Against the Aeon Throne (Inactive)

Game Master EltonJ

Oy, discuss the campaign here, fellas!

Sweet! Excited to be a part!

Regarding shipbuilding, in the past, I've often built with bigger frames (like transports instead of explorers) that offer more potential growth over time.... but that's really just a personal preference.

It gives less options initially though, and will never be as fast as an explorer.

Also, I'm all for an AI- because it can be tons of fun to interact with

Reporting in!

also, is it okay to dot in the gameplay?

I'm all for the ship AI. I don't have any experience in ship build out though and will defer to those who know it a little better.

I'll take a look at our skill set and see if I should shift anything around to avoid redundancy / skill gaps.

The Crew:
Kerchakorro (CrusaderWolf)- LN Vesk (Unknown Theme) Soldier (Sharpshooter)
Nym Arabani (Doctor Mono)- N Drow Roboticist Operative (Hacker)
Ivris-mu (tomtesserae) Android Corporate Agent Envoy
Jahn Soter (Archpaladin Zhousa) - Human Street Rat Biohacker
Plexel-3 (Ithuriel) - Android Outlaw Mechanic (Exocortex)

also, is it okay to dot in the gameplay?

Yes, yes it is.

As far as the AI and the ship goes I have no strong opinions either way. Jahn doesn't expect to spend any time on it outside of the trip to the colony, and he's going to be in for a rude awakening as the campaign gets going. ;)

And as a player I know very little about Starship prep and statting...

I hope you guys don't mind a little team planning regarding skills and stuff.

Currently we don't know Kerchakorro's skills, but for the rest of the team:

We are unable to make Mysticism rolls. No one is trained in Intimidate, Disguise or Survival rolls.

For crew roles:
Captain- Ivris is best at diplomacy, but has no intimidate.
Engineer- Nym is best at +9, Plexel 2nd at +8
Gunner- Kerchakorro will surely be best.
Pilot- Nym is best at +8, Plexel at +7, Ivris at +6. Plex could change her memory module skill focus and bump pilot to +10.
Science Officer Nym's best skill at +10, Plexel at +9

Jahn currently doesn't have ranks in any starship role, but could be a secondary gunner. It leaves an empty slot though. Alternatively, if he had intimidate he could be captain, Nym takes his specialty at Science Officer and Plex changes the memory module to become the best pilot. Then Ivris is next in line at Engineer. Or vice versa, Ivris picks up Intimidate for Captain and Jahn picks up engineering for Engineer.

Of course is someone had planned on a specific role or really doesn't want one, that might outweigh raw numbers.

EDIT: I guess as Jahn starts as a passenger it wouldn't make sense for him to be the Captain role early on.

Yeah, I pretty much built Nym to fit a bunch of roles, but as a hacker- he’s best as SO. That being said, if Plex wants science, Nym could easily fly the ship and love every second of it.

No, no. A hacker build should get to do their specialty. I'll keep my computers ranks because there are some things that come up in later levels where I may need them, but you are the guy there. I'm fine with pilot, but will have to read up and figure it out as it comes up in play. The SFS scenarios I've played were very light on ship to ship combat.

I was missing a skill rank and added it to culture to benefit the theme bonus. I could potentially move my non-class stealth rank to Mysticism to open that door, but it will be a lowly +1.
EDIT: None of us have it as a class skill. I'll lose stealth and take the rank.

Thanks for accepting Ivris-mu into the game.

I forgot about starship combat and the roles. Since my PC is mediocre in many skills, I’ll drop Engineering and take Intimidate. Hopefully with that Ivris-mu can be a half-way decent Captain.

Thank you @Plexel-3 for your insight.

...Now to go make Ivris-mu’s profile.

Here's Ivris-mu, ready to go so far as I can tell.

My hope is that Kerchakorro has some piloting so that the good doctor can man the guns :) That way Plex can be the engineer. In the worst case, I can do double duty for engineering (because the science position lends that as a possibility much more than pilot does)... but it leaves us lacking after scanning enemies as to some of the nicer higher level science tricks.

Annnd on to ships- Our vessel is essentially a courier, ferrying foodstuffs and supplies to the colony from Abadarcorp. So, I imagine a fast fighter isn't exactly ideal.

So.. do we want some cargo space for us to build from? Maybe not full on capital ship size, but an Explorer isn't a bad sized vessel- it offers a good mix of speed and room to grow.

And, as we build the ship- we should think about how it might look- if for nothing else than I have a TON of pdf maps that I can send to our GM to use. Never know whether we might get boarded or something. (Don't mind me, I freelance for Paizo and a few other companies doing Starfinder work as well as VL for my city, so I have ridiculous amounts of stuff)

The best ones I have are from Ryan Wolfe. He runs this site:0-hr

Of his lot, these are what have been working around in my head:
My absolute # 1 is the Hikari. This ship is about the right size for a crew our size and fits what in SF could be an explorer or transport. It looks like something Abadarcorp would use.

From there, I pulled a few that could work too.
For Light Freighters (smaller than explorers): Both the Jade and the Jinda Wolf are pretty neat. These are smaller ships. The kind of ships we would be sleeping in shifts based on the deckplans. But light freighters give up space for speed and maneuverability.

In the middle, and fitting explorer size I found the firefly influenced Orca/Exeter/JoLee and the Battlestar Galactica influenced Remora. Like I said above, the explorer is a great middle ground. It gives us room to grow without making us a big slow tank.

Finally there are the larger ones (and this is where I really think Ryan's work starts to shine). These would be great as transports- definitely bigger, a lot less goodies to start, but a frame with a lot of potential growth. First is the Cervantes. This one is obviously influenced by the Rocinante from the Expanse. The other one, the Winter Wolf is just too cool not to show you.

The Hikari is still my favorite, but that's probably because it's a bit of everything and its deckplans can really fit a lot of different hull sizes.

If you guys do like one of these and our GM is cool with it, I can personalize it to fit us, so don't think we're stuck with those names or decorative elements.

I'd be all for the Hikari. It looks like something I can imagine this crew running small-medium cargo in. Some of the others are too slick looking.

I'd be all for the Hikari. It looks like something I can imagine this crew running small-medium cargo in. Some of the others are too slick looking.

Seconded!

The Hikari-class vessel looks good. Any ideas for a name?

Any ideas for a name?

Hmmm... good question.

GMRocketman, is the ship ours or owned by Abadarcorp?

Here's some ideas!

Ivris-mu said wrote:

Any ideas for a name?

Hmmm... good question.

GMRocketman, is the ship ours or owned by Abadarcorp?

For the duration of this scenario, it's owned by Abadarcorp.

For the duration of this scenario, it's owned by Abadarcorp.

Then maybe something Abadar Related?

Plus like half of the names in Jahn's link

How does the "Golden Breeze" sound? Alludes to Abadar, and a discount JoJo reference to boot! :P

How does the "Golden Breeze" sound? Alludes to Abadar, and a discount JoJo reference to boot! :P

I like it!

My hope is that Kerchakorro has some piloting so that the good doctor can man the guns :) That way Plex can be the engineer. In the worst case, I can do double duty for engineering (because the science position lends that as a possibility much more than pilot does)... but it leaves us lacking after scanning enemies as to some of the nicer higher level science tricks.

Kerchakorro had to bow out. Sorry everyone.

Will one of the other applicants take his place, then?

Will one of the other applicants take his place, then?

yes.

Ok, story time and because I have to ask- EltonJ, there has to be a story behind the "No Nudity in this one." comment at the beginning of recruitment

Ok, story time and because I have to ask- EltonJ, there has to be a story behind the "No Nudity in this one." comment at the beginning of recruitment

It's because I made nudity a feature in my Asimov game. And it put people off. I wanted to attract more people for this game, so I promised no nudity. Although, in an environment where temperature is at a constant, you have to admit people will be nude.

Hey, Eltonj tapped me to replace Kerchakorro. Should we work with the character I submitted (Nuri Zahgev) or should I work up a warrior replacement for Kerchakorro?

I would say Nuri's fine...that way we actually HAVE a caster of some sort in the party, which was a noticeable absence IMO.

Welcome !

Also, Nuri can Pilot!

Welcome, Nuri Zahgev. I like the work you did on the maraquoi genders. Really creative.

“Golden Breeze” is acceptable to me.

Eltonj has requested a more combat ready character. So, knowing a pilot was needed, I worked up another offering. It still needs some fine tuning and a background, but She could be another option for the party.

Nuri 2
Female kasatha ace pilot soldier 1
NG Medium humanoid (kasatha)
Init +3; Perception +2
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Defense SP 9 HP 11 RP 4
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EAC 15; KAC 17
Fort +4; Ref +3; Will +3
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Offense
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Speed 25 ft.
Melee tactical baton +4 (1d4 Blud; analog, operative) or
. . survival knife +4 (1d4 Slsh; analog, operative)
Ranged subzero hail pistol +4 (1d4 Cold & Pier; bleed 1d4) or
. . subzero hail pistol +4 (1d4 Cold & Pier; bleed 1d4)
Offensive Abilities primary fighting style (fourfold tactician[COM])
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Statistics
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Str 11 (+0); Dex 16 (+3); Con 14 (+2); Int 12 (+1); Wis 12 (+1); Cha 8 (-1)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Athletics +4, Perception +2, Piloting +10 (1 ranks), Survival +5; (reduce the DC of Culture checks by 5 when recalling knowledge about starship and vehicle models and parts as well as famous hotshot pilots)
Feats Double Draw[COM][COM], Multi-weapon Fighting
Languages Akitonian, Common, Kasatha
Other Abilities desert stride, four-armed
Other Gear hidden soldier armor, subzero hail pistol with 1 battery (20 charges)[AR], subzero hail pistol with 1 battery (20 charges)[AR], survival knife, tactical baton, consumer backpack, datapad[AR], everyday clothing, personal comm unit, credstick (44 credits)

I like both versions, but I particularly love kasatha. In all the games I run, it seems that they are the most underrepresented core race.

Should I pivot to Mystic then, or something? Or maybe start taking levels in it after we first level up so Biohacker's just a dip?

It wasn't what I initially designed Jahn as (sort of a mashup of Han Solo and Artemy Burakh from Pathologic), but it could work (Artemy Burakh IS kind of mystical, it's just that his medical practice is homegrown and mundane rather than spellcasting)...at the moment, we don't have a single caster in the party, and I'm fighting my long-instilled instinct to play what the party NEEDS rather than what I actually WANT.

How problematic is it to not have any arcane representation in a Starfinder AP? I would assume the AP drops items it expects the party to be able to use and mysteries it expects them to be able to unravel? We also miss the very basic ability to detect magic and therefore identify those items. I can't seem to find how you activate a magic item that requires activation in Starfinder.

I wasn't planning on it, but I could potentially multiclass Technomancer even if for just a level to open those doors. It isn't a stretch concept wise and both classes rely on intelligence.

I think playing a PC that a person wants to play makes the game more enjoyable for them and thus the rest of the players (GM included). Especially if a person has a specific concept (like you do) that you want to play.

Having said that, I have no problem changing Ivris-mu to a witchwarper. I chose envoy mostly because nobody had submitted that class at that point in the recruitment (at least that’s how I remember it). It could still be the ship’s Captain. My main concept for Ivris-mu was android auditor working for Abadar Corp; former associate of retired priest. Quite often in Starfinder class is a secondary consideration for me.

I can detect magic, as a drow I get some magical abilities. Overall, not having a mainstream magic user isn’t that big an issue in Starfinder. Not having a healer or engineer or techie character is far scarier.

Honestly I would enjoy playing either version. Nuri the maraquoi is a caster and can be a healer. Nuri the kasatha is a warrior. Both can pilot, the kasatha slightly better. Not sure what would work better for the AP or for the group.

So you don’t have a preference for which Nuri you play? Sometimes that makes it harder to choose. Either way I think the party will be fine.

I think I’ll keep Ivris-mu as an envoy, but take one level of witchwarper when we reach 2nd level.

Well, if folks think its fine to start with no arcane/divine caster we can do it. And we can always adjust later on if we see the need.

Are there more things to decide regarding the ship? Is it a process like, choose a frame and then customize?

You can add options from the Starship Operations Manual too.

It is definitely a process.

here's the rundown:
Starship creation in the SRD

I've made a few over the years, but I generally have the most success going back to old favorites- medium size, usually an explorer. Decent mix of weaponry and shields without going too far in any one direction- mainly because you can upgrade as time goes on. The ship is very much another character that grows along with us.

Here's a first blush build- and usually the type of ships I build for SFS scenarios and campaigns:

ABADARCORP TRANSACTION CLASS (TIER 1)
Medium explorer

Speed 8; Maneuverability good (turn 1); Drift 1

AC 13; TL 12

HP 55; DT n/a; CT 11

Shields Basic 20 (forward 5, port 5, starboard 5, aft 5)

Attack (Forward) micromissile battery (2d6, 20 hexes, array, limited fire 5)

Attack (Turret) gyrolaser (1d8, 5 hexes, broad arc)

Power Core(s) Pulse Gray (100 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic; Systems budget medium-range sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 2 armor, mk 1 defences, mk 1 mononode computer (tier 1); Expansion Bays cargo hold (4)
Modifiers +1 to any one check per round, +1 Piloting
Build Points cost 55, max 55 Power Core Units non-essential 101, essential 91, max 100

This is a good mix of weapons that affect both AC and TL; decent shields, defenses, computer, and the like; and plenty of room to grow. It's important to note that the AC and TL increase by the ranks our pilot has in Piloting- so at level 1, that's actually 14 and 12.

I'll keep Jahn as is for now, then, as a non-caster.

Ok. I’ll finish up the kasatha pilot and get that alias set up.

Ok, I think I have the stats worked up and the alias done. I wish there were some better Kasatha avatars.I still need to type up the background and description, but I think it's good for now.

I think Nym's ship looks pretty good for the quick overview I was able to give it.

Kasatha Nuri looks awesome!

Kasatha Nuri looks awesome!

Thanks, budget turned out to be my biggest problem. Ammo is expensive, I could only afford 34 bullets for my two guns (FYI cheapest small arms available). Hopefully, eventually, I'll be able to get four matched small arms and be able to use the Fusillade feat.

I know Multi-Weapon Fighting is also in her future to more effectively use all those arms. =)

I haven't decided about my second fighting style. I'm leaning towards Guard, Hit-and-Run, or Pistol Dancer. We'll have to see how she develops as we play. But Pistol Dancer is currently feeling like it's in the lead.

I'm pretty happy with how she came out.

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So, on a different note, does anyone else have thoughts on our ship?

@Nuri I think the ship looks really good.

Thank you Nym for creating a ship for us.

We're all still here, right?