Another strange Periphery Idea for AToW RPG: Of Dogs and Men
System 04500477: A virus was released (accidentally?) on a colony, many hundreds of years ago. The virus has little affect on the living population, except all children born thereafter never advanced beyond animal intelligence. No real speech, no tools, no clothing. "Manamals" if you will.
There are pockets of these 'manamals' on this world, living in caves (or city ruins even). Hunting and gathering while avoiding predators. They can be violent but are more prone to shows of intimidation (whooping, throwing rocks, chest beating - like a troop of angry chimps.) Females may come forward trying to calm antagonists. There is nothing that can be done to reverse the virus' effects. They live to a max of 45 years... life sucks.
There is wild game on the planet, hunted by an apex predator which is a wolf like creature (think the hyena things from Riddick). The wolves will on occasion, hunt and eat the 'manamals' as well. Such an incident may prompt the party to intercede.
The star league cache on the planet (or whatever other treasure you decide) is guarded by an AI unit that governs 100 kilogram robot quads, dedicated to assist specialized infantry troops in combat (like the 'dogs' from Boston Scientific, but with a pulse laser mounted on the back). The unit was intended to be self sustaining, capable of a variety of repairs and maintenance on the "Dog-droids", but in time, most of them have broken down. It's up to you how many are left still operating.
The AI Unit had some issues understanding what happened to the people that no longer talked to it or gave it orders. It wanted to assist them but was no longer able to communicate. Furthermore, it eventually ran out of memory and overwrote much of it's core programming, trying to preserve the most recent and relevant data.
The wolf-creatures on the planet were able to communicate with the "dog-droids" by howls, asking for assistance with hunting, grooming, etc. Visually, they are similar in appearance and within a nano-second, the AI made the call that the reclusive, non-communicating, bipedal humanoids were NOT humans, but the wolf-creatures that used rudimentary signals and had strong family / pack groups WERE certainly the 'humans' they were created to assist. AI now serves the best interest of the pack.
They may see signs of the wolves, encounter a wounded, dead or trapped one, etc. But eventually, the party will discover the hunting pack with a dog-droid stroking the back fur of a dominant male. Considering how perplexing a sight this will be to behold, they should react with curiosity. (Or just curse the succession wars and flee the planet!)
The 'dog-droid' will follow the lead of the alpha wolf, maybe some warning shots with the laser at the party will suffice to protect the pack from the PCs (intruders). In the end, if any members of the pack are harmed... (wait, did the party rescue that wayward pup from a ravine? .... will the pack hear it's cute little yelps?) ...the AI will send droid dogs in force to eliminate the threat to the pack & someone is going to get hurt.
Only if the party can find and access the AI central unit (...or maybe using wreckage of a dog-droid), will they be able to convince the AI that THEY are the humans. In a nano-second, the tables will flip. It will be unapologetic and very 'matter of fact' but the AI will immediately stop seeing the wolf creatures as friendly and return communicating with normal speech.
Other things to consider:
1) droid dogs may self destruct if tampered with.
2) droid dogs will NOT leave the planet or the facility they were programmed to guard (your party will want one).
3) is the virus still active? and is the party now infected? (Don't break your campaign. If your party has a doctor in it, he should be seeing red flags popping up all over the place.) A beacon may warn the party in advance of the 'quarantined' world and they may approach with NBC suits, sealed power armor, etc. This will make getting injured more serious and scare the crap out of them.
4) Hooks: distress signal, ala Star Trek, of course. Star League cache, maybe a hospital and research facility. Other hooks could be an automated radio message from an AI farm, stating that the seasonal harvest is ready for pick up. Grain is sorta valuable, at least. The party may see an island in the ocean that looks a little too round and perfect (though it's got a few trees on it) It is actually a crashed Lion Dropship, the top half forming a perfectly smooth spherical island. The bottom compartments are flooded and the mechs ruined but the upper 4 bays are partially salvageable... if they can get them back up and running, pilot them out, and don't forget 'Nessi' who lives in the engine room.