[SFS/Shifty] #3-03: Frozen Ambitions: The Shimmerstone Gateway (A) (Inactive)

Game Master Nik B.

Hi all!

I'm keen for us all to try to post regularly (aim for once or more per weekday and, at least once on weekends). Whilst adventures can be caught in 'conversation loops' back and forth, I will endeavour to keep things kicking along and get the gist of where a conversation is going and keep us pointed in the right direction.

Work, study, and wild parties in Mexico have a way of getting in the way sometimes and if that is likely please leave a post in advance if you know that you may have limited time/ability to post for a period of time (and when we can expect you back).

On that note, I am posting from Sydney, Australia. Most of you will be posting when I am asleep so when I get up around 0500 odd I usually do the catch up over a coffee, and then usually in the afternoon/evening each day.

I will generally roll Initiative (and any other rolls if really required), but not to shaft anyone or railroad them, more in the interest of giving you some sort of outcome to then respond to - I aim to complete a single round of combat within 24 hours.

When in combat, unless a PC has left botting instructions or made arrangement for another player to bot them, I will place any PC that has not posted within the past 24 hours (48 hours on a weekend) on delay.

If a single skill check has been called for, I will accept the PC with the highest skill bonus as the "primary" and all other attempts by PCs for the same check as aiding another.

***

Please provide the following for your PC:

Name:
Character Name:
SFS ID and character number:
Faction:
Day job Roll:
Boons (Happy for this to occur after the briefing)

Team A

DoubleGold Maxamas Maxamas Operative 4
Sedoriku Oraeus Vailash Medic Vanguard 3.2
bigrin42 Rastar Kasatha Soldier 2.2
Scottybobotti J'Shun Kay Vanguard 1 maybe 2 (I would prefer to play in the higher tier.)
EbonFist Darakwinn Ironhead Mystic 2

(I have hit up another player to see if they have a 3/4 to kick us up to high, otherwise we are low this adventure then high next one)

Hrmm if we end up going low then I will bring my 2.2 operative who I'd prefer to take along instead of my vanguard but I'm okay with bringing the vanguard to keep us high tier if needed.

Give it a couple of days and see if we get that extra player :)

If we need the boost, I can bring my level 3.2 Soldier instead of my level 2.0 Mystic for this one.

Although, it sounds like there might be a preference for low, anyway.

Name: bigrin42
Character Name: Rastar
SFS ID and character number: 52459-704
Faction: Exo-Guardians
Day job Roll: bounty hunter: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Boons:

-Ally: Duskmire Allegiance (Yeti)
-Promotional: T-shirt reroll
-Social: Faction's Friend

Name: DoubleGold
Character Name: Maxamas Maxamas
SFS ID and character number: 135676-703
Faction: Wayfinders
Day job Roll: profession artist: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
Boons (Happy for this to occur after the briefing)

I'd prefer to play up. So if you can please bring your higher level PC's.

I think the desire was to go up, so the L3 would answer the mail there :)

Alright I'll get his character sheet up in the next day or two

Alright, this is EbonFist, I'll bring my Soldier to make sure the table is bumped up and he's effective -

Name: EbonFist
Character Name: Chorizal
SFS ID and character number: 143948-701
Faction: Acquisitives
Day job Roll: None
Boons (Happy for this to occur after the briefing) Will wait until the briefing.

Name: Sedoriku
Character Name: Oraeus Vailash
SFS ID and character number: 108507-705
Faction: Acquisitives
Day job Roll: Profession: Doctor, Int: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Boons: Need to go through the briefing... and look through my options

So a couple of things, first I forgot he earned a credit from a GM chronicle in addition to a boon that gave him 3 XP, so Oraeus is level 4.

Second, I'm going to use this profile I made for a playtest version of him (when he was a witchwarper with weapons) as I want to keep the name and I can't adjust this one now.

Third I still need to get links to two chronicle sheets in his profile.

Name: Scottybobotti
Character Name: J'Shun Kay
SFS ID and character number: 291458-707
Faction: SS (Jadnura)
Day job Roll: Profession: Soldier: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12
Boons: Will slot them after the briefing.

My PC is now a level 2 Battle Leader (Vanguard). His character sheet is linked in his tag line.

@Gm - I went to add my token and initiative, but the slides are still set as view only.

Fixed! :)

Thanks for letting me know.

Fixed! :)

Thanks for letting me know.

My pleasure

Faction: Second Seekers (Jadnura) Champion
Social: Scoured Stars Veteran
Slotless: Starfinder Insignia, Basic Purchasing Plan

Boons -

Faction Acquisitives
Ally Heart Friend Forever
Slotless True Savior of Tasch
Social Scoured Stars Memorial

You know, one of the nice things about slotting boons is that it makes you go through all the scenarios you've played periodically. It's a nice little walk down memory lane and a reminder of where your character has been. Good fodder for in-game stories and reactions.

You’ll love my report I just can’t write it up on a phone

J'Shun, I assume your character was built and designed knowing that the average group of Starfinders were going to ignore him at best and mock him at...well most often.

Or are we ruining your fun?

It's interesting, because it seems like you could actually get a group to buy in and act as a combat squad with him in charge in a longer form game.

Yeah, you guys can do whatever you want as far as I am concerned. J'Shun is going to give orders if you follow them or not.

That's my whole concept behind the character. He's Captain Kirk plus Serpentor times ten along with any over the top military tropes you can imagine.

I try to stay in character all the time since it is fun to see who will play along and who will rebel against him. Either way I enjoy it.

If you follow his orders he's going to give you a high rank like Captain.
However, if you don't you are going to be a Private third class.

J'Shun is really fun to play, but I am not trying to ruin anyones experience. Everyone can do whatever they want, but J'Shun is going to try to order you around anyway.

Glad to hear it, as soon as Chorizal pointed it out, I realized it could be an issue. As for the marching order... Oraeus does do a bit better near the front. He's such a crap shot that I haven't even given him a ranged weapon, and he really is intended to be near the front, take a few hits, and heal himself up if needed.

Admitedly this time on the map I chose the wrong direction to go, so it's my own fault. But for an SOP I'd like to push towards the front, if that's okay.

@Oraeus, yeah no problem. Let's role play it into the game after this battle is over.

@GM - The colors and shapes are fine now, thank you. As for the reach weapon, I could swear I was adjacent to one of them when I posted. No point to Opening Volley to shoot and then stand in the back. As well, I guess I'll just tumb;le through

acrobatics to tumble: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

All good :)

...that moment in a game when you start going through your chronicle sheets/slotted boons for something to save you from the thing you didn't plan for.

Grenades, shotguns, flamethrowers, lines, blasts... AOE spells?

My local players think I'm odd when I insist everyone has two basic grenades and at least one smoke grenade - but they have come in handy too many times.

My character has none of those, but we are on a ship in outer space right? Guess we will have to find a way to make these things get sucked into outerspace or blow up the ship, these things will get destroyed with it.

We're in a space ship... On the ground though. We can probably find what we need and go. They aren't doing too much damage and as long as you don't stay standing in them they can't move and hurt you.

We are going to have to kill them one way or another, even if it means bringing in the Drake and firing upon the ship with torpedoes to blow em up as the ship massively explodes. I haven't looked at the scenario, but with all scenarios, we probably lose credits if we don't destroy these things.

Thing is, we can't hurt the things as is and we don't have the drake to blast them. (I think the rules kinda point to not allowing space combat weapons being turned on ground enemies, anyways cause people wouldn't leave their ships otherwise.) If we have to take a credits hit because we weren't prepared, then we weren't prepared.

Just a note - ‘defeat’ is a broad term, the actual intent is to overcome the enemy but that doesn’t mean you are required to necessarily destroy them.

Whilst you apparently have a bit of a shortfall in kinetic effects to defeat the enemy there are other ways to ‘win’ - bear in mind that the cockpit may or may not have unfriendly inhabitants too.

There is that too!

I'm likely to have some minor disruption to my ability to post from 21-28 Sep (inclusive).

Work needs to send me away for another Covid task. I'm expecting super long days and a long transit time there and back.

I should still be able to post at least once daily but may miss a day here or there.

Stay safe.

The Second scenario in this series has been announced and will drop 28 October.

I estimate this table probably has about a week left before completion (as I will have a slower posting pace next week)

Moving to discussion -

If there are no party wide repercussions to Chorizal mentioning the kothama, I'm good with leaving it that he blabbed, even if there are repercussions for him, individually. He's self-absorbed so he wouldn't even have thought about it (which may be my excuse, too.)

I don't want to unintentionally mess up the party decision though, so if it's all or nothing and Shifty is kind enough to allow it then a retcon that Chorizal didn't blab would be appreciated.

As far as info to the Starfinder Society, both player and character would see no harm in letting them know about the kothama.

Up to you, you play your character and we will deal with the results. In character we might try to argue you are out of your mind. Who knows, but I enjoy the randomness of PC's doing things unexpected and I don't mind living with the consequences.

In home games or campaign mode, yeah I'd be just fine with a PC doing what they'd normally do, but in an organized play setting, a little bit of warning would be good, even if it was something that was exclusively roleplayed.

Um, Shifty, you accidently reported this session twice.

Odd - fixed though!

Sheets will be up in 24 hours.

I'm tracking the next scenario drops 28 October, so take a few weeks off and be ready to go :)

Chronicles

See you all soon for #3-09: Frozen Ambitions: Freeing the Herd

Aewsome! Thank you for running this game, Shifty. Chronicle looks good. Can't wait until Part II.

Chronicle looks good!

Thanks for the game and thanks for not having my slip disrupt everyone.

If J'Shun is level 2 and we were playing tier 3-4 does he get level 3-4 credits? What is the purpose of out of level credits?

Sweet, too bad Maxamas is now level 5.

Ahh I overpaid J'Shun, should be out of level :)

Okay, just let me know if you want me to change the sheet or if you will do it.