SFS #1-04 Table 2 (Level 2's) (Inactive)

Game Master James Martin

If you are one of the lucky recruits, check in here and fill in the following:

FORUM HANDLE:
Character Name:
SFS #:
Faction slotted:
Day Job (if applicable):
Boons Slotted:

FORUM HANDLE: Redelia
Character Name: Delea
SFS #: 184425-702
Faction slotted: Second Seekers
Day Job (if applicable): forgoing for true savior of Tasch check mark
(this check mark is supposed to be noted on this chronicle)

Boons Slotted: Hero of the Stars (starship), Starfinder Insignias (slotless), True Savior of Tasch (slotless)
I need to hear the briefing to determine whether to slot AbadarCorp respect or Faction's Friend as my social boon.

By the way, Max/Buffbot, Delea has in a sense played with you before. She has the GM credit for your run through Fugitive on the Red Planet.

Checking in, and looking forward to the game. Thank you for running two tables so we can all join in! Here is my info:

FORUM HANDLE: Stiehle
Character Name: Stiehle Darkwing (yeah, I know, but there's kind of a history for me with that name...)
SFS #: 260381-701
Faction slotted: Acquisitives
Day Job (if applicable): Vidgamer
Boons To Slot: Do we slot these after the adventure starts, once we figure out more or less what the scenario is about? Here are my choices, anyway. Probably good to coordinate with the other players so there's no overlap as well.
Slotless: Tattoo of the Starfinder
Slotless: True Savior of the Tasch
Social: AbadarCorp Acquaintance
Social: Faction's Friend
Social: Friend of Ghibrani
Starship: Hero of the Stars
Starship: Automated Defenses

You can slot them after the adventure starts. The tags on this one are STARSHIP and FACTION and unofficially STRAWBERRY MACHINE CAKE.

Delea does have the slotless Star Sugar Heart Love boon, which it sounds like I might want here.

FORUM HANDLE: bigboom
Character Name: Raatchet
SFS #: 194657-701
Faction slotted: Dataphiles
Day Job (if applicable): Forgo for True Savior of Tasch
Boons Slotted:
Tattoo of the Starfinder (slotless),
Star Sugar Heartlove (slotless),
True Savior of Tasch (slotless),
Digital Presence (slotless),
Automated Defenses (starship),
Faction's Friend, Friend of Ghibrani, or AbdarCorp Acquaintance (social)

FORUM HANDLE: DebugAMP
Character Name: Buff-Bot 9000
SFS #: 4249-701
Faction slotted: Dataphiles
Day Job (if applicable): True Savior of Tasch
Boons Slotted: TBD

Hello again Redelia and James Martin! Hows Hiram doing?

Hiram is in that great waiting room for player characters without games. I'm sure he'll ride again someday soon!

I'm going to put up the opening post and aim to get this rolling over the weekend, so be sure to check back on Monday ready to game!

FORUM HANDLE: Eddv
Character Name: He-who-grinds-blades-to-dust or Grinder as his last party took to calling him.
SFS #: 133118-702
Faction slotted: Exo-Guardians
Day Job (if applicable): none
Boons Slotted:

Marked Field Agent (slotless)

Star Sugar HeartLove!!! (slotless)

Claimant to Salvation (slotless)- only relevant if were going to Salvation

Starfinder insignia (slotless)

Hero of the Stars (starship) -

Knight of Golarion (social) - +2 insight bonus on all skill checks made to influence members of the Knights of Golarion; +1 morale bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made against evil dragons and evil outsiders.

Collector and Examiner (Ally) - no benefit yet

Where did you get a Haan boon? That name is awesome... has a bit of a Lovecraftian vibe to it.

It was the Starfinder Gen-Con Boon this year. You choose from Haan or Sarceesians.

Awesome! I'm hoping to get my 6 games down on my Alien Archive boon... I wanna make a Wrikwreechee (sp?). So far I've only got 2, but hey, that's 1/3 of the way.

Thanks for the compliments.

If I am being honest Starfinder has really not lived up to my hopes for what it could be, but getting to roleplay as a giant spider has gotten me to be a little less sour about it and enjoy myself.

Faction's Friend, Friend of Ghibrani, or AbdarCorp Acquaintance (social)

I forgot to mention. After hearing the mission's opening intro, I've decided to slot "Faction's Friend" for Raatchet's social boon.

I've got a mechanics question. Is Delea's mental telepathy two-way? Another GM was telling me that telepathy is one-way only. According to that GM, Delea would be able to broadcast her words to me telepathically, but I cannot respond telepathically (unless I picked up a telepathic ability as well).

I will post more later. When I looked into wording, you can respond, Delea must initiate contact. That's why she taught a sign to request telepathic content.

Here's the wording from the CRB:
Lashuntas can mentally communicate with any
creatures within 30 feet with whom they share a
language. Conversing telepathically with multiple
creatures simultaneously is just as difficult as
listening to multiple people speaking.

To me, words like 'communicate' and 'conversing' imply two way speech. It appears that this may be something that requires a FAQ, because googling turns up a lot of opinions either way on this. Evidently it's a question also in Pathfinder, but it's more obscure there.

That last bit of your quote seems to indicate the conversation is two-way:

"Conversing telepathically with multiple creatures simultaneously is just as difficult as listening to multiple people speaking."

If you're listening, then you're hearing what they are telepathically saying, I should think.

Yeah, it's not crystal clear, but this is my best interpretation of what is meant.

Sounds good to me. I'll just assume that every GM may interpret this differently. Thanks!

Busy at work, when I'm at a pc I'll post a long diatribe with a fumbled Diplo check.

I would take the Lashunta as two-way communication.

I think the limited telepathy as two-way ends up very balanced, because of the requirement that every conversation be started by the one with telepathy. Also, in my mind, Delea can't read thoughts right afterwards, it's more of she can read whatever you intend to be your response. It's good to know that some GMs disagree, though, so I can check beforehand.

OK, I had to go back a bit to figure out damage taken by our ship.

I'm showing in Round 1 we took 11 damage (10 to shield, 1 to hull) on the forward arc.

In Round 2 we took 10 damage (10 to shield) on the starboard arc. We actually probably should have diverted to shields at that point, since our forward arc was at 0, but it worked out OK. At this point, we have no shields on our forward arc and starboard arc, and we have a total of 20/40 shield points - with 10 on port and 10 on aft.

In Round 3 during the Engineering phase we got 7 shield points thanks to Raatcher's action 'Divert to Shields', putting us at 27/40 shield points. We didn't specify where those points went, but figure we put the 7 points into the forward arc (4) and starboard arc (3), since those sides of the ship were totally unprotected (as pointed out earlier, despite the wording in the core rulebook, the FAQ shows that we can put those points anywhere in our four quadrants) and we hadn't yet rolled initiative in the Helm phase, which means that the vesk could have won and targeted one of our unshielded arcs.

However, we won initiative and though Max tried to balanced the shields with his Computers check, I believe that result of '17' is a bit shy of the DC 19 (15 + 2x ship tier, which is 2 so 15 +4 = 19) required to do so. Based on that our shield configuration during the Gunnery phase of Round 3 was Forward=4, Starboard=3, Aft=10, Port=10. This actually worked out quite nicely for us, because we took 10 damage to our port side, all of which was absorbed by the shields. Our current stats are as follows:

Forward Shield: 4
Starboard Shield: 3
Aft Shield: 10
Port Shield: 0

Total Shield Points = 17/40

Total Hull Points = 54/55

Does this look right to everyone?

I'd suggest that in Round 4 Engineering phase we divert to shields again to get 7 points back and put 5 to port and 2 to starboard, as those are the side we are trying to expose to the enemy.

In Helm phase, I think we should try and re-balance the shields to show the 'heavy' side to whatever arc we face toward the bad guys - whether we lose or win the initiative.

Max's attempt to balance the shields actually succeeded. Per the FAQ, the DC is 10 + 1.5 times ship tier, which is DC 13. Max rolled a 17 and succeeded at setting shields to F=9, S/P/A=6.

The 10 damage on port knocked the shields to zero and we subsequently took 4 points of hull damage.

Therefore, current stats are:

Forward Shield: 9
Starboard Shield: 6
Aft Shield: 6
Port Shield: 0

Total Shield Points = 21/40

Total Hull Points = 50/55

I didn't modify the values on the slide in case someone spots something I've written incorrectly.

I'll probably have Raatchet work on getting 7 shields back up onto port next round.

Arg! I forgot the new DCs! Thanks Raatchet.

As a general discussion for everyone, presuming that Raatchet gets us our 7 shield points back (bringing us to 28/40), can't we balance the shields in the Helm phase to boost the shield on whatever arc is facing our enemy after I move (whether before or after the enemy?)

For instance, let's say that Raatchet gets us those 7 points back to the port shield. We will then start Helm phase with:

Forward Shield: 9
Starboard Shield: 6
Aft Shield: 6
Port Shield: 7

Let's say I then win initiative and can maneuver our ship so that our port arc is facing them. Shouldn't we then pull shield power from the forward arc (which would be in no danger) and put as much as possible to the port arc for the following configuration?

Forward Shield: [9-6]=3
Starboard Shield: 6
Aft Shield: 6
Port Shield: [7+6]=13

Or let's say we lose initiative and the bad guy manages to maneuver so he is directly ahead of us (as he seems to like) in our forward arc. Couldn't we then balance the shields by drawing power from the port shield (which is at no risk) to ramp up our forward shield as follows?

Forward Shield: [9+4]=13
Starboard Shield: 6
Aft Shield: 6
Port Shield: [7-4]=3

Or am I overlooking some sort of tactical detail? Starfinder is still pretty new to me, but it seems that if we can communicate freely during the Helm phase where movement and balancing both take place, we can balance our shields to give us maximum protection on the arc where we know incoming fire will be taken and leave another arc exposed.

I'm also assuming that the rules still state that we can ONLY draw shield power from ONE arc to bolster another single arc (or balance shields across all quadrants), is that still correct?

According to my understanding of the rules, what you're stating looks 100% correct to me, Stiehle

Grinds sniffs the air, but it feels and senses still. He does catch an odd scent he's never smelled before, like a mix of acid and chitin.

I'm calling it! It's either Aliens or Tyranids!! Time to start panicking!!

If the former, this is the point where Stiehle peers around a corner, and there's that bullet-headed freak grinning at me as it's fist-like mouth drips acid mucus for a long, drawn-out moment as I stand in shocked horror before it suddenly lashes out, and Stiehle's scream echoes along the blood-stained corridor...

The merging of ages... Skaven vs Tyranids.

Hey GM, I just wanted to make sure you got my private message (unrelated to this game).

I'm going to have to start keeping track of Max's alternate personalities... I think I make up a new one for every adventure.

So long as you keep up the Vogon poetry, I approve!!

I'm trying to decide if I want to keep that up or if I want to reserve that for a new character. If only dirge bard was a thing in Starfinder...

Hey guys, my posting may be spotty for the next week or so. Please bot me as needed.

Raatchet, your posts crack me up! GM, I moved my icon on the map to the intended square I'm headed toward - feel free to move me back if I can't reach it for whatever reason.

Haha! Thanks! I hope people are generally more amused by Raatchet than annoyed. It seems he's kind of turning out to be two parts Rocket Raccoon (from the movies...I never read the comic books) and one part Scooby Doo.

Re-copied here for easy reference:

IDARAN FORCE TRAINING BATON
An Idaran force training baton is a 2nd-level uncategorized basic melee weapon that deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage. The damage from this weapon counts as a force effect when wielded by a character with at least 12 Strength. Note, this does not mean the weapon deals force damage, only that it counts as a force effect for overcoming certain defenses such as incorporeal. It has the operative and powered (capacity 20, usage 1) special properties, it is light bulk, and it costs 400 credits.

FALL BACK TO THE BUTTERBALL

This phrase right here made me laugh!

It made me laugh as I wrote it too.

Playing a shy character well is hard! I don't want to just sit back and make everyone else do all the work, but speaking a lot just isn't in character. I think if I do it right, the telepathy may help with this, though.

Loved this adventure and the entire group of role-players (as well as our outstanding GM!) If you are all continuing onto another Starfinder game, count me in!

This group is so much fun, I would love it if we can continue into another adventure!

(makes puppy dog eyes at the GM)

I've gotta cut down on my game count for a bit, but I'll be back for more soon enough. Great party, great GM, great scenario!

I'd be up for another scenario if we think we can wrap it up before Outpost 2018 starts as I've got Raatchet signed up for a game then. If not, I'll see Stiehle there...my ysoki Envoy is signed up to the same game as you.

Shameless plug: If anyone has not yet played Fugitive on the Red Planet, I'll be GMing that one (as GM bigboom) during Outpost 2018. Still many slots open for that one!

FORUM HANDLE: bigboom

Character Name: Raatchet
SFS #: 194657-701
Faction slotted: Dataphiles
Day Job (if applicable): Forgo for True Savior of Tasch
Boons Slotted:
Tattoo of the Starfinder (slotless),
Star Sugar Heartlove (slotless),
True Savior of Tasch (slotless),
Digital Presence (slotless),
Automated Defenses (starship),
Faction's Friend, Friend of Ghibrani, or AbdarCorp Acquaintance (social)

GM, just one thing to note. Because Raatchet is using the Digital Presence boon and he currently has reputation tier 1, can you add the 1 extra Dataphiles fame & reputation to this chronicle sheet? I have not yet used this boon at this reputation tier level. Thanks!!

Buff-Bot also has the Digital Presence boon slotted so he'll get 1 additional Dataphiles rep as well.

I'm probably going to avoid signing up for any outpost games until it gets closer to starting but hopefully I'll get around to running something then. Just not sure if it will be starfinder or pathfinder. Probably pathfinder since I'll be missing the support cutoff and already have a few humble bundles worth of scenarios.

If we go at a reasonable pace, there should be time for another scenario before outpost.

The Chronicles are ALIVE!
Buff-Bot!
Delea!
Stiehle!
Raatchet!
Grinder!

If something needs modified, let me know!

Chronicle and reporting look correct. Thanks!

(continues to make puppy dog eyes at GM for another scenario)

Perhaps we should talk about what we can play, and if OMB isn't able to GM, we can try to find someone in Castamir.

I can _not_ play with Delea:
1-1(Commencement)
1-2(Fugitive on the Red Planet)
1-4(this game)

I would prefer not to play 1-5(The First Mandate) because I'm signed up to play it for OutPost. I could change this if needed, though, to keep most of this group together.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to pass. My first kid is due in a month and I'd like to see my game count go down before then, not up.