The Dead Craftworld Heart
The ship carries the decaying core of an Aeldari craftworld system in its reactor chamber. The core is not producing heat. It is draining thermal energy from the surrounding atmosphere and discharging that stolen cold through the ship's drives and atmospheric envelope. The effect has already frozen much of the vessel and is spreading into the nearby planet's atmosphere. The hazard is both a countdown and a navigation crisis. The acolytes must find the machine room, obtain the correct materials, stabilise the alien core, and take the ship away from the planet before the next discharge turns the local atmosphere into a killing frost.
The Dead Craftworld Heart
Defenses
Detection
“A dead Eldar wraithbone core hangs inside a human reactor chamber, suspended by cracked gravitic braces. Pale blue frost crawls across every surface. The core pulses without heat, and each pulse draws breath from the air in a violent inward rush. Frost forms in geometric spirals that resemble alien script, while the ship's machine spirits chant fragmented warnings in binharic.”
Standard Engagement
The hazard activates when the salvaged Aeldari core is connected to the ship's reactor grid, or when the reactor suffers a major power fluctuation. It may also activate when the ship enters the planet's upper atmosphere.
At the start of each round, the core drains heat from the immediate compartment. Every 10 rounds, or whenever the GM advances the reactor cycle, it makes a local discharge. Every hour, the ship suffers one major discharge unless the characters have reduced Strain or moved beyond the planet's atmosphere. A major discharge increases Strain by 1, freezes another ship section, and affects the planet below.
The hazard resets automatically after every discharge. If the containment procedure is abandoned, Strain increases by 1 every hour. Once contained, the core remains dormant until removed, damaged, or connected to a new power system.
Each character exposed to an unprotected area during a discharge must make a Toughness Test. On a failure, the character suffers 1d10 Toughness Damage and gains 1 level of Fatigue. On a success, the character suffers 1d5 Toughness Damage. Characters in sealed void armour or a properly heated environment gain a +20 bonus.
Every discharge freezes conduits, ammunition feeds, weapon mechanisms, and unprotected control panels. The GM may require an Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test to operate affected equipment. Failure causes the equipment to jam or shut down until thawed and repaired.
The cold front spreads through the ship's atmosphere. Each hour, one additional major compartment becomes dangerously cold. After six hours, most unsealed areas are lethal without void armour, rebreathers with heat support, or equivalent protection.
The reactor's next major discharge strikes the planet's upper atmosphere. Affected regions suffer sudden pressure loss, ice storms, crop failure, and mass casualties. The event may be visible from orbit as a spreading white halo around the planet.
The alien core emits a psychic resonance during every third discharge. Characters within the reactor chamber must pass a Willpower Test or suffer 1d5 Insanity Points and experience visions of an endless frozen craftworld drifting through the void.
The reactor begins with 6 Strain. At 4 Strain, life-support becomes unreliable and all unprotected characters suffer a -10 penalty to Toughness Tests against the cold. At 5 Strain, the next major discharge affects the planet's atmosphere across a wide region. At 6 Strain, the core ruptures unless the GM allows a desperate final intervention.
Each major discharge increases the cold front's reach. Characters may slow the spread for one hour by succeeding on an Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test to reroute heat, vent plasma, or awaken dormant thermal systems.
The final containment procedure requires a coordinated action. One character performs the Tech-Use Test while another may assist with Forbidden Lore (Adeptus Mechanicus), Logic, or Security. Each successful assistance Test grants +10, to a maximum of +20.
If the ship is moved beyond 100,000 kilometres from the planet before containment, the planet is no longer directly affected by major discharges. The ship remains endangered, but the planetary catastrophe is prevented.
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