[SFS, Playtest] Dead Suns, Book 4: The Ruined Clouds (Inactive)

Game Master Nefreet

flank with Zolvi

Apologies, your flanking bonus offset him Fighting Defensively, so that attack did hit.

ROUND 7-8
BOLD MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Pangea (-64 stamina; -22 hit points; 7 rds slow)
Zolvi (-64 stamina; -6 hit points)
Xavra (51 damage; photon 3)
Sigmus (-30 stamina)
Varnais (see invis, comprehend languages, mirror image x2)
Sheher (-48 stamina)
John (-64 stamina; -19 hit points)

John backs away, and takes another shot...

Called Holy Ghost-Killer Poacher Injector Pistol: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26, for 2d6 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3) + 8 + 2 = 16 damage.

...but continues to miss.

Sigmus's hands move over the laser cannon making fine adjustments and it hums loudly

"pup, lock on."

move action for lock on, move action to enhance weapon

Okay, that...that stung. Zolvi wheezes as she tries to catch her breath. Desperate to try and slow the standing kish, she tries one last time to figure out the right mixture to increase the wear on his muscles.

Move to add fatiguing counteragent, then attack.

Attack: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 13 + 2 = 19 for damage: 1d6 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21

Botting Varnais.

Varnais flexes her claws and issues a CHALLENGE to the pitiful creature remaining...

Intimidate: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (15) + 21 = 36

...and then rushes forth to tear him to shreds!

Claw!!: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24
Bludgeoning: 2d6 + 17 ⇒ (3, 5) + 17 = 25

John's dart finds purchase this time, imbedding itself solidly into the Kish's shin (last round his AC was +6 higher).

Zolvi can't seem to find his weak spot, and Varnais' roar shakes him up a bit but her claw just barely misses as well.

Xavra glares at the Vesk, perhaps with respect, or perhaps with fear, and carefully spins next to her before erupting in a fiery supernova!

Fire Damage, DC 17: 11d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 2, 1, 2, 5, 5, 4, 1, 3, 2) = 35

Reflex, Sheher: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Reflex, Sigmus: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13
Reflex, Varnais: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Reflex, Zolvi: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

ROUND 8-9
EVERYONE MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Pangea (-64 stamina; -22 hit points; 6 rds slow)
Zolvi (-64 stamina; -36 hit points)
Xavra (67 damage; unattuned; 3 rds shaken)
Sigmus (-57 stamina; -8 hit points)
Varnais (-35 stamina; see invis, comprehend languages, mirror image x2)
Sheher (-65 stamina)
John (-64 stamina; -19 hit points)

Pangea full attacks, blasting shots off like crazy, to take the Kish down... in his mind.
In reality, the sluggish android squeezes the trigger once--

Laser Pistol vs EAC: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13
Fire: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1) + 4 = 8

--while still aiming at the ceiling.
His timing seems quite off.

John takes careful aim, and squeezes off another shot...

Called Holy Ghost-Killer Poacher Injector Pistol: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23, for 2d6 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (1, 3) + 8 + 2 = 14 damage.

Lasers and bullets leave their mark on the walls and ceiling.

ROUND 8-9
BOLD MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Pangea (-64 stamina; -22 hit points; 6 rds slow)
Zolvi (-64 stamina; -36 hit points)
Xavra (67 damage; unattuned; 3 rds shaken)
Sigmus (-57 stamina; -8 hit points)
Varnais (-35 stamina; see invis, comprehend languages, mirror image x2)
Sheher (-65 stamina)
John (-64 stamina; -19 hit points)

Sigmus takes a GUARDED STEP back and lets loose with his artillery laser

Artillery Laser vs EAC: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28
fire damage: 3d8 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (8, 3, 6) + 8 + 2 = 27

Sigmus' shot blasts Xavra square in the chest, but he seems incredibly resistant to the laser's effects.

Since everyone is so low on health, I'll wait for people to post rather than bot them; due to Varnais' challenge, he'll likely go after her, depending on what else happens before then.

ROUND 8-9
BOLD MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Pangea (-64 stamina; -22 hit points; 6 rds slow)
Zolvi (-64 stamina; -36 hit points)
Xavra (79 damage; unattuned; 3 rds shaken)
Sigmus (-57 stamina; -8 hit points)
Varnais (-35 stamina; see invis, comprehend languages, mirror image x2)
Sheher (-65 stamina)
John (-64 stamina; -19 hit points)

Scorched and bleeding, Zolvi limps in a wide berth around the kish to try and slash out at him, hoping to at least distract the zealot for Sheher's sake.

Attack: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 13 + 2 = 19 for damage: 1d6 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18

Talavet: love to know what I did to make you so angry with me lately. Guess I'll be able to ask you soon...

bit of a complicated post incoming

bit of a complicated post incoming

I'm excited ^_^

The last hit on her gave Sheher a bit of a rush of Entropic power, as she sees their foe start to explode with power she focuses on it to double its intensity. Then even as it starts to spread and cover her friends Sheher manipulates the rush of energy to dissapate it even as it rushes over them all.

Use extra reaction to spend resolve to gain ep. Thus have 2 ep, then use regular reaction to use Dampen which for 2 ep halves explosion damage for anyone who fails reflex and mitigates it completely for anyone who does. Sheher is unhurt and everyone else takes less damage.

That done Sheher proceeds to continuing to slosh acid over the Solarion.

Entropic Strike vs EAC: 1d20 + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 = 26
Damage Acid or Bludgeon: 2d8 + 6 + 8 ⇒ (4, 4) + 6 + 8 = 22

Entropic Strike vs EAC: 1d20 + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 = 17
Damage Acid or Bludgeon: 2d8 + 6 + 8 ⇒ (4, 6) + 6 + 8 = 24

To everyone else it seems like an anti explosion erupts out of Sheher simultaneously with the fire coming out of the Kish and as the energy waves compete and rage against each other they can see Sheher deliver at least one solid sock to his jaw through the maelstrom.

Botting Varnais.

Like a true warrior, Varnais lunges at Xavra with full force!

Claw!!: 1d20 + 11 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 11 - 4 = 21
Bludgeoning: 2d6 + 17 ⇒ (5, 5) + 17 = 27

Claw!!: 1d20 + 11 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 11 - 4 = 17
Bludgeoning: 2d6 + 17 ⇒ (2, 6) + 17 = 25

But he's fought larger talons before and lived to tell the tale.

Good show, Sheher!

Surrounded by enemies, Xavra begins to lose his calculating manner and lays into Varnais with two powerful strikes.

Flashing Strikes, Shaken: 1d20 + 22 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 22 - 3 - 2 = 34
Slashing Damage: 4d8 + 15 - 5 ⇒ (7, 1, 5, 2) + 15 - 5 = 25
Mirror Image, 1 is a Hit: 1d3 ⇒ 2

Flashing Strikes, Shaken: 1d20 + 22 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 22 - 3 - 2 = 34
Slashing Damage: 4d8 + 15 - 5 ⇒ (2, 2, 2, 8) + 15 - 5 = 24
Mirror Image, 1 is a Hit: 1d2 ⇒ 2

But all he destroys is whatever calm he had remaining.

ROUND 9-10
EVERYONE MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Pangea (-64 stamina; -22 hit points; 5 rds slow)
Zolvi (-64 stamina; -18 hit points)
Xavra (101 damage; graviton 1; 2 rds shaken)
Sigmus (-47 stamina)
Varnais (-17 stamina; see invis, comprehend languages)
Sheher (-48 stamina)
John (-64 stamina; -19 hit points)

Pangea is still moving like a barathu underwater, and pops off a single shot at the Kish.
Laser Pistol vs EAC: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23 (not counting cover)
Fire: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1) + 4 = 7

Thanks for botting and sorry for absence!

- Ha! You trained as a warrior, and yet you will die at the claws of the Hellknight sorcerer!

Claw: 1d20 + 11 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 4 = 142d6 + 17 ⇒ (4, 2) + 17 = 23
Claw: 1d20 + 11 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 11 - 4 = 182d6 + 17 ⇒ (2, 2) + 17 = 21

Or not...

Entropic Strike vs EAC: 1d20 + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 = 23
Damage Acid: 2d8 + 6 + 8 ⇒ (1, 7) + 6 + 8 = 22

Entropic Strike vs EAC: 1d20 + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 = 13
Damage Acid: 2d8 + 6 + 8 ⇒ (3, 4) + 6 + 8 = 21

Starting to get the measure of who they're facing Sheher gets better at getting at least closer to landing a hit.

Miss, miss and miss!

ROUND 9-10
BOLD MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Pangea (-64 stamina; -22 hit points; 5 rds slow)
Zolvi (-64 stamina; -18 hit points)
Xavra (101 damage; graviton 1; 2 rds shaken)
Sigmus (-47 stamina)
Varnais (-17 stamina; see invis, comprehend languages)
Sheher (-48 stamina)
John (-64 stamina; -19 hit points)

John does his best...

Called Holy Ghost-Killer Poacher Injector Pistol: 1d20 + 13 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 13 - 4 = 11, for 2d6 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (5, 1) + 8 + 2 = 16 damage.
Called Holy Ghost-Killer Poacher Injector Pistol: 1d20 + 13 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 13 - 4 = 23, for 2d6 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (2, 1) + 8 + 2 = 13 damage.

Got him on the ropes now... Zolvi says, trying to convince herself as much as anyone.

Attack: 1d20 + 13 - 4 ⇒ (3) + 13 - 4 = 12 for damage: 1d6 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21
Attack: 1d20 + 13 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 13 - 4 = 21 for damage: 1d6 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20

Botting Sigmus.

With an unobstructed line of fire, Sigmus lights up Xavra.

Artillery Laser, Tracking, Miracle: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 15 + 2 + 2 - 4 = 27
fire damage: 3d8 + 8 + 2 - 15 ⇒ (8, 4, 8) + 8 + 2 - 15 = 15

Artillery Laser, Tracking, Miracle: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 15 + 2 + 2 - 4 = 28
fire damage: 3d8 + 8 + 2 - 15 ⇒ (8, 2, 8) + 8 + 2 - 15 = 13

Sigmus makes headway as the rest of his party struggles to make contact.

Burnt, scraped and angry, Xavra turns his fury back on Varnais, the challenger!

Flashing Strikes, Ultrathin Longsword: 1d20 + 22 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 22 - 3 - 2 = 24
Slashing Damage: 4d8 + 15 - 5 ⇒ (7, 8, 5, 6) + 15 - 5 = 36

Flashing Strikes, Ultrathin Longsword: 1d20 + 22 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 22 - 3 - 2 = 33
Slashing Damage: 4d8 + 15 - 5 ⇒ (4, 6, 1, 1) + 15 - 5 = 22

ROUND 10-11
EVERYONE MAY ACT!!
------------------------------
Pangea (-64 stamina; -22 hit points; 4 rds slow)
Zolvi (-64 stamina; -18 hit points)
Xavra (129 damage; graviton 2; 1 rd shaken)
Sigmus (-47 stamina)
Varnais (-39 stamina; see invis, comprehend languages)
Sheher (-48 stamina)
John (-64 stamina; -19 hit points)

Entropic Strike vs EAC: 1d20 + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 = 27
Damage Acid: 2d8 + 6 + 8 ⇒ (6, 7) + 6 + 8 = 27

Entropic Strike vs EAC: 1d20 + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 5 - 4 + 2 = 24
Damage Acid: 2d8 + 6 + 8 ⇒ (4, 7) + 6 + 8 = 25

Sheher keeps on swinging away. She knows the Kish is only delaying the inevitable.

Still nice and slow, like an Ysoki with overloaded cheek pouches, Pangea keeps on trying to contribute something, but squeezing off a single shot...
Laser Pistol vs EAC: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12
...and said shot does not go off.
Nat' 1
Pangea slowly raises his gun and looks into the barrel.

With a furious jolt of entropy, Sheher brings down the mighty warrior.

COMBAT OVER!!

Pangea sees the enemy go down, and realizes that is the reason the pistol did not fire.
"Otherwise I'd have hit him..."

Sheher cracks her knuckles. Some day that will be every one of us She intones and then wanders off to find a spot to mediate.

After you rest and recover your faculties (and presumably loot Xavra), the urgency of your search to find out what the Cultists were looking for takes precedent. This library is obviously vast, but the once-tidy system of organization for its shelves is now in shambles.

(hand-waving the checks required because with comprehend languages, Taking 10 and automatic Aid Another you eventually find the information you seek)

After hours of digging through dead ends such as the principles of arcanoquantum fluid dynamics and self-replicating terraforming biotics you piece together a rough history of what you're looking for.

Thousands of millennia ago the kishalee crafted technological wonders and flew among the stars, seeding colonies all across the galaxy. You even find coordinates and starcharts referencing what one day would become the Golarion system.

One territory covered extensively is Nejeor VI, labeled as a gas giant with virtually inexhaustible natural resources. The kishalee built floating cities among the clouds, the grandest of which was this – Istamak – though many others were commissioned as well. Colonists came from far and wide for a chance to live in these shining metropolises, ready to work on the gas-mining platforms or study the planet’s unique weather patterns.

Then the kishalee’s war with a race called the sivvs began. It raged for centuries, and the resources of Nejeor VI were vital in keeping the kishalee fighting. A weapons-research facility and factory, called simply “the Foundry”, was built in Istamak in an effort to find an edge against the sivvs that could end the hostilities.

The sivvs created their own superweapon first—the Stellar Degenerator—but kishalee agents ended the war by capturing the weapon before it could be fired. Bankrupted by the creation of a weapon of system-wide mass destruction, the sivv civilization collapsed soon thereafter. The kishalee then turned many of their civilization’s resources to studying and understanding the Stellar Degenerator. The Foundry was sent vast information about the weapon so it might participate in the study and analysis of the doomsday device.

In time, the kishalee decided that they currently had no need for the Stellar Degenerator’s massive destructive power, so it should be hidden away, in part to store it for future use and in part to keep it out of the reach of any other enemies. The best and brightest kishalee technomancers created a demiplane in which they would store the weapon—a place accessible only through a titanic structure called the Gate of Twelve Suns, which was constructed far from the Nejeor system. The study of the Stellar Degenerator in Istamak came to a close, and all information on it was archived within the Foundry (the “library” you are now in).

Years passed, and the kishalee came into conflict with other species. Though the Stellar Degenerator could destroy the home system of any opposing force, the kishalee used it only once. So horrifying was the terrible, dark fate the Stellar Degenerator imposed by cursing worlds to sit in dark orbits around a dead sun, the kishalee never again called upon the superweapon after its sole wartime use.

Though dominant for thousands of years after the war with the sivv, the kishalee civilization eventually deteriorated. The most recent files describe a government slowly collapsing, and the citizens of Istamak and other floating cities slowly being cut off from others of their kind. Regular supply runs that were vital to the city’s survival stopped arriving, and the kishalee of Istamak were forced to fend for themselves, tearing down buildings, turning the empty city blocks into farms, and learning to hunt both native fauna and species imported to the planet.

You conclude what you already suspected, that over the generations, these kishalee gradually degenerated into a less civilized, less fragile version of their species—the kish—and in the process forgot much of their people’s history and achievements and understanding of the scientific wonders they lived among. Knowledge of the Stellar Degenerator and the Gate of Twelve Suns was just a tiny fraction of what was lost.

One datapad holds the coordinates of the Gate of Twelve Suns, allowing you to plot a course there. The Gate of Twelve Suns consists of a dozen stars arranged in a circle, each orbited by a single planetoid; the devices that control the gate, further examples of advanced kishalee technology, are located on these planetoids. You discover that only a small crew is required to operate the gate.

But the Cult is likely already ahead of you.

This concludes Book 4!! Apologies for taking longer than I anticipated.

To those who are continuing to Book 5, please feel free to read my introductory post over in the new thread and post whenever you get a chance. To those who aren't continuing, I look forward to crossing paths with you again in the future!

As a final post, describe what your character's plans are after your experiences here on Istamak ^_^

The Gate of Twelve Suns consists of a dozen stars arranged in a circle, each orbited by a single planetoid; the devices that control the gate
Does that mean one has to go to each of the 12 planetoids to control the gate?

Enthused that the group has finally managed to fight through the trials of this gas giant, and located the Gate, Pangea hopes they will be able to get there before the Cultists succeed in doing anything bad.
But, as a Xenoarchaelogist, Pangea is going crazy by the incredible discoveries to be made here, and decides to remain with the Kish, in order to start documenting them.

This concludes Book 4!! Apologies for taking longer than I anticipated.
Thanks a LOT!
It was really great, and I did not find it too long.

Finishing a book is a major accomplishment and thank you for running it!

Sheher doesn't really mind hanging around the Kish ruins for a while, though she'll eventually want to head back to space. There's plenty of dangerous animals to hunt though if she does get bored.

Thank you for a wonderful game! That was awesome!

Meanwhile, Signifer Varnais received orders to return with a full report and then to go with a group of exceptionally trained Hellknights. Alas, it will take too much time and the universe must be saved by someone else!

Pangea sees the enemy go down, and realizes that is the reason the pistol did not fire.

"Otherwise I'd have hit him..."

I'm sure. Zolvi says.

As the sheer scale of the translated data becomes clear, the kasatha's eyes widen. A star-killer...they've discovered a star-killer...

Well, that's not exactly ideal. two of Zolvi's arms scratch her chin. We need to send a report to the Stewards immediately. Someone has to intercept the Cult before they figure out how to operate the damned thing.

She sighs. But I don't think I'm one of them. This far out in the vast it seems my combat prowess is...more limited than expected. But there may be more to contribute here. The 'kish' have forgotten half of their own name much less how much of this city operates. Operated. There may be information still hidden here about a failsafe, or some way to remotely disrupt the Degeneration.

She looks at the others. But to those of you heading on: good luck. Hope Talavet's smiling more on you than she is me lately.

"Signifier Varnais, do you not want to live here with me and... Zolvi?
Maybe create a local chapter of KIshknights?"