[Outpost III] GM Zoomba's Enter the Ashen Asteroid (Inactive)

Game Master Zoomba

Gameplay thread for 1-36. Feel free to dot in here, and introduce yourselves if you like (and see the discussion thread as well).
Launching off on Monday 3/30!

"I'm ready," says a very very tall human. He's nearly 6'8" with the height that low-grav humans frequently develop. He doesn't say more. He's lightly armored in no-frills, but spotless, second skin armor. He's got a semi-auto pistol holstered on his right hip and his right arm is a completely mechanical prosthetic.

His eyes are dispassionate. He looks at you and doesn't blink.

A stocky, well, a standard dwarf walks in. He is wearing light armor, is stout and perhaps has a tad too much belly. His reddish brown hair goes to his shoulders and his beard is neatly trimmed. He has a few packs and a weapons case on his back, a pistol by his side, a knife and a carbine slung over one shoulder. A small flying drone follows him.
"Well, hellooo there human! Freeman's the name. Nice ta be meeting you."

A stocky, well, a standard dwarf walks in. He is wearing light armor, is stout and perhaps has a tad too much belly. His reddish brown hair goes to his shoulders and his beard is neatly trimmed. He has a few packs and a weapons case on his back, a pistol by his side, a knife and a carbine slung over one shoulder. A small flying drone follows him.

"Well, hellooo there human! Freeman's the name. Nice ta be meeting you."

"Welcome, Freeman," says the tall human. He stands silently. Brooding? Unfriendly? Playing poker with an exocortex? It is hard to tell.

"Telirix Sporestorm, gentleman of fortune, at your service."

A tall thin male damya lashunta leans casually in the doorway. His antennae sweep an arc that encompasses the room. He's wearing a green basic flight suit. A cheap needler pistol and a couple grenades hang on his belt. A simple pack is slung over one shoulder; the nose of a light reaction cannon secured to the pack with webbing can be seen over his shoulder.

"Freeman, nice ta be meeting you" The lashunta's voice is a fair imitation of the dwarf's. He smiles to show no harm meant. Then Telirix addresses the human. "You the strong silent type, sport? What's your name?"

"Telirix Sporestorm, gentleman of fortune, at your service."

Then Telirix addresses the human. "You the strong silent type, sport? What's your name?"

The human shrugs an infinitesimal shrug. "Why bother with names? I'm the Specialist. Used to do contract work for Iratha Corp out Bretheda-way," he says, holding up his prosthetic arm, as if to say, "payment." He continues, "A bit of humanoid-sized work for Sopeth Corp. Some stuff with House Zeizerer out da System edge." He says the last with a bit of grimace.

"Time to sell my services elsewhere. And I like the Lorespire's contract terms."

"Why are YOU here, Sporestorm?"

A dragonkin wanders in, cigar in mouth, followed by a little glowy red ball. At first glance, his size and obvious strength is threatening and intimidating, until you realize that he's... well... got sort of a glazed look in his eyes. And that cigar... it smells a bit... herbal??

"Heeeeya fellas!! Woah, you're a serious lookin' bunch! C'mon buddies... sit back, relax...." As this screwball dragonkin speaks, you see that he isn't really looking at you. Rather, he seems to be looking past you. It's as though he can't quite focus on you....

"M'name's Bubba! Some people call me Blazin' Bubba cuz... well... The sun... the stars... the 'cigars'.... Its all connected man....!!!" He takes a long puff on the cigar and pauses. The pause lasts awkwardly long and just as you're about to give up on seeing if he had anything else to say, he continues, "But you all feel free to call me Blaze, Blazin, Bubs, BB, whatevs. It's allllllll goooood bro......

"Okay now, c'mon, bring it in. Group hug...!" He approaches you all and beckons you forward to come in for a group hug.

Whether others obliged him with a hug or not, Bubba then takes a seat and stares out the window, fixated on the sun as he continues to puff away...

The lashunta's reply is cut off by the arrival of the dragonkin. He submits to the group hug. He says tersely, "Good to meet you, Bubba."

As the dragonkin subsides into his chair Telirix returns his attention to the Specialist.

"Bad run of luck at the tables put me here. My last conversation with casino management didn't go so well." He lifts his left arm in a pathetic imitation of the Specialist's 'got paid' gesture, but Telirix's arm barely gets within forty-five degrees of horizontal. "I was barely able to scrounge up this gear for the mission. But, before you think I'm a total punter, I did two tours with the Stewards before I --retired."

"Everyone needs a clear call sign on comms. I'll call you Special."

A large smile crosses Freeman's face as he replies, "That be pretty good, laddie. A little more practice and a little shortening of yer legs and ye'll be a dwarf for sure!"

As the Dragonkin makes his appearance, "Well, Dwarves are huggers. It be true.." as he joins in the group hug.

"A gambler, eh? I've had t' gamble with me life too many times. Were stuck out in the Scoured Stars for a wee bit. Must not have damaged me too bad, didn't quit the society..."

"Everyone needs a clear call sign on comms. I'll call you Special."

The Specialist raises his eyebrows at Sporestorm. "Or you could call me 'Specialist.'"

LOL! I was wishing we were playing in person. Subtle rejoinders based on facial expressions and tone of voice sometimes don't really work on PbP.

"Everyone needs a clear call sign on comms. I'll call you Special."

"Duuuuude... You're ALL special in my book!!!" says Blazin' as he continues to puff away....

A large smile crosses Freeman's face as he replies, "That be pretty good, laddie. A little more practice and a little shortening of yer legs and ye'll be a dwarf for sure!"

"Casino management might shorten my legs for me. If they do, I'll look you up."

"A gambler, eh? I've had t' gamble with me life too many times. Were stuck out in the Scoured Stars for a wee bit. Must not have damaged me too bad, didn't quit the society..."

"I salute your service. I only recently joined up myself."

Telirix Sporestorm wrote:

"Everyone needs a clear call sign on comms. I'll call you Special."

The Specialist raises his eyebrows at Sporestorm. "Or you could call me 'Specialist.'"

"Duuuuude... You're ALL special in my book!!!" says Blazin' as he continues to puff away....

Telirix waits for Bubba to clear the conversational intersection. "Specialist works. As long as your first name isn't 'The'. It's like people who insist on being called doctor. " He grins at the man, then addresses the group at large.

"Anyone know what we're doing? I requested an assignment was off-station."

I was thinking about making his real name, "The." Pronounced tuh-heh, from Saracesian for "traveler."

Just kidding.

Maybe.

And Telirix's wish was granted: all of you have been summoned from Absalom station or wherever you were taking your between-mission R&R to board the Sledgehammer: a titanic vessel owned by the Ulrikka Clanholdings. A combination mobile mining facility, floating factory, and exploration vessel, the Sledgehammer has been navigating the Diaspora for several days. Rendezvousing with you soon is to be Venture Captain Thromkendal: a former businessperson in the Clanholdings herself before she joined the Starfinder Society.

Glad to see you're getting the introductions out of the way :)

I've sent messages to our last two signed-up crew members. Hoping to hear back shortly, but the breifing proper will be delivered later today regardless.

Vaal Noor checks his messages after a couple of days locked up in his workshop. "Goodness, Enereth-7! It seems I have been summoned for another mission! Let's prepare with caution this time, wouldn't want a repeat of what happened with the... oh no! I'm late! Quickly, grab my tools and let's depart!"

A large izaalgun runs out of his apartment, followed by a medium sized metal snail racing behind him.

As the banter goes on Freeman just its back and says "Eh, I like this group so far. Misfits all."

As they board the SledgeHammer Freeman actually looks a little worried. He's heard mumbling something about hoping some family member isn't on this ship...

Bubba looks over and says, "Freeeeeeman! Duuuuuuude!! Misfits is a misnomer, buuuuuuuddy!! Everyone fits in somewhere, y'know what I mean??"

Bubba's gaze wanders back out the window towards the nearest star, "Yaaaaaah maaaan. You do you. You burn bright and twinkle, twinkle lil big star!!!"

When the Specialist hears of the Sledgehammer and the Diaspora, he grimaces, briefly.

Back to the River Belt. Figures. First mission and I'm going back. He grits his teeth and checks his weapons, reflexively.

Seeing The Specialist's reaction being similar to his, Freeman just gives him a nod.

Noting The Spcialist's and Freeman's reactions, Telirix offers, "At least it's not Aucturn. Did a six month observation rotation for the Stewards. Dead boring during the day, but I could hardly sleep at night for the dreams. Terrible. A human in my crew, Howard Phillips, he loved it somehow. Signed up for a second rotation. It's odd what love crafts."

"Eh. That name be familiar somehow... anyway, yes. I agree. That would be worse. My problem is we be heading to where I grew up. not all Dwarven families are close.."

Noting The Spcialist's and Freeman's reactions, Telirix offers, "At least it's not Aucturn. Did a six month observation rotation for the Stewards. Dead boring during the day, but I could hardly sleep at night for the dreams. Terrible. A human in my crew, Howard Phillips, he loved it somehow. Signed up for a second rotation. It's odd what love crafts."

You so funny.

Seeing The Specialist's reaction being similar to his, Freeman just gives him a nod.

The Specialist steps closer to Freeman and gives his head a miniscule tip to say, 'hey.' "Anything I should be on the lookout for?" he asks Freeman quietly.

Freeman gives The Specialist a wry grin, "Well, if someone runs up and says they are a relation of mine, watch for weapons. Other than that, the usual deep space issues. Lack of oxygen. Vacuum. The occasional nasty little twit or beastie. Overly aggressive upper management. The usual stuff!"

Freeman gives The Specialist a wry grin, "Well, if someone runs up and says they are a relation of mine, watch for weapons. Other than that, the usual deep space issues. Lack of oxygen. Vacuum. The occasional nasty little twit or beastie. Overly aggressive upper management. The usual stuff!"

The Specialist nods, "Noted."

Coming down the hallway after the others is a dwarven man with short red hair, thick armor plating covering his body, with a hammer over his shoulder and a laser pistol at his hip. Once he catches up with the others, he leans against the wall for a moment. After catching his breath, he then stands back up and looks around at the group. "Mornin' everyone. Good to meet all of ya. My name be Drak."

Just as the sixth Starfinder enters the room, a firm voice crackles over the space's intercoms: Starfinders. You've all assembled then, good. Come up and meet me on the bridge: we're approaching the rock and it's about time you know what I'm getting you into.

You can make your way through the Sledgehammer and up a lift to arrive at the vessel's bridge in little time. The room is starkly decorated, with bulky and short furnishings designed for its similarly squat crew. Most of the crew seems to have been temporarily relieved from their posts, but a female dwarf stands to greet you. She is dressed in a suit of high-tech armor, but ones carefully stylized and designed to make it seem to be constructed out of interlocking stone plates.

You made good time. Good. she says as she gestures for each of you to come towards her. Name's Thromkendal for those who haven't met me before. And this she says as she presses a button near the room's viewing port is why we're all here.

The blast shield that had been covering the viewing port slowly raises. Otuside a light hail of metoeroids bounces off of the hull,

as a blast shield lowers to cover the bridge’s titanic viewing port. Outside a light hail of meteoroids bounces off the hull, beyond which looms a large asteroid. Several dwarven cranes, scaffolding, and extractors are visible on its surface - a mining operation in full swing.

Thromkendal cracks her neck as she gazes at the view Sorry for keeping you in the dark until now. This venture’s a sensitive subject for most of the crew, and I appreciate your agreeing to pitch in. A few months ago, the dwarven mining consortium of Ulrikka Clanholdings began quarrying from the asteroid AA-126D, an especially metal-rich chunk of rock. They recently broke into a buried complex marked with the symbol of Droskar, the Dark Smith. Thromkendal’s eyes narrow as she makes a harsh gesture as if warding off a hex.

Looking you over, her eyes lock in a knowing look when glancing at Drak and Freeman before she continues to turn to the rest of you. The duergar, our ancient enemy, apparently constructed a hidden base within the asteroid. It appears abandoned, yet the amount of blasphemous Droskari iconography nearly spurred the mine’s director to blast the rock into nothingness. I reminded her that the Clanholdings has a firm deal with the Starfinder Society that lets us first explore cultural sites they uncover in exchange for a percentage of the exploration’s profits as well as any dwarven artifacts and lore we find. Our discussions were...heated. She grimaces.

Still, they honored our deal. At least for now. The Sledgehammer’s officers are giving us three days to explore the site, document any technologies we find, retrieve any artifacts, and get out. After this period, the starship’s going to blast the whole thing to pieces.[b] She adds severely, [b]That’s how offensive Droskar is around here.

Thromkendal lowers her voice and adds, Now I’m normally amenable to nuking evil from orbit, but this decision feels a little...rushed. There’s no telling what secrets are down there, and it might not even be something we’re equipped to extract or analyze. It might also be a den of fiends, in which case we’ll be lucky to have the Sledgehammer’s weapons ready. You'll check it out, determine exactly how bad it is down there, and then report. Be prepared to present your findings and recommendations once we’re done. I've got a shuttle ready as soon as you are. But I guess you may have a few questions first.

Vaal Noor approaches the view port. “Magnificent equipment! Oh, the work I could do with such vast mining gear… Thromkendal, do you think we could persuade them to let me sculpt AA-126D for a bit, before they ruin it? Such beauty, such potential!”

He turns away, in agony. “But nevermind that for now. Duergar, you said? What are those? And did they find anything inside the complex, before turning away? I wonder about any unique pieces of art left behind...”

You'd better scuplt fast. Thromkendal dryly replies. Though if the Clanholdings blow the whole place up it'll be a pretty transient exhibition.

And the duergar — known as 'gray dwarves' to some around the Pact Worlds though I wouldn't bring that up here — are a disgraced branch of dwarvenkind that tied their fate to the fallen god Droskar. With few exceptions, they're avid slavers, thieves, and raiders. From what they tell me as soon as the miners saw Droskar's sigil on the unearthed complex they backed off quick. If you go inside who knows what might have been left down there. Nameplates, badges, jewelry, promising non-industrial computers, journals, personal remains, sacred weapons, and more might be relevant. Examine the context of what you find to make good judgment calls as to if its worth bringing back, or what it could mean.

"Ah. Yes. I be understanding the sneakiness now. Three days, eh? That time starting now or was this decision made a day or two ago? I know how things are around here. I agree. It needs lookin' at but a backup plan of nukin' tha site from orbit is good ta have."

He thinks for a minute.
"Is it sealed with atmosphere or will we be working sealed up in suits the whole time? Have scans found anything of interest or given ye a basic layout?"

Three days for our team to examine it. the Venture Captain says. And you're here beginning your examination now. Don't think you exactly need to sprint to the shuttles though: AA-126D's only 5 miles wide at the most: if you taking an extra half-hour down there on top of the other 72 is going to make a difference, you lot might have bigger problems.

Thromkendal gazes out at the rock. And defintiely get your suits sealed. There's no air out there, at least not on the outside. And even if this uncovered duergar complex has atmosphere, I wouldn't trust it. Gravity's as slight as a newborn halfling too: activate your anchoring boots as you move around. The minerals are thick enough to prevent great scanning, but I'll be up here running tests even as you descend If I find anything out I'll try to Comm you.

You can still ask questions of course, but you may have heard somethings yourselves about the information just presented to you (or picked up some stray gossip about the ship during your journey. You can each roll a Culture of Gather Information (Diplomacy) to see what you've heard about Duergar and this asteroid, and a Mysticism check to try to recall what Droskar's deal is.

Culture: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

You'd better scuplt fast. Thromkendal dryly replies. Though if the Clanholdings blow the whole place up it'll be a pretty transient exhibition.

“Yes! That would be the beauty of it, the performance… I’d sculpt a giant pick made of stone, coming out of the asteroid and name it “The Rock Fights Back!” and film it from all possible directions as the Ulrikka Clanholdings destroyed it… the remixes, the soundtrack… it would be... stupendous!” Vaal Noor shivers.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 1 = 7
Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Are anchoring boots a thing? I'm not familiar with equipment that helps with low G environments.

As Vaal said in the Discussion thread, its a feature of standard Pact Worlds armors. The gravity on this asteroid is just strong enough that you can walk around on it, but a good jump could potentially cause you to leap free of the rock altogether. The 'clamp' function could help anchor you if you are concerned about it it in a potentially precarious situation.

The Specialist has certainly heard of duergar. They and dwarves have common ancestors, but its believed that the duergar betrayed the dwarven gods somehow and were cursed for their treachery. The details were vague even pre-Gap, but by most accounts betrayal was tied to the Quest for Sky, the dwarves’ ancient exodus from Golarion’s Darklands to the surface at their god Torag’s command. The duergar refused this call and instead sought the protection of Droskar. Thanks to their new patron’s influence and the ongoing dangers of the Darklands, the duergar adopted increasingly cruel strategies to eke out a living and fend off aggressive neighbors — including slavery of many species, such as the insectile trox. Other dwarves typically view the duergar negatively ranging from disdain to hostile xenophobia.

You lot have also picked up a few whispers about AA-126D from your time cavorting about the Sledgehammer. Early analyses of the asteroid provided mixed results, perhaps due to its highly metallic composition. The consensus is that there’s a large, hollowed out chamber near the asteroid’s core, and the heat suggests that there may even be molten rock present inside. Before the Pact Worlds’ formal union in 41 ag, the Diaspora was considered especially lawless, and many dwarves aboard the Sledgehammer speculate that this duergar installation dates back to that time when storied investigators like Avaldur Rhols and Gwahil Starpeak brought justice to the asteroid belt. The crew has also picked up intermittent life signs in scans of AA-126D, which the dwarves associate with common space vermin.

Could still try Mysticism checks on Droskar if you like - and the dwarves can do it untrained. Or if you have any more questions for Thromkendal, now's the time

mysticism untrained: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Oh yeah. I roll well on that. Darn dicebot. :)

Mysticism: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

Appropriately, the dwarves know Droskar all too well.

The Dark Smith's faith encourages toil, believing that raw effort alone can lead to success. He also condones doing whatever it takes to achieve one’s goals, including lying, cheating, and enslaving others. Thus, Droskar’s rituals are often long and taxing, and the god’s demanding dogma can make it difficult to abandon a ritual once it’s begun. Yet even a lifetime of toil is sometimes not enough for Droskar’s faithful. Those who perish in their labor sometimes linger as ghosts. Others Droskar deems unworthy of the afterlife and are cast back as metal-shod hunters condemned to capture souls to fuel Droskar’s forge. The Dark Smith cares for results: loyalty does not shelter even his own faithful from his displeasure at failures

Telirix can't think of anything helpful. Strange dwarves with strange dwarven gods are nothing he's ever been interested in. Instead he drifts over to a sensor station and engages the crewmember there about the asteroid.

DIploamcy, gather info -- anything more on AA-126D?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

You think you've picked up all the info the crew knows about the asteroid so far

Thromkendal looks at the six of you and nods. Another happy Starfinder bunch I can see. Well, if you've got any last questions, now's the time. Otherwise, I'd get off to the shuttle. The Clanholdings gave us 3 days, but if something flares up it's a good idea not to be still below when someone gets a twitchy hand on the trigger.

Oh! the Venture Captain says, looking towards Freeman and Drak. The Operating officers seemed a bit more willing to hold off once they found out some dwarves would be part of your little party. So much so they provided a bit of gear for you to use down there. She opens a case set against the wall and takes out 4 frag grenades I, 2 serums of healing mk 1, and 2 spell gems of comprehend languages and presents them to the dwarves.

Last call for Qs, and for boon finalization if any of you have a change you want to make.

Vaal Noor boards the shuttle, all giddy. "Oh, Enereth-7, I can’t wait to discover what atrocious works of art those dastardly duergar have come up with! They’ll probably be all delightfully hideous!” He… talks to his drone.

Freeman takes in the offered gear, "Ah Yes, this should help greatly! please send them me thanks! Oh, and Vaal, you may be disappointed in the 'art', if any, that you find down there. At best it'll be macabre..."

"Alright bro! I'm ready to go!" Blazin' Bubba's herbal smoke seems to remain in a cloud around his head as he moves to board the shuttle.

"Gotta go when the bugles blow." Telirix slings his pack over one shoulder and starts trudging toward the shuttle.

"Anyone mind if I drive?"

“Ready.”

The restrained man checks the action on his semi auto pistol and nods at Thromkendall.

Nodding his thanks as well for the gift, Drak pauses for a moment before looking back to Thromkendal. "Do we know fer sure that the Duergar abandoned this asteroid? I'd hate to run into any down there by surprise."

Ready to progress after this.

Freeman looks to Drak with a very serious expression, "We should assume they or at least some of their creations or servants are down there.."

Collecting yourselves and your gear, the six of you travel down to the Sledgehammer's docking bays, where a small shuttlecraft is indeed waiting for you. The pilot takes off as you come aboard, while a seocnd dwarven crew member offers prayers to Angradd as she casts life bubble on each of you in turn at CL 6.

The journey down onto the rock only takes about an hour, as the craft comes to rest on the asteroid's surface about 200 feet away from a large opening. the pilot turns around and calls out to you. Tunnel ahead leads down below. Miners stopped about 500 feet deep when they found that blasted structure. Keep your armor on and lights up: there's a bit of molten rock within but otherwise might be ark for most of your eyes. May the Forge-Fire lend you his spark.

Once you disembark the shuttle takes off quickly. The dwarves aboard seem to want to linger on AA-126D as little as possible.

Slides are up as well, at the top of the campaign and in my profile header. Be sure you can make changes to them and please add your character icons/images to them.

In the shuttle, Telirix asks the dwarven mystic how long the life bubble will last.

Tel wouldn't know that 6th level = 6 days.

***

Watching the shuttle leave, Telirix says, [b]"I wish they'd just let me drive. I'd feel a lot better if the shuttle was on this rock with us."{/b]

Token is up! I made a note under his token as well. Since Bubba is a dragonkin, he'll be "large" sized on maps.

I'm assuming that we're playing tier 1-2, in which case Bubba is fine to take point in our marching order.