False Light
"…if you are hearing this…" — the Last Transmission · 9% decoded
A small, connected campaign for Wanderstar, set in the Coldwake Reach sector: a light frame and three lean single-session scenarios that each give a table "training wheels" on a major mode of play The Cold Lantern (Rulebook Ch 36) doesn't cover. It picks up after the starter adventure — in any of its three endings — and carries the same cast and ship: the five pregenerated Wanderers (Appendix A6) aboard the mortgaged free trader Long Account (Ch 25).
In the Sunless Saga (WC01 of four). The false light — the lantern's one room widened to one reach of four worlds and a ship to keep alive across all of them. Second of the four-part arc (WC00 → WC01 → WC02 → WC03); picks up after The Cold Lantern but stands on its own.
Everything here is built from rules already in the core book. No new rules; where a roll comes up, the owning chapter is cited. Each scenario runs GM-led, co-op, or solo (Part X) — solo/GM-less callouts sit in the margins throughout.
Reading order§
| File | What it is | Teaches |
|---|---|---|
| 00 — False Light (Campaign Frame) | The sector, its three powers and their clocks, the faction turn, and how the scenarios chain. Read first. | The between-sessions faction turn (Ch 33–34) |
| 01 — Dead Reckoning | A freight run misjumped into a corsair ambush off Greywell. Build/run first. | Jump plotting, ship combat, scale (Ch 12, 25–27) |
| 02 — The Spread | A speculative cargo run, blind to the far market, with the note due. | The merchant loop + a no-combat customs squeeze (Ch 28, 35) |
| 03 — Greywell | A derelict crawl through vacuum, cold, and failing cryo-pods, ahead of a breaking-ship. | Salvage, layered hazards, drones; the fullest solo showcase (Ch 13, 37–38, 42–45) |
The scenarios stand alone and can be run in any order, but the spine above is the intended one: Dead Reckoning seeds GANYMEDE's manufactured-wreck scheme, The Spread keeps the mortgage biting, and Greywell pays the scheme off.
Running the campaign§
- Set the "now" from your Cold Lantern ending. The frame's Carrying the Lantern forward table sets the starting faction clocks and the state of the Cold Lantern itself for each of the starter's three endings (saved / sold / walked). If you didn't play it, start fresh from the pre-filled blocks in the frame.
- Run the faction turn between sessions. A few minutes with the Appendix A4 checklist after each session (or across a jump week) keeps GANYMEDE, Vance, and Umbral moving on their own — the sector lives whether or not the crew is looking.
- Solo or co-op? Use the Part X procedures (Ch 42–45) and the A4 solo/co-op sheet. Every scenario is written to run with no GM; Greywell carries the deepest support.
A future fourth scenario — a pure social/intrigue session at Cinderfall, where violence can't solve it — is the natural next addition; this set deliberately defers it to stay lean.