GM Tyranius (SFS) Outpost IV (Inactive)

Game Master Tyranius

Zargothrax turns off his jetpack and plants his feet firmly on the ground.(12 charges used) He then waddles over to the terminal to see if any alarms are going off.

"Better catch our breath before ah go pokin at this here computee thingy. Dun wanna axe-ee-dently set off no alarms or somefin when we ain't ready."

Trying to see if we are safe to rest here or if we should push forward to avoid being ambushed in place. If it's protected, Zargothrax will not try to hack it until everyone is ready to move forward but he will at that point.

Computers: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28

Shokil has a poke around the machines, and in particular at the robots.
"Can anyone tell why Starfinder robots were trying to kill Starfinders? How long ago was their programming changed?"

Then thinks loudly at the group. And did Perserverance know about this and lie to us, or do they really think this is a disease simulation still?

With the adrenaline rush of combat subsiding, Ratatat looks up at the night sky - momentarily lost in thought before he speaks.

"Heya guys? Was it night time when we entered? I thought it was day time. And didnt' we descend 200-ish feet down those stairs. I mean, we went down about 20 stories didn't we? (Speaking of which, what a pain in the rat's behind that was! I mean c'mon! Elevators!! Amirite?!?)

"So how is it that we're looking up and seeing sky? And night sky, no less! Are we no longer where we think we are? Did we step through some kind of portal?"

@GM Tyranius, was it actually night time when we entered? And how high is the ceiling of this room? Does it seem lower than it should be considering the building we entered at the beginning and all the stairs we descended? I am perplexed by the Perplexity!!

Shokil looks up in shock. "Well, we are on Absalom station, maybe this is just the shady side of it?" he asks, hopefully.

He does check his chronometer though, checking to see how much time has actually passsed.

Gamuzali's solar weapon dissolves back into a point of light in his mote, and he lets out a long breath. "It does seem odd that we were warned about a biological outbreak, and yet this trial seems only to have been a straightforward combat scenario. And the view overhead is...unexpected as well. In any case, let me know when you are ready to breach, Zarg. I'll cover you."

Zarg reaches the terminal at the end of the bay. Looking around the vehicles it seems that it is relatively safe enough to be ale to rest. No more unruly Starfinder Bots in the vicinity.

Let me know who is taking the 10 minute rest to heal up your SP using Resolve let me know.

Ratatat draws from his memory and is quite confused. He is certain that it was daylight out when you left. Not only that but this ceiling is much taller than the hallway through which you came in.

With a small bit of effort Zarg is able to get through the terminal and open the bay doors.

Miles in the distance, walls of immense, blue-tinted dark gray rock encircle the area. Above the walls, the vast expanse of space is visible, replete with a mosaic of stars arranged in a pattern completely unlike that seen over the Pact Worlds. Sleek silver-metal buildings line the catastrophe-ridden streets around the area. Turned over and burned out vehicles are strewn about everywhere. Debris lines the ground in piles of tattered mechanical scraps, shattered glass, and the long dead remains of humanoids frozen to the ground.

In the distance, some hundred feet down the nearest thoroughfare, a digital sign streams neon lettering from underneath the bottom of an overpass: “Welcome to Lumina Colony.”

Can we do all these (apart from perception) or just pick one?

Sighting down his rifle scope, Shokil keeps watch on the area. "I wonder if this is some sophisticated simulation, like in Salvations moon?" he muses.

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Prior to moving to the next rroom...
Ratatat will search through the robot remains to see if there is any useful salvage.

------

In current room...

"Woah. Yah...maybe a simulation. I guess that would make more sense than a magical portal. But how can we tell...? If this building were operating normally, then a simulation makes sense. But considering this building has gone haywire, who knows what's going on.... amirite??"

Medicine: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Ratatat looks over the dead bodies and says, "Yep. Dead."

Engineering: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29
Ratatat rigs a battery into a vidscreen which then plays.
Everyone please read the engineering spoiler.
"Well, I guess that salvation never came. Or I guess one can argue that we're the salvation that has now arrived... but a tad bit too late!"

Culture: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
"Never heard of Lumina Colony. Anyone know anything else about this place?"

Dr. Morvius takes a moment to attend to Delea's wounds, using his best bedside manner. "Do you have any allergies I should know about? Latex? Penicillin? Pain relievers? No? Okay...just let me take a look at those wounds and see what I can do."

Looking for a DC 20 roll with Dr. Morvius' advanced medikit. This will heal up to Delea's level in HP damage.

treat deadly wounds: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 ⇒ (13) + 16 + (5) = 34

-Later, through the bay doors.-

"Ahem...Ratatat, if you please...may I have a look?"

medicine with experise: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 16 + (1) = 36

"These poor souls died of various types of trauma--lacerations, blunt force, and possibly the cold. Curiously, they all seem to lack blood..."

I will relay all the information in the spoiler.

culture: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

"Lumina colony? That was a remote Starfinder base a hundred years ago!"

physical science: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Dr. Morvius doesn't have much to offer as far as the stars go.

Zargothrax looks at the unpowered vidscreen. "Whelp... guess this little pistol ain't gonna do me much good... at least no more good than knowin' what's ta be known... if ya know what ah mean."

He pops the battery out of his azimuth lazer and offers it to Ratatat as he works his magic, then looks up at the stars.

I assume that we need to burn a spare battery as a part of that engineering check, so Zarg is offering the one from his old gun, although that would preclude him from using energize spell.

"Anyhow... so uh... did this thing bamf us to somewhere else in the you-nee-verse? Or just put up a pretty sky ta look at?"

Physical Science: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

"Whoa boah... we're way out in the Vast! Or at least that's where this is supposed ta look like we are..."

"So the warnings are about a plague, which matches with what we were told by perseverance. But the actual bodies were killed by something else and then drained of blood?" says Shokil, trying to summarize the situation.

"And to top it off, we seem to be in a far off planet, albeit one that knows of the pact worlds." He thinks for a bit, and then rechecks his chronometer/computer to see how much time it thinks has elapsed since entering.

"I'm beginning to think that maybe Perseverance doesn't know what is happening here, and that the simulation has been... suborned by something else. I'm still curious about how much Guidance knows about what is going on here as well."

He looks up, into the stars for a moment. "As for if its a simulation.."

Switching out to his old sniper rifle with , Shokil points it upwards and slightly sideways "Listen and watch, and lets see if there is a ceiling much closer than we realise."

He fires. His old rifle is a dual focus rifle, sniper weapon with range increments of 500' and the penetrating special ability, so it ignores the first three points of hardness.

I'll forgo the 10 minutes to rest. Gotta keep watch for the crew!

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Gamuzali continues keeping watch as he leads the group into the debris-strewn thoroughfare. Hearing all of the information the others have to offer, he tries his best to piece things together. "I'm inclined to think this is some kind of advanced simulation. Like that Salvation's End place I've read about in the Chronicles. Best to proceed through as if it's real in my experience, so we can get on to the other side."

Delea does take a short rest. Seeing that the others have investigations well in hand, Delea looks around.

perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

@Zarg- Yes, you need to drain a spare battery.

Shokil aim's his rifle up into the night sky. Firing a laser it seems to travel quite the distance, undisturbed as it hits no barrier.

One by one your comm devices ping with an incoming message. The message is on an old Starfinder Society frequency coming from atop the distant overpass. “More Starfinders, eh? More fuel for the furnace, I suppose. Well, regardless of your future, I bid you welcome to this gods-forsaken place. You made it out of the storage bay, so I’ll give you some credit for being tenacious. Now, your goal remains getting out of here, but I would suggest taking a detour to the local Starfinder lodge. There’s some interesting information there, and you might even be able to bring something back to your superiors...”

Oh it just drains it? It doesn't destroy it? I was figuring sacrifice meant literally destroy the battery. Also I realized Ii have my SP and HP swapped in my header, along with a few other discrepancies in math on my sheet which I'll get resolved by tonight.
Apparently I bought my upgrade to a +4 int booster and didn't actually update my spell DCs. Time to see what else I missed.

Zargothrax picks up his comm. "Erm... hey! You tryin ta get out too? Or you a bot that's overseein' this trial thingy?"

"Oh I say! A mystery and a mysterious stranger! And one who seems to recall other Starfinders. How intriguing!" mutters Shokil.

He replies to the message "And who might you be... and where might said lodge be?"

Ratatat will message back, "You seem to be aware of what's going on here. Are we in a simulation or is this all real? And what did all these people die of? And who are you? I'm guessing since you're on this frequency, you too are or were a Starfinder? I'm also guessing by the fact that you're alive you don't need help but we're more than willing to offer you any aid you wish."

Sorry, yes it just drains the battery.

"And who might you be?

“No one of consequence. A Starfinder, like yourselves, though without the drive to complete this fool’s errand. Why, I’ll help of course. After all, we all need to… cooperate.”

and where might said lodge be?"

"I will send you over the coordinates." With that each f you comm units pings with a small map and a waypoint off in the distance.

You tryin ta get out too? Or you a bot that's overseein' this trial thingy? Are we in a simulation or is this all real?

The mysterious cloaked figure just laughs at this statement.

And what did all these people die of?

“Oh my, you don’t know? You’ll find out soon enough. Nine Hells, if you manage to finish this trial and are mad enough to come back, then you might even find out the truth about the Perplexity and First Seeker Lezosk’s trials. Sadly, I can’t provide you all of that information.”

“There’s an old monument at the center of the colony that holds the key to escape. Unbelievably, it’s a monument dedicated to the Society. Ha! What irony. However, I urge you to first visit the lodge. There’s certain things I’m sure you don’t want to miss.”

The figure quickly moves out of view, walking away from the overpass railing and disappearing from sight.

"Well, that was interesting." notes Shokil.

"I wonder what year our stranger thinks it is?" he adds, before again checking his wrist-timer.

"Can anyone remember whether guidance predates First Seeker Lezosky?"

With that said, he prepares to, carefully, lead off toward the lodge. Again, doublechecking his environmental seals are working.

"Dunno about the rest of you... But I have a bad feeling about this..."

Ratatat tightens his grip on his weapon, ready to head to the lodge as soon as everyone else is.

"Ahyup. Bad feelin' indeed. Whelp... ah dunno 'bout you but I'm awful interested in checkin' out the lodge..."

He checks the coordinates to see how far away it is, then looks around at the vehicles. "Ah wonder if any of these are close enough to not-broken for a little magic fixin?"

Do any of them look like they are within a 'make whole' of being functional vehicles?

do we have any knowledge of how old that Starfinder frequency is, or any other way to date when the stranger might have entered?

Delea agrees that investigating the lodge is probably a good idea.

I remember that Starfinders would periodically enter this place, even recently. The stranger might have entered not long ago.

"I'm in favor of following the stranger's advice and heading for the old lodge. I must admit to doing so begrudgingly, as I don't trust him. Hopefully Zarg can get one of those vehicles going, as I would rather ride than walk."

@Delea- The culture check above would give some indication to the timeframe.

Zarg takes a look at some of the transport vehicles and finds one that seems to be in slightly better condition that the rest, though not by much. With a little magic it might prove useful for a short distance.

Make whole would get one up and running for you. Do you cast it?

"Never said nothin' bout trustin' him. Lotsa good soldiers dun come back from war the way they went in. Doesn't mean he aint tellin' the truth though."

Absolutely casting make whole!

He waggles his fingers and bellows in a theatrical voice, "MANUFACTORUM MUCHO DUCT TAPE...O!"

He pantomimes unfurling a roll of tape with a crackling sound a bright silver strip of adhesive paper appears in thin air in one hand, while in the other is... and empty tube of pre-formed wavy potato chips? With a flash, one of the vehicles is working... somehow. Just don't look under the hood. Or at the hood. Really just don't think about it at all.

"Got us a ride! Let's get rollin'!"

"Woo! Let's see what this century year old hunk o' junk can do! Strap in! "

Unless someone else wants to, Ratatat will hop into the driver's seat, put it in gear and push the vehicle to its limits on the way to the lodge - going at top speed, taking sharp corners, testing out its resilience on bumps, seeing if it can catch a bit of air on elevated areas acting as ramps, etc.
Piloting: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

Alternatively, if someone else drives, Ratatat will poke his head out of the top hatch/window, plasma array in hand as he keeps watch for threats while the vehicle is in motion.

Shokil nods in appreciation. "Wow, that was like a million times faster than my mechanic does it. Says something about time is money. But his time takes my money."

Shokil happily boards the vehicle after checking it for signs of occupation.

The entire transport vehicle is open topped and offers very little protection, but Zarg manages to find one that is in semi-decent shape. With a bit of magic he is able to get it mostly operational. The century old vehicle chugs and gasps as it moves slowly along the streets.

While Ratatat would like to push the vehicle to it's limits, junk and bodies line the streets around every corner, but it is faster than walking. Within a few blocks you come across a grand pile of charred, yet oddly preserved corpses, piled up to almost 15 feet. This immense pile of bodies, both humanoid and alien.

"Looks like either someone is into art, or they tried to burn the infected bodies. Lets hope the virus wasn't airborn." sighs Shokil.

"You would think we would have heard about this."

culture: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Delea shares what she knows about Lumina colony.

medicine: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

Medicine: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Looking at the pile of bodies, "Woah. That is not good. That's gotta be over a hundred bodies there, amirite? Can anyone make out what's going on here?"

Dr. Morvius sighs at the sight of so many more dead bodies. He investigates.

Medicine with expertise: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 ⇒ (9) + 16 + (4) = 29

"This is a grim sight, I'm afraid. An act of desperation."

Happy to share the gruesome spoiler above.

Zarg kicks his feet up in the back seat and takes a snooze on the ride over. I guess since I don't have many things to burn resolve on I'll spend one on the drive to regain my SP.

Upon Dr. Creed's assessment of the corpses, Zarg opens his mouth a few times, then decides that while duct tape is silver, silence is golden.

"So you think something was turning the dead into..undead?" asks Shokil, a shiver going down his back.

"This sounds like an Eoxian plot in a bad book." he adds quietly.

Unlike the lizard wizard, Ratatat (and pretty much all of my ysoki characters, to be honest) can't hold his tongue.

"Yikes... Simulation or not, I don't like the sound of coming across potentially hundreds of feral undead. It makes me think we should perhaps first check out the monument to secure our extraction point, then go to the lodge to dig up some information about what's going on.

Because that is just how Starfinders roll... AMIRITE???"

"Ayup."

"Sounds typical of all you Pact Worlders to be honest," Gamuzali says with a nod. "If this were a Veskarium operation, we would have at least three squads on the ground: one to secure the extraction point, one to investigate the lodge, and one to tail that irritatingly mysterious person of interest. But seeing as this is a Starfinder mission, might as well blunder our way into the greatest peril we can manage."

Ratatat shoots finger guns at Gamuzali while clicking his tongue and says, "That's the spirit!"

Okay, that finger gun video clip looked nothing at all like what Ratatat just did. But dang I thought it was funny!

Delea is very quiet, even telepathically. If anyone happens to glance over at her, they notice

Delea is very quiet, even telepathically. If anyone happens to glance over at her, they notice

** spoiler omitted **

And upon seeing Delea's tear, Ratatat decides that while duct tape is silver, silence is golden - and clams up.

Leaving the pile of corpses behind you continue to wind through the wreckage towards the Lodge. A few blocks away you are caught by surprise as four motion turrets hidden in the entryway to a vandalized shop spring to life as your vehicle slowly passes by, triggering what could only have been an old defense line.

Random Targets: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 1, 6) = 18

Turret 1 vs Delea EAC 15: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33
Damage (Fire): 6d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 4) = 19

Turret 2 vs Dr. Morvius EAC 17: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32
Damage (Fire): 6d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 1, 1, 4, 6) = 18

Turret 3 vs Shokil EAC 23: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21
Damage (Fire): 6d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4) = 27

Turret 4 vs Delea EAC 15: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28
Damage (Fire): 6d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 4, 5, 1, 1) = 19

Delea and Dr. Morvius scream as the pair are burned. Delea's tears begin to flow even more as the laser scorches right through her armor. The turrets continue to track targets but the core seems to have cooled down for now as it slowly begins to recharge for another blast.

What do you do? These motion turrets have been sprung. Engineering can disable the motion sensor.

Round 1
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Turrets
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Ratatat
Gamuzali (SP 53/53 | HP 47/47 | RP 7/8; Resistance Piercing 5)
Delea (SP 0/28 | HP 18/28 | RP 4/5)
Shokil (SP 22/36 | HP 30/30 | RP 7/7)
Zargothrax (SP 42/42 | HP 36/36 | RP 6/7)
Dr. Morvius (SP 12/35 | HP 34/34 | RP 5/5)

Is it one motion sensor per turret? Assuming it is, Ratatat will do this...

Ratatat scrambles to the nearest turret (SE) and attempts to disable it!
Engineering: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

"RATZ!!!"

It is indeed one sensor per turret.

"Sonnava-"

Zargothrax does a backflip out of the car... assuming a backward tumble with a disaster averted by the presence of a large tail can be referred to as a backflip... and quickly goes at one of the turrets.

"ABRA CADABRA CAMERA OBSCURA!"

He hocks up a loogie and "places" it on the motion sensor.

Engineering: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26

Dr. Morvius drops to his belly and crawls to the nearest sensor and attempts the engineer the heck out of the sensor...

engineering: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

Once comfortable that the cannons aren't going to make quick work of his compatriots, Zargothrax looks around for whatever computers control their friend-or-foe identification. "If we're gonna be overrun by plague zombies, might be good ta see if we can reprogram these too-ret thingies to shoot only zombies. Might be nice ta have some pre-tect-shun behind our butts."

Are their computers accessible or is there a check I can make to find them?

Shokil takes a shot at one of the sensors that nobody else is near.
attack vs EAC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
F damage: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2) + 4 = 8

"See how it likes being given a bit of its own medicine."

When the turrets begin to fire, Gamuzali ducks down and tries to grab Delea to get her behind the cover of the side of the vehicle, but he is too late, and she takes multiple shots. "Ugh! Well it would've been nice if our benevolent informant had given us a heads up about this, but I suppose this is all meant to teach us about what's been going on here. Lovely. Alright, anyone who's not working on disabling those things, behind the vehicle with me."

While the more skilled agents work, Gamuzali will exit the vehicle and seek total cover from the turrets if possible.

@Zarg- These are very basic motion sensors.

Ratatat leaps from the vehicle and rushes over to one of the turrets. Unfortunately he is unable to find the motion sensor that keeps this turret tracking.

Gamuzali drops down low in the bed of the vehicle as he looks to avoid these turrets at all costs. Delea doesn't have much time as she focuses on healing her injuries.

Mystic Cure: 3d8 + 3 ⇒ (3, 4, 2) + 3 = 12

Shokil lays his rifle down on the side of the transport and fires a laser back at the turret. It burns into the metal casing but not deep enough to penetrate.

Zarg rolls out similar to a scuba diver as he spits on the motion sensor, disabling one of the turrets. Dr. Morvius stays low to the ground as he snips the wires to a second turret, taking it out of commission.

The two remaining turrets continue to recharge. They seem near full capacity as Zarg's spittle decommissions a third turret, leaving only 1 more to go.

Round 2
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Turrets
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Ratatat
Gamuzali (SP 53/53 | HP 47/47 | RP 7/8; Resistance Piercing 5)
Delea (SP 0/28 | HP 28/28 | RP 4/5)
Shokil (SP 22/36 | HP 30/30 | RP 7/7)
Zargothrax (SP 42/42 | HP 36/36 | RP 6/7)
Dr. Morvius (SP 12/35 | HP 34/34 | RP 5/5)