Starting on Monday, March 30th.
This game is part of Outpost III! If this is the table you have signed up for, feel free to dot and delete to add it to your campaign list!
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.”
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.”
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!”
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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Venture-Captain Arvin...
A very small lashunta woman with a sickly visage approaches the recruits. “Hi. I’m Staar. I’m here to boost your morale with examples from my missions with the Starfinder Society. Not long ago, I was tasked with a group of recently recruited members, such as yourselves, to protect the robotic ambassador DV8 while he toured Absalom Station. Curiously, all sort of different perils approached us during that day - some of them taken care by the words of my companions, others by my hands.” she forms her solar weapon - it envelopes her right arm from hand to elbow and looks like a gauntlet of erratic plasma (the electric & fire one, not blood), with “drops” of energy falling from it but disappearing before hitting the ground.
“While I was completely useless when negotiating or calming people, I was able to dispose of any threats that crossed our path. Our strengths and abilities came together, and that is the true value of an organization such as ours. Thank you.”
Scenario
Skill check:
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Zigvigix...
Next, Staar goes over to help her faction-leader. “Hi, faction leader. I don’t know much about technology, but I have a keen eye for quality. When we were tasked to assist in a junk race in the Spike, I was able to sort out useful parts from a pile of scrapyard, resulting in a superior product. We won the race by a large margin. I’ll see to this task just as well.”
Scenario
Skill check
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Fitch...
A tall dark and handsome human man joins the others. The strong lines of his jaw and bright eyes make you think, he should be in pictures, and in fact, he is. This is Casey Cannon, B-movie actor and action aficionado. "Before you ask, yes; I am Casey Cannon. We can get to autographs later. I'm here in an official capacity."
He approaches Fitch, "Mr. Fitch. I understand what you mean about children. No, I don't have any of my own, but, I can say this. They love me. Always asking for my autograph. But, I've also been around a lot fo ships, for research, you know. There is no ship that holds up to the Master of Stars. You can take that to the bank...I know I plan on it."
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Iteration-177...
Casey approaches Iteration-177 and listens to him, an odd thing for Casey, for sure, "You know, I don't take much time to contemplate higher authorities. I did do one movie once, "Faith on Garblong-7" where I played a priest in the middle on an invasion, but to be honest, I did not get into the role very much. It's a hard subject for me."
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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.”
"Iteration-177, its been a while! The whole assassin and Elsebo thing. Glad we got that taken care of properly. I'd love to sit and chat a bit about the mysteries of the universe."
Scenario:
Skill check:
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Venture-Captain Arvin...
Even while realizing that he is one of the greenies that Arvin is talking about, he digs into his experience as an actor, "You know, Venture-Captain, I don't have any real experience out there...with bad...guys... But I do have experience with rallying a crowd. Let me take a stab at it." Casey stands before the recruits, "Recruits! Listen up! We all know that things are rough and going to get rougher. But, the Starfinders knew what they were getting into when they recruited you. You have what it takes to do what needs to be done! You are what the Pact Worlds need. We are what the Pact Worlds need!" He stands up awaiting the applause he so rightfully deserves then moves on when it doesn't come.
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An early stage barathu holding what looks like an auto-injector (those with medical training will recognize it as a standard syringe stick) floats with the rest of the party as they visit each of the faction leaders. The barathu's normally jellyfish-like form is partially concealed within Vesk Brigandine I armor, with a lab coat fitted for a floating, gaseous creature draped overtop. Though inexperienced, they are eagar to help.
As the barathu approaches, you hear their voice telepathically projected into your mind. "Hello, everyone. My name is Anasi. I am a biochemical engineer, specializing in astrobiology and xenobiology, and I am thrilled to come along and assist in this endeavor in whatever way I can. I look forard to learning more about each of you! If you will consent to filling out a series of brief questions about your biological and medical history..." Anasi produces several clipboards with a pen and several page of medical and family history questions. They give one to each of you via a tentacle. "...it will greatly assist me in providing you biochemical boosters customized for your specific genetic sequence! Should you need such assistance later in battle, this will ensure my boosters take effect seemlessly and make the injection process painless!"
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Anasi collects the forms after everyone has filled them out. "Synthetics? Of course! I don't have as much first-appendage experience, naturally, but that won't stop me from manufacturing effective boosters designed for your somewhat unusual synthesized biology. To be fair, most Pact World species are unusual by my species' standards, but the barathu are uniquely adapted to our homeworld as most of you are to yours..."
SFS 2-09 Bluerise Breakout
SFS 2-05 Meeting of the Queens
SFS 2-03 The Withering World
Somewhat unusually, all of Anasi's experience *technically* takes place after 2-00, so they won't be gaining any special benefits from boons from any previous scenarios.
"Oh, starships! I remember one time in orbit above Castrovel, there was this strange ship broadcasting information to the planet below that we had to take out! I picked up a few engineering tricks..."
"I haven't spent too much time contemplating the divine, but I would love to spend a minute or two discussing Oras, if we have time."
"One time... my first Starfinder adventure, actually... I was able to rescue an AbadarCorp mid-level executive from a crazy situation. If we can get through that, we can get through a bunch of blood-thirsty jinsuls... right?"
"It's nice to meet you, Celita. While I've never encountered the tear before, I have training as a technician and can certainly look over your code."
"Oh, I was just telling about an adventure I went on at Castrovel. There was this strange mystical/technological item that played a big role. Oh, and I can help prepare medicinals for everybody!
"While I've never met an organized, hostile alien force on the battlefield before, maybe I can come up with something looking at how these jinsuls operate biologically..."
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A small, 3 foot tall plant woman sulks to the side of the lodaing dock. She has dark green skin, made of fibrous vines covered in a moss like outer layer. Her face appears to be layers of petals, in different shades of blue, indigo and violet- like a large chrysanthemum. They flutter and move with her facial expressions.
She is avoiding the traffic of beings going to and fro. Very much out of her element, she doesn't know quite what to do. But she consults her comms and notices which vessel she's been assigned to. She sees the rest of her crew in her manifest and quickly associates names and pictures with the new faces. She greets you each in turn, making a standard introduction.
"I'm Sonomi Ikuyo. I'm here to assist you in this mission. I'm really not a soldier, closer to a medic really, but I will help anyway I can. If I shoot you, just go with it - my chemical serums will enhance your natural abilities - or if I can hit an enemy, it will make it easier for you to take them down. I'm an Herbalist by profession, but generally people call my trade 'bio-hacking'"
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Hello Fitch, I'm not really much for engineering - but I can try my hand at assisting the Pilots.
I don't know much is anything about the divine and I don't really care to start right now. What feelings do you have about our mission and the starfinders abilities to accomplish their tasks?
VC - I don't really know that I'm ready myself. But I can share some knowledge about my last mission.
Listen up greenlings! This isn't the time to doubt yourselves! Your training has prepared you for this moment. On my last mission took me out into the vast to fight space pirates! With my fellow starfinders by my side I was victorious and able to defeat my foes and retrieve important information about the lost Unbounded Wayfarer. You can be of great help this mission, have faith in yourselves and grow a little taller knowing that together - we can defeat anything!
Celita it is so great to meet you! I'm not sure that my meager knowledge of Physical Science can be of much help, but I can certainly try.
I'll stay clear of the ammo. But I will inventory the medical supplies and make sure the are divided properly and stored correctly. This is finally a task I feel suited to!
Yes sir! I'll study the flora of these maps, and cross reference with data on jinsul anatomy and physiology. Maybe I can pinpoint ecological weaknesses of our enemy and learn how to exploit them to our advantage Sonomi flexes her fingers and ruffles her vines. It is time to get down to bussiness!
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A nattily dressed,sleekly brown-furred ysoki with a streak of white between his ears and over his jowls attaches himself to the group. The outsized pack on his back doesn't match the rest of his ensemble.
"Is this my group? I'm Ears, entropic synchronization expert. Where are we headed? Can somebody help me with this bag?"
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Fitch
Ears runs a hand from the back of his head over an ear, and twice again quickly.
"Ms. Fitch, ma'am? It's a pleasure to meet a ysoki who's accomplished so much. You're an inspiration to us all. What!? Oh, yes, ma'am, I'll get my tail out to work on the hull. It would be my absolute pleasure, ma'am."
While he pulls his armor out of his bag, Ears comments on what he's seen of the ship, ending with, "I hope this ship has plenty of direct fire weapons. I was assigned to a mission on a Drake and we ran out of missiles, even though one of the crew had rigged a quick reloader to the missile system. We had to dive for the planet's surface to get away."
Armor on and sealed, Ears hurries into the airlock the work outside the hull.
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Iteration-177
"No time now, sir. But given our mission, you might try meditating on the Acts of Iomedae."
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Arvin and the New Recruits
"No worries, Venture Captain. We'll talk to them." When it's his turn to speak, Ears steps to the front of the group, and draws on his teaching experience to talk to the raw recruits.
"I can remember my first fire fight, not so long ago. We were in Tasch, a backwater town in the badlands on Akiton. We'd made a deal with Abadar Corp to bring in a renegade Starfinder -- what, Starfinders are people -- some good some bad. Anyway some of his friends jumped us in a bar. I was so nervous that I couldn't hit anything. So the next fight, I just concentrated on keeping our group's guns working at peak performance. We eliminated the renegade's gang members and hauled him safely back to Abadar Corp. Teamwork is what will pull you through. Stick together and do your bit, and never, NEVER, panic!"
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Celita
"Very ambitious plan, impressive. I'll check those numbers.
[spoiler= Skill Check] Aid another if someone else
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Zigvigix
Ears can share a story about tracking down a data core on board a haunted ship on the edge of a planar storm.
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Radazam
Ears settles down to the hard work of data synthesis.
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If anyone is able to interpret barathu body language, you notice that Anasi appears to be a mix of surprised--almost stunned--and excited when Sonomi approaches. To most people, it looks like Anasi continues to float about a foot above the ground.
"Excuse me...miss? A pleasure to meet you. My name is Anasi, and I was hoping we could compare notes. I am also a 'biohacker' as you put it, though my background is in astro- and xenobiological engineering. On that note, I did not expect someone having a xylem/phloem-based nutrient transportation anatomy. Most of these medical survey questions don't really apply to you, but I would greatly appreciate a few pointers, especially from someone trained as you are, on putting together a few boosters geared toward your species' physiology."
Given time, Anasi will also greet ears and deliver the same medical survey questions they provided the rest of the group.
"I'm so looking forward to working with all of you! I guess we'll be getting started soon, won't we..."
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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.
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Staar picks Bonding Epoxy as part of Zigvigix's reward, hoping it will be useful in binding prisoners or in some crazy jury-rigging.
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Anasi
Ears is happy to fill out Anasi's forms. "How do your boosters work? I can increase weapon output synchronizing or aligning various quantum phenomena or manipulating entropy. I've never considered applying the technique to people. Is that how your boosters work? Or are they primarily chemical, working at a molecular level?"
*** Breaking into Scoured Stars space ***
"Look, look, look at that! It's tremendous! " Ears stands up on his chair and leans well forward over the console to stare with his nose nearly touching the screen.
"Nobody panic! Nobody panic! Stay calm!" Ears jumps to the floor and circles the chair before climbing back onto it again.
"Orders! What are our orders?"
Venture-Captain Naiaj’s face appears on a communication screen, her features even paler and more somber than usual. She pauses for a moment before speaking. “A group of elite jinsul starships ambushed one of our scout flights near the starship graveyard orbiting Agillae-5. None of our agents responded to my summons. I assume they’re all dead. The jinsuls have left, but we need to know where they’re going next or we’ll be cleaning up another massacre. Check the remains of our ships for anything that might tip us off about their next target.”
Your sensors find a relatively intact Starfinder wreckage drifting among the debris.
The ship is dark and has a large hull breach on the port side aft, which looks to be your best entrance.
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"Oh, yes, primarily chemical. Your method of... manipulating entropy, you say? That sounds very interesting! We should talk later about what exactly you mean by that."
Despite lacking any cultural skills whatsoever, Anasi is adept at computers.
"I'll take Second's word for it. If there are no life signs, we should board to see if we can find logs as to what as befallen our comrades."
Anasi activitates their armor's life support systems.
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Sonomi is starting to feel the stress of the mission and the magnitude of the task set before her.
Okay guys, let's stay together. Board the ship, and get as much information as we can. Hopefully we won't end up like the scouts. Stay vigilant!
Sonomi gulps and shifts in her seat. She doesn't know anything about Jinsul culture. And she's wondering why she didn't study up on it before now.
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"Let's board it, then." Staar moves towards an air lock.
Once in position, she extrudes from her mouth a fleshy “tentacle”, that writhes around the air for a bit, until she balances it. She remains expressionless.
Ears cocks his head and looks at Staar. "You've got something ...." He dabs at his own lip with a long-nailed finger. "That's got it."
***
Ears follows the others toward the airlock. On the way he rubs his ears and swishes his tail in an exaggerated manor. Along the way he mutters to himself. "Board the derelict ship. Find the data recorder. Don't get your face eaten off by tentacled space dogs or ghosts or extraplanar monsters. What could go wrong? Just another day in the life of a Starfinder."
Ears pulls his new cover seed from a pocket, rolls it in his hand, then slips it back into the pocket.
You board the wreckage with no difficulties. The interior of the ship is dark and the artificial gravity is off. Your environmental protections protect you from the ravages of open space.
The breach leads into the power core of the ship, along with some barracks. The walls around the barracks have all been torn apart and blasted through.
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Staar, her armor environmental protections off, examines the debris around them (specially the seemingly electric walls) before deciding where she’ll try to float towards.
: First she turns on her Spotlight portable light, illuminating a 100-foot cone ahead of them.
You find nothing of use among the debris around the entrance. With your light you can see past the inactive power core into the engineering area.
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Following the crew, Second-1 hits his environmental seals before jumping across to the Parting Glance
"Looks pretty bad in here, let's hope we find some trace of the crew."
Second-1 looks back out of the massive gash into the vacuum of space ans sighs before following along towards what he hoped was the bridge.
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"No chance of getting atmosphere back. I'll check engineering. See if any battery power is left to get gravity and lights running. That's probably hopeless though. It's a miracle the ship's still in one piece."
Ears turns on his own armor's light. He pushes off and floats to the corridor wall. He bounces between opposing surfaces until he grabs the wall and stops himself just inside the crew's quarters.
Ears things he might be able to get the power core back on-line. Which should at least provide lights and gravity.
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Casey bounces over to the nearest door and opens it. The room beyond seems to be a computer lab, but it has been stripped of useful materials.