GM SFS's 1-28: It Rests Beneath (Inactive)

Game Master Eric Collins - France

"Come on Barò, you've got this!"

Baròleg Fort: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

That was nerve wracking!

Given my record of rolling saves, I didn't dare :P

Baròleg and Goggles are able to brace their feet and resist being blown along into some hole.

You have all seen Cashara fall into the hole and disappear as it closes around her.

Bold can act
It takes a Move action to get beside the "trap".
Pyksi
Baròleg
Croaker
Gogglez
Korl

I will keep Cashara's actions in a spoiler,
since the others do not know what is going on.
Can you also put your answers in a spoiler (marked GM), please, Cashara?

Korl immediately moves up next to the hole Cashara disappeared into "Cashara! Where are you?!" The vesk kneels down and searches for any sign of the android.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 7

He then does his best to start digging after her.

Assuming some kind of standard action to dig...no real tools at hand to do so other than Vesk claws.

Sorry to vanish, weekend was busier than I thought. Thanks for the Fort roll Korl!

Seeing Cashara roll into one of the fissures, Baròleg rushes over and tries to find out what happened...

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Korl and Baròleg rush over, and see that Cashara is blocked in some sort of trap, and try to find out about this...

Baròleg realizes this is some sort of "living" trap, like a giant Venus flytrap.

You all look around, and see all of those "holes" all over. A lot of traps to make sure you avoid...

Korl sees that digging is rather useless.

You see that the best way to help Cashara is to either pull the trapped Cashara free--
with a successful DC 20 Athletics check
--or else break her out by destroying the trapping material, making sure you do not harm her in the process.
hardness 5 and 5 Hit Points

Bold can act
It takes a Move action to get beside the "trap".
Pyksi
Croaker
Gogglez
(Cashara in a spoiler)

Croaker seeing his allies to stand around a trap run next to them and tries to aid to pull out Cashara I have athletics at -1 so there is no way I pass DC 20.

Athletics, aid another: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

However, he fails to reach her due to his short paws and lack of upper body strength.

Croaker is trying to go the left, to the right... that does not help much.
Poor Croaker.

Pyksi scampers down the higher of the two ladders, then draws her sniper rifle once she's reached the middle platform.

I'm thinking a Move to get down the ladder, use my Standard to draw? She's not getting down the rest of the way fast... unless she jumps.

Pyksi gets down and has her gun ready.

Gogglez watches on as his team tries to save Cashara, but realizes he can't do much to help. Regardless, he scampers over and tries to aid anyone that attempts to pull her free.

athletics to aid: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7

You see something jiggling about beneath the sides of the trap, but it seems Cashara is not moving as much.

You can help Cashara by either pulling the trapped Cashara free--
with a successful DC 20 Athletics check
--or else break her out by destroying the trapping material, making sure you do not harm her in the process.
hardness 5 and 5 Hit Points

Bold can act
Korl
Baròleg
Pyksi
Croaker
Gogglez
(Cashara in a spoiler)

"This isn't working! Cashara, if you can hear me, stand back!" Korl pulls back his arm, forming a fist and his solar weapon and strikes down at the ground as hard as he can.

Attack vs trap: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Damage(B): 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

The trap is smashed to bits, and Cashara crawls out... shaking her limbs, to recover from being trapped in there.

I scrolled back it does look like we got the tower functioning before the wind got us yes?

While those with medical skills help Cashara, Baròleg contacts the doctor to confirm all three towers are operating effectively and will share video of the 'fly trap' pits. "What do you need us to do next doctor?"

Baròleg looks up, and sees that, yes, the tower is beeping away, its lights flashing and little radar domes moving around.
It is working...
Seems the gust of wind occurred just after it started.

Cashara seems just fine now.
Though she is worried when she sees some sort of liquid pooling in the bottom of the broken trap: what was that going to do to her?

You look all around, and see all those traps... and you now realize that the mounds might be filled traps.

If you wish to check them out

Having have erected and calibrated all three scanning towers, Dr. Motressi congratulates you on your work, but asks you to please stop playing around with holes in the ground, like little children!
"What's wrong with little children?!", asks her daughter.

Mora announces that she’s ready to perform a deep image scan of the entire plateau.

The process takes about 10 minutes, after which she sends the you the preliminary data while she and her team analyze this new information.
All three of the towers are functioning properly, and the results are very clear.

She patches you in to and you see that slowly the three scanning towers begin to construct an image of the Big Mina Plateau on the screen.
Forsaken Canyon, the cliffside, and the dry riverbed all come into focus, along with many other terrain features over many square miles.
But the image also goes down into the ground, and as temperature, seismic activity, and other geological readings begin to light up on the screen, Mora’s voice becomes more and more excited:
“This is wonderful. You’ve saved us years of work! I can’t believe some of these readings. Wait... is that right? That doesn’t make sense. These tunnels look like some kind of... respiration network? And the composition of the plateau... that mineral doesn’t appear naturally on this planet. Is this whole area some kind of... transplant?”
Mara audibly consults with several puzzled scientists in the background.
"Maybe it's an ice cream making machine?", says Little Mina.

The scan concludes, showing deep below the surface of the planet where a network of narrow tunnels come together to form a large chamber filled with a crystalline object.
Mora’s face appears in a small window of the screen:
“According to these readings, that crystal is giving off an incredible amount of heat. And all the tunnels we’ve found—like the one at the dry riverbed where you put up one of the towers—converge at that spot. Starfinders, I can’t believe I’m staying this, but I think this entire plateau is one enormous, living creature that migrated here from another world. Big Mina is alive!”
I'd... I'd ask you to continue your investigation by descending into the tunnels, reaching the central crystal, and performing additional scans to confirm the thesis that the plateau is a single alien organism of immense size!
We don’t know how or when it got here, how it grows, or if it poses any danger to the rest of the planet’s inhabitants,” she says.
“And we can’t answer those questions if we have to scan through a mile of rock. If that crystal object is what I think it is—some kind of brain—I need you to get down there and find some answers.
Can you do that?”

It's a giant turtle of a size equal to 1/4 of a planet, let's go through its ear and poke on its brain and see what happens :P

Croaker listens to the findings and is clearly uncomfortable.

"Given the size of the creature and unknown anatomy of it do you think that it is a good idea to try to crawl into it to do more scans? Scanning devices proved to annoy the local fauna. If we wake this thing by introducing buzzing near its brain the outcome could be catastrophic."

"What is more, we are not sure what we are dealing here with. One of the 'tunnels' could be 'blocked' by a membrane, bones or other tissue that we would not pass. It can inhale us, squash us, we don't know its immune system and its reaction on foreign bodies entering it. I really think that making such a call without more insight is like crashing your buggy on a crest-eater, a bit reckless."

"I am not a doctor... well, actually I am, but not a medical doctor, so I have no idea about bones and tissues and cavities. I am a scientist, and so I say: explore, analyze, report, delve deep!
And if the local fauna gets annoy, well... TOUGH!
They better get used to this !"

"Great, one more organism I'm shorter than," quips Pyksi, making her way down.

"Well, I see no way this could go horribly, horribly wrong. The fun part is, she's already got tons of data and hard work from us, so if she sends us to our death now, that's a hell of a bargain!"

You have titanium alloy cable lines and grapplers in your vehicles, which make any descent relatively easy.
DC 5 Athletics check ; and so far you can take 10, meaning auto success for all

Once you start down, to accomplish your new task: investigating Big Mina!, you will be descending through the tunnels that line her interior.
You will see These tunnels ventilate heat generated by Mina.
You are all wearing modern armor, and will most probably turn on your environmental protections, making this heat harmless.
Tell me if you do NOT

The temperature rises as you descend deeper, and for most of their journey, the temperature is 90–100° F.
This qualifies as very hot weather, which deals 1d4 nonlethal fire damage to anyone wearing archaic armor or not using environmental protections

You will see that the tunnels are about 5 feet wide for most of their length, and they descend at varying inclines ranging from about 30 to 60 degrees.

In most cases, the modest angles and opportunity to brace against opposing walls reduces the difficulty.
Again, DC 5 Athletics checks

So, you all set on down the big opening close to this third tower?

"Wow yo, inside of a planet sized creature...I think I might need to give Hole Puncher a bigger gun someday if things like this exist." Gogglez says, but otherwise remains mostly in a state of awe-inspired silence.

Every few minutes as the team descends Baròleg tries the comms to see if they maintain connection, he also shares images and input as requested by the doctor.

"This is not exactly what I envisioned when offered the chance to explore and meet new life forms..."

Can we continue to Take 10 on Athletics? Just in case it's no, or it gets more difficult...
Athletics: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

So, you start by going down the hole that is at the bottom of the trap where Cashara was caught.

Korl goes first, then Pyksi, and Croaker, followed by Baròleg and Cashara, with Gogglez at the rear.
using the marching order you put up

The tunnel soon becomes a vertical shaft, 8 feet across and over... 50 feet deep?

How will you proceed in this exploration?
You all close you environmental seals?
What safety precautions do you taken?

All other than Baròleg must attempt a DC 5 Athletics check.

athletics: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (15) - 1 = 14

I don't see any reason not to use our environmental protections, so I activate mine.

Assuming there are extra cables and such that we won't immediately need, Korl will store what he can in his industrial backpack for the trip down, just in case. Are there flares or anything similar, if so those will come along too.

"This isn't how I pictured the day going. The ground thing that ate Cashara was weird, sure, but going down its throat...?" Korl closes his backpack after resupplying it from the buggy and clamps one end of the cable to the buggy, the other to him. Walking over to the hole, he smacks a button on his wrist to close the environmental controls on his armor, swings his legs over the edge, and starts working his way down using the lights on his armor to take a look around as he does.

"Not sure what I'm seeing down here yet...tunnels I guess. So we just need to find this crystal thing and takes some scans?"

Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Korl will try and proceed down to find a landing or at least semi-even ground, radioing anything back he sees on the way.

Autopass on that Athletics check from my +6-- halfling power!

Pyksi follows along, eyeing the walls around them. "Anyone else feel like an endoscope?"

As they get further along, she considers; "I don't suppose we could tape the scanner to Hole Puncher?"

How will you proceed in this exploration? Carefully... ;) I'm ok with being center, but we might want to switch Gogglez and Korl in the marching order?
You all close you environmental seals? Yes
What safety precautions do you taken? Arc Pistol set to stun in right hand, baton in left, armor's flashlight on as needed. If I can use my Perception tool kit as we move (Broad Spectrum Scanner) I'll have that out instead of the baton.

"I think a better analogy would be crawling through its nose? Regardless, I'm not comfortable with entering any creature's orifices without consent and a nice dinner first." Baròleg helps Korl detach a grappler and spools of titanium alloy cable from one vehicle after using the other to enter the nasal caverns.

Reaching the drop off, Baròleg will help attach the grapple so the team can climb down safely, "Gogglez to you think you can rig the grapple so Hole Puncher can knock it loose after? In case we need to lower again?"

All are moving down nicely, Cashara managing too--
+4 Athletics so auto succeed @5
--and you look up to see how Croaker is doing.

@Croaker DC 5 Athletics check

Prepare for the epic trip inside the living being! I will not let it be a set of rolls into the brain and back! I encourage you to RP the crap out of this!

but going down its throat...?

"Yeah, let us hope it is the throat and not the other side."

Croaker walks around a bit nervous and speaks:

"I have no experience in entering a living being to reach its brain, but my unit was doing an action underground and I will share the approach that we took. There are 2 known problems in underground operations that we should cover: navigation and health status of the soldiers."

You can already hear how Ysoki change his wording to be military oriented but he just rolls with it

"We need to reach the brain and go back, we are not sure how many side tunnels we will find and we should not rely on the electronics to lead us back. We need to mark a way somehow as well as to choose the best possible approach to cross the obstacles that we meet. I suggest we select a subteam responsible for that. Selecting tunnels, marking the way and handling the safety of the whole unit."

He makes a pause to catch his breath and continue

"The second aspect is the health of each member. We are going under the surface and reactions could vary. We could be under harsh environmental conditions and beyond claustrophobia, we may suffer from delusions, dehydration and many more. We need a team to control the health status of our team."

He thinks a bit

"There is a third problem which is the goal of our mission: science. Along the way we should be controlling the environment that we are walking through. This Big Mina might have immune system reacting to our intrusion: increase of temperatures, seizures, acidic substances filling the tunnels etc. We should scan the surroundings on a regular interval to predict the hazards of this journey. On top of that other animals might live inside her, we should look for any signs of that!"

"As there is six of us I recommend selecting pairs that would handle each of the aspects: navigation, health, and science. Due to that, we have redundancy so even if one of us dies we don't lose that capacity as a unit."

Croaker seems to be happy with what he is proposing
"I can join the medical team, and I would be happy to establish a set of tests that we perform on every interval."

Regardless of if we go with the approach above Croaker attempts to descent safely down the tunnel
Athletics: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8

Korl anchors the cable to the buggy, and then leads the way, as you all close your armor-seals and follow him down into this tube that starts at the bottom of the trap.

You climb down.
Without slipping or falling.

Gogglez is at a loss for words, while Baròleg is filming and narrating what you are seeing, and remains in contact with Mora.

The same gray, shell-like material that you saw on the surface of the plateau covers the interior of this shaft, though it is much lumpier and more irregular in this section of tunnel.

Cashara and Pyksi are moving along too, wondering how the drone is doing.

While Croaker rattles off information about military operations, and proposes to create navigation, health, and science teams, with him being on a medical team.

You are all engrossed in watching everything and trying to comprehend what it is like to be going down into a living being.
Thus you are oblivious to what lies ahead--
--except that, all of a sudden, Baròleg calls out a warning!

Baròleg explains, and points out, that he made out the vague contours of living creatures beneath the gray shell.
"Look! This is linked to the holes above. Those are traps, that siphon the prey down here by various tubes... we are in a throat! Except there are many throats."

You now spot organic nozzles hidden in the walls of the shaft., and see that they spray a rapidly hardening gel that... calcifies creatures, like that shird over there!
Serves it right, evil shird!

Cashara says that : "That is the same liquid there was up in the trap, and that aimed to drown me in."

You see that it is turning the outer layer of the shird's flesh into a bone-like material.

You are literally in the belly of the beast!

You see that the nozzles spray every so often.
So, you work out that you can past this area without being sprayed.

How so?
Well...
• you can descend the shaft quickly, slipping past the hazard quickly enough that the gel strikes only empty air.
Athletics (DC 12)
•  you can rig up an improvised shield that blocks the spray.
This allows multiple PCs to pass unharmed ; Engineering (DC 16)
• you can study the trap and assess how and when the hazard would trigger, allowing others to descend more safely.
This grants each PC a +2 bonus to all other checks to bypass this hazard ;
Life Science (DC 13)
• you can try to sneak past the sprayers without being sensed.
Stealth (DC 15)
• you can fashion a lure on a cable and lower it down the tunnel, triggering the spray harmlessly.
Allowing multiple PCs to hurry past unharmed ; Survival (DC 18)

How do you wish to try and pass these gastric juices?!

Croaker seeing the threat says:
"Let us try to build a shield to protect us while crossing this threat."

He starts going through equipment that they have to build movable protection

Engineering, aid another: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Croaker gets really carried away!
He actually builds the perfect shield, that would protect you all... but breaks into pieces, to help someone else build it...

Cashara sees this, and--
Aid Another Engineering: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
--helps Croaker put the pieces together.

You can rig up an improvised shield that blocks the spray.
Engineering (DC 16) ; you already have +4 to the main roll to come

I can't remember if you can use Aid Another with a 'Trained Only' skill if you have no ranks... Lacking access to my books I leave a roll just in case.

Engineering/Assist: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Baròleg tries to help with the shield construction, which mostly consists of him staying out of the way or holding things.

Is it one roll for each, or one roll for the entire group?

Engineering: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Pyksi sits in the creature's throat as the group around her helps assemble the Ykea Shieldenhoffer. She needs a little help, but soon they've got a nice little shield that should fit nicely over the creature's spray nozzle.

If Pyksi had any training in Life Science, she'd relate it to the duodenum, but as it stands, she likely thinks a "duodenum" is when you wear jeans with a jean jacket.

Pyksi is working away on the shield, and using Croaker and Cashara's items and help, and progressing rather well.
@15 out of 16 needed
@Pyksi Would've been way better to let your mechanic make the main roll

Baròleg tries to help, but does not know what to do to be of assistance.
More night classes are needed.
No Aid Another if untrained

Korl watches Baròleg, and thinks that the work is good!
No Aid Another if untrained either

Gogglez then points out what the people are doing correctly, and what is done wrong--
@+11 cannot fail Aid Another, so 17 for DC16
--and you have made a shield with the cables and grapplers and boxes.

You position the wood and metal shield, and... it is sprayed upon, but the liquid is blocked, and does not wet you.
So, one by one, you slip past, and manage to keep on climbing down the shaft, finally puling the shield after you.

You have passed the pre-digestive area!

And, climbing down, you reach the bottom of the shaft, setting foot on some large stony lump, that is in a level corridor that the shaft arrived in.

Your armor's flashlights illuminate something on the floor: ribbons of green cloth are still visible sticking out from the stony surface at the bottom of the shaft!

You shine your flashlights and beacons over the area,--
--and clearly see the distinctive four-armed outline of a... Kasatha!

It was obviously caught within the calcifying spray, and must have slowly suffocated to death.

Wait, what is that?
Oh?!... a spherical holorecorder is in one of the kasatha’s hands.

If you wish, it seems you can easily free the object from the corpse’s hand, and probably knock off the shell covering, hopefully being able to play the recording.

Gogglez gets to work on quickly constructing a shield to block the digestive juices, "Thanks for all the pieces yo, this should be a piece of cake!"

Seeing the holorecorder, Gogglez lets Hole Puncher out of his armor, just in case something goes wrong, before grabbing and playing the recording.

I totally got Croaker and Gogglez confused for a second, and thought our mechanic had chosen Aid Another for some reason. It's been a long night!

"Well, that's our pilot," sighs Pyksi as she sees the calcified kasatha. "To be honest, the odds of finding those remains on this planet seemed... rather low. If they came here to investigate Big Mina, though, it makes sense."

Pyksi sees one of those two dark furry Ysoki grab and play the recorder, but which one is it?
Gogglez it is!

Having knocked the stony concretion of the recorder, Gogglez presses play, and the projector creates a hologram of a female kasatha, her mouth covered with a green mask and her hands outstretched in ritual gestures.
A faint audio crackles to life, echoing in the tunnel.

"“It has been three days since I landed, and I believe I am the first sapient creature ever to visit this planet. What a privilege this discovery is. Thank Talavet for the tales she has charged me to tell. I shall not fail in this duty.
When I first beheld the vast, dry, expanse of this plateau, I felt the call of home. A year have I journeyed, with only my crest-eater cubs for company, and as a citizen of the Idari, I have never seen the deserts of Kasath with my waking eyes. Yet, they are as clear to me now as if they stretched out before me.
Now I descend into the depths of this strange, alien desert to find what rests beneath it. Mother, father, I miss you and all the members of our family. Soon I will return to add my story to the records of our House. Perhaps one day that story will be retold, and the lessons others have taught me about myself will be repeated in the halls of our ancestors.
But if I should fail, I leave behind this record in the hope that other pilgrims follow in my footsteps. And while it is hope beyond hope, I ask that if you, strangers, find me before the carrion birds have made a meal of my flesh, perform the work of the adata and preserve my memories, for what they are worth, so that I may be returned to my people. For even in failure, there are lessons to be learned, and love can still be found and remembered.
I am Exu Jana Onorab of House Hadulan, and this is my Tempering.”

culture: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9 womp

"We should return this to House Hadulan...sad that this Kasatha didn't make it back themselves." Gogglez says as he watches the recording morosely.

Gogglez knows that... hmmmm, wait, what was that? Gogglez has that on the tip of his little ysoki tongue.
So close!

Culture: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 womp womp

"I agree."

Cultures: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18 boom

Baròleg shares what he knows of the adata, "...though processing calcified brain matter may be difficult. I have heard of magic that can turn stone to flesh . We should honor her dying request, returning her and effects to her people." He begins examining the remains for any personal items that may have value to the Kasatha's family, and for a way carry her remains (or at least her head).

What does one roll to decapitate a statue?

I believe that'd be Profession (Mid-Millennia European Explorer), Baro.

Croaker seeing that Pyksi have issues recognizing him, comments:

"I know that every Ysoki looks the same to you, a tail, two paws and a fur on a snout and all that. So let me make it simple: he wears goggles and I wear a medical patch on my arm." Croaker seems clearly annoyed.

No Culture skills here :(

"Hide this recording well Gogglez! So that it is not destroyed. Does anyone know if Kasathas would appreciate us extracting the body? And bringing it back with the message?"

"My apologies, Croaker. From behind, I saw a robe and a tail and a Ysoki who seemed good with his hands," she says.

Hahaha, skills. Yeah, I have those, ;)

Not being much help in blocking the spray or knowing who or what an adata is, Korl has been silent. "I could try breaking the shell around him, see if we can get him out...I don't know much about kasathan beliefs but dying down here alone seems..." he pauses for a moment "unworthy of his task. Let us take whatever of him we can back to his people."

Sub-Zero fatality'ing the statue seemed a bit much so let's go for breaking the ground around it instead.
Strength: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
...yup, that tracks.

Korl approaches and starts trying to smash the area around the statue but only manages to break out small chips of calcified material.

"Errhm. This may take longer than I thought. Does anyone have a seismic pick or mining cannon in their gear?"

Korl does not dare bash away, so he holds his strength in check...

You see the calcifying gel has petrified Exu Jana Onorab’s brain.

But you imagine you could remove the brain or a piece of it--
with a successful DC 15 Engineering, Medicine, or Profession check related to handling stone (like Mid-Gap Absalom Explorer)

Or you could help Korl just hack the petrified head from the body or otherwise extract a large portion of the petrified corpse, though in doing so you should attempt avoid damaging the brain’s preserved structure in the process.
DC 5 Dexterity check
@Korl can you roll yours?!

While it is not within the your ability to restore the petrified brain sample, the adata aboard the Idari may know a way to do so.

If you would rather extract the whole body, they can do so using any of the methods and risks above.
However, Exu’s petrified body is 45 bulk, which is extraordinarily difficult to carry, much less maneuver up through the tunnels.
If the ypu are strong enough and devise a means to hoist the body through thousands of feet of tunnels, the process likely takes many hours.

Korl smashes around the remains and notices the damage its starting to cause, swearing "Blackened stars!" He quickly pulls his punch hoping to avoid further damage.

Dex: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13