[SFS, Campaign Mode] GM Blake's Against the Aeon Throne

Game Master Blake's Tiger

The giant regurgitating worm does not appear to understand any language Rril might speak at it. It does understand getting shot.

Combat! Round 1/2. Bold may act.

Rril
Steve
Worm (-9) (3)
Lors
Antenor (7/16)
Haro
Del (-10, dazed - Reflex DC 11 for half and negate daze)

Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Del hears no one, just feeling the glop pour over him.

The drone just bleeps.

Del stares into the air in front of him, probably as the Azlanti cadet did moments before having her throat ripped out.

Combat! Round 1/2. Bold may act.

Rril
Steve
Worm (-9) (3)
Lors
Antenor (7/16)
Haro
Del (2/16; dazed)

Lors unsuccessfully tries to find a path forward to haul the worm off, so she lowers her pike and snaps off a shot instead.

Cannon: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 1 = 15
Piercing: 1d10 ⇒ 6

Oonopidae scuttle around as Steve fires a laser at it through the crowd.

Azimuth laser pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Damage (Fire): 1d4 ⇒ 4

Lors stabs the worm's tail a moment before it strikes at the dazed Del.

Del's foray into the hero business has been fraught with poor luck.

The worm latches onto his neck with a spray of blood and wraps its powerful, slimy body around him. The worm refuses to let go. It is at this moment that he comes to his senses to realize the horror of his situation.

Someone should save him, really.

Combat! Round 2/3. Bold may act.

Rril
Steve
Worm (-15) (2)
Lors
Antenor (7/16)
Haro
Del (0/7; grappled)

Antenor's eyes go wide at the horror of having that thing suction itself onto Del. "A little higher, a little higher!" Antenor raises his weapon, but instead of shooting gives Del some encouragement. "Come on buddy! Stay with me. Stay with me!"

Get'em on the worm, Inspiring Boost on Del.Recover 8 Stamina Points.

Del feels the adrenaline surging, driving him to stay in the fight.

Combat! Round 2/3. Bold may act.

Rril
Steve
Worm (-15) (2)
Lors
Antenor (7/16)
Haro
Del (8/7; grappled)

Haro's eyes go wide as the creature latches onto Del.

"You're testing the limits of my healing, buddy! How many times are you going to need me to save you?! I suppose there's more than one way to help you," the bounty hunter says.

Raising his pike, he drops it onto the creature's body--hard.

Pike (tactical, reach) (P): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 242d8 + 6 ⇒ (8, 8) + 6 = 22 Max dmg. Ouchie.

Lors looks at Haro in astonishment. I guess he's not *all* talk.

Del's foray into the hero business has been fraught with poor luck.

The worm latches onto his neck with a spray of blood and wraps its powerful, slimy body around him. The worm refuses to let go. It is at this moment that he comes to his senses to realize the horror of his situation.

"Didn't I say, 'Yokel, get away from that thing.'?" Rril mutters to himself. "But did he listen to me? No."

Rril prepares to take another shot with his pistol. Then, he stops as his eyes grow wide.

Raising his pike, he drops it onto the creature's body--hard.

"Whoa." Rril says softly. "Remind me to stay on Stabby's good side."

Despite the sudden--and perhaps fleeting--onset of admiration, Rril's leanings toward narcissism urge him to further action so not to be outdone.

Dropping his pistol, Rril reaches for his sword cane. Drawing the blade, he swings at the remains of the worm.

Trick Attack, Bluff w/Spy Spec: 1d20 + 9 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 9 + 4 = 24
Ranged (sword cane, tactical) v KAC, w/Get'em: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 1 = 26
Damage(P): 1d4 ⇒ 1
Add Damage if Trick Attack Successful: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Whoa! A crit! Even the dice are feeding into Rril's delusions of grandeur!
Add Damage for Crit: 1d4 ⇒ 3

"It's all in the wrist!" Rril announces aloud after he making a clean, precise strike and as he twirls his blade with flourish--a smug look filling the whole of his face.

Steve fires off another shot as he moves into position, drawing a handaxe in his other hand. "Hang on! I'll cut it off your neck." he says in all seriousness.

Azimuth laser pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Damage (Fire): 1d4 ⇒ 2

Hoping the thing is dead, I was waiting to see before acting.

Del wiggles around... but his neck is so constricted he cannot even wiggle.
Acrobatics: 1d20 ⇒ 3
Del is freed from the grapple... if the critter is dead, or has a KAC of -7?!

There is a splatter of blue ichor between Haro's thrust and Rril's slash. Del fumbles with the remains of the worm's lifeless head as Steve 'helps' by firing a laser past the mechanic's face.

I mistook which side had the opening on it.

With the territorial, alien worm slain, you move in through the open port.

This sleek hall is well lit by gold-trimmed sconces and the blinking lights of a wall-mounted terminal near an exterior hatch to the west. The eastern end of the hall is crushed and collapsed, leaving only a doorway in an alcove to the southwest and another doorway in the center of the south wall.

Status

Antenor (7/16)
Del (8/7)

Del picks himself up, and tries to wipe the gunk off.
Then he stumbles along inside the hall...
But he does not go near the computer, sure that something is going to pop out and bite him.
Again.

"Rril, do you or" **sigh** "Steve want to take a look at this panel?"

Haro nods. "I only know how to handle cinematography and upload videos...someone else deal with that."

"Hey guys, I don't feel so hot. Can we either take a breather or pass me some happy juice?"

Antenor checks the terminal and gives a hearty laugh. "Yeah, let's let Steve do it. The little bugger never fails to impress!"

Del nods to Antenor, and sits down also to take a rest.
1 RP spent for full SP if we can take the 10 minute rest

You are able to rest undisturbed.

Touching the terminal causes it to bloom to life. A three-dimensional hologram of a fussy, middle-aged man's head floats above the terminal. He says, in Azlanti, "Greetings. I am Ellioch, the Royal Venture's artificial intelligence. How many I assist you?"

Rested, Del is still nursing his cuts and bruises, when he hears this Ellioch.
Del answers, in Azlanti, well, in his Azlanti: "Is what is the Royal Wenture be?"

Not wanting the goblin to take all the credit while the others are resting, Rril walks up and touches the terminal. He jumps back when the hologram appears and speaks.

Though he has picked up some Azlanti, he hesitates, wondering how to respond. When Del speaks, the scoundrel is relieved and listens for a response.

The hologram regards Del and his broken Azlanti with a sniff. "Lesser races should not be handling advanced technology," Ellioch says in Azlanti. The hologram then seems to stare at a point directly past Del's left shoulder, ignoring the man completely after that.

"I've just started picking up some the Azlanti language, but I think that our hologram here just called you a 'Yokel"." Rril mutters to Del, punctuating his sentence with a sniff akin, clearly mimicking the attitude of the holographic image.

The human moves his gaze from the door on his right to the door on his left, then back to the right, before once again looking to the left. "So," he finally says aloud, "Does anyone have a preference?"

You can try to hack the ternimal. Tier 3 computer.

Haro had known Azlanti longer than the rest of his companions, and decided to give the terminal a try.

"Forgive the ineptitude of this lesser being," he says, trying to focus on solid pronunciation of Azlanti. "He is but my slave trying to learn the language. Please let me know when any ships are scheduled for arrival."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

"Welcome to the Royal Venture! Personal vessel to Parept Ameondria of the glorious Azlanti Star Empire!" Ellioch says. "There are no ships scheduled to dock with us today."

"Well,too bad your too inept to earn money any other way than dealing with such folk, but I'll relieve you of the tedious burden of dealing with yokels," Del tells Rril, before exiting the vessel.

Steve's head pops up from around the side of a bush where he was relieving himself. As he hears the voice and sees the hologram he grows increasingly excited and rushes out from his spot mid stream. His run leaves a trail of urine, some actually hitting the ground but most flopping in random arcs in the air as he rushes the terminal from a good distance. "DIBS!"

With his pants around his ankles he climbs up onto the terminal to kneel near the hologram. "You royalty?" he pokes a finger through the hologram. as he speaks Azlanti. "How can you assist us?"

He flips a panel open near his foot and instantly gets shocked.

Computers: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

The hologram flickers as Steve manipulates random circuits. "Goblin infestation detected," it says to Haro, in Azlanti. "I recommend that you return to your quarters immediately for your own safety. Goblins are known to be quite dangerous, especially near open flames."

The hologram makes a point to avoid eye contact with Steve.

"'Inept'? Did he just call me 'inept'?" mutters Rril, not used to be put in his place. "I'll have you know that I consider myself to be quite 'ept'. Than you very much."

Rril looks around for affirmation, only to realize that Del had already left. When he spots the goblin, rushing and gushing, Rril pojnts at Steve and quips to no one in particular, "He's a real whiz, that one."

"The goblins are being dealt with," Haro says to the hologram in his best Azlanti.

"What else can you tell me of your duties or this building?"

"Building!?" the hologram sniffs. "This is the Royal Venture! The grand personal vessel of Parept Ameondria of the glorious Azlanti Star Empire! Building!? Why I will have you know that this vessel is equipped with a unique engine capable of faster than light travel designed by Parept Ameondria and her royal engineers. There is no other ship like this in the known universe!"

A new hologram replaces the floating head. This is a 3-D representation of the ship, including the damage inflicted by the crash. The Azlanti word for "WARNGING" and "INOPERATIVE" intermittently interpose themselves in glowing red letters over the schematic.

EDIT: Map revealed

"Did I say 'building'? Of course, I meant that this magnificent ship betters any edifice," Haro sniffs.

"It is a wonder of Azlanti engineering bordering upon the divine!" Ellioch agrees.

Assuming someone translates

"Wait, really? Actual faster than light travel? Isn't that supposed to be impossible?"

Steve grows excited and pulls his pants up. "Can we go inside and look around?" He wants to try to steal or see if he can duplicate this drive for his ship. He helps translate what he can.

Antenor chortles. "Lot of good that engine is doing them on a wreck."

As Steve continues to negotiate, the Akitonian pokes around, looking for any hidden cameras, or worse, hidden laser turrets. Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

"Ellioch, please inform me which systems are inoperative and how they might be fixed," Haro says.

"Catastrophic loss of structural integrity: recommend complete rebuild of fuselage and wings.
Engines inoperable: recommend replacement.
Medical bay inoperable: recommend replacement.
Galley inoperable: recommend replacement.
Laboratory inoperable: recommend replacement.
Lavatory minimal function: recommend significant hardware replacement and sealing cracked water tanks.
Bridge minimal function: recommend complete over hall, upgrade system hardware, upgrade system software."

The holographic head sighs and shakes itself, "I fear the Royal Venture's flying days are past."

There are no cameras (or panels behind which laser turrets might hide) in the hall as far as Antenor can tell.

"Alright, you may stand down," Haro says. "Please await any further instructions from me," he tells the hologram.

To the others, he says "Let's see what we find."

Head down the hallway, then.

Haro heads down the hall and finds the door jammed, having hopped off of its track.

Strength Check vs. DC 12 or Engineering vs. DC 18

Strength (take-10): 10 + 3 = 13

With a grunt of effort Lors sets the door to rights.

Lors shoves the door open, even if she doesn't put much effort into it, her two hands easily pop the door onto its track.

This enormous engine room did not fare well in the ship’s crash. Huge turbines are knocked askew, wires hang loose, and red warning lights flare around the room. Most of the room is covered in moss and creeping vines. An area at the eastern end of the room contains two doors. The north door appears intact while the east door is askew in its frame. What was once a door to the south is now nothing but charred slag, destroyed in an explosion that seems much more recent than the other damage to the room.

Are we in Area N3?

Rril looks around. Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"I think this ship could have used a better pilot." he concludes from the crash signs. "Though, it looks like someone wasn't pleased with the amount of damage caused and came back to cause some more. Or else, someone else has been here lookin' for something."

"You think the Azlanti found this." Steve raps his knuckles against the side of the ship, making a hollow clanging sound. Bet I can scrap it and sell it."[/b] Steve says much to the horror of the helpful hologram.

He follows into the ship.

"U" flies up towards the signs of the explosion and such, and scans the place.
Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

Del looks at the data "U." is feeding into his rig, trying to make some sense out of the explosion: when, why...?
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Okay, back from my Con. Flight was horrible. I spent two hours on the runway waiting for delay after delay. Haven't seen Game of Thrones yet, and went to work 4 hours after landing. Yuck. Will be back to normal for posting.

"Rril, you thinking this place has been looted before?" There's a bit of disappointment in Antenor's voice. Despite the heroics of the last few days, he's a smuggler at heart.