CRASH

ON
ZIJA
written by Matt Jackson
Sweet Jesus, war does terrible things to people. - Boss Tweed
A note from the author:
Crash on Zija was originally written to celebrate Contessa and was
published in the Contessa zine Randomocity. I do not rightly recall
why I selected to write this for 3:16. It could be the game holds a
special place in my heart because of the circumstances.

I first learned about the game while I was deployed to Iraq in 2008.
The first time I read the rules I was bedded down in Mosul in a
bunk on FOB Marez as mortars and rockets landed around us. So
one could rightly make the claim that my love for 3:16 was born in
the heart of an actual war. Maybe that is why I like the game so
much.

Or maybe the reason is the game simply kicks ass.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this little adventure. I hope you
survive and kick a little alien ass.
- Matt Jackson 31 July 2015

3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars was written by and owned by

Gregor Hutton and can be found at
http://gregorhutton.com/boxninja/threesixteen/

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INTRODUCTION
This is a pre-generated mission (adventure) for 3:16
Carnage Amongst the Stars, a science-fiction roleplaying
game primarily aimed at killing tons of nasty aliens. You
will need a copy of the rulebook to play this game. This
quick adventure covers a desperate mission to save the
head of 3:16, it follows the typical format of missions as
presented in the rulebook but has a surprise in store for
the players during the final mission.

OVERVIEW
The Brigadiers shuttle has gone down on a remote
moon in hostile territory. This small moon is inhabitable
but no known sentient species have been encountered
upon its surface. A previous attempted rescue resulted
in twenty Troopers disappearing into the jungles, never
to return. Now the men of 3:16 are desperate to return
their missing leader to safety.

MISSION BRIEFING
Have the players create Troopers utilizing the rules
beginning on page 10 of the rulebook. Determine how is
the Sergeant and who is the Corporal of the group. The,
jump right in. Tell the players their shore leave has been
cancelled and they are all hurriedly summoned to the
briefing room.

LT Groggan barges into the briefing room, sweat rolls

down his forehead. He clearly is not having a good day,
and everyone knows this does not bode well for the
men. He barks at them, scans the room and lets out a
long audible sigh. He is clearly in a foul mood and not

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happy to be here. LT Groggan will explain that a cruiser
was attacked by the enemy, the crew was forced to
abandon the ship on a small shuttle which later crashed
on the uninhabited moon, Zija. An important military
leader is believed to be on the shuttle.

A previous rescue mission was attempted and all twenty

Troopers, their LT and Sergeant all disappeared without
a trace. That was twelve cycles ago, now the 3:16 wants
answers. LT Groggans men are going to get those
answers, even if it kills them.

[GM Note: LT Groggan is an asshole, play him that way.

He is mean, crass and hates his job. He will remark that
his men are not good enough to rescue the Brigadier and
that he might as well be dead if We are their last hope.
The GM should interrupt play at inopportune times as the
LT demanding an update on the location and the status of
the mission.]

ENCOUNTER ONE - Dropping onto Zija.

Environment:
The drop coordinates that LT Groggan provides is as
close to the crash site as possible, but due to the rough
jungle terrain they are still over five kilometers away.
The ride down is rough and most of the Troopers will be
covered in vomit as they exist the drop ship. As they get
their bearings the dropship, along with the LT safely
inside, will take off and hover half a mile above the
jungle.

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Enemy:
The Kijiad, three foot high creatures that are native to
this area will shadow the Troopers as they march
through the jungle. This will play havoc with the
Troopers MandelBrite Armor sensors, giving them false
reading that are unclear. [GMs should play up the
craziness of the jungle with strange sounds, the darting
Kijiad that dash between trees, and the harsh
environment. Try to keep the players guessing as to
what is out in the jungle waiting to eat them. The Kijiad
can resort to tossing the large bulbous fruit at the
Troopers before actually attacking them.]

Encounter:
After the players have had enough of the spookiness of
the jungle they come across the remains of a Troooper
hanging upside down from a tree. Half his armor has
been ripped from him and the exposed flesh has claw
and bite marks. His abdomen has been torn from the
ribcage and is dangling from the corpse. Warm blood
still drips from the Trooper into a small pool beneath
him.

As the players investigate the area the LT will burst in

on the radio demanding an update. He will be short and
impatient with the Troopers and disregard any concern
they may have on their safety. While the LT is berating
the Troopers, the Kijiad will suddenly jump from the
bushes and attack utilizing their special ability
Ambush to geth drop on the unsuspecting Troopers.
The Kijiad are animals and will fight until it is clear to
them that they will not succeed, at which point they will

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simply fade back into the jungle from whence they
came.

[GM Note: Play up the Kijiad jumping from the bushes,

attacking and then disappearing. This has no real effect
on combat but the narration should be used to cause
chaos and heighten the moment for the players.]

Creatures:
The Kijiad are short furry animals similar to monkeys
with long arms and legs and a tail as long as their body.
The tail, and hands, end in large claw-like nails that the
Kijiad use to defend their homes and kill their prey.
AA value: 4

ENCOUNTER TWO - Entering the downed ship.

Environment:
Some time after the Kijiad attack the group will continue
their march and eventually come to the downed
shuttlecraft. It is rather large for a shuttlecraft - about
eighty feet wide at its largest and over three hundred
feet long - and came down on the side of a thickly
wooded hill. The players will need to pop the hatch to
enter [use their NFA to roll at least a 5].

Once inside they enter they will find a fully enclosed

metal hall leading to a room that was once the
passenger area. The seats have all been ripped out and
piled to one side of the room. As the entire team enters
this main chamber, the door opposite will slide open
and the lost Troopers will run in. Oddly they do not
speak but instead run in and attempt to approach the

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players Troopers, forming a line in front of the players
Troopers. Their visors are down and they players
cannot see the agonizing contorted face inside. Once the
tension has run its course, the Possessed Troopers attack
without remorse.

Enemy:
The Queen (see Encounter Four) has impregnated the
entire crew of the shuttlecraft with her brood. These
possessed Troopers now serve as her slaves/defenders
from anything wishing to do her harm...which she takes
to mean just about everything. These Troopers are
possessed and cannot be cured, they will fight to the
death to protect their Queen.

Creatures:
The Possessed Troopers are exactly like the players
Troopers except they have an alien symbiote drilled
through the back their skull. Once the alien is in place
the person ceases to be but their face is frozen in a
horrible looking, agonizing scream. Looking at one long
enough will be disturbing to most people.
AA Value: average out the player characters FA score
Alien Special Ability: Impair- the Troopers should find it
hard to kill their own, especially when they get up close
and personal. As they do battle, visors can be broken
and expose the horrid, but familiar, faces of the
Troopers.they might even recognize some of them
from boot camp!

[GM Note: To add a little horror into the session, when

the players have just about won, a Possessed Trooper will

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drop to his knees and pop off his helmet. This will give the
players their first glimpse of the large disgusting alien
sticking out of the back of the Troopers head. He lets out
a horrible scream as he reaches up and rips the creature
from his own brain. Blood, guts, gore.play it up. The
alien will pop off with a gurgling splotch and skitter away
into the shadows unless the Troopers shoot it. A slimy
trail of blood and brain bits mark its trail. As the Trooper
lies dying he will tell a horrible tale of the giant Queen
holding them down and screwing her babies into the
heads of his fellow Troopers heads. The last thing he says
is that the Brigadier is alive in the main compartment
and that they need to rescue him For the 3:16!

Before he finishes his story, LT Groggan will blurt in and

demand an update. If the Troopers try to tell him about
the impregnated Trooper they have found, what has
happened to them and ask for a MEDEvac, he will cut
them off coldly. He will demand to know why they are
fucking around and not found the Brigadier yet. Get off
yer ass and find him! He will shout through the comms
and cut the transmission.]

ENCOUNTER THREE - Battling the Queen.

Environment:
Once they have completed the clearing of the possessed
Troopers there is only one path to follow, directly into
the command bridge of the shuttle. A single passage
leads to the large door leading to the bridge, it is dark,
humid and miserable - body parts litter the floor, pools
of slowly coagulating blood stir here and there, and odd
smells haunt the Troopers as they move towards the

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bridge doors. As the doors slide open the Troopers will
be confronted with a horrific sight: The massive Queen
stands over the unconscious Brigadier while six foot tall
aliens slither menacingly around her. When they notice
the Troopers at the door, they turn and attack!

Enemy:
The Queen should be played as scary and powerful as
possible, pick the highest FA of the players and add one,
this is equal to her AA for the encounter. I suggest using
a different color Threat Token on the Range Card and
instruct the players that they must clear all other Threat
Tokens before hers can be removed. Surround her with
an equal number of Threat Tokens as players you have
at the table. The aliens here are adult versions of the
Troopers-possessing symbiote: black, an outer skeletal
bio-mechanical (use everyones favorite Alien).
AA Value: average of the Troopers
Alien Special Ability: Enrage- the alien servants become
enraged and berserk in the desire to please the Queen.

[GM Note: This battle should be desperate and dangerous.

If you cut down half of the players, just replace them with
other NPC Troopers and let them continue to fight. Many
should die to up the ante and make the battle epic.
When all the aliens are killed, LT Groggan will but in
almost immediately and demand an update. He will not
care how many have died to ensure the rescue is
successful. The Brigadier is alive and can be evaced back
to the Troopers Dropship.]

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ENCOUNTER FOUR - Evacuate with the
Brigadier...and cargo?
Environment:
Back on the Dropship the players will be giving a full
debrief to LT Groggan over the transmission. During
this, the Brigadier will awake and thank the men. He
will also bitch at LT Groggan, tell him that he thinks the
man is worthless, just like his father, and unfit to lead
Troopers in combat. Then he will suddenly lurch
forward and his waist will erupt as dozens of little alien
hatchling sprout forward and begin attacking
everything in sight.

Enemy:
These little aliens are tiny, but vicious and will attempt
to eat their way through anything that stands in their
path. Being the combat with everyone at Close range
and the aliens getting an automatic Ambush.
AA Value: 2
Alien Special Ability: Fast n Tight! (Stop Technology)- the
immense amount of blood, gore, and goo from the spray
caused by the aliens birth, and the fact they are small,
fast moving targets that dance in and out between the
Troopers means they cannot use their tech to get these
things. Big guns and grenades are useless here (unless
they want to risk their friends)! It is just down to Hand-
to-Hand fellas, make it count!

[GM Note: This is should be straight blood and guts. Play

up the red bloody gore, the initial spray should be played
up as unbelievably gross. These little buggers are fast and

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dart in and to of reach AND the damn duns fail! Only way
to do this is to get in and get bloody!]

EPILOGUE
When they finally manage to kill everything except the
other Troopers, LT Groggan will come back on the
screen and begin berating the Troopers for failing to
bring back the Brigadier safe. At this point however, the
Troopers are probably so worn out that they do not
care. Kudos if they flip him the bird. :-)

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