Module Review: VR-Dead

This review contains spoilers for the Mothership module VR-Dead, by Daniel Hallinan (https://kharrak.itch.io/).

Next Stop: Cyberspace

We find ourselves aboard the research station Mergen's Watch, living a surprisingly idyllic life under the leadership of Captain Luke. Until it all starts to fall apart, beginning with odd outages and 'data ghosts' threatening the crew. Little do we know, we're trapped in a virtual version of the station, which is in disrepair and slowly leaving its orbit. There's only six hours to find a way off Mergen's Watch, and Luke will do everything in his power to stop us.

I was a player in VR-Dead across two sessions, before reading through the module myself to get an idea of what I may have missed. And it was absolutely a fun time! But we all know there's no such thing as perfection, so let's dive into the module to see if it's something that will work at your table.

Read-Only Mode

The booklet is dense one, with four sections: setting information, the NPCs, general information, and the rooms in the research station. There's not much of a mystery at play here, so most of the background information can be reviewed before running the module, rather than referenced during play to make sure you're not missing an important detail.

The Duality of Man

I love the contrast in the art styles for the VR versions of characters as opposed to their appearance in reality, it's one of the few instances of module art I would actually print out to show my players. The descriptions given to each NPC are also concise and evocative, so as a Warden you can feel ready to portray them with minimal prep.

To really capitalize on the characters in this module, the Warden needs to thread the needle. On the one hand, the players will be taught early on that VR is dangerous, as Luke is all-knowing within the virtual station and extended exposure can decay your memory. On the other, Luke is also a compelling component of VR-Dead's horror, who is totally non-existent outside of VR. I would recommend drawing out the time in the virtual world, to give the players enough time to become attached to the NPCs. Portray Luke with imperfect knowledge of the station, not quite sure of where other crew members are or the last time he saw certain individuals. This will give your players a bit more confidence to come and go from VR without Luke's knowledge.

Calibrating...

The general information section contains notes on the opening scenes, namely bringing the player characters out of VR for the first time. You'll only need these for the first session, then you won't have much reason to revisit this page. There's also a 2-page spread with information and reminders that might be referenced throughout the module, which I would recommend copying and taping to your GM screen so you don't need to keep flipping back to remind yourself of these details. It's nice that this spread is also in the exact middle of the book, making it easy to flip to at any time, but it's still potentially a lot of jumping around between pages mid-session.

Drop a Pin

The second half of the module is dedicated to the map. The station is split into seven sections, each getting its own 2-page spread with layout, room descriptions, callouts for VR-specific features, and encounter tables. There's plenty of sensory language provided, so depending on your GMing preference you could read the room descriptions directly from the book and it would paint a lovely word-picture. All-in-all, this is an excellently constructed section of the book, organizing all the information you need at a glance, without the need to flip back and forth constantly.

I would say the map is larger than it needs to be for a one- or two-shot module. The adventure has a built-in timer, so this isn't meant to be a setting the players will experience for long. In saying that, the map is also versatile enough that it could easily be recycled for other adventures, or if you want to add more content of your own.

Touch Grass

The core conceit is one I've not seen often in TTRPGs: two versions of the world which the players can switch between as they please (for the most part). One is an apparent utopia, while the other is the horrific truth. There are some interesting mechanics at play here, balancing the utility offered by the VR world with the stress of exposing yourself to it for extended periods.

When I played, my team didn't use VR for much more than interfacing with door locks. There's potential here to stay in the virtual world for most of the module, which would entail more social obstacles as the characters speak face-to-face with the villains of the station. Since we spent most of our time sneaking through meatspace, it played out like a classic zombie scenario instead.

My biggest issue with VR-Dead is the way the opening is presented. The players start off in VR and are given a brief moment to meet the NPCs, before immediately being yanked out by the sole survivor of the station. This sort of narrative assumption is a rarity in Mothership module design, and seems more in-line with how adventures are written for the Alien RPG. The players have very little autonomy for the first section of the scenario, and the "reveal" that they were in VR has no impact because the players are still getting their bearings.

Edit Mode

I haven't run the module as a Warden yet, but I know what changes I'll be making as I prepare to do so.

Luxuriate: There's enough of a framework here to really take your time and start the slow burn. Give the players a few days of life in VR, and keep them guessing at what's going on. Whispered conversations between Luke and Paul, weird inconsistencies in the world as the simulation starts to deteriorate, let the characters attack the "data ghosts" of their own accord before revealing the truth. Let them explore the space station and become familiar with it before tearing away the veneer.

Change the Title: Or rather, don't tell your players what module you're running. I guess "you were in VR the whole time!" isn't really meant to be a twist, given how much the cover shows. But I think it can be a fun reveal for your players, rather than making them feign surprise when they're facing down zombies with headsets. Make it a fun cold open, and slowly reveal the title card once they see their first baddie.

One-Shot Changes: If you do want to run this module as a snappier experience, I would recommend trimming out F3-Admin, F2-Recreation, and F1-Engineering 1 from the map. The rooms don't add much beyond verisimilitude, and it will save players the time of poking through room-by-room.

Final Thoughts

VR-Dead is a module that would benefit from some developer notes, maybe a page demonstrating how the scenario was framed in playtesting. There's a lot of potential in here, but it takes planning from the Warden to plot a cohesive experience for their players. I would recommend this module to an experienced GM who is prepared to take the time to research and plan using the contents as a scaffold, but new Wardens might want to cut their teeth elsewhere.