[SFS, ORS] 1-28: It Rests Beneath (Tier 1-4) (Inactive)

Game Master Blake's Tiger

"We need to, to set up the tower. Let's just hope the sound drives them away." replies Gunnz.

"Not that it worked with those weird gulls..." she admits.

Faraeon laughs at Gunnz's stunt. "Hold on tight, Xyzic! We can't let Gunnz show off like that without answering in kind!" He hits the button on his armor to turn on the camera, shouts into the lens about how sick this was going to be, then revs the engines to launch the enercycle over the crest-eaters like Gunnz had done.

Same thing here. Not attempting to harm the creatures, just going for style points.

Piloting, vehicle bonus: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 13 + 2 = 16 Ruh roh!

Meanwhile, Kip observes the crest-eaters as well, trying to see if he can remember any other pertinent details about them.

Kip Life Science: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

L.Science: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

”Acid and bones don’t mix. Let’s not get too close, but close enough to finish our task.”

"This little valley leaves us kind of blind. I'm going to perch up top and keep an eye open." Chetna pulls her backpack from the buggy and climbs up the cliff-face back up to the top so she can have a good look at things.

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Last one should do it at the very least...

Once at the top, she secures a line so she can repel back down if needed and sets up her sniper rifle.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Gunnz is more than happy to have dropped Chetna off at the top before doing the jump in.

Gunnz is more than happy to have dropped Chetna off at the top before doing the jump in.

Nah, that would have been boring. This gives her something to do while you guys are assembling the tower.

The startled crest-eater looks back at the edge of the riverbank and follows the arc of Faraeon's enercycle as the lashunta leaps into the air. Unfortunately, he did not get quite as much lift as he wanted. The enercycle bobs down two feet beside the agitated beast. It is debatable now whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that he did no harm to the beast.

Chetna hops out of the buggy and makes for an elevated position.

Encounter! Round 1. Bold may act.

Combat seems imminent, but there might be a few things you could do to avoid it, depending on your skills, spells, or gear.

The round crater walls give Partial Cover.

Gunnz
Xyzic (5|12)
Chetna (18|22)<
Faraeon
Red
Blue
Gunnar (18|27)<
Xenal (19|25)

Gunnz revs up the engines, trying to scare off the odd creatures.

intimidate, no idea about what bonus a big buggy gives: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

I moved the buggy and passengers toward the one next to the enercycle. The idea is that we look loud and big and it might want to run away. Though with that roll, maybe we just look yummy

Gunnz' foot slips off of the accelerator as she is trying to rev the engines, which results in a rather muted vroom.

The crest-eater looks the buggy and bellows, drowning out the sound of the engine and splattering the rock-like ground with sizzling droplets of acidic spittle.

Good try. :)

I can Diplomacy them! Just umm... Just wish I hadn't totally whiffed initiative...

Don't worry. They're animals, so diplomacy would have no effect. You're looking for Survival or a xenodruid.

I have weird magical fungus in my throat (Wildwise), so I can use Diplomacy on animals :-)

Oh, that would have worked. OK. Feel free to feel bad. ;)

Since I'm on the enercycle, could I use the cycle's movement as the movement for my trick attack? Could that then be used to also move Xyciz (as my passenger) away from the crest-eater?

Trick Attack. No: The action you're taking to move the enercycle is the 'Drive' action, which requires a specific Move action that is not simply movement (pg. 278). Moving up to your speed and performing a trick attack is a Full Round action.

However, you could do any of the following things:
1. Swift Action Relinquish Controls to Xyzic who would become the driver. Note, due to peculiarities in Vehicle combat rules (vehicles cannot delay--the driver can, but not the vehicle), in order to avoid coasting forward 40 ft on Faraeon's initiative, Xyzic would instead have to spend a Move action to Take Control and a Move action to Drive on his initiative now. Or Xyzic Take Control as a Move action now, do another Move/Standard action, let it coast, and then Xyzic Drive away from the hole with a Move action next round.
2. Simply stop actively driving and let the enercycle coast on its own while you do whatever you want. It would move 40 ft in a straight line, pausing 5 ft before falling into that hole in front of it. Taking control back, next round, would be a Move action and then another Move action to Drive in order to not fall in the hole.

Passengers. Yes: Driving the enercycle will move Xyzic with you.

Thanks for the clarification! Let's hope this doesn't provoke then...

Faraeon jolts from the hard impact, then, seeing the massive beast looming beside him, hits the accelerator on the enercycle to get some distance.
He moves out and around one of the craters before skidding the cycle to a stop and hitting his quick-draw sheath to pop his arc pistol into his hand. He brings the pistol

So that's two move actions to Drive a total of 80ft, and a swift action to draw my weapon. Let me know if I messed something up there.

”Do you need me to drive this thing?”

Xyzic says with enthusiasm.

”Five creds says I won’t crash into something!”

Chetna shouts down, "No bet!"

Xyzic and Chetna hold off on any offensive action for a moment.

The closest crest-eater bites the buggy, leaving a sizable dent in the back panel. The other crest-eater spits a glob of caustic saliva at the buggy, but it does not seem to have any effect on metal.

Encounter! Round 1/2. Bold may act.

Red
Blue
Gunnar (18|27)<
Xyzic (5|12)
Chetna (18|22)<
Xenal (19|25)
---round---
Gunnz
Buggy (-3 hp)
Faraeon

Holding off for just a sec to see if Xenal can Wildwise these guys.

Chetna pulls out her sniper rifle and takes aim with the cold rifle barrel. She holds with her finger on the trigger waiting on Xenal to pull something off.

"Friends! Friends! There is no need for fighting!
Very soon we will leave your territory. It will remain yours."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (20) + 8 + (1) = 29

That was a lucky roll. You only made the DC by 3.

The crest-eater next to the buggy steps back in puzzlement at being addressed. It sniffs the buggy and then grunts. The two crest-eaters turn and trudge away down the riverbed.

Since we have established that Gunnz can Take 10 on both skill checks, I will move the narrative along:

With the crest-eaters out of the way, you can now safely assemble the towers. By the third time, you have the assembly down to a science, and Gunnz sets the scanners to work. Fifteen minutes later, Dr. Montessi reports over the comm, "Alright. Looks good. I'll begin the deep scans now."

The riverbed is dry and lifeless--now that the crest-eaters have retreated--and you are left to your own devices for entertainment. Ten minutes later, you begin to receive Dr. Montessi's preliminary data.

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.

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 are—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!”

Time in Field: 5 hrs 40 minutes
Time Since Crest-Eaters Retreated: 55 minutes

Status

Gunnar (18|27)<
Xyzic (5|12)
Chetna (18|22)<
Xenal (19|25)
Gunnz
Faraeon
Buggy (-3 hp)

"Ha! It is alive! Someone owes me 5 creds."

"That would explain why it was trying to eat us.." notes Gunnz, dryly.

"I've heard of Besmaran Welps. Could this be one of them?"

"This is no whelp, Gunnz," Faraeon says, his eyes wide with wonder. "I've fought one of them before. They're big, sure, but the size of a continent? No way! This is incredible!"

Faraeon turns to the communicator linked to Dr. Montessi's lab, "Hey Doc, you have any idea what the planet of origin might be based on the mineral samples and what not? I'm also wondering if you think we should head back to the lab. I know we only have a couple hours til dark, and I gotta think this is gonna be a pretty big survey to check things out further, right?"

"Or to that crashed spacecraft..." reminds Gunnz.

"I'm keen to lay eyes on that."

There is a pause over the comms before Dr. Montessi responds. "We are all rather eager to see what is down there. The scanners cannot penetrate miles of rock, and a first hand examination would be invaluable. However, this formation is not going anywhere, and there is no reason to take unnecessary risks. We value your lives. Let me know what you want to do."

"You want us to drive the buggies down into ...."
Queue soundtrack."
"what lies beneath?" asks Gunnz, her voice incredulous.

"Cool!"

Just sayin..(go from about 2.50)

"Ah..." There is another long pause. "No. There are titanium cables and rappelling gear in the trailer."

"That doesn't sound like a quick exit strategy.." she mentions, dubious.

"Is there anything in particular you are after us trying to find down there?"

"Quick question, when you say, 'a lot of heat' how much are we talking here? Do we need to wear full environmentals down there or be cooked?"

”Any kind of bets as to what we run into now?”

Xyzic eagerly awaits a reply.

Gunnar grimaces.

"Something acidic based on the other critters we've met."

"We're not certain what to expect," Dr. Montessi says. "If my hypothesis is correct, you should find yourself traversing the vital organs of a titanic and completely alien life form. As for what we would like you to collect, photographs, video, samples, anything you can observe. I can get limited sensor data from your comm units that might provide us with clues as well. And, yes, sensors indicate that you would be very uncomfortable outside environmental protections at that level of heat. Prolonged, unprotected exposure could be fatal."

"Parasite mode: Active" giggles Gunnz with a slightly manic look in her eye.

"Should we have coms all the time we are down there Doctor?" she asks. "I mean, this sensor tower, can it relay our units through all that ... body? Or do we need to set up something special?"

She inspects the hole that the team has had indicated to them.

"Fareaon, this is more your scene than mine..."

Xenal's eyes are alight with excitement. "There's so much to learn here. Let alone if it can be communicated with!"

Faraeon considers what he knows about transmitting video feeds through dense materials like rock, as well as how he might be able to link up the team’s comms to the sensors.

Profession (video personality): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24
Engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

He also asks Kip what he might know about sensor signals penetrating organic material on this scale.

Kip Life Science: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"There are handheld geological sensors in the trailer to collect the more specialized data," Dr. Montessi says. "However, the narrow band signal of your comms should make it through the tunnels unless you encounter something particularly unusual to block the signal."

Faraeon figures that there's a decent chance that live video feeds might be a bit choppy and erratic bouncing through those tunnels, but the comm signal and handheld scanners that Dr. Montessi mentioned shouldn't have much trouble.

"Right. Lets set up some climbing gear and get to work." says Gunz.

She takes what ever equipment is stored in the buggies out, and makes sure it looks like it is good for the job, setting it up as best she can.

"Let's hope it just doesn't try to swallow us whole."

Xenal preps her own gear and looks over her companions in a final safety check, just in case.

"Better whole than the other way."

"Alright, let's do this thing, then," Faraeon says as he sees his companions getting straight to work. In addition to the gear already in the buggies, Faraeon is able to provide some cable he brought along for the mission.

With the equipment provided, your descent into the hole in the calcium shell is relatively easy if time consuming. The air around the hole feels warmer than the surrounding air, and if you begin to descend without sealing your environmental protections, it quickly becomes quite hot and dry within the tunnel. The hand sensors indicate the temperature rising as you descend, quickly reaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit (because the Golarion universe is not metric, apparently) and climbing more gradually as you continue to descend.

The tunnel itself is roughly five feet in diameter, sometimes a little wider and sometimes it is a close squeeze, and varies in angle of descent from 30 to 60 degrees, seemingly at random.

If you could *somehow* achieve a -5 Athletics check by Taking 10, you'll need to roll for the first part of the descent above.

The tunnel widens to approximately eight feet in diameter and drops precipitously. You hand sensors measure the depth of the hole to be approximately 80 feet.

What precautions would you like to take to descend, and then each of you make an Athletics check.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Chetna looks around before she attaches a cable into shell of the creature. "Birds? Do we see birds anywhere?" She clips in, checks the environmentals levels on her suit, and pops her helmet closed. "Ready?"

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"Lets just double check our roping up. Anyone able to secure a piton or similar here?" suggests Gunnz.

She too checks her environmental seals before continuing further.

"Maybe let me scout ahead a little first?"
athletics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29
perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Gunnar activates his suits environmental seals, attaches a cable to his suit, and nods to Chetna.

"Let's go."

Not a bad plan to seal up, Faraeon thinks as he also activates his environmental protections. He hits the button to activate the seals, then follows Gunnz down to do some scouting, pausing occasionally to peer through his enhanced camera’s viewfinder.

Athletics: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23
Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24
Perception w/ 60ft Darkvision: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Moving on. Mercy botting remaining Perception checks.

As you make your way down the chimney, holes open up along the shaft and spray a sticky liquid over you all.

Reflex Saves from Everyone.

"Eeekk" squeaks Gunnz jerking away from the acid.

reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 Evasion, if it matters

Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

"Arghhh!" cries Gunnar,"It's trying to digest us! I knew there'd be more acid!"