[Gameday VIII] GM Burd's SFS #1-22 The Protectorate Petition (Inactive)

Game Master Art Burd

Xino is typing on his datapad furiously attempting to get all the information he can. "This is all great information. And yes, I'm ready to see this floating city also."

"I believe that is all I need to know now. Thank you!" he says, a bit awkwardly.

Zoomer falls in at the back of the party un-slinging his rifle.

"Ok! lets move out..."

He glances about the group.

"What we lookin for again?"

Can someone please make a Diplomacy check? Others can aid if you want. For checks like this, I will assume that the highest check is the base, with any others being aids.

As you express your interest in beginning your exploration of the city, the Copaxi scientists give you a small datachip that can be passed between your devices. Downloading its contents, you find that there are three things of note. The first is what appears to be a map of Tabantria in the google slide. As you look it over, the scientists explain that the seven dots they have placed on the map are places that they think would be of interest to your investigations. The teal ones are locations that they have already explored, and are guaranteed to be safe. Meanwhile, the locations marked orange are explained to be places that they have yet to explore due to hazardous conditions and threats, with the Copaxis suggesting that those areas may contain valuable information.

The second item contained in the datachip is a program that appears to be a prototype translation software for converting between Common and Copaxi.

Finally, there is a Comm unit connection address, which Therseis explains connects to their comm unit. They explain that they are curious about all of you and are interested in seeing you work. They request that that you communicate your findings to them after investigating each location, or alternatively allow Therseis to stay close by for an in-person report.

.

Yes thanks of for the info, anything about this place is nice too. diplomacy aid: 1d20 ⇒ 4
perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23, Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Looking over the info Xino says "Should we start with the unexplored ones first and go to the easier ones after?" Looking to the others. "I personally don't mind you coming along." Seeing Therseis messing with his personal comm and trying to keep it hidden attempts to sense what he is about.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Wow wicked rolls!

Zoomer sigh!

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 17

"Nice Map!"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22

Therseis will squat slightly while facing in the direction of Xino, in what you take to be the Copaxi equivalent of a bow. "Thank you. If I do accompany you, I will remain out of the way, not wanting to impede your progress of investigating the city in any manner whatsoever."

So, where do you want to go first? I have marked roughly where I believe the Copaxi base to be on the map. (The purple circle.)

Let's head toward the copaxi first.

That is where you currently are.

Zoomer rubs his whiskers.

"Well we could just go clockwise around the arms of the star and finish in the middle....but I'll follow whatever you decide to do?"

Is everyone fine with that plan? Going around the city clockwise? If three or more people say yes, that is what I will assume you do.

yep.

"I agree with Zoomer. Going from the outside in seems like the most sensible idea."

Alright. Continuing on, as that is three players for Zoomer's suggestion.

You all begin travelling to the first mark indicated on the map, with Therseis following along with you. Once you get there, he politely excuses himself from your company, taking a seat somewhere where he can watch you all work. Upon entering the area, you can very quickly tell that this was likely a market at some point in the past. This open area contains large amounts of scattered debris and abandoned merchant stalls. Various scorch marks, piles of ash, and a few burnt-out structures reveal that a fire devastated the area long ago.

Twik wanders the area looking carefully for anything of interest.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
Culture: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

"Interesting, anyone have any other insights?"

Twik explains his findings to the group.

Please read the Perception & Culture spoilers. Hopefully someone else can help out with the Physical Science one.

Zoomer stalks the edge of the market occasionally kicking over small bits of debris.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

No physical Science skill :(

Xino listens to what Twik say interested. Afterwords he pulls Twik aside undr the guise of examining a coin, and whispers. "We need to keep an eye on Therseis. He is carrying a hidden comm that he is keeping secret from the other Copaxi."

He then takes one of the coins and heads over to Therseis. "Does this saying mean anything to you?"

Sorry can't help you out.

Jett takes a look at the coins. "You know, let me think."

Could I use Profession(Smuggler) in place of Profession(Merchant), or are they too dissimilar?

Profession (Smuggler) should be fine, as I can see how it would work.

Xino, as you walk up and hand the coin to Therseis with a question, he takes it tentatively in one hand. "Well, I'm not exactly an expert in this field, but I seem to recall us finding similar sayings on other artifacts scattered throughout the city. It appears to have been a semi-common phrase used by the ruling class who occupied these cities long ago. They were extremely power-hungry, setting themselves apart from the rest of us in these floating cities, upon one of which we are now standing. However, they defied the natural order of things, in ways that eventually caused their societies to be destroyed by a divine wrath." They seem to shiver slightly. "Is there anything else you wish to know? Or have you concluded your exploration of this area?"

Something strikes Zoomer as being a little odd but he's never had the skills to read people let along strange alien creatures.

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Zoomer, you get that there is somethings slightly off about either Therseis, his reply, or both. However, you can't pin down quite what it is.

Is there anything else you wish to do in this area? Or do you wish to head to the next location?

Zoomer looks at Therseis with his beady eyes before scratching his whiskers and dropping back to his position at the back of the party.

"lets move on."

Once everyone is ready to move on:

You exit the market after thoroughly recording everything that you found there. You continue along to the next location, with Therseis following along behind you. Once you arrive at the next location, he once again falls back slightly, letting you begin your exploration alone again.

As you enter the area, it becomes clear that at some point in the past, this was Tabantria's port. However, at least half of the city’s area seems to have fallen away from the floating landmass in some great catastrophe at some point. What remains is a large sprawl of checkpoints, landing platforms, and nonfunctional strange-hulled transport vessels. Additionally, you are able to spot a stationary telescope set up near the edge of the city, seemingly capable of both looking around the sky and down at the ground.

Zoomer has a look about....Engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Xino begins searching the area for more symbols like those on the phone.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Xino, what do you mean by 'on the phone'?

Also, what is everyone else doing? It's been a while since some of you posted.

Sorry meant coin. Autocorrect on my phone.

Mega will look through the telescope.

Since Zoomer got the DC on the spoiler, everyone can go ahead and look in it.

Xino looks around for any similar symbols or markings to those that you all found in the market. However, you are unable to positively identify anything as being of similar origin, due to objects fading, eroding, or otherwise decaying over time.

Mega, you head over to look through the telescope. The first thing you see is sees a spectacular view of a similar city to the one you stand on, different in that it is sundered into hundreds of pieces that are all moving together in a floating spiral pattern through the air. By spending a few minutes looking around, you can observe several other cities within sight that have similar levels of destruction and instability — some are completely upside-down, others are on their sides, and each and every one of them is broken into numerous pieces.

Eventually, having exhausted the viewable cities from where you are standing, you turn the telescope towards the ground. Viewing the surface of the planet, you can easily tell that most of it is covered in a combination of sprawling, industrialized urban landscapes and massive, multi-tiered urban farmlands. From your position, there is very little wilderness visible to you.

Maybe you all want to look through that telescope, I can't make out why things are they way they are.

Zoomer climbs out of the strange ship.

"Can't see anything that could make these things fly! They're about as aerodynamic as Tremor worm poop! Only thing that might get'em to fly is magic."

On hearing Mega mention the telescope he rushes across and looks about through it.

"Wow! Look at them other cities... all broke up and flipped about... some bad stuff went on here reminds me of the state of Akiton a little."

Abandoning the scope he climbs into another ship and begins complaining about it's layout all over again...

Jett takes a look through the telescope. "Let me see what's so interest--oh. That is..." He pauses for a moment, looking some more. "You know, I thought they looked destroyed a second ago, but that spiral pattern... I can't help but thing that that was intentional."

Ok none of us have all the relevant skills so, we can try them untrained but can't score more than ten if we all got 10+ between us we can work it out.....Lets give things a go?

Zoomer looks again through the scope...

Life Science (untrained): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

as he walks away from it again he flips the coin he picked up as he flips it.... it glints in the sunlight he thinks....

Physical Science (untrained): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

....not a lot!

:( well you guys still might make it?

Unfortunately, the numbers are not in your favor. It appears as if your characters won't be able to receive that information. Sorry.

Is there anything else you guys wish to do here, or are you ready to go to the next location?

Can't see much else we can do ready to move on for me.

Ready to move on

Same here.

The marker on the map guides you to what seems to be a rather mundane residential neighborhood. Howwever, as you arrive at the marked coordinates, you are faced with a gaping hole that leads down into the ground. Therseis says "Our team found discovered this several days ago. Seeing as how it is so markedly different from everything around here, we had meant to explore this eventually. However, on our initial survey we detected the presence of at least one dangerous creature with the tunnel below. As we are not armed for anything other than self defense, it would have been foolish of us to travel down there. However, your armaments seem sufficient to handle anything you might find down there. I shall remain up here, so as to not get in your way." They then go back a few paces, finding a comfortable rock to sit upon. Looking down, all that you can tell is that the walls of the tunnel below appears to be constructed out of worked stone, and that their have no visible sources of natural light.

As a note, if you have armor it includes a built-in comm-unit, which includes a flashlight. This flashlight can be used to increase the light-level by one step in a 15 foot cone.

Heading down into the hole, you walk for a minute or two before the tunnel expands significantly. There are numerous carts, tools, and digging machines lieing dormant throughout this massive cavern, the walls of which are covered in impressive masses of coral-like organisms. Several of the carts are partly filled with what appears to be decaying chunks of this coral. Looking at it, you recall that this appears to be the source of the gravitational anomalies that you detected earlier from orbit.

While the chamber is massive, curving away out of sight in several directions as it branches into a number of large tunnels, you can see that there appears to be a smaller tunnel heading off to the north. Part of the reason that you notice this is that there is a pile of rusted metal and debris outside the entrance.

The map for this section has been put up on the slides. Don't mess with any of it, and don't worry about placing your tokens on it. They are already there, just hidden for now.

Zoomer examines the debris

Engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

That's odd these things don't seem to fit in here too advanced!

Good job Zoomer

"Hmmm interesting. Should we continue?"

Twik points down the tunnel to the north...

"Yes, lets move on. Remember, they said there was some sort of violent creatures down here." Xino says crouching a bit and trying to move on silently.

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Jett turns at Zoomer's remark to look at the pile of metal. "That seems worrying." He tentatively reaches for his ax before slowly continuing.

You head into the northbound tunnel, which is easily wide enough for all of you to walk through. Zoomer, you notice that the metal debris around the tunnel entrance appears to have been hastily welded to the entrance to this tunnel, but something ripped it off with brute force. Stone-carved stairs rise to a room further north.

Map sections are revealed. You are free to move your token around, just don't move off the revealed sections of the map.

Jett starts looking around, taking a few steps forward, his eyes seeming to sparkle. He has his ax drawn.

Casting detect magic

Jett, you cast your spell, concentrating to see if there are any sources of magic nearby. From what you can tell, there are no strong sources of any magic around, other than what you or your companions might be carrying. However, as you concentrate, you notice that there is an extremely faint layer of magic permeating all of the rock around you, seemingly faded over the centuries. You can't really tell what the type of magic was, but do determine that the stones themselves aren't magical, but were affected by magic at some point in the past.