[Gameday VIII - SFS] GM Mjolbeard's 1-34 Heart of the Foe (Inactive)

Game Master Mjolbeard89

Looks like we have a majority. Moving ahead with this!

The five-legged jinsul directs you to a path where S9 can drive the street crawler into the crevasse. After you pull in, they conceal the entrance
to the crevasse and wait for the sound of pursuit to fade away before leading you into an underground bunker.

Bare dirt peeks out between the steel and chitin panels that form the walls of this cramped bunker. Machine parts and scraps of food cover a battered workbench, above which hangs a city map roughly sketched on a large swatch of canvas. A haphazard pile of animal hides forms a makeshift bed next to a sputtering fire.

The jinsul clambers onto the bed and sheds his scarf-like wrapping, speaking unpracticed Common in a harsh staccato: “Ekkerah expected Pact Worlds vermin two-legs to find rock to hide under on their own. But vermin two-legs could not do that correctly. Ekkerah did not expect much from vermin two-legs. But not many other options, yes?”

'I suppose not.'

'Speaking of legs, what happened to yours? Why aren't you interested in killing us? Could you tell us more about your kind? We are interested in learning more. While I'm sure us, um...'vermin two-legs' are strange to you, your kind seems strange to us.'

'Perhaps if we could find some common ground, we could be friends instead of opponents.'

"Ekkerah was adviser to Arkhatak, deathless leader of jinsuls on Rax and greatest of the six who drank divine power from Kadrical's Tear. We led jinsuls to become a great empire, then Dhurus threw down Arkhatak and strapped our six deathless leaders to his ship. Dhurus's followers took Ekkerah's leg as punishment for remaining faithful to Arkhatak.

"What else do Pact World vermin two-legs wish to know about jinsul. Ekkerah could tell you."

Hef listens and responds, "What would the correct path look like? More of the same aggression against the so-called vermin two legs?"

After the response he adds, "It seems like you are quite a minority, would there even be a house left if it were to fall?"

"Correct path is to stay on Rax under deathless leaders, become strong. Strong enough that no others can defeat jinsuls and ruin our great house. Ekkerah is one of few faithful remaining, but once jinsuls return and reject Dhurus's blasphemy, jinsuls will rebuild great house!"

Hef shrugs, "There's always a bigger fish though. You'd never be strong enough to never lose. Our verminous kind simply find strength in unity. Our strengths bolster others weaknesses, making us stronger as a whole. So if that were to be something you all would consider one day, we would probably be open to receiving the Jinsul."

He's not the most diplomatic, but would be trying to help build a case towards some sort of alliance. Hopefully his words are enough to aid someone else to do a better job.

Diplomacy Aid DC 10: 1d20 ⇒ 11

'OOOO YES! Excellent suggestion Hef!' exclaims Xochitl.

'I suspect the Jinsul have encountered species we've yet to discover and I would love to collaborate on such things. It's always beneficial to search out new life and discover what makes it tick!'

Taking a deep breath, it continues 'If we were to aid such a transition back to the uh 'True Path' would the Jinsul leaders contemplate joining us in our exploration attempts? Only through unity can we solve the issues of the vast!'

Diplomacy, aided: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 11 + 2 = 28

Does anyone here speak jinsul, by chance?

Poppilo has Share Language, though I don't know if he wants to use a spell slot.

I know what language I'm picking up with my next Culture point though.

Yes, Poppilo has share language but not sure what use it is here. It allows the target to know 3 languages I know (not allow me to speak Jinsul) but it can already speak Common.

Without showing any signs, Poppilo *sends* to his teammates, In fact, if we can energise this group to fight back, they could solve our Jinsul problem for us.

Pulling up a majestic stand, Poppilo adds on. "Indeed, it appears we have a common enemy. Let us see what we can do to empower your faction to take back the rightful leadership of your people."

diplomacy, aid: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29

Sorry, I was at a convention this weekend and didn't have a chance to pop in and post.

Lynn blows out her cheeks in an overly dramatic bit of picque when the group gets called 'vermin two-legs'. But by the time Ekkerah starts dropping facts about political factions within the jinsul ranks, she's listening enthusiastically.

As Hef offers his perspective she adds "Umm, so Ekkerah, what's this Otorak place? Is that where the jinsul came from? What's it like?" And then after a moment also asks "If, maybe, we ended up beating up Dhurus someday, what do you think would happen with all the jinsul following them? Would they come back here? Arkhatak is already like, dead, right? And this place doesn't seem like a very nice place to grow strong..." She wavers from side to side as she makes a visible show of mulling over the jinsul's strange pipedream of a "plan".

"Well anyway, we totally want to also stop Dhurus. So we can help you with that, if you want to help by telling us what you know about them."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Responding to Lynn's questions, Ekkerah explains, “Otorak was ancient home of jinsuls, one of many planets in Pact World gibberish called Scoured Stars. Native god Kadrical kept Otorak and other homes free of void vermin like you, but jinsuls and others wanted to leave. Many went when Kadrical’s shield fell—jinsuls found Rax. Rax is harsh planet, but made jinsuls strong, like steel sharpens steel. Ekkerah and Arkhatak saw value of hardening on Rax, but Dhurus tempted masses away with promises of paradise on rebuilt Otorak. Fool soft jinsuls will return if Dhurus is defeated! Have no place else to go. Arkhatak is deathless! Never dying! Grows ever stronger!”

When the group begins rallying around the idea of fighting against Dhurus and bringing the other jinsuls back to Ekkerah's "true path", he seems to stop and contemplate the offer. "Faithful jinsuls are too small in number now to fight against Dhurus, but Ekkerah will give what aid he can."

Just then, your comm units suddenly squawk to life. Ekkerah leaps up and hisses menacingly, apparently startled by the sudden noise, but the voice that comes from the units when you answer brings only relief to the rest of you!

“We’ve got a live one!"[/b] First Seeker Jadnura shouts triumphantly, "Apologies for going dark—some kind of supernatural signal blocker from the storm kept disrupting our transmissions. It took us hours to modify our frequencies so we could reach you.

“Unfortunately, it looks like you were the only ones to get out of that hornet’s nest; one of the other teams aborted the mission and returned to the ship, but the jinsuls overwhelmed our third team. Our scans indicate that the Starfinders are alive, but they’ve been collected in a central location and stripped of their gear. I don’t know what the jinsuls are planning to do to them, but I won’t wait to find out. I’ve modified the gunboat so it can weather the storm, and I’m flying down for an emergency evac at dawn. I need you there on the ground if we’re going to have any chance of getting everyone home in one piece.”

Ekkerah lets out a thoughtful growl, then turns to Show, "Captive vermin two-legs are likely to be sacrificed to kohkleim demon in Dhurus’ name at dawn. You can rest here for tonight if you want. Ekkerah can provide some aid. What do vermin two-legs need of Ekkerah?"

Due to your excellent arguments and diplomatic skill, Ekkerah has agreed to offer one form of aid in your efforts. Because you succeeded so mightily, and because we need to get moving here, you can choose one form of Minor aid AND one form of Major aid from the list below.
Minor Aid Options:
• Giving items to the PCs (see Treasure below).
• Bringing one PC to a sniper’s perch overlooking area C from
400 feet away.
• Allowing PCs to recharge all batteries from his
bunker’s generator.
• Providing an automatic aid another on Medicine checks to
treat deadly wounds.
• Using secret tunnels beneath the kohkleim’s altar to
provide harrying fire against a random enemy once every
1d4 rounds.
Major Aid Options:
• Causing diversions that distract the kohkleim’s
supplicants.
• Untying all Starfinder captives and providing them each
with weapons (see Treasure below).

Once you decide on what kinds of aid you want, you can rest for a full 8 hours, then we'll be moving on to the next morning and your final showdown here on Rax!

Major Aid Hef suggests untying and arming the Starfinder Captives. Minor Aid he asks if anyone is a good sniper, otherwise suggests just taking the treasure.

Given that it's a demon and he's offering us a ton of cold iron stuff, I feel like that might be a good idea to take.

Can we roll Mysticism for knowledge of the Kohklheim demon?

We did roll knowledge earlier. See Mjolbeard's response here in the spoiler!

Cold iron ammunition seems critical if we want to stand a chance. I'd take the treasure. I'd also vote for the distraction for major aid as arming the Starfinder captives seems a bit dicey. I'm guessing they're going to be low level and might be MORE prone to getting killed if armed. Then again, getting them free might be good from the perspective of them being able to run from harm. (my vote's for distraction, but I won't be too miffed if we arm captives instead).

S9 does have a sniper rifle at +6, so not necessarily a great sniper to use the aid on. I agree with the cold iron ammo and goods for Minor Aid, and with the distraction for Major Aid, so basically the same as Lynn. If we're going to take some treasure, it'll leave less weapons for the captives anyway.

I'll go with the treasure for minor aid, and untying the captives for major aid. Thinking more to get them to flee rather than join the fight. That would also save us time in having to free them.

Okay, that seems to be enough votes in favor of the minor aid to take the loot.

Minor Aid Loot
cold iron hook sword (Starfinder Armory 11)
a heavy seismic pick (Armory 13)
2 tactical rotating pistols (Armory 15)
a thunderstrike sonic rifle
2 screamer grenades I
60 cartridges of cold iron small arm rounds
50 cartridges of cold iron longarm rounds
20 cartridges of cold iron heavy weapon rounds
1 mk 2 ring of resistance
4 mk 1 serums of healing

Who wants what? Hef can't use the hook sword or Seismic Pick, but his spear is already cold iron and he's mostly support anyway, so he's probably good to go. He would take the mk 2 ring of resistance if no one minded.

__________________________________________

Two votes for arming/freeing the captives and two for distraction. Ra-Ra-Ra & Xochitl still need to vote.

__________________________________________

Hef uses his Healing Touch to top off S9's HP. Everyone else should heal to full with the 8 hours rest.

Healing Touch (Su) Once per day, you can spend 10 minutes to magically heal an ally up to 5 Hit Points per mystic level.

Major aid, I suggest we arm and free the captives

I'd suggest freeing the captives, that way we don't have to spend actions to get them ready to run if it goes south.

I could use the hook sword since the Solarian sword doesn't get through dr/cold iron.

Lynn will take a Mk1 healing serum and 10 cold iron small arm rounds, 6 of which she'll load into her pistol. The tactical rotating pistols are a little better than her semi-auto, but she'll mostly be casting spells anyway.

Before arriving at the site of the captured Starfinders, Lynn will cast Polymorph 2nd level (Luckform) on anyone who wants it. Luckform is a custom polymorph form that grants faster land speed, Electricity resist 5, and a 1/day attack or save reroll if you're near an ally. See below for details. It lasts 4 minutes. If your base form is humanoid, you'll still retain all your equipment and normal racial traits.

I could also take a Rotating Pistol and 10 rounds of CI since I don't have any projectile weapons if no one else needs it.

I'll take a Luckform, resist electricity and extra movement sounds excellent. I also assume it means I'm extra shiny which Ra appreciates.

If there's a spare, Poppilo will take a rotating pistol and 10 cold iron rounds as he only has a thunderstrike sonic pistol.

Stupid question time. Does longarm ammunition fit into a sniper rifle, or is it sniper specific ammo? If the former, S9 will take 20 cartridges of CI long arm rounds.

I think we're ready if everyone has what they want from the stash of weapons.

Hef is also ready to go, he did take the MK 2 ring of resistance. He hands out the last three MK 1 serums of healing to Ra-Ra-Ra, S9 and Poppilo.

After collecting the gear Ekkerah will lend you and getting a night's rest, Ekkerah wakes you all in the pre-dawn hour and leads you through a series of tunnels and concealed passages toward an old warehouse district on the outskirts of the city you had just escaped. Eventually, he guides you over a small bluff and points you toward your destination.

A multi-tiered platform of corrugated steel stands at the center of an arena, its metal panels stained with the blood of countless victims. Charred corpses peer out from the wood scraps burning in bonfires on each tier. Fragments of bone, chitin, and other trophies decorate the top tier, arranged to resemble a sacrificial altar.

Jadnura radios in when you report that you are on location and informs you that the captive Starfinders are somewhere below the main altar. As if on cue, a trapdoor opens just below the altar’s highest tier, revealing a rising platform on which the Starfinder prisoners await their doom.

As the prisoners rise up on the platform, the kohkleim demon, a towering beast made of living smoke in the form of a jinsul with eyes and claws of crackling lightning, materializes at the highest point on the altar, hungry for new sacrifices. It looms over the captive Starfinders and lets out a low, hungry growl.

INITIATIVE
The Kohkleim's Altar - Round 1
PCs in bold may post!
S9
Starfinder Captives (bound)
Lynn
Show
Ra
Kohkleim
Poppilo
Hef

A few environmental details for this encounter:
The bonfires deal 1d6 fire damage per round to any adjacent creature and 4d6 fire damage per round to any creature within the blaze. Creatures inside the bonfire must succeed at a DC 15 Reflex save each round or gain the burning condition (Starfinder Core Rulebook 273). Stairs and bonfire squares function as difficult terrain (Core Rulebook 257). I've outlined the stairs in yellow for you so you know how to get up if you don't have other means in mind.
I've also indicated the elevation of each respective tier of the structure in case you do want to try another means of getting up other than the stairs.
The Starfinder captives (the light blue circles near the altar) are currently bound and helpless, but Ekkerah has already disappeared off somewhere, supposedly to get into position to free and arm them. Assuming that goes off well (it will) they will be freed and ready to fight next round.

Ra double moves toward the top, attuning to Photon (1), and has out the Hook Sword and Rotating Pistol.

"Ah, just as expected. A demon. Good thing we've got that sweet cold iron goodness!" S9 clicks her mandibles as she follows Ra, speeding up the stairs and carefully sidestepping one of the bonfires.

So luckform on Lynn and Ra.

Lynn dashes towards the south, the silvery rivulets of wiring in her new form rippling through the air behind her. Along the way, she draws her pistol loaded with cold iron bullets. She calls out "ALRIGHT EVERYONE!~ Let's show this demon, and all of Rax, that the Starfinders mean business~!" and punches a fist in the air to hype everyone up.

As she skids to a stop, the music she queued up pre-fight begins to flow from her headset's speakers. She takes a deep breath and ♫♪ begins to sing ♫♪!. Her initial words are enough to stir the air around her into producing two compact spheres of force. She spins around and points a finger at the Kohkleim demon and sends them streaking towards it!

Magic Missile; harmful spells: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3) + 4 = 11

Lynn--Please roll a caster level check vs spell resistance!

Gosh Darn Spell Resistance, grrr!: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

I just drew a light blue rectangle around an area that I'm not sure about. Is that an area that is at the same height as the surrounding or is it a box of some type? Feel free to delete the box once answered (or I will).

The black orb overtakes Xochitl yet again as it hustles forward. 'Lets get goin! We've got lives to save and demons to befriend...by force!'

Graviton Mode 1/3
Double Move

Ra--There are three similar areas, the one you boxed in, another one just to the east of it (below it on the map), and a third one where the bound Starfinders are held. As a reminder, they came up from below the floor of the structure on a rising platform.

Lynn's bolts of magical energy seem to be struggling to get through to the kohkleim demon for just an instant, but the force of her will pushes them through, and they crash into the demon, drawing first blood in this fight for escape!

Meanwhile, S9, Show, and Ra all move into position to join the fray against the demon.

The bound Starfinders, seeing their allies coming to fight for their freedom, cheer the team on and struggle against their bonds.

Seeing threats beginning to close in on its position, the demon roars in fury as it is delayed in enjoying its meal. It drifts away from the Starfinders and envelops itself in a dense cloud, obscuring its true position.

The demon has flown back and cast a spell (DC20 Mysticism check to identify spell).
The cloud obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature within 5 feet has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance) against its attacker. Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker can’t use sight to locate the target) against their attackers.

INITIATIVE
The Kohkleim's Altar - Round 1
Players in bold may post!
S9
Starfinders Captives (bound)
Lynn
Show
Ra
Kohkleim (-11)
Poppillo
Hef

Mysticism (t): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Hef moves up quickly with his spear out, ready to help his allies.

Double Move

Mysticism: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

What's the elevation of the Kohkleim right now? If I'm interpreting correctly, it was at the ground level of the +30ft platform before, right? Also, how far does the fog cloud extend, and where is it on the map?

Lynn--You're correct, the Kohkleim is still at 30ft elevation to the best of your knowledge. The fog cloud has a 20ft radius and surrounds the kohkleim. I've placed it on the map as a light grey circle around the demon.

This thing is going to be tricky to fight if it can make fog clouds and fly. I see a lot of readied actions in my future :>

Is there a way to get rid of the fog cloud? Does someone have a wind spell? That is indeed super annoying. Cold iron bullets and swords are not helpful if I can't see it/reach it. We really just need to rescue the Starfinders, right? Though, Ra does like leaving a job finished.

Yup, some kind of wind effect would be a good way to dispel the cloud. Otherwise, it was created as a spell, so dispel magic would do the trick as well.

Botting Popillo

As the rest of the party begins advancing, Poppilo begins weaving a spell to call on the aid of an otherworldly ally.

Begin casting Summon Creature

Suddenly, Ekkerah emerges out of invisibility as he drops a stack of weapons in the center of the platform on which the bound Starfinders are tied, then sets about untying them. Within moments, the Starfinders are freed and armed with the weapons your unlikely ally has supplied.

Unfortunately, you aren't the only one to receive reinforcements, as a pair of jinsuls appears at the southeastern corner of the arena, furious that their devotions to the kohkleim have been interrupted!

INITIATIVE
The Kohkleim's Altar - Round 2
Players in bold may post!
S9
Starfinders Captives
Lynn
Jinsul reinforcements
Show
Ra
Kohkleim (-11)
Poppillo
Hef

Not losing a beat in her song, Lynn ducks her head and dashes up the structure towards the Starfinders being armed. When she sees them up close she gives them a confident wink and turns her attention to the evil looking cloud up top.

(Double move)

S9 follows behind Lynn, hoping to get a little closer to the Starfinders and the demon, even if she can't currently see it.

Double the move, double the fun

With a shout, two of the formerly bound Starfinders desperately shout and charge into the fog. From inside, you hear one of them shout, "Here! I've found it! It's right in the center."

Melee: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29 Damage (S/cold iron): 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 [/ooc]Miss from concealment[/ooc]
Flame rifle: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25 Damage (F): 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 Hit, but negated by resistance
Concealment: 2d100 ⇒ (19, 93) = 112

You hear an angry roar resound from within the fog as a gout of flame lights it up from within. Those of you who have identified the demon understand, though, that the flames will be ineffectual.

The other two run up onto the uppermost platform and get into position to fire on the kohkleim.

Both of the jinsuls who had come to support their adopted god rush up onto the platform to attack Hef and Show.

Double move for latter two Starfinders and the jinsul fanatics

INITIATIVE
The Kohkleim's Altar - Round 2
Players in bold may post!
S9
Starfinders Captives
Lynn
Jinsul reinforcements
Show
Ra
Kohkleim (-11)
Poppillo
Hef

"We're trying to rescue you, not get you into more trouble!" Ra screams to the Starfinders.
To his comrades, he remarks I can't even get to that demon in melee right now, I'll deal with these Jinsuls to open up a path of escape if you can convince those guys it's time to leave.

He attunes to Photon (2), and Stellar Rushes at the nearest Jinsul (purple), striking at it with the Hook Sword.

Attack vs. KAC: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 Slashing Damage: 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

He uses his move action to activate Dark Matter giving him DR 1/- until his next turn.

Rushing forward to assist Ra, Xochitl belches forth a cone of green slime. "Starfinders! Get out of there. We've no need to kill their god, just flee!"

Acid Breath: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 1) = 7

Both Jinsul get a Ref DC 14 for half
Graviton Mode 2/3

Reflex Green: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Reflex Purple: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Ra strikes purple with a solid blow, then Show follows it up with a spray of acidic breath that coats both jinsuls. The enemy warriors manage to avoid the worst of Show's attack, but their flesh still sizzles, despite their best efforts.

From within the cloud, the kohkleim begins an incantation in an infernal tongue that resounds magically throughout the arena, sending shivers down your spine.

Begins casting a spell

Not wanting to let the demon have its own way without a fight, the Starfinder that had first charged into the fog strikes out with his hook sword.

Hook sword: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17 Damage (S, cold iron): 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Concealment: 1d100 ⇒ 19

Again, the swirling clouds obscure the brave Starfinder's vision just enough that his strike misses the demon.

INITIATIVE
The Kohkleim's Altar - Round 2
Players in bold may post!
S9
Starfinders Captives
Lynn
Jinsul reinforcements (Green -3, Purple -17)
Show
Ra
Kohkleim (-11)
Poppillo
Hef

By the way, you can instruct the Starfinder captives to adjust their tactics with a DC18 Intimidate check, which would cost a standard action and would affect all four of them.

Poppilo's spell completes as a flying serpentine creature appears in the air at the edge of the fog. It immediately dives in with unerringly accuracy (blindsense) and rips into the demon with its teeth.

vs demon:
protean bite vs KAC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26 dmg: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 miss?: 1d100 ⇒ 37
If any hits KAC+4, they also grapple.

Wisely keeping his distance, Poppilo activates his jetpack and flies towards the jinsuls. "Get out of there, you fools! We didn't waste our time and energy coming to rescue you only for you to die out of some misguided sense of heroism!"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13

Protean (1/4) HP 20 | EAC 12; KAC 13 | F:+5 R:+3 W:+1 | Immunities acid, entangled, grappled, paralyzed, pinned

Hef moves up closer to the demon, ”Rescued yes, but still pathfinders. I’ll take all the help we can get against such a foul creature. I’ll move up to support our allies.”

Double Move