Padme' |
Padme', impatient with the wait, begins to talk to the fans in front of her in an attempt to cut in front and move forward in the line a little. Please, Please! My boss is the biggest Strawberry Machine Cake Fan! If he doesn't get the new album soon he won't be pleased with me! Your a fan right? You know I wouldn't ask unless it was important!
culture check to recall lyrics from a sympathetic Strawberry Machine Cake song: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
(assuming 15 is enough to recall some lyrics)
Padme' begins to sing,
Oh'' baby your four arms make for more fun,
But then again we're done!
Why do you make it so hard?
Our passion is plasma super charged!
Oh Oh I need your orbit to ellipse me!
Oh Oh I need your orbit to ellipse me!
Oh Oh I need your lips to kiss me!
Oh Oh I need your lips to kiss me!
diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
(hopefully I get a bonus for off key singing tehe!)
The Bot Behind the Screen |
Padme's Fort: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Da'at's Fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
By the end of the long wait, Mordin and Da'at are both bored to tears, sick of standing around, have aching feet, and are downright fatigued.
You can neither run nor charge, and you take a –1 penalty to your Armor Class, attack rolls, melee damage rolls, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Strength– and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks. The amount of bulk you can carry without becoming encumbered is reduced by 1. If you are fatigued, doing an activity that would normally cause fatigue causes you to become exhausted instead. After 8 hours of complete rest, you are no longer fatigued.
Finally you reach the front of the line! There are plenty of copies left for you to purchase! The credstick Zigvigx gave you has 50 credits loaded, and the a copy of Star Sugar Heartlove!!! costs exactly that. If you wish to purchase copies for yourselves, you may. The copy he requested for Historia-7 is covered, any further copies you can pay for yourselves.
As you make your way out of the line, the crowd is shoving in hard! They kinda try to avoid Padme, who has already demonstrated herself to be a true fan, but even that is a bit half-hearted.
Everyone, make a DC 11 Reflex save or take 1d4 ⇒ 4 bludgeoning damage. Padme, you get a +2 bonus on this check. Da'at and Mordin, remember that you are now Fatigued and take a -1 penalty on this roll.
Padme' |
Padme' gladly forks over the 50 credits for the album. Hey now I just bought this! Hey stop pushing! You'll break my recording ! reflex: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 2 = 25
Padme' |
Seeing poor tired Mordin disappear among the rabid fans, Padme' is suddenly worried for the exhausted Dwarf. She pushes her way through the crowd trying to get at him but realizes she'll never get anywhere in this crush. Inspiration strikes Padme' and she burst out some more lyrics and improvises a few dance steps to draw the oppressive crowd's attention and give Mordin a chance to escape the throng. Hey everyone! Look at me! Padme' use the Envoy improvisation: Watch your Step; to give Mordin a +2 on his reflex save.
Reynold Malkin |
Reynold, getting increasingly impatient, starts shoving other obnoxious fans out of the way. Using the crowd as cover, he spends his earnings from the junker race to buy his own copy of the album.
Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Mordin Gimhargruest |
"I suffered through that interminable line, you better believe I'm buying a copy for myself," the dwarf grumbles at the sales clerk as he hands over his credstick. Mordin turns and heads for the exit, only to be engulfed in a sea of rabid fans.
"Ah!"
Reflex, Fatigue, WYS: 1d20 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 1 - 1 + 2 = 6
He eventually emerges with several dusty boot prints on his clothes and a bloody nose.
Will take 10 minutes after visiting Historia to Take a Breather.
Portia Steele |
Reflex Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Portia does her best to avoid the crush of the crowd, but ends up getting body checked by some overzealous teenagers. "I'm getting out of here, just as soon as I can figure out how to get out of here."
Mordin Gimhargruest |
Once everyone is free of the crowd, Mordin comments to Portia, "I know how to defeat the Azlanti Empire: tell these kids they're hording a bunch of unreleased Strawberry Machine Cake albums."
Da'at |
Reflex: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
"You know..." says Da'at worriedly as he dodges out of the way of a rabid, overzealous fan, "I may live to regret saying this, but the dwarf is right. I waited way too long in line for this crap" as he snatches a CD off the shelf and vaults over to one of the automated cash registers.
The Bot Behind the Screen |
Try to post... find goblins. Going to push forward now that I can see the page.
Portia, are you buying a copy for yourself or passing?
Mordni and Da'at: Note that fatigued lasts until you get an 8 hour rest, so remember the penalties for the final mission.
You all make it out of the line, a couple of you a little worse for wear, but prizes in hand you head back to the Lorespire Complex to deliver a copy to Historia-7 as requested. She seems a little surprised to see you again, then looks at the delivered album. She gives you all a long, unreadable stare, then calmly speaks. "I shall enter this into the archives."
With that you have one final mission. You must report to Fitch, who is currently on-board the Master of Stars, and enormous starship that is part of the Armada orbiting Absalom Station. The Master of Stars is currently undergoing extensive repairs, and Fitch is personally overseeing their progress.
Status:
Da'at - Fatigued, Bought album
Tinker - 4 dmg, Bought album
Mordin - Fatigued, 4 dmg, Bought album
Portia - 4 dmg, Bought album
Padme - Maybe bought album?
Reynold - Bought album
Those with damage can go ahead and spent a resolve to rest, just noting the status at the outcome of your long wait in line.
Da'at |
"Alright, who's the next guy we're retrieving things for? Because I'm not sure I can put up with this much excitement."
Portia Steele |
Figuring that the album appears to be extremely popular, Portia picks it up after all with intentions to sell it at an inflated price later.
Afterwards, she rests for 10 minutes to recover stamina lost from dealing with the crowd.
Spending another Resolve.
Padme' |
Yes GM I bought the Album with monies that have already been given to us..( you can take it off the chronicle sheet later I suppose.) Here's the post I made up above.
Padme' gladly forks over the 50 credits for the album. Hey now I just bought this! Hey stop pushing! You'll break my recording !
The Bot Behind the Screen |
That was a typo, question was to Portia, but for some reason I put the question on your status line. But all is well and now the boards seem alive... so with that...
It takes an hour or so to requisition a society shuttle but without further delay you head off station!
The station’s Armada can be seen from the shuttle’s view screen as it takes off, gleaming figures standing out against the emptiness of space.
The Master of Stars immediately stands out from the rest, as layers and layers of scaffolding obscure its hull. Tiny lights flicker among the metal beams as distant figures weld plates and heat shields to the
ship’s exterior. The shuttle smoothly glides closer until it reaches the starship’s docking bay, slipping through the magic field that keeps the hold pressurized with breathable atmosphere. As the shuttle doors open, a small drone flies in and pops up a holoscreen, displaying a harried-looking ratfolk.
“Finally, fresh meat!” the ysoki exclaims over the screen, sounding pleased. “Name’s Fitch—pleasantries over, time to get to work. I had some trouble earlier with the lights flickering on the ship, and now both the lights and computers have suddenly gone out on E-Deck. No idea what’s causing it, but you work this job long enough and—” Fitch’s attention flicks to something offscreen, and she shouts “Kirkath! The welding torch is not a toy! You wanna go in the toddler’s pen with the other kids?” She snorts dismissively before continuing, “Sorry, some of these little ones would cut off their own heads if I let them. Anyway, it could be some lunkhead screwed up the wiring, but that’s a pretty big system failure for a simple electrical short. I’d prefer to send in some people with combat training to scout it out, just in case someone or something is sabotaging the ship. If it’s nothing, great, get the power back on if you can. If there’s something suspicious, use your comm units to report in to me. I’ll give you the access codes, so—Selicha! If you touch that panel I will staple you to the hull!” The screen on the drone cuts out, then flashes to display the ship’s schematics and the passwords for the computers on E-Deck.
Picture of Fitch added and map updated!
Reynold Malkin |
Reynold takes out his flashlight and nods to the android. "So we've gone from racers and hackers to exterminators, fanboys, and electricians. Sure got out work cut out for us in this Society."
Da'at |
Da'at hefts his weapon, drawing his hammer with his other hand. "I'm going to disagree Tink. But hell, maybe there's a greater plan at work here. Or maybe we can "prove our worth blah, blah, blah..." Whatever. Let's just do this so we can go and get involved in the important stuff."
The Bot Behind the Screen |
Motives: 1d4 ⇒ 2 Wary
Hazard: 1d4 ⇒ 1 Steamy
The doors onto E-Deck are closed and unpowered. Opening the doors just requires a bit of muscle, and is otherwise a trivial task since the magnetic locks have all failed. The the entire deck is in complete darkness with the exception of a few error LEDs on the terminals scattered throughout the hallways. Even in a total power loss, emergency lighting and cameras should be accessible through a different circuit, but right now the deck is pitch black.
The Bot Behind the Screen |
Taking a quick look at one of the terminals that is still active off of battery backup, Tinker is able to reroute the power for the lighting to the emergency circuit. The lights hum to life and you hear movement in the next room.
"Eep!" *THUD*
Sounds like someone was spooked by the lights coming back on in the next room...
Da'at |
Da'at approaches the door and, using the haft of his hammer, knocks. "Housekeeping! If you don't like room service, you should totally pounce on us! Otherwise, go ahead and meekly speak up from a hidden corner!"
Da'at |
"There are WAY too many Dads on board this ship for me to be sure whose dad I'm not going to tell you're here to. You're gonna have to come out or I'm going to have to tell all the dads" replies Da'at with a confidence he doesn't feel at all, looking to his companions with a panic that might as well scream "I don't do the kids thing, help me out".
Portia Steele |
"Let's get those doors open so we can find out what happened to these kids." Portia suggests as she attempts to pull them open herself.
Str Check?: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
"Uh, I think I'm going to need a little help here."
Mordin Gimhargruest |
"Sure thing," Mordin says, holstering his pulsecaster and stepping to the door to help Portia.
Strength: 1d20 ⇒ 17
The Bot Behind the Screen |
It's a trivial task for an adult, i.e. pass on take 10.
Portia gives the door a shove and it refuses to budge. Mordin moves forward puts his shoulders into it and it screeches as it scrapes across the track slowly
Scattered barrels and boxes line the lowered floor of this storage chamber. A thick bulkhead to the port side leads farther onto the deck, while a similar bulkhead to the aft connects to an arterial hallway that runs the length of the deck.
Two young human children stand towards the far end of the room, one boy and one girl. They both look rather scared of you, although not scared of you hurting them, just scared of getting in trouble.
Mordin Gimhargruest |
"Alright, wee ones, what're you doing down here?" the dwarf asks.
The Bot Behind the Screen |
The boy decides to stick to his ingenious story. "Nothin!"
The girl decides to elaborate. "We didn't do anything! It was..."
The boy cuts her off "Nothin! It was nothin!"
The girl agrees. "Yeah! We were just playing with the other kids and then all the lights went out and we got stuck down here."
The boy smiles and nods vigorously. "Yeah!"
Sense Motive DC this doesn't deserve a spoiler: These kids are terrible liars. You can probably coax more information out of them with some sort of social skill (Diplomacy or Intimidate depending on what you're doing).
Padme' |
Padme' doesn't like liars but recalls an ancient saying about airborne insects and honey as opposed to vinegar.. Oh come now, some of us were children once! I for one would very much like to know what game you were playing to have made it all the way here? I had no childhood of my own ...so I've missed all the fun stuff, like what you children get to do! diplomacy+expertise: 1d20 + 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (1) + (3) + 6 = 10
Oh my !! glad I wasted an expertise roll! LOL!
The Bot Behind the Screen |
They seem to be a bit comforted by Padme's more endearing attitude.
"Well... we came down here to play on our own."
"Yeah... without the other children."
"I know we're not supposed to but..."
"We were down here and then all the lights went out. So we hid!"
They seem a bit off-put by her strange perception of childhood and stop their story short, clearly still concealing something. Others can still attempt Diplomacy or other actions.
Da'at |
Diplomacy (Untrained): 1d20 ⇒ 12
"Ah come on" exclaims Da'at mischievously as he lowers himself down to the children's height. "There's gotta be more to the story than that! You don't hide because the lights are out. You run for the light! You know when I was your age, I remember being on the "Hjal'her Therl'ka", my home ship, and setting fire to the entire food dispenser subsystem relay on a dare. I mean, I wasn't supposed to, it was just supposed to be setting a firework in the chamber. Anyway, I hid so well they sent a week before they found me."
Reynold Malkin |
Reynold cracks a smile at the kids. ”C’mon, you think we didn’t all go where we weren’t supposed to go when we were little? Nothing wrong with a little exploring, we just want to make sure you don’t get stuck. So tell us what you’ve been up to.”
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 4 + (6) = 17
Mordin Gimhargruest |
"Aye. And we'll let you we ones go home without telling your parents," Mordin negotiates with the children.
Reynold Malkin |
”Reynold, your last statement borders on being an untruth. We did not all do this. I was never little, and thus I never went exploring like the reckless children you humans raise.”
Reynold closes his eyes and rubs his temples. ”Humans are talking, Tink. When the job calls on us to bring lost toasters back to the factory, you can take the lead, ‘kay?”
Da'at |
"Wow. Rude" comments Da'at to Reynold. "You know, if I had feelings they'd be hurt."
Portia Steele |
Portia stands back and lets the more socially skilled Starfinders take the lead in questioning the kids, but the current thread of the conversation spurns her into action, "Ahem, let's try to turn the racism down to zero, shall we? You know, especially around kids?"
Padme' |
"Ahem, let's try to turn the racism down to zero, shall we? You know, especially around kids?"
Padme' scowls at Reynold and growls Agreed..
The Bot Behind the Screen |
The kids begin giggling at the argument. The boy finally speaks up. "So... we found this little alien thing. And it was really cute, so we would come down here to play with him."
The girl pipes up. "Nuh uh... it's a girl!"
The boy gives the most ridiculous exaggerated sigh. "No... it's a BOY."
The girl rolls her eyes. "Well... we came down to play with her again and then when we put her back in the room we made for her, we waited here so we could go back without any grownups knowing.... and then the lights all went out!"