[SFS_Aerondor] 01-18 The Blackmoon Survey. (Outpost IV) (Inactive)

Game Master Aerondor

A half-orc vanguard, whom you vaguely remember seeing asleep in the bunks of the ship on your way to Eox, runs up to your location.
"Sorry I'm late. The miners filled me in on-
She falls silent as she sees the danger we are dealing with.
Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Sorry, I would have rested if there was time on the way here.

Earlier:

"The storm moved in too fast for me to avoid it completely but it only battered me a bit, I can catch my breath when we report back. Thank you!" he says as the two tend to him.

Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Tari jumps back, startled by the zorch that missed Rilynn.

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

Close, but no cigar.

other init @+4, why not: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

@Kharos, you can have taken a ten minute rest if you want to recover SP

@Rilyn, I misread the encounter. Your damage has been substantially reduced.

target: 1d6 ⇒ 5
attack Karos vs EAC: 1d20 ⇒ 7 miss

target: 1d6 ⇒ 2
attack Dytaball vs EAC: 1d20 ⇒ 10
F damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Two more laser shots stab out from the far end of the canyon, one striking your newly arrive teammate, the other deflecting off the armour of Karos.

Status, bold may post
Tarifa - init 20
Dytaball - init 20; 7/10SP
Gletch - init 13
Talltree - init 12
Karos - init 10 16/16; 3/4RP
Rilyn - init 7 2/5sp; 9/9hp;
Enemy A -init 21-
Enemy B- init 20

@Rilyn, I misread the encounter. Your damage has been substantially reduced.

Thank goodness!

Is there any reason why we couldn't all get back in the transport and drive to the end of the canyon? It's a long way to run through this gauntlet.

I think we had to hike up here, so we can't take the transport.

Tari dashes forward to the nearby ruins and ducks behind the closest wall, drawing her pistol as she goes. "Where in the nine hells did that come from?" Not that a pistol is going to work against a sniper...

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20 looking for who is shooting at us.

@Rilynn You don't have a transport. You had to come here by foot. And the patrol you have been sent to fetch headed in this way.

Tarifa can see at the far end of the canyon the flash of light off a rifles scope. They are about 800 feet away. The odd handlike rocks at the centre of the canyon may provide shelter though. Each of the "fingers" is big enough to shelter a couple of human sided people from the snipers.

Likewise you could hide behind a wall in the ruins and get total cover, but you would not be able to fire your own weapon in such a situation. You could use a move action in the ruins to get partial cover, and still fire though.

800 feet is 13 1/2 rounds of double moves. We're pretty f!$@ed here. Does anyone have a long range weapon?

Rilynn is slammed by the blast from the sniper rifle, and for a moment she wonders if she's going to die, but the wound is not as bad as she first felt.

This is suicide, she thinks while taking cover behind the ruins.

Gletch sort of shambles along, running as fast as he can while his left leg refuses to entirely cooperate with the plan that his mind and the rest of his body is implementing.

Double move, hiding behind what I assume to be one of the walls in the ruins.

Over comms, Gletch says, "I can summon an elemental ... But only at about 100 feet, and it won't stick around long, so it's useless until we get closer."

"If they adjust their aim...we won't last long like this. We have to move one way or another!" Kharos says not sure what to do but buckles down defensively.

We going to try to get to the middle. Run can get us there in 7ish rounds depending on move speeds but being Flat-Footed while snipers ping at us isn't something I look forward too..

What is the lighting situation right now? Are we in full daylight?

Also, could you highlight on the map where we think the shooter is? I assume Tarifa could generally indicate it to us.

Caught out in the open, Talltree rushes to the wall and slides ahead, trying to keep to cover. "I don't want to count on them running out of ammunition, but that might be our best option."

"That's one option," Dytabail grunts from behind her cover, "but I've got a better one. You say you can bring up an elemental? Whaddaya say we have one take the lead, then run single-file to that rock formation? I'll be in front, if nobody objects."[b] She pauses, then adds [b]"Can you make it an air one? If they can kick up some dust, it might give us more cover."

I've put in a couple of smiley faces to give you the rough idea where the snipers likely are.

It is, unfortunately, still light.

Gletch considers. "Unfortunately, that particular configuration's whirlwind form is not particularly large, so I'm not sure it would provide the sort of cover that you are suggesting. However, I do feel like if we ran from the ruins to those rocks, we would only be exposed for a long enough for a couple of shots."

Is everyone's position on the map right? It looks like a couple of people haven't moved. From my position, I think running to the rocks will take 2 turns, so I'll only be exposed to shots for one turn, then we'll have cover from the rocks to get close enough to them to engage. Am I missing something?

It is technically a move action to take cover behind the rocks and such, so you would likely be exposed to at least a couple of shots.

This is a tough encounter. Nice if you have a sniper in your team, but a pain otherwise.

"I don't have a weapon that will reach for suppressive fire. I think we're just going to have to tough it out."

So where do we stand on the elemental? At the very least, it might soak some attacks to get us closer. An air can also fly, getting to them faster and therefore being a more appealing target.

It is technically a move action to take cover behind the rocks and such, so you would likely be exposed to at least a couple of shots.

In Starfinder? "Take Cover" isn't one of the Actions in Combat listed. Take Cover is an action in Pathfinder 2E, but I thought the cover in Starfinder was just a matter of positioning relative to the covering terrain.

"I'm not summoning the elemental. If the person knows enough to be concerned about the air elemental, then he would likely know enough to recognize that the summoning won't stick around long enough to reach them." He gets into a position ready to run toward the rocks, his errant leg twitching as if ready to go right now.

At level 2, the elemental would stick around for 2 rounds (and it takes 1 full round to cast). Even if I were going to use it as a distraction, I'd want to do it on the other side, where they don't have such a big range penalty. Right now, their rolls don't seem to have all that great a chance of hitting us.

Tari nods, frowning in concentration. "I don't have anything that can even reach that far. I think booking it may be our only option." She gets ready to run as soon as the next shot comes.

I sure hope I can keep those rocks between them and me. Or this is going to be a really short run.

If you're prone, you get a +4 on AC against them. It would just take a really long time to get there if we do it each round.

Also, if it looks like they are waiting for us to move before shooting, Tari will take the gamble.

Rilynn acknowledges the bravery of her squadmates. Let's do this!

Rilynn runs out from her safe space in the ruins toward the red rocks.

2x move

If we choose to use Run for x4 then the highest AC should definitely go first. Then the others fall in behind. Probably still if we want to use Double Moves to avoid Flat-Footed.

"It is either retreat or move forward. Making it to the rocks shouldn't be to dangerous...but once we get closer things may change." Kharos nods as some of the others get ready to run for it.

At a quick glance, it looks like Taifa has the best AC, while Kharos has the best health, so I nominate the two of you to go first. ;) Kharos, I would suggest you move up behind these ruins, though, because you can move for one to two turns of double movement within these ruins and still be relatively protected before we get to teh running through the open terrain.

Dytabail looks around to see where the shots hit. If they were kinetic, she is actually higher than Tarifa, but she has lower energy. (I am trying to get my stats to show consistently. I took the iridishell armor.)

As a half-orc, Dytabail also has ferocity to get an extra round before she falls if she gets hit. And she has Die Hard, to power through. She can soak a few rounds on the way to the center, giving the rest of the team a chance to get the rest of the way.

@Gletch, the scenario defines finding a spot that gives you total cover as a move action for this scene.

Rilyn breaks cover and runs forward. A dart of laser light follows her..
attack vs EAC, range: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (20) - 4 = 16
damage: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (2, 3) + 2 = 7

Dead on target it slices through her armour, hurting her badly.
Tarifa then dashes onward, and is also greeted by a shot.
attack vs EAC, range: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (10) - 4 = 6
Running fast, she can't quite avoid the shot as pain blossoms within her.
F damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

@Tariffa, I moved your arrow on the map, assuming you are running forward as fast as you can.

Status, bold may post
Dytaball - init 20; 7/10SP
Gletch - init 13
Talltree - init 12
Karos - init 10 16/16; 3/4RP
Rilynn - init 7 0/5sp; 4/9hp;
Tarifa - init 7; 3/12sp
Known enemies:
Pink Enemy -init 7
Blue Enemy- init 7

Talltree follows right behind the others in a sprint.

Dytabail is right behind Talltree.

(How are they hitting with such low rolls?)

I don't typically provide their attack bonus on dice rolls. So you don't know how good (or bad) they are. You can make your own assessment of their ability though. To be fair the '6' result was against FF AC

If you are moving forward, make sure you update where your arrow is pointing to on the map.

Talltree and Dytabail dash forward as well, but no more shots sing out.. just yet.

Status, bold may post
Gletch -
Karos - 16/16; 3/4RP
Rilynn - 0/5sp; 4/9hp;
Tarifa - 3/12sp
Known enemies:
Pink Enemy -
Blue Enemy-
Dytaball - 7/10SP
Talltree -

Rilynn falls to the ground and self-administers a healing serum. Then she activates her Iredescent Spindle.

Mk1 Serum: 1d8 ⇒ 5

Tari stumbles as the laser strikes her. She clenches her teeth in pain, but continues to run, knowing that stopping in the middle of open terrain won't help.

Do we have any cover from the fingers?

The fingers can provide cover if you are close (or even total cover if you choose and are in the same square. If you have total cover you cannot fire yourself.) The far end of the canyon is significantly elevated, so further back you are still visible from the snipers location

Ah! I was reading that as down, not up. My bad.

When the first shots ring out, Kharos begins his sprint towards the rock formations.

Run straight for it.

While the group is deliberating over what to do, Gletch pulls a healing serum and holds it in his hand.

Seems like we spent a round or two discussing it, while hiding in cover. Let me know if I didn't have time to draw that.

The gnome mutters to his left leg, "You behave yourself ...", then takes off at a full run toward the stones for cover.

I'm assuming you were discussing things while in total cover. However at the moment most folk are exposed.

Gletch and Karos run foward, while Rilynn stops to inject herself with some serum.

Please make sure you move where your arrow points to on the map. A normal move will typically take you one square, a double two, or running three.

Yes, I know that is note quite perfect, as run is x4, but a normal move won't actually quite get you one. You can use where the arrow is within the square for more precise measurement of distance if you like.

Two more laser bolts flash out.
This time at Gletch and Dytabail.
attack vs Gletch EAC,FF: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 2 - 4 = 5
attack vs Dta, FF, range: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 2 - 4 = 3
Gletch is slightly winged.
F damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Status, bold may post
Dytaball - 7/10SP
Talltree -
Gletch - 4/12SP;
Karos - 16/16; 3/4RP
Rilynn - 0/5sp; 9/9hp;
Tarifa - 3/12sp
Known enemies:
Pink Enemy -
Blue Enemy-

Talltree continues to sprint ahead. Since I hadn't moved the arrow last round, I did two moves.

Rilynn stays low, minimizing her target area to the snipers while scrambling ahead.

2x move

Tari rushes forward and flattens herself against the "thumb" of the rocks, breathing heavily. She starts inching her way around in an attempt to distract the assassins from the rest of her team.

Let me know if I can't get this far yet.

Who has the rifle? I'm happy to have grabbed it, if no one else does.

AFAICT none of us are proficient with it, so I thought we left it.

Makes sense that Tari would have grabbed it.

Gletch continues to run, even as he is struck by the laser burst. He winces, but keeps moving.

Another 120 feet gets me right up to the rock, but sounds like I won't have cover until I can act on my next turn. I'm beginning to suspect we might need a 10 minute rest to recover stamina while hiding behind these rocks ...

Dytabail continues to rush forward, and should be able to get behind a rock.

If you are in the square of the rock, you have cover (ac bonus) but if you want total cover, say to take a rest or inject a serum, you'll need to take a move action to find a good spot.

Five tall, tapering stone stalagmites rise from the ground like fingers. Holes varying from pinprick shafts to fist-sized gaps mar the surfaces of each digit. The western rock is the shortest, at roughly fifteen feet in height, while the remaining stones reach about thirty feet into the air.

In the middle of them you notice three bodies. Skull on map

Two more laser shots flash out, but the dust you are kicking up from moving seems to put the snipers off their aim.

who: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 6) = 9
attack vs Tarifa EAC, range, cover: 1d20 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (2) - 4 - 4 = -6
attack vs Karos EAC, range: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (1) - 4 = -3

Status, bold may post
Talltree -
Rilynn - 0/5sp; 9/9hp;
Tarifa - 3/12sp
Gletch - 4/12SP;
Dytaball - 7/10SP
Karos - 16/16; 3/4RP - two rounds of actions.
Known enemies:
Pink Enemy -
Blue Enemy-

Dytabail moves forward a little, to make sure that when we make our final push, she is as close to the enemies as possible.

Tari holsters her pistol and unslings the rifle from its position on her back. She frowns at the unfamiliar weapon, then shrugs and moves into position so she can get a shot at the snipers. I hope this is the point and shoot variety.

She's hiding for the moment, but will pop out next round to shoot (badly) at something.

Rilynn continues to scurry onward, but now she can see bodies amongst the large stones.

2x move

Gletch moves forward to behind the next rock and then takes cover.

From this position, can I make out anything about the bodies? What size are they? My unseen servant can only drag 100 pounds, unfortunately, so unless they're of the small variety, I probably can't get them over to us.