Lobopods of Mars Chapter 7: Descent into Nova Novgorod

By Henry Edward Hardy with Cadence Boynton, Greg Boynton, John Kelly, Jeff Young, Joe Zapytowski, and Mark Zapytowski.

Copyright © 2025 Henry Edward Hardy.

Honey, I’m home.
Unman worker returns to his domicile in Nova Novgorod.
Copyright (C) 2025 Henry Edward Hardy

Lobopods of Mars Chapter 7: Descent into Nova Novgorod

A Mongoose Traveller (2e–compatible) Adventure

Table of Contents

1. Overview & Background
2. Scenario Hooks & Party Roles
3. Dramatis Personae
4. Locations
   • Pavonis Mons Summit & Elevator
   • The Road Train
   • Nova Novgorod Ruins
5. Adventure Outline
6. Potential Hazards & Encounters
7. Resolution & Sequel Hooks
8. Appendix: NPC Stats

---

1. Overview & Background

Premise:

• Dr. Jack Woolpit, famed space geologist, organizes an expedition to Mars’s hidden depths. This time, they forgo flight in favor of a massive road train—a 20-foot fusion-powered crawler cab towing two 40-foot, 14-foot-high trailers.
• An old Russian elevator (circa 1970s) on Pavonis Mons is discovered. Believed derelict, it still runs—powered by an aging thorium reactor and a gargantuan Stirling engine.
• Rumors say the elevator leads to a cavernous system, once home to Nova Novgorod, a Soviet outpost lost 50 years ago. No official records survive. Now the expedition aims to explore it and confirm whether rumors of alien life or hidden resources are real.

Tone:

• A mix of post-apocalyptic ruin exploration and scientific expedition. Dusty, claustrophobic, and full of opportunities for discovery or confrontation.
• Mystery: Why did Nova Novgorod vanish? What’s left behind—and who or what might still dwell below?

---

2. Scenario Hooks & Party Roles

Hooks

1. Scientific Curiosity: Dr. Woolpit hires the PCs to provide protection, technical skills, or specialized knowledge (engineering, biology, sensor operation).
2. Corporate or Military Interest: A sponsor (perhaps a shady corporation or government group) tasks the party with retrieving old Soviet data, rumored advanced reactor designs, or discovering exotic life forms.
3. Treasure Hunt: Legends say the Soviets had stashed large caches of precious metals, old nuclear tech, or hidden prototypes. The party wants to lay claim for profit or glory.

Party Roles

• Lead Scientist (Woolpit): Coordinates research tasks, interprets geological or biological data.
• Crawler Pilot / Mechanic: Operates the fusion-powered cab, maintains the big rig through hazards.
• Security / Bodyguards: Expect possible creatures, rival explorers, or structural collapses.
• Medic / Researcher: Tends to injuries, analyzes anomalies, possibly deals with contamination or old reactor leaks.

---

3. Dramatis Personae

Dr. Jack Woolpit

• Role: Expedition leader, enthusiastic geologist.
• Motivation: Confirm rumors of subterranean Martian life and glean historical insight on Nova Novgorod.

Stu “The Hobbit” Hobart

• Role: Mechanic / security hand. Possibly connected to smuggling or shady deals.
• Motivation: Keep the big crawler running, earn a stake in any valuable salvage.

Captain Lars Brecker

• Role: Seasoned soldier-turned-crawler pilot.
• Motivation: Keep the expedition safe, possibly on retainer from a sponsor.

Dr. Yajtoo Smith

• Role: Tech infiltration / remote ops.
• Motivation: Hack into any old Soviet mainframes or drone networks if discovered.

Dr. Ginger Takata

• Role: Expedition medic & xenobiologist.
• Motivation: Investigate potential life signs rumored to dwell in old caverns.

Sergei, Fyodor, & Charlie (Unman)

• Role: Scouts, possibly with Russian or mutant ties, giving them a personal stake in rediscovering Nova Novgorod.

(Adjust or swap the cast depending on your table.)

---

4. Locations

A. Pavonis Mons Summit & Elevator

1. Approach
   • The team treks across Mars’s dusty roads in the road train, climbing the slopes or specialized switchbacks up the volcano.
   • Possibly battered by dust storms or forced to bribe local outpost officials for a “permit” to use the elevator.
2. Elevator Platform
   • A massive gantry with rusted Soviet markings.
   • Machinery House: Houses a centuries-old but still functional thorium reactor powering giant cables and a Stirling engine.
   • Control Room: Antique Soviet-era consoles, blinking CRTs (or equivalent) still partially operational. Some instructions in Russian.
3. Elevator Ride
   • Potentially a 1–2 hour descent if it can handle the crawler + trailers. The ride is nerve-racking: flickering lights, mechanical groans.
   • Scenes: The world outside dims as the platform lowers the expedition into volcanic caverns.

B. The Road Train

1. Crawler Cab
   • 20 feet long, fusion-powered engine, seats up to 3 in the front. Typically has vacuum or sealed compartments to handle Martian or subterranean conditions.
2. Two 40-Foot Trailers
   • One trailer: Lab & living quarters, full of scientific gear, bunks, a small med station.
   • Second trailer: Storage for drilling rigs, rovers, or a small scout bike, plus extra fuel, rations, water.
3. Driving Challenges
   • Navigating tight lava tube corridors. Potential modifications: retractable “roof sensors,” variable wheelbase, or swiveling trailer couplings.

C. Nova Novgorod Ruins

1. Layout
   • A once-inhabited settlement in a subterranean crater or large cavern. Soviet architecture: blocky, utilitarian modules, now partially collapsed.
   • Abandoned for ~50 years. Some parts still have partial power from the old reactor grid.
2. Points of Interest
   • Central Dome: Possibly a collapsed geodesic structure, containing living quarters and labs.
   • Reactor Chamber: Another thorium or nuclear reactor site, maybe leaking or meltdown-threatening.
   • Research Wing: Old labs with locked computers or half-destroyed logs referencing Martian biology or secret experiments.
3. Mysteries
   • Why was it abandoned? Disease, sabotage, unstoppable Martian creatures, or political reasons?
   • Could there be survivors or descendants (mutants/unmen) still lurking?

---

5. Adventure Outline

Act I: Ascent & Descent

1. Crossing Mars
   • The expedition sets off from a known city (Mutch, Schiaparelli, or Bradbury Landing).
   • Encounter minor hazards: dust devils, mechanical breakdown, or run-ins with bandits.
2. Negotiations at the Elevator
   • They find the old platform guarded or locked. Must figure out how to power it safely. Possibly fix some Stirling engine components or handle reactor cooling rods.
3. The Ride Down
   • Tension as the crawler is lowered into darkness. Flickering lights, the possibility of mechanical failure.
   • Clues: Soviet signage, graffiti from a presumably lost era, half-buried crates on side ledges.

Act II: Entering Nova Novgorod

1. Initial Survey
   • The expedition sets up a base camp near the old settlement.
   • Recon with sensors, environmental checks. The place is eerily silent.
2. Exploration
   • Splitting up or traveling as a group, discovering partially intact corridors.
   • Evidence of a meltdown or partial meltdown in one sector. Possibly a mutated ecosystem thrives on the residual energy.
3. Surprises
   • Encounters with local fauna (mold, fungus) or leftover robots (old Soviet security drones?).
   • Data logs hint the Soviets discovered “something” and tried to harness it.

Act III: Confrontation / Discovery

1. Deeper Depths
   • A large meltdown chamber or hidden tunnel leading to a more extensive cavern. Possibly containing bizarre Martian life.
2. Factions
   • Rival explorers might appear (a mercenary corp or Talhir band).
   • Unmen survivors or mutated Russians, living in isolation with a meager society.
3. The “Big Reveal”
   • Some decisive clue: an advanced device, living Martian organisms, or a sealed crypt with Soviet secrets.
   • Danger: Reactor meltdown risk, violent creatures, or the arrival of a US Army scouting party also tracking these secrets.

Act IV: Resolution & Escape

• Option A: Peaceful Research
  • The party secures the reactor, glean knowledge, and tries to preserve the site as a historical/scientific treasure.
• Option B: Cataclysm
  • The meltdown or an awakened beast threatens the entire ruin. The party must flee. Possibly the elevator shuts down, forcing them to fix or find an alternate route.
• Option C: Rival Confrontation
  • A showdown with bandits or other factions that want to claim Nova Novgorod’s relics.

Epilogue

• The party might ascend back to the surface with priceless data or create a secure outpost. They might vow to return with a bigger expedition or keep it hush-hush if the secrets are too dangerous.

---

6. Potential Hazards & Encounters

1. Environmental
   • Cave-ins, flooding from subglacial water pockets, leftover radiation in meltdown zones.
2. Creatures
   • Mutant flora or small rodent-like Martian life. Possibly subterranean “lobopods” feeding on reactor heat.
3. Automated Defenses
   • Soviet security drones or static turrets with half-working sensors.
4. Other Explorers
   • Competitors or saboteurs.
5. Reactor Hazards
   • Overheated thorium rods, possible meltdown, or partial meltdown causing contamination.

---

7. Resolution & Sequel Hooks

• Grand Discovery: The PCs recover intact Soviet research logs on Martian biosystems or technology decades ahead of its time.
• Tragedy: The meltdown resumes, forcing them to seal or destroy Nova Novgorod.
• Population: Mysterious dwellers in the ruins might be saved or allied with. Or they vanish into deeper tunnels.
• Future Adventures:
  • Rebuild Nova Novgorod as a subterranean colony.
  • Explore branching caverns leading to more lost labs or hidden enclaves (like rumored Nova Moskva?).
  • Rival governments or corporations scramble to seize the reactivated elevator.

---

8. Appendix: NPC Stats

(Adjust skill levels or equipment as desired.)

Dr. Jack Woolpit

• STR 6, DEX 7, END 8, INT 10, EDU 12, SOC 8
• Skills: Science (Geology) 3, Recon 1, Persuade 1, Vacc Suit 1
• Traits: +1 DM on geology tasks.

Crawler Pilot / Mechanic (Lars or Stu)

• STR 8, DEX 7, END 9, INT 8, EDU 8, SOC 6
• Skills: Drive (Wheeled) 2, Mechanic 2, Gun Combat (Slug) 1, Vacc Suit 1
• Traits: +1 DM to checks repairing the crawler.

Dr. Ginger Takata

• STR 6, DEX 7, END 8, INT 9, EDU 12, SOC 6
• Skills: Medic 2, Science (Biology) 1, Vacc Suit 1
• Traits: +1 DM to diagnosing unknown pathogens.

Old Soviet Security Drone (Encounter)

• Hull 3, Armor 2
• Skills: Gun Combat (Energy) 1, Recon 1
• Weapons: Low-power laser or slug turret (2D, short range)
• Traits: Ancient circuits (malfunction 8+ on 2D if stressed).

---

Concluding Notes

In “Descent into Nova Novgorod”, your players undertake a tense road-train journey up (and then beneath) Mars’s towering Pavonis Mons, using a half-century-old Soviet elevator to explore a lost settlement. Whether they chase knowledge, treasure, or a bit of both, they’ll find the environment harsh, the secrets haunting, and the potential for conflict high. Will they unravel the fate of Nova Novgorod and harness its hidden wonders—or become one more tragic footnote in its mysterious history? Only their choices will decide. Good luck down there!

8 October, 2025 Posted by scanlyze | scanlyze | campaign, cyberpunk, Lobopods, Mars, Mongoose Traveller, retrofuturism, role-playing, science, science fiction | Leave a comment