Flash's Fire Starters

Game Master AFlashInTime

Armour storm sounds real fun! I'd like to try one some day, too (so many classes to try yet...).

I'm guessing mechanic will cover some engineering, but it might be nice to have others that can have a chance to aid and for traps/locks, etc?

Might be short on Life Science (not sure how that would suit your soldier?) And Survival as a guess.

Unless something changes, it seems my Witchwarper will have only a few skills and (other then maybe 1 or 2) will be mediocre at best in those.

It's seems it's a good thing the adventure is written for 4 players and there's 5 of us ;)

When do we want to kick of this game?

I'm pretty busy this weekend, but on Monday I should have time to set up a profile and be able to start rolling by later Monday/Tuesday since I know what character I want to build towards..I just need to fill in the details (like a feat, a theme, starting equipment other then basic armor, a survival knife and a lvl 1 blaster pistol)

I should be good to set up a profile over the next few days. Just need to finalise name and starting gear.

Does Tuesday work for everyone? We can finalize back story and get profiles uploaded by then?

That's good for me!

Just reserving the name of my latest character

You know, just so when inevitably something strange will happen when he's around people can say" "Oh, that's just Wyrd"

Tuesday sounds good to me. I have my goblin mostly built, just need a name and some gear.

All good for me! I should be set by then, unless something wyrd or unexpected happens. ;p

So right now I'm tracking:
-A tiefling witchwarper
-A spacegoblin mechanic
-A lashunta soldier
-An andoird envoy
-A kasatha technomancer

Working in some kind of delivery service!

This sounds like it'll be fun.

Looking forward to it kicking off!

Also, to make sure I am understanding correctly - since we are running in Campaign mode, I essentially create an alias to play as if I were using a pregen, then use the SFS id of another valid character for chronicle purposes?

Yes.

Am I right in assuming we should use standard 1st level starting wealth (1000cr)? EDIT: Kate pointed out that it was mentioned earlier and I just missed it. Thanks!

Thanks, Flash.

Here it is then - the first post! Along with a partially complete profile.

I do have one other question: Are we bound by SFS level limits? To put it another way, can I buy level 2 armor from pact worlds/armory?

Here's Kit. I'll get his profile set up once I have equipment figured out.

And I'm here to help him make good decisions.

Let's stick with SFS item level limits for level 1 and see how things evolve. Don't really have strong feelings either way at this point.

Also I almost forgot you all need to put together a tier 1 ship to fly around in!

Gotcha. I ask because there aren't many non-fire energy longarms (important for a mechanic that it be a powered weapon) that do lethal damage and are affordable at 1st level, and going to the sun with fire as my only option seems like a bad idea. Specifically, I was hoping to pick up a sub-zero ice carbine, a level 2 longarm from armory that does C&P damage. It has the downsides of targeting KAC (since it does piercing damage) and having usage 2, but it's overchargeable and does something other than fire.

I'm open to suggestions from everyone else for other starting weapon options, if you have ideas.

Hmm. Let me see if I can come up with anything.

Also on the tier 1 starship, you'll need it to have guest quarters and at least one cargo hold. The rest of is up you.

I've not been part of the whole build-a-spaceship process before, so will need to read up a bit.

On a side note - there was some earlier brainstorming of how we obtained our ship. Part of my character's backstory involves them having worked as a dealer in a casino (have been trying to decide between Verces and the Pleasure Domes of Verdeon) when they have their "awakening". In a nutshell, they begin testing rules and boundaries, swinging odds in the customers' favour, amongst other things. They are forced to flee (whether before or after discovery can be decided).

I was wondering if anyone thought this could tie in with securing funds to initially purchase the ship? Maybe they were in league with another pc, who agreed to help free them from their bonds of slavery for part share? Or the funds were siphoned away gradually, the ship purchased and then my pc enlisted the rest of the crew (would need at least a pilot to get off the starting rock)? Or something better that someone else no doubt has in mind?

I just figured we're an independent crew that does odds jobs like transport cargo to out of the way places/ jobs that are not profitable enough for regular corporations to handle..a bit like Firefly.

On the actual build..I think we need decide what base frame we want and build around there.
Tier 1 is 55 build points

There's a bit of a difference between a shuttle, a light freighter, a transporter, an explorer, a heavy freighter or a bulk freighter.

Personally I'd want a turret ..since it makes space combat sooooo much easier and something that can hold a crew of more then 4 people so everyone can do something during space combat, so that leaves our best options at:

Explorer
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 295
Size Medium
Maneuverability good (+1 Piloting, turn 1)
HP 55 (increment 10); DT —; CT 11
Mounts forward arc (1 light), port arc (1 light), starboard arc (1 light), turret (1 light)
Expansion Bays 4
Minimum Crew 1; Maximum Crew 6
Cost 12

Transport
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 295
Size Medium
Maneuverability average (+0 Piloting, turn 2)
HP 70 (increment 15); DT —; CT 14
Mounts forward arc (1 heavy, 1 light), aft arc (1 light), turret (2 light)
Expansion Bays 5
Minimum Crew 1; Maximum Crew 6
Cost 15

to power a medium ship we need at least Pulse Gray power core (with 100 CPU) for 10 build points

We need at least one cargo hold, but those are 0, so that's good

We need a place to sleep, we can start with (and upgrade later)
Common
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 298
BP Cost 0
Common crew quarters are the most basic type. They consist of simple bunks (sometimes folding out from the side of a hallway) or other similarly austere places to rest. Crew members who sleep in common quarters usually keep their personal possessions in a footlocker. Common crew quarters also include a communal bathroom (which includes a military-style shower) and a tiny galley (big enough to prepare only the most basic of meals). Starships with crews numbering in the dozens or hundreds often have massive barracks where crew members sleep in shifts.

And a basic computer which gives no bonuses for 0 BP

We want shields (Basic shields 40 so 10 in each quarter seems like a good idea, we could get less for cheaper..but ...we'll I don't want to loose shields and get hull damage and ...explode) for 5 BP
A drift engine (unless we only do in system deliveries and don't have to go anywhere else?) Basic one is 2*3 = 6 BP
We need trusters or we ain't moving ;) move 10 is 5BP
We want armor? min. is +1 for 3 BP
I guess we want decent scanners..so medium range that's 3 BP
For weapons I prefer a light coil gun in the turret 6BP

So we're at 0+0+10+5+6+5+3+3+6 = 38 (+either 12 of 15 depending on which frame we want) leaving us with 5/2 BP to upgrade things

Maybe a better computer to get some bonuses out of it, another weapon (light laser cannon is 2 BP), better armor/shields..escape pods maybe?

I'd like a smuggler compartment but that seems like a later upgrade thing

Assuming we don't do weird stuff like get a shuttle bay and a 1 or 2 person fighter to launch so we can have 2 small ships for combats ;)

So summary of what I'd build:
Transport <Awesome cool name here!>
Size Medium
Maneuverability average (+0 Piloting, turn 2), speed 10. Drift 1
HP 70 (increment 15); DT —; CT 14 AC 11/TL 10?)
Mounts forward arc (1 heavy, 1 light - light laser cannon), aft arc (1 light), turret (2 light - light coil gun)
CPU 100
Expansion Bays 5
Minimum Crew 1; Maximum Crew 6
Computers: no bonus

It's a bit more upgrade friendly then the explorer frame for when we hit another level and can install some more stuff we tinkered on in our down time/looted from random places as opposed to just getting a different ship when we get an tierbump

What do you guys think? We can downgrade some things, upgrade some others..put in stuff I forgot? If we ditch the turret we can have more options...but it's hard to get an upgrade later to get a turret I think

I agree with you about having a turret. It's a great place for a point weapon later, too.

Hey, I have a character!

She is very punchy, but definitely weaker on skills than I would do for an SFS character, though an AP means we can know that every skill is covered.

She's not super strong in starship combat right now. At full BAB, she'll be a decent gunner, but her Dex isn't super high, so she won't be a great one. If we're worried, I can rebuild a little for more Dex.

My current thought for backstory is that Nomyra grew up in an anti-technology, nature-worshipping sect on Castrovel. When she became an adult, she decided to leave home and see what the rest of the world was like for herself. While she still holds a strong respect for nature, she's decided she likes modern technology, too. She started getting hired for odd jobs, usually as manual labor, since a lifetime without technology made her very good at lifting heavy objects.

Hey I have a draft of my PC as well. I decided to go with Biohacker. Even that Technomancer and boosting a weapon sounds cool, I feel like we are lacking a good shooter to deliver. With Biohacker I can actually go with a 14 Dex and have +3 as a shooter, which I feel is important.

I will finish off the PC tomorrow, I am still missing equipment and feat. Skills are mostly done.

Ok, so the PC is mostly ready. I will give him some though still.

Seems I'm even worse at Starship combat skills then I though. At least if I don't pick a theme to compensate for that - and I kind of like the dream prophet with the rest of my character and it would help if we ever need mysticism checks.

I can put a rank in anything even though it's not a class skill so I'll have a +1 in that skill and am allowed to use it...but what do we want/need?

I assume:
Kit - Engineering
Nomyra - Turret gunner
Vedir - Pilot
Nofun - Captain
Wyrd - ?

So I'll put in a rank in computers so I can do science me! and run for the second gun if we have something in it's arc?

Assuming we don't get more starship combat options in 2-3 weeks that is ;)

@revvy great job with the ship, I love it. I don't have any ideas for the name yet.

@Supersuperlative - with regards to casino. I can be your pilot to take the ship out of that planet. I have 1 rank in piloting (mostly for being a gunner purpose). Vedrir is a Biotechnician working on augmentation. He could either work for casino to develop better implants for detecting cheating or the other way around. Working for an organization who tries to win with the casino, by augmenting their people with better perception and cognitive functions with algorithms suggesting best bets.

Seems I'm even worse at Starship combat skills then I though. At least if I don't pick a theme to compensate for that - and I kind of like the dream prophet with the rest of my character and it would help if we ever need mysticism checks...

...Assuming we don't get more starship combat options in 2-3 weeks that is ;)

It might be worth holding out a bit, if it's not something that fits your concept.

I'm fairly certain I heard or read somewhere that they will be introducing extra starship roles to help casters be able to contribute more, and I THINK it was through C.O.M. It got my attention because I have a mystic that is somewhat of a liability in Starship combat currently (since there are a grand total of zero WIS skills, so her tricked out WIS matters not at all) and it gave me hope that she may be able to at least contribute in some meaningful way soon.

Does anybody else recall seeing something along those lines?

Also, a couple of slight corrections in light of all this:

Kit - Engineering
Nomyra - Turret gunner
Vedir - Pilot
PU-34LE - Captain
Wyrd - Super spell specialist (Working title)

As a PC with piloting on +6 I hope Vedrir is not the best that we got ;) Meaning I can fly a ship between the planets, but in at fight I will lose all initiative rolls etc.

I found this: https://starfinderwiki.com/sf/Character_Operations_Manual

'More roles and crew actions for starship combat, and a system for downtime activities outside of battle.'

With regards to Mystic and spacecombat yeah it sucks. I was lucky to win a boon that allows me to use WIS + Mysticism lvl as a gunner on one weapon during my first game with him.

They announced new starship combat roles for COM, yes!

I could rework to be a pilot without too much trouble. It's a soldier class skill.

I assume:
Kit - Engineering
Nomyra - Turret gunner
Vedir - Pilot
Nofun - Captain
Wyrd - ?

Nofun exists only in Kit's head, so would have a hard time reaching the controls. All that said, Kit can pilot (or gun) if need be too. His dex is pretty good, and I'm thinking he'll have ranks in piloting.

First post from me is in work and should be up shortly! Here we go!

Thanks for taking the time to post all the Starship build info, Revvy. Sorry for taking a while to reply to it.

I just figured we're an independent crew that does odds jobs like transport cargo to out of the way places/ jobs that are not profitable enough for regular corporations to handle..a bit like Firefly.

Totally cool with this. Just finished watching Serenity again the other evening...

So summary of what I'd build:

Transport <Awesome cool name here!>
Size Medium
Maneuverability average (+0 Piloting, turn 2), speed 10. Drift 1
HP 70 (increment 15); DT —; CT 14 AC 11/TL 10?)
Mounts forward arc (1 heavy, 1 light - light laser cannon), aft arc (1 light), turret (2 light - light coil gun)
CPU 100
Expansion Bays 5
Minimum Crew 1; Maximum Crew 6
Computers: no bonus

This sounds like a good starting ship with lots of room for us to upgrade. I also like having turrets for greater flexibility.

First post is up. Feel free to throw in your starship's cool awesome name, too!

I'm still finalizing weapons/equipment. I'll get it settled tonight and get my profile updated.

First post from me is in work and should be up shortly! Here we go!

Looking forward to getting under way!

Just a quick character background update:

- Designation PU-34LE (Probability Unit-34LE) - has adopted the name Puzzle
- Puz or Zel to their friends (which hopefully includes a non-zero number of their crewmates)
- Was "indentured" with a Vercite insurance corporation where their analytical skills in actuarial sciences soon gained the attention of their employer. As a result, Puzzle was quickly reassigned to a more lucrative (for the employer) venture at an affiliated casino where they were redeployed as a croupier following retrofitting of minor upgrades to their interface and communications systems.
- Observing patterns and trends in their new position, Puzzle began testing boundaries of protocols and rules in order to affect the outcomes at the gaming tables.
- Sensing discovery was impending, Puzzle engineered their liberation from their possessor. The ensuing flight led to Puzzle's arrival at the system's Sun where they secured a position as a member of the crew aboard a small transport vessel...

No rush on the earlier game play, we'll get started on a routine schedule once everybody's characters get uploaded and finalized.

Thanks. I'm still weighing my underwhelming non-fire weapon options.

Oh, oops, forgot about that. I don't really have a problem with the sub-zero ice carbine, if you just want to go that way. Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier.

Excellent, that makes things easier, thanks. I'll get him updated before I go to bed tonight.

Slight tweak to Nomyra and she has +8 to Piloting! I'll probably take Skill Synergy again at third level and add the bonus to Piloting to keep pace with the DCs.

I forgot to post yesterday that maybe I should change my background to be more pilot oriented. Vedrir is a bit pear-shaped when it comes to space combat and I can make him a pilot without others to shuffle their profiles.

Ha ha, I'm in the same boat so I already shifted Nomyra around. I can shift her back, though I'm definitely better at getting good at piloting than gunnery, though I imagine that's generally true.

Perhaps the GM will allow a rebuild once COM drops and the new roles are published?

I'm slightly less bad at Starship combat then I thought - just pretty awefull instead of terribly awefull. I forgot to include my +2 racial to int..so I doubled my computers skill (+1 to +2)

So I have some change of actually scanning or redistributing shields until we find out what a Magic Officer can actually do (I doubt I'd be any better suited for a; quote" the last starship role was Chief Mate, giving characters who invest in STR their own niche pushing levers and manually forcing or moving around other ship components to optimize a starship’s performance" unquote then I would be for a science officer)

I'm trying to bring a little silliness with Kit/Nofun, without crossing into obnoxious. If it gets to be annoying, let me know and I'll tone it down.

I kinda like it. Original concept (at least for me, never seen it before ..talking to your exocortex with it's own personality and character profile).

And as long as it doesn't happen (too much) when we're around NPC's that need to take us seriously ..go nuts and enjoy yourself.*

*This view reflects only my own opinion and might not hold true for other players in this game

...I now sort of want to get a computer upgrade with a personality and create a character profile for the ship as well so it can comment on us when we are in combat and sound disappointing when we do stuff... or encouraging....or something else..what kind of personality would our ship be? Old and tired, depressed at being low on maintenance..surly teenager still growing up?

I need to look up how starship computers are described and if it's possible that they have personalities, etc..and if it's not possible if the GM will allow us to do it anyway ;)

We'll definitely need to come up with a (nick)name for it/her/him? then

How about; A.L.I.C.E. (Artificial Linguistic Interactive Computer Entity)?

A computer system functions in many ways as a ship’s brain. Most computers aboard starships have at least a rudimentary artificial personality, and while they can’t fully perform the duties of a crew member, they can assist crew members in various tasks. However, many spacefarers claim that over time, a starship’s computers can develop temperaments and personality quirks that set them apart from identical computers in other ships.

Seems we can...but we'll most likely need something more then the bare minimum of a basic computer.

If we give up on the forward weapon for now we can spend those 2 BP on a Mk 1 Duonode which gives +1/+1 to 2 checks per round..which might not even be that bad of an option..+1 to the turret gunner and some other roll as opposed to having a second gunner (me with a +1 to hit?) some of the time.

Don't get me wrong..I like guns..more guns, bigger guns, more options for them..I'm all for it..

....but this sounds like it could be fun (and most likely only works in a pbp campaign game)

Artificial personalities are sophisticated enough that the computer can attempt Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks with a total bonus equal to 2 × its tier. This upgrade costs 10% of the base price of the computer. ..which get's a bit strange when you use BP ..because it's 0.2 BP extra..so neglectable?

Suggestions for;

Shipnames:

Burney McBurnface
<Awesome Cool Name>
The Awesome
The Grimoire
The Hupplepuff
The Herald
The Pulsar
Red Dwarf / Green Giant
Black hole (as in a bottomless pit into which all our time,effort and money dissapears never to be seen again ;)
The GypSY
Atreyu
Falkor
Hermes / Mercury

AI names:

Alice (Artificial Linguistic Interactive Computer Entity)
BOSS (Bimorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor)
JANICE (Junctioned Artificial Neuro-Integrated Cybernetic Entity)
BOB
Johnny-5
KITT
SETH, (Self Evolving Thought Helix)