GM Woran's Starfinder: Dead Suns AP

Game Master Woran

The gnomes give antonius a good look over.
"Cousin eh? We are one big family here, but dont try an fool us little mister. We've been watching kids so long we can spot a lie a mile away. Now, we aint mad. Just tell us what this is all really about."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

"Business," Ras cut in, "We have a particular sort of interest in a local organization and were hoping to speak to a Mr. Jabaxa about them as his interests likely align with our own. We just need someone to point us in his direction and maybe make some introductions."

By his cadence, it was rather obvious exactly what sort of interest they had.

"Yeah, what he said. We'ze lookin' for Jabaxa. 'Member, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and we gots da same enemy."

diplo to aid: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

The gnomes look pleased. "See now dearies. That wasnt too hard now was it? Honestly lasts the longest we always say."

They hand you all a piece of candy for being honest.
"Very well, we'll pass on the message that there are some people interested in talking. Anything else we can pass on other then the whole enemy of my enemy thing?"

For sake of speed I assume you do not have anything else to pass on.

You pass some contact info to the gnomes, who promise to let you know when they have any other information for you.

A few hours later, you get a message stating that tomorrow at 10, you are to come to a bodega called 'mama fats' on level 21 for a meeting.

Anything else you want to do before your meeting, or shall i skip ahead?

When you arrive at Mama Fats at 10 sharp, Mama herself is behind the counter. With a nod and a wink the halfling woman points you to the back room.

In the back room, Jabaxa, a Ysoki with a cybernetic eye, and two gang members are sitting down.

"Ah, you must be those intrepid starfinders. Or should I say long lost 'cousins'? I'm Jabaxa. What can I do for you?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

"A simple exchange, you give us some information and we'll go make life difficult for one of your competitors," Ras said, seemingly entirely unconcerned by the presence of two gang toughs feigning cool indifference at Jabaxa's side.

Jabaxa strokes his whiskers. "Well now. That sounds like an interesting buisness proposition. Why dont you all have a sit down then? And tell me all about it over a drink."

Jabaxa pulls a set of shotglasses and a bottle of bathtub moonshine from under the table and pours everyone a healthy measure.

"Ask your questions."

"The Downside Kings," Ras started as he took a seat opposite Jabaxa and took up the shot but did not seem immediately inclined to drink it just yet.

"They killed a friend of mine and I'd like to see them hurt for that," his words were calm but the mote of ghostly light that constantly orbited him flared up briefly. "What're their headquarters like? Manpower? They got any real talent on hand?"

Jaru eyes the shot warily but accepts it. "Thank you. A shot sounds like an excellent way to celebrate once we've come to an accord."

Jabaxa sips from his moonshine. "I can tell you about the Downside kings. We dont like them very much. Their current boss is a barbarous human woman named Ferani Nadaz. The Kings use a nightclub called Fusion Queen as a base of operations. I'm sure you can find Nadaz there. I'd advise against a frontal assault. They keep the club a bit on the down low as far as we can tell. Not to scare the clients away. But if you go in guns blazing, they can call in quite a bit of back up. I'd say your best chance is to go snooping about."

Antonius slams down the shot. "Thanks, Jabaxa. That's useful information for us. I think an alliance will be an amazing thing for us.

"So, what can you tell Nadaz woman? And is there anything that you need from us?"

She will politely refuse any alcohol and instead drink water. She wanted to be sober if something happened. Dealing with these people did put her on edge

Jabaxa eyes Antonius. "Well see here 'cousin', you keep talking about an alliance. If you wanna take the fight to the Kings, you're more then welcome to it. But we aint going to lose some lives taking the Kings on. The Crew got their fight with them because of the whole Acreon thing, but a war is not something we want. I aint going to throw lives away over that."

"That I can agree with. I've no interest in becoming tied down with affairs here, not when there is so much more to see. The Kings will be held to account and then we're out of your hair," Ras said eye Tony. It was both easy and difficult to tell were the ysoki's interests lay half the time.

"That sounds like a wise choice. No one wants a gang war. Not you, not me. Altough if you give those Kinds a round for their money, you can lie low here at level 21 for a while if you want.
The Fusion Queen should be open 24 hours a day, like so many establishments on the station. Its interesting to see you Starfinders getting yourselves some good old piece of revenge."

"Who says Starfinders are the only thing we are?" Raz said, knocking back his shot of rotgut and standing.

"Good doing business with you Mr. Jabaxa"

Jabaxa gives you all a nod. "Good luck in your endeavors Starfinders. Hope to see you around."

Do you all want to check out the fusion queen? I would like to mention, because adventures are not always obvious, that this is something you can do. Its not required of the story. If you do, it will give you some extras, but its not mandatory. If you feel your characters would not infiltrate a night club, then that is perfectly viable.

I vote yes on the queen thing

"So, we should hit up the night club, eh?" says Antonius. "Dat sounds like fun."

Getting to where the club is located, is no problem

Lurid neon lights brighten the otherwise dingy space station corridor here, advertising the main entrance to Fusion Queen. You recognize the club’s logo, a stylized crown, as a variant of the Downside Kings’ symbol.
Two sizable Vesk bouncers guard the front doors of the nightclub, stopping anyone attempting to enter and searching them for weapons, as well as barring entry to anyone they feel doesn’t match the club’s usual clientele.
Weapons can be deposited in lockers to the side of the entrance for a small fee.

Jaru turns to the others before approaching the club. "So what do we do? I certainly don't want to go in guns blazing but I don't like the idea of going in there defenseless either."

Ok I just can't do this... there is no way a tactical baton will fit in an Ysoki's cheek pouch.

Antonius stashes his pistol in his cheek pouch. He then turns to Jaru, "If we can shthare a locker, I'll put my baton in there. Itsh my only weapon." He winks

Jaru's eyes dart nervously from Antonius to the two Vesk. "Alright. I will trust that you know what you are doing. Before we enter though I would point out that both Tali and I have a less noticeable form of communication at our disposal. I remember that it made you somewhat uncomfortable but it may be helpful in there."

"I'm more than capable of causing damage without my weapons but that is not the preferred course of action. If they are familiar with my sort then they won't let me in on principle. If we can divide their forces, split their attention, then a frontal assault would be considerably more feasible."

"Do you have a plan that will allow us to split their attention without splitting our forces?"

As a note, you will have com access at the club. The days of being inside a building and having no reception are a thing of the past ;), also, people are coming and going from the club the whole time. It wont be strange if you enter, scout it out, and leave to come back after an hour or so.

"What's the big deal? We'ze just goin into a club!" says Antonius, as he grabs Tali's hand and moves towards the door. "You'll be my girl for this, right, Tali? No big deal. We're da best of friends already, anyway!"

With Tali in tow, Antonius makes for the door. "Do the mind thing... its all cool."

Anyone wanting to smuggle a weapon in can make a stealth check. It is of course possible to have one person make all the stealth checks. You can also distract the bouncers during their search with a bluff check

Wouldn't it be Sleight of Hand?
Going to pass my survival knife off to Tony for smuggling.

Bluff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

"Gentlemen!" Ras said striding to the front of the group after Tony decided to pull the trigger on this attempt. "Gentlemen! My associates have business on the other side of yon portal you are guarding so stalwartly. Though such things pale in the great scale of the cosmos, on this level, this scale as it were, our business is quite important."

Ow yeah, I thought they had put slight of hand under stealth, but its still its own separate thing.

sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 3
sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Both Vesk bouncers blink. "What? Its a club, not a buisness place. Just... Stick by the rules, OK?"

That is definitively and aid. Someone else can try and add to the distraction with another bluff check. Antonious could also do this himself. Its cumulative.

Asuming Antonius would try and hide one weapon for each of you

antonius slight of hand: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 2 = 19
antonius slight of hand: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 + 2 = 27
antonius slight of hand: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 2 = 28
antonius slight of hand: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 + 2 = 17

At the last check a weapon is found. I assume none of you want to make a point about it and have the bouncers stash it

The Bouncers give you all a warning, but from their attitude, people try and smuggle weapons all the time, so they are not taking it personally. Your compliance in quickly handing over the weapon helps.

The dimly lit interior of the nightclub is filled with the press of sweaty bodies, a haze of narcotic smoke, and the pounding beat and ululating vocals of bakarang music blaring from the main stage in the northeast corner of the room. A sinuous bar winds around the northwest corner, offering a variety of drinks and drugs for purchase. Booths line the south wall of the club, facing the main stage in the northeast corner and the crowded dance floor beneath it. Gyrating dancers stand atop four smaller stages scattered around the club: one behind the bar, one in the center of the room, and two flanking the main stage. Wide double doors marked “Staff Only” exit the room to the west.

Updated the map. I'll let you decide who's weapon got confiscated. Also, the drone is not allowed inside, but conveniently also fits in a locker. Or it can run surveillance outside, depending on what you would want.

Jaru recoils from the foul-smelling cloud of smoke in the club activating his environmental seals before entering.

"Quickly seal your suits they have released some form of toxin."

Raz slaps Jaru on one of four shoulders as he passes by and walks through the door with his characteristic confidence.

"Nah, mate, that's ambiance, best to enjoy a place with all five senses. Maybe even six if you've got'em."

Antonius takes a deep breath in. "You ain't wrong, Rassie. Dis is good stuff!"

He then moves in, looking for gangers.

The crowd in the club is pretty shady. Behind the bar are several bartenders mixing drinks, serving patrons and cleaning glasses. They would be a good point to start information gathering as they look like they are club personel.

Gather Info: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Before I write up Raz's approach, how far does that get me?

It honestly would depend on what you're trying to gather info on. Some things they would defenitely not tell someone who is a stranger. You could be a cop for all they know. But if you want to see if its possible to get a meeting with (a) boss, they are potentially open to that

Alright, just wanted to get a sense of how talkative people were here. Mostly trying to get a feel for how heavy the gang presence is and how things work here.

Raz shoulders his way up to the bar and puts in an order for a drink before settling in. It is hard to catch a bartender's eye on a busy shift but when he does, he gets to work. A word here, a smile there, and suddenly the strange fellow at the bar seems like just the sort of person to vent to about work.

The bartender listens to Rasalhague with practiced ease, nodding at all the right places and putting on a sympathetic face. The conversation at first is a bit one sided, as you need raise your voice to be heard.

sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 20

The bartender denies any ties with gangs, but you are absolutely sure the guy is lying.

Steering the conversation back a bit, Rasalhague does get a sympathetic ear how busy it has been, and that they are pretty understaffed at the moment. And how those 'three oafs in the back do nothing but play cards' with a motion to the double doors marked 'staff only'.

While Rasalhague chats up the bartender for a while, Antonius and Tali keep an eye on the staff door. In that time, no one exits or enters, but more importantly, none of the staff seem to be actively watching the door, as they are insanely busy making drinks, taking payments and otherwise being engaged with customers.
You're pretty sure that with a quick dash you could get in unnoticed.

Antonius winks at Tali, as he hurries for the door. Glancing around, quickly, he pushes through.
stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

Anyone want to follow antonius?

Sneaking is not Raz’s specialty

With how busy the bar is, you dont need a whole lot of stealth. Those wanting to follow antonius can stealth if they want, or you can use perception to just time a dash trough the door when no one is looking.

Jaru quickly slips through the unattended door.

stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

You see Antonius, and a few seconds later, Jaru, slip trough the door without anyone noticing.

Perception Rasalhague: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
Perception Talishanyu: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Not wanting to be left behind, Tali and Rasalhague time their dash trough the doors, managing to slip inside right at the same time.

Beyond the double door is large storeroom is filled with supplies for the bar outside, including bottles of hard alcohol, kegs of beer, and boxes of food and recreational stimulants. One corner holds amplifiers, musical instruments, and costumes for the club’s entertainers. A single door stands in the north wall.
At a table in the corner, 3 thugs are playing cards.

They dont seem to notice the Antonius or Jaru entering, but when Tali and Rasalhague walk in, one of them looks up.

"Hey, this is personel only. Get lost."

updated the map

"Das quite all right, we personel too, ya' know?" says Antonius, getting into his swagger. "As a matter of fact, we'ze just here for da game." he steps forward, grabbing a bottle off the shelf.

He thinks at Jaru, 'Got any way to take the three of dese out quick, like?'

Rat Tony looks around, trying to see what's in here of use.

bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

'This is going great,' Raz thought to the others. He was checking angles and looking at the thugs.

Are the thugs visibly armed and did we get a chance to redistribute our smuggled weapons?

The weapons are in Antonius's yap

"I'm sorry Antonius I could harm all three of them or possibly even incapacitate one but my gifts are still too weak to stop them all quickly. We could, however, coordinate our efforts and each try to quickly dispatch one of them."