/please dot in.
First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo steps forward to her podium addressing the Starfinder fleet. “Starfinders, after two years of hardship following our devastating first foray into the Scoured Stars, we now stand taller than ever and are back to fighting form. Today, new recruits rally beside experienced agents and rescued veterans, coming together to form the most resourceful, prepared, and skilled organization the Pact Worlds have ever known. This newfound strength comes not a moment too soon, for the threat within the Scoured Stars is unlike any we’ve ever faced: a hostile military force known as the jinsuls, committed to our complete destruction. Stopping the Jinsul Hierocracy will challenge us more than anything we’ve done before, but what I’ve seen from our agents these past two years assures me that we are more than up to the task! Your orders will arrive shortly; for now, gather your equipment, finish your preparations, and send any messages you wish before we reach the Scoured Stars.”
Hundreds of Starfinder agents hustle throughout the loading docks aboard the ever-impressive and newly refurbished Master of Stars, the pinnacle of the Starfinder fleet. Junior agents hastily pack every docked starship with weapons, armor, spare parts, and provisions, while technical staff runs diagnostics on starship armaments and senior officers finalize flight formations and supply routes. Many Starfinders’ faces are dark with uncertainty, but the fiery resolve burns in their eyes.
Venture-Captain Arvin, a damaya lashunta man, emerges from the shifting crowd of activity, his expression hard with repressed concern. “It seems fate has made soldiers out of explorers. We’ve always prepared our agents to navigate danger and violence, but never anything like this. Still, there isn’t another organization in the Pact Worlds that I would trust more with this daunting task.” He pauses for a moment, then shakes himself back to attention. “Right, much left to do! There are still a few specialized tasks remaining that you might be able to help us complete.”
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Tolar is large even for a Kasathan and his heavy armor is decorated as a walking add for an obscure Drow metal band. On the side of his armor is a little clear bubble clearly intended to be a habitat for a large spider but on closer inspection you realize the spider is a stuffed toy.
He holds a long pike and strapped to his back is a large sonic weapon.
"Hello again."
Looking at Jerris "I do not know how to fly a freighter so I will have to help protect the Commonwealth from Jinsul. Again. Hopefully we finish them now and eliminate the threat."
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A white Ysoki with brown points and several mystic tattoos on his face walks up to the group. He is wearing a D-Suit with several upgrades installed.
“Charli! It has been a while, good to see you again.” He gratefully accepts one of the beverages, putting some whipped cream on top.
Nodding to the rest of you, he says “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of directly working with the rest of you. My name is Neon Ten, pleased to meet you.” He offers a handshake to each of you.
“In case you don’t know, my specialty is technology and magic. You may have seen me on a few different Vid channels, as I am sometimes brought in to explain scientific or magical concepts.”
Taking a sip from his drink, he then asks “So, who should we help first?”
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"Yes, let's go to Ziggy! I have some peppermint tea ready with lots of sugar, just like he likes it." She turns to the others. "By the way, I'm Charli. I run the little tea stand across from the Lorespire, but of late we've been franchising, so I haven't done much with the Society outside of my duties with the Manifold Host. It's good to be going out into the field again."
The little pink-haired gnome packs up her tea things and other equipment with practiced efficiency, and joins the others to meet Ziggy.
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"Oh, I am happy to hear that, T'kai. Have you met Neon Ten? I watch his show, but still only have a layperson's understanding of the mystical arts. It's good to have two of you spell types with us!"
Then she smiles at Tolar and Jerris. "I'm glad we have a variety of skill sets represented here. It will make us so much better at problem solving!"
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Although he doesn't seem bothered when others don't recognize him, he does smile when T'Kai admits they had heard of them.
"Did you catch my piece on the plight of the Feathered Renkrodas? I found out about them from Radaszam." Please, let me be recognized for something other than Zo!'s show Live Exploration Extreme!
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A night-black shirren with star spots in his compound eyes hops with joy as Neon introduces himself, reaching out telepathically. This is why I love the Starfinder Society: out of all the limitless void, I get to go on missions with actual stars! Id-Sinitis is the name, most call me “Id” for short! Who’s ready to BUST A MOVE IN JINSUL SPACE!!!
In violent agreement, you collectively set out on your first piece of adventure!
Zigvigix, leader of the Exo-Guardians, sits before an immense cargo bay filled with crates of supplies. “They say an army marches on its stomach, but it also fights with guns and ammo! Can you take a look at all our gear to make sure it works and then load it onto the ships? Just try to keep the explosives separated from the food, please. We don’t want to have that mistake happen again!”
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In violent agreement, you collectively set out on your first piece of adventure!
Zigvigix, leader of the Exo-Guardians, sits before an immense cargo bay filled with crates of supplies. “They say an army marches on its stomach, but it also fights with guns and ammo! Can you take a look at all our gear to make sure it works and then load it onto the ships? Just try to keep the explosives separated from the food, please. We don’t want to have that mistake happen again!”
Charli puts her medical skills to work, sorting out all the relevant medical supplies and putting them in each ship. "All this reminds me of when we had a mercy mission to a hospital in the Kreiholm Freehold. We had to choose between recovering surgical technology and rescuing civilians. We chose the people. I'm hoping with these supplies our Starfinders will not have to make such choices."
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Neon Ten starts checking the equipment and making minor repairs when possible. Anything malfunctioning that he can’t repair, he sets aside so no one is issued it.
“Having now seen both, the Jinsul technology has nothing on what the Azlant Empire has! The Azlanti ability to combine magic and technology is truly marvelous!” He then chats about some of the things he saw the one time he dealt with the Azlant Empire.
When he is done, he brings one of the small arms — a Wave Modulator III pistol — over to the quartermaster and purchases it.
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T'Kai helps in making sure the crew stores the crates properly. He points out to a newer Starfinder, "Make sure each ship has climbing and survival gear. Do you have jump jets or a way to fly? Those come in handy. You never know what you are face. You may have to drop down a 60 foot shaft or a cross an area with a collapsed bridge."
Fitch, leader of the Wayfinders, walks you to an airlock leading out to some of the scaffolding on the ship’s exterior. “It’s strange to not have my children aboard, but this is no time to be bringing the young ones along. Last time, the jinsul capital ships chased away our carriers. I’d love to see how their flagship holds up against ours, but we’re still not quite finished with renovations. Try to wrap up the finishing touches on this gem of a ship— I want the last thing those jinsuls see is just how brightly it shines.”
Iteration-177, the enigmatic android, meets with you in a conference room, as charming as ever. “It appears I finally get to participate in a famed Starfinder adventure! I suspect you still have some desire to seek solace with the divine before heading into battle? I too, know this desire. I’m more than happy to converse, if you’d care to sit and chat.”
Venture-Captain Arvin looks over a group of anxious recruits in the mess hall. “Those green agents are not ready for a battle against an organized foe. Sadly, they’re liabilities when they’re frightened. Talk them through some of your experiences, set them at ease, and help them prepare for the challenges they’ll face ahead. We need them primed and ready for combat if we’re going to win this.”
Celita, leader of the Dataphiles, feverishly works on the mainframe in the command center of the Master of Stars. “Greetings, I’m Celita of the Dataphiles. You may have known me as Historia-7, though I’ve since stopped using that name due to reasons we don’t have the time to discuss. I think I’ve devised a way to artificially replicate the resonance effects of the Tear relic to help our ships stay in communication and traverse the Drift more precisely. I need you to double-check my code for errors and then see if you can shield the network from detection by jinsul sensors.”
Radaszam, leader of the Acquisitives, overlooks a large holographic map of the Scoured Stars system, overlaid with smaller, more detailed maps of terrain on specific planets. “I don’t know about you, but I’m keen to take this fight to the jinsuls on their home turf. We have topographic data collected from our last foray into the Scoured Stars, plus some information on fighting styles our agents have reported from past jinsul encounters. See if you can make sense of it all and formulate a plan of attack.”
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Id sets to work scanning all the equipment with his broad-spectrum scanning kit, looking for idiosyncrasies.
Id checks all the Piloting stations aboard the Starfinder megaship.
Id recalls the first time he met with the enigmatic android, sharing his frequent interactions with them.
Id shares inspiring tales of his rescuing a fellow Starfinder on Arniselle, Rax, and even here on Absalom Station, emphasizing the importance of having each others' backs.
Id shares his deep knowledge of jinsul lore, discovered firsthand on their hostile homeworld.
Id recounts his last tangle with the jinsul fleet during the second incursion into the Scoured Stars system, relaying what he learned of their arms and tactics.
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Fitch
"When we were helping Envar Tam on the Brilliance there was this pretty cool space battle. The pilot pulled off a maneuver that looked kind of like this..."
Tolar moves his arms about in heavy armor trying to recreate a 3D battle.
Iteration-177
"Oh, I remember you. You had that machine that made the weird memory food."
Celita, Leader of the Dataphiles
Venture-Captain Arvin
Tolar recounts his adventures during The Scoured Star Invasion. "Many fellow Starfinders rescued that day."
Celita, Leader of the Dataphiles
Tolar discusses the many Jinsul he has fought. "I think they breed different types of soldiers to face different types of enemies."
Radaszam, Leader of the Acquisitives
"Did I tell you about the time I had to fight the Jinsul?"
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Fitch, leader of the Wayfinders, walks you to an airlock leading out to some of the scaffolding on the ship’s exterior. “It’s strange to not have my children aboard, but this is no time to be bringing the young ones along. Last time, the jinsul capital ships chased away our carriers. I’d love to see how their flagship holds up against ours, but we’re still not quite finished with renovations. Try to wrap up the finishing touches on this gem of a ship— I want the last thing those jinsuls see is just how brightly it shines.”
"One of the most interesting fights that I had happened in when fought a crystalline ethereal ship of legend... So strange, and it required such different tactics to fight!"
Iteration-177, the enigmatic android, meets with you in a conference room, as charming as ever. “It appears I finally get to participate in a famed Starfinder adventure! I suspect you still have some desire to seek solace with the divine before heading into battle? I too, know this desire. I’m more than happy to converse, if you’d care to sit and chat.”
"I had a religious experience the last time I met you," Charli says, quietly. "We joined forces to fight off a manifestation of Dhurus. Do you have any advice for us, now that we are facing his forces again?"
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Celita, leader of the Dataphiles, feverishly works on the mainframe in the command center of the Master of Stars. “Greetings, I’m Celita of the Dataphiles. You may have known me as Historia-7, though I’ve since stopped using that name due to reasons we don’t have the time to discuss. I think I’ve devised a way to artificially replicate the resonance effects of the Tear relic to help our ships stay in communication and traverse the Drift more precisely. I need you to double-check my code for errors and then see if you can shield the network from detection by jinsul sensors.”
Charli tries to help with this technical stuff, but it is really beyond her.
Venture-Captain Arvin looks over a group of anxious recruits in the mess hall. “Those green agents are not ready for a battle against an organized foe. Sadly, they’re liabilities when they’re frightened. Talk them through some of your experiences, set them at ease, and help them prepare for the challenges they’ll face ahead. We need them primed and ready for combat if we’re going to win this.”
"In the Scoured Star Invasion, we had to risk our lives, but we brought Starfinders back. We made a DIFFERENCE!' The little pink gnome looks up at the raw recruits and says, "We need to give this our ALL! You think that this fight is for wimps? Now, darn it, suit up and DRINK YOUR TEA!"
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Radaszam, leader of the Acquisitives, overlooks a large holographic map of the Scoured Stars system, overlaid with smaller, more detailed maps of terrain on specific planets. “I don’t know about you, but I’m keen to take this fight to the jinsuls on their home turf. We have topographic data collected from our last foray into the Scoured Stars, plus some information on fighting styles our agents have reported from past jinsul encounters. See if you can make sense of it all and formulate a plan of attack.”
"We've fought the jinsuls before and we can do it again! Heck, we know how they think, and what they value. So here is what I think they will do."
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Neon Ten heads straight for the nearest computer, spitting a data cable out of his cheek as he moves.
“Does the data include any of the information we received from the Izalguun?” he asks as he connects to the system, the cable looking like a spaghetti noodle hanging from his mouth. Soon after, he mentions “Hope you don’t mind, but I reconfigured some of the data tables to allow more efficient access.”
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Ziggy
Maverick begins prepping the munitions for loading. "This reminds me of the mission I was a part of where we traveled to Egoret Base in order to retrieve the ghibrani's unique weapon technology."
Fitch
Walking along the scaffolding on the exterior of Master of Stars, Maverick begins to conduct safety checks on the weapons arrays and sensor pods located there. "I was the pilot of one of our ships during our first encounter with the Jinsul's space fleet. That first dogfight with that unknown Jinsul ship was extremely difficult. I don't expect the coming engagement to be any different."
Iteration-177
"Good to see you again Iteration. I'm not much for religion, but I certainly remember the dinner you hosted on Athaeum. After we defeat the Jinsul I expect you to host another one, but this time make sure the food isn't alive when you serve it to us!"
Arvin
"Listen up recruits; the Jinsuls are no joke. Trust me, I know, I've been knee deep in one of their weapons research facilities surrounded by them." Maverick eyes them all from behind his aviator sunglasses, "What a gang of apes!" he growls. "Maybe if you’d all buy it this drop, they could start over and build the kind of outfit Arvin expected you to be. But probably not — with the sort of recruits we get these days. If this is your first time in combat just remember this. Don’t buy a farm. You know your job; do it. Just do it. Don’t try to win a medal."
Celita
Maverick recounts his exploits against the Jinsuls during the rescue mission to Saaruq 5.
Radaszam
Maverick shares his experience fighting the Vault Lord's army on Salvation's End.
You are all successful at helping the leaders with their preparations!
The success leads to the following rewards to help you in the mission.
You gain the third level of reward for all these leaders:
Level 2 - When using the reward above, all the PCs’ nongunnery skill checks made during the same round gain the +4 bonus.
Level 3 - In place of the level 1 reward, the PCs can force the crew of an enemy ship to take a –2 penalty to all nongunnery skill checks made during the round. The use of this ability must be declared at the start of the starship combat round.
Level 2 - In place of the reward above, a PC can add a +1 bonus to any one saving throw while within the Scoured Stars.
Level 3 - When using either reward above, the PC can double the bonus.
Level 2 - When using this reward, the benefit applies to both skill checks and attack rolls.
Level 3 - In place of the level 1 reward once during the adventure, when the table uses an Aid Token, they gain two benefits instead of one. They cannot choose the same effect twice.
Level 2 - When using the reward above, all of the PCs’ gunnery rolls during that round gain that benefit.
Level 3 - In place of the level 1 reward, a PC can select any one successful starship weapon attack to count as critical damage if it deals Hull Point damage, even if the die result isn’t a natural 20.
Level 2 - In addition to the reward above, the PCs can also requisition a single consumable item with an item level up to the PC’s level. These consumables cannot have permanent effects, and PCs who don’t use them during the course of the scenario must return them at the end of the adventure.
Level 3 - When using the level 1 reward, the weapon can have an item level up to the PC’s level + 1.
Level 2 - Once during the adventure, while in the same location as a fleet, the PCs can instead activate this reward to gain a +2 bonus to each of their initiative checks for that mission.
Level 3 - During a single encounter in the same location as the jinsul fleet, the PCs can activate this reward to remove any extra enemies or challenges provided by the jinsul fleet.
Working at close to light speed, the seasoned Starfinders manage to assist pretty much everyone who needs assisting - they occasionally hear other fellow Starfinders question how this team of aces make it all look so easy!
As preparations wind down, a stillness settles over the crowd of Starfinders gathered on the command deck of the Master of Stars. First Seeker Jadnura, flanked by nominated First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo and the android Iteration-177, steps forward to an elevated captain’s platform and looks out over the assembled agents. Jadnura’s resonant voice carries across the assembly. “Starfinders! Today we gather not merely as explorers and scholars, but as defenders of the galaxy. Ever since the jinsuls ambushed our rescue mission into the Scoured Stars, they have assailed us and our allies at every turn. The danger the jinsuls present to our friends and homes cannot be ignored. We now know that they intend to awaken the divine being responsible for trapping our first expedition into the Scoured Stars. We know that this scheme threatens not only the Scoured Stars but all the space surrounding it. This leaves us with one mission: break the jinsul fleet and drive them from the Scoured Stars, putting an end to their depredations once and for all. Today we march to war!”
The Starfinders disperse to their ships and launch into orbit, assembling into either tactical strike formations or vanguards surrounding the larger vessels. The fleet’s synchronized screens flash to life, showing Luwazi Elsebo from her own command station. “We are ready to approach the Scoured Stars system from the outer orbit of the Agillae system’s star. The majority of our fleet will stay together to protect our supplies and support our ground troops, while our field agents are to scout the system and find the most strategic places to engage the jinsuls. Kadrical’s divine herald, Dhurus, is the head of the snake: find where he is hiding so we can direct our full forces against him. Once we close in on him, we can face down Dhurus on equal footing and end this conflict.”
Luwazi nods to the camera. “Stick together, support each other, and stay the course. We live or die as one today. Good luck, Starfinders. Fleet—activate Drift engines now!” The screen shuts off, and each formation of starships surges forward as a unit, vanishing into the Drift.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
The Starfinder fleet emerges from the Drift as a single force, the three suns of the Scoured Stars burning brightly against the surrounding void. Moments later, onboard computers ping with streams of incoming data detailing nearby jinsul ships, planets with concentrated industrial activity, and further commands from the First Seekers. Several files emerge on the captains’ screens: briefings of locations where field agents could find useful information about how best to target the jinsul fleet’s weak points.
Bursts of energy light up near space as several jinsul starships self-destruct. A flight of victorious Starfinder ships darts between the jinsul wrecks, as if dancing on their proverbial graves. Venture-Captain Arvin’s image suddenly appears on a communications screen, his face furrowed with concern. “We just defeated this pack of jinsuls, but one of their scout ships escaped into the Drift. We can’t let it report our fleet’s position back to its superiors. Enter the Drift and stop that runaway!”
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As you thunder into the Drift you spot the fleeing craft - Maverick shifts the Drake into position to begin a chase!
Range
R1
Engineering Phase (Captain, Engineer)
J Captain
J Engineer
Helm phase (Captain, Pilot, Science Officer)
J Pilot
Neon runs the scan...
1. Basic Information:
Living crew complement: 6
Ship classification: Explorer
size Medium
Speed: 10
Maneuverability: Good
2. Defenses:
AC 26
TL 25
Hull Points 75
Shield Points 280 (70 per quad)
Core PCU value: 250
3. Weapons
Attack (turret) railgun (8d4; 20 hexes)
Attack (aft) vandal rocket (4d8 plus drones; 20 hexes)
...More information available
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"I've got a visual ID on the bogey. Dead ahead now 8 miles. 900 knots closure. Master arm on. I'm accelerating to attack speed."
Maverick activates the afterburners on the Drake and accelerates it straight at the Jinsul scout ship while simultaneously jinking and rolling to throw off the Jinsul's targeting computer.