Ḑ̷̀e͏a̕͝d ̡b̧͘y S̴͘t̢a҉rl͡i̸gh̵̵t̡̀—A Star Citizen Event!
Four passengers are trapped on a derelict 890 Jump. They’re being hunted by someone, or something. A distress signal has been sent, but will help arrive in time? Welcome to Dead… by Starlight!
“Dead by Starlight” is my attempt to bring a little bit of what makes the Dead by Daylight franchise so great into Star Citizen. Originally thought up while I was pining for some interesting sci-fi horror lore, it was intended to be an event for CINDER—the first org I called home—and was then re-tooled for Skunk Works. But, this event idea was never used by either org. So, I decided to polish it up as best I could and release it into the wild. Hopefully someone uses it, or gets inspired by it and builds upon it. I would’ve loved to have hosted some kind of tournament, but unfortunately I’m just not that organized. I still think it would make for a great event, and a killer stream.
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Character selection and objectives
There are three teams: the Passengers, the Killer, and the Rescue Team.
The Passengers
This initial draft of the game is designed to be played with 4 passengers, but theoretically can be played with more or less. Each player on the Passenger team may choose or be randomly assigned a Passenger archetype from a list of prebuilt Passenger archetypes (called the “Sanctioned Passengers Archetypes”). They are to be given all items and equipment allotted to the archetype prior to starting the game. Only one of each Passenger archetype may be in play at any time (no duplicates).
Sanctioned Passengers Archetypes list
The Innocent—a hapless bystander with nothing more than a Beacon Undersuit (White), light armor with no helmet, and 3x medpens.
The NovaRider—an outlaw in civilian clothes with 1x combat knife and 1x ArcLight pistol ammo.
The Rookie—a green space cop equipped with a full set of TrueDef-Pro light armor, 1x ArcLight pistol, and no ammo.
The Workman—this easy to spot rough and tumble cargo deck worker is equipped with an orange or black and gold ForceFlex Undersuit, a Hardline Hazard helmet, and 1x Multi-Tool with 1x Cambio-Lite SRT Attachment (or OreBit Mining Attachment if the SRT Attachment is incapable of causing player damage), 1x TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment, and 1x Pyro RYT Multi-Tool battery.
The Nurse—this tireless medical professional is clothed in a Beacon Undersuit (White) and equipped with 1x ParaMed gun and 2x ParaMed Refill vial. If the Nurse is in the medbay with another Passenger, the medbed may be used to fully heal that Passenger. But the Nurse may not use the medbed on themselves. The “no respawn” rule remains in effect.
The Gray Man—outfitted to be forgotten, the gray man is equipped with civilian clothes with 1x P4-AR ammo, 1x of each stim pen, 1x medipen, 1x ParaMed Refill vial, and 1x MK-4 Frag Grenade (intended to be replaced by 1x Laser Trip Mine when available).
The Killer
The game is designed to be played with a single killer except in the case that a Killer’s archetype explicitly states that a second killer must be present.
The Killer may choose or be randomly assigned a Killer archetype from a list of prebuilt Killer archetypes (called the “Sanctioned Killer Archetypes”). The Killer is to be given all items and equipment allotted to the archetype prior to starting the game. Only one of each Killer archetype may be in play at any time (no duplicates).
Sanctioned Killer Archetypes list
The Advocate—this corrupt Advocacy agent is going to restore peace and order one spaced corpse at a time. Equipped with 1x Salvo frag pistol, 1x ammo, 2x medpens, and a full set of TruDef-Pro light armor. If the Rookie is as Passenger, they must wear identical armor.
The Omnibomber—fed-up with the Stanton corps, this former salvage monger recklessly tosses home-made grenades at anything that moves. Equipped with a mix of heavy (torso only) and light (all other pieces) armor, 1x GP-33 Grenade launcher with a single magazine, 3x grenades (intended to be replaced by 3x Laser Trip Mines when available), and 1x medpen.
Kid Tanaka—could this truly be the spectre of a child labourer who died under mysterious circumstances at work on Borea? Whoever they are, they’re equipped with a Second Life Undersuit, Stitcher armor set, a Why Not? Helmet, 1x Multi-Tool with 1x OreBit Mining Attachment, and 1x Pyro RYT Multi-Tool battery. If the Rookie is present, also equip Kid Tanaka with 1x Combat Knife.
Sang Gestas—when not worshipping a gas giant as a god, this bloodthirsty cultist is running around in a Microid Battle Suit with a Combat Knife, 1x ParaMed gun, and 1x ParaMed Refill vial.
The Cryptokeymaster—[in development]
The Adversary—[intended to be a super secret reveal for a tournament championship]
The Rescue Team
The rescue team is composed of three players and a Drake Cutter OR C8(X/R) Pisces. They are the pilot and two infantry who must all be wearing matching light armor. The pilot must remain in the pilot seat of the rescue ship. The infantry are each equipped with 1x P4-AR assault rifle and 1x ammo. No other equipment is permitted. They must be wearing matching light armor. The rescue ship must either be unarmed or have its weapons disabled at all times.
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Game rules
The hunting ground
The game was originally designed to take place on an 890 Jump. But any area, terrain, or ship that the game takes place within is called the hunting ground.
General rules
Passengers must survive against the Killer for at least 10 minutes. After 10 minutes have passed, the Rescue Team is dispatched. Upon arrival at the hunting ground, they may arrive and select their recovery point. When the hunting ground is a ship, a recovery point can be any ingress/egress point out of the ship, including the hangar.
Once the Rescue Team has established the recovery point, they have 5 minutes to get all Passengers on board the rescue ship and/or kill the Killer.
No moving the hunting ground.
No respawning.
Rules for Passengers
May only exit the hunting ground to get directly into the Rescue Team’s ship.
Must evade and/or overcome the Killer.
Get to the Rescue Team’s ship.
May NOT suicide, even if they are downed.
Rules for the Killer(s)
Kill all Passengers.
May NOT kill if outside of the hunting ground.
May NOT board the rescue ship.
May kill anyone who steps foot on the hunting ground.
Rules for the Rescue Team
Ship weapons may NOT be used.
Pilot may NOT leave the pilot’s seat.
May only inform Passengers of the recovery point location once they’ve arrived at it.
Once in position, the rescue ship must maintain their position as best as possible; adjustments are allowed).
Rescue Team may secure the immediate room that is the recovery point.
For example, the port airlock of an 890 Jump, or it’s hangar.
Rescue Team may kill the Killer if they have a clear line of sight on them, or if they’re engaged while they are retrieving downed survivors. Retrieval of survivors is the priority.
Rescue Team may delay extraction to hunt down and kill the Killer only once all living Passengers have boarded the rescue ship.
Fly away with all living Passengers and Rescue Team members.
May NOT suicide, even if they’re downed.
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Winning Conditions
The winning conditions are simple: any Passengers to survive and escape on the rescue ship wins. The Killer wins if they eliminate all Passengers. The Rescue Team wins if they successfully escape with all surviving Passengers OR if they eliminate the Killer with at least one Passenger remaining alive.
Any Passengers who fail to escape, lose. The Killer loses if any Passengers escape. The Rescue Team loses if an unconscious or incapacitated Passenger or Rescue Team is left behind.
There can be multiple winners and losers.
Additional considerations
The game was intended to be played with open Proximity Comms for all communication between all players, but this may not be reasonable.
The best ships to serve as a hunting ground (field of play) are currently the 890 Jump and Starfarer. It may be possible to play on a Reclaimer, Carrack, or even Mercury Starunner. The key features of a good hunting ground are multiple decks with multiple access points, and multiple ingress/egress points for rescue. Ships like the Hammerhead, 600i, Retaliator, etc. are too linear and/or have too many bottlenecks.
I wasn’t able to settle on a rescue ship. I recommend the C8, C8X, or Drake Cutter as they all fit in the 890 Jump’s hangar while remaining easy for Passengers to escape into.
There was originally a point system, but I abandoned it because I felt it was too early in Dead by Starlight’s “development” to get that detailed (better to iron out how things play, first).
I’d thought of throwing additional obstacles at the teams, such as sending the hunting ground on a (slow) crash course towards a planet or moon; providing an escape ship for the Killer that can only be used by the Killer (if the Killer left and one Passenger happened to be alive, the Killer would lose); and more.
Finally, it’s tempting to want to nerf some of the Killer archetypes at first glance. Although only a little bit of playtesting was done, the success rates for both sides were pretty decent. Still, the archetypes are likely to continue needing refinement.