heyho,
for our next session I am planning a setup like this. (3025)
My players are on a dropship that they have hired for this trip. They jump into another system, where a recently damaged dropship (a mule or union) with some valueable cargo (12 mechs and equipment) is drifting in space - slowly towards the sun...
My crew is not very properly prepared, they might have on mech (I thought about one old Phoenix Hawk LAM) available to help with salvaging. There might be some surprises onboard, such as survivors in cockpits or mechs, or even on the bridge (it is assumed that those are generally friendly towards my PCs and want to be rescued, however some might have some mental issues after a horrible accident...).
I want to introduce some external danger - some enemy spacecrafts (other dropships, maybe fighters approaching from another jump point). What would be reasonable time frames for this? (how long does it ake a dropship/fighter say from nadir to a pirate jump point?)
My idea is, that my players have to decide and play out about what they can salvage/rescue and what they need to leave behind which then goes lost forever. It is intended to be an intense situation. How would you recommend to play this out? Should I make a model of the dropship and let em move within it, or would you recommend to roll this more abstractly? How can I produce the tension and produce an outcome that allows them to salvage, say 2 or 3 mechs having to give up the rest?
oh, another problem is about leaving the system...as their jumpship will be empty when arriving, but they need to get away soon? Are there any jumpships capable of two jumps in a row?
thank you!