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Shohiraj takes a ship, and several of the engraved jewels. He may not need them for enhancing the odds of reproduction, but he's sure he can sell them to someone who does.
The party gathers up the undamaged cultural artifacts, and before they have a chance to decide what to do next, you receive an unexpected transmission, in Common.
"If anyone can hear this, please send aid. This is Iteration-177 and I’m in need of immediate assistance. This message is on a loop with my coordinates embedded; I am not able to respond. Please assist if able."
The coordinates indicate a small chamber away from Xaharee’s borders, approximately 20 minutes away by foot. Do you go to the coordinates to try and help?
You hurry to the coordinates, just outside of the town center. You find the android Iteration-177, who it seems some of you at least have met before. Unfortunately for him, he's laying there partially dismantled.
"Ah, Starfinders. How good of you to drop in. I’m having somewhat of a difficult time here, as you can tell. Surviving this place is more difficult than I anticipated, and I must admit to needing some assistance. Do you think you could do me a somewhat dangerous favor?"
Iteration-177 responds to Pangea's questions.
"I was following up on the Scoured Stars incident; it’s quite the talk of the Pact Worlds, after all. Have you found anything interesting?"
"What happened? I suppose it is a bit of a mess. The ghosts of the past. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the spiritual damage to this place is great. It turns out I’m not as capable of withstanding the onslaught as I had hoped. I appreciate the offer of personal repair, but you won’t have the equipment to do so here... my construction is very specific. Perhaps we can address that concern after taking care of the haunting of Xaharee."
"What I am asking of you is this. To purge the city of its spiritual influences; the souls that are trapped here can be quite dangerous." Iteration-177 eyes the rest of their damaged body. "Do you agree to help me?"
"What is entailed in purging the spiritual influences?"
Pangea's friendly ghost friend reacts excitedly at Iteration-177's words.
"Yes... We can be free? Can you help? Please..."
Iteration-177 doesn't want to tell you any more until you know you want to help. "Honestly, I don't think you want to know any more until you commit. I don't want to hide anything from you; I said it will be dangerous. But if I say any more, I think the more defensive ones won't give you such a wide berth anymore..." The android looks around meaningfully at its separated parts.
"So you believe that we are being monitored and that if we are given your knowledge, then some spirits will seek to harm us?"
Iteration-177 responds "Basically... That menhir you saw in town will seek to defend itself if it hears too much... "
Sho glances from Iteration-177 to Pangea. "I will accept your charge, but can not speak for my companions."
After you agree to help, Iteration-177 gets into the details. "The spiritual activity here in Xaharee is no accident. The mentrasi in the nearby city discovered an imminent seismic cataclysm and took desperate measures to survive it. I’ve uncovered a ritual the Xaharee leaders used to bind their spirits to this city, specifically the menhir in the center of downtown park. I believe they misinterpreted the ritual and thought it would bind their life essence here, including their physical bodies. Instead it ripped the spirits of every living thing from the city and bound it to the menhir, the focal point of the ritual."
"Think of the menhir as a spiritual anchor; I believe that by disrupting the menhir we can free the trapped spirits. I want you to go to the city center, find the menhir, and destroy it. Be warned, it will put up quite a fight once it realizes you’re there to destroy it. I would rest and prepare before heading back into the city to face it. Take some of my weapons with you." Iteration-177 looks meaningfully toward a null-space chamber lying on a nearby rock.
The container contains two mk 2 serums of healing, an inubrix sintered greataxe, and a ghost killer liquidator disintegrator pistol.
are made of an alloy of inubrix and another metal, often platinum, the dense molecular structure of the latter serving to anchor the former in place.
Inubrix-alloy weapons and ammunition ignore hardness of 10 or less. If a critical hit effect from an inubrix weapon requires a saving throw, the save DC increases by 2. This increase also applies to the injection DC +2 critical hit effect, provided the weapon doing the injecting—such as the dart of a needler pistol—is made of inubrix. A melee weapon made of inubrix alloy can also pass slightly into other solid objects, giving the wielder extra leverage for disarm attempts; this advantage grants a melee weapon made of inubrix alloy the disarm special property.
For more information, see page 67 of Starfinder Armory.
The ritual Iteration-177 describes is the same one you found in the library, and if trained in Mysticism you know how to use some simple incantations to disrupt the menhir. There are several ways to damage the mystical structure:
- Anyone trained in mysticism knows they can attempt a DC 21 Mysticism check within 30 feet as a standard action to deal significant damage to the menhir. 26+ deals even more.
- Dealing damage with weapons or spells. To aid this, as a move action within 30 feet you can make a DC 21 Engineering or Physical Science check to identify a weak spot, and the next successful attack by anyone will ignore hardness. 26+ and that attack will be a guaranteed critical hit.
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"Does it listen? Maybe text us the info'?"
With a last good luck from Iteration-177, you head back toward the town. The passage is creepier this time, dark voices whispering from all directions, hints of green wispy ghosts at the corners of your vision. Nothing directly confronts you though.
Once you get to the town square again, what had previously been dark and quiet is much more active now. Ghostly wails becomes louder until they reach a constant wind-like howl in the city center. Stones and debris around the city vibrate and crack with increased frequency. The faint glow of spirits in the area create dim light across the chamber as the ghosts fly around the center in anticipation.
The menhir in the center glows stronger than before, and angry spirits whip about it, phasing in and out of the visible spectrum.
- Anyone trained in mysticism knows they can attempt a DC 21 Mysticism check within 30 feet as a standard action to deal significant damage to the menhir. 26+ deals even more.
- Dealing damage with weapons or spells. To aid this, as a move action within 30 feet you can make a DC 21 Engineering or Physical Science check to identify a weak spot, and the next successful attack by anyone will ignore hardness. 26+ and that attack will be a guaranteed critical hit.
Round 1: *bold may go (everyone)
Shohiraj (-2HP)
Spanner
Pangea
Dart
Kane (-4 HP)
Menhir
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Seeing Dart starting to move, Pangea calls out: "Get that menhir, dart!"
Pangea then calls out: "I can help someone move!"
The ally can use that move action during her next turn to:
• take a guarded step
• move up to her spee
• or draw or sheathe a weapon.
The ally can use her extra move action in between her other actions, and she can even use it before or after a full action.
A character can use no more than one extra action from hurry in a single round.
Seeing Kane advance, Shohiraj hustles forward, drawing his pistols. He pulls the trigger on the static arc pistol.
… ...E, critical arc 2, stun)
Dart gets overexcited about striking such an easy target, and fumbles his swing.
Pangea helps the group coordinate its strikes and get into position.
Kane chants an incantation derived from the reversing the ritual, and cracks appear across the menhir's surface and a few of the glowing runes go dark.
Shohiraj hits with his arc pistol, but the damage is not particularly effective.
Spanner double moves to get within 30 feet for next turn
The spiritual anchor has taken a bit of damage, but still has a lot left in it, and it isn't taking this beating without a fight! A thin silvery line of energy reaches out to one of the circling spirits, and now connected to the menhir it moves in to attack. It zigs and zags across the battlefield, ethereally passing through each of you in its path to cause painful acid damage! It ends near Pangea in the back.
Dart, Kane, and Shohiraj dodge partly out of the way and take 6 acid damage. Pangea and Shohiraj take the full 13.
The menhir then draws another spirit in close, and some of the rubble and rock coalesces into the familiar form of one of those haunted earth elementals, which strikes out at Dart, but misses him.
The spirit is an incorporeal undead. The elemental you recall had DR 5/-. The silvery line between the spirits and the menhir suggests that destroying a spirit will damage the menhir too!
- Anyone trained in mysticism knows they can attempt a DC 21 Mysticism check within 30 feet as a standard action to deal significant damage to the menhir. 26+ deals even more.
- Dealing damage with weapons or spells. To aid this, as a move action within 30 feet you can make a DC 21 Engineering or Physical Science check to identify a weak spot, and the next successful attack by anyone will ignore hardness. 26+ and that attack will be a guaranteed critical hit.
- Destroying a spirit deals damage to the menhir equal to the spirit's max HP
Round 2: *bold may go (everyone)
*Shohiraj (-13SP, -2HP)
*Spanner (-6SP)
*Pangea (-13SP)
*Dart (-6SP)
*Kane (-6SP, -4 HP)
Menhir (-28 HP)
Spirit
Haunted Elemental
Shohiraj quickly steps to the platform's edge, where he crouches down and fires again.
… ...E, critical arc 2, stun)
and debilitating attack -- the menhir is off-target for 1 round. (-2 to hit)
Dart takes two powerful swings at the menhir, ignoring the rocky foe next to him. Both hits deliver big damage, totaling 48 and puting the menhir at -76 total. The menhir has some noticeable chunks out of it, but isn't even very close to half way done.
Pangea gives Shohiraj a burst of revitalizing inspiration, and points to the menhir to try and focus the group's fire better.
Kane can't quite get the incantations right this time, and nothing happens.
Shohiraj and Spanner both attack the menhir, and while they hit, their damage is completely ignored by the obelisk.
The menhir's defenders focus their attacks on the only actual threat - Dart! The spirit shoots three magic missiles at Dart, hitting him for 11! The Elemental Slams on him for 11 as well!
The menhir summons another spirit! The fresh incorporeal spirit does the zig zag thing to deliver a corroding blow as it passes through each of you, ultimately landing at the back near Pangea as well. Pangea, Shohiraj, and Kane all take hits for 8, but Dart and Spanner again dodge a bit and only take 4 (acid damage).
Round 4: *bold may go (everyone)
*Shohiraj (-8SP, -2HP)
*Spanner (-10SP)
*Pangea (-21SP)
*Dart (-32SP)
*Kane (-14SP, -4HP)
Menhir (-76 HP - not yet half dead)
Red Spirit (cd 3, used 1 MM)
Haunted Elemental
Yellow Spirit (cd 2)
- Anyone trained in mysticism knows they can attempt a DC 21 Mysticism check within 30 feet as a standard action to deal significant damage to the menhir. 26+ deals even more.
- Dealing damage with weapons or spells. To aid this, as a move action within 30 feet you can make a DC 21 Engineering or Physical Science check to identify a weak spot, and the next successful attack by anyone will ignore hardness. 26+ and that attack will be a guaranteed critical hit.
- Destroying a spirit deals damage to the menhir equal to the spirit's max HP
Want to point out again that you need to get past hardness 5 for the menhir. Which you can bypass with a DC 21 engineering move action. And its AC is really really low.
And the elemental from past experience has DR 5/- and ~40 HP.
The spirits are incorporeal.
"Spanner keep those spirits off Dart!"
Sho spots a seam in the menhir's stone. "See that darker line of stone about a third of the way down. It's a weak spot!" he shouts, before trying to blast it himself.
…
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Want to point out again that you need to get past hardness 5 for the menhir. Which you can bypass with a DC 21 engineering move action. And its AC is really really low.
And the elemental from past experience has DR 5/- and ~40 HP.
The spirits are incorporeal.
Spanner moves to better target yellow spirit and attacks.
Disintegrator Pistol: wpn focus, wpn spec
v KAC Pierce Damage
Shohiraj takes a more measured shot, and delivers a small amount of damage to the menhir.
Kane fails to manifest enough energy for his counter ritual to have any effect.
Pangea restores some stamina to Dart, who has been taking the majority of the defenders' attacks.
Spanner hits the yellow spirit with his ghost killer liquidator disintegrator pistol , dealing 3 damage to it.
Dart continues to prove extremely effective against the menhir with his inubrix axe, and deals two more powerful blows taking shunks out of the menhir. It appears to have been dealt a little over half the damage needed to disable it.
The menhir summons a second elemental, but then something changes in it, and it seems to be at some limit to its power, and at least for now can probably not summon another defender.
The defending spirits continue to focus theirattention on the ones damaging the menhir. One of the elementals hits Dart for 8, and the other misses. The ghosts send their magic missiles at Dart and Shohiraj, dealing 9 damage to each.
Round 4: *bold may go (everyone)
*Shohiraj (-17SP, -2HP)
*Spanner (-10SP)
*Pangea (-21SP)
*Dart (-34SP)
*Kane (-14SP, -4HP)
Menhir (-135 HP - a little over half defeated)
Red Spirit (cd 2, 2 MM used)
Red Elemental
Yellow Spirit (-3 HP, cd 1, 1 MM used)
Yellow Elemental
- Anyone trained in mysticism knows they can attempt a DC 21 Mysticism check within 30 feet as a standard action to deal significant damage to the menhir. 26+ deals even more.
- Dealing damage with weapons or spells. To aid this, as a move action within 30 feet you can make a DC 21 Engineering or Physical Science check to identify a weak spot, and the next successful attack by anyone will ignore hardness. 26+ and that attack will be a guaranteed critical hit.
- Destroying a spirit deals damage to the menhir equal to the spirit's max HP
...
Spanner hits the yellow spirit with his ghost killer liquidator disintegrator pistol , dealing 3 damage to it.
Sho looks to see the damage his pistol did and decides that it would be effective to hit that spot again.
… ...E, critical arc 2, stun)
and debilitating attack -- the menhir is off-target for 1 round. (-2 to hit)