GM Kate's Commencement [closed] (Inactive)

Game Master Kate Baker

I’ll assume everyone is following behind, but Zoomy leads the way!

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.

You already know where the boy and girl are hiding from the video feed.

"Hello! My name is Tuudak, and I and several others are here to help! Are either of you hurt?" Tuudak, breathing hard from his sprint, walks slowly into the room, arms spread wide and palms outward in a non-threatening stance.

Diplomacy?: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3, which I should probably put points in given how the character's developing!

Zaldekan tries his best to keep up with the speedy nuar. oh Triune this was a bad decision

When they reach the storage room, Zaldekan puts his hands on his knees, huffing and puffing. "G... gr... greetings, ch... children... We... we... we... are here...to h... help..." he managed to get out.

Zoomy approaches the children with a smile on its display and its arms positioned to mimic Tuudak's.

Diplomacy, if needed: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Null follows, but they keep a healthy distance, readying their computer’s AI module in case they have to speak to the children. They also keep a wary eye on the room’s exits.

Wherever there are children visible, there are countless more lurking about...

Pokya stands next to Null and whispers ”Am I remembering correctly that mammals don’t usually leave their young for long? We should be wary of accidentally getting in between a parent human and it’s young. I understand they can be quite fierce when cornered.”

Tuudak enters the room beaming, but the children, who haven't seen a nuar before, scream at the sight of the large creature and his horns. The far more familiar vesk, Zaldekan, enters, and seems to calm them down.

The girl speaks to you, "I'm Kieu Lan and this is Kieu Si. Are we gonna be in trouble? We don't want anything to happen to him!"

The boy's lower lip starts quavering. "Socks is our friend!"

Zaldekan catches his breath and then bows slightly to the children. "Hello, Kieu Lan. Hello, Kieu Si. Do not worry—we are here merely to ensure your safety." Zoomy also greets the them with a wave and a ":)".

Zal frowns slightly. I do not think we saw anyone else on the video feed besides the children. "Socks? Who is this 'Socks'?"

Null nods at Pokya and tries to whisper back, but the resultant sound is unintelligible—and not unlike the buzzing noise produced when an active comm unit is placed too near a speaker.

Embarrassed, Null shifts uncomfortably and refocuses their attention on the children.

Rafflesia's face lights up. "Oh, Socks you say, little one? I have a cousin named Socks on Akiton!" But she suddenly becomes grim after a moment of pondering. "Oh, but...he's dead, so it couldn't be him." She chuckles nervously and backs up to hide behind Pokya's leg, blushing.

Tuudak takes a few steps back and rests on his haunches in the hopes that a smaller profile will be less frightening. Though his shoulders are slumped and his expression is glum, he pays careful attention to the children's responses.
He grimaces a bit at Rafflesia's own faux pas and shoots her a conciliatory I guess we both stepped in it look.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12 for a general sense of the kids' emotional state, non-verbal queues, that sorta thing.

Kieu Lan answers, ”Socks is our pet. We found him, so he’s ours now! Daddy said we couldn’t have a pet, so we had to keep him secret. We named him Socks because he has so many legs! We can take you to see him, if you promise not to hurt him. Oh, but you should be careful going in. We set up a fire extinguisher to go off on anyone who walks in. We just wanted to keep him safe!”

Tuudak, they seem torn between not wanting to get in trouble and not wanting to lose their pet.

Tuudak speaks up, slowly and gently. "That sounds like an excellent name for someone with lots of legs! What sort of pet is Socks? And why is he off in his own room, guarded by a fire extinguisher?"
He taps a finger against his chin. "Oh, another question. Were you all here when the lights went out? What happened?"

When they answer, he thanks them, promises to help, and assures them that he'll talk to their father once everything is worked out; these were unusual circumstances, after all, so he's sure they won't get in too much trouble.

"Hm." Rogers looks over the children, then at his allies talking to them. "Maybe I'll go in first, just to be safe."

"I don't know what kind of creature he is. We couldn't find him in any books. We've been keeping him in that room right there," she points, "but the lights went dark and the doors stopped working right when we were leaving. I hope Socks didn't get scared!"

Rafflesia shudders at the idea of going face to face with the mysterious creature on the other side of the closed door. Surely all of those legs would make it all the more efficient at chasing her down and devouring her alive...

"Oh, dear... Yes, Rogers, why don't you go ahead! W-We'll...be right behind you! Hehe!" The ysoki's form shrinks and backs up even further behind Pokya and Null.

Pokya address the children and patiently asks a few of her own questions,

"How long have you been taking care of Socks?
...
"How did you plan to disarm the fire extinguisher to visit your Socks?
...
"When was the last time you gave Socks something to snack on?

"We've had Socks for about three weeks! We were bringing him food just now. We're not sure what he likes to eat, so we give him all kinds of stuff. You can take the fire extinguisher down if you know it's there."

Ready to go in?

Null tightens their grip on their battle staff and follows closely behind the first party member to move toward Socks's room.

Ready!

Zaldekan pulls out his pistol, keeping it as hidden as he can from the children, and stands anxiously behind the others. Zoomy hovers toward the front of the group, eagerly awaiting the opening of the door.

I'm good to go.

Rafflesia lets out a defeated whimper and trudges along behind the rest of the party, laster pistol at the ready.

leggoooo! =)

This area consists of two adjoining chambers. Four large containment capsules fill the fore room, three of which hold stasis-locked objects, including a tablet, a strange curved sword, and an odd spiral of bioluminescent coral. A crack leaks fluid from the fourth capsule, which displays a foot-wide breach near the bottom. The aft room contains several desks, each hosting a deactivated computer terminal. With the heads-up from the kids, you avoid the fire extinguisher trap.

It is freezing cold, as though someone turned the thermostat completely down, and a thin layer of ice has formed on the ground. You will have to move slowly or risk falling.

There is no immediate sign of the creature.

Tuudak's glowing orange orb traces a slow circle around his wrist. Come now, Socks, you absolutely-not-a-threat-just-a-harmless-object-of-youthful-curiosity.

He crouches by the door, senses alert. Any chance I could see anything off the ice's reflective surface? Something hiding under a desk or the like?
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Though Rafflesia is hiding behind her team, she's still on high alert. Her almost constant muttering has stopped, and her eyes dart about the room frantically, keen on catching any skittering legs (or enveloping maws) before they catch her.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Rogers moves in cautiously, trying to stay between the unseen creature and the less hardy members of his party. He keeps his weapons sheathed and his hands up in a non-threatening pose as he enters, as much for the children's benefit as anything else. "Just here to say hello, little buddy" he calls out, cautiously peering in.

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (8) + 0 = 8

Zaldekan slowly follows Rogers into the room, careful to not slip on the ice. As Rogers calls out to Socks, Zaldekan keeps his hand on his pistol's grip and looks around nervously.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Zaldekan and Rogers look around puzzled, but at the same time, Tuudak and Rafflesia spot a vent on the wall with its cover half open, and hundreds of very faint smudges on the wall leading up to it.

Pokya creeps slowly into the room with the rest of the team. Looking around, trying to spot clues that would help her figure out the creature's identity.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Life Science: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

Tuudak points towards the grate. "Pokya. Over there."

He gingerly follows the big vesk into the room.

Pokya examines the tracks leading into the vent carefully. The tracks don't quite seem to match any of the aliens that Pokya knows about, so this could be a creature that hasn't been encountered by the Society yet. It seems to have centipede-like structure, with a lot of legs, but also fur, based on the tracks left.

Tuudak clicks his throat nervously. "Does anyone remember if those schematics happened to show what this vent connects to?"

The schematics don't show the vent system, but somebody might be able to access the HVAC system from the control panel with a Computers check.

Null taps at the control panel, relieved to have a way to contribute.

Computers: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Null accesses the HVAC unit from the control panel. There's no video in the vents, but there are sensors monitoring air flow, which let them deduce the location of the creature. It seems to be running around in an erratic pattern. With that Computers check, Null could strategically close off vents to direct the creature back into the room.

”xxiii think I have located the...” Null pauses and looks not quite in the direction of the children. ”...Socks. I will try to guide it to this location.”

Computers: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Null tinkers with the control panel for a few minutes, and the entire room slowly fills with the unmistakable sound of hundreds of tiny feet scratching along the vent. Suddenly, the creature pops out! A large, orange-and-green-striped, furry centipede emerges and starts racing around the room in an obvious panic. When it tries to run on the floor, it slides along the icy surface, so it then scrambles back up the wall.

The vent pops open, and Tuudak quickly steps backwards, almost slipping and falling on the ice. "You could certainly knit something out of him! Does anyone know what he is yet?" He grimaces at the creature scrambling around the wall and does his best to look nonthreatening.
Life Science, max result 10: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

My skill selection
May need to be rethought—
I've no Life Science

Rafflesia yelps as the bizarre creature leaps out from the vent. She swiftly puts more space in between her and the panicking specimen and wracks her brains trying to remember if she's ever seen or heard of it before...

"I...I might, but I'm not used to my subjects being so...ALIVE!"

Life Science: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22 she's a scholar, so Life Science checks to recall knowledge have their DCs reduced by 5... Does this count? =D

Zaldekan screams as centipede scrambles out of the vent.

Zoomy greets the new friend with a ":D", trying its best to keep up with the creature as it runs around the room.

The Life Science decrease to DCs would totally apply except...

Rafflesia racks her brain to identify the creature but comes up empty! This seems to be an alien species previously unheard of by the Society! Rafflesia knows that starships sometimes pick up creatures by accident during travel.

However, Rafflesia can analyze its behavior with her in-depth knowledge of xenobiology. It doesn't seem to be hostile, just panicked. It could probably be calmed with an Acrobatics or Athletics check to catch it and hold it still and a Diplomacy or Survival check to make soothing sounds and gestures. Or pitch me something else! I like creative ideas.

If someone attempts the Acrobatics or Athletics check, I first need an additional Acrobatics check not to slip on the icy floor!

Assumig Rafflesia shares her knowledge:
Tuudak raises a hand and spreads his fingers. His little orange light ends its orbit to float just above his palm.
"Well let's try to keep him alive, hmm? I don't suppose he's attracted to light? He doesn't seem very aggressive, so I don't mind being bait."

Could I make my stellar mote dance around? I don't see it forbidden in the rules, but I'm not sure.

Sure, that sounds cool! I still need a check to go with it (whatever you think is appropriate), but I'll give you a bonus for the use of the mote.

That sounds like vaguely like Bluff to make a diversion, I reckon? I'm trying to coax him down so the others have an easier time with him.
Bluff: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8 +mystery bonus!

Rogers lunges forward, trying to grab hold of the panicking creature.

Acrobatics on the ice: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Athletics to grab it: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"Hold still, Socks! We're just trying to help you!" He manages to keep his balance, but is unable to get more than a passing grasp on the quick creature.

Zaldekan sees Rogers struggling to restrain Socks and (Be brave, Zal!) moves in to try to restrain the centipede.

Acrobatics to not slip: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Guessing that's good enough?

Zaldekan waits for an opportune moment to go for Socks, and when the centipede gets close to him, he shuts his eyes and lunges, trying his best to replicate a grapple from his martial-arts training.

Athletics to grab Socks: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

It is DC 12 not to slip, so you're good.

Rafflesia, Null, and Pokya still need to attempt checks to calm it down. Aiding is also an option! I'm a lot more lenient with after-the-fact aiding in play-by-post than at the table, so if you're not very good at any of those skills, you can try to aid someone else's check. Or pitch me another skill!

Null taps at their inner wrist, activating their computer's AI and instructing it to play a song to soothe the creature.

AI's Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Pokya asks the children for the creature’s food to gentle toss in in the creatures direction.

Tuudak's mote almost jumps out of his hand when Null's music starts up. He does his best to hide his surprise, but not before shooting the android some serious side eye.
Bluff: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Rafflesia, realizing that the creature is only scared, calms down and attempts to see if it might be hurt, cooing comfortingly at it as she examines it in various places.

Medicine: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12 A +8 in Medicine and still manage to roll a 12 *cry*