Hmm's Against the Aeon Throne -- The Adventures of The Teapot!

Game Master Hmm

The slouching guard suddenly stands to attention. "Sir!" he says in common. He puffs out his chest. "All in order -- SIR!"

Prosper's not proficient in the Azlanti armor we've found so far (its all been Heavy), so no disguise is going to be very good. Plus not knowing Azlanti is a big weakness right now. That's something I felt was appropriate to leave off the Level 1 character sheet and save for the Level 2. :>
---
Earlier: In a moment of inspiration the night before, Prosper asks to see any photos or holos of Ruby, Rosie, Salchik or Garik, or any other images of people already killed by the Azlanti. Especially those that were killed in a very visible way that all the Azlanti here would have seen.
---
Now:
Prosper peers around the edge of the building and peeks at the singular cadet lying in wait. He rubs at his perpetually rugged looking stubble with one hand, seeming almost like he's confident in his brainstorming.

He whispers "I could lure him over. If you all think you can knock him out without making too much noise." And to illustrate his plan, his face flickers into that of one of the female Azlanti cadets and he makes a coy 'come hither' gesture with his her hand.

Earlier:

Aibretta's face softens. "You want to see pictures?" She shows photos of Ruby and her pies, Rosie, drinking a beer with her during training, Salchik making faces as he set up the water collector, and Garik scowling and giving someone the finger. "Gods, I miss 'em all."

Now:

The cadet who is guarding swallows as he watches Prosper make the coy 'come hither' look. He says to Pon, "Er. I think your girlfriend wants you to go see her. SIR!" and salutes.

Sene Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Pon grasps his rifle tighter and attempts his best Azlanti accent, but speaks in common, "Why are you speaking in this filthy language?" He very slowly readies his rifle.

Prosper stays half-hidden by mist, rolls her eyes, then makes sure she's keeping eye contact with the recruit and beckons again. Whether he responds as she wants or not, she heads back deeper into the mist and out of sight, her part in the distraction complete.

Bluff: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (8) + 5 + (6) = 19

Once out of sight of the recruit, Prosper's face regains his normal appearance and he whispers to his allies. "Pon's talking with the cadet, but maybe the cadet'll get my message and come over here. Be ready!"

"BecauseLinguisticProficiencyMakesUsBetterConquerors!" the guard shouts all at once, adding belatedly, "SIR!" He salutes again.

Rush just spits. "What?" his hoarse voice croaks.

....?

Pon readies his rifle. He is not exactly aiming it at the cadet, but it is not far off. "Give me your report in our language."

The cadet drops to his knees, hands up in the air, and wails. "It was not my FAULT!"

Pon looks at the cadet suspiciously, "...Randall?"

If it is Randall Trace...

Pon drops the accent and begins whispering forcefully, "Stop being so loud! I am working with Aibretta and Jellik. Tell me what happened and when!"

The 'cadet' jerks at the mention of Randall's name. "Yes. Er... Who are you?" Randall's eyes widen. "You're working with Aibretta? But... you look Azlanti!"

Are you calling in the rest of the team so they can join you?

"Is there anyone else in here?"

If he answers in the negative...

"Hey all, the cadet is Randall Trace. He says he's alone in here." the crew hears on the comms.

If he answers in the positive...

"Where are they?" Pon whispers. (If he give a location) Pon quietly activates his comms, "There are (x) enemies in here. Come in the front quietly."

"Yeah, I'm alone. Well, except for the body." Randall attempts to nod towards the interior module, but his helmet slips over his eyes, and he struggles a moment before pulling it off.

"So. What happened. This Azlanti came in to demand an accounting of the settlement's goods. I think they wanted to know which settlers still had guns and stuff, so I refused the order. The cadet then shot at me -- but missed. The bullet ricocheted off a support beam and struck a heavy shelf. It collapsed right on his head." Randall points to the bullet hole up in the support beam. "The cadet was just dead. No pulse or nothing. At first I thanked my good fortune, but then realized I might be blamed for the death. So I shouted, 'THEN I WILL STAY UNTIL THE ACCOUNTING IS DONE!' and dragged the body into the freezer and put on its gear and then you found me. This has been the worst time of my life. I've been jumpier than a cage full of hobgars! A few minutes ago I thought I was a dead man."

Dalinar enters and listens to Randall's story. "You did well. That was some exemplary quick thinking. We are in the midst of beginning a campaign of rabble rousing. Do you have somewhere to keep your head down? And is there anything here that might help us get rid of this infestation?"

Just as Randall is about to answer, his comm unit crackles. "वह हिसाब कहां है? हथियारों के मालिक ओलराजरा धैर्य खो रहे हैं।". The voice is young and bored.

Randall nearly jumps out of his skin when the message ends. "Oh crap. That's the second time they've called, and I have no idea what they're saying! What do I do?"

Spec trundles up quickly at the burst of Azlanti speech.
”They’re waiting for the accounting, and impatiently at that. Randall, focus! Do you have an accounting or inventory of the supplies?”

Assuming an answer in the affirmative

”Then quickly remove anything you need to keep hidden, because we are going to have to send them something.”

“Pon, come here” With urgent beckoning. ”Can you imitate that kid’s bored tone and inflection if I give you the lines? My beak can’t make the sounds right… too many clicks”

Assuming Pon also answers in the affirmative

”Great! So what we’re going to tell them is that it took a minute to get Randall to complete the inventory, but we are standing by to transmit the accounting on a secure frequency. So, say this:
“अरे, वहाँ अपने अंतरिक्ष-घोड़ों को पकड़ो! इस कीचड़-गेंदबाज को "समझाने" में कुछ मिनट लगे कि उसे निर्णय लेने के बहाने की बजाय साम्राज्य की जरूरतों का अनुमान लगाना चाहिए। आप जानते हैं कि यह कैसा है।
कम से कम अब लेखांकन किया जाता है, और एक बोनस के रूप में कीचड़-बॉलर ने "एक मूल्यवान सबक सीखा है" .. हे हे …”
Then clear your throat and shift to a slightly more professional tone and say:
“ट्रांसमिशन के लिए तैयार लेखा प्रकट। अस्थायी सुरक्षित कनेक्शन की स्थापना का अनुरोध करें”

"Of course I have a complete accounting of all the transactions, and the inventory! What sort of supply clerk do you think I am?"

He tells you that he's now completed a second list that has omitted which colonists have guns, which is most of the colony. "Only I put back in guns that I know that the Azlanti confiscated already, to make them think they got most of our weaponry."

There's lots of grains, rations, and other food here, as well as some assorted general wiring and electronic parts in the interior module. Many of the general non-food supplies have been already allocated to individual colonists, or got looted by Azlanti. "I noted their 'requisitions' already. Also... They didn't get everything. When I saw that ship in the sky, I hid a few things first."

Here are some of the things Randall hid:

Morning

Minos oddly seems confused at first with the lack of squox, but eventurally remembers that we are no longer on the ship. After breakfast, he pulls some scrap from the shop and recasts his Junk Armor

At Supply Depot

"I think we can rig up a Bernie, It is a full enough suit. I can rig something to at least last the day. Make it move from time to time like it is still doing work. Rush, do you think you or Ling could impart a little AI and include some fairly open Azlanti responses. It should at least pass the 5 meter test."

Engineering: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Sorry for the delay. Had a cold and went to bed a little early :-(

Wint, as ordered, carefully scopes out the supply building, carefully managing to sneak up on it and listen in on the conversation inside.

:-)

Pon practices the statement that the Professor gave him a couple times before repeating it over the comm unit. A few minutes later, an amused response comes back.

"हे। छोटे क्लर्क को मेरे लिए कुछ अतिरिक्त किक दें।" Then the voice turns professional again. "सुरक्षित चैनल तैयार किया जा रहा है।"

Meanwhile, Minos rigs the suit up to be a 'Bernie' making it readjust its rifle or move its head from time to time and Wint sneaks around the back looking for trouble and finds some excellent food stuffs, including a few spices, that he can use to make the next meal at Aibretta's awesome.

Are you doing anything else here?

"I want you to find somewhere safe Randall. Let's divvy up these supplies to their best users and then are we ready to head to the cemetary?"

I believe I am all out of things to do here. Who wants to use these things he's handing over? I have plenty of bulk left to carry anything we can't use right now.

I wouldn't mind a targeting computer, though to call it a need is a stretch.

"This place is as safe as any at the moment. They believe that everything is fine here. Professor, do you want to hold on to the comm unit?" Pon looks through the stuff and picks out one of the targeting computers and begins rigging it up to his guard armor.

"Alright," Pon says as he stands up, "Let's head over to the cemetery. On the way, Professor, I'd like to learn the phrases, 'the mud-balller shot me' and 'help' in Azlanti."

Ready to go

Once satisfied that the the ruse will keep till suspicion away for a while and allow Randall to get to safety. Minos looks at the suit. "It is in fine condition, but I am good for now" Tapping his collect junk.

Is Ready to go

"You're going to the cemetery?" Randall frowns. "I don't like hanging out there." He tells you that the cemetery has a big plinth dedicated not just to known dead, but to a bunch of colonists that disappeared. "About a month after we landed, they set up a second colony in a clearing a few miles away that they called Dalesko. They were doing pretty good, raising crops and everything. Then Garik went out to deliver supplies again, and found the place completely abandoned. He saw signs of struggles within the modules, but no blood or even bodies. Though the crops had only begun to sprout, a single pale yellow flower, its stem stretching over 7 feet, grew in the middle the fields." Randall's voice takes on a spooky tone as he stretches his arms wide in imitation of the eerie flower. "We mounted a search party but found no trace of the others."

He looks at all of you. "So... what are you doing in the cemetery? Wait. Never mind, I don't want to know. I'm just going to lay low in Ludvar's place. He always needs extra help, and he's not bad once you get used to his face."

"Thanks again." Randall shakes your hands. "Good luck, guys!"

★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★

The colony’s cemetery is not large, consisting of only a few headstones and a heavy wrought-iron fence in a clearing hacked out of the forest. A stone plinth near the center of the area is carved with a list of names. A gravel trail near the cemetery is covered with fallen leaves, and a thick mist surrounds the graves. The most recent graves belong to four colonists who were killed by the Azlanti. They appear to be have been hastily dug and are marked with simple stones and flowers.

The fence around the cemetery is heavy and ornate, providing cover as well as a +4 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks for anyone using it to hide. A position behind the fence also provides a fairly clear view of the foggy trail leading past the cemetery, allowing you to see the Aeon Guard cadets approaching.

The Cemetery appears in SLIDE ONE, and feel free to arrange yourselves how you want in there. Since I will be gone for a few days, feel free to tell ghost stories from your home worlds or find other ways to roleplay. I'll see you all on Monday!

This game moves so fast while I'm sleeping! Cool, but it also feels like I missed that whole scene. :/

Earlier: Prosper throws an arm around the Randall's shoulder, adding "Wow, I think you're really cut out for the whole guerrilla insurgency thing. You took out a cadet and already managed to hide a whole bunch of useful gear. If it was me I'd probably be dead already." Prosper grins at the supply clerk.

He also grabs the grappler and cable line, and a medpatch. "If we ever have to infiltrate the second floor of a building, I think this might help. Just like that scene in Ocean's Forty-Five." He mimes out swinging through the air.

Once his new items are stowed, he joins the rest to sneak towards the cemetery.
---

Now: Prosper takes up a crouching position in a corner of the graveyard, too distracted by trying to work out how to use his new grappler to start planning an ambush. (Just for now! We have the whole weekend for RP :>)

If nobody else picks them up, Spec will grab the remaining batteries and medpatches... for "just-in-case" distribution later
"Umm, do we want to leave the supplies here and come back for them, abandon them, bring them back to Aibretta's, or carry them all? What do you guys think?"
"Oh, and I'm ready to go whenever you are"

------------------------------
" Sure thing Pon. So 'the mud-balller shot me' is ''मड-बॉलर ने मुझे गोली मार दी' and 'help' is 'मदद'. Just remember that Azlanti has contextual diacritic tonal notation, essentially the pace and clipping of the words give emotional context ... which is why the written language is so much more flowery, because it has to compensate for..."
The professor's rising excitement trails off with his words.
"I'm sorry... I was doing it again"
------------------------------

Upon reaching the cemetery, Spec picks out a spot near he base of the fence and attempts to feather-blend in.
Stealth: 1d20 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 4 = 17
"Hummm, I wonder how long they're going to be.... and are we going to do anything to prepare or pass such an amount of time?"

"I think we can rig up a Bernie, It is a full enough suit. I can rig something to at least last the day. Make it move from time to time like it is still doing work. Rush, do you think you or Ling could impart a little AI and include some fairly open Azlanti responses. It should at least pass the 5 meter test."

LINGSTON responds immediately. "Boast: Of course I can! That should be easy to set up without any issues! Let's get to work, hook me up Rush!"

Computers: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

"We can leave them here if we don't immediately need them. If we succeed, then they will be here for us when we get back. If we fail, well, we most likely won't be needing them"

Prosper stows the grappler away and takes up a more carefully stealthy spot, huddled against the fence. He maintains the stealthy crouch for about two minutes before his legs begin to shake.

Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

"Ow... ow... ow... I'm getting pins and needles. No one ever told me waiting to spring an ambush was going to hurt. This definitely wasn't in the lessons." He looks over at the others in the group. "Anyone, uh, see anything yet?" He shifts from leg to leg and begins to rub them.

Eyeing the graveyard, he adds "Spec, you think we could try to spook the patrol when they come by? Or maybe lure them in somehow?" He takes out his lighter and flicks on a flame, waving it slowly through the air in the mist. "Like, uh, a ghost light or something spooky?"

In response to Prosper, Spec surreptitiously casts Ghost Sound a few times in succession.

The intent is that the sounds be focused at Prosper such that they seem much louder than they actually are

From in front of Prosper, a wail suddenly bursts through the air. It quiclky drops off into choked sobs and retreats with shuffling steps into the misty woods over about 6 seconds.

Just as the crying fades out, low and unearthly moaning seems to pulse in and out just slightly out of sync with what little breeze is present. oddly enough, also lasting 6 seconds

A few seconds of silence follow the moaning before a deep and sinister chuckle, punctuated with the crackle of splintering bone rises from what seems like inches behind Prosper's neck.

Waiting a good 30 seconds more, Spec innocently asks "Would anything like that work for your plan Prosper?"

Prosper, pale as a sheet from all the ghostly moaning and bone splintering occurring around him, just nods rapidly. "Uh, y-yeah. Y-yeah, that's good. Uh, just not right in my ear like that. It's maybe a little too creepy..!"

Once the ghost sounds have halted for a while he adds. "The tricky part is gonna be hiding you while you're doing it. Your feathers keep sparkling like crazy every time you do that trick."

Starfinder has the 'spellcasting is always obvious to nearby creatures' rule. Can we break line of sight to the graveyard entrance to work around that, I wonder?

Pon hides behind a tombstone away from the others. Listening to their antics, he takes an armored hand off of his Azlanti rifle and face palms with it. I will be impressed if we make it through this. How will I ever convince Prosper to disguise as an Azlanti? Hells, he can do a better job than I can! Such natural talent going to waste, it is frustrating.

Dalinar looks uneasy standing in a cemetery. His discomfort grows as Spec puts on his display.

"Professor, I would prefer if you didn't-No, nevermind. The work we are doing is important. That could be a useful trick. Carry on."

Dalinar walks a little farther away from the group.

"Well we can add to it a bit." Minos cast token spell as well to add odd colored soft lights and to rustle nearby debris. Something brushes along Prospers leg. Looking down it was only a leaf.

Token Spell last for one hour can I can manipulate its effects. However ghost sound is round/level so would need some type of distraction.

Wint goes into the mist and hides behind a tombstone. He sends a text message to everybody in the group

"Uh, I hate to be forward and give unsolicited advice. But in my experience, the key to hunting Wibbitz is to keep very, very quiet and very, very still. I think hunting Azlanti is the same"

With that, he follows his own advice and blends into the mist, going completely motionless and completely silent. Waiting for the dread Azlant to show up so they can be ambushed

Prosper's comms beep audibly as they receive the text from Wint. "Oh, shi- sorry!" He quickly silences the ringtone and texts back to the skittermander.

"Got it! I'll be very very quiet. Before they got here."

Spec sheepishly whispers into the communicator "Oh bother, Prosper, you're right! I'm just going to go up that tree over there about 20' indicated on the map and cast down near the base of the tree. That way I'll be sparkling outside of easy sight lines, and even if they do see me... and honestly, how often do people actually look up... they'll be out of position for all of you."

Proud to be useful, the professor flaps his way over to the indicated location.

He looks around, only just noting the team's reactions, then slumps like ice cream on a hot day. "Unless that's a bad idea, then I'll just do whatever one of you that is actually good at this stuff thinks... Sorry Wint, shutting up now."

How foggy/misty is it?

Minos nods the wisdom of Wint and takes cover behind one of the tombstones

@Spec: The fog is thick this morning. 20% miss chance close up, and 50% far away -- unless you are using a targeting computer armor upgrade.

★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★

Hanging out in a cemetery on a misty morning can be an eerie experience, and so the group declines to share ghost stories from their home worlds.* Still, Prosper and Spec consider the possibility of spinning a ghost story of their own for the coming Azlanti patrol, but as the time draws nearer, Wint motions the group to silence.

Finally, the Azlanti patrol shows up, and they are laughing.

“क्या तुमने देखा कि मेरे जूते पॉलिश करने के लिए वह शिक्षक कितनी तेजी से नीचे गिरा?” The Yellow Azlanti guard laughs.

“आपको उसे इतनी मेहनत से नहीं मारना चाहिए था। यदि वह नहीं सिखा सकता है, तो वासियों को कम आंका जाएगा” Pink chides him.

“उन्हें सच्ची जुबान सीखनी चाहिए। शिक्षक आलसी है, और उसका उच्चारण भयानक था।” Red states firmly. “वह योग्य है जो उसे मिला, और बच्चों को एक मूल्यवान सबक मिला जो उन लोगों के साथ होता है जो हमें उचित सम्मान नहीं देते”

Then Red looks around, confused and apprehensive. "तुमने कुछ सुना? मुझे यकीन नहीं... है?"

Green laughs. "यह जगह है ... आप हमेशा सोचते हैं कि आप भूत सुनते हैं!"

What do you do?

____
*Alas, no stories this time. Maybe next time!

Spec casts Ghost Sound
A crunch of branches sounds from beneath the tree, morphing into gasping breath and panicked footfalls that appear as if someone was bolting from the undergrowth towards the cemetery.... Flushed, as it were, by the cadets' casually cruel commentary.

Hoping to engage the tendency for bullies to charge in to capitalize on perceived weaknesses

The Azlanti smile at the sound of the panicked footfalls.

"यह कोई भूत नहीं है, यह एक गरीब डरपोक है!" Yellow grins with a predatory leer. "और यहाँ मुझे लगा कि दिन उबाऊ होने वाला था ..."

The azlantis eagerly follow the noise into the cemetery, where they are met with a surprise!

As this is an ambush, I give you all a surprise round.

★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★

Round Surprise

Crew of The Teapot

Round 1
Active conditions: Mist: 20% miss chance up close, 50% ranged.

Prosper
Pon
Minos
Spec

================================

Yellow
Green
Red
Pink

================================

Dalinar
Wint
Rush

================================

Minos moves forward and a blob of "ectoplasm" (acid ray) is hurled at the green cadet.

Energy Ray Attack v EAC: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Energy Ray Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 3 Acid

Edit : miss chance >50 good for player: 1d100 ⇒ 82

Dalinar doesn't bother with shouting 'surprise'. He let's his sword do the talking.

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
High Hit: 1d100 ⇒ 29
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

If the surprise round doesn't count for stellar mode that will be one less damage. If it does, 1 round of photon attunement.

Dalinar's first hit against the Azlanti misses in the mist. Green shrieks as Minos' acid spell strikes true!

★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★

Round Surprise

Crew of The Teapot
Still up:

Prosper
Pon
Spec
Wint
Rush

Round 1
Active conditions: Mist: 20% miss chance up close, 50% ranged.

Prosper
Pon
Minos
Spec

================================

Yellow
Green (-3)
Red
Pink

================================

Dalinar (1 round photon attunement)
Wint
Rush

================================

Surprise Round Rush moves straight up to one of the soldiers, blade extended.

Standard Round LINGSTON activates his enhancement protocols on Rush, granting him better accuracy. Rush attacks the red soldier with his bone blade!

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Damage Roll: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

His blade slides into the soldier, and he rips it through viciously! Bits of viscera splatter along the bone's sharp edges.

It's not clear to me if I can harrying fire when the enemies are totally concealed by the rules. I can imagine lobbing a flare into their midst would be distracting. Up to you HMM!

Surprise Round: Prosper draws his flare rifle as the Azlanti cadets approach, and fires a flare right towards the entrance to the graveyard with a dull thump and a blinding flash of light in the mist.

Fire Support vs. DC15; vs pink or random Azlanti target since Prosper can't see them: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25 (If successful, next ally to attack foe gets a +2 circumstance bonus on attack roll; Next ally that foe attacks gets a +2 circumstance bonus to AC for that one attack)
Miss Chance, if needed: 1d100 ⇒ 25

"Wow. This group actually managed to get surprise? I'm impressed!!"

Not wanting to make a primary target of himself in his original snap shot, Wint just fires at the Azlanti voice

miss, high hits: 1d100 ⇒ 2

The shot goes wide in the mist, missing everything by a mile :-(