[SFS]VAMP BY DAY'S PBP 1-12 ASHES OF DISCOVERY (WARNING: PONIES INSIDE) (Inactive)

Game Master VampByDay

Discussion thread placeholder. Use this thread for discussing things out of game.

As I have said multiple other times, this is going to be a silly, Saturday-morning-cartoon-style game. Everything will follow the rules of Starfinder, and the scenario, but the themes and things you encounter might be less serious than you are used to. The power of magic and friendship winning against evil and all that kind of jazz. If this isn't for you, that's fine, no harm no foul, just let me know and I'll find someone else to fill your spot.

This looks like it's gonna be fun! I'm a bit sad my friend Zapp Brannigan is in another game, but oh well.

Anyway, this character's information is almost entirely up. Still mulling over the exact name.

This looks like it's gonna be fun! I'm a bit sad my friend Zapp Brannigan is in another game, but oh well.

Anyway, this character's information is almost entirely up. Still mulling over the exact name.

Sounds great.

Blasto- I’ve noticed while looking through your sheet that you don’t have a first level feat. Also the Ghost operative Has been errata’d to only give a +1 bonus, not +4. I don’t care too much personally, but wanted to make you aware for future scenarios.

Yes - I am aware; I just haven't updated him yet :-/

I was planning to switch his specialization across to Daredevil (and considering changing his background across to Xenoarchaeologist), so that I still have the same bonus on Trick Shots.

(The following should be read in a southern lawyer-style manner)

Mr. Keyrock, I do believe you will find that you are in error. A beings race points, I find, tend to be 1/2 level (minimum 1) plus key ability score modifier. And for you, that seems to be four. Now if you want to go into a game with less resolve points than you should have, I'm not going to stop you, but back in my time I found that we took every advantage we could get.

FYI, Brob leveled up, so I'll be updating him appropriately :)

FYI, Brob leveled up, so I'll be updating him appropriately :)

Great, I was getting a little worried with all the level 1s in the party.

Also, just an FYI, I totally get your Gulliver's Travels reference.

(The following should be read in a southern lawyer-style manner)

Mr. Keyrock, I do believe you will find that you are in error. A beings race points, I find, tend to be 1/2 level (minimum 1) plus key ability score modifier. And for you, that seems to be four. Now if you want to go into a game with less resolve points than you should have, I'm not going to stop you, but back in my time I found that we took every advantage we could get.

(The following should be read in southern lawyer-style manner)

Why, sir, I do declare that your mathematation may well be correct. Though in my defense, sir, had I been better suited for such arithmetatin', I would have foregone law school and, instead, pursued a profession that is both constructive and beneficial to society.

As a Yankee lawyer IRL, I hereby apologize to any southern stereotypes or fellow attorneys that I may have just offended. I will correct the math once I get some time in front of a computer, likely Monday.

FYI, Brob leveled up, so I'll be updating him appropriately :)

I noticed in your level up you lost profession (Musician). Do you not have a reason for your Icon to be famous? Not any of my business, but I noticed you put rank into computers and Engineering and such. I was going to just remind you that there is an ally boon that lets you roll computers/Engineering and (I think physical sciences) at a bonus equal to your level (higher level versions of the boon grant bigger bonuses) if you want to be able to roll those checks while still being a musician.

As a Yankee lawyer IRL

Oh great, I’m GMing for an ACTUAL rules lawyer? J/K :p. Glad to have you on board.

Thanks for pointing out the loss of profession; I'm updating to Herolab, so apparently I lost that. I'll make that change this evening. He's definitely a musical Icon (I'll probably re-use one song for the game "theme song".)

As for the Engineering / Computing, that has mostly been for giving a bonus to ship combat at a lower DC than Diplomacy. I might check out the ally though.

Oh great, I’m GMing for an ACTUAL rules lawyer? J/K :p. Glad to have you on board.

DISCLAIMER: Keyrock is a fictional character practicing law in a fictional environment. His words and actions are, likewise, fictional and should not be construed as containing any reference to an actual case, living person, or historical event. Keyrock's actions should not be considered in any manner to be an accurate representation, reflection, or simile of regular custom, manner, or practice of any attorney at law, counsel of record, or other legal professional. Likewise, Keyrock's actions should not be construed in any way as containing legal advice, appropriate professional conduct, or recommendations on how to conduct, engage, or utilize legal services.

@ GM - No boons for Keyrock save Faction and Race. New PC.

@ Players - As far as starship roles go, Keyrock is out-classed by everyone else for each role. If he were to serve as Captain--a role he would relish, though the party may regret the assignment--he has strong Bluff and Diplomacy (+8). He is not quite as skilled as versatile Captain Brobdingnagian, but also not as versatile as the "Captain" would make a far better, well anything else, than Keyrock.

Otherwise, Keyrock is next best suited as a back-up Science Officer, in the unlikely event that such is necessary (+6) or a mediocre gunner (+1). I am willing to have him wherever folks think him best (or, alternatively, think him to be the least detrimental).

As far as ship selection, the Pegasus has served this player well in the past. Keyrock has no preference and is willing to be "chauffeured" in either.

Admittedly, Joaquín isn't too good in starship combat yet either. His only useful skills are Intimidate +10 and a high BAB. Thusly, I think he'd be best (if not great) as a backup gunner with a total bonus of +2.

Yes, Solarions tend to have trouble in Starship combat :-/

Brob will always be a "captain" but can serve in pretty much any Starfighter capacity (except life science) and has at least a +5 in everything else. As a first, he's probably the best Gunner currently with a +5 bonus.

(For the side thread, my Solarian is actually an Ok captain, but he's a Lashunta built around Diplomacy.)

Mnamae-6 can competently take the science officer role (computer +10), or the engineering role (engineering +10). He can make moderately decent pilot (+7), or the gunner (+4).

I propose taking the Drake for greater firepower, since it seems we might be a bit short in the gunnery department so we need to make every shot count.

Firstly, my apologies for being AWOL the past day or so - the kids have come down sick, work was busy and sleep almost non-existent. And I think the little ones have passed their contagion on to me :/

Saeron can only really perform the role of science officer (computers +8). Others will be far better suited to Captain (Diplomacy +5) and her Gunnery is a whopping +1. Although, if others are better suited for Science Officer, she can be a backup backup gunner.

I agree with opting for the more powerful ship - it seems we may be overrepresented with skills when compared to firepower.

Will try to settle boons and catch up on posts later tonight.

So just to keep things moving, looking over what you guys have said and your character sheets, I'm going to assume you are doing the following, which seems to be the optimal way of letting everyone do something they are good at (if not the best.)

Mechanic: Mnamae-6
Science Officer: Saeron Kasari
Captain: Keyrock Marbleheart
Pilot: Blasto
Gunner 1: Captain Brobdingnagian
Gunner 2: Joaquín Joyner
Ship taken: The Drake

Is that What we are looking at?

Also, sorry you aren’t feeling well SaeronKasari

@ Saeron Kasari - Get well. As a father of three, I can sympathize.

@ Vampire GM by Day - Those assignments look fine with me.

Also, all, I’ve added the a starship FAQ sheet brought to my attention by one Watdems Faegneencuth to the campaign information. Ignore the stats for the sunrise maiden at the bottom. Your starship tier is 2, so most rolls should be dc 8, 13, or 18.

So just to keep things moving, looking over what you guys have said and your character sheets, I'm going to assume you are doing the following, which seems to be the optimal way of letting everyone do something they are good at (if not the best.)

Mechanic: Mnamae-6
Science Officer: Saeron Kasari
Captain: Keyrock Marbleheart
Pilot: Blasto
Gunner 1: Captain Brobdingnagian
Gunner 2: Joaquín Joyner
Ship taken: The Drake

Is that What we are looking at?

That looks fine to me. Anyway, an important part of starship combat is to stay nimble and change roles as needs. Most roles allow for more than one person (except for captain and pilot). For example, at the start, I may hop over to work with Saeron as science officer to scan enemy ship as well. And when the situation allows, e.g. fighting more than two ships and they are in the right sectors, I can jump over as a 3rd gunner as well.

Also, can I suggest that we set the three +1 computer bonuses right from the start so that people don't forget? (Happens quite often with other games I've played.) Would recommend the two gunners and the pilot take them.

Also, sorry you aren’t feeling well SaeronKasari

Thanks, Vampire GM By Day. Hopefully we're all starting to come through the other side of the household plague now.

Thank you also Keyrock - you know the struggle is real ;)

The Starship roles you suggested are okay by me.

I also like Mnamae-6's suggestion of allocating the bonuses in advance to piloting and gunnery.

Vampire GM By Day wrote:

Also, sorry you aren’t feeling well SaeronKasari

Thanks, Vampire GM By Day. Hopefully we're all starting to come through the other side of the household plague now.

The Starship roles you suggested are okay by me.

I also like Mnamae-6's suggestion of allocating the bonuses in advance to piloting and gunnery.

Sounds great to me! If you hop on over to gameplay, there is a bit of a pre-battle thing you've got to do and then we are off to the races for space combat.

And so glad you are feeling better.

Ok, so I'd had plans to use my "Starfinder Themesong" for the first combat, which is an upbeat rock ballad and would fit the Saturday morning cartoons. However, when faced with the first fight, I suddenly have a thought about a take on Baby Beluga that could be hilarious. Thoughts?

Ok, so I'd had plans to use my "Starfinder Themesong" for the first combat, which is an upbeat rock ballad and would fit the Saturday morning cartoons. However, when faced with the first fight, I suddenly have a thought about a take on Baby Beluga that could be hilarious. Thoughts?

I was thinking something a bit more on the nose.. JAWESOME!

I think I've convinced myself to go Baby Besmaran... but I may pull in the "Through Fire and Flames" parody later.

Btw, FWIW, I GMed this IRL Monday, and the group I played it with justified intimidating the whelp by declairing it their birthday.

In preparation for Saeron's next action I wanted to clarify some things.

Given our foe is biological I'm assuming she'll continue with Life Science checks instead of Computers? (Not any difference to her rolls as she has the same bonus for both)

Is it possible to use Target Systems action against a biological creature?

I took a punt and went with the Target Systems action, since the Whelp had "engines" on its previous turn ;) If you decide it more appropriate, happy to change it to a scan for more info, if available.

I figured it preferrable to slowing the game down waiting on my action as my timezone is likely a little out of sync with everyone else's. (I will be heading off for sleep momentarily...)

Blasto, just a quick reminder, your ship has a turn 2 radius, so it must move at least two hexes in a straight line before turning. I'm not harping on you or anything, it took me a while to get it down, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to make the turn you described with a turn 2 radius. I moved it to as close as possible to the position you described while still doing a turn two radius, and traced the path in blue, so it would be easily follow-able.

Just trying to keep everyone honest.

This looks like it's gonna be fun! I'm a bit sad my friend Zapp Brannigan is in another game, but oh well.

"I hear that old Zapp's voice is as soothing and handsome as my own."

?Well, I moved two squares, then turned it 90 degrees each time (the smallest turn I could find on the Google doc)?

I am happy to leave us where we are this round.

Your second skin armor will protect you for at least a day, and can be recharged on your ship when needed

Thanks for the clarification. I'd forgotten that line from the rules. My other character uses Hidden Soldier armour which mentions the helmet and environmental stuff. When i didn't see it listed with the Second Skin I thought light armour may not include those features as standard.

It's odd. It's brought up frequently in scenarios that you need to have protection from vacuum or elements, but the Starfinder Rules have made it so that every armor protects against those things.

Sorry about the delayed post - it took 5 attempts to get it to stick, I kept losing it in the ether. So it kind of ended up being 2 posts in one

Song incoming. I'll have a post as far as I get depending on how much time I have.

In case you needed the earworm: here's what it sounds like ;)

In case you needed the earworm: here's what it sounds like ;)

Well I know I for one appreciate all the extra trouble you went through to give us a re-written version of their song (All I did was search for a non-English lanugage version of it on youtube.) A really do appreciate you going the extra mile Brob. You didn't need it, but I gave that roll a heafty RP bonus to it. Thanks again for working with me and helping me make this game fun! I know MLP gets some hate and I was worried this would go downhill on the reveal. I'm glad this isn't the case.

And for those of you wondering, yes, all the mechanics for this are in the scenario. I'll share them with you when the scenario is over.

Well, I appreciate the effort you put into setting up the scenario. I tend to feed on the energy of those I'm playing with and it's been a lot of fun.

Plus, writing song parodies is what Brob was -born- for. I started with just the first verse, and had to do the whole thing; it fit so well.

I totally heard the tune as I read the lyrics without needing the benefit of the audio aid. Perhaps some indication of my viewing habits with 2 young daughters!

At first I was caught off-guard by the MLP (I'd been expecting something else from the Saturday morning cartoons disclaimer) but am on the swing of it now. It's some good fun. Like one of those cross-over episodes - Scooby Doo meets the Harlem Globe Trotters or something like that.

I’m gonna give Brob and Mname, along with anyone else, a chance to do some last-minute role-play before we move on. Should post the next story update when I get home and access to the scenario again, probably around 8-9:00 pacific time.

I was initially surprised, similarly to Saeron. But I think it's be shaping up to be a lot of fun; certainly an interesting first mission for Joaquín.

What little I know about MLP comes from a friend I play with face-to-face and the internet. There's a pink pony, an orange one, and some others, and they sing and are friends and stuff.

I was initially surprised, similarly to Saeron. But I think it's be shaping up to be a lot of fun; certainly an interesting first mission for Joaquín.

What little I know about MLP comes from a friend I play with face-to-face and the internet. There's a pink pony, an orange one, and some others, and they sing and are friends and stuff.

When we are done, you should give him/her a link to the thread so they can read it, I bet they’d get a kick out of it. Anyway, glad you are warming up to it.

I have a 10-year-old daughter. She is a huge MLP fan. She has the Tails of Equestria RPG and has run a few adventures for some of the family and a few friends.

About two months ago, I took her to her first convention one afternoon at a local con as the game was slotted to be run. However, the GM never appeared. I ended up running part of an adventure for her and a few other girls her were there, but when they left, my daughter decided she was ready to go home.

I was a sad dad.

As we made our way to the door, she was intrigued by some folks playing a different game at another table. She realized that the players were being interviewed in character and she decided that she wanted to play THAT game.

I smiled and internally cheered as I knew they were playing SFS 1-09, Live Expedition Extreme!

A few weeks later, she played her first SFS game with her dad at a Society game day.

The circle of dice!

I have a 10-year-old daughter. She is a huge MLP fan. She has the Tails of Equestria RPG and has run a few adventures for some of the family and a few friends.

About two months ago, I took her to her first convention one afternoon at a local con as the game was slotted to be run. However, the GM never appeared. I ended up running part of an adventure for her and a few other girls her were there, but when they left, my daughter decided she was ready to go home.

I was a sad dad.

As we made our way to the door, she was intrigued by some folks playing a different game at another table. She realized that the players were being interviewed in character and she decided that she wanted to play THAT game.

I smiled and internally cheered as I knew they were playing SFS 1-09, Live Expedition Extreme!

A few weeks later, she played her first SFS game with her dad at a Society game day.

The circle of dice!

Ha! Great story. I knew you had a decent working knowledge of the show, as you name-dropped the mane six in your pun-a-thon. Maybe I can show you how I put this scenario together and you can run ponies in Starfinder for your daughter sometime!

That's a great story, Keyrock! Thanks for sharing. I can only hope for similar inspiration of gaming interests - mine are 5 and 2

I know we have at least two parents here, so in the off chance that either one of you are mothers, happy Happy Mother’s Day!