Ideas for Players that skipped Fusion Queen

[Michael Whitlow 655]

So the title is a bit of a misnomer but basically my group followed their leads to the Fusion Queen, but then didn't check out any of the backrooms or try to question any of the employees. They posted up around the nightclub and just watched for something to happen. I had gang members come in and out of the back room to restock the bar, showing off the Downside King logo. I had one of the bartenders be seen selling illicit drugs. When neither of these were investigated, I had a gang member come order the visibly terrified bartender into the backroom. Players didn't investigate, then decided to leave the bar. As they were leaving I had them witness the bartender's body carried out of the back exit and put into a van and carried off. They didn't do anything but sit around wondering what to do next.

I'm a little at a loss on how to proceed. I dunno if I should just have Farina and Vrok seek them out elsewhere for a showdown, or maybe I should just skip straight ahead to the meeting with the Eoxian ambassador? The players vocally concluded that the club is a dead end. Anyone have some suggestions/ideas?

[rixu]

My players skipped the whole night club, they managed to throw insane numbers on their information gathering rolls, got ALL the info given and decided that their assignment was to find out who and why, and they had that info already. So they returned to the Shirren and continued the mission. They missed some loot and a fight but hey, killing and stealing is not mandatory :D

[Jimbles the Mediocre]

I would let them flounder a bit. It can appear, with all the station at your feet and companies and gangs to investigate, that there's a bunch of different things to do. If they begin exhausting their other options, gently lead them back to the Fusion Queen. Both Astral Extractions and the Level 21 Crew should both point back to the Fusion Queen if investigated enough.

[Mawgrim]

if your players defeated the Downside Kings in the initial encounter, it could be that some of their friends are out for blood and try something of a revenge hit on the party. Leave enough clues on the bodies to point back to the Fusion Queen, and the story is back on track.

[Michael Whitlow 655]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Butch A.]

First, I would talk to the players. It seems like there is some cognitive disconnect (which sometimes happens when the players have a week between sessions but the characters have a day or so).

How is the Fusion Queen a dead end? You show the gang members are there. You show that there's a back room that is uninvestigated. You show that the gang is doing illegal activities there, including MURDER. How is this a dead end?

I mean, I'm not sure what your group found out about the Downside Kings, but at the very least, they know that the same gang that killed Duravor Kreel is operating in this club, and their nominal superior in the Starfinder Society asked them to find out who wanted him dead and why. If all of the above isn't enough of a lead for them, you might need glowing arrows floating over the directions they should go.

Second, since the characters were in a shootout with the Kings, did any of the Kings escape? If so, maybe a gang member recognizes them, and realizes that they have tracked them to their hideout, and trouble ensues.

[Michael Whitlow 655]

The players managed to kill all 3 of the DKs in the opening shootout and captured one of the L21s. The other two L21s escaped, and station security arrested the L21. After their other investigations (including an autopsy of Kreel's body that revealed the direction of the shot based on entry/exit wounds indicating DK were the killers), they spent half an hour trying to clear the L21 person's name and get them released as an innocent free person. They finally met up with Jabaxa who pointed them to the Fusion Queen, and said that his crew wouldn't go down there so as not to expand the conflict, but if they wanted to stick their nose in he wouldn't stop them. That's when they went down there to investigate the place. So... yeah they didn't try to interview any patrons, they didn't try to interview any employees, they didn't try to investigate the back room either from the "staff only" door in the book or the back alley entrance I made up to try and tempt them in that way. They seemed to just want to case the joint and eavesdrop on something while out in the main club area surrounded by normal patrons.

[bookrat]

That's cool, actually. It works for an initial casing of the joint.

From here, make it more investigative. Maybe they can follow a gang member home and interrogate. Or wait for the club to empty out and go back in.

Or maybe they can get another clue from a L21 guy or the DK sends a Hitman after them at their hotel (this could be the bodyguard to make the Fusion Queen fight a bit easier).

Or while they're at the club, have a guard recognize them, "Hey! Those are the blokes who shot up Dave, Jim, and Mark at Dock 91! I saw them on the footage!" And bam! Fight breaks out right there.

Or Nadaz takes the whole gang to their hotel to confront them. And then there was a firefight! And the PCs get all the info that way.

There's tons of ways to move forward. :)

[The Cyber Mage]

So in my game, the players ended up making friends with Jabaxa, but were reluctant to storm into the Fusion Queen itself. While they were following up a secondary lead into some more info about the Hardscrabbles, the Downside Kings raided the Level 21s and took Jabaxa prisoner. That got my players ready to storm the club.

[Calybos1]

The Fusion Queen was a dead-end for our group, but mainly because there's no way to get into the back room. Weapons are confiscated, so the party can't fight; hacking DCs are too high to break into the systems; and there's no amount of Bluff or Stealth that works on a closed door. We just stood around and shrugged, then went back to the hotel. The GM is trying to figure out how to get us the needed info now that we know the Fusion Queen is unbeatable.

[IronGiant]

Sorry I'm late to this party but the setup for this encounter confused me a little.

The front door guards to the nightclub:
"the guards attack anyone... if they find any weapons in a search" after searching them for weapons.

So, this seems an automatic trigger for a fight, but then there are instructions for talking to bar patrons after getting in the club.

So, the characters could be astute and check out the front door first, noticing that they would be searched for weapons and put them back at their hotel, but then once inside be defenseless.

[Cellion]

IronGiant wrote:

So, the characters could be astute and check out the front door first, noticing that they would be searched for weapons and put them back at their hotel, but then once inside be defenseless.

Yep.

They could try to smuggle weapons in, or use weapons with the called fusion that they can leave outside the building and summon to themselves. Either way, if you're the GM make sure you're dropping enough hints that there could be danger to be had inside so that they take some precautions.

[Black Dow]

My group got in managing to use the Celebrity Envoy's charm and passing the rest of the group as her security. They had to surrender heavy ordnance, but small arms and melee weapons were waived.

Once inside the celeb gathered attention and a bar tab. She managed to seek an audience with the Kings leaders on the premise of scoring narcotics. She and the Solarian were allowed into to back office to broker the deal while gangers and Hatchbuster kept the rest of the group amused in the King's den.

When the "deal" soured all hell kicked off. Was hard fought but they got the proof, took down the Kings and ended up exiting the Fusion Queen in the chaos.

It was well planned, better executed (was essentially a blood feud for some of them who had been recruited as SFs by Kreel) , as such there was no way they were leaving without a reckoning.