A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1-4.
A missing Starfinder ship's distress signal would have gone unnoticed were it not for a passerby detecting it and selling the information to the Society. The PCs are to travel to the crippled starship, and once aboard, reach the bridge in order to piece together the tragic story of the vessel's lost crew. Only by unraveling the mysteries of the drifting starship can the PCs hope to uncover information critical to the Exo-Guardians future operations.
Content in Cries From the Drift also contributes to the ongoing goals of the Exo-Guardians faction.
Scenario includes spaceship combat.
Patterson winds the tie by virtue of his awesomeness. Give me a couplel minutes.
DM notes:
Ship Status: Honorbound
Shields F 10 P 0 S 0 A 3 Hull Damage 19/70
Glitch: Starb arc weapons ; Power core
Speed 8; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1
AC 14; TL 14
Attack (Forward) flak thrower (3d4)
Attack (Aft) gyrolaser (1d8)
Attack (Turret) light laser cannon (2d4), light laser cannon (2d4)
Power Core Arcus Heavy (130 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic;
Systems mk 1 mononode computer, basic medium-range
sensors, mk 3 armor, mk 3 defenses; Expansion Bays cargo
hold (3), medical bay, recreation suite (gym)
Modifiers +1 to any one check per round, +2 Computers;
Ship Status: Honorbound
Shields F 10 P 0 S 0 A 3 Hull Damage 19/70
Glitch: Starb arc weapons ; Power core
Speed 8; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1
AC 14; TL 14
Attack (Forward) flak thrower (3d4)
Attack (Aft) gyrolaser (1d8)
Attack (Turret) light laser cannon (2d4), light laser cannon (2d4)
Power Core Arcus Heavy (130 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic;
Systems mk 1 mononode computer, basic medium-range
sensors, mk 3 armor, mk 3 defenses; Expansion Bays cargo
hold (3), medical bay, recreation suite (gym)
Modifiers +1 to any one check per round, +2 Computers;
EO, divert to guns DC 14, patch power core:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 SO, target engines DC 10:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 Y, encourage pilot DC 15:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 Pilot, evasive DC 12:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Male Android Street Rat Mechanic/7 | SP: 56/56 | HP: 48/48 | RP: 7/7 | EAC:25 KAC:26 | Fort +7/Ref +10/Will +4 | Init +6 | Perception +1 | Land speed: 30ft | Swim: 20ft | Fly: 30ft
Hellih looks at the damage inflicted to the shields and decides to help gunners again
Engineering DC13, divert power to guns:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13 Is result equal to DC a pass or a fail?
"Guys, one of the wires was damaged and the power leaks out of my circuit. I am not sure what the outcome will be! Keep firing! If you get electrocuted don't worry, with 65% certainty you will be fine."
Your Pegasus has the speed and Patterson has the skill to get you into the starboard arc. He points your ship into their broadside at close range.
Range 3. Your forward arc.
Perhaps spurred by fear of what might happen next, or maybe it's just the close range, the vesk gunners improve their marksmanship. Even Patterson's evasive maneuvers can't dodge their fire, although one of their guns hits a twisted chunk of their hull and can't quite come into line. Your front shield just holds up under a solid hit from their laser and the other blast just misses.
Ship Status: Pegasus
Shields F 3 P 10 S 10 A 10 Hull Damage 0/55
DM Notes:
1d100 ⇒ 70
Ship Status: Honorbound
Shields F 10 P 0 S 0 A 3 Hull Damage 29/70
Glitch: Starb arc weapons ; Power core ; engine
Speed 8; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1
AC 14; TL 14
Attack (Forward) flak thrower (3d4)
Attack (Aft) gyrolaser (1d8)
Attack (Turret) light laser cannon (2d4), light laser cannon (2d4)
Power Core Arcus Heavy (130 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic;
Systems mk 1 mononode computer, basic medium-range
sensors, mk 3 armor, mk 3 defenses; Expansion Bays cargo
hold (3), medical bay, recreation suite (gym)
Modifiers +1 to any one check per round, +2 Computers;
EO, divert to guns DC 14, glitch:1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 - 2 = 22 SO, target engines DC 10:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19 Y, encourage pilot DC 15:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26 Pilot, evasive DC 12, glitch :1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 5 - 2 = 21
The vesk gunners finally hit their stride and both shots hit. Your starboard shield buckles under the combined onslaught and the excess energy leaks through to scorch your hull.
2 meaningless points of hull damage.
Your comm screens flare back to life. Yuluzak is grinning in his command chair, although the air around him is hazy. and behind him a light fixture hangs from the ceiling and occasionally sparks. "Well fought, Starfinders. Our damage has reached an inconvenient threshold. Honorbound surrenders. My compliments to your pilot and gunners."
"We will withdraw a short distance to effect repairs."
Male N vesk xenoseeker soldier 2 | SP 16/16 HP 20/20 | RP 4/4 | EAC 15; KAC 16 | Fort +3; Ref +2; Will +2 | Init: +6 | Perc: +0, SM: +0 | Speed 40ft | Active conditions: None.
"Well fought, mate! Your crew is a spirited bunch! Maybe next time we'll be fighting on the same side! Cheers to you!" Steev exalts into the comm system. "Bonzer buncha blokes!"
Male N human ace pilot soldier (hit-and-run) 5 |SP 40/40HP 39/39|RP 6/7|EAC 19; KAC 19|Fort +5; Ref +6; Will +4|Init +5|Perc +1, SM: +0 |Speed 40ft|Active conditions: None.
Patterson leans back in his chair and relaxes slightly. "Honor to worthy opponents." Then he blanks the screen and pickup. "Let's get what we came for and go."
Female N sarcesian colonist soldier (sharpshooter) 5/operative (ghost) 1 | SP 53/53 HP 45/45 (force field 5/5; capacity 10) | RP 7/7 | EAC 21; KAC 22 | Fort +6; Ref +7; Will +8 | Init: +5 | low-light vision; Perc: +7, SM: +7 | Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. average (vacuum only) | No tracked abilities. | No spells. | Active conditions: none
"Well fought, do you need any help patching things up before we continue with our mission?" Hermena relaxes a bit now that the threat of defeat has subsided.
"Thank you for your offer, but it was apparent that we were overmatched before the damage was irreparable.
"In ancient times, the victor would erect a monument on the field to immortalize their victory and they would demand tribute from the defeated. Not only did you fight with skill and passion, you fought honorably, and were generous in conquest. Honorbound offers you tribute. We will eject a cargo pod with your well-deserved prize. And if it please you and you find nothing of value in the beacon, grant its salvage to us."
Sorry for the delay. I suppose that you're not adverse to their tribute.
You scan the area and the unusual and interesting asteroids, looking for the exact location of the beacon. After about half an hour you've pinpointed the beacon; it's lodged on the surface of one of the asteroids.
About that time, the Honorbound signals that the tribute is ready. She ejects a cargo pod which floats slowly through space toward you.
If you bring it on board:
Inside the cargo pod is a set of golemforged plating II armor and a squad machine gun.
"Interesting bit of equipment there. I suppose one of you might be able to use the machine gun?"
"At any rate, now that we're done with the genitals-measuring contest, perhaps we can get back to the original point of this mission?"
As soon as Patterson brings them in range of the beacon, Kai powers up the scanners and begins trying to tease the information they need from the beacon.
Female N sarcesian colonist soldier (sharpshooter) 5/operative (ghost) 1 | SP 53/53 HP 45/45 (force field 5/5; capacity 10) | RP 7/7 | EAC 21; KAC 22 | Fort +6; Ref +7; Will +8 | Init: +5 | low-light vision; Perc: +7, SM: +7 | Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. average (vacuum only) | No tracked abilities. | No spells. | Active conditions: none
Hermena looks over the machine gun, comparing it side-by-side with the one she recovered from the Azlanti. "It's quite similar to my current weapon, I imagine I'll be able to use it without issue. The armor is too heavy for me, though, so someone else can put it to better use."
The machine gun is a pretty much a universal upgrade for my current weapon. I'm game to use it unless someone else wants it.
An uneventful EVA to physically recover the beacon, and a few moments of Kai's ministrations, reveal the beacon's encrypted message.
" ATTN: This message is confidential; if you are not the intended recipient, _ABSALOM STATION>>EXO-GUARDIANS_, please delete this message immediately.
MESSAGE: This is Remahd, captain of the Struggle’s Scholar. Most of my crew and I escaped Sangoro’s Bulwark with our lives, but upon entering the Drift, we collided with some extraplanar material. Soon after, we lost a crew member, as well as control of our primary engine. We have managed to patch our Drift functionality enough to drop out of this dangerous field and into normal space at the enclosed coordinates. Please send assistance as soon as is feasible—without our engine, our power supply is diminishing rapidly. In the event you are unable to reach us in time, I have heavily encrypted vital information meant only for the current head of the Exo-Guardians and locked it in a hard drive on the ship’s bridge."
With the coordinates in hand, you travel a short distance then drop out of the Drift.
The normal star punctuated black of space replaces the multi-colored swirls of the Drift.
Simultaneously an alarm goes off. Kai quickly determines that radiation is abnormally high here. The cameras looking aft show a massive storm with blue and gray etheric clouds warping the field of stars behind them and flashing internally with jagged streaks of light. For all its violence, the vast storm is silent, and it looms larger with each passing second.
Dwarfed by the storm, a heavily damaged kasathan transport ship floats in empty space, dark but for a slowly flashing orange light at its aft.
Female N sarcesian colonist soldier (sharpshooter) 5/operative (ghost) 1 | SP 53/53 HP 45/45 (force field 5/5; capacity 10) | RP 7/7 | EAC 21; KAC 22 | Fort +6; Ref +7; Will +8 | Init: +5 | low-light vision; Perc: +7, SM: +7 | Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. average (vacuum only) | No tracked abilities. | No spells. | Active conditions: none
"Something tells me that energy storm is going to be a lot less sportsmanlike than Honorbound's crew," Hermena says with a scowl. "Some of my people tell stories about space-storms among the Diaspora, but I've never seen one like this. Kai, any sensor readout that can tell us about it's nature, besides the fact that it's spewing radiation? In any case we should probably salvage what we can from Struggle's Scholar and beat it before it gets much closer."
Male N human ace pilot soldier (hit-and-run) 5 |SP 40/40HP 39/39|RP 6/7|EAC 19; KAC 19|Fort +5; Ref +6; Will +4|Init +5|Perc +1, SM: +0 |Speed 40ft|Active conditions: None.
"True. We won't have much time." Patterson steers the Pegasus towards the kasathan transport. "What's the date stamp on the beacon? How long has it been since it was placed?"
Male Android Street Rat Mechanic/7 | SP: 56/56 | HP: 48/48 | RP: 7/7 | EAC:25 KAC:26 | Fort +7/Ref +10/Will +4 | Init +6 | Perception +1 | Land speed: 30ft | Swim: 20ft | Fly: 30ft
After the fight, Hellig works to repair the damage made to the ship. It allows him to relax a bit and recover after the stress of the fight.
Seeing the energy storm Hellih is concerned. "This could easily consume us with our ship and we would find ourselves in the same situation as Struggle’s Scholar."
He thinks and adds:
"We need to be fast here. Can we assess how much time do we have?"
Kai checks the scanners. Radiation levels are higher than normal outside, but ship's shielding will protect you inside the ship and your armor is sufficient protection for short EVAs.
Meanwhile Patterson brings you in close. Struggle's Scholar has taken damage on her port side.
My memory says the hull has even been breached at room B5, the cargo hold, but I'll confirm the breach tonight.
Ran out of time last night, and couldn't get back to this before bed. At work now so no access to notes. There's a mysticism check to ID the kind of storm. You can roll those and I'll post tonight.
The storm is moving toward you. Hellih's and Hermena's posts are correct. If it catches you the storm will destroy or damage your ship, and certainly destroy the already compromised Scholar.
Duration since the beacon was fired into the Drift isn't noted in the scenario. But since the ship is presumed to have departed the Bulwark just before the Bulwark was attacked, it could be months.
Kai first scanned the derelict ship to get information about it to the rest of the crew, then set his calculations running on the storm.
"Guys, space meteorology isn't my specialty, but I can tell you that we don't have a lot of time. And I can't code slice a storm. Whatever we're going to do, let's hurry about it."
Male Android Street Rat Mechanic/7 | SP: 56/56 | HP: 48/48 | RP: 7/7 | EAC:25 KAC:26 | Fort +7/Ref +10/Will +4 | Init +6 | Perception +1 | Land speed: 30ft | Swim: 20ft | Fly: 30ft
Hellih looks through the window trying to assess if he can get anything about the storm using his knowledge about planet and space.
I know that you said Mysticism but maybe I will be able to learn something here ;) Even if it means, this storm is not natural :D Physical science:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
