[SFS] 1-04: Cries from the Drift -- Roving Dachshund (Inactive)

Game Master Andrew Harasty

Yuta glances around uneasily as the lights flicker and the energy in his own weapon fluctuates in unison. He does not appreciate the sensation of something other than himself interfering with his technology.

He stares grimly at the their opponent as the thing stays upright, withstanding all of their combined attacks while tearing into Darilian. I wish there were more I could do, but for now, stick with what works... He can sense his natural magical energies running low, but he squeezes a little more juice out of the rippling aura of reality that surrounds them.

Magic missle: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1, 4) + 3 = 9

"We're getting some good hits on her! Great job, Darillian!"

It looks like that streak of bad luck you were having during the space combat is officially over.

Emboldened by Moxie's encouragement, both Rez and and Mavrik land their shots. Though only only acid part of the shot is hurting it, Mavrik still causes it much pain.

Darilian, after the ghost's onslaught returns the attack with a vengeces and finally puts to rest the spirit of Yotto.

Yuta, you still have your last 1st level spell slot

With a scream and then a sudden spike in the lighting, the driftdead fades back to the shadows. The captain’s armor is a set of battle harness, currently bereft of power and severely damaged The armor does contain a purple force field armor upgrade. The external battery pack looks to still have enough power to be used to open the bridge door.

That was rough. Nice teamwork, everyone. Does anyone mind if I take a breather?

Assuming no objection, Tamerriv rests 10 minutes to recuperate stamina.

SP 9/9 HP 9/13 RP 2/3

Once rested, she searches the area for anything interesting.

Perception, Take 20: 20 + 2 = 22 Darkvision+Blindsense

Assuming nothing interesting is found or tries to kill her, she is ready to move on to the bridge with all this done.

Taking time to survey the rest of the captain's quarters Tamerriv finds a hidden storage chamber along the sides of the captain’s bed. The container has a several of the captain’s personal effects, along with a credstick containing 500 credits.

Gah!" Darilian puts his back to the wall and slides down to a sitting position, gripping his sides and panting heavily. The flickering glow of his weapon fades and it returns to its mote form, floating near his head. "What...the...hell! That hurt! I hope that's the last undead thing we find on board this ship."

7/7 stam, 2/12 hp, 3/3 resolve

"Darilian...Tammeriv, over here." Mavrik says quietly while the others look over the area.

I will take 20 (27) on Treat Serious Wounds (DC 25) while they recuperate stamina and explore to heal Darilian and Tammeriv, if possible. Only +1 HP but it is something.

After he is done he asks the group a question while looking at the battle armor.

"That should help with the wounds a little. It isn't like I could do with a proper lab...sorry. So...This ship probably isn't going to be recovered. No reason we don't load up what we can before leaving."

Going back, you should have found two serums of healing mk 1 in the mess area.

"Rez, give me my gun back, please." Moxie holds out her hand expectantly. As she stands there she turns and looks down at Darilian.

"Darilian, pull yourself together. I can tell that thing hurt you, but whining about it is ruining my image of you as a stone cold ghost killer. We need you to be that man in case Yotto wasn't the only dangerous thing aboard this ship."

Moxie looks down at the destroyed power armor that once held Yotto with apprehension and whispers. "Hopefully there's nothing more dangerous than that thing aboard this ship."

I think Darilian and I are the only ones with HP loss, so we'll take the serums with everyone's approval. Darilian is more injured than I, so he goes first.

Healing Serum for Darilian: 1d8 ⇒ 5

That gets him up to 7/12 HP, still below me, so he gets the second one too.

Healing Serum for Darilian: 1d8 ⇒ 3

That puts us about equal, hit point wise. Sound good?

I didn't realize we had healing serums. I absolutely encourage you guys to drink them. You guys took some big hits.

"Darilian, pull yourself together. I can tell that thing hurt you, but whining about it is ruining my image of you as a stone cold ghost killer. We need you to be that man in case Yotto wasn't the only dangerous thing aboard this ship."

XD

Darilian stands, embarrassed to have to be coached by a former teen idol out of rehab. Still, he's forming newfound respect for the star of Ski Party. "Yea... Yea. I'm good to go." He takes the serums with thanks and downs both. "Let's finish this mission and get the hell off of this wreck."

HP: 10/12

As the crew finds a moment of relief after downing the driftdead, Rez looks over Moxie's arc pistol one more time, before deactivating the discharger and setting it back on "STUN".

"I gotta say, I'm used to slug-chuckers myself, but man, she's a beaut! I might have to pick up one myself next time I'm portside somewhere." He flips the pistol and hands it back to Moxie towards her handle first. "You're a lifesaver. Literally."

"You probably did more with it then I could have anyways. I'm only an an okay shot. You were a dead on shot with it. You'll have to give me some pointers later."

Moxie moves up closely behind Darilian and whispers something.

Moxie tries to stretch her thoughts out towards Tamerriv, hoping to get the Shirren warriors attention.

Moxie also approaches Yuta-33 while Mavrik is fixing up the fighters.

"Hey, you guys, remember to thank Mavrik for actually remembering to bring a dang med kit and being smart enough to actually know how to use it!"

Darilian smiles. "Ya know, despite the darkness of this situation., and of the vacuum of space itself, I have to say, I think we make a good team."

Darilian re-ignites his solar blade, prepared to meet the next challenge.

The party recovers and prepares for investigating the bridge. On your way back towards the bridge, Mavrik realizes the mass of flesh in the corner begins to quiver and then explode. He gives you enough warning for everyone to avoid the brunt of the blast. The whole area is covered in what appears to be some type of vicious burrowing larvae. But aside from being covered in a few of the worms, you are all able scrape them off before they burrow in to your suits.

Yuta is quite pleased with the outcome of the combat, and he presents a small smile to crew. "I feel relief that no one was permanently injured. I can study organic life but there is not much I am capable of doing to help restore it." He nods to Mavrik in recognition of his assistance, and to the others for putting their lives on the line.

He is just beginning to let his guard down, when Mavrik's shout alerts him to additional danger. He recoils in horror from the wriggling worms, slapping one off his left shoulder.

Life science: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14 (-5 DC to identify a creature)

"Xill Larvae," he recognizes them with a shudder. "Thank you yet again, Mavrik."

"Xill larvae... do they grow up to be an adult xill? What's a xill, anyway? And should we be concerned there's one on board?"
Rez's mind jumps back and forth with the possibilities of another hostile entity on board.

Yuta sums up Xills:

Xills are the scourge of the Ethereal Plane, conquering everything in their paths with only one purpose: to perpetuate their race at the expense of others. All xills are female and capable of fertilizing their own eggs, but require living hosts to incubate these eggs, which they inject into paralyzed victims by means of a grotesque ovipositor normally kept retracted behind their mandibles. Evil and alien, the plane-shifting xills possess impressive intelligence and a totalitarian, militaristic culture all their own. Though they see most other life forms as incubators, they particularly prize phase spiders for this purpose.

Also set yourselves up by the door to the bridge as you get ready

Life Science: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

"My pleasure. Last thing I want is for us to dead or covered in Xill. Speaking of which let's hope that was all of them..." he says with a grim look coming over his face when Yuta shares what they are. With this he makes sure his rifle is fully loaded with darts.

"... but require living hosts to incubate these eggs, which they inject into paralyzed victims by means of a grotesque ovipositor normally kept retracted behind their mandibles."

"Thanks for the visuals. I'm gonna take that as a "Why yes, Rez; that is a reason to be concerned.""

Moxie switches her arc pistol back to KILL and then pulls out a baton with her other hand and snaps it open with a flick of the wrist. "Everyone ready? Let's do this. One...two...

Moxie climbs onto the table and takes a kneeling position, aiming her pistol towards the door.

Solar blade drawn in one hand, pistol gripped in the other, Darilian stands between Tamerriv and Rez, preparing for the worst.

Set yourselves for the bridge, you open the door. The ship’s bridge is alight in red warning screens. The nearing ethereal storm looms beyond the forward viewing platform, while the ship’s failing power causes each station’s panels to flicker intermittently. A battered captain’s chair oversees two tiers of descending operations panels.

There is a Kasatha sitting in the Helmsman seat, but almost everyone realizes that is just a corpse and that a small four armed creature is waiting inside of it. Given what Yuta told this is a Xill and it is armed with random assortment of improvised materials and one pistol of Kasathan design. See enlarged picture on map

The Xill seems waiting from its "hiding" to pounce on the nearest source of food. It is just not hiding well.

COMBAT

Bold may act

Mavrik
Tamerriv
Moxie
Yuta-133
Rex
Xill
Darilian

Tamerriv, seeing an opportunity for a tactical advantage, moves in and leaps onto the Science station.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 Pretty sure that's a success.

She buzzes menacingly and speaks aloud.

Go back to your own dimension. This one is ours.

Dropping the Idari baton (Free action), she elects to use her pulse gauntlet and simply smash the interloper into tiny bits.

Gauntlet, Higher Ground: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 1 = 13 Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

With the knowledge fresh in his brain about what exactly this creature can do to them, Yuta does not want to waste any time. He takes a cue from Tamerriv and dashes into the room. But instead of leaping onto the computer control system, he keeps his back to the wall and fires a shot at the xill.

Laser pistol attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

I think I'm headed for Beatdown-town. Get your Healing Serums ready. :-)

In the blitz to enter the room, Rez skulks into the clearing and hopes that his presence went unnoticed by the reanimated kasatha.

Trick Atttack, DC 20+CR: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29
Attack, tactical semi-auto pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Auto-miss
Damage, piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Trick Attack damage (if applicable): 1d4 ⇒ 1

"How fortunate that hiding isn't their strong suit."

Mavrik says as the others rush the Xill and he attempts to fire off a dart.

T. Acid Dart Rifle: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 20
Damage (A/P): 1d8 ⇒ 4

Tamerriv, Rez, and Yuta all get into position but their attacks miss by varying degrees. However, Mavrick's rifle shot land true and begins to burn the creature.

Trying for a quick snack, the Xill bites Tamerriv.

Xill Bite Attack: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

With a solid crunch:

Xill Bite Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Xill Bite Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Also the venom flows in to Tamerriv (Fort Save)

Everyone is up.

Xill - 4 damage

When Moxie sees the creature bit Tammeriv, she hops off the table and hustles over to her.

"Keep fighting, girl. We're in this together."

Moxie moves into the room and uses Inspiring Boost to restore 7 Stamina points to Tammeriv. I assumed it was just double movement to get off the table.

Fortitude: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15 Oooh, I hope that's enough.

Tamerriv buzzes as the Xill's bite finds its mark, but is immediately buoyed by her captain's encouragement.

SP 9-9+7=7 HP 9-4=5 RP 3

She strikes back with desperate resolve.

Gauntlet, Higher Ground, Get 'Em, Full Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 + 1 - 4 = 9 Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Gauntlet, Higher Ground, Get 'Em, Full Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 3 + 1 + 1 - 4 = 16 Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Darilian quickly makes his way to Tamerriv, bounding over an overturned station chair and sliding into position before slicing the air.

solar blade, photon mode, get em, photon crystal: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 1 = 101d6 + 3 + 1 + 1d3 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 1 + (2) = 8

Mavrik smiles when he sees the dart actually hit home in their new enemy. He moves into a better position and fires off another shot.

T. Acid Dart Rifle: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 21
Damage (A/P): 1d8 ⇒ 7

Rez sees his first shot go wide, then double taps to compensate.

Attack, semi-auto pistol, full attack: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 - 4 = 7
Damage, piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Attack, semi-auto pistol, full attack: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 - 4 = 17
Damage, piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 5

“No, don’t!” Yuta’a cry is too late to prevent the xill from chomping into Tamerriv. Not that it would listen to me anyway, be logical, he chastises himself.

At Moxie’s encouragement, Yuta raises his hand once more to summon the magical attack that worked so well just ten minutes before. He tries to speak the words of power quickly, before the interplanar being has a change to do her worst against his allies.

Magic missile, full attack: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (2, 1, 3) + 3 = 9

Tamerriv is able to push pass the paralyzing venom and continue to assail the Xill. Landing one of his attack with solid force.

Darilian moves in to position but the crafty xill ducks from his attack.

Mavrik takes aim and hits the creature again with his rifle.

Rez decides that more bullets is a better course of action and lands a hit on the second shot.

Yuta then hurts the creature more with the blast of his magic missiles.

The Xill is beaten but continues to fight as it is cornered and is in a frenzy. Not liking the taste of Shirren, it focuses its hunger on Darilian

Xill Bite Attack: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19
Xill Bite Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10 plus Fort Save

Solidly biting the tasty human.

Everyone is up again. Darilian needs to make a fort save

Xill - 32 dmanage

Moxie has a clear shot and she decides to take it, leveling her arc pistol at the Xill and shouting, "You messed with the wrong group of Starfinders!"

Moxie uses Get 'Em technically I didn't have it up last round. I had to move to get into range to give Tameriv that Inspired Boost. Hope that doesn't affect anything.

A bolt of blue lightning flashes towards the Xill

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 51d6 ⇒ 5

but it is clear that Moxie jerked the trigger, because the bolt only goes about ten feet, leaving a carbon burn on the floor of the deck.

Fort: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Darilian cries out in pain as the creatures sharp little incisors tear a sizeable gash through his sleeve and into his arm. He can tell it's a deep wound. "You're gonna pay for that!" He stabs at it again with his blade.

solar blade, photon mode, photon crystal, higher ground?: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 5 + 1 = 161d6 + 3 + 1 + 1d3 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 + (2) = 7

He takes a guarded step east, trying to step into flanking position.

0/7 Stam, 7/12 HP
attunement points: 2

An image suddenly flashes across Yuta's vision, of tiny little xill larvae crawling out of Darilian's body. He shudders again, and then closes his eyes briefly as he touches two fingers to the tattoo on the back of his neck. He activates the secondary magical storage, saved as a backup for emergencies only, and summons one more trio of transparent projectiles to whizz between Moxie and Rez to hit the adult xill.

Activating spell cache to cast magic missile as a full action

Magic missile: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2, 2) + 3 = 8

Tamerriv tries to put the horrid creature down for good.

Gauntlet, Higher Ground, Get 'Em: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 8 Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

She slips slightly on the tilted surface, throwing off her aim.

Darilian shakes of the paralytic and is able to get into better positioning to land a blow with his solar blade. The Xill still stands but is reeling.

Yuta-113's pulls from his reserve and launches one more barrage of magic missiles. And as the final bolt strikes the Xill, it falls over and dies.

With the Xill dispatched, you can see the Storm looming closer. A silk kasatha mouth scarf rests at the feet of the ruined pilot’s body.

At this point you think you have less than 30 minutes before the Struggle’s Scholar is consumed

"I'll need to check you two over but that storm is approaching fast...what next?" Mavrik says to the others while looking at the mouth scarf. He shakes his head and stashes it in his pack.

The Xill drops, and Rez's shoulders untense themselves. "Whew. Good work, guys."

He sees the Doctor walk over to the fallen pilot's body and pick up the silk scarf. "One more keepsake for the Idari. We should double back and make sure we didn't miss anything else we can take back to their next-of-kin."

He turns around to what appears to the main helm console, and taps out a couple keypresses to see if the system is responsive.

Computers, Access Unsecured System: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

"We need to get access to the ship's log to see what happened to the Bulwark. I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to software, though. I'm better at hacking kneecaps out from under people, not hacking systems."

He then looks over at the wounded Darilian. "... ooh, that looks bad. Is it bad? How bad is it?"

Can we rig up a tractor beam to tow the Scholar to safety?

Engineering: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

If not, I agree, we need to download the ship's logs, do a quick but thorough search, and get away before that...Tamerriv gestures to the looming storm...reaches us.

It isn't too hard to locate the data store, however it is heavily encrypted. You can download the whole set of data but will need the resources of the compute power of the Starfinder Society to decode it.

Given the nature of the storm, you will most likely get sucked in as well if you attempt any tractoring.

I believe we've already thoroughly searched everywhere on the Scholar except the bridge, so...

Tamerriv quickly but efficiently searches the bridge for anything of note.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Do we need a Computers roll to download the data? If not, Tamerriv will go ahead and do that. If so, someone with better skills should try it.

Yuta helps whoever is downloading the data to make sure they get everything. "I am quite eager to learn what these records have to tell us, but I suppose it will have to wait a little while longer."

Computers, if necessary: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

He helps Tamerriv as well to search the bridge, although under this time pressure his hurried visual scan is not very thorough.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

I don't think anyone specifically said they picked up the captain's personal belongings and credits, but he will go back to get them if not.

"I think we should take some of these larvae back with us. Maybe some of our scientists at the Dataspire could learn something about them by studying them. Do we have any idea how they would have gotten on board in the first place?"

Moxie will run back to the ship to grab a cooler or a storage crate to store some of the larvae in.