The Scoured Stars incident (see the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide for more information on this event) ruined much of the Starfinder Society’s former galactic prestige. In the wake of the cataclysmic event, nominated First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo stepped forward to hold the Society together. The Society not only survived thanks to Luwazi’s quick and decisive action but also forged a path forward in the form of a new generation of recruits who have quickly proven themselves through several invaluable missions.
Luwazi’s efforts have left their mark on the Society. While the new recruits were still in training, the First Seeker enacted a radical plan of enlisting mercenaries to assist in Society operations, preserving the Society long enough for the recruits to complete their training. This hotly contested plan paid dividends on numerous fronts. Some members of these mercenary outfits opted to fully join the Starfinder Society, forming the Acquisitives faction under the leadership of Radaszam, the Dealmaker.
At the same time, Luwazi solicited additional support for the Starfinder Society from several external organizations, from Eoxian business moguls to the Knights of Golarion, garnering resources in the form of credits, equipment, and even starships. Most of these offers came in the form of investments, with returns to be paid in the future, while some had exact conditions on what the donors would receive for their support. The Society would not have survived without these external sources of assistance—a fact that many regularly remind the First Seeker about.
With a growing collection of successful missions under their belt, the Society’s newest members have started to make their mark on the galaxy. As it is apparent that the Starfinder Society is once again relevant to galactic affairs, the First Seeker has declared a celebratory gala on the grounds of the Lorespire Complex to commemorate those who aided the Society in its time of need, to showcase the new generation of Starfinders, and to announce a new direction moving forward.
You have been summoned to the First Seeker's office for your next mission, likely to do with tonight's gala.
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’re talking 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 be your 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?"
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Harrac looks down at his own armor, quickly trying to buff out a smudge. "Are we expecting any particular type of trouble? Will the guests themselves get along?" He looks at the others gathered in the room, nodding to Jena, "Do we need to check in with the Obsidian Spiders? I assume they know who we are?" He watches Jena out of the corner of his eye,
Radaszam looked the other vesk up and down for a minute, before snapping his fingers. "Harrac, right? From that Laboni junkracer incident? Yeah, good job on that one. Thing is, I’m always expecting trouble, it's part of why I'm still alive.” 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.”
Luwazi had been typing on her datapad for a moment, then each of you heard your new message alert.
"I have sent each of you a small briefing on the persons I wish you to impress. And I do mean that. Charm them, flatter them, stand on your tiptoes and bark like a seal at them, I don't care. Just don't embarrass yourselves, me, or the Starfinder Guild while you are at it."
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.
Naiaj is a bleachling gnome with a fierce protectiveness of the Starfinders who encourages—some say demands— competence and teamwork from Society agents. She’s a venture-captain who served long before the Scoured Stars incident.
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 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! 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.
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Jena listens attentively while ejecting and reinserting her pistol mag with a noticeable clack. "I suspect we will not be permitted to visibly bring our weapons with us?" she asks, seeming to barely pay Harrac any attention. She double checks the safety and holsters the pistol. "Impress... like, that is an awfully green head you have there Harrac?" says cocks her head slightly with a smile.
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Rei pulls out her datapad and reads her instructions. She nods her head slightly as if understanding, but contradicts her body language once she starts speaking.
"Some of us can impress with words, while others with actions. What exactly do you want us, 'less socially inviting' to do here? Dance? I am also interested in seeing your impression of a barking seal, in a non-embarrassing manner."
She lets out a minor chuckle while assuring her gear is all in place. She looks around at the other starfinders,
"Fine crew we have here. I am sure we all will get along nicely."
Smirking at Rei's comments, Skrivix strolls up to stand next to her.
"Miss, it looks like you can impress without trying too hard... but if you want we can certainly dance too."
After a brief pause he recalls the rest of the people in the room, "or we can dance with the guests I suppose."
He casually scans the room while recalling details of the guests.
vs DC 15
- Iteration 177
- Naiaj
- Royo
- Ykris
- Zo!
He glances over at Talc - "I could pass on the resistance," then turns his head towards Jena-224, "cuz I'm already feeling this group connecting like a perfect circuit. Ohm-an am I ever." He punctuates his delightful jest with a wink her way.
"Actually, this is exactly the kind of even that you should bring your weapons to. You will officially be on the staff list as security, so it will be expected. There will also be a thrill of danger and excitement that your armor and weapons will stir up that might play to our advantage. Just, please, avoid shooting anyone that isn't actively a threat."
"As for what you may need to do to impress our guests, I am sure you will think of something once you'v met them. Zo! should be easy. He's a reality trivid personality, so impressive stories and a dashing smile should be all he needs."
Radaszam cut in to answer Talc's question, "Like I said, I'm not expecting trouble, but we're planning for it anyways. Kid, first thing you learn in the mercenary business is that no plan goes perfectly in the real world. No, we ain't expecting resistance, but I am, if you get my meaning."
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Rei looks up at the others whom are rephrasing the same questions already asked before she lets out a sigh. She pulls out her datapad and leans back against the wall. "Oh look, they released Skyrim 2000 for the Datapad.", she blurts out, no longer giving anyone else any attention.
"Whistle when its time to go then"
Skrivix filled you in on what he knew about the people of interest as you headed out of Luwazi's office. The party was a few hours away, so you split up to handle last-minute tasks, cleanup, change, etc. before meeting again at the location of the gala.
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The lift doors open into the Skyreach Room, a classy space made breathtaking by large windows set into the vaulted ceiling, providing a shining view of the Armada orbiting Absalom Station and the galaxy beyond. A low stage with black skirting and a sleek podium overlooks the room from the far end of the hall. A dozen or so guests, representing a surprising array of races, mingle in twos and threes, while servers in sharp vests bring around a variety of bizarre snacks and drinks. A curly-haired AV technician arranges the wiring along one side of the stage, and Luwazi stands at the other side speaking with a damaya lashunta man.
Based on Skrivix's descriptions, you can easily pick out the handful of "special" guests that the Second Seeker wants you to impress. The small size of the gathering isn't quite what you expected, but at least it would be easier to gain the guests' attention than one with hundreds of people. Luwazi noticed your entry and nodded sideways with her head towards the clusters of guests, a very clear indication for you to "get on with it." You split up, canvassing the room and using what information Skrivix has shared to decide who to approach.
Your 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.
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.
Please ROLEPLAY you interactions, not roll-play. The more you role play, the more your GM likes you. And you want your Gm to like you, right?
some notes based on Skrivix's info:
Iteration-177 - An android newly arrived to Absalom Station. Likes stories of past missions, rumors of Starfinder plans, discussions of artifacts.
Naiaj - A bleaching gnome, who is very competent in her field. Is all about competence in the field. Wants to know about your training, plans for upcoming missions, any technical skills you posses.
Royo - A half-elf scholar and only talks with other scholars. Does not like augmenteds of any type.
Ykris - An intelligent insectile parasite that currently is attached to a half-elf. Likes gossip about the Starfinder society and is enamored with cybertech and biotech augmentations. Always willing to talk about the host-parasite relationships it experiences.
Zo! - An elibrian media personality driven to produce shows with great ratings. As such, description and demonstration of physical abilities might go over very well.
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Upon entering the room, Talc rubs his hands together as he looks over the crowd. Recalling what Skrivix told him of their intended "targets", Talc looks towards Iteration-177 and says "Hey Skrv, Skriv, uh, what was your name again? Anyway, that one over there, the android, that is Iteration-177, no? I'm going to see what I can do."
As he departs his companions he whispers "Good luck."
Cassually strolling over to the anroid, Talc snatches a drink from a nearby tray of beverages and quickly gulps half of it down before slowly sipping the rest. Alright, you got this bro. Make it happen.
Clearing his throat and then closing the distance he shakes out his hand and offers "Talc Bronx. You've probably heard of me."
When the android's face studies him and clearly doesn't place him, the bounty hunter frowns. "No? Rescue at Hovel Station? No? Ah, c'mon it's all the talk! Here, let me fill you in on what went down."
Talc dives into a generous story of how he piloted the Deep Reconnaissance away from a station under attack by pirates. [b]"So there I was, right? Power core is about to blow, shields are gone and Cap says to me, he says, 'Talc, you gotta get us outta here RIGHT THE HELL NOW'!" So I was like, "Yeah dude, I got this. Chill" and I threw a double barrel roll reverse past the blockade when suddenly... "
Talc pulls a swig of his drink and as animated as he can he shouts, "The starboard hull takes his huge blast and we losing air, right? So THEN what I did was..." Talc continues for another five minutes on his slightly exaggerated tale of escape in a previous mission.
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Jena enters the room, feeling the sensory input of various distractions throughout. Friendly, social, interact she thinks over and over and she moves past Talc's conversation with what is obviously an android good luck? she notices Ykris, quite evident based on the description. I wonder if it can attach to an android? "Greetings, I am Jena. I've been curious, how you are attached? Are you edible? Do you eat your host?" nonono, that doesn't seem like the right questions....
She stares awkwardly at Ykris, waiting for a response.
Impressed:
Iteration-177 - 1
Naiaj - 0
Royo - 0
Ykris - 0
Zo! - 0
Talc strode up to Iteration-177 and launched into a tale of heroic daring do, at least a quarter of which was true. The android seemed very interested in what Talc was saying, especially in the descriptions of the piloting. An avid pilot himself, he was very interested in Talc's hand motions, and even guessed the model of flight trainer that Talc learned on, based solely on the human's imagined controls positions.
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Jena-224 is awkward and socially inept at first, but her conversation about the parasite-host relationship finally broke the ice with Ykris.
The half-elf host's mouth opened and the words came out, but the blank stare in his eyes showed that the parasite was in complete control of the half-elf's body. "Haha, no. I do not eat my host, but thank you for asking! My legs end in nanometer-thin fibers that easily slip through mortal flesh to interact directly through the brain stem. My host is not harmed in any way. In fact, when Jhireu has completed his term of employment he intends to go to graphic art school. Would you care to experience the host-bond?"
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"Ah, so your host contracts with you for a duration of time? Are you responsible for your host's well being during this contracted period? This is very similar to how we androids inhabit our bodies. While technically our bodies live forever, most of us tend to release our souls from the bodies to allow new souls to inhabit them. We call it 'renewal'. I've only just awoken myself recently." she charges up a circuit in her arm to show the glowing circuitry to show Ykris.
"I'm not sure if you could interface with an android, but I'm afraid I would have to pass as I'm just now experiencing this new myself. Do you know if any of your kind has tried to host-bond with one?" she asks curiously.
"Oh yes. The intricacies of the android's bio-electrical interface are actually much easier for me to interact with than the chaotic and sometimes contradictory neural linkages of pure biologics. It is good of you to ask. Most people don't you know? They just yell 'Eww, a mind-controlling bug' and try and run away."
Round 1
Harrac -
Jena - Failed to influence Ykris
Re -
Skrivix -
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 2
Harrac -
Jena - Successfully influenced Ykris
Re -
Skrivix -
Talc -
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Talc beams with pride at Iteration-177's guess of the flight trainer. "EXACTLY! That's spot on! You know more than a thing or two, I see. Why, I bet you yourself have several impressive stories to share one day, no? That reminds me, did I tell you about time when our hyperspace calculation system went offline and I had to manually enter the coordinates from memory? Whew! The captain really blew a gasket over that one! Though, it wasn't as bad as Situation 99." Putting his hand up he caveats "But I'm not supposed to talk about that."
He looks left and then right as if he's holding back on a secret. He leans in and whispers, "But I'll tell you anyway since you'll get a kick out of it! Here goes..."
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Rei follows her crew into the gala. She attempts to make herself as 'presentable' as she can, as she scans the room. Her eyes focus on the gnome. Finally, someone with a brain she thinks to herself.
She makes her way towards the gnome before starting awkward conversation.
"These social events are not quite my style, however, the opportunity to expand my knowledge banks is something I simply cannot pass up. Let me introduce myself. My name is Rei, and you and I look like we might have some tech talk in common."
She reaches into her pocket to pull out her datapad.
"No time for small talk, take a look at this. I wrote my own programming language to improve the speed and performance of this simple Datapad. Have a look!"
She pauses to gauge the response from the gnome to see if she seems interested.
Impressed:
Iteration-177 - 2
Naiaj - 0.5
Royo - 0
Ykris - 1
Zo! - 0
Talc's discussion about Situation 99 held the android's attention for a few more minutes, but he could tell as he neared the end of his story that Iteration-177 was losing interest in piloting stories.
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Rei practically pounced on the bleachling gnome Naiaj with her datapad in hand. The gnome smorked at such exuberance, but nevertheless looked at the datapad in question. "I see. Yes, you rooted it and then replaced the core instruction set with...is this based on BACCI? It's an interesting way to approach things, certainly, but the vid-node code here could use a touch-up. Tell me, what can you think of that might fix that. Assume you are in the field and hacking an enemy system and you need to improve this section right here. Go."
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In typical shirren fashion, Skrivix blundered into conversation, and the scholar Royo rolled his eyes so hard he might have gotten whiplash. "I was just in the middle of a discussion on the importance of certain artifacts brought in from Drift Space recently, and their relationship to a lost temple on Castrovel. So unless you are a renowned archaeologist or a master of translation of ancient runes, I suggest you go bother someone else"
Round 1
Harrac -
Jena - Failed to influence Ykris
Rei - Failed(?) to influence Naiaj
Skrivix - Failed (miserably) to influence Royo
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 2
Harrac -
Jena - Successfully influenced Ykris
Rei - Successful SM on Naiaj, Comuters and Engineering
Skrivix -
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
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Harrac is walking toward Zo! when he overhears Rei prattling on. Sensing, Rei is about to pull a Jena and annoy one of the targets, he shifts over and joins them, Ahh, Rei, are you showing off your new coding language again? Did you open it in the vid-node again? Remember you overclocked the necter core so you added that extra login step so it wouldn't melt." He turns to Naiaj, "Rei is brilliant but sometimes gets over excited to share." With a big grin, he pats Rei on the back, probably a little too enthusiastically, and moves on to Zo!
"Afternoon Zo!" he nods his head deferentially, "Can I call you Zo!? If I could steal a moment of your time. I'm sure you're familiar with Strawberry Machine Cake. I think you helped break their first holodisk. Sad to say, they're already sooo last week. The new IT group is PonPonPon. They blend the saccharine sounds of Star Sugar Heartlove!!! with a proper Veskarium thumping bass. It's good dance music!" Harrac hits a button on his datapad and a horrific noise begins to emanate from his arm. Setting sugary pop music to anything Vesk is a horrible idea. Undeterred, Harrac begins to dance and jump around the room, arms flailing and head banging, fast enough that he nearly slams it against nearby guests. After a minute, he hits the button again and rejoins Zo!, flop sweat dripping on the floor, SEE!"
R1
R2
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Rei's mouth opens as if she is just about to respond to Naiaj when along comes Harrac. Nodding in agreement.
"Yes my friend Harrac is right. Sorry I tend to get carried away. Now to answer your question... hrm.. We could streamline the input protocols to accept REGEX params to... to..."
Her mind blanks out as she gets lost in over thinking the situation. She stares off into space for an awkwardly extended period of time before realizing the gnome is starting to lose interest.
She takes a breath and focuses on the task at hand before trying again.
"Ahh yes, we could use the REGEX Params to decrypt the hash and get in. Add in some recursive T.O.O.T. based ciphers and boom. Jackpot. Yes surely that would work. Thoughts?"
Impressed:
Iteration-177 - 2
Naiaj - 2
Royo - 1
Ykris - 1
Zo! - 1
Together, Rei and Harrac mange to get Naiaj in a slightly better mood. The gnome nodded her head at Rei's attempts to hack on teh fly. "Not exactly, but you're getting there. I approve of this method of progress."
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The undead media mogul, and most of the guests, watched as the vesk cleared the middle of the floor with his own tunes and unique dancing style. It was when he stood almost straight up on his tail and began gyrating that Zo! started clapping. "I must say, that was truly amazing. Have you ever seen my show, Dancing Among The Stars? You would be an absolutely natural there. If all Starfinders are as talented as you, then you must be an absolutely amazing group of people. You hear that folks? Amazing." The elebrian flashed a smile that seemed to show far more teeth than was absolutely necessary. "So tell me, what other amazing things can you and your friends do?"
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Skrivix changed tactics, launching into a lengthy discussion about a temple on Castrovel, and a monologue against looters that really touched a button on Royo, who took up the conversation and kept it going for far longer than was comfortable for anyone around him.
Harrac -
Jena - Failed to influence Ykris
Rei - Failed(?) to influence Naiaj
Skrivix - Failed (miserably) to influence Royo
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 2
Harrac -
Jena - Successfully influenced Ykris
Rei - Successful SM on Naiaj, Comuters and Engineering
Skrivix -
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 3
Harrac -
Rei -
Skrivix
Talc -
Round 4
Harrac -
Rei -
Skrivix
Talc -
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Harrac's face turns an odd shade, reminiscent of iCabbage® that has been left in a leaking space lock overnight, "You flatter me! I've never missed an episode! They way you were able to make Dalan the Deceiver look so beautiful while she danced the Adeshi Tango ..." He trails off, smiling wistfully.
Coming back to the moment, he looks around at the other Starfinders, "we are an eclectic group, that is sure." He points at the others and briefly tells Zo! what they excel at, before thumping his own chest, "and I am a master impressionist! Watch this!" He hunches his back and crouches close to the ground, moving around on his tipclaws. "And our next dancers are Dalan the Destoyer and her partner Bert!" his voice booms. The other guests laugh as they watch this large Vesk yelling as he tries to imitate the petite, soft spoken, Ysoki host of Dancing Among the Stars. Harrac finishes with a pirouette and grins as if he's the greatest showman alive, oblivious to how poorly he's doing.
R3
R4
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Upon hearing the commotion from Harrac, Jena excuses herself from Ykris, "I'll be right back, I believe my wayward compatriot is doing some sort of mating ritual, this is going to be facinating to watch. You should come too if you're curious!"
R3@Ykris:
"Harrac... you.. dance so well, do you need a partner in crime?" she asks as she maneuvers between his flailing appendages and grasps his hand and begins to what can only be described as an space octopus flailing in the weightless of space with a bad case of gas from eating raw Kasathasian strider-bird meat.
R4@Zo!:
R3
"... and that's generally how the final stages of the Ternazoan era marital rites began. The royals often utilized biomorphic gels with low-power electrostatic charges to create elegant display of fluidity in biologically mimicked forms. This practice was so widely popular that it eventually trickled down to the commonfolk, though the vast disparity in resources often meant the exhibition was far less grandiose and typically fell somewhere between shabby and disgraceful. Matter of fact, I've read of a number of accounts resembling the flailings of those few over there--" Skrivix half-chokes on his charred Kasathian kebab before realizing his compatriots are the ones gathering a gawking crowd of "admirers".
"--ahem.. As I was saying those uh... dancers... are pretty accurately reenacting your typical laborer caste marital ceremony. All they're missing at this point is a few risqué touches and a liberal splashing of wine to really seal the deal. At that point, by Castrovellian standards, they'd essentially be wedded for the next Castrovellian decade." There is an audible gulp as Skrivix finishes his kebab.
R4
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As the conversation with Iteration-177 finished up, Talc's ego is soaring high from having already completed part of this social mission he thought he would be completely useless in. With a wide grin he randomly picks the media mogul as his next destination.
Target acquired. he thinks to himself as he strolls over casually. He slides over when he heres talk of dancing. "Harrac, are you boring another one with your impressions again?" Talc mocks a heavy sigh and shakes his head. "If it's DANCING you want to hear about, I could show you a thing of two. Why, when I was in Balianean district in training I learned about the Hazalta. It's a Balinese dance that is a very elegant dance, usually performed in elaborate ceremonies or plays which have deep cultural meaning. The Balinese make very elegant use of their hands as well as their feet in the dance, which adds a vibrant poignancy. The Balinese are a proud and culturally rich people and it shows in the elegant sophistication of their dance. The dance is carried out in their very finest traditional clothing."
He backs up and clears his throat, "Here, let me show you." Closing his eyes he jumps around the room and tries to recount the ceremonial dance from memory, having not performed it in several years.
Impressed:
Iteration-177 - 2
Naiaj - 2
Royo - 1
Ykris - 1
Zo! - 3
Zo1 seemed a little put off as Harrac and Jena started doing some kind of weird crab-walk thing around him. The media mogul seemed almost relieved as Talc came over and started break dancing. As the man spun and whirled on the floor, Zo! leaned in as if speaking to an invisible camera and said "That, ladies and gentlemen, is real talent! Coming up next on our new show Starfinder Search we'll see if these fine folks can do anything other than dancing...please!" He delivered that last line with his patented (AS #: 403J124F132Q0084) Zo! smile and wink.
Meanwhile, Royo completely turned away from SkrivixxxxXXXXxxx, as he became bored with the shirren's prattle about mating rituals. Apparently, it was too detailed. Man, this guy was a hard read.
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Luwazi collected you all with a head nod and a series of gestures. She glared at Harrac and Jena a moment. [b]"When I said bark like seals if you have to, I didn't mean it literally. What were you idiots doing over there? And you, Skrivixx, the jellied egg sacs of the what? Look, I've been following your gambits, and some of you are making a difference. Looks like Zo! is almost completely in our sway. Naiaj is about halfway there, and so is Iteration-177. Maybe someone else can bother Ykris and Royo for a bit. It seems like Jena and Skrivixx didn't do so hot there. Royo likes to talk academically, so any culture, mysticism of life science experience you have could seal the deal with him. So, see if you can get Zo! firmly on our side. Something showy. Then, focus on either Iteration-177 or Naiaj. Computer skills, training reports, mission debriefs, whatever. If we have to write off Royo for this event, so be it, but we need confirmed support. So get back out there and do your best!
Harrac -
Jena - Failed to influence Ykris
Rei - successfully influenced Naiaj
Skrivix - Failed (miserably) to influence Royo
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 2
Harrac - failed to influence Zo!
Jena - Successfully influenced Ykris
Rei - Successful SM on Naiaj, Computers and Engineering
Skrivix -
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 3
Harrac - failed to influence Zo!
Jena - failed to influence Ykris
Rei - failed to influence Naiaj
Skrivix failed to influence Royo
Talc - successfully influenced Zo!
Round 4
Harrac - failed to influence Zo!
Jena - failed to influence Zo!
Rei - successfully influenced Naiaj
Skrivix failed to influence Royo
Talc - successfully influenced Zo!
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Harrac looks askance at Luwazi, "I don't know what you mean, he invited me on the next series of Dancing Among the Stars!" He shrugs and moves off to talk with the parasite.
"Ykris - well met! Jena said you were the person to talk to about cyber and biotech augmentations. I'm newly in the market and could use your advice. He taps a button on his forearm to silence a soft voice that seems to relay the news of a break-in down the street, "sorry about that, I'm a bounty hunter by trade so I need to keep an ear on the local chatter. Do you have any thoughts on the Restraining Spinneret? It seems like most of my fellow Vesks lean toward the Venom Spur or Dragon Gland, but those seem gauche and overplayed." He snorts, "although, the ability to spit fire would be pretty impressive! What say you?
R5 Impression:
R6 Impression:
Ykris seemed a little taken aback at first by the vesk's line of conversation, but then it began to get in the hang of the conversation. "I am not usually one for either. Both biotech and cybertech augmentations greatly reduce my ability to communicate directly with eh nervous systems of my host. I have paired with augmenteds before, of course, But I prefer the more natural state. Because I can control my host at a molecular level, I act as a sort of biotech augment myself, I suppose. Faster reflexes, better endurance...If you like I can show you."
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Jena frowns at Luwazi, "Are you paying attention to the right parts of the dance Zo!? It's clearly indicated on page 43 of the Galaxy's guide to rural traditions part VII that less emphasis is on the movement of the legs, but more on the arms, what appears to be flailing appendages is actually an intricate communication methodology with the ancient Raknonians. This was a recent discovery by distant human xenobiologists and it's the latest craze in the rim colonies. I'm sure with the next Star Search you'll be seeing more and more adaptations of this!" She smiles warmy at Xo! and curtsies, "I beg your pardon, my dance partner has gone to introduce this to more patrons."
R5 @ Luwazi Impression:
She listens to the conversation between Harrac and Ykris to get an idea of what would be of interest. But between Harrac inane banter and Ykris' bored expression, she isn't able to discern one way or another.
"Harrac!" Jena interrupts, "You should totally ask Ykris about being a host, there's MANY advantages to this! It's almost like Androids and our souls abilities! When we leave our bodies for a new soul to inhabit! it's a total win win situation. Isn't that right Ykris?"
R6 @ Ykris Impress:
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Rei looks around at the other Starfinders, falling over each other and making an awful ruckus of the entire gala.
Speaking to Naiaj "What are they doing, jumping and flailing about like that. Quite silly if you ask me. Now where were we?"
She puts her datapad away, and pulls out her engineering kit.
"Let me tell you about the time we were called out to help rescue some trapped miners on one of the moons of Theron 4 in the Wilde system. They were trapped behind secure blast doors, with a mining explosive as they were attempting to tunnel deeper. Both the door and the explosive malfunctioned, leaving them trapped, with a detonator counting down. Using my handy kit in record speed, I was able to both get through the door and disable the explosives leaving everyone unharmed."
Rei motions her actions with her kit to Naiji, trying to impress her with her quick skills.
"At least I think it was like this, or maybe not. Tell me. What would you do if you were there?"
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Harrac seems confused for a moment, suddenly unsure of what he thought they'd learned about the guests. "Harder and stronger you say?" He thinks for a moment but then Jena joins him and he starts bopping his head to a song only he can hear, His arms start to sway a bit as he looks around to see if anyone is joining him, "Work is. OVER!" The sudden hush silences the song in his head, "uh, yeah, that could be cool for a few minutes. What do I need to do? Will I remember it?"
"Oh, you do not need to do anything special. Just be still a moment while I transfer."
The centipede-like creature extracted its multiude of legs from the base of the half-elf's skull and the man blinked slowly as if waking from a long sleep. Meanwhile, the creature skittered down the half-elf tot he floor, and in a matter of seconds it was climbing up Harrac. The vesk felt an involuntary shudder building up as eons of evolution and years of training told him to throw the insectile creature to the floor and smash it, but his iron will was stronger than mere instinct. And then he felt a coldness at the base of his skull.
His limbs were no longer his to move. His eyes did not look where he wanted them to look. It was like being paralyzed at first, then Harrac watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as his own hands began weaving in front of him in an elegant dance. He bent and placed one hand on the floor, pulling his legs up slowly in a single handstand, perfectly steady and graceful. Nothing at all like his previous attempts at dancing for Zo!, this was grace and control personified. Of course, it wasn't Harrac. It wqs Ykris, controlling Harrac's body and leaving the vesk as a watcher within his own flesh, completely incapable of influencing things.
And then it was over. Smoothly, Ykris folded Harrac back into a standing position, and the coldness came once more as the parasite withdrew its legs and returned to its original host. Through the half-elf's mouth, Ykris spoke. "See? That was not bad, and you were stronger and more dexterous too. Thank you for trusting me with that experience. That took both courage and mental fortitude. You Starfinders are a peculiar lot."
Desperately needing another drink to assuage his concerns regarding his loss of Royo's attention, Skrivix leverages his Token Spell knowledge to snag one drink and then another before casting Detect Magic to take an enhanced look at Royo and the nearby guests, desperately looking for something to spark a potential subject of conversation. Detecting something on the dwarf next to Royo he loudly inquires, "oh my! Are those the famed sniping spectacles of Leiko the halfling-slayer? I don't know how I didn't notice those earlier, they're magnificent!" He leans in to look more closely before realizing his proximity, "oh I'm so sorry, do you mind if I get a closer look? The arcane runes on these are simply exquisite."
R5
R6
Impressed:
Iteration-177 - 2
Naiaj - 3
Royo - 2
Ykris - 3
Zo! - 4
Jena's impression of Luwazi was so spot on that Zo! saw it from across the floor and laughed uproariously. It seems that the five of you had made a really good impression on him. He beckoned to Luwazi and waved her over. Within moments, she was smiling broadly and they shook hands.
Rei's first attempt to describe her disarming of the trap in the mines was a colossal failure, dropping her tablet as she tried to user her hands to show what was going on. Naiaj looked disappointed until Rei recovered and was able to explain in technical detail what happened, making the gnome smile and nod her head.
On the other side of the room, Skrivixx had decided that he was personally going to influence Royo, or die trying! Bringing up some obscure piece of lore that no one really had any particular care about, he managed to garner some interest, though really...a halfling?
Harrac -
Jena - Failed to influence Ykris
Rei - successfully influenced Naiaj
Skrivix - Failed (miserably) to influence Royo
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 2
Harrac - failed to influence Zo!
Jena - Successfully influenced Ykris
Rei - Successful SM on Naiaj, Computers and Engineering
Skrivix - Successfully influenced Royo
Talc - Successfully influenced Iteration-177
Round 3
Harrac - failed to influence Zo!
Jena - failed to influence Ykris
Rei - failed to influence Naiaj
Skrivix failed to influence Royo
Talc - successfully influenced Zo!
Round 4
Harrac - failed to influence Zo!
Jena - failed to influence Zo!
Rei - successfully influenced Naiaj
Skrivix failed to influence Royo
Talc - successfully influenced Zo!
Round 5
Harrac - successfully influenced Ykris
Jena - successfully influenced Zo!
Rei - failed to influence Naiaj
Skrivix - failed ot influence Royo
Talc -
Round 6
Harrac - successfully influenced Ykris
Jena - failed ot influence Ykris
Rei - successfully influenced Naiaj
Skrivix - Successfully influenced Royo
Talc -
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Talc strolls over to Naiaj and listens to the discussions from Rei. Oh boy, this one is out of my league. Maybe I can recall what I heard the captain talking about the other day.
He takes another glass of bubbly and downs it quickly before turning to Naiaj and adds starts a monologue. Speaking all in one breath he recalls "Recent research has shown that empirical evidence for globalization of tactical innovation is very limited and as a corollary the market for auxiliary technologies is shrinking. As a world leader, it's important for VAT to provide systematic research grants for all scientists in this field. I believe strongly there will always be a need for us to have a well-articulated innovation policy with emphasis on tactical training and resource development. Thank you."
Talc lets his head flop down to his chest as he spins away from Naiaj. He whispers to her "What happened? I blacked out."
"I don't know who you are, or where you came from, but that has to be the biggest load of garbage I've ever heard. It also happens to be the exact same line Captain Rodritera spouted to me the other day. I take it you know Pertaxia? She is an amazing pilot. If you are one of her proteges, I can see you going far in the Starfinders. Far indeed. Now, tell me more about how Pertax- how Captain Rodritera is doing these days? "
As Talc relates some of his stories about working under the Captain to Naiaj, he can tell that he somehow struck the right tone with the gnome. After a moment, she excused herself and pulled out a datapad. She wasn't trying to shield it as she typed, so Talc was clearly able to see the message to Luwazi saying simply "Count me in."
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Seeing Talc take control of the gnome, Rei shrugs and heads around to mingle with the other guests. She looks over and sees Harrac being controlled by what? Ykris? Alright, now this I need to see. Approaching Ykris, she strikes up conversation.
"So, I am sure you must be getting weary of the constant questions of how this works exactly, but I could not help but see you take control of my friend Harrac for a moment. This raised many questions for me, as one who is always looking for ways of self improvement.
So tell me - does the link take effect really that fast? Are there different benefits to you depending on your host? If the host has weaknesses, do those become more hindering, or can you say restore paralyzed limbs in your host? Does your current host gain the memories of your previous hosts? I am intrigued by the possibilities, and I apologize if I am getting carried away."
Life Science +7, Physical Science +7
Life Science +7, Physical Science +7
Skrivix smiles broadly as his extended efforts with Royo yield slow but rewarding fruit. He telepathizes to Talc, "Never give up, never surrender!"
R7
R8
In a last ditch effort, Skrivix begins interweaving his prior conversations of galactic lore, modern studies, and powerful artefacts together in a dramatic mini-Masterclass on his most familiar topics. In the end, it seems dramatic is the most fitting descriptor as his over-the-top finish and reaching premises seem a bit forced at times.
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Jena hurries over to Skrivvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvixxxx and yawns at his obviously boring story about the galaxy lore. "That's nothing, they all relied too much on technology, the REAL interest is the beginnings of civilization where they had to use brute strength and intuition to find their way out of a ground pounding society!"
R7@Royo:
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She quicky moves to Iteration-177 next. "Hail Iteration-177. I am Jena-224. I have been informed you have interest in ancient artifacts? I believe we may come across some during our travels. I find the ancient artifacts that have survives Golarion particularly facinating." she drones on going into detail about what she has studied about the races of Golarion and the deities.
R8@Iteration-177: