A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1-4.
A missing Starfinder ship's distress signal would have gone unnoticed were it not for a passerby detecting it and selling the information to the Society. The PCs are to travel to the crippled starship, and once aboard, reach the bridge in order to piece together the tragic story of the vessel's lost crew. Only by unraveling the mysteries of the drifting starship can the PCs hope to uncover information critical to the Exo-Guardians future operations.
Content in Cries From the Drift also contributes to the ongoing goals of the Exo-Guardians faction.
”What was that about more turrets? Shouldn’t we be finding the crew or what’s left of them? Just so you know, I can administer Pharasman death rites. This bloody trail seemed our best lead on both those fronts.”
Yeah, let’s all get to this door. But also, who should be responding to a potential turret trap?
I believe it's Kai who should be dealing with the turret. Do you mind if we roll it for them since they said they might not be able to respond today? Donovan can aid.
If it's alright to roll Kai's engineering to disable the extra turret:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
I believe it's Kai who should be dealing with the turret. Do you mind if we roll it for them since they said they might not be able to respond today? Donovan can aid.
[dice=If it's alright to roll Kai's engineering to disable the extra turret]1d20+8
Nope, don't mind at all
Kai handily opens the panel and discovers another turret gun that is
currently powered off, but is full loaded with ammo. He disconnects
the motion sensor easily to prevent it from targeting people if it
activates.
It's a rather large bore gun and would have done a lot of damage.
Meanwhile the "operational" turret is still tracking and uselessly
trying to shoot people as they move in the hallway, with the occasional
reset and glitching from the storm's interference.
looks at map; maybe just move everyone, dodgy Kai or armored Donovan at front. Despite Slides being good, I don’t know if everyone can update that often.
”Everyone, over here! We’ve got the traps relatively disarmed and should be able to get in this door.” Spunky watches the other innefective turret. ”Maybe we disable that one soon.”
The door to the aft opens sluggishly, but it opens
A single door opens into this open space. Just inside the
doorway, the entry floor is caked with blood, and several
batons and shuriken are scattered throughout the room. A
simple sparring mat covers much of the center floor. An alcove
along the eastern edge houses a weapon rack filled several
kinds of batons and a dozen fine shuriken. On the opposite
wall is a pad of self-healing foam with colorful abstract
targets painted on it. A four-armed metal robot stands in the
southwestern corner of the chamber.
When you enter the room the four-armed robot springs to life
and declares in Kasathan "Prepare for combat" and takes a
martial fighting stance. Moments later it says, also in
Kasathan, "system glitch, power low, shutting down."
Examining the robot:
Examining the robot, you see that there are flickering running lights leading to a panel on its back...
Perception DC 15:
The holoprojector has a carbonedge shuriken lodged in it. They also record. It seems
in need of repairs.
On the weapon rack in the room:
Idaran force training baton (see sidebar)
10 carbonedge shuriken,
8 tactical batons
4 cestus battlegloves
2 serums of enhancement (commando).
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.
Spunky maps out the blood smear in his head, but doesn't understand the robot speech in Kasathan; he pokes it a few times with his baton, following the lights.
"Looks like the malfunctions, maybe from the storm, caused this robot to lash out at someone coming through that door. The body's not here, must be at the other end of the blood trail."
Spunky picks up some of the weapons, testing weights. "Lots of good non-glitching equipment here. I'll take some shuriken, but I will split them with anyone. This is a good baton, too. I can try it out, of no one objects. And these magic serums are good for anyone, particularly if you need to beef up temporarily."
"So, should we follow the blood trail, or check just across the hallway, for speed?"
Having no idea what the robot is saying, Zez'ka's antennae twitch curiously. "I cannot understand it's words! CURIOUS! What does the robot tell us, Qaru?"
Once the mystery of the robots words are solved, Zez'ka moves into the room and looks at the weapons.
"I have enough weapons than will function during the storm. Those of you without analog weapons should take what they desire from this room. If you so choose, of course! CHOICES! JOY!"
Zez'ka doesn't need any of the loot, but you guys should definitely take it.
After everyone has looted the room, Zez'ka looks back out of the hall. "CHOICES!" She squeals in delight. "Oh, yes. The blood is worrisome! SAD! Let us follow the blood trail!"
I haven't moved myself yet, since the others need to look this room first.
Male NG human spacefarer operative 5 | SP 40 HP 35 | RP 6 | EAC 21; KAC 23; +4 vs AoO from movement | Fort +5; Ref +9; Will +5; +2 vs. spells and spell-like abilities | Init: +7 | Ever VigilantDarkvision, Perc: +11, SM: +5 | Speed 40ft | Trick Attack, Survival (1d20+16), 1d8
Sorry for my absence, everyone...
Kai tries to repair the holoprojector, removing the carbonedge shuriken if necessary. If he can get it working, he'll try to access any recordings.
Kai tries to repair the holoprojector, removing the carbonedge shuriken if necessary. If he can get it working, he'll try to access any recordings.
He also drinks one of the serums.
DC 20 Computer or Engineering:
You repair the projector.
The last recorded video plays out.
A hazy and translucent Kasathan figure is fighting
with a very normal looking Kasathan. The hazy figure
lashes out at the normal looking Kasathan, causing a
serious wound with no weapon. The normal looking
Kasathan throws what looks like a direct hit on the hazy
figure but it passes through and strikes the camera
view and the video cuts out
If you succeed at this roll, copy and paste this into your
action.
CN Male Lashunta | Envoy 4 | SP 28/28 | HP 28/28 | RP 5/6 | EAC 18; KAC 18 | Fort +2; Ref +7; Will +4 | Init: +3 | Perc: +5, SM: +4+d6 | Speed 30ft | Darkvision | Active conditions: None.
“Look what I found ... looks ... looks scary!”
The last recorded video plays out.
A hazy and translucent Kasathan figure is fighting
with a very normal looking Kasathan. The hazy figure
lashes out at the normal looking Kasathan, causing a
serious wound with no weapon. The normal looking
Kasathan throws what looks like a direct hit on the hazy
figure but it passes through and strikes the camera
view and the video cuts out
Spunky watches the recording. ”If I had to guess, that looks like some sort of ghost-like undead. This is worse than I thought. Looks like regular weapons won’t work. And in case you were wondering, Pharasma doesn’t tolerate such things.”
Knowledge to identify from video before we encounter such a thing?
Spunky’s disappointed that the trail leads to a functionally locked door.
Undead are immune to the following effects, unless the effect
specifies it works against undead creatures.
- Bleed, death effects, disease, mind-affecting effects,
paralysis, poison, sleep, and stunning.
- Ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, exhaustion,
fatigue, negative levels, and nonlethal damage.
- Any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect
works on objects or is harmless).
Spatial Incorporeality
- Driftdead are incorporeal on the material plane
All energy attacks and magical kinetic attacks deal half damage
(50%) to it. An incorporeal creature takes full damage from other
incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as from all force effects.
Corporeal spells and effects that do not cause damage have only a 50%
chance of affecting an incorporeal creature. An incorporeal
creature is immune to critical hits.
Special Attacks:
- Drift Rip
Drift dead attack EAC and rip pieces of their target into the
Drift. They can do this in melee or at range.
Special Abilities:
- Unliving
- Confusion Aura - save or be confused for 2 rounds
The lock panel is part of the bulkhead and would take a lot of time
to cut into and access the lock mechanism.
The south door opens easily
Four beds fill most of these tidy crew quarters. Each bed is
neatly made with a prominent item placed atop its center. Above
the beds are tightly sealed storage compartments. A single-tier
metal shelf curves around the southwestern wall, its surface
pristine but entirely empty.
These were the crew quarters for the four members of the crew
under the captain. The items placed atop the beds are each part
of a kasathan tradition for those who are making a journey from
which they don’t expect to return. The crew members left personal
items on each of their beds, as gifts to those who survive them
and continue to create future history.
Items on the beds
- An electronic scale model of the Idari (the roughly cylindrical
kasathan worldship that currently orbits the Pact Worlds’ sun)
rotating slowly in the air above a smooth stand.
- A personal datapad, flashing with a low battery warning.
- A ceremonial Idaran force training baton, engraved with
the lengthy lineage and titles of its owner.
- An elegantly bound copy of the book Customs of Kasath,
a gift traditionally given to a kasatha who has just completed
the Tempering, a coming-of-age ritual. The nameplate inside
identifies the copy as belonging to a crewman named Yotto
Using a battery on the datapad:
RECORD 1
I am worried about Yotto. She is furious about what happened at the Bulwark and seems to be withdrawing more and more—she
didn’t even attend this morning’s spar. Instead, I battled against Blue Sky-101, who is a skilled opponent but lacks the same vitality
and understanding of honor. I thought Yotto would at least work some of her anger out by taking baton to bot. Perhaps it is her
youth getting the better of her. I will give her a few days to restore her balance.
RECORD 2
The loss of Yotto is unbearable, and to make matters worse, the damage to the ship was more extensive than we thought. The
captain sent out a distress beacon in the Drift, but it is too dangerous to stay in this minefield, so we have returned to the Material
Plane. When we return to the Idari, I hope the adata will accept Yotto’s body and grant me dispensation to query her soul. I’d like
to speak with her one last time—and ask her why she was in the cargo hold when we were hit. For now, I have shrouded her body
and placed it in the sparring chamber.
RECORD 3
At first, I thought it was a dream—a nightmare. I walked into the sparring room and there was Yotto, but… changed. She swung at
me from across the room, but I felt her hand rip through me as though I were made of paper. I tried to subdue her with the sparring
equipment, but my blows simply passed through her. It took all of us armed with force batons to eventually lure her into the
captain’s quarters, where the captain sacrificed herself to trap Yotto—or whatever she has become—within her suit’s force field. Kela
has rigged one of the ship’s batteries to amplify the field and keep the creature contained, but we may soon be faced with fighting
this thing for our lives.
FINAL RECORD
As our forebears faced the dimming of Kasath’s sun, so do we know that our ship’s power reserves near their end. Traska has
encrypted our ship’s log, and tonight we will gather in the mess to partake of our final meal. We have placed our sacred items atop
our beds, as tradition requires. I hope those items, as well as something of the captain, our pilot, and even Blue Sky-101, find a safe
return to the Idari should we not. Eloritu guide us.
– Teliu Davead Mord of Clan Ferrous, House Elwood, truth-keeper of the Ferrous Stone
Inspecting the Book:
The book contains much Kasathan wisdom
...and a Least Photon Crystal
Photon crystal, least lvl 5 2,950 DMG +1d3 F Crit - Burn 1d6
Male NG human spacefarer operative 5 | SP 40 HP 35 | RP 6 | EAC 21; KAC 23; +4 vs AoO from movement | Fort +5; Ref +9; Will +5; +2 vs. spells and spell-like abilities | Init: +7 | Ever VigilantDarkvision, Perc: +11, SM: +5 | Speed 40ft | Trick Attack, Survival (1d20+16), 1d8
mysticism:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
"This is... Not good. That thing was a driftdead. Do any of you have a force weapon? Or at least some kind of energy weapon or magical one? We might not be able to hurt it otherwise. My guess is that it is the Yotto described in this datapad. When someone dies traumatically in the drift, they sometimes turn into one of these driftdead... I wonder what happened to her."
if one of you has at least 12 STR and no force weapon, you can take one of the Idaran Force Batons we found. Force affects the driftdead at full strength. Magic and energy weapons do half damage. Other weapons do nothing.
TL;DR check out the Defenses spoiler
Zez'ka takes in the room before here. After a moment of silence, her antennas droop. "SAD!" she exclaims. "I choose to return these offerings to their families! Honour! Pride!" she nods, then collects the model of Idarii, the force training baton, the book and the data pad. Before placing the book away she flips through its pages.
"Much wisdom is contained within this tome. Beautiful!" She pulls out a photon crystal, as well, then places it back within the book and packs it up, clearly considering it part of the Kasathan offering.
Before placing the data pad away she places a fresh battery inside and turns it on. She plays a few of the final recordings aloud...
"RECORD 1:
"I am worried about Yotto. She is furious about what happened at the Bulwark and seems to be withdrawing more and more—she didn’t even attend this morning’s spar. Instead, I battled against Blue Sky-101, who is a skilled opponent but lacks the same vitality and understanding of honor. I thought Yotto would at least work some of her anger out by taking baton to bot. Perhaps it is her
youth getting the better of her. I will give her a few days to restore her balance."
RECORD 2:
"The loss of Yotto is unbearable, and to make matters worse, the damage to the ship was more extensive than we thought. The captain sent out a distress beacon in the Drift, but it is too dangerous to stay in this minefield, so we have returned to the Material Plane. When we return to the Idari, I hope the adata will accept Yotto’s body and grant me dispensation to query her soul. I’d like to speak with her one last time—and ask her why she was in the cargo hold when we were hit. For now, I have shrouded her body and placed it in the sparring chamber."
RECORD 3:
"At first, I thought it was a dream—a nightmare. I walked into the sparring room and there was Yotto, but… changed. She swung at me from across the room, but I felt her hand rip through me as though I were made of paper. I tried to subdue her with the sparring equipment, but my blows simply passed through her. It took all of us armed with force batons to eventually lure her into the
captain’s quarters, where the captain sacrificed herself to trap Yotto—or whatever she has become—within her suit’s force field. Kela has rigged one of the ship’s batteries to amplify the field and keep the creature contained, but we may soon be faced with fighting this thing for our lives."
FINAL RECORD:
"As our forebears faced the dimming of Kasath’s sun, so do we know that our ship’s power reserves near their end. Traska has encrypted our ship’s log, and tonight we will gather in the mess to partake of our final meal. We have placed our sacred items atop our beds, as tradition requires. I hope those items, as well as something of the captain, our pilot, and even Blue Sky-101, find a safe
return to the Idari should we not. Eloritu guide us.
– Teliu Davead Mord of Clan Ferrous, House Elwood, truth-keeper of the Ferrous Stone"
Zez'ka stands holding the data pad. Slowly, she places it into her backpack for safekeeping.
"SAD! MOURNFUL!" Then her words fail her. Zez'ka sends out an intense telepathic feeling of sorrow. "SAD!" she repeats, although the word doesn't do her feelings justice.
After another moment, Zez'ka speaks. "Yotto died. But Yotto came back. She is the ghostly kasatha we saw on the video recording. And Teliu is the kasatha who fought it... It seems like Teliu survived the encounter in the sparring room, and the captain captured the Monster Yotto in her suit's forcefield. This... amplification they attempted... If the ships reserves are failing, it is unlikely it will hold much longer--if it still holds at all... We must be very careful. And if anyone sees the captains body, do not touch it."
After another moment of silence, Zez'ka adds, "We came as fast as we could... But it sounds as if we are too late... Perhaps they... Perhaps some yet live on this ship? Perhaps there is still someone we can save..?" She seems unsure. "I will bring their offerings back to their people, and their memories. Contemplative! Determined!"
Yeah, she has no way to deal force damage, and only has 10 strength. She'll be useless.
If anyone wants to use one of the offerings Zez'ka packed up, by the way, you're welcome to, as long as it can be returned to their descendants as intended after this mission, and its treated with respect.
CN Male Lashunta | Envoy 4 | SP 28/28 | HP 28/28 | RP 5/6 | EAC 18; KAC 18 | Fort +2; Ref +7; Will +4 | Init: +3 | Perc: +5, SM: +4+d6 | Speed 30ft | Darkvision | Active conditions: None.
"I have imbued my sword with magical essence but ... but I could also wield the force baton. I am quite strong but have not had the chance to really use that strength, yet." he says with a shy voice.
These things are rather dangerous. They are able to do what is known as Drift Rip Drift dead attack which rip pieces of their target into the Drift. They can do this in melee or at range. They can also mess with people's minds. Confusion Aura -
Spunky took one baton already, a second is here, there may be more. D. Borde could potentially use his sword better than a baton if the defenses are to be believed.
Spunky takes in the room, the ceremonies here, and listens contemplatively to the tales of Drift Dead that the others know. "There is something beautiful here, that the Kasathans sacrificed themselves against their fallen sister. We must return their items, and release Yotto to Pharasma's care and her ancestors' arms, if we have any power to do so ourselves. If not, we should at least try to keep Yotto contained, as the captain did before, the storm should take care of the rest. If that is all, we should get moving again."
Inspecting the book"May I have the crystal? I don't use them for a solar weapon, but they are valuable to me as a Solarian nonetheless."
Yeah, she has no way to deal force damage, and only has 10 strength. She'll be useless.
If anyone wants to use one of the offerings Zez'ka packed up, by the way, you're welcome to, as long as it can be returned to their descendants as intended after this mission, and its treated with respect.
If someone has a spare laser pistol or other ED weapon they could loan you, then you could still do your operative thing to it for half.
Male NG human spacefarer operative 5 | SP 40 HP 35 | RP 6 | EAC 21; KAC 23; +4 vs AoO from movement | Fort +5; Ref +9; Will +5; +2 vs. spells and spell-like abilities | Init: +7 | Ever VigilantDarkvision, Perc: +11, SM: +5 | Speed 40ft | Trick Attack, Survival (1d20+16), 1d8
Kai is a pretty good shot but does not have an energy or force weapon. He would take a pistol of that variety
Spunky wants to work from the back forward. Especially with talk of Yotto having some reason to be in a cargo hold (I know it’s meta to look at the map and guess type of room, sorry). Maybe post a couple rooms at a time, and options for time’s sake.
Spunky places the Solarian crystal in his mote. It burns energetically, like a newborn star.
”I’ll gladly hand over my laser pistol for anyone that wants it. This force baton and my nova should work fine for me here, and I’ve got shuriken if I need them for something besides the DriftDead.” he pulls out his pistol from his cheek pouch.
Zez'ka accepts the pistol, even though she's worried it won't work from the electrical surges. "I will accept it for now. Thanks! Worried!"What kind of pistol is it?
With a final glance at the hallway, Zez'ka nods. "Let us move on." She follows the blood trail back down the hallway.
"I desire to investigate this room near the sparring chamber. Curious!"
I want to check out the room I placed myself beside on the map.
The northern wall of this chamber is so forcibly compacted to
the south that the chamber extends only about ten feet from the
door. Several person-sized crates are fused into the distorted
hull, obviously melted by extreme heat. Space is visible from
between several gaps in the northern wall, accented by the
occasional shimmer of a force field.
Unlike the other rooms, this one has a data terminal.
DC 14 Perception:
You notice a spatter of android fluids on the floor, in a pattern that moves towards the gaps in the hull.
There is also a right android arm and leg in one of the containers.
DC 20 Computer:
The field was last lowered by a crewman
named Blue Sky-101
Zez'ka collects the limbs and places them carefully into her backpack. "An honoured burial will be difficult... But they did hope that at least something of their bodies made it back to Idarii for burial... SAD!"
Anyone else want to try a computers check before we move on?
