Derelict of the Day: The Communal Dream

A Sci-Fi Horror One-Shot Adventure

Background

The players are part of a salvage crew or rescue operation that has detected a derelict courier ship, "The Communal Dream," drifting in orbit around a mysterious dead planet. What they discover aboard will test their sanity and survival instincts as they uncover the horrifying truth behind a failed utopian experiment.

Setup & Hooks

• Salvage Crew: The ship appeared on long-range sensors as a valuable salvage opportunity
• Rescue Mission: A distress beacon was detected, though it's been silent for weeks
• Corporate Investigation: The ship belongs to a subsidiary of the characters' employer
• Scientific Expedition: The ship was part of a research mission that went dark

The Mystery

The crew of The Communal Dream attempted to create a "perfect society" during their extended mission. Their leader, Dr. Elena Voss, implemented increasingly strict rationing protocols in the name of "absolute equality." When food became scarce, she convinced the crew that voluntary starvation was more noble than unfair distribution. The crew slowly starved while food remained in storage, creating the 76 units of cremains now in the cargo hold.

Ship Layout & Areas

Command Module

First Impression: Bullet holes scar the cockpit walls. Console screens are dark and fractured.

Investigation Reveals:

• Captain's log entries show increasing desperation and mentions of "Dr. Voss's new protocols"
• Final entry: "She's locked us out of the galley systems. Says we must 'transcend material needs.' The others are starting to—" [ENTRY ENDS]
• Hidden compartment contains a sidearm with three shots fired

Horror Element: Security footage shows the captain's final moments—shooting at the sealed galley door before turning the weapon on herself.

Galley

First Impression: 13 days of food remain, perfectly preserved. Empty bowls and utensils scattered about.

Investigation Reveals:

• Automated dispensers are locked with complex psychological puzzles rather than simple codes
• Wall graffiti: "EQUALITY THROUGH SUFFERING" and "VOSS KNOWS BEST"
• Personal journal hidden in a vent: crew member describing how Dr. Voss convinced them eating was "selfish"
• Scratched tally marks behind dispensers show someone was secretly tracking food consumption
• Improvised tools suggest crew members attempted to break into the dispensers after lockdown
• Surveillance recordings (if accessed) show crew members sneaking to the galley at night, staring longingly at the locked food dispensers

Horror Element: The food dispensers activate randomly, serving meals to empty bowls while ghostly whispers echo: "No one deserves more than nothing." Investigation reveals the dispensers were programmed to tempt the crew—Dr. Voss used them as psychological torture, dispensing the smell of food to test their "commitment."

Habitat Area (Crew Quarters)

First Impression: The stench of decay. Bodies in bunks, positioned as if sleeping peacefully.

Investigation Reveals:

• Bodies show signs of extreme malnutrition but no violence
• Each person has a small journal documenting their "spiritual journey" toward starvation
• Hidden food caches discovered throughout personal quarters: nutrient bars stuffed in pillowcases, dried rations sealed in ventilation shafts, emergency tubes concealed behind loose wall panels
• Wrapper fragments and crumb trails in bunks suggest secret eating attempts
• Personal logs reveal the psychological split: public adherence to starvation doctrine vs. private desperation
• Dr. Voss's quarters contain extensive notes on "population control through enlightenment" and a surveillance schedule tracking crew members for "ideological backsliding"

Horror Element: One body occasionally moves, whispering about "the hunger that purifies." It's not undead—it's Marcus Chen, a crew member who somehow survived but has gone completely insane. Around his bunk are the most elaborate hidden caches—he was the most successful secret hoarder, which may be why he survived.

Cargo Hold

First Impression: 76 identical containers of cremains, neatly stacked and labeled.

Investigation Reveals:

• Dates on containers span only 3 weeks—the crew died and were processed quickly
• A makeshift crematorium was constructed from ship components
• Final container is labeled "DR. ELENA VOSS - THE ARCHITECT OF PERFECTION"

Horror Element: The containers periodically rattle and emit faint screaming sounds. Opening one reveals not ash, but a writhing mass of something that might once have been human.

Engine/Jump Drive Room

First Impression: Catastrophic damage. Scorched metal and melted components.

Investigation Reveals:

• Damage is from within—the crew deliberately sabotaged their own escape
• Hidden message burned into the wall: "BETTER TO DRIFT FOREVER THAN RETURN IMPERFECT"
• Dr. Voss's final recording: "We have achieved perfect equality. No one will leave. No one will disturb our paradise."

Horror Element: The damaged jump drive occasionally flickers to life, showing brief glimpses of the ship's past—happy crew members slowly transforming into gaunt, fanatical figures.

Key NPCs

Dr. Elena Voss (Deceased/Manifestation)

A brilliant psychologist who became obsessed with creating the "perfect society." Her presence lingers as a malevolent force that attempts to convert the player characters to her philosophy.

Manifestation: Appears as a gaunt woman in a lab coat, speaking in soothing tones about "transcending material needs"

Marcus Chen (Barely Alive)

The sole survivor found in the crew quarters. Completely mad but occasionally lucid enough to provide cryptic warnings about "the Doctor's gift."

Escalating Horror Events

Phase 1: Discovery

• Strange whispers in empty corridors
• Food dispensers activating on their own
• Brief glimpses of figures in peripheral vision

Phase 2: Understanding

• Player characters begin experiencing intense hunger regardless of when they last ate
• Dr. Voss's voice echoes through the ship's communication system
• The surviving crew member, Marcus, begins following the party around

Phase 3: Temptation

• Dr. Voss manifests, attempting to convince players that hunger is enlightenment
• Ship systems begin locking down, trapping the characters
• Players must resist psychological pressure to stop eating

Phase 4: Escape or Join

• Final confrontation with Dr. Voss's manifestation
• The ship begins pulling itself toward the dead planet below
• Players must choose: escape and live with the knowledge, or join the "perfect society"

Possible Endings

Escape

Players manage to override the ship's systems and escape, but they're forever changed by what they witnessed. They may become obsessed with the concept of "perfect equality" themselves.

Conversion

Some or all players are convinced by Dr. Voss's philosophy and choose to remain aboard, adding their own cremains to the cargo hold.

Partial Success

Players escape but the ship follows them, broadcasting Dr. Voss's message to other vessels, spreading the "philosophy of perfect starvation."

Heroic Victory

Players destroy the ship entirely, but not before documenting the horror to prevent similar tragedies—though they may face disbelief or coverup attempts.

New Investigation Mechanics

Hidden Cache Discovery

Players can search for concealed food throughout the ship:

• Easy finds: Obvious hiding spots reveal basic emergency rations
• Moderate finds: Ventilation shafts, false panels contain more substantial caches
• Hard finds: Sophisticated hiding spots reveal the crew's desperate ingenuity

Psychological Impact: Finding these caches should disturb players—evidence that the crew knew the ideology was wrong but couldn't escape it.

The Hoarding Behavior Pattern

Each hidden cache tells a story:

• Early caches: Neatly organized, showing systematic preparation
• Middle caches: Hastily concealed, showing growing desperation
• Late caches: Pathetic scraps hidden in increasingly paranoid locations

Marcus's Secret: He can lead players to the largest cache—a massive food store hidden in the engine room—but doing so breaks his psychological conditioning and may cause him to become violent or catatonic.

Sanity/Stress

Track psychological pressure as players discover the truth. Failed rolls result in:

• Refusing to eat
• Hearing Dr. Voss's voice
• Attempting to convince others to embrace starvation

System-Agnostic Mechanics

Despite eating normally, characters feel increasingly hungry. This supernatural hunger can only be satisfied by embracing Dr. Voss's philosophy—or escaping the ship entirely.

Investigation Checks

• Easy: Basic ship layout, obvious clues
• Moderate: Hidden compartments, journal entries, system diagnostics
• Hard: Psychological insights, ship sabotage methods, Dr. Voss's true motivations

Props & Handouts

• Audio logs from Dr. Voss (increasingly unhinged)
• Crew psychological evaluations showing gradual indoctrination
• Ship manifest showing food supplies vs. crew death dates
• Personal letters from crew members to families (never sent)

Themes

• False Utopias: The danger of extremist ideologies, even well-intentioned ones
• Collective Madness: How group psychology can override individual survival instincts
• Cosmic Horror: The universe's indifference to human suffering and ideals
• Body Horror: The physical and psychological effects of voluntary starvation

Running the Game

• Pacing: Start slow with exploration, gradually increase psychological pressure
• Atmosphere: Emphasize the eerie silence broken by mechanical sounds and whispers
• Player Agency: Give multiple ways to uncover the truth and multiple possible responses
• Horror Focus: Psychological horror over jump scares—the real horror is human nature

Remember: The true horror isn't the dead crew, but the realization that they chose their fate willingly, convinced it was righteous.