[SFS] 1-12: Ashes of Discovery - Elinnea (Inactive)

Game Master Elinnea

@Balthazar: To taunt you need to decide whether it affects helm, engineering, or gunnery; or at least the living Besmaran whelp versions of those things

Whoops thought I forgot to mention gunnery on my post sorry about that.

"Zac I agree out ranging this thing is in the best interest of the crew and that coil gun could do some damage enough to make it run for the stars." Balthazar begins to remove his splendorific jacket tossing it to the corner and calls out to the elvish science officer "Bat Elf you have the bridge I will grab a gun and help fight off this beast."
Preparing to take an open gun for round 2

"So, keep our distance but stay within coil gun range. Got it!" yells Ratatat from the piloting console.

Will attempt to do so starting next round.

Faria points the turret coilgun at the enemy.

attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

No engineering actions in round 1, helm actions already resolved, so here's gunnery:

Sharmain and Faria both fire off powerful shots, but the Besmaran whelp is able to evade their attacks. Just as the Pegasus is soaring around behind the creature, the whelp writhes slightly and its edges become blurry against the starry backdrop. Then suddenly it appears to blink out of existence… and then reappears much closer. It gnashes its teeth in frustration to discover that it’s just out of biting range. It opens its mouth in a silent roar, prepared to surge forward once more.

Round 2
Ratatat (pilot)
Sharmain (gunner?)
Bat Elf (science?)
Balthazar (captain > gunner)
Zac (science > engineering)
Faria (gunner?)

Current Pegasus status
HP 55/55
Shields forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10

Besmaran whelp
no damage taken

Is anyone going to give a Captain bonus to the piloting initiative check? I can roll it once I know what the total bonus should be.

I was under the impression that the captain bonus cannot apply to the piloting initiative roll but can be applied to the pilot's maneuver roll? Is this incorrect?

Huh, I had read 'action' as 'check' so I thought you could, but I guess you're right.

I think Zac was planning to try to boost the speed with an engineering check? Technically that should happen before we see how the piloting rolls go, and the people currently on guns should decide where they want to be this round, so I'll put a spoiler tag.

Unless anyone wants to swap around, Faria will stay where she is.

For round two
Zac concentrates at the engineering console.
”Let’s see, auxiliary generators to full and diverting to the main impellers. Increasing coolant flow rate, that should do it.”
engineering: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
Attempting Divert to engineering to get +2 speed
Zac yells to Ratatat: ”OK Ratatat, impellers are spooling at 120 percent! Hit it!”

Unless she is directed elsewhere, Sharmain will remain at guns.

Not quite like it was in the sims Sharmain says to herself, but she is ready to rally.

"We've got this, Faria!" Sharmain nearly shouts. "No space shark is lunching on us today. We just need to find it's rhythm to take a clear shot."

Hearing Balthazar is on the way, Sharmain makes room at the console for either of the other gunners (thinking Balthazar may head to the coilgun). She wonders what tricks Ratatat will pull out of his piloting arsenal. Will they flyby in the hopes of allowing all three gunners a shot? Will it be a speed race to pull away to safety? That's out of her hands and she is glad to be able to concentrate instead on the task at hand.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think with the Pegasus only two gunners will be able to fire in a given round. Each weapon can only be fired once a round, so regardless of which arc the enemy is in, only two weapons can reach it. So one of you should probably switch to some other role.

I've moved the Besmaran whelp, so you can do your move and any remaining rolls for the round.

Round 2

Ratatat (pilot) - move and/or maneuver
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science?)
Balthazar (gunner)
Zac (engineering)
Faria (gunner?)

Seeing as both Faria and Sharmain have the weapons covered Balthazar returns to his post and attempts to encourage Faria offering up a tale of woe and torment from many decades ago of a man and a whale. "Don't let this beast rule you. You must rule over it."
Encourage Faria Gunnery check, Diplomacy & Envoy Expertise: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (14) + 7 + (4) = 25
Faria gains +2 Gunnery check

gunnery: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 2 = 9

Pthttttthhhhh

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!! Did you see that? It seems to have just...teleported?? Alright, putting distance between us and the space shark and taking us out of its forward arc... Hopefully, it doesn't have anything to hit us with at this range... but just in case, going evasive!!"

Piloting, Evasion DC13: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Bat Scans!: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

“This is batty! We need to learn what we’re dealing with!”

Bat Elf completes her Bat Scans, and then says, “This is no good. Balthazar, you should. Take the main coil gun and let Faria or Sharmain takes the Capatain Seat... I’ll try next round to target a system or divert energy to the guns so that we can make the most of the hits that we get! We cannot let the Whelp get the drop on us!”

"Aye aye captain! That sounds like a good plan. " Balthazar salutes Bat Elf in good maritime fashion.

Round 2 summary
The Besmaran whelp begins preparing for a strong attack and glides up to its prey, but Zac and Ratatat team up to boost the ship’s speed and evasively soar far out of its reach. The crew fire weapons but both shots go wide once more.

Meanwhile, Bat Elf performs another scan of the creature, revealing more information. Not only can it attack with bite and claw, but also with its tail and some kind of electrical discharges coming from its mouth. She also pays particular attention to some strange biological readings: now that you’ve all seen it happen, she realizes that the whelp somehow has the ability to pop in and out of Drift space.

Note: if you do want to target a specific system, it’s a little different because this is a living starship. On the Besmaran whelp you can target its weapons, propulsion, heart, or brain.

Round 3
Current Pegasus status
HP 55/55
Shields forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10

Besmaran whelp
no damage taken

I assume you want to keep using one of the +1 bonuses on the initiative check; let me know if that should change

The Besmaran whelp sees the tasty spaceship rapidly flying away and hungrily pursues.

Ratatat (pilot) - your turn to move
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (captain > gunner)
Zac (engineering)
Faria (gunner > captain?)

Faria steps aside from the coilgun so that Balthazar can take her seat. "You can do this, Cap'n!"

encourage Balthazar: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

"Hold on tight, gonna pull a tight turn...see if we can out maneuver this beastie!!"

Piloting, Maneuver DC 18: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

I've moved but if Zac diverts power to engines, then please move our token an additional two hexes forward from its current position.

Balthazar smiles at the encouragement Captain Faria gives. Taking the controls of the Coil guns the android puts the Besmaran Whelp in his sights and fires with a gusto shouting "It is here the story of a crew and a whale begins!" Griping the control Balthazar gentle squeezes the trigger.

Engineering for round 3
Zac mumbles to himself: "Hey, whats with the turbulence in the coolant flow?"
engineering Divert to engines DC14: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
Zac calls to the pilot: "Damn, there is something wrong with the coolant flow and the impellers are over heating! I have to back off on the impeller boost until I can clean this up!" Sorry Ratatat, hopefully you can keep us out of that thing's range until I can fix this!"

Sharmain finds herself still manning the light laser cannons. Stay focused. Stay on target. You've got this. she thinks to herself.

If Bat Elf was heading to guns instead, please disregard.

GM, can Bat Elf figure out where that Drift Hop ability is centered? I’d like to target THAT. If I cannot figure out where it’s centered, I’ll target the brain.

Bat Science (targeting systems)!: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

“So, Whelp, where is that teleportation coming from? Let’s stop it!”

Round 3 summary
Zac tries to boost the ship’s speed once more, but the engine is overheating, and he’s left to scamper around engineering trying to resolve the problem. Ratatat is still easily able to outfly the Besmaran whelp, and keeps it at long range. Bat Elf muses on the question of how the creature could be hopping through the Drift, but isn’t able to come up with an answer. Perhaps if the Besmaran whelp could be captured alive, a team of xenobiologists might be able to figure it out over an extended period of study. In the meantime, Bat Elf does some quick calculations to target their weapons on the head of the beast.

Sharmain’s laser blasts harmlessly out into space. (Note, the light laser cannon is only short range, so its range is 5 hexes and I’m giving you a -2 to attack for every increment beyond that. The coilgun is long range, so no problems there.)

Balthazar takes control of the coilgun and sends a projectile blasting powerfully through space to collide with its side. The hit was successful! (Unfortunately it’s not yet enough for a critical threshold, so no effect from the targeting.) The Besmaran whelp jerks in pain and then does its vanish-and-reappear trick to shimmer into space slightly closer to the Pegasus.

Round 4
Pegasus
HP 55/55
Shields forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10

Besmaran whelp
11 damage taken

Ratatat (pilot) - your turn to move
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (gunner)
Zac (engineering)
Faria (captain)

For round 4
Zac concentrates at the engineering console "Hmm, it looks like coolant pump 14C-3 is pumping out of phase, that could explain it.
engineering divert to engines DC14: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
That did it!
Zac calls to Ratatat "Got it Ratatat, impellers spooling back up to 120 percent!"

"Great job, Balthazar! Do that again!"

dipl to encourage: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

ooooh, I wish I had been on guns for that one!

Shifting the map over as we're flying off the edge...

"WHOA!! It came outta nowhere!! Get that light laser cannon ready...we're doing a flyby!!!" Ratatat gulps, visibly nervous...

Piloting, Flyby Stunt DC18: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

"WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!"

So if I understand this correctly, for this round, the light laser canon can fire with no range penalty while the coilgun fires as normal and we don't suffer an AOO...

Actually, am I understanding correctly that if we had 3 gunners, we could technically fire 2 light laser cannons AND the coil gun due to the flyby?

Hm, that's an interesting proposition. Flyby tells you to choose an arc, so only one laser cannon could make use of the close-range attack. But if you choose an away-facing arc, someone could fire a different laser cannon in the gunnery phase as well, with its regular range penalty applied. Or a single person could Fire at Will to attack with both weapons at a -4. This is how I read it, at least.

"Wow, now that's what I call flying Ratatat! Lets see if that over grown space fish can match that!"

"Ahahaha." a maniacal look crosses Balthazar's face and then Sharmain mentions capturing the beast alive. Realization sets in Its one thing to take down this beast of a whale, but just think the haul I might bring in catching this thing alive.

"Sharmain you have a good point there. Anyone have an idea how we might take'm alive? I'm thinking keep firing until it gives up."

"Laser Cannon ready...and..."

"Much better! Thanks for that clean target Ratatat. Now I just need a little more oomph from this gun"

Round 4
Botting Bat Elf with the same action as last round
Bat Science (targeting systems): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

The Besmaran whelp puts all its energy towards moving forward as fast as it can, and glides directly in front of the ship to cut off its escape. Those looking at the viewscreen can see its enormous baleful eye staring at them, but in the nick of time Zac pumps the engine up to its maximum capacity and Ratatat punches it to perform a daring maneuver. The ship dives directly under the great beast’s belly, almost skimming its surface with the outer hull. As they pass under, Sharmain sees a perfect moment and takes a shot at the exposed skin. Balthazar follows suit, and fires another powerful shot with the coilgun as they soar away. Looking back, the crew can see some kind of ichor oozing from the wounds they have left.

Thanks to the programming from Bat Elf, the coilgun shot penetrates the whelp’s head, where she guesses its brain should be. Critical effect on the brain: in the next round it has a 25% chance to fail any action it attempts.

You actually passed a second crit threshold, so for the second random effect:
Critical effect: 1d100 ⇒ 72
The laser beam plows into the whelp's chest, blasting through to injure its heart directly. The heart is now considered "glitching".

The Besmaran whelp appears to be confused and in pain, but incredibly angry. It writhes some more, but has enough presence of mind to drift hop a bit closer once more.

Round 5
Pegasus
HP 55/55
Shields forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10

Besmaran whelp
24 damage taken

The Besmaran whelp wriggles its tail as if it is going to fly towards the Pegasus again, but in its confusion it appears to be frozen in place. Even Fly is an action, and it just failed. Brain damage will do that to you...

Ratatat (pilot) - your turn to move
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (gunner)
Zac (engineering)
Faria (captain)

"Nice shooting! It can barely move! I'll keep our distance but not move much further away to avoid making the light cannon shot completely impossible. I think we're out of range of all its weapons but let's attempt some simple evasive moves..."

Moved forward just 1 hex to put us at 10 hexes away from the whelp in it's starboard arc

Piloting, Evasion DC13: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

"Get it, Balthazar!"

dipl. to aid: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Round five
Hmm..., the beast is stalled, we don't need the speed boost, lets try diverting power to weapons. Spool down the impellers back to 100 percent ... done. Now reroute auxiliary power to the weapon power banks. Goose up the limiters just past the read line ...careful, keep it balanced, don't overload the connectors...
Engineering Divert to weapons DC14: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
Looks like it's working!
Zac shouts: "OK, I've juiced the weapons, gunners hit it hard!"

Divert to weapons: treat each damage die that rolls a 1 this round as having rolled a 2 instead.

With her recent success and the elevation in the mood of her team, Sharmain allows hope to creep in. When she hears Zac shout that the weapons have some extra juice, she pulls her focus back to the task at hand...

gunnery role: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
damage from light laser cannon: 2d4 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5

She can feel the extra power and waits to see if she managed to hit the great beast at this range.

It will be a bit longer before I can do the next update; possibly tomorrow morning.

Round 5

Ratatat (pilot)
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (gunner)
Zac (engineering)
Faria (captain)

Balthazar aims at the beast wondering how he might disable it without taking its life. He pulls the trigger while closing his eyes reciting a silent prayer to Desna. Lady luck please find it in your heart to give this beast a lucky chance at life.

Round 5
Botting Bat Elf, same action again
Bat Science (targeting systems): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

While the Besmaran whelp is floundering in confusion, Ratatat keeps the Pegasus at a distance, dancing nimbly through space. Zac turbo-charges the weapons and Bat Elf zeroes in on the brain once more, but unfortunately Balthazar's shot goes wide into the void of space. Sharmain's laser beam comes closer, but a combination of the distance and the Besmaran whelp's natural agility mean that this shot doesn't land either.

Action fail 1-25: 1d100 ⇒ 85
The whelp does manage to drift hop a little closer once more, although it's looking a little less aggressive than when the crew first caught sight of it.

Round 6

The whelp shakes off the ringing blow to its head from before, and finally remembers how to move around properly.

Ratatat (pilot) - your turn to move first
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (gunner)
Zac (engineering)
Faria (captain)

"Gonna attempt to put more distance between us and the whelp!!" yells Ratatat as he guns the engines at full power!

Piloting, Evade DC13: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

In Ratatat's desire for speed, he fails to properly execute any evasive moves!

I've shifted the map again as we're about to fly off the edge

Sharmain is beginning to feel a little more in tune with the ship but wonders if the same can be said of all the crew.

It looks to me like we have not been making the best use of all the ship bonuses. We should be using the +2 computer bonus on all the science checks (not that it looks like Bat Elf has needed them) and we have two floating +1 bonuses that I think we may not have used last round at least. I see a +1 on the piloting initiative check, does this also apply to the piloting maneuver check for evade etc?

"We've done some damage but we're not out of danger yet. Remember to make the best use of our ships abilities, they're part of this team too" Sharmain encourages everyone, including herself.

Faria continues to encourage Balthazar.
dipl: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Round 6

Engineering, Divert power to weapons DC14: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

Damn, the connectors are overloading! I better reset the limiters until I get things re-balanced.
Zac calls to the gunners: Sorry, weapons are back to normal for now.

Unless I'm missing something, the divert action for our ship is actually DC13. It is: 10 + (1.5 * ship level). It used to be 10 + (2 * ship level) but the FAQ changed the DCs. See the link below.

Starship Action DCs

So I believe Zac was actually successful with his divert power to weapons attempt. Sorry, I didn't notice the DCs you were previously using until this one, Zac.

Bat Science (targeting systems): 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 7 + 2 = 21

Once again, Bat Elf targets the creature’s brain, hoping to slow it down, or at least encourage it to run away. “You are truly a wonder, whelp — but I will not you endanger my mission, my crew or MY BATMOBILE!”

Sighting in the Whelp again Balthazar rotates the Coil gun slightly to the left and opens fire on the living starship.

Listening to her own advice, Sharmain tries to focus not only on her own actions and intent but on her interaction with the ship itself.
Using one of the floating +1 from the ship

Sigh. I think that is wasted given our relative positions. :-(

Various questions:

Sharmain is quite right that the +2 Computers bonus should apply to every Science roll. However the +1 floating bonus is only per check, so you'd have to put both of them on piloting if you want it to add to both piloting checks. It's easy to lose track of those little bonuses so it's a good idea to add it on if you're the last to go and nobody else has used it yet.

Ratatat is also quite right that the Engineering DC to divert power should be 13. It hasn't been significant until now, since somebody has been rolling 20's and 1's, hehe.

Round 6
Zac pours the energy into the weapons systems again, and Bat Elf focuses the gunners' attention on the head. Ratatat also continues course away from the Besmaran whelp, but the creature must have been boosting its speed because it follows closely behind to close the gap between them. It flickers once more, and appears with a hop almost right off the ship's tail.

The gunners open fire, but Balthazar must be thrown off by the drift hop, because the coilgun projectile completely misses the Besmaran whelp. However, Sharmain's weapon lands a solid hit, square in its face. Not enough for a crit threshold though.

The Besmaran whelp is now showing definite signs of wear, with wounds in its chest and head that are still bleeding - if it is in fact blood. The creature is still pursuing, but a little more cautiously now, as if it is having second thoughts about picking this particular ship as its prey.

Round 7
Pegasus
HP 55/55
Shields forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10

Besmaran whelp
29 damage taken

Ratatat (pilot) - your turn to move
Sharmain (gunner)
Bat Elf (science)
Balthazar (gunner)
Zac (engineering)
Faria (captain)

"Let is be ye old beastie." Balthazar takes fire going to end this fight.

"It's gaining on us!"

Ratatat continues trying to put distance between us and the whelp!

Piloting, Evade DC13: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16