Pressure-Run Procedure
Pressure-Lock Run
The Coolant Spine is a kilometer-long service artery divided by six pressure doors. CUSTOS-9 cycles freezing coolant through the line in an attempt to flush the fugitives into a reclamation tank.
Run this as a group challenge requiring 6 Progress before 3 Failures. Each attempt takes roughly 1 minute. The standard DC is 15; particularly strong but narrow approaches can use DC 17 and gain 2 Progress on a success.
| Skill | Example |
|---|---|
| Acrobatics | Cross a pipe rack before the next coolant surge. |
| Athletics | Hold a pressure door or drag a wounded survivor through. |
| Computers | Predict the next cycle using local sensor data. |
| Crafting | Jam a valve, patch a suit, or redirect coolant. |
| Stealth | Move between sensor sweeps without drawing a purge cycle. |
| Survival | Read frost, airflow, and vibration to identify the safe lane. |
| Thievery | Bypass a manual pressure interlock. |
A character cannot use the same skill on two consecutive attempts. A critical success gains 2 Progress. A critical failure counts as 2 Failures.
Failure Consequences
On each Failure, every character in the exposed section attempts a DC 17 basic Reflex save against 1d6 cold damage. On the third Failure, the party is washed into a lower service reservoir, loses one recovered supply item, and begins the Ashstorm Crossing with 1 Failure already marked. They still escape.