Issue 17

In this issue, I continue my Serenity/FireflyDeadlands Reloaded setting info, adding info on a moon near Celena (rimward from Ita) that has an interesting contact group and a hidden treasure!

shropshire

There is a small moon named Shropshire owned by a religious order near Celena (coreward, approx. 3 days out by a Speed Class 2 vessel). The moon is not actually a satellite of the planet. Its moving on its own in the Black but sometimes it is affected by the mass of Celena. The moon size is small and it was terraformed in a minor way decades ago, so its safe to walk around without a suit. It has two features that are of interest to adventurers: the Shropshire Abbey and a rich load of ghostrock.

the abbey

The order of monks at Shropshire Abbey is neoBenedictine. The monks follow the Rule, including stability, conversion of manners and obedience. They follow a strict order of duties, with a communal timetable for prayer, work, meals, spiritual reading and sleep. While they have no vows for silence, there is a portion of the day where silent contemplation is required. The order has changed a bit since the days of Earth That Was, including changing to a scientific order as well as adding a martial aspect to the Rule. Now, the monks are allowed to defend themselves in the event they are attacked, but only with enough force to stop the attack. These monks use martial arts or stun weapons to disarm and disable attackers. This abbey contains about 30 monks and 15 oblates. They are currently working on genesplicing technology and the abbot is well known in that field. The majority of monks are over 30 years old (most are in their 40s) and most of the oblates are around 20, though there is one who is pushing 60 that has an interesting story. The abbey supports itself with vegetable produce and vitamin production as well as some minor ship repair facilities (one of the monks was a spacecraft mechanic in an earlier life and brought his whole shop to the abbey). What they can fix on a ship and how long it will take is up to the GM to decide, but figure that the monk has decades of experience working on many different kinds of ships and with

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the shop, could produce most things if the raw materials are available. The abbey grounds are neat, with a majority of living quarters and the main chapel in stout, defensible structures within an enclosure (a fort really) on the surface and the research labs and storage areas underground. They usually have a few visitors at any one time. The armory consists of stun weapons and flash-bang grenades. The abbey has a shuttle that can get them to and from Celena in an emergency and are a regular portofcall for some smalltime traders. Unfortunately, the abbot has given a strict rule that, while it is permissible to sell alcohol, it is not permitted to consume alcohol on Shropshire. The second interesting thing about Shropshire is that ghostrock is plentiful here. There is an untapped vein of it running from near the Abbey through to the other side of the moon. It would take a while to play the vein totally out, probably several years with a small company (less than 100 miners). The ghostrock is worth millions and there are plenty who would be willing to do whatever is necessary, some of it illegal, in order to get their hands on it. But, the monks own the moon and would have to be persuaded (or tricked or killed) to part with their mineral wealth. And the nature of mining boomtowns would not look good to the stable and staid monks. Still, a small party of miners, working on the other side of the moon, could succeed in stealing a bunch and making a run for it in a short time without the monks being the wiser, if they were careful. But theyd have to be careful. How the PCs find out about the ghostrock is up to the GM. They could get hired to mine some of it for a third party, like a crimelord or a mineral extraction company. They could stumble upon it while on Shropshire. They could even transport some miners who claim they have a deed to part of the moon where they plan to dig it up. Many situations could cause the PCs to side with the monks or potential miners. In fact, a bunch of smart PCs could work a deal between the monks and a larger mining company that would satisfy both sides and make the PCs rich, but that would take some doing. And theyd have to figure it out while other parties are interested and ready to interfere!