Accepted characters, please dot in, and we'll start at the beginning of Gameday! When we get close, I may set up a chance for you to introduce yourselves before we actually start.
Venture-Captain Naiaj watches a map holographically projected onto the spherical wall of the dimly lit chamber. This meeting room is aptly named the 'Starscape Chamber' and hosts various important strategic meetings for the Society. The pale bleachling gnome slightly nods a greeting, hardly looking away from the stellar map.
"Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice," she says, as she finally turns away from the map. "As you should already know, the Starfinder Society lost not only many agents but also a great deal of equipment in the Scoured Stars incident. Since then, we’ve been dealing with a shortage of guns, ammunition, armor, tools, and provisions. Over the past four months, the Society has recovered to the point that we are able to start replacing some of the equipment we lost. While we are explorers, right now, battle-ready firearms are sorely needed."
Naiaj momentarily turns to face the map and makes a request: "Starscape, show me Nightarch." The map on the wall zooms in on one of the outermost planets of the Pact Worlds, showing a gloomy, air-sealed settlement on the small gray planetoid identified as Apostae.
"After calling in a lot of favors and holding lengthy negotiations, we managed to secure a deal with the drow of Apostae to obtain a shipment of weapons. House Zeizerer arranged a deal between the Starfinder Society and House Xicton, a lesser drow house with a solid track record on sales. I personally oversaw the negotiations, and only recently returned to Absalom Station to deposit the down payment owed to House Xicton. My intention was to send you to Nightarch, the drow’s surface settlement on Apostae, to guard this delivery. However," Naiaj pauses briefly, staring blankly at the map on the wall before continuing, "I just received word that the weapon shipment has been stolen. According to my contacts in Nightarch, the thief is a minor noble of House Zeizerer named Villyth, who went rogue and stole the weapons. We do not know her motives or the current whereabouts of the shipment, but I’m sending you to Nightarch to find the weapons and bring them to Absalom Station. As you may have heard, the interhouse politics of the drow are lethal and treacherous, and you will find only trouble if you start searching blindly. For this reason, I’ve arranged for you to meet with Ceobarn Zeizerer, who represents House Zeizerer in this specific matter. You are to discuss how the Society can get its shipment back withoutcausing a diplomatic incident. Your shuttle is ready, so I expect you to get your things and get going as soon as possible. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask."
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A lashunta who is obviously NOT business mannered idles in a chair, half muttering to himself as Naiaj provides her briefing.
[smaller]"What rhymes with 'lightning nanite demon?'" he says before looking up.
"Call me paranoid, but does anyone else think it's weird that House Zeizerer is helping us investigate one of their own? Wouldn't be more like a drow house to cover it all up?" Azara chimes in.
"House Zeizerer are the most powerful drow household on Apostae, controlling the major surface settlement of Nightarch. They are demon-worshipers and arms dealers like the rest of them, but as far as drow houses go, they are quite reliable because they have a reputation to uphold. Complications like this are bad for the business. Our representative with them, Ceobarn Zeizerer, has always been blunt and up-front with me—how I prefer to handle most of my social interactions."
"Villyth Zeizerer is a minor noble in the hierarchy of House Zeizerer. I understand that she is something of a rebel, and as far as I know, her actions were not sanctioned by her house."
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Azara nods and actually smiles. "Well, I've always wanted to go to Apostae, anyway. What better source for an epic poem than the machinations and maneuvering of various political houses, right? And drow have always had a certain dark appeal for people. It'll just be a challenge rhyming their proper names. I mean, I don't even know how you pronounce 'Z-Z-T' when you put them together. When do we leave?"
An otherwise empty shuttle from Absalom Station takes you on a weeklong journey to Apostae. As the shuttle approaches the dull gray planetoid, several fighters emerge from a hulking capital ship identified as part of the local fleet defense: the Blood Armada. These fighters whizz past like a swarm of angry wasps. The navigation computer lets out a blaring alert as the capital ship scans the shuttle, but soon after, the alert ends and the fighters fly back to the massive carrier. The shuttle descends into low-orbit, and several small settlements with sealed atmospheres come into view. Further out, beneath clouds of dust, several mile-wide blast doors, many large craters, and miles-deep crevices can be seen across the planetoid’s surface. The shuttle soars closer to Apostae’s surface, fast approaching the dark city of Nightarch. The eponymous arch and various tower houses can be seen within the city limits. Nightarch’s vast spaceport is alive with hundreds of blinking red and purple lights, which guide the shuttle into the gloomy capital of the drow.
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When Azara shows up at the shuttle, he is attended by a rather dour (even for a dwarf) looking dwarf. He is dressed in clean, but well used coveralls with a blazer and poorly tied tie. It there is a darker area on the breast of his faded coveralls that it doesn't take much imagination to recognize that it is in the shape of the AbadarCorp logo.
"This is my associate, Dougar Ironhead," Azara introduces the gray skinned, bald dwarf.
Dougar looks at each of you but doesn't so much as nod in greeting.
That changes in the following week of travel. Somehow, Dougar finds a way to corner each of the other passengers. "Are you aware of the abuses that are heaped upon their employees by AbadarCorp and, indeed, by all Corporations throughout the Pact Worlds? In a moment, I will list them for you but first, let me ask, do you approve of employees being abused?"
It is very difficult to avoid a 20 minute semi-monologue that paints the plight of workers throughout the known universe in a dire light and equally paints corporations as the greatest evil in all the multiverse. If the listener is not careful, he will find his personal computer clogged with "literature" - pamphlets, videos and texts on the subject, as well.
And the slightest show of interest only extends the spiel...though on the upside, Dougar will start referring to that person as "Comrade" and "Brother" or "Sister."
Azara hurries to the bridge when their shuttle is buzzed by Drow fighters. "Do we even have guns?" he asks anyone who might know the answer as the warning buzzer sounds.
He relaxes noticeably as it becomes evident that this is standard procedure and they're not going to be blown out of the void.
"Like a swarm of angry wasps."
"The Drow welcomed us."
"Dread rose as we faced our fate."
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"Are you aware of the abuses that are heaped upon their employees by AbadarCorp and, indeed, by all Corporations throughout the Pact Worlds? In a moment, I will list them for you but first, let me ask, do you approve of employees being abused?"
This strikes a bit of a chord with Sefel, and he naively engages this line of discussion.
Actually, the only reason I'm taking Starfinder missions is that I was suddenly, unfairly terminated by a previous employer! I've been trying to find a new permanent job for months! I'm beginning to think that this is my new line of work...
He then launches into an explanation of his previous incident and what led him to the Starfinders.
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Maxine takes time to explain to the dwarf that as a student she has had very little dealing with the corporations. She goes on to explain the principles of vectors in space flight and the use of binary data in many computational algorithms.
She remains unperturbed by buzzing of the Drow fighters and only looks up at the mention of security.
"Security is only as good as those it can keep out! I believe we are better."
She lifts a small drone from her belt, "Be-beep", it adds.
"Just a matter of binary logic." She adds to no one in particular.
You exit the shuttle, and find two drow guards dressed in a livery which you suspect belongs to House Zeizerer. They greet you sternly and invite you to follow them. They take you into a labyrinth of tunnels. The tunnels are full of air, enclosed on all sides.
You approach a tall building. The guards open the door to a spacious office on the top floor, and without even a hint of emotion, one drow barely mutters, "Wait here." The green-tinged windows in the room offer a majestic view over the gloomy Nightarch. Several statues and holographic devices depicting grinning fiends sit on shelves on the walls and on a darkwood desk at the far end of the room. A curious fixture reminiscent of a demonic spider looks down from the ceiling with many glistening eyes.
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"Spiders and demons, oh my!"
"Bad to be the fly."
"But through the web is the task."
"This is all very interesting. And more than a little creepy," Azara comments after recording his notes for his upcoming epic in his portable computer.
He stands directly under the demonic spider, moving around in a small circle to view it from many angles. "Is this thing real or from someone's imagination?"
You realize that the symbols represent the demon lord Abraxus.
You are left waiting alone in the office for a few minutes.
No one notices anything more.
A wall panel at the back of the office slides open, and a middle-aged drow walks in and settles into a red armchair behind the desk. "I am Ceobarn Zeizerer." He gives a nonchalant wave of his hand, and the demonic statue in the ceiling starts shedding a purple glow, illuminating the room. "I take it that your eyes haven’t adjusted to the light levels on Apostae. You are Naiaj’s Starfinders, correct? I heard about the shipment. A most unfortunate setback. Villyth has always been a troublemaker." After a brief silence, he spits, "But it is not our fault. House Zeizerer officially disowned her months ago. Why should I help you?"
If the PCs fail a check slightly, they can bribe Ceobarn to treat the check as a success.
Bluff, Intimidate, or Profession (counselor or lawyer): Speculate
how news of the incident may affect House Zeizerer’s reputation
as reliable arms traders across the Pact Worlds.
Culture: Posit that the attack made House Xicton look weak,
and if Villyth goes unpunished, House Xicton may seek retribution
against House Zeizerer.
Diplomacy: Explain the benefits of helping the Starfinder
Society out, especially the benefits of establishing a long-term
working relationship.
Mysticism: Maintain that letting a wayward noble do as she
pleases makes the house look weak in the eyes of their patron
demon lord.
Perception: Notice that the search term “Villyth Zeizerer” is
visible on Ceobarn’s computer screen, which indicates he is not as
indifferent about the rogue noble as he says.
Profession (corporate professional, manager, or merchant): Use
business logic and subtle pressure to cajole Ceobarn into helping.
Sense Motive: Notice and point out that Ceobarn is clearly
annoyed that Villyth acted without the house’s permission.
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"As Sefel said, our work will benefit you. But not just in the short term. Everyone knows the name of the Starfinder Society but not everyone knows what we stand for. We stand for progress, knowledge, justice, peace but many think we stand for destruction and chaos. Why? Because sometimes to make progress, gather knowledge, dispense justice and foster peace you need these. A lot of these," he draws his pistol and holds it up, contemplating it.
"Now, if you allow us to undertake this task, we will know that we can trust you. If you don't, we'll have to assume your whole house was complicit in the theft and won't be able to trust you. If we can't trust you, we can't work with you and we'll have to take our business elsewhere."
1d20 + 12
You can see Ceobarn's determination wavering.
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Azara sees that his argument is not quite persuasive enough. He pulls out a credit stick and makes a few adjustments before offering it up.
"Perhaps a pre-commission will show you just how profitable a friendly relationship with the Starfinder Society can be," he says, sliding the stick over to the drow.
"Very well. It is true that Villyth’s actions are bad for business and she must be stopped. On behalf of House Zeizerer, I grant you twenty-four hours of diplomatic immunity. Use this time to retrieve the weapons using whatever means you deem necessary. Here’s a document that proves you’re acting on my authority. If the situation requires it, kill Villyth. But rest assured, if you abuse the power I bestow you, there will be consequences. The drow never forget. I know Villyth well enough to know that she has guards and other defenses. The more you know, the less likely you are to walk into a trap. So use your twentyfour hours wisely. Remember that before the time is up, you must locate the weapons, plan your heist, travel to the location, get the weapons, and most importantly, get off my planet!"