Across the Scoured Stars (Inactive)

Game Master Cwethan

Odd Ball starts, clearly caught off guard by Acoria's sudden volume "Yes, yes... Laboni... I try to avoid the spotlight where possible. Perhaps I should go and make certain all of our tracks are covered at Ceren's hab... You're certainly all sufficient for a task like this...

"So is this a situation where we ride in the vehicle as well and build it as we go, or do we build it before hand and then just have a single racer?"

Simar's mouth curves into a cold smile as Odd Ball edges away from the group. "Unsurprising."

"The building portion happens before the race proper begins, but then as the entrant/challenger Laboni will need to be the pilot.

"And as you say, we should go to meet her."

***

Ratrod's racing circuit is a hollowed-out section of a mountain of spare parts in Botscrap downspike. A plethora of signs and sigils for the ysoki-dominated Salvage Union, who control most of the yards, make it clear that this is a sanctioned event. The crowd presses close around you as they head towards the arena, but the crush thins out as you loop around towards the competitors' entrance.

Simar passes around official looking badges that identify you as members of Laboni's pit crew, and you're quickly let through the security 'bots to the prep area.

As soon as you head into the workshops, a human girl who looks like she's still in her teens cannons into your group, barely stopping short of flinging her arms around Yxov in a hug. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!!" She steps back, straightening her goggles and tucking her blindingly-white labcoat closer over her vibrant paisley top. "I'm Laboni, and this iiis..." she gestures to her workspace, "...kind of a work in progress."

She's already managed to put together a pretty serviceable racer, but as you look around at the other pilots and junkracers, it's clear that it hasn't had the benefit of multiple design-iterations to really get it up to speed.

Next to an ammo-hopper that still needs to be hooked up to the racer's turret is a bulky looking computer with a variety of heavily customized ports, but it has been cracked in half...

Laboni sees Simar eyeing the broken piece and turns sheepish once more. "So... I'm actually not much of a pilot, and it turns out that installing vehicle-guidance software mapped to the circuit is uh... frowned upon. Bit of a yellow card situation actually. But! It turns out I found a loophole! I have to drive the car, but it and the guns can have a, uh, 'auxiliary emergency control module.' Soooooo if I took my hands off the wheel, then whoever had the 'auxiliary controls' would be able to help steer us home or fight off the other racers!

"That uh... that sound good?"

***

So once we get into the thick of things, here are a few options for how to Improve the Junkracer (Computers, Engineering, Perception, Physical Science) - this can be used to improve the racer's speed, handling, targeting, armor, or add or upgrade weapons.

While you're doing that you can Investigate the Enemy (Sense Motive or Engineering): Scout out the opposing pilots or vehicles. If you don't want to improve the junkracer you can investigate each pilot instead of just one by skipping the first roll. Once you've got them scouted out you might be able to use different social skills to make good use of those insights too!

You could also do something else (like Sabotage!), but that would probably take up your improvement time...

The other racers and vehicles are here

Acoria attempts to work on the racer's targeting system, not knowing much about anything else.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Is this really the same day/solar cycle that we began our first mission?

Yxov takes this opportunity to wander around the pits and suss out the competition.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (15) + 5 + (5) = 25

Laboni heads off into the piles with Acoria, hoping the big scaly wonder can help her find a oc-assist rangefinder, but unfortunately the pair doesn't accomplish overmuch. However, as they look, even Acoria notices an intense stare from one of the other racers, a scarred and weathered ryphorian standing next to the biggest, bulkiest junkracer here. "Do you know Nyizin?" Laboni's eyes widen in mortification, "Not that all Triaxians know each other or anything! I just mean... She's kinda staring, you know?"

Starfinders believe in a **full** day's work!
Bug hunting with Alex didn't take long (call it an hour all told including the Star Sugar Heartlove!!! diversion since you guys figured out a good way to cut the line, Everything with Odd Ball ran a good bit longer, call it ~6 hours, but that's put you just in time to for the engineering phase of a Primetime Junkrace!!!

Also, Acoria, any pilots or vehicles you'd like to examine? And Yxov, go ahead and assign that roll where you'd like, but if you're taking this 'turn' to suss out all the pilots, go ahead and toss me a few more of those Sense Motives

In the interest of fairness, the first roll will be on 1d5 ⇒ 2 Legem

SM=Ratrod: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (17) + 5 + (3) = 25
SM=Nyizim: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (18) + 5 + (5) = 28
SM=Orsis: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 5 + (3) = 12
SM=Velocity: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (12) + 5 + (2) = 19

Since Sabotage is kinda 'High Risk, High Reward,' Simar won't initiate that without one of you requesting it. (Both due to her personality, and her role as a GMPC ;-)

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Discovery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Simar's own searches for quality parts are unsuccessful, but she makes sure to have their path carry her past one of the other racer's orbits. As soon as she gets close to Orsis, a dark haired damaya lashunta who looks unfairly good in black and gold, his antennae seem to prick up and he quickly moves to greet her with a deadpan smile. "Just couldn't keep your eyes off her, could ya?"

Mysterious Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Heh, good rolls Yxov. Let me recommend that other people spy on the cars then :-p
In the meantime, go ahead and show me some of his icebreakers. Lemgem's the blue-hared gnome who's covered in piercings, tattos, and other augments; Nyizin's the battlescarred Ryphorian, Ratrod's the goggled ysoki with a showman's flourish, and Velocity's the elaborately decorated and androgynously gorgeous android. Don't worry about posting something up for each of them, I'd rather see an in-depth conversation with one you think Yxov would have a good chat with :-)

Acoria wanders over to Lemgem's racer, drooling at the cool looking armored sphere. "It's like power armor and a ship at the same time..." she whispers.

Appearing next to Acoria, Yxov watches the dragonkin marvel over the spherical contraption. "Yes, fascinating, isn't it? I always am amazed at how the junkracers seem to reflect the personality of the drivers. Though, I have to wonder if sometimes the pilots' personality are influenced by the racers they drive?"

He turns to Lemgem. "What do you think? Does the driver pick the pod, or does the pod pick the driver?"

Urmfehrumah looks at the pile of junk with interest. "Hmmmm. I can see why these quantum capacitors are in a junk pile; they seem to be dangerously out of phase...but perhaps if we transmodulate the quantum capacitor with tachyon-infused dihydrogen monoxide? If only I could find...”

The tiny raxilite trails off as their Lifting Floret Activation Network start to dig through the pile of junk, excitedly.

After they've done as much to improve the racer's speed as possible, they wander over to take a look at Ratrod's rig. Just what has he done?

Physical Science: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22 To improve Speed. If I can roll to improve other things too, lemme know!
Engineering: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26 To check out the cars. If I can just choose one, I'll go with Ratrod's.

Doc Newblossom's modifications bear fruit, boosting the top speed of Laboni's racer by at least 10%! (Assuming a sufficient concentration of tach-water can be maintained)

Unfortunately, examining Ratrod's rig, they begin to suspect that that might not be enough yet... Ratrod's Junkracer, 'The Hedgehog' looks like it would still be considerably faster than Laboni's even after the upgrades - it would probably take at least two more equivalent upgrades for her racer to match its top speed!

Otherwise the racer is fairly similar to her's, good handling, awful targeting systems, and a potent energy weapon in the turret, but The Hedgehog's armor looks a good bit better as well...

***

"Ohinevermetapodthatpickedoutanything reallyitsallamatteroffindingwhatsoutthereandchangingittofitwhatyouwant evenforagnomelifestooshorttowasteyourtimestandingstill youreveryshinyisthatmodulatableorisitsimplyamatterofopacityincoveringsandis itaffectedbydiet..." Lemgem's chatters along at a mile a minute, her bifurcated tongue clearly doing nothing to slow down a direct brain-mouth pipeline. You get a strong sense that it would be fairly easy to nudge her towards different ideas as long as they were new, whether something like making sure Ratrod doesn't win, again, or adding some 'particularly daring' modifications to her own Junkracer.

***

Simar returns to the racer with her own report on Orsis. "I think he takes himself too seriously to sacrifice his own chances at winning, but he's meticulously proud of his piloting. Someone might be able to butter him up into giving some tips for this course."

***

Nyizin, the battlescarred Ryphorian responds very grumpily to Yxov's overtures, aggressively polishing her hulking racer. "Look, I see that badge round your neck. That makes you the enemy, no matter who else you've got with you." As she says that she looks up and over the intervening debris at Acoria once more. "Unfortunately this race isn't too the death, but that doesn't mean I've got time to be distracted."

As part of a being intimately familiar with a dragonkin's bond, you know that their most common partners are Ryphorians, the other main species from their homeworld... It lends a **very** different shade of meaning to the large draconic skull on the hood of her racer.

***

Velocity seems oddly bored while the other racers are hard at work. They aren't fiddling with the engine, often taking quite a while to decide between pieces. Still, they seem very self-assured, even if their vehicle is likely to be somewhat undertuned. Since they aren't particularly busy, they'd likely be open to a more involved conversation.

***

Ratrod is having a grand old time, constantly calling up to the fans in the observation gantries - any interactions you have with him **will** be public. The stakes might be hard to lower, but you could probably taunt him to fluster him more. Of course, then you run the risk of him living up to the hype...

Acoria growls ar Nyizin and her dragonkin skull ornament. "Yes, traitor, it is unfortunate..."

***

After Simar's report on Orsis, Acoria goes over to him. "Hey there. I hear you're a really good pilot. I was wondering if you could give me any tips? I want to learn to be as cool as you one day."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Sorry, was sans internet for most of the weekend. Just got it back a while ago apparently.

Carter secures tools from the junkpile around them and asks Laboni "How much do you weigh? Please be specific. Also, can you handle more than 4 Gs of gravity without passing out or receiving an aneurysm?"

After receiving his answer, Carter gets to work increasing both Handling, Armor, and then armaments if time allowed.

Better that it run fast then fire missiles Carter thought.

I was gonna improve speed, but it looks like the good Dr. got it, unless we can improve something more than once.

Engineering for Handling: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Physical Sciences for Armor: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Computers for Targeting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Engineering for Creating a weapon: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Physical Sciences for Improving said weapon: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
In case there's time, Mysticism to convert the power supply to a magic or magic hybrid system: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Sorry all, I've been having a bit of a time irl, but should be heading towards clearing some breathing space. Thanks for your patience.

Okay game stuff! Just gonna take that first Engineering roll Carter. You will have time to make further rolls, but since you're discovering more information over time, the order does matter. You are able to improve things more than once though, so you might have wanted to redirect things anyways. I'll assume you're going for speed on that one since you said that would've been your target if allowed.
On a similar front Acoria, charming Orsis will be taking up a fair bit of time, so you wont' **also** be able to gather information/parts in this next bit.

@ Acoria
"Traitor?! TRAITOR?! How dare you?!" Nyizin's fur sticks straight out as she bristles with rage. "You little brat! You have no idea what Azosi sacrificed - what I would have sacrificed for him!" Her hands drift down to empty holsters before she clenches her fists in frustrated fury. "Get out of here while you can still flap away."

***

Laboni brightens and practically dives underneath her racer to join Carter in his work "Huh, uh I don't know specifically how much I weigh? Probably about 60? Is a kilo one way or another gonna make a big difference as long as we know exactly where I'll be centered?" She studies your tattoos carefully while you work. "Hey are those decorative or functional?"

***

Simar's eyes are hooded and hard to read as she watches Acoria's confrontation. "Looks like we're making enemies..." She stops in her search for complex parts and instead goes for simple straight pieces of material, and sufficiently powerful magnets to put together a makeshift railrifle, though every time she tries to get close enough to Nyizin to examine her racer she's quickly run off.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 Kinetic Weapon added
Engineering: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 No good!

***

Everyone but Acoria, who's busy, go ahead and either go try to social engineer someone, improve Laboni's racer (many possible skills) while examining someone else's (engineering), or do something else wacky!

***

Orsis gives a slow, gently amused grin at Acoria's... direct approach. "Come to learn from the best, eh?"

Apropos of nothing, could you give me a Will save before we go any farther? Feel free to write your response as well, any totally benign effects that might happen if you fail your save like Simar did won't be immediate.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not a bad pilot, but there is always room for improvement. Your junkracer is really cool too! I love the sphere concept."

Will save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

What I learned about Ratrod's racer:
'The Hedgehog' looks like it would still be considerably faster than Laboni's even after the upgrades - it would probably take at least two more equivalent upgrades for her racer to match its top speed!
NOTE: I think we've succeeded at 2 of these. One more will get us up to Ratrod's speed.
Otherwise the racer is fairly similar to her's, good handling, awful targeting systems, and a potent energy weapon in the turret, but The Hedgehog's armor looks a good bit better as well...

Doc Newblossom grins as Carter's mods bear fruit. "Hey, nice idea with that gravitometric disperser tweak. I've never read of anyone doing anything like that! Between you and me, we'll have this hunk of polymer as fast as the Hedgehog in no time...but it ain't there yet.

"Carter, why don't you keep working on speed? I'll see if I can improve her armor next."

The tiny raxilite's flower bobs up and down happily as they attempt to beef up the racer's defenses.

Phys Sci for Armor: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Engineering to check out Velocity's rig: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Seeing Acoria pissing off Nyizin, Urmfehrumah comments, "Hmmmm. Now can we persuade Nyizin that you're on Ratrod's team? Or otherwise that they should be pissed at him?

"I figure, if any of you persuasive types can get folks to start gunning for Ratrod...well, it couldn't hurt, right?"

And with that, the cheery doctor gets back to nanowelding.

Orsis's junkracer is more of a hotrod look. Lemgem's the one with the sphere :-)

Acoria feels an unpleasant sensation of pressure in her hindbrain as she approaches, but it quickly ceases.

Orsis seems entirely untroubled as he continues chatting in a quiet drawl

"Well a lot of it's gonna come down to knowing the feel of your ride, y'know what I'm sayin'? How far you can let that baby swing before you need to get him back in line. Like, I don't see many first-timers do too well with that first hairpin - they just don't know how hard they've gotta fight it, and if you fight a junkracer too hard he'll shake apart on you. Especially in his first circuit."

You'll be getting a +2 bonus to Piloting checks for the duration of the race!

***

Doc Newblossom is able to reorient some of the armor plating into an overlapping pattern that should serve to better diffuse the force of some incoming fire... which is good because Velocity's racer is Loaded For Ursids!

At least it'll definitely be slow -it looks like the engine has no real upgrades at all- but whoever they decide to pick on is going to have to do their very best to avoid getting **flattened**

I was non-specific earlier, would you like to improve your racer's Kinetic AC or Energy AC? So far it looks like kinetic weapons are more common, but Velocity's got a mix, and Ratrod has an energy weapon

Yxov's up!

My bad, got them mixed up.

"Makes sense to me, just like when you're flying. Swing too far and you'll clip your wings on a canyon wall. Awesome bruh, thanks!" Acoria offers Orsis a high-five before wandering back over to her team.

Hmmmm, let's go with Kinetic AC.

Yxov moseys over to Velocity's bay and makes a show of admiring their weaponry. "Those are some impressive cannons on your racer. Are you sure they're nonlethal? I thought the rules required nonlethal weaponry.

"Anyway, what's their rating? I heard Ratrod boasting about his racer being able to take on any sort of blast. Seems a little unfair, putting prime starship-grade armor on his junker, but hey. You got anything that could put a dent in his little car?"

Bluff: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Velocity responds with a holo-enhanced smile that quite literally gleams. "Best part of my day is when I get to lob a shell into whoever's in the lead. The Hedgehodg's tough, and Ratrod's tougher, but everything counts in large amounts."

"But if you want me to be a little less indiscriminate with my shooting, that could be arranged." They lean in closer, letting Yxov's light play off their silvery skin. "I'm tired of fighting tooth and nail for the bottom of the barrel. If your crew sets my racer up with a better engine that doesn't glitch out during this race, I'll point my guns wherever you want 'em."

***

Souping up Velocity's engine is now an option as well. Anyone who goes for an attempt to boost up Laboni's ride will essentially get an 'aid' from Carter and Mao. So you'll get a +2 on the tests and you'll have extra effect on a pass. Next roll of improvements/scouting or social(?) shenanigans is up!

Is there anything left to use perception on? If not, can I aid an improvement roll even if I'm untrained in the skill (handing over tools, holding things in place, etc?

PhySci+Aid+Aid: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 15

Urmfehrumah comes over to take a look at Velocity's engines. "OK, let me see what I can do here...Oh yeah, I should be able to optimize this a bit for you, just a sec...Oh! This is a bit finicky, isn't it?

"Sorry, a little higher! Oh, hmmmm, Velocity, can you pass me that nanowrench?"

Well, that was a TERRIBLE roll. Maybe enough Aids can make it a success though? I'm hoping we could get Velocity to aid too...and if we need more, maybe even Acoria and Yvox?
.
EDIT: Alternately, if that's just too miserable of a roll, maybe Yvox can persuade Velocity (truthfully!) that we'll come spend 3x this much time working on his racer's speed tomorrow, if he gets Ratrod out of the running today.

Lemgem

Yxov listens to the rapid-fire chatter. "That's fascinating! And wouldn't this be the perfect time to test using Ratrod's own spines against him? Of course, Ratrod probably wouldn't condone it. But by spearing your own racer on his spikes and making sure you're out front, then there's no way you can't come out ahead of him! Right?"

Bluff: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Yep, Perception is still a skill that can be used to improve Laboni's racer!
Unfortunately Velocity really is that crap at Engineering, so they won't be able to aid.

"Ohthatssuchagoodideabutunfortunatelywerenotallowedtohiteachotherthoughitss trangewereallowedtoshooteachotherohwait!!!!"

"IwontlethimhitmeIlljustsetupawebofmagneticfieldstokeepmestucktohisfrontbut repelledoutinfrontofhimthepolaritieswillbedifficulttomanagebutIthinkIhaveen oughtime..."

She's definitely off on **some** sort of self-destructive tangent o_o

What's the plan Acoria?

Perception to improve Laboni's racer: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Acoria goes back to working on the team's racer in the only way she really knows how. Yxov can handle all the finesse.

Sorry for the delay!

No problem at all :-)
Would you like for that roll to boost speed, handling, targeting, armor, or add or upgrade weapons?

Perception for Velocity's Racer: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 2 = 25

With Simar's help, Doc Newblossom manages to better organize and orient some of Velocity's hodgepodge of an engine - it should improve their performance!

***

Time is quickly running out and the crowd is getting restive - you probably each only have time for one more useful task!

Oh, but to be clear, don't worry about assigning out the aids specifically - instead everyone just gets a +2 on these skill checks from Carter and Mao

Speed or handling, whichever hasn't been improved yet. Prefer speed if neither has been improved.

All these racing plans made me think of this.

Ratrod

Yxov channels his inner Voxy and sidles up to Ratrod who is playing up the crowd. "Are you sure you want to be doing that? The bigger deal you make of this race only sets you up for a humiliating defeat if you don't win today. Can you imagine the sheer indignity you'd suffer if you lose? Can you handle that sort of disgrace?"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 7 + (4) = 17

"Wow. Velocity wasn't kidding. Their engines are miserable." Shaking their head, Urmfehrumah leaves Velocity's racer and returns to work on Laboni's.

"I wonder what I can do with these weapons? Lemme see..."

Phy Sci (weapons): 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 22

Engineering (scouting): 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 2 + 2 = 24

From my previous scouting, do I know already if Ratrod's got a better EAC or KAC? If not, could I find that out with this roll? If I know one is better than the other, then I'll focus on weapons that take advantage of his weakness.

Ratrod's fur puffs up in fury as he launches a tirade back at Yxov, "You think you and that kid are gonna be the ones to take me down, Glowbug? Huh?! Get outta here with that. You see my fans?! They get what being a winner is, what it takes! This Laboni brat hasn't got the chompers on her, says a lot about what's left of you 'finders.

"If she so much as gets out ahead of me I'll eat my goggles!"

He's clearly riled up, but if you can break his morale by getting Laboni ahead of him, it should make her lead easier to maintain!

***

As with most beings and vehicles, it looks like the Hedgehog should be more vulnerable to energy attacks, but there are a lot of strange, poorly linked capacitors on his racer that encourage you to look closer - If they're not mistakes, then he may have something crafty up his sleeve...

With Carter's help you're able to analyze the fragmentary design - an appropriately skilled Technomancer would be able to redirect the force of an energy blast to actually power up Ratrod's racer!

So assuming you want to go with kinetic weaponry, would you prefer to add another gun (this would give everyone but Acoria, the pilot, something to shoot), or do you want to power up the existing gun to make it more impactful for whoever uses it?

***

Handling it is Acoria! You've got one more check - What do you want to do for your final round of improving the racer?

***

Perception: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 2 = 14

Simar and Mao work together to install a belt-fed automatic, but unfortunately the feeder is too gummed up and corroded to function - they'll need a replacement...

PhySci: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 2 = 28 Improve SPEED one more time

"Alright, well...this is a race right? Let's see if we can squeeze a bit more speed out of this hunk of steel.

"Hey! What if I added a solid rocket booster on the top? It could give a burst of early speed, and then drop off to lighten the load..."

Lets add one more kinetic gun from my last round's success.

Acoria keeps working on the control systems, trying to keep their ability to handle on par with the speed.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

At last the race is ready to begin! The roar of the crowd makes it almost impossible to hear one another as everyone calls out to their favorite racers. "Orsis!" and "Lemgem!" "Velocity!" and "RATROD RATROD RATROD!!!

Laboni murmurs into her comms "Okay guys, Starfinders stick together right?! Passing over control now." Everyone guns their engines as the racers roar into gear!

So the way this'll work - Yxov, Urmfehrumah, and Simar will decide who they're targeting with their weapons (Chaingun and Rail Rifle - Kinetic - and Laboni's Lightning Gun - Energy) and take some shots! It's a normal ranged attack, but with a total of a -3 modifier to your attacks from the various proficiency/bouncing around penalties.
Hits don't need to roll for damage, but will inflict Piloting penalties on your targets.

Acoria, you'll be taking the piloting - between the improved handling and your crash course with Orsis, you'll be getting a bonus of +6 to your checks! Of course that's before any of the attacks hit you...

I'll take the Rail Rifle for now, but if you'd both rather take kinetic I'll switch off :-)

Simar seizes control of one of the guns, doing her best to lead Ratrod as he weaves among the other racers, but with a might **fwoooom** the solid shot ricochets of the Hedgehog's spikes!

Rail Rifle @ Ratrod: 1d20 + 4 - 3 ⇒ (11) + 4 - 3 = 12

Acoria tries to keep in mind what Orsis told her as she rips the throttle wide open and begins tearing down the track.

Piloting: 1d20 + 5 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 6 = 20

"Nice piloting, Acoria! As the saying goes, keep your petal to the metal!"

Doc Newblossom takes a shot but (like Simar's) it bounces off the Hedgehog's impressive armor.

Chaingun: 1d20 + 3 - 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 - 3 = 12

Cwethan, based on what I saw, do I believe we are we better off with Yvox using the energy weapon against someone else and NOT vs Ratrod? Or do I think there's some incremental value in shooting energy at him too?

You suspect he might have some hidden defenses against energy weaponry

Yxov tries to familiarize himself with the fire control for the gun. It seemed unwieldy, but he was willing to try. With Doc's advice, he tries to aim at one of the other racers besides Ratrod. Thinking back on the acrimony between Acoria and Nyizin, he goes for that racer.

Ranged: 1d20 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (2) + 2 - 3 = 1

"Does anyone else want to try?"

Ratrod - Cryospray: 1d20 + 8 - 3 ⇒ (2) + 8 - 3 = 7 At Lemgem
Lemgem - Grav Harpoon: 1d20 + 4 - 3 ⇒ (4) + 4 - 3 = 5 At Ratrod
Nyizin - Scraplauncher: 1d20 + 8 - 3 ⇒ (13) + 8 - 3 = 18 At Laboni -4!
Orsis - No Gun
Velocity - Pulse Laser: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (5) + 7 - 3 = 9 All at Ratrod
Velocity - Macrocannon: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (17) + 7 - 3 = 21 -6!
Velocity - Micromunitions: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (18) + 7 - 3 = 22 -4!

Ratrod Piloting: 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 6 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 2 - 6 - 4 = 15
Lemgem Piloting: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 2 = 15
Nyizin Piloting: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 2 = 16
Orsis Piloting: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 4 = 25
Velocity Piloting: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 2 = 15

Ratrod and Lemgem get into an immediate pileup as Lemgem attempts to magnetically repel her sphere from the front of Ratrod's racer so that she'll be effortlessly carried to victory! Unfortunately a maneuver like that would probably require pinpoint driving and a willing partner, so once Ratrod disentangles himself, she's just left spinning like a top rolling over and over until her magnets finally align properly with something - leaving her suspended floating in midair... She's out of the race unless someone tips her back over o_O

Nyzin's dragonbone studded racer ignites in elemental fury, the eyes of her dead bondmate flaring to life as the vehicle literally roars, hurtling itself down the track at lightning speed before the plates of armor reconfigured to cage the draconic energies once more.

Orsis likewise smoothly avoids any early confrontations, gliding out to jockey with Laboni/Acoria for second!

Velocity seems to have some trouble with their new engine, but eventually gets things into gear, and **hammers** the Hedgehog with relentless fire nonetheless!

***

Nyizin's turboboost seems to be disengaged for now, and her defenses back up, but rather than let her keep her lead, Simar sights in and slams a shot into the side of Nyizin's chassis as she twists to make a tight turn!

Rail Rifle: 1d20 + 4 - 3 ⇒ (18) + 4 - 3 = 19

Shots from Doc and Yxov, piloting from Acoria!

Doc Newblossom furrows their brow, does a quick calculation, and aims the chaingun at Ratrod again.

"C'mon, Team Starfinder! We've got this!!"

Chaingun vs Ratrod: 1d20 + 3 - 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 - 3 = 15

Acoria opens the throttle all the way as she fully enters the zone.

Piloting: 1d20 + 4 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 6 = 12

Unfortunately, these racers are quite a bit different than what she is used to handling, and she makes several poor turns and dips. "Eat my exhaust!" she yells enthusiastically, despite not being the greatest.

Yxov, finding no takers, shakes his head and aims at Orsis to at least harry the racer in second place.

Ranged: 1d20 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (10) + 2 - 3 = 9

Ratrod jinks and weaves, tracer fire spacking off the hedgehog as it drives him close to the wall! He returns fire, blasting Laboni's Loreseeker with an overpressurized fire suppressor, and narrowly manages to gain on her, leaving him neck with your junkracer!

Orsis meanwhile, seems to start dodging as soon as Yxov decides to aim at him, evading the blast of energy with an easy smile and a wag of his finger as he smoothly take the lead from a **heavily** shelled Nyizin.

Ratrod - Cryospray: 1d20 + 8 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 3 - 2 = 20 At Laboni -4
Nyizin - Scraplauncher: 1d20 + 8 - 3 ⇒ (4) + 8 - 3 = 9 At Laboni
Orsis - No Gun
Velocity - Pulse Laser: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (6) + 7 - 3 = 10 -4! All at Nyizin
Velocity - Macrocannon: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (19) + 7 - 3 = 23 -6!
Velocity - Micromunitions: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (9) + 7 - 3 = 13

Ratrod Piloting: 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 4 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 2 - 4 - 2 = 17
Nyizin Piloting: 1d20 + 4 + 2 - 4 - 6 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 + 2 - 4 - 6 - 4 = 7
Orsis Piloting: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 4 = 27
Velocity Piloting: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 10 + 2 = 28

***

Wanting to keep Ratrod off his game, Simar blasts away at practically point blank range! But the re-mounted long rifle's accuracy suffers in the hurly burly as Acoria strives to pull ahead!
Simar: 1d20 + 4 - 3 ⇒ (7) + 4 - 3 = 8

1d20 + 4 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 6 = 30

The engines finally catch up to Acoria's demand for more speed, and they rocket ahead, hot on Orsis's tale. I hope.

Seeing as how he was having trouble hitting, Yxov decides to provide covering fire for the doctor's chaingun.

Assist: 1d20 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (7) + 2 - 3 = 6

"Nice flyin' Acoria!"

With Yxov providing cover, Doc Newblossom continues to aim their chaingun at The Hedgehog.

We've gotta make a dent sooner or later!

Chaingun: 1d20 + 3 - 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 - 3 = 13

The Loreseeker bursts through an absolute drenching by Ratrod's Cryospray, but Acoria's expert piloting keeps the junkracer on track, streaking up ahead of the rest of the pack! Only Orsis, with his uncanny ability to predict his opponent's fire evades the ensuing scrum. Ratrod is forced to jink and weave heavily, bleeding momentum as Velocity's macrocannon hammers Nyizin straight into the divider, halting her in her tracks completely!

Ratrod - Cryospray: 1d20 + 8 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 - 3 - 2 = 23 At Laboni -8! - But you're okay!
Nyizin - Scraplauncher: 1d20 + 8 - 3 ⇒ (8) + 8 - 3 = 13 At Orsis
Orsis - No Gun
Velocity - Pulse Laser: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (3) + 7 - 3 = 7At Orsis
Velocity - Macrocannon: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (19) + 7 - 3 = 23 -6!At Nyizin
Velocity - Micromunitions: 1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (1) + 7 - 3 = 5 At Ratrod

Ratrod Piloting: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 8 + 2 = 13
Nyizin Piloting: 1d20 + 4 + 2 - 6 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 - 6 = 2
Orsis Piloting: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 4 = 17
Velocity Piloting: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 10 + 2 = 25