[SFS 1-16] GM Cellion's Dreaming of the Future (Inactive)

Game Master Cellion

Mysticism, DC 12: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Breq shakes her head in the turret's chair, thinking. "Huh. I've heard that saying before. ‘Her humble grandchildren’." The android makes a quick search through her datapad, looking through old cases. "AH! It is a saying sometimes used by followers of Lao Suo Po. An evil goddess of assassins and thieves." She frowns. "I'm thinking this guy isn't as nice as he pretends."

She patches into the science lab directly. "Savoy, can you take out those turrets with some hacking? Or am I going to have to shoot them out?"

Can we blow up the asteroids?

Xenal signals to the crew to make ready, but first hails the ysoki to give them a chance to withdraw peacefully.

"We are here for the Silverbrew Clan. Will you allow them to reclaim their homes?"

Mr. Smiles opens his arms in a generous gesture, smiling broadly when Xenal addresses him. "Now what could you be talking about? I don't believe I'm familiar with any homes in the vicinity." He looks off camera. "Run a quick scan Shuffle, any homes around here?" and after a pause "No?" He turns back to look towards Xenal. "Well, there you have it. You must be in the wrong part of the Diaspora if you're looking to help some clan reclaim their homes."

He leans forwards, becoming ever so slightly more menacing. "I suggest you skedaddle."

You can certainly attempt to disable the turrets through some remote hacking, but doing so without distracting Mr. Smiles and his crew would likely alert them to the intrusion quite quickly. If you do decide to try to distract them and run some hacking, don't forget to give an appropriate skill check for both activities.

Map updated in handouts.

Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

"You certainly have gumption, Mr. Smiles. And I'm sure you've earned it. Come, what victories have given you this confidence? If we are forced to cross blades, better if we both can pass on the stories of the other."

Stalling for Savoy or whoever to take a crack at the turrets

"I have no idea, I'll give it a try"

Savoy's hands dance across the keyboard in front of him trying to set up a remote interface link with the turrets and looking for an override button

Computer: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

From engineering, Antares also tries to hack into the turrets and disable them so as to avoid a space battle.

Computer Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Ha! A 3 and a 4. Not meant to be, apparently... :)

"You certainly have gumption, Mr. Smiles. And I'm sure you've earned it. Come, what victories have given you this confidence? If we are forced to cross blades, better if we both can pass on the stories of the other."

Bluff (aid): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

"Indeed, perhaps you could share the story of why one adherent of the Grandmother Rat, such as yourself, has chosen to band with others, when you know that you can only truly rely on yourself."

Yet, even as the old buck speaks, the ysoki is overwhelmed by the feeling of loss of his own students--those who had chosen to band with him. Accordingly, the Starfinder cannot hide his disdain for the teachings of the "Grandmother" and those who would willingly betray others.

I'll provide a proper post later today, but as a heads up, for each hacking attempt you make, you'll need one "distraction" attempt to cover it. So we still need a second distraction to cover Antares' hacking.

I'll start prepping Xenal's answering boasts then :)

Mr. Smiles sniffs loudly "Of course its battle stories and crossing blades with a vesk! They've got no time for anything peaceful. Ya'know, like some honest trade, out on the frontier." While he hasn't quite jived with your chosen topic, the banter has managed to keep his attention while the rest of your team start to work to disable the turrets.

Savoy tries first, but quickly finds himself stymied by the (embarrassingly) simple security on the remote access interface for the nearest of the two turrets. Antares-1 attempts to aid him, but similarly finds herself puzzled. Perhaps its the unconventionally scrappy interface, or the haphazard way the security structures are organized, but neither of them get much purchase in the system. (I'm going to treat Antares' check as an aid another, which means if Xenal or someone else can keep up the distraction, you can get another chance)

Now that you have the map, please specify which turret you're attempting to disable with your attempt.

"No, no. I understand that some battles must be fought with ledgers instead of sledges. That is why I left the Veskarium. There is so much strength in all the peoples of the Pact. Peace is one of those strengths."

Diplomacy (Expertise): 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 7 + (5) = 18

Let's try for the closest turret

"Antares, you seem to know a bit more about this then I do. How about I try to run support interference on the communication upload and you go for the main port insertion?"

I have no idea if any of that would do anything for hacking, but it sounds computery enough to me ;)

Computers to aid Antares: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Antares nods briskly, unconcerned at her earlier failure. The android tries to find a backdoor program or the like that will let her access the closest turret, noting that Savoy is trying to run some sort of program that will hopefully mask her attempt, though unfortunately it appears to affect her own efforts.

Computers Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Wow. Just... wow...

Oh, just noticed I never answered Breq's question at the top of the page: Breq notes that the asteroids dotting the area don't look particularly volatile. It'll take more than some brief weapons fire to destroy them. On the other hand, the hastily constructed anchoring tower for each turret looks fairly fragile: any ship weapon damage to a turret might be enough to disable it!

----

Also noticed I missed Master Filament's reference to Grandmother Rat! So I'll weave that in now.
Xenal keeps up the distraction, successfully engaging Mr. Smiles and keeping his crew from noticing the continued attempts to access his turrets! Mr. Smiles grins, showing his sharp teeth "Exactly... So much strength in people of the Pact. As that fellow ysoki on your crew mentioned, the Pact allows us all to draw strength and determination from the sources that most inspire us to greatness!" He turns to 'look' past Xenal and towards Master Filament. "It's not too late for you to abandon these fellows and join our ship, the River Rat! Our little group has had plenty of success- at peaceful trade, of course- but we're always looking for other grandchildren who understand how things work..."

Throughout this discussion, Antares and Savoy find themselves inadvertantly sabotaging each others' efforts...

That luck has got to let up! At least Xenal's attempts have held up for now.

Sensing an opportunity to stall, Master Filament responds affirmatively.

"Why have just one ship in your fleet when you could have two?"
The ysoki looks over at Xenal and slowly nods, hoping his crewmate will assist him in what he is about to do.

Suddenly, Master Filament reaches into his pocket and flings a star knife in Xenal's direction.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (20) + 0 = 20

Breq pipes into the feed, a green screen appearing behind her. I'd hate to show that I'm in the turret. Whoops. The android stares down the ysoki, trying to keep him calm. "Friend, I am a Pact Worlds lawyer. Send us 1 credit, and I will be your lawyer. We will be able to protect you from any legal... mishaps which may occur from your...peaceful trades."

Meanwhile, she is typing codes into the computer, trying to comment Antares and Savoy's code.

Computers, Aid: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Since those posts were within a minute of each other I'm assuming they weren't made with mutual knowledge. Are we okay starting with Breq's lawyerly talk, and then if we still haven't hacked anything switch over to Filament's mutiny?

I am fine with withdrawing the mutiny.... for now.

Ah, I didn't make my ninja scan! Whoops. That plan sounds good.

The android technomancer continues to work on the hack, blessedly able to ignore her failure thus far as the concept of frustration is not something she is terribly familiar with.

Computers Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Though there's a first time for everything...

*sigh*

I've been given a heads up that we're on a bit of a clock here (its a Gameday after all), so I'll be making an effort to speed things up a bit. Hope people are good for that :>

Breq takes over distraction duty with an eloquent offer of legal aid that piques the interest of Mr. Smiles. "One credit you say? That seems awfully cheap for legal aid. And if there's one thing I know in my line of work, its the prices of things! Now, I don't know what kinda 'package deal' you're going to push, but I can tell you I'm not interested! Besides, everything here is 100% above board." He brushes his whiskers smugly.

Antares, with Breq's help, finally manages to hack her way into the turret's security. Once in, the interface is almost too simple. She disables the turret with a single keystroke.

But when Master Filament starts offering a potential mutiny, Mr. Smiles narrows his eyes at your group. "Now, I've been a very fine and reasonable ysoki here, and even if you lot didn't shove off right away I thought a bit of friendly fun would be alright. But its high time you left, even if we've got to do a bit of encouragement to make sure it happens." He turns to his crew and shouts "Light 'em up!" as the holo feed cuts off.

You see the smuggler's ship, the River Rat begin to maneuver, and their turret swivels in your direction!

So one turret successfully disabled, one still up. I'll start the space combat in a separate post.

Round 1 Initiative
Weoren's Piloting : 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 1 = 20
River Rat's Piloting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

The River Rat gains the initiative, so you guys will be moving first. Please indicate your ship's path by copying and placing the green arrows. As mentioned in my earlier spoiler, you can all make your startship role actions at once (Science Officer, Engineer, Captain, Gunner all simultaneously) and I'll resolve in the order that makes the most sense. If after moving the River Rat a particular weapon is invalid, I'll switch your damage roll out for whichever weapon you could have used to aim at the target.

If you need a refresher on starship combat, here's a handy resource. Also check out the FAQ'd Starship DCs here!

Just for your awareness: I will be attempting to run 24 hour rounds for Starship Combat with a fairly hard cutoff to keep us moving at a good clip. If you haven't posted during a round and haven't given a heads up here or in discussion that you need to be botted, I'll likely skip your action.

Gunnery (light laser canon): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Damage (light laser canon): 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

Trained for hand-to-hand combat rather than ship-to-ship, Master Filament nevertheless attempts to get a bead on the River Rat.

Antares notes that the ysoki ship has engaged in hostilities and taps into the power core. She makes a general announcement to the rest of the crew over the comm. "Diverting auxiliary power. Request acknowledgement, standing by."

Engineering Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 vs DC 13 = Success!

Sheesh, I guess my rolls are getting a little better? In increments of roughly 1? Think I've got the DC figured out correctly, and presuming that roll is indeed a success, I'll let the rest of the crew decide how they want that - though first round I'm thinking it's better used by the pilot or the science officer. If you send it to the engines, your starship’s speed increases by 2 this round. If you send it to the science equipment, all science officers receive a +2 bonus to their crew actions this round. Figure the first one to request the bonus will get it. If nobody claims it aloud, give it to the ship's speed.

I assume it's ok to try to disable the other turret during combat?

computers check: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 = 26

Savoy floods the communication lines towards the turret with random noise causing it to be unable to receive any commands

Also..I don't think we've decided where the floating bonuses from the ship are going did we? (I know I forgot to bonus the ship's computers provide until now) If we are in the tier 1 pegasus our pilot get's a +1, computers get a +2 and there are two more +1's ..I suggest both gunners take the floating +1's.

If turret hacking is out I'll just do a scan of the enemy ship

I was thinking that +2 from Computers is the two floating +1s?

I have issues moving the figures on my phone so it will be a couple hours before I can get to a computer and move but I should be good the next 4 days moving quickly. I will be moving and evading

"Taking evasive action."

piloting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 should be good enough to evade. Will post a quick comment when I've moved the ship.

I was thinking that +2 from Computers is the two floating +1s?

STARFINDER SOCIETY PEGASUS TIER 2

Xenal keeps the channel open, "Ha! Not so easy when you can't catch your victims unaware!"

Taunt: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 Unless their ship is Tier 6+, they take a -2 to their gunnery actions for the next Rounds: 1d4 ⇒ 3 (-4 if they use a push action)

I'm on board with Savoy's computer plans

moved.

Breq turns in her chair, all business as the coil gun moves with her. "Light 'em up, indeed. Firing now, captain, with a little help from the computer's target processor. "

Turret: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 = 23
Damage: 4d4 ⇒ (3, 1, 3, 1) = 8

I think I need to add a -2 range modifier, depends on where the pirates move. Should hit either way.

Alright, here we go!
Round 1 Results (spoilered for readability):

Current Loreseeker Status:
HP: 55/55
Shields (F/P/S/A): 10/10/10/10

Current River Rat Status:
Shield Damage (F/P/S/A): -5/0/0/0
HP Damage: -3

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Round 2 Initiative:
Weoren's Piloting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
River Rat's Piloting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Weoren proves more canny this time around, so the River Rat moves first. Map updated. I've left its most recent move as the red path.

Gunnery (light laser canon): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Damage (light laser canon): 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

Master Filament again attempts to score a hit on the ysoki's ship.

"Quickly Breq, while Weoren has them outmaneuvered!"

Encourage: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 7 + (4) = 21

"Captain, that seemed like a powerful blast - and it missed us by only 26.5 meters. Therefore, I am re-balancing shields to better protect the hull." Unless her advice is countermanded, Antares adjusts the shields so that the quadrant of the ship facing the enemy vessel is better protected.

Computers Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 vs DC 13 = Success!

Since we haven't moved yet and I'm not entirely certain which quadrant (or two quadrants) is at risk, I'm going to just say that I'll balance shields so that the quadrant(s) facing the enemy is at 15, and make the one(s) opposite at 5.

Breq swings in the turret again, keeping track of the enemy starship as our own ship moves. "Computer, keep a lock on them!"

Coilgun: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 1 + 2 = 17
Damage: 4d4 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 2) = 12

Antares, are you allowed to "balance" a shield to higher than the starting value?

Weoren moves and takes evasive action.

Evade: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 1 = 23 Using the +1 Piloting from the Ship

Weoren successfully takes evasive action, "Lets keep on their tail."

Cellion: I made some tokens for the ships in Roll20 token maker that I've used when I've run this, that have the border already attached, if you want to use those instead of what you have, they are to the left of the map, if you want to stick with yours, that's cool too.

Savoy does a sensor sweep of the enemy vessel to see what we are dealing with

Computers: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 2 = 25

"Scanning the enemy, let's try to find out if they have a weak spot we can exploit"

Thanks Weoren! I like using tokens like the ones I've set up because they have an extra protrusion in their facing direction (making it more clear which direction they're pointing). I've had people confused with which direction their ship is facing before.

Just noticed that I missed Savoy's post for last round:
Savoy ends up performing far better under the pressure of combat, swiftly disabling the second turret with a hack of its comm lines!

I think I may have faced it the wrong way then with the protrusion, I want to be facing directly toward the enemy ship, I moved it around, it looks the front is not facing the direction of the protrusion but the protrusion is facing directly toward the enemy ship.

Nice movement to flank!
Round 2 Results (spoilered for readability):

Current Loreseeker Status:
HP: 55/55
Shields (F/P/S/A): 0/10/10/5

Current River Rat Status:
Shields (F/P/S/A): 0/5/5/0
HP: 38/55

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Round 3 Initiative:
Weoren's Piloting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
River Rat's Piloting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Weoren proves more canny once again, so the River Rat moves first. Map updated. I've left its most recent move as the red path.

Gunnery (light laser cannon): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Damage (light laser cannon): 2d4 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8

Noting his prior success, Master Filament contemplates aloud,"Solarians master the fundamental energies of stars, shaping their essence in combat. Among those fundamental energies is light. And what is a laser beam, but not a form of light?"

Closing his eyes and concentrating on the photons of emitted from the weapon, he makes an effort to increase their destructive power. However, doing so comes at the cost of accuracy.

Breq turns to Filament with a confused look. "Unless you have rather marvelous modifications, I believe your accuracy will improve if you open your eyes." That being said, the android focuses on her own task, searching for another weak point in the opposing ship. If only I could find the power core. That would shut them down.

Coilgun: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 5 + 1 = 16
Damage: 4d4 ⇒ (4, 4, 3, 4) = 15

"Their shields are down; Keep hammering them with that coilgun!"

Encourage: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 7 + (3) = 11

Weoren moves the ship around and evades again.

Evade: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26 successfully.

"I spot no obvious weaknesses. But it seems their only weapon is their turret..so if we knock that out we should be fine, let's see if I can make that happen"

Computer scan to target system; weapons: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 = 26

Gah, bad me. Posting with the wrong alias. The Ewok post above is my own.

The ship is rocked as the enemy vessel pounds their own with a particularly powerful laser blast! Fortunately, the shields hold just enough to protect the hull, and then wink out entirely.

Antares gets to work, diverting energy from the power core to the shields. "Captain, I advise we keep the enemy vessel to the port or starboard side. Our guns on those angles are just as efficient as our forward guns, but I can divert extra power to our flanks, which are currently better protected from their laser cannon."

Computers Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 vs 13 = Success! 7 Shield Points to distribute!

See Discussion tab with regard to shield balancing. Weoren, can you angle our ship so our starboard side is facing the enemy? I plan to array our shields as follows:

Front: 5
Starboard: 12
Port: 10
Rear: 5

Total Shield Points: 32

That way if they hit, we can take some extra damage before losing HP

Pretty great gunnery luck so far.
Round 3 Results (spoilered for readability):

Current Loreseeker Status:
HP: 50/55
Shields (F/P/S/A): 0/12/10/5

Current River Rat Status:
Shields (F/P/S/A): 3/5/5/0
HP: 25/55
Glitching -> Power Core, Engines.

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Round 4 Initiative:
Weoren's Piloting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
River Rat's Piloting: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 7 - 2 = 12

And once again the River Rat moves first.

Breq lets out a whoop of excitement as the enemy Power Core gets hit. She coms into the science lab to put in a request. "Antares, are you able to give me a target on that Power Core again? If I can hit it a second time, we might be able to disable their ship."

Coilgun: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 = 23
Damage: 4d4 ⇒ (4, 4, 3, 1) = 12