[SFS-OutPost II 2019] 1-25 The Beacon Code Dilemma, Table #1 (Inactive)

Game Master Christopher Wasko

Rocket moves after Jack, pointing his laser weapon at various shadows he notices out the corner of his eye - never focusing on one point but swinging it back and fort ready to provide covering shots if needed.

Steelscales lays his gun over his shoulder and falls in line Jack. He looks laid back but is on alert.

You peek through a glass-covered porthole into the airlock, which is empty but appears operational with power restored. Beyond that, there is a single door on the starboard side.

Yith moves into the room and stops beside the door. She hovers a hand over the opening mechanism and nods at her friends.

"Harrowed Jack" heads over to the door and looks to make sure that it poses no apparent hazards before allowing the vesk to open the door.
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Thorval abandons the gunnery position and hurries to catch up with the team.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Compucast quietly joins the others in the corridor...

I wonder what that hidden console was for

Before backtracking and trying to work out what use the hidden terminal might be.

computers: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Compucast reckons the hidden terminal probably opens a secret stash, but the code from the datapad was not the correct one to open it.

Jack looks over the door, which appears to be free of any traps or tampering. He nods to Yith, who cautiously opens the door without entering. The workstations in the room are somewhat intact but mostly empty. Empty boxes litter the floor, the tattered labels of which identify them as having once contained various chemical reagents and other supplies for experimentation. A circular lab table sits toward the aft.

Most of the room seems safe upon first glance, but Compucast just barely notices movement on the far end of the room!

Surprise Round (bold may act; singe action only)
Compucast (-6 SP, life bubble)
Techie (cover)
Round 1
Rocket (-6 SP)
Steelscales (-6 SP)
Compucast (-6 SP, life bubble)
Techie (cover)
Thorval (-6 SP)
Yith (-1 RP, life bubble)
Jack (-6 SP)

"Movement..." calls out the Vesk mystical soldier.

"I hope it is one of the crew... but..."

He supercharges Yilth's weapon, just in case.

A female humanoid, her face covered by environmental protections but with two small horns protruding from her forehead, speaks. ”Hey boss, they’re here! Come help me take ‘em out!” She snaps her fingers and the room becomes shrouded in darkness.

Round 1 (bold may post)
Rocket (-6 SP)
Steelscales (-6 SP)
Compucast (-6 SP, life bubble)
Techie (cover, 20-ft. radius dim light)
Thorval (-6 SP)
Yith (-1 RP, life bubble, supercharged weapon)
Jack (-6 SP)

Hearing someone mention taking out his party he boldly moves into the room blaster at the ready. Surprised to see a bubble of darkness by not stopped by the lack of light (darkvision) he stops behind some crates and fires his weapon at the offender

To hit EAC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
F (laser) damage if hit: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

"Take us out? Take this out!"

"So much for peaceful intentions."

Compucast strides into the room. Looking around a rather scary grin crosses his face as a veritable swarm of small microbots appears and dashes forward toward the figure.

Casts microbot assault. The cloud currently just harasses the figure in green. It effectively has harrying fire against it, and anyone it attacks receives covering fire. If another enemy(s) appears it can split up to harry up to four separate targets. Essentially it has -2 to hit and we get +2 to hit it.

Sorry, I missed that my name was bolded.

Steelscales moves into the room pulling a grenade from his belt as he goes. He tosses it into the darkness.

Grenade Toss: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

DC 14 reflex save for half. Not that it matters much with that roll.

Rocket's laser attack hits home, but the woman seems hardly inhibited by it at all (some amount of fire resistance). She takes the fringe of the grenade explosion, but then steps up and waves her hand into a circle, conjuring a rippling surge of heat.

Rocket, Steelscales, and Compucast take 8 fire damage each (DC 16 Reflex half).

Round 1 (bold may post)
Thorval (-6 SP)
Yith (-1 RP, life bubble, supercharged weapon)
Jack (-6 SP)
Round 2
Rocket (-6 SP, fire damage pending)
Steelscales (-6 SP, fire damage pending)
Compucast (-6 SP, fire damage pending, life bubble)
Techie (-2 HP, 20-ft. radius dim light)

reflex: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
Compucast tries to duck under the way of fire, but just goes into it head first instead.

"Remdnd me to get that thermal armor upgrade." he mutters

He shoots a quick shot at the woman.
attack vs KAC: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

But the pain of the flames causes him to fire wide.

Thorval moves up, attuning to photon. ”It’s clobberin’ time!”

solarian weapon punch vs KAC: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 attuned punch, crystal (e): 1d6 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 13

Rolling PC Reflex saves to keep things moving.

Steelscales Reflex DC 16: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Rocket Reflex DC 16: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

As Thorval approaches, he steps on a jury-rigged seesaw that pounds the worktable littered with different chemicals. The substances fly into the air and mix, expanding into elemental earth that pounds into you in the room! Most of you see it coming and shrug off the brunt of the damage, but Thorval takes the whole weight of the stone!

Round 1 (bold may post)
Yith (-1 RP, life bubble, supercharged weapon)
Jack (-6 SP)
Round 2
Rocket (-23 SP)
Steelscales (-23 SP)
Compucast (-23 SP, life bubble)
Techie (-11 HP, 20-ft. radius dim light)
Thorval (-23 SP, -1 HP)

Yith steps in the door, passing through her friends to reach their opponent.

Doshko: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Pierciing Damage: 2d12 + 6 + 4d6 ⇒ (8, 7) + 6 + (1, 3, 4, 1) = 30

Yith strides forward and strikes the tiefling with a supercharged weapon, hurling her now lifeless body against the workbench. Suddenly, a massive creature resembling a grizzly bear dressed in heavy armor rams itself through the far door. One claw holds a wicked curve blade, while the other holds some kind of improvised explosive, which it hurls at your party. It explodes with a burst of chunky debris, bludgeoning your entire team.

Round 1 (bold may post)
Jack (-6 SP)
Round 2
Rocket (-28 SP, flat-footed 1 round)
Steelscales (-25 SP)
Compucast (-24 SP, -4 HP, life bubble, flat-footed 1 round)
Yith (-5 SP, -1 RP, life bubble, flat-footed 1 round)
Techie (-41 HP, 20-ft. radius dim light, dead)
Thorval (-23 SP, -3 HP)
Legionnaire

The swarm of microbots flies forward, but can't quite reach the new target. Compucast deciding that pain deserves more pain, fires a set of magical bolts at the new antagonist.

MM,deadly magic: 3d4 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (1, 1, 1) + 3 + 2 = 8

But his concentration is woeful.

Getting blasted left and right Rocket takes a shot at the large target

To hit EAC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24
F (laser) damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

before moving out of the very nice tempting grenade blast area that was formed by everyone standing closely together by going back back into the corridor and having a nice wall between himself and the place the grenades are coming from

Sarangari points his machine gun at the bear looking fellow. "Ew, fuzzy creatures are so weird."

He takes careful aim at the squishy looking parts of the new arrival and opens fire.

Deadly Aim Attack vs KAC: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Damage: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

”Um.... ouch!”

Whoops! Missed some folks in the turn update. This should be accurate now.

Round 1 (bold may post)
Jack (-6 SP)
Round 2
Rocket (-28 SP, flat-footed 1 round)
Steelscales (-25 SP)
Compucast (-24 SP, -4 HP, life bubble, flat-footed 1 round)
Yith (-5 SP, -1 RP, life bubble, flat-footed 1 round)
Thorval (-23 SP, -3 HP)
Legionnaire (-28 HP)

Yith pulls her Plasma Bolter around with her right hand and takes a shot.

Pow Pow (Tactical plasma bolter): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Electrical and Fire): 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

"Make him come to us!"

"Harrowed Jack" enters the room, draws his pistol and fires at the bear creature.
Survival Trick Attack: 1d20 + 14 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 14 + 4 = 33
Ranged (semi-auto pistol, tactical): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Damage (P): 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Add Damage if Trick Attack successful: 1d8 ⇒ 4

"Well, as my Pappy always said, ain't no time like the present!" says Thorval. 'Where the heck did that come from?'

He starts moving forward, to get closer. "Gonna need your help, Yith-Naarin, when this is done!" He pulls his Tactical Auto-pistol, and fires!
Tactical Auto-pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 w00t!bullet (crit), photon attuned: 2d6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4) + 2 + 2 = 9

"OH YEAH! THAT'S GOTTA STING!"
Attune Photon 2

Jack's shot pings off the wall, but Yith and Thorval both shoot the bear, laying it low. As the bear collapses, a grizzled human darts past the beast. "No way, only one team is getting off this wreck!" He lobs a grenade into your midst.

Round 2 (bold may post)
Jack (-6 SP)
Round 3
Rocket (-28 SP)
Steelscales (-27 SP)
Compucast (-24 SP, -4 HP, life bubble)
Yith (-7 SP, -1 RP, life bubble)
Thorval (-23 SP, -7 HP)
Legionnaire (-51 HP, dead)
Captain

"Like a hive. They keep coming." mutters the one called "Harrowed Jack" as yet another opponent appears. Dropping his head, the half-orc charges forward, a blade of bone juts forth from his arm. Switch action

Rushing through the cloud of microbots, the Starfinder flashes at his foe.

Survival Trick Attack: 1d20 + 14 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 14 + 4 = 35
Melee (boneblade necrograft) v KAC: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Damage (P): 1d4 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 1 = 10
Add Damage if Trick Attack successful: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Walking back into the room after hearing yet another grenade go off Rocket comments

"Corridor's clear..hey, who's that guy?"

before aiming his heavy laser at the new guy and pulling the trigger
To hit EAC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
F (laser) damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Thorval chuckles... "So, punk! You think you have what it takes to dance with Thorval?"

The half-orc moves up, avoiding the purple cloud, and then triggers his supernova revelation!

He is no longer attuned

I feel I should point out that Jack is standing right next to you when you that though. He's a bit hard to see half covered by a red cross if you don't zoom in..but he's there

I feel I should point out that Jack is standing right next to you when you that though. He's a bit hard to see half covered by a red cross if you don't zoom in..but he's there

Good call.

Ninja'd! So Editing.

I feel I should point out that Jack is standing right next to you when you that though. He's a bit hard to see half covered by a red cross if you don't zoom in..but he's there

True, but "Jack" has evasion. I say, "Go for it!"

Oops.

The pale-skin of the half-orc begins to char as the air around him erupts in fire. However, "Jack" almost seems to smile as he sees his target taking damage as well.

Too bad. That was the only time I can recall "Jack" smiling.

Got it, thanks!

Too bad. That was the only time I can recall "Jack" smiling.

I will remember this in the future. Gotta give him the chance to smile!

Steelscales fires a short burst at the captain.

Full Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
Damage: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Full Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Damage: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Dangit. I think I hit preview and never hit save again... That's what I get for posting while busy at work. :)

Yith takes a shot at the latest newcomer with her bolter.

Pow Pow (Tactical plasma bolter): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Electrical and Fire): 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

"We'd have been happy to take you off. But you had to shoot first.." calls back Compucast. The microbot swarm heads over to the captain.

He just keeps concentrating on the micobots, keeping them harassing the captain.

Struck by multiple attacks, harassed by microbots, and standing over the bodies of his two comrades, the man throws up his hands and falls to his knees. "Uncle! I give! No more, I just want off this deathtrap! No paycheck is worth this."

Combat over!

With the captain's surrender, the rest of the ship seems clear for investigation.

This was the last formal encounter for the scenario. What do you do with the surrendering attacker? Would you like to work through the rest of the ship manually, or would you prefer to describe your remaining search protocol and get the recap for going through the remaining areas "off-screen"? With no further threats, you can easily take your time exploring the rest of the ship.

Compucast approaches the captian, kicking away his weapons.

"Can one of you look to his crew, they might yet live." he suggests.

"So, captain, tell us how you got here and what you have discovered about this place. Start at the beginning..."

Yith checks the other two to see if they can be saved and does so if possible.

She then turns to her companions, "Anyone need any healing or assistance?"

Unless we need to go room by room I suggest we just do a methodical and thorough search. First, however...

"Hey, can one of you techies maybe have our ship scan the area and warn us if another ship or more space jellyfish come to bother us?"

"Can one of you look to his crew, they might yet live." he suggests.

"Harrowed Jack" makes no effort to see to the injured. Instead, he folds his arms and stands, formidably behind Compucast.

"So, captain, tell us how you got here and what you have discovered about this place. Start at the beginning..."

The half-orc glares at the "captain", his eyes urging a quick response.

Okay, gonna assume taking 20 to search all remaining rooms...

The two other trespassers have taken fatal damage and cannot be resuscitated. Their captain claims that they were mercenaries hired to retrieve a relic from a discrete buyer. He does not know the identity of his employer, only their online tag number (which could be easily spoofed). He does not appear to show much remorse for the loss of his allies, instead falling quiet and accepting his fate.

As you search the crew quarters, bridge, and science lab, a clearer picture of what happens begins to take shape: stranded in the void, it looks like Jarzi convinced her crew to take an escape pod out into unknown space. It's a risky gambit, but better than a guaranteed death onboard a derelict ship. You have no idea what may have happened to the Starfinder crew from that point. As you dig through the rest of the ship, you find some other datapads with their own codes, systematically working your way throughout the ship's compartments to unlock its various caches and recover their treasures (detailed on the Chronicle sheet; crossed out weapon fusions come from the type randomly determined from the scenario).

Most importantly,a hidden panel in the captain's station on the bridge contains a metallic sphere, about 2 feet in diameter and covered in a layer of grime. It’s extraordinarily resilient, resisting any tinkering or abuse the PCs apply to it. You assume this is what you came for, and bring it back with you to Absalom Station.

Back at the Lorespire Complex, Naiaj and MP-8 greet you in the Starscape Chamber. Naiaj listens to you explain what happened to the crew and thanks you for exploring the starship. MP-8 asks to see the relic, which you display. MP-8 wheels up to the artifact and examines it, feeling around its sides. Its eye dims in concentration for a moment, and then its eye reactivates with an air of disappointment. “Strange. This artifact has been lost for so long, one would think its technologies would be rudimentary at best, but there seems to be some sort of advanced, multilayered encryption protecting whatever is inside. What could it be...?”

MP-8 backs away from the artifact. “This is beyond my capabilities to handle. I suppose we will have to table the analysis for the time being.” It turns to Naiaj. “I trust that the church will be able to count on the Society on this matter again in the future? It is a bit disturbing to me that a Society vessel on the brink of death would be so cavalier as to simply vacuum up such an important relic without a thought.”

Naiaj bristles but then closes her eyes and sighs. “I find it disturbing that you would disrespect the memory of the crew without a thought, given that without their sacrifice, we wouldn’t even have this relic in the first place.” She reopens her eyes and bears a tight-lipped smile. “But I suppose that’s neither here nor there at this point. We have the relic now, and believe me, we are just as interested as you in this find, if not more so. I suppose we have no choice but to work together again. The Society will keep the relic safe in the meantime.”

MP-8 nods. “Until we meet again.”

That concludes the scenario! Congratulations! Chronicles are located here. Thorval, you never posted your information in Discussion; I'll fill out the last sheet once you post it. Everyone else, give it a look a let me know if you see any booboos.

Compucast would be taking a ten minute rest round about now, but aside from that, no healing required.

@ GM Skeemo - Chronicle looks good! Thanks for running!

@ All - Great game all (and fast - you guys took down those pirates before "Jack" could even get a hit in!) I look forward to sharing a table with each of you in the future. Happy gaming!

Chronicle looks good, many thanks for the game, and congrats everyone. Nice to see so many Vesk together!

Looks up and up to me. Thanks everyone, it was fun. And now Steelscales is level 5, power armor he we come.

Ohh, power armor. Compucast has hit five now too. And with that stat bump, he might even be able to wear power armor.

Be on the lookout, I’ll probably be mustering for a couple more Tier 3-6s in the near future now that my OutPost games are wrapping up. Would love to run for you guys again.