[SF] Dead Suns AP - GM Ewok (Inactive)

Game Master EwokBanshee

Life Science: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Clank wracks his brain, but "large beasts" aren't really his thing. "Dunno what those are, but I imagine that they'd squash us pretty good just like Snotnose the Unwarry if they decide they didn't like us. Davrin, do you think that you could keep them calm enough for us to pass by?"

Metagame sense is tingling that it would take a survival check to not appear like the other things and not get attacked.

"Um, I may be talented in many ways, but talking to gigantus creatures walking on tree stumps is not one of them. Zoran might like to show off his brand new implant. About time he put it to use?" Davrin raises an eyebrow at Zoran.

Pippimi rolls over and tugs on Zoran's sleeve. "Zoran talk giant mega-lizard language now? Say: We harmless travelers, not have any food good for giant lizards. Maybe also ask if Pacqual team pass through? Oh, and if mega-lizards actually smart, maybe can ask for directions?"

She puts two sets of paws on her hips. "Pippimi regretting not getting implant too! Talking with giant mega-lizards seem like very exciting activity. Extra good for vacation story when back in office, make every coworker jealous!"

Zoran smiles.

"I was wondering when I would get to put this to use. Time to add beasts to my list of clientele." he nods to the others.

He takes his time to move closer to the creatures and listening intently to their calls. What came next was quite similar in sound if not a little rough at first.

He looks back nervously waiting for some kind of sign they understood or if he needs to start running.

The completely strange and unknown creatures nearby, (Man, somebody else needs to take Life Science as a skill.) now to be known as Long-Necks, stop and stare at this odd creature. It has six legs, like us. But it is so small, smaller than a child. And surrounded by three other Two-Legs. And two very large berries! (One is a bit under-ripe.) A Long-Neck turns to Zoran and brings it’s head down from the heights until it is just a few feet away. It makes a soft rumbling sound, like that of a very loud purring cat.

Zoran turns to the rest of you and conveys that he thinks they are friendly… He’s pretty sure. So, since the Long-Necks are fairly calm at the moment, you move tentatively to weave among them, keeping your distance and not making any threatening moves—much like a variety of other native creatures are doing. The giant herbivores might stamp their feet threateningly if you draw closer than 30 feet, but don’t seem bothered by your presence.

But, when you are about halfway through the herd, a loud BANG echoes through the clearing. It is followed up by a trumpeting scream as one of the Long-Necks spasms and crashes to the floor, a large chunk of it’s neck blown off. ”SNIPER!” yell both the skittermander and the halfling, their training taking over. Both Davrin and Pippimi recognize the noise as that of a round fired from a rather large sniper rifle!

There’s little opportunity to pursue the sniper, however. As soon as the creature’s body hits the ground, chaos erupts! Some of the Long-Necks bolt from the scene, while others rally to the wounded one’s defense.

Alright! Time for a sort-of-chase-scene! During a phase, each PC can perform one of the actions below to distract, dodge, or outthink the Long-Necks while scrambling for safety. A PC can attempt more than one of these actions during a phase, but doing so imposes a cumulative –3 penalty to each check he attempts during that phase. Failing a check does not harm the PCs, but it does prolong the chase. Doing the same check two phases in a row also imposes a -3 penalty on the second check. For some of the PC actions, if a PC succeeds at the check, the PCs earn a “success,” which contributes to the PCs escaping the rampaging creatures. A PC can also perform one reaction per phase.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

"What the..." Davrin ducks instinctively when the shot rings out but quickly looks around. He points to the east. "It came from that way, about a mile away. Can anyone see where it came from?"

The stampede, however, takes his attention away to matters more urgent. "Woah! Zoran calm them down!" he yells as he takes off, ducking and weaving between the tree-stump legs of the Long-Necks.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

I'm back in the world of the internet but wont be able to get a good post and catch up till tonight.

Pippimi looks around quickly, but sees little more than huge stomping legs coming the party's way. "OK Workteam! Pippimi hold off. Everyone go to safety!" She spins around, trots a bit to back away into a good position to flee when ready, then draws her weapons. She waves them in greeting to the rampaging dinosaurs.

"Hullo hi long-necks! Pippimi tasty berry! Come this way and not towards team, OK?"

Bluff (distract): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

When it becomes clear that her distraction is proving totally useless, she turns and starts heading for safety, taking a path somewhat divergent (but not out of sight of) the rest of the party.

Athletics (scramble): 1d20 + 9 - 3 ⇒ (16) + 9 - 3 = 22

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Clank is apparently too busy carefully attempting to be non-threatening to notice anything about the shot other than the loud bang, before the insanity breaks out. He takes a moment to ensure that he wasn't being subjected to another Akashic flashback, before rolling around the crashing legs of the beasts!

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

"This." <roll> "Was." <flail> "A terrible" <almost crashes into the legs of a creature> "Idea."

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Possibly using Activate an Ability to use Wildwise to direct some of their ire towards the shot as the Distract option?
Knowing the general direction of the shooter Zoran calls out to them letting the longnecks know where the killer is.

If that doesn't work he slides in with the pack using their calls to find where to run to avoid being stomped by finding routes they are avoiding.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 15

This seemed like a good idea without snipers. Snipers always ruin everything! Angry dinosaurs be cool!

Lenny tries to dive through the legs of the nearest beast.

Pilates don't fail me now!

Scramble (Athletics): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

two twenties in a row. we ought to have a good round.

Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Zulu attempts to scramble out of the way, but his various gear gets snagged several times.

With Long-Necks trampling everywhere, Davrin, Clank, Lenny and Pippimi go ducking for cover, moving in a serpentine pattern amongst the stomping feet. Meanwhile, Zulu is a little less agile. He gets stuck on a fallen tree, with a Long-Neck running right towards him! Thankfully, a low growling noise bursts out of Zoran. The Long-Neck stops in it’s tracks, turning in a wide circle. Distracted from it’s fear for a moment, Zulu has time to run off!

Destruction: 1d8 ⇒ 3
Poor Sucker: 1d6 ⇒ 3

The chaos is real, and you are all trying to orient yourselves. You're in the center of the clearing, fleeing frantic Long-Necks all around you. A CRACK echoes through the clearing as a Long-neck crashes into a lone tree. As it falls, you see Davrin in it's path!

Tree Damage, DC 14 Reflex for half: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 4) + 6 = 12 Though, your evasion might help with this...

Across the clearing, you can see more fallen trees which block your way. All PCs take a –1 penalty to Acrobatics, Athletics, and Survival checks during this phase. Everybody is up! Remember, you take a penalty if you do the same activity twice in a row.

Lenny
Clank
Davrin SP 21/21 HP 20/20
Zulu
Zoran
Pippimi

Successes: 5

Lenny turns around to see Zulu and Davrin struggling, one helping the other and then getting delayed again.

The fitness instructor tries to distract the nearby longneck by yodeling at it, so that his teammates can catch up.

Bluff (distract): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Running as fast as his little legs will take him, Clank tries to create a diversion by plinking two of the closest longnecks with Magic Missiles: not enough to really hurt the large creatures, but hopefully enough to try and divert them away!

<lisp>:I wanna cast "Magic Missile."

ref: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19
From just the corner of his eye, he spies the massive tree trunk coming his way. Instincts take over before he can think as he leaps and tucking his legs in just in time as he rolls past. He picks himself up, momentarily stunned. A quick check though reveals not even a single scratch. "Huh! Well, I'll be..."

His celebration is short-lived as more of long-necks come thundering down. He pumps his short legs as fast as he can, again ducking and weaving through the fallen trees.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 16 - 3 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 16 - 3 - 1 = 19

Despite the penalties, acrobatics is still Davrin's best skill! But does the -3 penalty cumulative, i.e. -6 next round, then -9, etc?

After speaking to the long-necks thinking more clearly Zoran turns to a the others and spooks them away from his friends. He attempts to call the shot to not seriously hurt the innocent animals...

Laser Pistol, Azimuth: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 = 7
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

...but he holds back to much and misses. Hopefully the sounds that follow after it make enough impact.

Intimidate (Spook): 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (13) + 10 + (1) = 24

Pippimi chirps with alarm at the falling trees. When she sees a whole copse creating a path-wide blockage up ahead, she attempts to roll under the obstacle.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 6 - 1 = 10

But her bulky laser artillery gets stuck on a branch and she just isn't willing to leave it behind! A few tugs and a broken branch later and its free, but Pippimi finds herself left further behind from the rest of the group.

Nervously, she chirps "Any long-necks maybe want to go other way? Pippimi here..."

I'm running out of skills I have points in :/

You and I both

Zulu continues attempting to get out of the way of the stampede of huge beasts, wracking his memory modules for any tidbit of information that might help him avoid their feel.

Life Science?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

if that dont work I'll just take the roll on acrobatics with the penalty, just as good as anything else I'd have untrained

Lenny’s beautiful yodeling voice, practiced from yelling across the gym, distracts the Long-Necks long enough to aid his companions. Meanwhile, Clank shoots two Long-Necks with magic. While one seems intimidated and veers off, the other stops in his tracks and eyes Clank with murder in his eyes. I’m going to give you a success, at the penalty of cancelling out Lenny’s distraction for you. Zoran shows him how it’s done with a terrifying roar – only enhanced by his augmentation.

Davrin, king of the forest, continues to evade all opposition. Though he does come close to getting knocked off his feet by a Long-neck tail. Nah, we won’t make it cumulative. Just a -3. Pippimi, however, is not so agile. Her small berry-like form is unable to get further out of the trees. You can rotate between two skills and not take the penalty. Just not the same one over and over. Zulu, similarly, wishes he was back on the station as he trips over a branch.

Destruction: 1d8 ⇒ 7

A Long-Neck howls into the air, and suddenly there is a sudden shift in the herd's movements! Taken by surprise, all of your plans go out of the window! For this round, repeating a skill you did the last round results in a -4 penalty. Not a -3 penalty.

Lenny (Takes a –2 penalty to AC and saves against all effects this round.)
Clank
Davrin (Receive a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and saves this round.)
Zulu (Receive a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and saves this round.)
Zoran (Receive a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and saves this round.)
Pippimi (Receive a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and saves this round.)
Successes: 8

Take a wild guess which skill Davrin is going to use...

Davrin senses some sudden change in the movement of the herd, but he figures if it has been working so far, why change? So he keeps dodging and weaving under branches, over logs and between legs.
acrobatics: 1d20 + 16 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 16 - 4 = 25

Not sure if he caused the herd to spook and change directions, Lenny reverts to what worked so well earlier.

Athletics, scramble: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 9 - 4 = 11

However, being a little stunned right now, it doesn't go as well...

Rather than trying to squeeze under and between the tree trunks, Pippimi roars shouts out a vesk-ish cry and lifts up the fallen trunks to create more room to escape!

"uuuuuUUUUUUAH!"

Athletics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Huffing, Pippimi props the trunks against each other and does her best to scramble through the new space. (Hope she made it big enough with a 17! :> )

Clank notes that perhaps making himself a target of the herd isn't, perhaps, the best idea, and decides to get inventive.

"Grease! It's the way!" He finds tries to make a new hole in the thrashing crowd by grease-ing an area to one side and ahead of the group so that they can navigate around the hopefully prone beasts.

Cast Grease

Giving up on trying to squeeze his way out of the undergrowth, Zulu attempts to scramble over the obstacles instead, hoping to get out if the stomping path of the creatures.

so I realized I have no ranks in acrobatics, that's just the same +3 I'd get for athletics (DEX) so I might as well try athletics. Not too many applicable skills for OL Zulu here

Athletics, scramble: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Davrin, at home in this chaos, nimbly dodges the stampede. Operatives and skill checks… Lenny, meanwhile, is running from the herd that now seems to be targeting him! I think you only needed a -2, but that was still to low. He turns to the side, and watches Zulu falling behind as well!

Pippimi sees the log in front of her, lifting it above her head like a vesk strongman in a circus. Unfortunately, her massive cry has garnered the dangerous attention of the nearby Long-Necks! They turn to her with murder in their eyes! So close… She leaps forward, but the log pins her as it falls! She sees her life flash before her eyes (Peon… to manager… to senior manager!!!) but then… her body is covered in the most disgusting grease! She wriggles out of the tight space just in time, as the Long-Necks break the log to smithereens with their angry stamping! She turns to Clank and whispers, ”Grease is the word…”

Zoran Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Zoran weaves between the legs of the angry dancing beasts, coming out ahead of Pippimi and Clank!

Lenny, looking back at the Long-Necks behind him, doesn't see one running blindly in his direction! It collides into him, body checking him out of the way. The beast continues running while Lenny goes flying! Lenny takes 15 damage... In the distance ahead of you, you can see a bridge over a large chasm! You're getting closer to safety!

Lenny
Clank
Davrin
Zulu
Zoran
Pippimi

Successes: 11

Davrin looks in horror as Lenny goes flying. But he sees the bridge in the distance and he decides the best thing he can do is find a path for his team to get there. Ducking through the undergrowth and flying debris, he calls out, "Come on, fellows! This way! We're almost there!"

I'm going to keep focusing on getting successes with his acrobatics. Think that's fastest way to get us out of this?
acrobatics: 1d20 + 16 - 3 ⇒ (17) + 16 - 3 = 30

Zoran seeing his allies almost get trampled by the long necks takes aim again to scare them off or at least get them focused on another target.

Laser Pistol, Azimuth: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 2 = 18
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Intimidate (Spook): 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 10 + (1) + 2 = 28

Yep Davrin, keep slamming those checks! Surely you'll be able to make up for the rest of us. Eventually :/

Already down on the ground, Pippimi continues wriggling to get away from the long-necks without attracting more attention. Even so, she continues quietly singing the lyrics to the classic Skittermander high-nursery vid movie.

"Grease the word- the word that you heard~. Grease got groove, got meaning~. Grease, the time, the place, the motion. Grease, the way that Pip feeling.~"

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Seeing that she's making little progress, Pippimi abruptly stops and shouts out "GAAAARH! Pippimi mad! Go away Longnecks! Pippimi tired of running!" while wildly firing her artillery laser at the encroaching dinos.

Artillery Laser attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Artillery Laser damage (F): 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Intimidate (Spook): 1d20 + 1 - 3 ⇒ (1) + 1 - 3 = -1 I guess Pippimi isn't cut out to be a frightening person. :>

Flying through the air... Whooooooooaaaaaaaaaaoooooh Thud.

I'm going to feel that tomorrow. He tries to shake off the jarring headache and scramble after Davrin.

athletics (scramble, repetition penalty): 1d20 + 9 - 3 ⇒ (18) + 9 - 3 = 24

It's still his best skill bonus with the penalty

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 Is the negative only if you used the skill the previous round, or ANY previous round?

"So, do you guys think this is the 'Escape and eventually fight the guy shooting at us' or the 'Fight the guy and throw him into the herd' type thing?"

Clank nimbly dodges back and forth.

Just the most recent previous round.

Davrin, Clank and Lenny dodge and charge through gaps in the legs, getting closer to safety! Pippimi, tired of both singing and running, decides now would be a good time to turn around and introduce the Long Necks to her ‘Little Friend’. As she whips the enormous artillery laser out, the laser skims right off the thick hide of the incoming Long-Neck! It leans its long neck down, ready to gore the plump berry, but is stopped by Zoran’s timely yell!

Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Unfortunately, this does not distract them from Zulu, who is forced to hide behind a log to avoid the stampede. A Long-Neck pauses halfway above the log, belly feet over Zulu's head. It lets out a trumpeting bellow, AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO which hurts your ear drums! Lenny, a bit to close to the beast, has to cover his ears in pain!

Destruction: 1d8 ⇒ 1
Decibels: 1d3 ⇒ 1
Poor Sucker: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10 Lenny, take a DC 14 Fortitude save. (You get +2 from Zoran's distraction.) If you pass, take 5 damage. If you fail, take 10 damage and a -2 to the next turn's rolls.

Lenny
Clank
Davrin
Zulu
Zoran
Pippimi

Successes: 14

"You know how I said we were almost there just now? Well, this time, we're really almost there!"

acrobatics: 1d20 + 16 - 3 ⇒ (11) + 16 - 3 = 24

"GRRR!" Pippimi looks upset that the longnecks didn't just give up after she shot at them. "Davrin, Pippimi hoping you right!"

She hops back to her feet and tries dashing after Davrin.

Athletics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

But the moment she takes a step, she slips in the grease from seconds ago! Who put that there???

Its really weird to me that this chase scene allows people to fail without them falling behind from the rest of the team. That and the dinos go after a random target rather than the person that failed the most.

Acrobatics: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (5) - 3 = 2

Clank stumbles and trips a bit, hoping that someone else can carry him along!

Fortitude with zoran's distraction, DC14: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7

Lenny's eardrums suddenly feel like they're about to pop as he's suddenly assaulted by the longneck's loud call. He sees Davrin and Pippimi speaking to each other but can't hear a word they're saying with the ringing in his ears. With no better ideas, he follows them by sight, scrambling after.

athletics (scramble, repetition penalty, bleeding eardrum penalty): 1d20 + 9 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 9 - 3 - 2 = 18

WHAT?? You said we're almost done for? Don't give up hope yet Davrin!

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Zoran focuses on getting clear with Davrin mentioning how close they are.

Falling behind from his general lack of athleticness, Zulu nevertheless keeps moving towards the bridge, squeezing through the undergrowth as best he can, silently flowing a painful flaming death to the fool who started this whole stampede.

Acrobatics, squeeze, penalty: 1d20 + 3 - 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 - 3 = 15

Davrin, jumping and jiving, encourages the rest. I swear, it is possible for him to fail, just... unlikely. Pippimi and Clank, tripping in the mud, have a hard time believing him. Lenny, despite the bleeding eardrums, manages to avoid the worst spots and move past the two. Zoran manages to get out a little farther through the herd, but Zulu gets stuck behind a rearing Long-Neck. Slide 2 shows a beautiful picture of Clank, Pippimi and Zulu right now.

You all break out of the herd, seeing that Davrin is right! An ancient stone bridge crossing one of the river tributaries that flows through the jungle is right ahead! You all sprint towards it, with just one angry Long-Neck in hot pursuit. The bridge easily supports the group, but once you are across, the angry beast pursuing you gets only a few steps across before collapsing the old elven architecture. CRASH! The Long-Neck gives a final cry as it falls into the chasm with the moss covered rocks. The rest of the moot considers this the end of the chase, and the group gradually disperses after another minute of aggressive posturing. You stand there watching them for a few minutes, catching your breath. The silence of the moment is overwhelming.

Finally, you turn and see an extraordinary site. Beyond the bridge stands the landmark identified by Halkueem Zan as the Rune Obelisk. You can see the magnificent feature poking up over the trees. It is likely only a few minute's walk away. Slide 3 has a visual.

I've adjusted the pic in Slide 2. :>

Well, I guess we won't be taking that bridge on the way back!

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Lenny gets a sudden look of concern and realization.

I think the herd made quite a bit of noise there, and I'm guessing many curious creatures have been alerted to the possibility of fresh animal corpses. I saw quite a few crushed creatures as we ducked, dodged, and dived our way out of there. We should gain some distances from them as soon as possible.

Pippimi takes a deep breath, relieved to be safe from the slippery grease and the long-necked death machines too. She spins around and takes in the rest of the team. "Lucky! Team all here and in one piece. Pippimi feeling relieved!"

Survival: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7

She turns to look up at Lenny. "Sound like good plan! Pippimi hoping all curious creatures on side with long-necks and not on side with Pippimi..." Though she then notices how bruised up some of the team is. "Hrmmm, Lenny you not looking very good. Maybe take break first and catch breath?"

Yeah... maybe a quick rest is in order so we're fresh and moving efficiently. 10m to be exact :)

Clank tries to catch his breath, uninjured but winded from the excursion. "Maybe... I do need... A gym... Membership.." He glances around and tries to steady his breathing. "Also, predators sound bad. Maybe move a bit away, then rest before going to the ruins?"

Hehehe... Want to rest here or move first? No that it matters. Nope, no way it matters. :)

You're maybe a half mile away from the obelisk.

Zulu stands in a relaxed pose, not catching his breath - he'd have to breathe to do that - but allowing his body to relax from the intense scrabbling, silently amazedto be unharmed despite the mad dash and his extreme struggles.

At the suggestion of a rest he moves to look Lenny over, reaching for his medical kit asking questions in his clinical, emotionless manner.

"Show me where it hurts..."

not that I can actually do anything to help your one HP loss

Yeah, doesn't mine, fine either way with where we place the rest. Most importantly, onto the obelisk! More survival checks for that?

I would say we should move away from what was hinted at increasing predators. Maybe move for 20 minutes, then rest ten?

Yup, let's do that.

Lenny delays his rest and continues with the group pushing forward until they're a comfortable distance from the site of the stampede.