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

Game Master Elinnea

Zac charges heroically up the laser trap, and quickly snips a wire at the back to disable the motion sensors that allow it to detect when there are people in the room.

The annoying alarm also shuts off, but at that moment there is a static crackling sound as an intercom pops to life. A voice reverberates from the walls, speaking in Common. "So, it seems I have some unwelcome guests intruding upon my solitude. Leave now, or you will regret ever venturing farther. This is my first and final warning, trespassers."

As soon as the voice cuts off, the door at the far end of the hallway slides open. The small room on the other side contains an L-shaped plastic table and accompanying chairs, all haphazardly shoved against the far wall.

More notably, just on the other side of the door there are two creatures, each about one foot tall and floating a foot off the ground. They look like intricate glowing metallic artifacts, but are currently veering toward you in a threatening manner. (Image on the slide)

We're now in combat! Remember that if you're using technology you have to roll a 1d6 and on a 1 it doesn't work for a round.

Round 1, bold is up
Ratatat
Glowing creatures
Sharmain
Zac
Balthazar
Faria
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)

GM, just to double check, Faria's sword (which is her solarion weapon) will work properly, right? It's magic as opposed to technology)

Correct, the solar weapon doesn't count as technological.

Apologies, I forget... what was the technology malfunction mechanic?

Ratatat takes a step back, raises his laser rifle and readies an attack if one of the creatures attacks one of us.

Ratatat yells out, "Hey, I showed you the symbols in that camera of yours! We're not trespassing! We're Starfinders and we're here at the behest of the Knights of Golarion! Please cease hostilities and let's talk!"

The atmosphere on the planet affects technological items, so you have to roll a 1d6 whenever you use a tech-y object, and if the roll is a 1 then it doesn't work for the rest of that round. I'll roll this one for you.

The first floaty object (yellow one) swivels in place, appearing to look among the targets that are right in front of it. Then the glow intensifies at its core and releases in a bright beam shooting at Ratatat.

Attack Ratatat EAC: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Ratatat's readied action goes off, successfully splitting the enemy initiative

Ratatat's gun jams?: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Ratatat's gun works this time, but the shot goes wide. The other one (red) then drifts forward through the open door and follows suit, also aiming at the ysoki. It doesn't seem as though either of them took any heed of Ratatat's words.

Attack Ratatat EAC: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

The light ray is absorbed harmlessly into the hallway material.

Round 1, bold is up
Red glowing creature
Ratatat (7/9 SP)
Yellow glowing creature
Sharmain
Zac
Balthazar
Faria
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)

Mysticism check to identify creatures: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Sharmain barely has time to absorb Zac's success let alone the annoying and petty announcement before she is whirling to assess the new threat.

"These look like archons summoned from heaven, so probably part of the Knights' defences. I don't know that we can reason with them."

Round 1
As before, Sharmain automatically reaches with her mind for something to fling...

If there is appropriate debris or similar within range then responding to red
Telekinetic projectile attack to KAC: 1d20 ⇒ 8
potential bludgeoning damage from telekinetic projectile: 1d6 ⇒ 5

If there is nothing appropriate to use then alternative actions is

Zac moves to the door and peeks down the corridor. He keeps his empty hands in view.
"Archons? Maybe they are shooting because we are pointing weapons at them? They are supposed to be the good guys, they would launch lethal attacks without cause? Would they?"

Sigh... The above should read "they wouldn't launch..."

Mysticism: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Ooh, good information!

“Holy angels! You’re right, those are archons — and I don’t think they’ll come quietly either.” Bat Elf assesses the archon and lines up for a trick attack.

Sense Motive (Trick): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

♫ Na nana na nana Bat Elf! ♫
Bat Bang vs Flatfooted! (Semi-automatic pistol): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Bat Bullet! (Kinetic piercing damage): 1d6 ⇒ 2
Trick Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Does the tech work?: 1d6 ⇒ 3 Yes!

Alfred sighs and holds up a large sign that says, BANG!

Faria moves forward to one of the attackers and swings her scimitar of light.

attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

However, she is so upset at being attacked by a creature of good that she can't hit it.

@Sharmain: This place is in disrepair, so you can assume you'll be able to find some kind of debris to toss as long as you're in the outpost.

@Bat Elf: Do you want to know anything else in particular about the archons? Also you didn't specify a target so I'll assume you attacked the closer one.

Sharmain magically hurls a chunk of brittle plastic at one of the archons, but it bounces harmlessly off the metallic prongs. Bat Elf approaches and angles a shot carefully to mangle the insides of an archon. It lurches but regains its balance as it still hovers in mid-air. Faria closes to melee range but the archon, damaged as it is, dances out of the way of her glowing scimitar.

Round 1, bold is up
Red archon (-4)
Ratatat (7/9 SP)
Yellow archon
Sharmain
Zac
Balthazar
Faria
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)

Botting Balthazar as per profile instructions

Balthazar steps up to the open doorway next to Zac and directs the others to concentrate fire on the lead archon. Get 'em: +1 bonus to attack for everybody against the red archon for one round.

Attack vs. Faria KAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Bludgeoning damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

The damaged archon slams itself into Faria, and in spite of the creature's small size its weight deals significant damage.

Round 2
Red archon (-4)
Ratatat (7/9 SP)
Yellow archon
Sharmain
Zac
Balthazar
Faria (1/9 SP)
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)

Ratatat moves across the hall to get a clear shot at red, then fires!

Laser Rifle vs EAC: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 1 = 15
Fire Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2
Malfunction on 1: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Ratatat's carefully-aimed shot strikes true, and the archon clatters to the floor, unmoving. The other archon makes no obvious reaction, but it does glide forward and try to slam itself against Ratatat's side.

Attack vs. Ratatat KAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

It doesn't come even close to making contact.

Round 2
Red archon (defeated)
Ratatat (7/9 SP) - can act for round 3 before the archon goes again
Yellow archon
Sharmain
Zac
Balthazar
Faria (1/9 SP)
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)

Faria swings her scimitar at the remaining archon. Lady of Light, forgive me, but they are attacking us.

attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

"Please stop! We'd rather not fight, we come on a peaceful mission." Sharmain pleads while reaching with her mind for more material to fling at the warring archon.

Round 2, targeting yellow
Telekinetic projectile attack to KAC: 1d20 ⇒ 10
Potential bludgeoning damage from telekinetic projectile: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Sharmain is distressed at the need to fight these creatures and wishes there was a better way to deal with the situation. On the other hand, she values the lives of her companions and will fight to defend them.

Zac grunts in exasperation: "Stupid things aren't giving us any choice!"
He aims his laser rifle at the remaining Archon and fires.
Malfunction check: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Laser Rifle Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Fire Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

Ratatat takes a guarded step back and takes another shot!

Laser Rifle vs EAC: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Fire Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Malfunction on 1: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Faria, Sharmain, and Zac's attacks all whiff one after another, but the blast from Ratatat's rifle bursts the archon apart and its cogs and prongs fall to the floor with a clang.

For a moment there is only the clattering of metallic bits coming to rest and the faint smell of singed plastic. But then the intercom pops back on. "That was just a small fraction of my forces! You lot have already gotten in my way once, haven't you done enough?" The voice shrieks, sounding slightly unbalanced. Then the quiet is restored.

Out of combat! I assume you'll search the room that just opened.

Nobody spots anything of value in this room, though you guess from what remains of the furniture that this was once a mess hall.

"Gotten in your way once before? Have we met, sir? Who are you?" shouts Ratatat.

I've moved us into formation at the next door, ready to execute our standard door procedure.

"That voice is really annoying and the person behind it sounds somewhat deranged. I am good to move on, is everyone else? Bat Elf, you were on the receiving end of a blast back there, do you need assistance or rest before we continue?"

Once everyone is ready
"I suggest we proceed with caution, it really seems unlikely we will be able to reason with whoever that is and there is no knowing what other defences they have access to."

Sharmain mentally prepares herself, ready to access her powers and spells as needed, laser pistol in hand, determined to be a useful team member and help fulfil their mission.

Faria keeps her scimitar in hand as the team moves forward, sensing more danger around.

Thank you for the Bot Elinnea. My post, which was the same thing lol, got eaten.

"Well I'll be. Seems like we got a rogue agent on our hands." Balthazar looks about the room shouting out using his Vocal implant. "If you're looking for a fight you will get one. But I be recommending you stand down now before you get hurt."

Flavor Intimidate will actually try to demoralize, maybe in song form, once face to face.

There is no answer to either the threats or the questions. It's unclear whether you were not heard or are being ignored.

The other door to the room is not locked, and beyond lies another long hallway. Opening the door at the far end, you find another thirty-foot wide round room. Supply lockers line the walls. Varied pieces of equipment are visible within some of the open lockers, while others are piled on the floor in front of hastily cleared units. There is only one other door to exit the room.

Peeking inside the lockers, you find four incendiary grenades I and a set of squad defiance series armor. They look old but still in usable condition.

Sharmain is taking extra care to examine the room, and she notices a hidden compartment behind one of the lockers. Inside the compartment are a squad machine gun and two screamer grenades I.

Poking around inside some of the lockers, Sharmain gleefully discovers a secret stash.

"Hey guys, look what I found. Someone was being extra careful to keep their gear hidden. I am not trained to use any of this. Who wants what?"

Upon Sharmain revealing the hidden squad machine gun, Ratatat's eyes go wide while a single tear rolls down his left eye and his nose twitches. "It's so beautiful...." says Ratatat as he sniffles.

Looking to his teammates, Ratatat says, "ratatatatatat???"

Actually, if anyone else is proficient with heavy weapons, feel free to grab the machine gun. Ratatat will take it if no one else does, but he'll suffer -2 for not meeting minimum strength requirements.

As for the grenades, I suggest spreading them around even if not proficient. The target AC is 5 and even if you miss, the AOE might still hit a target. Whichever grenades are left over that others do not take, Ratatat will pick up.

I forgot to mention, the equipment you find here has special adaptations for the atmosphere, so you don’t need to roll the d6 if you use any of them.

"The Lady has provided me with all the weapon I need."

“I’ll happily take a grenade.” Bat Elf notes. “Shall we continue on to the next room?”

Moving everyone in; if anyone wants to retroactively distribute grenades or weapons you can still do so.

The next door opens out into an immense circular room. It is bare except for several computer screens and databanks that line the inner walls. Chairs jut out from some of the computerized desks, and there are two doors in the far wall.

In the very center of the room stands one of the same local race that you have been dealing with. He is facing the door as you enter, and has his hands on his hips. He grinds his teeth in anger. Two more archons float a little ways off the ground on either side.

As the door opens, he bursts out, "Didn't I tell you to leave? You already set my research back decades. I was so close to making a breakthrough on that star shark, to figure out how I can be reborn. Then you had to chase it away. My work: ruined! And now, you're going to pay for that! Archons, attack them!" He points to where you stand, and the two archons dip slightly in acknowledgement.

And we're back into combat!

Round 1
Ratatat (7/9 SP)
Faria (1/9 SP)
Zac
Archons
Balthazar
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)
Exile
Sharmain

Putting my post together right now but just getting this one up first to say, I'm going to take advantage of Ratatat's initiative roll by moving first and firing off an AOE before my teammates move...

Ratatat yells, "Guys, I got this!!!"

Anyone seeing Rocket Raccoon here?

Edit: Apparently I am posting from the future.

Ratatat yells, "Guys, I got this!!!"

Ratatat moves into position and fires the machine gun in full automatic mode and while the machine gun is ratatat-ing away, Ratatat himself yells, "RATATATATATATATATAT!!!!"

This expends all of the ammo in that machine gun. And apologies for the ghetto 30' cone template...I was having trouble drawing so I had to cobble three shapes together into a single template to show that Ratatat can get all three targets in the cone.

Machine Gun vs KAC, Red Archon: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 - 2 = 9
Machine Gun vs KAC, Orange Native: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 - 2 = 22
Machine Gun vs KAC, Yellow Archon: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 5 - 2 = 4
Piercing Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 2

Once all 40 rounds of ammunition are spent, the machine gun ceases to fire. With the barrels smoking and tinged slightly red with heat and the room's walls riddled with bullet holes, Ratatat (grinning ear to ear) says, "I've always wanted to do that..."

He then drops the now useless machine gun to the ground with a loud metallic *THUNK*!

Okay, that attack was crazy ineffective since my dice rolls failed me but ever since I created this character, I've always wanted to do that.... :-)

Ratatat wrote:

Ratatat yells, "Guys, I got this!!!"

Anyone seeing Rocket Raccoon here?

Edit: Apparently I am posting from the future.

Haha! Apologies, I hit the wrong button and deleted and reposted instead of edited in order to correct some typos and fix some of my prose. Speaking of edits, I still see some errors in my post...sigh. Editing it, again!

But yah, this character certainly likes to shoot guns like Rocket Raccoon! But his personality is more professional than Rocket Raccoon. My ysoki mechanic, however, is intended to be as cheeky as Rocket Raccoon! :-)

Alfred looks at Bat Elf and hits the button marked, ‘play’.

Does the Technology go Batty?: 1d6 ⇒ 6

“Ah, battle time. I believe it’s time for Mistress Apastron’s favorite band...”

Faria steps forward and swings her scimitar of golden light at the yellow good-creature-being-made-to-serve-a-bad-creature.

attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

♫ Somewhere in the Knight’s Colony of Two Ninety-Three
There came a young man named Rocket Racoon
Rocket’s a starfinder who came from the sky
Chased a whelp and made it cry
Someone didn’t like that
Hunkered in a lab out to destroy
So when Rocket walked into town
That someone hunkered down and plotted his ruin

Soon Rocket Racoon will fly back to his moon
In the Starfinder cycle
Now will the man with a plan, book it and scram?
Let’s check his sense of survival! ♫

Source: Rocky Raccoon by the Beatles

Technically, you can only use automatic mode as a full action, which means you can't move in the same round. But I'll say you were getting into position during his monologue, because it's a pretty great scene.

As the strains of Strawberry Machine Cake fill the room, the team leaps into action. Both archons dance out of the way of Ratatat's ratatat-ing bullets, but he does manage to wing the native, not to mention putting holes in most of the chairs and cracking one computer screen. Faria is able to overcome her moral dilemma and swings at one of the archons with a heavy blow that sends it crumbling into lifeless machine parts.

Round 1
Ratatat (7/9 SP)
Faria (1/9 SP)
Zac
Yellow archon (defeated)
Red archon
Balthazar
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)
Native (-2)
Sharmain

Oh right, full action. Thanks for letting it stand though, Ellinea! By the way, go ahead and remove the template whenever you wish, it's purpose is served.

With his ears still ringing from the noise of Ratatat's full auto barrage, Zac takes advantage of the stupendous commotion and steps into the room, aims his laser rifle at the bad guy, and fires.
Malfunction Check: 1d6 ⇒ 2
Laser Rifle: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Laser Fire Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5
"Drat! Missed."

The native watches at the wide-ranging shot go past and sneers at Zac. Meanwhile, the remaining archon drifts up to the ysoki that was the source of all those bullets and tries to ram him.

Attack vs. Ratatat's KAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

It must have been disoriented by all the machine gun fire.

Round 1
Ratatat (7/9 SP)
Faria (1/9 SP)
Zac
Red archon
Balthazar
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)
Native (-2)
Sharmain

Balthazar standing at the ready points his dueling sword at the Native in Golden rod clothes, giving a slight wink to Batelf and Alfred, and yells at the native in an attempt to Demoralize him

♫ Once more we sail with the Northerly gale towards our treasures show,
Our Starships sprung our whaling done and we ain't got far to go.
Our Ratatat's boom is carried away, what care we have for him,
A living gale is after us, thank Desna lets all Get'em. ♫
Intimidate w/Voice Amplifier to Demoralize: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 2 = 23

Standard to Demoralize and Move to use Get'em Everyone gets +1 to attack. All rolled up into a nice song ;)

More singing? Hmm, Balthazar has a nice voice. This is the most musical mission I have been on. Come to think of it, it's the only musical mission I have been on.
Zac, suddenly shakes his head and sniffs the air.
Hey, I was just dancing a couple of minutes ago. I wonder if it's something in the atmosphere?

Sharmain looks at her colleagues in amazement.

I need to make time for singing and composition lessons between assignments. Dancing would probably make me more agile and perhaps improve my reflexes. Definitely something to think on.

And then it dawns on her...I wonder if there is a secret musical theatre group within The Society?

I wonder if there is a secret musical theatre group within The Society?

You have yet to meet my halfling Mechanic. ;)

Bat Elf moves forward toward the native aggessor. “I don’t know who you are sir, but have you ever considered that you don’t have to do this? I hate to slay a dreamer, so I am giving you a chance here.”

“Know that we are attacking you only because you are attacking us! But I want you to understand... There are better ways to get to the Stars! You could choose to join us and fly to see them yourself, or take up your study of the Whelps in space, and use what you know of their life cycle to find your own way to them. This does not have to end in violence!”

She holds her shot, waiting to see if he surrenders. If he continues to attack and send his avenging archons after her teammates... then she shoots him.

Alfred lowers his BANG! sign, ready to hold it up again when Bat Elf shoots. The timing of these things was important.

Overwhelmed by the barrage of sounds, the native backs away from Balthazar's booming voice. He wavers for a moment at Bat Elf's words, but then yells back angrily, "You were the ones who invaded my home. Now it's too late!" He holds out one hand to the one who just smashed his archon in one blow. Faria feels a menacing presence invade her mind.

Damage to Faria: 2d10 ⇒ (9, 10) = 19

WOAH. You do get a DC 14 Will save for half damage.

Bat Elf responds with a rapid shot directly to the native's shoulder. He lurches backwards and glares at her defiantly.

Ratatat (7/9 SP)
Faria (0/9 SP, ?/11 HP)
Zac
Red archon
Balthazar
Native (-7, shaken)
Bat Elf (0/6 SP)
Sharmain

(get 'em is in effect for +1 to attack the native)