserve (Lancer, p. 51) for the next mission. In general, assume that non-PC Union operations under her command run smoothly and with minimal complications.

If the VSAF captures Farris, 1st Lieutenant Alex Kim continues to (shakily) lead in her stead. Non-PC Union operations under Kim’s command aren’t as clean as they would be under Farris. Any Vestan forces in the next mission benefit from one random Tactical Advantages reserve (Lancer, p. 52); interpret the result in a reasonable way to add complications during both narrative and combat scenes.

If the PCs rescue Bannerjee, they continue to negotiate with the LSA and any other factions not aligned with the new Vestan regime. Next mission, grant the PCs a Resources reserve of their choice to reflect Bannerjee’s diplomatic outreach. If Kiros instead captured Bannerjee, on the next mission, grant the Vestan forces a random Resources reserve to reflect the VSAF’s diplomatic victories. Again, interpret this result appropriately to generate interesting complications during play.

Overall, any result of Solstice Rain should dovetail nicely into the upcoming Operation Winter Scar. However, if the table has had enough of Cressidium, simply move on to other adventures (such homebrew, Dustgrave, Siren’s Song, or any number of third-party adventures) while handwaving any time spent in a holding pattern over the planet.

Leandric States Alliance

The LSA has their work cut out for them; without Union support, they will likely crumble to Vestan onslaughts. This doesn’t mean that the LSA has to be happy about it. Future interactions with LSA personnel should reflect the PCs’ behavior during Operation Solstice Rain. Narrative and downtime skill checks involving the LSA may have Accuracy (or even auto-succeed) if the PCs’ relationship to them is positive — or have Difficulty (or auto-fail!) if negative. Individual NPCs aligned with the LSA will remember their experience with the PCs, for good or for ill. The PCs may be able to improve their relationship with the LSA by assisting the faction with Downtime Actions.

Vestan forces likely kidnapped several LSA diplomats during the events of Solstice Rain. Future PC adventures may involve yet another rescue mission for these diplomats, albeit this time within enemy territory!

The Vestan Sovereignty

The Vestan Coup

From Solstice Rain Nodes & Clues, I establish that the VSAF launched a coup, triggering the events of Operation Solstice Rain. In my interpretation, the VSAF feared the ruin that could arise from allying with what they perceive as a failed empire. As a result, they accelerated their plans to achieve domination of Cressidium, but needed to buy more time for their special projects (like TARTARUS). To do so, they kidnapped LSA and Union VIPs to use as leverage for future negotiations, and to halt Cressidium’s reintegration into Union. They hope that a prisoner exchange (or at least the promise of an exchange) will stall Union long enough for the VSAF to enact their larger plans. Union may need the PCs to engage in their own clandestine affairs in order to safely rescue their VIPs before the VSAF worsens the situation.

TARTARUS

As written in Solstice Rain, the nature of TARTARUS depends on the GM’s interpretation. For example, if TARTARUS is a high-security prison for VIPs, future missions could involve discovering its location and staging a jailbreak. Since the Vestans planned to spirit Farris away via submarine, maybe TARTARUS is a deep-sea Vestan base, setting the stage for some “pseudo-zero-g” combats!

TARTARUS as Blinkshield

With that said, as mentioned in Solstice Rain Nodes & Clues, my personal approach is that TARTARUS is a planet-scale blinkshield designed to isolate Cressidium from future meddling from Union. If successful, the blinkshield may completely cut off the Rio Grande from the planet, leading to a scenario where the PCs may be planetside but without assistance from command.

This interpretation allows for many interesting wrinkles to explore, as well:

How did the VSAF acquire the technology for TARTARUS? They could’ve had old SecComm research on-hand, or they could’ve bought the information from the Republic of Okasnia (see below). Answering this question could lead to more questions to explore, like “How is TARTARUS sustained?” and “How do we disarm TARTARUS?”
How will the VSAF use TARTARUS? With Union out of the picture, the VSAF will likely attempt to subjugate the remaining factions of Cressidium with overwhelming military force. Such an approach may leave the VSAF spread thin and vulnerable to guerilla warfare, granting the PCs avenues of defeating the usurpers.
What could be long-term side effects TARTARUS? If the planet is encased in a blinkshield, it won’t receive sunlight; the planet may plunge into an early winter as a result. PCs may find themselves assisting various factions as they scramble to prepare for environmental disaster. Vestan civilians may even revolt due to unrest, providing another angle for the PCs to strike at the VSAF.

Will this approach combine well with the upcoming Operation Winter Scar? It’s currently too soon to tell, but I think it could work with some massaging and re-framing of the module. At the end of the day, this interpretation excites me and stimulates my creative energies, which means it could be a strong contender for my personal table.

The Furies

If the PCs destroyed the Furies, the Vestan black ops’ reign of terror is over. Any future Vestan sabotage operations will be sloppy and leave plenty of evidence, providing potential leads for the PCs to investigate. If the Furies instead escaped (likely with a VIP), subsequent missions could involve hunting the Furies down to prevent future sabotage, learning about Vestan secret bases, or even carrying out good old-fashioned revenge. Even if the PCs don’t go looking for the Furies, Kiros’s squad could return in future missions and fights — with new and improved loadouts tailored to destroy the PCs!

Republic of Okasnia

The Republic of Okasnia is the wildcard faction on Cressidium. Exercising my creative license, I choose to embroil them in the planet’s politics by giving them ties to a secretive HORUS sect that persisted after Cressidium cut itself off from Union’s Second Committee. This sect maintains an unlisted Omninet node, providing Okasnia access to knowledge and technology from the wider galaxy. Naturally, Okasnia decided to use this to their advantage, and has sold tidbits of this information to both the Vestan Sovereignty and the LSA in order to enrich itself. Unfortunately, they gave the Vestans just enough rope to hang the planet, but are doing their best to keep this news under wraps. PCs may be requested to follow up on leads unearthed during Solstice Rain, such as scans of Kiros’s mech.

Conclusion

Throughout this remix, I have done my best to reuse and build upon existing content, present alternative approaches to the module’s combats, and achieve that nonlinear, Halo 3: ODST fantasy in Lancer’s form. In whole or in part, I that this remix empowers and inspires GMs to shape their own interpretations of Operation Solstice Rain. I look forward to reading the after-action reports for those tales!

Until then, I’ll see you all on the battlefield. Eyes up, Lancers, and prepare for drop.