GM Mawgrim's Dead Suns campaign (group B)

Game Master Mawgrim

Discussion thread for group B.

Initial cast members:
Mystera, Android Mechanic
Orlam, Kasatha Soldier
Ranklin, Lashunta Solarian
Rylexi-Sobok, Vesk Envoy
Xera Driftspeaker, Android Mystic

Please feel free to make any last minute adjustments to your characters :)

Greetings to you all. Looking forwards to gaming with everyone!

Thanks for the invite GM.

This is your pilot speaking. :)

Just checking in.

I think a Vesk Envoy was probably the most interesting idea I saw so far. And there were two of them in the recruitment!

Looking forward to the game.

GM: Even if you aren't ready yet, getting the gameplay thread up allows us to dot in and then the game shows up on our campaign page.

Great idea :) gameplay thread is up for people to dot into.

Hello all! I dotted and deleted in the Gameplay thread so as not to clutter it up there. Very excited about this game. I've really been enjoying the Starfinder games I've played in, and I like the ruleset. Looking forward to the idea of a longer campaign-type adventure.

And I agree Xera, a Vesk Envoy is definitely an interesting concept! Can't wait to see how that character develops.

Starship stuff:

Well, I have a good piloting skill (+9), and Mystera will have a really good Engineering (+12).

But for computers the best we have is Mystera (+9) and she will usually be busy being the engineer. Can she switch back and forth? Looks like she has to commit to that at the start of a round. The next best computers skill is the Ambassador (+4). So for science officers we have to figure something out.

Orlam has an INT of 8 so I think he is a write-off for any ship skills. But he can use his BAB+DEX for gunnery. Sadly his DEX is only 10. If you want a big strong tough guy I suppose that is the price you pay.

The captain can use Diplomacy and Intimidate, and occasionally Bluff. Ranklin has +8 Bluff and +6 Diplomacy. The Ambassador has +7 Diplomacy and +7 Intimidate. Tough call there. Interestingly, both are bounty hunters (not that this matters). Ranklin has a better DEX than the Ambassador, so he would be a better gunner. But the Ambassador has computer skill (even though he isn't much good at it). Both Ranklin and the Ambassador have CHA as the score that is primary for their class. The captain can also use ship skills for the encourage action needing only a DC 10 and the Ambassador has several of those. Only a +4 but good enough for that.

Thoughts?

Checking in. I will work on final details soon.

Thank you for considering this an interesting concept. I actually came up with it messing around with Hero Forge and I made a cool looking Vesk in Imperial Garb.

I think an Android Mystic is also a unique combo.

I might make a better captain because I have piloting skill, and it would be nice to have the Solarion free incase we had any internal threats to deal with while on the ship. I do not mind letting that all happen organically though as we role-play.

I believe I have finished all I need for his profile. I will add the usual stat line under my name before I post in Gameplay to make it easy for the GM to see init bonus ect.

@Xera - Mystera (and everyone else for that matter) is indeed able to switch back and forth between roles as she feel she needs to, but she will need to commit to whichever role she will be at the start of each round.

As for who to take on various roles within the party, I didn't exactly consider starship combat to be the defining factor as to how each group was going to be made up (or even which characters were picked), and part of the fun is seeing how different groups handle the challenges in front of them :) Especially since starship combat makes up a relatively small portion of the Starfinder experience as a whole.

I also didn't want to knock back potentially interesting characters just due to not having the optimal skills for it (the gods know I had to knock back a LOT of interesting characters in the first place just to get down to the two groups I have).

Once you all have made any tweaks/changes to your characters, let me know and I'll check them over and once everyone's ready to go I will hit the big red button and launch the game :)

Hey, guys, Mysterra checking in here.

I haven't had a chance to try out Starfinder at all, so I'm very excited to playing. Can't wait.

Mysterra will be Engineer. She has plenty of options to use each round we're in starship combat, so I don't imagine her switching out to operate the computers as a science officer. Even if we're not damaged she can still boost the systems in other parts of the ship to help out, including to the science bay.

I agree that some of the roles on the ship will happen organically once we get going. I imagine that, personality wise, the Vesk Envoy would be the best choice for captain, but I haven't had a chance to reread all your characters yet, so I don't know. Obviously it'll come down to them.

My character is good to go when everyone else is.

Can't wait to get started.

I think an Android Mystic is also a unique combo.

Thanks. I originally thought about it in the context of the fact that Triune created the Drift and was at the same time the god of androids (one of the three parts was the android deity). That and the star shaman idea made it really a "space priest" kind of thing. But when I got on the "freedom fighter" thing I realized Besmara would be a better deity.

And I wanted to play a hotshot pilot right from the get-go. So the two tied together pretty well. Also, the star shaman connection gives me a bonus to piloting that scales as I level (starting next level). Which is good, because the difficulty of rolls is usually N + (2 * Tier) and since the tier of our ship is normally the average party level this means that we need to get 2 points better every level at the skills we use just to keep up.

This is offset by the ship's computer getting better, but you still need to think about how you are going to improve that skill.

I might make a better captain because I have piloting skill, and it would be nice to have the Solarion free in case we had any internal threats to deal with while on the ship. I do not mind letting that all happen organically though as we role-play.

Strictly speaking, the captain is not actually a necessary role. The captain mainly just aids other members of the crew, so he mostly applies a floating bonus to various other jobs. If five jobs need doing then the captain should switch to another task, instead of helping one of the other four crewmembers. But your ability to add 1d6 to your diplomacy rolls makes the diplomacy-based abilities of the captain good for you.

Depending on how many weapons we have we may want multiple gunners. If Xera thinks the ship is in a good firing position she could assign herself to a gunnery position and then use the "Glide" action to maneuver the ship. If our guns can bear properly then this will sometimes be a good option.

Orlam will be the #1 guy to leave his post to deal with someone boarding the ship since he has no space skills and his gunnery is only +1. I think Ranklin is probably our best gunner at +4. Mysterra also has +4, though she will usually be busy. I have +3.

@ Xera - Orlam is a true soldier, I didn't even factor starship encounters into his build. I had a character concept in mind and sort of built around that instead. As mentioned, he'd be a good choice to deal with any internal threats during a starship encounter, other than that he'll take a gunner position - probably the lesser gun if we have another available. I didn't realize a Pilot can take a gunner position in the same round? I'll have to re-read the rules on starship combat. I'm definitely still learning the nuances there.

@GM - I do believe Orlam is ready to go! Hope I didn't make any mistakes, but if you find anything I will make the corrections needed. Thanks!

Yeah, Ranklin is a versatile character. He could work in the captains roll with bluff and diplomacy, but we have someone already good at that.

Gunnery is probably a more useful position on a ship for him in this group.

I'm happy with whichever route we take.

He's also a switch hitter in combat. His AC is the highest in the group I think, and he's pretty good at both melee and ranged. Not as effective Orlam in melee though.

Sorry, posted that last message using the wrong alias.
Oops

@ Xera - I didn't realize a Pilot can take a gunner position in the same round?

At the start of each round you choose roles.

If there is NO person with the pilot role, the ship still moves. Someone can take the Glide action once in a turn if there is no pilot. The glide action is not especially good but if fancy maneuvering is not needed then it can be all right. The glide action does give you a decent defense bonus actually, but you don''t get to turn often.

This is called a "Minor Crew Action" and is listed on page 326. The other minor crew action is "Snap Shot" which is a single shot you can take if there is no-one in the Gunner role and no other weapons are being fired. For a ship like ours, that won't come up much.

Gunners can use their BAB so Orlam isn't terrible at gunnery. But the only way to get better that I am aware of is to improve DEX.

...Also, the star shaman connection gives me a bonus to piloting that scales as I level (starting next level)...

Turns out this bonus doesn't stack with Skill Synergy or skill focus. Class ability skill boosts seem to be insight bonuses, which is the same bonus type as the feats. Dang! Not going to be as good as I thought at this.

Might rejigger a few things.

Good to figure that out now though.

Edit: Got rid of Skill Synergy as by level 5 it will do nothing for me. Traded it out for spell focus and shuffled ability scores around - DEX is now 18 and WIS is now 14. Might also make the character more survivable in combat too.

Had shorted myself a skill point so I put one into Medicine.

Ive gone over the sheets briefly, and those of you with issues have been messaged :) I'll give until the end of the weekend Pacific time (which is approximately Monday midday for me in Australia) for any final adjustments you'd all like to make, and then I'll get us started.

Changed my avatar. This one has a slight tech feel to it with the skill chip grafted to his head. Can't really find any Lashunta ones.

I may post an in character script here tomorrow to get a feel for Ranklin. Just some ruminating as he travels to Absalom station.

If that's alright with you DM

I'm guessing we'll be seeing Starfinder-appropriate avatar images soon.

@Ranklin - no problem with me :)

Ranklin lounged in the communal food bay of the cruise liner Baritond. The big ship was travelling real time through the Golarion system, heading deepward to Absalom station. It was a slower trip, but far more affordable for the young Solarian than hitching to a Drift ship and travelling fast.

He'd left home with barely enough creds to gain boarding and pay for food, let alone maintain his weapons and gear. Despite the dire situation of his financial status, he couldn't help but feel excited. Apart from a few of the local planet hoppers on Castrovel, he'd never been on a space faring ship. The low hum of the drive engines kept the super structure constantly vibrating, a feeling which relaxed his muscles and left him a little soporific at times. It was like he was constant,y sitting in one of those 5 Cree massage booths back home.

More exciting was the prospects of travel and discovery coming from his upcoming job. The Starfinders were running a recruitment drive after their disaster a few years back. It meant decent pay and pretty good prospects of travel,throughout the system. As Ranklin flipped through a few of the holologs detailing the Starfinders and Absalom, his mind kept drifting to thoughts of what he might discover and who he might meet in the future. It made researching hard, but he was never much good at that aspect of his job any way. Usually when he went on a bounty, he was given a dossier on the target that had been knocked together by RnD. He sighed a little, realising that wouldn't be something he could rely on any more, and went back to reading the various blogs on Absalom.

Above his head, the dark globe of Solar matter wove in aimless patterns, matching the thought processes in his mind as information was taken in and filed away for future reference, or discarded , or hazed over as other fancies took their hold.

Outside in the vast empty of space, Baritond continued its inexorable drive outwards, the faint blue trail of ionic discharge swirling in its wake as the energy shields collided with dust and hydrogen molecules every few hundred metres. Ahead, the single pinprick of light amidst a sea of stars, showed the location of Absalom, jewel of the Pact worlds.

Nice - I can use that to help with the start of the game :) Which, by the by, is up and ready to go.

Apologies for the slightly ham-fisted attempt at getting you all into the same place at the same time. Would rather that you all be able to interact with one another right from the get go. You all are the only passengers on the Okimoro, which has been chartered specifically by the Starfinders to bring you to Absolom Station. As iterated in the gameplay thread, Mysterra, Orlam, Rlexi-Sobok, and Xera are already on the shuttle, and Ranklin is being picked up from the Baritond.

I had originally thought Xera would start at Absalom Station, but since she and her compatriots were selling off a battered starship, it makes sense that she might have been at Skydock, which would have been a better market for that than Absalom. So she could board ths shuttle at Verces.

Sorry for the double post in the main thread. I am on a library computer and I cannot edit nor delete my posts for some reason. The second was accidentally done using my main alt on the Paizo board.

Tis no worry at all - I post off of an iPad some of the time (usually if I'm at work on a lunch break), so apologies in advance if autocorrect or lack of correct formatting sneaks through :)

Hah, I'm no different GM. My laptop died earlier this year and since I'm funding two kids through school, both of whom need their own laptops for school (thanks very much for that, Queensland Education) I just haven't been able to replace it.

So iPad it is. Which now I've said all of that out loud is such a 1st world problem.....

Hahaha. And WHAT a problem. I tried using my iPad to post the other day and gave up half-way through. It was too painful. Though in my defence it's 'ancient' and crashes constantly in addition to the bad formatting and auto-correct.

:) that's how it was on my old one before I got so frustrated it had to get replaced. Hard to read PDFs on the bus when it can't keep the app open long enough to load one.

Also, I will be getting the Roll20 table ready for the maps of any combats you guys get into, and will post the link up on here when it is ready :) if anyone has issues with using roll20, please feel free to suggest alternatives if you know of any :)

I'm in a few games that use Roll20 and I don't mind it that much. Though I prefer using Google Draw or Google slides. You don't need to sign in to load it.

BTW, is it time for the Space Goblin attack?

I've never used Roll20 before, so I'll need some guidance. Thanks.

Almost time for the space bpgoblins, or something like it :) maybe a space kraken?

I'm a big fan of Roll20 myself!

Google slides link has been provided in the campaign description. We will give this a try and see how it works for us.

Please put your character token on the metal plate on the south side of the map - this is where you will be entering the docking bay. Hopefully you'll be able to simply edit without asking for permission - otherwise I'll get that sorted in the morning.

I found a better Kasathas token for myself (just can't use it for my Paizo profile...) if that's OK? It's on the map, just let me know if you'd prefer me to use the profile avatar instead and I'll delete the one I've got up. Thanks!

No worry at all, just make a notation in the speakers notes as to which one is yours :)

Done! Worked fine.

The link took me to the slide, but I don't seem to be able to edit it. Can't even find a place where the tokens might be.

Do I need an account for this? Or will this be an iPad thing (shouldn't be since our DM is using one).

I'll have a play with it a bit later, gotta do the school run first.

Tokens are at the bottom of the slide off the map. The map imagetself is a background image so it can't be accidentally moved :)

Yeah, I get none of that. My link opens directly to the slide show , no ability to edit, no ability to even see tokens, let alone move them.

When i press the edit tab, it just opens a new screen with the same thing.

I'll update my iOS and see if that makes a difference. I'm currently us g Safari for the interwebs, could be that too.

Edit - ok, I downloaded the APP and that's fixed it. Moved my token, hopefully sorted for everyone else to see too.

Cool :) as said, if this doesn't work out, I'll move us to roll20. @Mysterra, from a players perspective it's really easy to you. A lot of the work falls on the gm to set things up correctly :)

Moved my token

Hey! It's Docking Bay 94! Is the Milennium Falcon here?

Just so folks know, if Ranklin has { } those around his speech, it means he is using telepathy.

Without the squiggle brackets, it means he's speaking verbally. He usually only does that when he's trying not to offend anyone or if he needs to make his words heard further than. 30 feet.

On that subject, when he does it can he "beam" his thoughts at specific people? Or does everyone hear it, like sound?

On that subject, when he does it can he "beam" his thoughts at specific people? Or does everyone hear it, like sound?

I think that's a DM call, honestly. Im thinking I can single people out (from my reading of it,) but not sure how Mawgrim wants to run things.

So far I've been broadcasting my conversations with everyone.

By my reading of both the lashunta and the shirren's limited telepathy, you can converse with any number of creatures at your choice, though carrying on multiple connections with people can be quite distracting (much like holding multiple conversations is in real life).

Now as for combat (which has now just started), the last time I dealt with PbP combat it was handled in loose groupings. PCs and enemies will all be rolled by me within their grouping, with all the monsters acting in the middle of the round in their initiative order. PCs whose initiative is higher than the highest initiative within the enemies' values will go in a loose grouping before the monsters, while everyone else will go after the enemies have had their turn.

So: [High initiative PCs] -> [Enemies] -> [Low initiative PCs]

To pull from the current combat, Xera and Ranklin scored a higher initiative roll than the gangers, and will form the first grouping, with Mysterra, Orlam, and Rylexi-Sobok making up the second PC grouping.

I will resolve actions within each PC grouping in posting order so that people don't have to wait for their turn, as such.

If you choose to delay your action, you will effectively move your initiative into the next available PC grouping (so a high-initiative PC who delays gets to go after the enemies, while a low-initiative PC who delays will go into the next round's pre-enemy grouping). Readying an action is as per the standard rules, and will not modify your initiative grouping.

This has worked in the past to alleviate as much of the waiting around for everyone's turn while still allowing for feats like Improved Initiative and soldier fighting styles such as the Blitz style to be useful to the PCs who take them.

As always, open to suggestions for future combat interactions to make things run as smoothly as possible :)

Sounds good!

This will be my first Starfinder combat, so I'm excited to try!

:) if there's any questions or the like, please don't hesitate to ask, and I'll get an answer as quickly as I can.

That works for me, I'll wait for the bad guys to take their actions before posting my own. Noticed that your Initiative chart doesn't show Ranklin as acting before the Gangers, though? I think he should be acting before Xera at '23'.

Initiative - Surprise Round

22 - Xera
21 - Gangers (both sides)

It's the surprise round, though, and he didn't notice the ambush until it happened.