You have been hastily summoned to the Lorespire Complex aboard the vast, artificial construct known as Absalom Station that serves as the Society's home.
The summons, which arrived via comm message, was issued by none other than Venture-Captain Arvin, a tall, confident lashunta, known both for his no-nonsense approach to Society affairs as well as for having a penchant for magic, although he would likely never refer to it as such. The comm message contained only sparse information, but held the promise of an opportunity to recover some information critical to the Starfinder Society and indicated that urgency is required if this opportunity is to be seized.
Upon arrival at the Lorespire Complex, an assistant ushers you into a waiting conference room with an assurance that Venture-Captain Arvin will be with you shortly.
There above the conference table floats the blue-hued, holographic image of a spacecraft bearing the markings of a Starfinder vessel. Appearing on the side of the holographic vessel is the name, "Unbounded Wayfarer".
The Unbounded Wayfarer was a Starfinder vessel that departed Absalom station months before the Scoured Stars Incident. It left on a mission to explore a series of uncharted planets in the Vast. Neither the ship nor any of the seven Starfinders among its crew have been heard from since. After the Scoured Stars Incident had occurred, the Society no longer had sufficient resources to devote to an adequate search and rescue operation to recover the lost vessel or its crew. Due also to the massive losses of Starfinder personnel during the Scoured Stars Incident, having more seasoned and veteran Starfinders, like the crew of the Unbounded Wayfarer, would be a great benefit to the Society.
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PC Name: Mizzrym'
SFS No. w/PC No.: 754-714
Day Job w/roll:
Have you played any of these quests before: Yes! A long time ago (when Starfinder started :P
Mizzrym' is a half-drow of House Zeizerer. Life was not easy for him on Apostae as an half-drow. Only reading and studying the strange artifacts found by his bethren was an happy memory for him.
When the news shows the Starfinders as the vilains of the Pact Worlds, he decides to join. After a year in the academy he was kind of disappointed realizing they were the the vilains but happy they were the kind of explorer that will give him the ability to see numerous planet and study alien artifacts!
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PC Name: Saja Joseung
SFS 108716-706
Day job:
Have I played before: No, but I have GM-ed them all (long time ago, though)
A tall, thin human wears a hat and a dark coat. He' got an old-fashioned looking crossbow weapon slinged on his back. As he enters the room, he retrieves a small box containing card from his pocket. He browses through them as he look at the people in the room. Joseung Saja he introduces himself. That may be unsettling to some he adds, without offering further explanation.
Can I know your names?
"It is always wise to get to know your fellow agents." responds a voice from the doorway. "Being aware of one another's capabilities can mean the difference between life and death in the field."
The source of the voice is a lashunta man, looking tall and confident, who now enters the room. It is Venture-Captain Arvin. He gestures to several functional chairs, inviting you to sit.
Picture of Arvin is now available in Slides.
“Thank you for arriving so quickly.” Arvin continues. “As I mentioned in my comm message, we have an urgent opportunity to recover some critical information.”
“Several months ago,” he explains, while directing the the Starfinders’ attention to the hologram hovering over the conference table, “a crew of Starfinders took a ship called the Unbounded Wayfarer into the Vast to explore a series of uncharted planets. They never returned.” The Venture-Captain accents his statement with a brief, sorrowful pause.
“Earlier today, a vesk pawnbroker in the Downlow neighborhood contacted us, offering to sell us several Starfinder insignias." he says. "These insignias belonged to the lost crew of the Unbounded Wayfarer, and that immediately caught the Society’s attention. The pawnbroker—named Julzakama—doesn’t realize the true value of the insignias. We negotiated a purchase price in exchange for the insignias and information about the seller. We hope this seller can lead us to the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew.”
“We’ve remotely transferred the requested credits to Julzakama. Now, we need you to collect the insignias and all the information you can from the vesk regarding whoever sold him the insignias, and then track down that seller. Learn where to find the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew. I’m worried that the seller might not be on the station for long, so act quickly.”
Vesk are a common, reptilian species that are predatory and war-like both in practice and appearance. They are heavily muscled and covered with thick scales and short, sharp horns. Though they have long since adopted technological weapons, vesk retain the thick claws and teeth of natural predators and enjoy using them to intimidate “softer” races. For that reason, a vesk is always considered to be “armed”. In addition, they have long, powerful tails—while primarily used for balance, some vesk martial arts incorporate formidable tail slaps.
The Downlow neighborhood lies in the "Spike" of Absalom Station.
Pictures of Absalom Station are posted in Slides.
Downlow is a neighborhood located in the area of Absalom Station known as “The Spike”, which contains much of the vast machinery that maintain the station’s life support and defenses, some only partially understood by the engineers who maintain them. The Spike is home to the poorest classes of Absalom Station’s citizenry, many of whom have trickled down and away from the light and wealth of the upper levels to build slums in former access corridors or venture into half-explored Ghost Levels, discovered abandoned at the end of the gap. It is said that monsters of all kinds, from aberrations to criminals, hunt within the depths of the Spike.
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Mizzrym' listen to the venture-captain. Finding lost Starfinders weren't the mission he was looking for, after all, he was not a nanny, but if they found them, they will be able to explore uncharted planet! That perspective was better than anything else.
Trying to remember things about the Vesk and Julkazuma in particular, he remembers basic info that he shares whith his new teammate.
That's the basic info I got, may be you will be able to know more than me!
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One of your fellow agents is a young vesk with dark green scales, or at least the parts of him not covered by his heavy armor. A very large gun lies beside his chair.
Kybosh's eyes wander during the Venture-Captain's presentation, checking each of his comrades for their ability to handle themselves in a fight.
As Arvin finishes, he chimes in: "Don't know anything about the details, and don't need to. Just point me at anything that needs bustin' up." The vesk bares his sharp teeth in what you assume is a grin.
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Analysis:
***********
245823 452 90
178361 908 12
721006 399 02
811742 112 58
193225 741 64
Scan Mode 43894
Size Assessment
Assessment Complete
Fit Probability 0.99
Reset To Acquisition
Mode Speech Level 76
"Objectives identified: meet pawnbroker; collect insignias; extract Unbounded Wayfarer location."
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A matronly dwarven woman enters the conference room. "Has anyone seen my Cletus yet? This is his first day with the Starfinders, and someone told me he would be here. He forgot this--would one of you make sure he gets it? When he gets excited, he gets a bit of a stomach condition, so he might need this."
The dwarven woman smiles broadly at all of you, and hands Kybosh an antiemetic medicinal. "Could you give this to him? I'm sure he'll be along anytime."
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Moments later you hear an argument just outside the conference room. "Mom....mom....MOM! I'm already 49 years old. NO! When I get back from this mission, I'm finally moving out on my own. I can't keep living in....NO MOM, I'm moving out, and that's FINAL!"
You hear sobbing, and the male dwarf voice continues. "Okay. Okay Mom. I'll stay a little longer. Just PLEASE don't come down here anymore."
Finally, a young dwarf enters the conference room, followed by a single-wheeled drone. He sits in the corner silently.
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Mizzrym' of House Zeizerer, pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Zeizerer? Hmmm. Saja says as he cuts to end of his deck of cards. Looking at them quickly, he asks of Apostae, right?
When the Vesk and Android enter, Saja tips his hat.
Name's Pinkiee. Vanguard and Party Planner.
Delighted. Just Pinkiee? Saja asks, putting his deck together and then cutting it at the halfway point. That's not a very common name around here.
When the first dwarf enters, he says Your Cletus, you can rest assured I have not seen him yet. He will turn up.... aah, there he is. You share a family name, I presume?
Saja then listen to the briefing with interest. A crew lost in space. Very unpleasant, that, he remarks.
At the mention of the pawnbroker, Saja starts twiddling with his cards again. Those behind him can spot that the cards each contain one to three strange markings. Julzakama... noted.
With antiemetic medicinals in hand , you make your way to Downlow, a poor and densely-populated section of the Spike that extends below Absalom Station.
Julzakama’s shop is less than an hour from the Lorespire Complex, the headquarters of the Starfinder Society, and reaching the run-down store is fairly simple. Based upon directions provided by Venture-Captain Arvin, the party has no trouble locating the alley where the shop is listed as being located.
Although some areas of Downlow are clean and trendy, this narrow alley of concrete and metal buildings drips with oil and sparking wires. A wide, red neon electric sign reads “Julzakama’s Loans” on a building sandwiched between a Kuthite sensation house and a derelict building covered with graffiti. The shop’s solid metal door contains a single, small window too grimy to peer through.
Upon entering the store, your nose is hit with the acrid smell of a reptile house that has not been cleaned in months. You find the interior of Julzakama’s Loans to be crammed with shelves containing all manner of near-valueless items, from small appliances to VR game consoles and jars of colored powders.
Behind a low desk in the rear of the shop, enveloped within a series of metal bars anchored into the ceiling, stands a massive vesk in a muscle shirt stands, who looks up from what appears to be the carelessly disassembled remains of an old computer as you enter the shop. With a visible glint within his reptilian eye, a smirk begins to form across his scaly face.
"I always welcome paying customers," he says, displaying a toothy smile, ”but it appears to me that you folks must be lost.”
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Julzakama, I presume? Saja says, and adds do I pronounce that correctly?
On the contrary, we have just found you. We have come to collect a package, the paying customers that we are. Starfinder Insignias, as procured by our Venture-Captain Arvin. If you would be so kind... Saja adds with sincerity ... to indulge us in inquiring who your supplier is in this matter?
Saja tries to gauge the intent of the shopkeeper...
Julzakama, I presume? Saja says, and adds do I pronounce that correctly?
On the contrary, we have just found you. We have come to collect a package, the paying customers that we are. Starfinder Insignias, as procured by our Venture-Captain Arvin. If you would be so kind... Saja adds with sincerity ... to indulge us in inquiring who your supplier is in this matter?
”Your pronunciation is close enough, Man-ling.” replies Julzakama, a wide smile forming on his face. The vesk slides a metal box through a gap in the bars. “Thanks for the business.”
The vesk scratches the scaly skin between his bony beardspikes with a clawed hand and says, “Seems I’m now fully paid for those trinkets there. I remember Arvin said something about wanting information, too, and I can do that. But information costs extra.”
Saja tries to gauge the intent of the shopkeeper...
Saja notes that Julzakama is full of swaggering bluster and is used to terrorizing patrons who desperately need credits to squeeze out as much profit as possible. Julzakama has little respect for any creatures smaller than he is (which is most creatures besides other vesk). Despite his bravado, Julzakama knows better than to get into a physical fight and he is not likely to jeopardize his business by getting into a scrap with clients. Julzakama is determined to extract a bit more value from the party if he can. Saja figures the vesk would accept a modest sum, 10 credits or so, but that Julzakama may also be persuaded by other means. Given that Julzakama respects other vesk, Saja concludes that Julzakama would be more inclined to listen to Kybosh than to other members of the party.
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As the party proceeds to the Downlow, Kybosh takes the item Karen has given him in between his teeth, trying to suss out whether it's something valuable. Once he determines its function as an antiemetic, he claps Cletus on the shoulder during the ride.
"Yer mom said ta give ya this."
Wandering into Julzakama's shop, Kybosh is already turned off by the smell. A proper vesk would keep his quarters clean and tidy. He looks inside the box.
"Yep, those look like Starfinder insignias to me."
Hearing Julzakama's offer, Kybosh notes that information may cost extra, but then bears his fangs and counter-offers: "I prefer to render my payments physically."
"Physically?!” Julzakama cries as if offended as he backs away from the bars. "Hold on! Hold on! I'm looking for creds, not a fight."[/b]
"I'm all about businessss" he hisses."Look, the seller. Her name was Exegara and she wasn’t from around here. She looked like a man-ling, but didn’t breath or blink or anything. Definitely an Eoxian. Wore a flight suit, like she had come off a long trip. Once she had her money, she asked about where to purchase clean skeletons.” He points to the littered shelves around his shop. "I don’t carry goods like that!"
Eoxians are from the planet Eox and planet inhospitable to most living creatures due to its thin, poisonous atmosphere and areas of rampant radiation and runaway magic. Eoxians do not worry death from these hazards because they are not alive, but undead. Politically, Eox is divided into individual fiefdoms, each of which has a bone sage—a title granted only to the most politically and magically powerful Eoxians. Though the bone sages bicker and battle among themselves, they present a powerful, unified front to the Pact Worlds. Indeed, Eox was one of the first planets to support the creation of the Absalom Pact.
"So I sent her to the Vat Garden. She stormed out of here. Mentioned something about hiring some 'local muscle'. ‘Just in case’, she said." Julzakama raises his clawed hands in protest. "That’s all I know. Honest!”
[spoiler=Culture re Vat Garden (DC 12)]Downlow’s Vat Garden was once a vast pool of bio-active substances that drained away decades ago. It was purchased by an enterprising ysoki family that turned it into a garden, selling fresh plants around Absalom Station. Given the relative scarcity of fresh plants and produce on the station, demand for products from the garden is high. Residue in the pool that is now the Vat Garden still enhances the growth of biological organisms. As demand for fresh plants exceeded their supply, the ysoki family that operates the garden is known to take in any sort of biological waste as mulch to grow their riotous tangle of plants.
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Cletus is still seething on the ride to the Downlow. He thanks Kybosh, and further engages him. "Does she really think I am going to stay in the home I grew up in forever? I am a grown dwarf. I have two jobs--this one, and my day job over at 'Good Morning Glip Glorp'. It's time I set out on my own."
Arriving at Julzekama's shop, Cletus spends his time looking at the goods that are for sale.
His ears perk up when he hears the proprietor mentioning someone "not breathing" and "looking for clean skeletons". Addressing Julzekama, he queries "was there any indication which way this Exegara was headed?"
Addressing Julzekama, he queries "was there any indication which way this Exegara was headed?"
"I sent her to the Vat Garden. She stormed out of here. Mentioned something about hiring some 'local muscle'. ‘Just in case’, she said." Julzakama raises his clawed hands in protest. "That’s all I know. Honest!”
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Yeah .... Pinkiee is short for something longer. Much longer.
Appreciated. I'm sure I will learn it when the time comes.
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Exegara... Saja tastes the name on his lips, of Eox
Julzakama raises his clawed hands in protest. "That’s all I know. Honest!”
Your cooperation is much appreciated, Saja says, and when Julzakama raises his hands, he add do not worry, today is not your day.
"Vat Garden sells local muscle? Is this muscle vegetable matter then?" asks 0x320 flatly.
Organic matter. I'm not aware of any plants that hire themselves out as mercenaries, though my knowledge is admittedly limited on the topic.
It sounds like our trail leads to the Vat Gardens. Shall we?
He tips his hat as he leaves the shop Lead a good life, Julzakama
The journey from Julzakama’s Loans to the Vat Garden takes about 10 minutes. Walking through the corridors of Downlow, you hear a constant din filled with conversations, commerce, and the sounds of every-day life. All manner of various species and lifeforms can be found within the corridors. A quartet of brethadan street performers croon outside a shop where the owner offers bowls of piping hot chundma. Everywhere you look, citizens of Downlow are go about their daily business.
Yet, after walking for a few minutes on approach to the Vat Garden, however, you notice there appear to be fewer people travelling through the corridors.
After, the station passageways open into an enormous sunken pool filled with a riotous growth of plants. A narrow walkway leading to other parts of Downlow encircles the overgrown vat, and a spire of some kind of machinery stands in its center. For such a busy section of Downlow, the area is surprisingly quiet. Two ladders and a steep staircase pierce the foliage and lead down into the vat.
You can see, down within the vat, a lanky, female figure dressed in a flight suit and wrapped in a concealing cloak is busy adding skulls to a small pile near the base of the machinery in the center of the garden. Three human thugs pace around the grounds, apparently keeping an eye on the ladders and brandishing assault hammers as a warning to any that would dare to approach.
Map revealed in Slides.
VAT FIGHT! SURPRISE ROUND Begins
Kybosh
?
T 0x320
?
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
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Kybosh leads as the group progresses through the Downlow to the Vat Garden.
"Seems that something big is going down at our destination. Let's hustle, people! Get locked and loaded"
Arriving at the Vat Gardens and expecting trouble, Kybosh hustles down the stairs and strikes one of the assault hammer-wielding guards with his armored fist.
Arriving at the Vat Gardens and expecting trouble, Kybosh hustles down the stairsand strikes one of the assault hammer-wielding guards with his armored fist.
"Hey! You don't belong here, Scaley!" one of the thugs cries out as the vesk approaches him. His hammer already in hand, he takes a swing at the Starfinder.
Seeing a group of "intruders" approaching, another of the thugs rushes ahead with hammer in hand.
Yet another , moves to support her fellow merc.
The cloaked figure in the flight suit, moves into the thick, nearby brush, looking for concealment.
Location of opponents now updated on Maps.
VAT FIGHT! SURPRISE ROUND Cont'd/FIRST FULL ROUND Begins!
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
Kybosh -6 SP
Thug (blue)
Thug (green)
Thug (yellow)
T 0x320
Flight suit (red)
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
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This is a Surprise Round.
Taking a solid hit from the thug's hammer, Kybosh steps to the side to open an avenue of attack for his partners.
Wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth, he looks the thug in the eye and tells him, "You're gonna pay nice and good for that one, pal!" before backhanding him with his armored fist.
Mizzrym' approaches and spots his foes.
Wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth, he looks the thug in the eye and tells him, "You're gonna pay nice and good for that one, pal!" before backhanding him with his armored fist.
The vesk batters the thug before him , nearly knocking the human to the ground.
The thug responds, swinging his hammer repeatedly.
The battered drops the vesk!
From behind him, one of the other thugs moves up the steps toward the android Starfinder and attacks.
Another approaches through the thick foliage and moves to confront the intruders.
VAT FIGHT! FIRST ROUND Cont'd
Kybosh -10 SP |-13 HP
Thug (blue)
Thug (green) -10 HP
Thug (yellow)
T 0x320 -7 SP
Flight suit (red)
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
Taking a step back to clear the barrel of his light reaction cannon, 0x320 retaliates with a boom.
The android places a projectile into the nearest thug .
Foregoing further efforts to hide herself, the figure in the flight-suit approaches through the rows of plants in the Vat, draws a pistol, and fires at the Starfinder that fired upon her hireling.
VAT FIGHT! FIRST ROUND Cont'd/ROUND TWO Begins
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
Kybosh -10 SP |-13 HP
Thug (blue)
Thug (green) -10 HP
Thug (yellow) -4 HP
T 0x320 -11 SP | -1 HP
Flight suit (red)
Kybosh crumples to the ground, with multiple dents showing in his armor. At first you worry that all those hammer blows have brought him to his end, but then you see signs of breathing in his nostrils.
The vesk breathes.
A port opens on the drone and a large barrel emerges and fires !
The shot misses.
Mizzrym' shoots at the Thugs!
Fire in the hall!
The drow’s second shot strikes and brings down the thug . The thug’s body incinerates so completely that it is no longer even suitable for recruitment by the Corpse Fleet.
Most upsetting, Saja mutters, as he returns the favor of being upset by blasting his opponent with a Mind thrust.
The thug grabs her temple and then crumples to the ground.
VAT FIGHT! FIRST ROUND Cont'd/ROUND TWO Cont'd
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
Kybosh -10 SP |-13 HP
Thug (blue)
Thug (green) -17+ HP
Thug (yellow) -16 HP
T 0x320 -11 SP | -1 HP
Flight suit (red)
- No post in 24+ hours.
The morlamaw pauses and considers the situation.
Seeing his two fellow mercenaries go down so quickly, the third raises his hammer and slowly backs away.
VAT FIGHT! SECOND ROUND Cont'd
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
Kybosh -10 SP |-13 HP
Thug (blue)
T 0x320 -11 SP | -1 HP
Flight suit (red)
0x320 moves to the ground to line up a better shot and mechanically fires another burst at red.
The android's shot gets lost among the plant growth.
The figure in the flight-suit returns fire.
Her shot, too, is lost in the foliage.
VAT FIGHT! SECOND ROUND Cont'd/THIRD FOUND BEGINS
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
Kybosh -10 SP |-13 HP
Thug (blue)
T 0x320 -11 SP | -1 HP
Flight suit (red)
Pinkie wallops the cloaked woman as Kybosh recovers.
VAT FIGHT! SECOND ROUND Cont'd/THIRD FOUND BEGINS
Saja Joseung
Cletus Gravelfinger
Mizzrym'
Pinkie
Kybosh -10 SP |-6 HP
Thug (blue)
T 0x320 -11 SP | -1 HP
Flight suit (red) -13 HP