The First Seeker’s meeting room is a lavish space, with several
lush couches and armchairs surrounding a wide, low table.
First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo appears uncharacteristically
extravagant, having exchanged her typical stationwear for a
sleek, fashionable suit in a shade of copper that matches the
Starfinder Society logo emblazoned on the table. Behind her
stands the towering vesk leader of the Acquisitives faction,
wearing a suit of ceremonial armor.
Luwazi smiles and gestures to the seats. “A pleasure to
see you all. I trust you’ve heard about tonight’s gala? I have a
rather important announcement to make, so we’ve decided to
use the opportunity to entertain and impress representatives
of the various interests who have helped the Starfinder Society
through our setbacks with the Scoured Stars Incident.
“That’s where you come in. As some of the shining
stars of the newest Starfinder Society agents, I’d like
to have you mingle with the guests so they can see
for themselves what we’ve been able to accomplish.
It’s nothing too fancy; I’d just like you all to be polite
and talk about some of your experiences with the
Society so far. We’re expecting some government
dignitaries, investors, corporate interests, and the
like, so be sure to stay on your best behavior. Also,
don’t be afraid to brag a bit—it’s
our goal to impress them.”
“But don’t be stupid,” the
armored vesk breaks in.
Luwazi Elsebo glances over
her shoulder and grins. “Have you
all met Radaszam? He’s certainly
someone else you should be trying
to impress.”
Radaszam scowls. “Events like
this never go as planned. Luwazi’s
contracted one of my merc outfits,
the Obsidian Spiders, to provide security
for the night. I want to make sure that if
anything goes down, you’re working with
my agents, rather than us all tripping over
one another. So stay alert, but if anything
happens, make sure you’retalking to me about
it rather than jumping in blindly.”
The First Seeker nods and picks up the
datapad. “I’ve singled out five guests
who I would really like to make a good
impression with. These folks should beyour priority tonight, so I’ve compiled basic information about
each of them here. Things will start up in about an hour in the
Skyreach Room. Any questions before we go?”
Handout 1 Guests of Note
ITERATION-177
RACE android; DESCRIPTION agender, silvery skin, dark hair typically worn long
AFFILIATION Aspis Consortium
RELATIONSHIP TO THE SOCIETY Central in petitioning the Aspis Consortium for support of the
Starfinder Society
NAIAJ
RACE gnome; DESCRIPTION female, bleachling, white hair cut close
AFFILIATION Starfinder Society (venture-captain)
RELATIONSHIP TO THE SOCIETY Venture-captain overseeing high-level operations from the Lorespire
Complex
ROYO
RACE ysoki; DESCRIPTION male, middle-aged, tan fur
AFFILIATION Starfinder Society Forum (elected member)
RELATIONSHIP TO THE SOCIETY Specialist in scholarly affairs with focus on analog media
YKRIS
RACE parasitic isopod; DESCRIPTION typically accompanied by male half-elf host
AFFILIATION CeriCore Labs
RELATIONSHIP TO THE SOCIETY Corporate lobbyist who persuaded the corporation to invest in the
Society
ZO!
RACE elebrian; DESCRIPTION male, undead, bombastic
AFFILIATION Eoxian media empire owner
RELATIONSHIP TO THE SOCIETY Philanthropist interested in media-worthy endeavors
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The 7 foot tall, yellow skinned humanoid in black robes had been sitting quietly in the back of the room. It was unclear if he was asleep or not, as his eyes were usually half closed, though when they did open he would stare off as if deep in thought. Or in dreams.
"How will we identify these Spiders you speak of? Are they indeed arachnids? How many are there?" he asks in a deep, sonorous voice with a slow dreamlike cadence. "And do they fly?" he finishes in an afterthought not looking anywhere near Radaszam, but rather at a bare spot on the ceiling.
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The tall kasatha wearing the dark green trench coat nodded respectfully to both the First Seeker and to Radaszam. The kideche cloth that customarily hid his lower face from outsiders was in place, the dark grey contrasting against his lighter blue-gray skin.
He indicated his armor and weapons, saying "Is this a venue in which weapons are appropriate? Or do I need to buy something more fitting? Also, you mentioned guards. Is trouble expected, or just planned for?"
The person knowing that Laksell wasn't paying attention, messes with his head. Yes, they are huge giant spiders, the size of golf balls and they fly good, very poisonous, so you better have an antitdode ready.
He looks over at Rastar “I’m always
expecting trouble,” Radaszam says, but a
moment later he shrugs. “I don’t know of any
plans specifically targeting this event, but my
team and I have our eyes and ears open.”
After she’s answered any questions, Luwazi
smiles and thanks them for representing the
Society. She reminds the PCs that they’ll be
expected in the Skyreach Room in about 3
hours as the gala begins; this gives the party
time to make any necessary preparations or
quick purchases.
Bring your weapons with you, just don't be the cause of the trouble.And wear what ya want.
He looks over at Takeshi Same thing I told Rastar, wear what you want, you don't have to dress up, after all, you are Starfinders. There is a certain air of excitement that comes with your armor and gear.
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Laksell's eyes suddenly focus intently on Radaszam, seeming to bore straight through the imposing vesk. He gives a closed-mouth, quiet laugh at the joke being played upon him.
"Of course they are," he replies with a slight smile, not at all bothered by being the butt of a joke. But he then switches to a more intense and direct tone. "But seriously, how do we identify the members of your mercenary team? Are they wearing some sort of uniform or badge?"
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Darrien absentmindedly fiddles with his tac knife.
What a bore. He says after being given the briefing.
and here I was looking for some actual fun. Tsk, Likely shouldn't... help... the folk lighten any monetary load they may have either. Though if they wave it in my face...
Ya Ya, impress the big wigs, show off some the works. Don't worry slick, I've got awe inspiring feats a plenty. But, honestly, I feel like the best way to showboat new talent is to give them a demonstration. Maybe even have a fake "attack" that is valiantly and, easily I might add, fought off by us and your... friends. Ah well. He shrugs as he deftly slides the knife back into its place.
At the mention of wearing what you want, Darrien smiles. Oh, could I wear my birthday suit then? That would defiantly impress. Well, at least the ladies. He gives off a small chuckle.
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Having recently acquired his freebooter armor it is not terribly scuffed or dinged, but Takeshi spends the downtime between the meeting with the First Seeker and the gala giving his boots a polish and generally making his gear inspection ready.
He might not be standing an inspection, but he may as well attempt to impress.
At the appointed time he arrives at the Skyreach room and begins to circulate, seeking out Royo and striking up a conversation in his native tongue.
She draws up the symbol for Laksell It looks like this
Except, there might not be any good looking ladies there to impress or they might not be your type. It depends upon whatcha like. Guess the joke's on you.
Iteration-177: Iteration-177 is a relative newcomer to the Aspis
Consortium. In addition to making waves by urging Consortium
support of the Starfinders, they have an interest in religious
artifacts and connections.
Darrien is able to get the rest
Stars incident.
Royo: The ysoki Royo has something of a
rivalry with Historia-7 and the Dataphiles
faction, and he tends to snub individuals
who he perceives to rely overmuch
on technological “crutches.” He’s
also an elected member of the
Forum, the Starfinder Society’s
governing council.
Ykris: The alien symbiote
Ykris represents CeriCore Labs.
Business-wise, the corporation
has very little to gain from the
Starfinder Society’s endeavors, but
it nevertheless made a substantial
donation; rumors suggest the contribution
was someone’s pet project.
Zo!: Zo! is an undead media mogul well known
throughout the Pact Worlds, always looking for
an idea for a new show, strategies to improve
his ratings, or other lucrative entertainment deals. His organization
funded the recent Society expedition to Salvation’s End, and he is
keenly interested in further exploration of the false moon'
Alright folks, time to impress the NPS Aid another is also an option if suck at the skills, you passed the culture checks, so you get the specials too. Roll skill checks
The PCs’ end goal is to make a good
impression on as many of the guests of note as possible. The PCs
can impress an individual guest by succeeding at skill checks
as described in the Influence entry of the NPC’s stat block. The
PCs must succeed at four skill checks against an
NPC to earn influence over that NPC. Unless
otherwise noted, the DC of each check is 17 in
Subtier 1–2 or 20 in Subtier 3–4.
Repeated tactics lose their effectiveness:
Each PC can attempt one
check to influence a single
guest during each social round.
A PC can use her action for a social
round to attempt a skill check to aid
another PC in place of attempting a skill
check to influence the NPC directly. If a PC
is not sure what kind of check to attempt,
she can make light conversation in lieu of
attempting a check for that round, learning
something about the NPC’s background, interests, involvement in
the society, or personality to gain a hint of appropriate skill checks
to attempt to influence that individual. PCs partaking in such
“small talk” can attempt a DC 10 Sense Motive check to learn an
appropriate skill to influence the NPC with. For every 5 points the
PC exceeds the Sense Motive DC by, she learns one additional skill
that can be used to influence the NPC.
Encourage the players to roleplay their interactions. Grant
a circumstance bonus of +1 or +2 for particularly enthusiastic
or creative tactics, and play up the NPCs to provide fun and
engaging interactions for the party.
ITERATION-177
Iteration is impressed compelling stories of the PCs’ missions (Bluff, Diplomacy,
or an applicable Profession skill) or with rumors about the
Starfinder Society’s future plans (Culture). They also regard
the party favorably if a PC engages them in conversation
about magic or religion (Mysticism).
Talking about a previous Starfinder Society mission
(one for which a PC has a Chronicle sheet) allows a
character to attempt a Diplomacy check with
no penalty even if another PC has already
succeeded at one Diplomacy check to influence
Iteration-177.
Naiaj
Influence PCs demonstrating
competence in the field through a
successful Computers, Engineering,
or Piloting check (or other checks, if
demonstrated effectively) can impress
Naiaj. She can also be persuaded
that cunning words can
preclude combat altogether
via a successful Diplomacy
check with a DC 4 higher
than normal.
Naiaj has a deep
appreciation for effective
teamwork. A PC who successfully uses the
aid another action on a check to influence
her grants a +4 bonus to the check rather than the
usual +2 bonus. If this causes the result of
the check to exceed the DC by 10 or more,
that checks grants two successes to
influence Naiaj rather than one.
Royo
Influence Though at first dismissive
of anyone who attempts to join their
discussion, Royo is impressed by
any PCs who can step into the circle
of scholars and hold their own via
a successful Culture, Life Science,
Mysticism, or Physical Science check to
recall knowledge. A PC can also impress
Royo with a successful Profession check in any nondigital
or specifically historical field.
Special Characters whose theme grants a DC reduction
with one of the above skills can apply that reduction
to checks to impress Royo.
Ykris
Influence Ykris is ingratiated to
anyone who shares gossip about
the Starfinder Society (Culture), and it
respects anyone knowledgeable enough to
hold a discussion about its work in cybernetic
and biotech augmentations (Life Science
or Medicine).
Special If a PC expresses interest in the hostparasite
relationship, Ykris is willing to detach
from Jhireu and temporarily implant itself
in a willing PC to allow her to experience
the effect. A PC who allows Ykris to
implant and take control finds that she
can communicate effortlessly with the
parasite (as mindlink), save that she
cannot take any action that would
require use of the Bluff skill. Ykris
remains implanted only for a few
rounds and then, citing propriety and
Zo
Influence As he is keeping an eye out for new
talent for an upcoming project with a lot of “action
scenes,” Zo! is particularly impressed by PCs who
can demonstrate their abilities through Acrobatics
or Athletics checks, Bluff checks to feint, or even
a showy display with a weapon (making an attack
against an AC equal to the skill check’s DC –2).
Special A PC who has the icon theme can
attempt a check with her Profession skill
to impress Zo! Alternatively, a PC who demonstrates some knowledge of Salvation’s End (such as
by having a Chronicle sheet with this character’s name on
it for Starfinder Society Scenario #1–00: Claim to Salvation)
counts as having one success without requiring a skill
check. Zo! responds enthusiastically to such PCs, hoping
they’ll take part in his first joint venture with the Starfinder
Society, in the form of a televised reality show focusing on
the first Starfinders to explore Salvation’s End.
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Rastar listened to what the various bigwigs were interested in, then said, "This Zo! sounds like he's right up my alley. Showy worksmanship combined with a dedication to my task seems like something he might be interested in. He's mine!"
Walking straight toward the media celebrity, Rastar said "I hear you're always looking for the next big thing for your broadcasts. You should really look into sponsoring my group for your show. We all have some pretty amazing specialties that come out at the most opportune times. Like this!"
Rastar pulled a pistol from a shoulder holster, dropped the clip, then sent the pistol whirling from upper truearm to lower false arm, left to right in a zigzagging pattern. Even as the pistol moved about, he drew his assault hammer and began whirling it into the mix. He almost bobbled the catch a couple of times, but it still looked good. he ended his routine with a backflip, spreading his trenchcoat wide and catching both weapons. Even before the coat closed back on him, he had re-sheathed his weapons and scooped the clip back up from the floor.
Rastar nodded his head to a few of the audience who were clapping, then said "The name's Rastar. Care to chat?"
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In Ysoki"Esteemed Royo, it is my honor to make your acquaintance. I understand you take a specific interest in research in non-digital storage and transmission of data. I have recently heard some very interesting musical reproductions using a petrochemical compound rather than digital storage, the richness of sound, while limited due to the playback system was vastly superior to that of the digital reproduction of the same recording. Have you heard of this process?"
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Laksell wanders about the room, but eventually arrives near Ykris. He watches the symbiotic arrangement carefully before approaching them.
"Your arrangement is quite fascinating. I would give anything to experience such a merging of minds," he begins, not realizing that Ykris is actually amenable to such an experiment. After experiencing the symbiot's version of mindlink, Laksell converses on the impact of the similar ability that his people have and how they have used it in various fields including medicine and biotech.
-----Round 2-----
Afterwards, he wanders away and approaches Royo as Takeshi speaks in a language he does not understand. When it becomes clear that he's done, Laksell begins speaking to Royo about the history of the Pact World religions, their impacts on their neighbors outside the system, and the significance of the changes this has wrought on the native cultures so touched. He seems more focused in his speech and cadence, and even becomes slightly animated as he really gets into it, though "animated" for him involves nothing more than making a point by gesturing with one hand.
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Darrien sprints a short distance before agilely leaping onto Rastar's shoulders just before the end of his display and launches himself several feet further into the air twirling his knife into the air so it glints in the light while twisting as he does so, so that while upside down mid flip he can give Zo a wink and a sly grin Before using the knife's sheath in hand to catch it before landing and rolling easily up to a standing position. He pauses for a moment to lightly brush a strand of hair back up before putting on a confident smile. He walks back to Zo for a moment before speaking. I see you have met my partner here. We make quite a team eh? he gestures at Rastar.
Rastar impresses Zo twice
Then does Darrien as they perform some flips stunts and even walk on 2 inch bars impressing Zo again
Laksell being specialized mixes some pain medications together, performs mock CPR and knows all the medications impressing.
Takeshi impressed no one
Results
Zo impressed 3 times
Ykris impressed 2 times
Takeshi round 1 taken
Darrien round 1 taken
Laksel round 2 taken
Rastar round 2 taken
Everyone take your actions all the way to round 4
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Takeshi takes a deep breath and decides he may as well try talking to Naiaj and approaches.
Takeshi introduces himself and begins by asking if any recent advances in AI have aided in her society oversight work. He begins to describe his own work in the field, specifically neglecting to mention that his own AI (Alex) is currently implanted in exocortex, and asks if there is any way his experience may be able to assist her in enhancing her AI functionality at Lorespire.
Continuing the discussion he also describes how he built his implant (custom rig) and combined it with his data jack, he goes into some rather in depth engineering details.
Laksell shows of his magic knowledge once again and Takeshi shows off all his technilogical knowledge, you could probably show you every function on a smart phone and how to build one too, as well as a supercomputer.
Results
Zo impressed 3 times
Ykris impressed 1 times
Royo impressed 2 times
Naija impressed 2 times
Iteration-177 Impressed 0 times
Takeshi round 3 taken
Darrien round 1 taken
Laksel round 3 taken
Rastar round 2 taken
And another success to impress Ykris
Zo impressed 3 times
Ykris impressed 2 times
Royo impressed 2 times
Naija impressed 2 times
Iteration-177 Impressed 0 times
Takeshi round 4 taken
Darrien round 1 taken
Laksel round 3 taken
Rastar round 2 taken
Darriend, Rastar, we are waiting on you.
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Having suitably impressed Zo! in the first display, Rastar Attempted to leap over Darrien's shoulders for the finale, only to realize his stance was off. All he could hope was that the man ducked a little to give him clearance, or he was going to end up on his face.
.
Bowing slightly to Zo!, Rastar headed over to Iteration-177, having heard that the android liked stories of the Starfinders. Boy, did he have some stories. Especially about his last mission, with the junk racer and that amazing spin and slam maneuver he used on that feather stalker beast. Oh, and tracking down that hacker and taking out those thugs that were trying to stop them. That was prime bounty hunter material there. Maybe he should talk to Zo! about a trivid show about his bounty hunter expertise? Oh, here was the android now...
Rastar tries to impress Zo, but comes just short of doing his tricks as many of them were already shown, or did Darrien add an extra bar somewhere or catch him. and can't quite track down targets like he use to.
Zo impressed 3 times
Ykris impressed 2 times
Royo impressed 2 times
Naija impressed 2 times
Iteration-177 Impressed 2 times
Takeshi round 4 taken
Darrien round 1 taken
Laksel round 3 taken
Rastar round 4 taken
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Darrien, not expecting the large Kasatha to suddenly leap towards him, does his best to act along and avoid a bit of embarrassment, and likely some physical pain. He Quickly leaps onto his back and catches Rastar foot to foot before pushing him off into another great leap.
Afterwards, he gives a bow before whispering to Rastar As well as that went, lets not try it again eh?
He then struts over to Naiaj, before trying to showing off some of his piloting knowledge. To his surprise, he was a little rusty, but he recovers rather quickly.
Darrien aids Rastar adding a success
Then with his pilot knowledge he does better the 2nd time around. How about you show me in a simulation? and then Darrien does
Botting Laksell, so you all have rounds taken up to 4 as he does another mysticism reducing dc by 5 makes it as he impresses Iteration-177 again.
Zo fully impressed
Ykris impressed 2 times
Royo impressed 2 times
Naija impressed 3 times
Iteration-177 Impressed 3 times
Takeshi round 4 taken
Darrien round 4 taken
Laksel round 4 taken
Rastar round 4 taken
Halftime report
She interviews the heroes
"Darrien and Rastar, it looks like you two worked together to pull off a great acrobatics stunt, how was it?"
"Takeshi and Laksell have worked together well."
"You are all doing well, you think you have what it takes to get them to like you"
"Anything else you'd like to tell us?"
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"Royo is a tough Ysoki to impress, as usual, I am afraid he would have to see me in action, my tongue turned to lead when speaking with him. When it comes to Iteration-177, I'm a Mechanic, not an Envoy, I will attempt to discuss my previous adventure, however considering my outcomes with Royo, I wouldn't place further any bets on me."
Mechanic, envoy, what's the difference? Nah, just kidding, and you're all doing well.
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"Impressing Zo! was not a serious challenge for the two of us. He likes flash and a good smile, and we have those in spades. I don't know about the others though. I'm not that knowledgeable on ancient languages, or the proper duration one should hand-pollinate zuju fruits. I tried talking with Iteration-177, though I am not certain they were interested in my previous exploits. It seemed like it might have heard those stories before."
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Having taken a break to sample the Castrovelian glinda-fruits and sami eggs, Laksell returns to the circle of scholars attending Royo. Finding them in the midst of a discussion on the history of various alien arcane symbols, he describes the symbology of the philosophy of Ataxxea which is the primary faith of his home world.
He leaves out the importance of the Eye of Enlightenment which normally marks the foreheads of draeliks, but which he himself shows only the barest residual scar of.
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Rastar wandered over to Naiaj and waited for someone else to begin talking to the gnome before joining them.
"Hello Venture-Captain, I like the armor. I was wondering if we were the only ones that were going to be dressed down. I heard on the grapevine that you are single-handedly responsible for making sure at least three teams came back in one piece from rather hairy missions. It takes teamwork, right? I mean, I can fire four weapons at once and use my hammer to crack skulls, but if there isn't someone with computer skills getting that back door open, then we are a lot less likely to succeed, am I right?"
This last was directed towards his teammate, who he had likely just interrupted.
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Takeshi heads over to Zo! His first intention to attempt some sort of simple acrobatics fully expecting to fail, as he arrives and greets Zo! another guest trips over a servitor bot. As the bot and tray start to tip, Takeshi executes a dive and roll between a third guest and the tipping bot, rights the bot, the tray, and the champagne flutes with only a slight splashing of the contents.
Nice trajectory prediction, Alex!
Of course! You wanted to impress the media mogul didn't you, you should have asked for my help sooner with the Ysoki you know.
Probably, now, quiet, I need to socialize again.
Once sure the bot is stable again he brings a fresh glass to Zo! and asks about the latest project.
Laksell and Takeshi do it again as they know their stuff and can perform their moves. Rastar is ready to aid someone.
Zo Fully Impressed
Ykris impressed 2 times
Royo impressed 3 times
Naija Fully Impressed
Iteration-177 Fully Impressed
Takeshi round 5 taken
Darrien round 5 taken
Laksell round 5 taken
Rastar round 5 taken
Darrien tries to show off his piloting skills in simulation again
Rounds 6, 7 and 8 go
Another success,
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Laksell listens closely to Takeshi's discussion. He doesn't follow all the details of the cybernetics work, but he adds a few tidbits hoping to keep Ykris' interest.
He then wanders back over to Royo. He feels like he has really bonded with the little ysoki over their shared stories of magical traditions.
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Rastar, out of his element in the discussions with Royo about esoteric history and mystic connections, butted in to offer his own tales about digging through dusty libraries looking for background information on a bounty. In this word of computer databases and people who could erase records from them with impunity, it was amazing how often they discounted the longevity and ubiquity of written records.
And the heroes manage to impress all the NPCs and they get another interview
So you managed to impress all of them? How does it feel? And how do you feel about the upcoming mission? You all make a great team, don't you think so?
Your next mission will be to RENDEZVOUS WITH RADASZAM for your next mission, how do you feel about that?