[SFS/Shifty] The Vast Experiment (A) (Inactive)

Game Master Nik B.

Well, I made a mistake when I saw the option to intimidate. I thought a successful intimidation roll would not hurt J'Shun, but an unsuccessful one would have some consequences. So, with his high intimidation bonus I thought I'd risk it. Little did I know that it would back fire on me.

So, going back a bit. Since we are in combat rounds J'Shun gains entropy points every time he uses two move actions to move. He can use those to boost his movement, but since his movement is now determined by the jet pack can he apply it that way? Also, since he is running can he even gain entropy points?

If you take a full action to charge, you gain 1 EP.
If you take two move actions on the same turn to move your speed each time, you gain 1 EP.

Izzip sees the enemy worms crowd around their allies on the platform, and attempts to use a blast of magical force to launch the beasts off. Standard Action to case force blast on all the enemy worms (DC 19).

Force Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 5) = 9
Bull Rush: 1d20 + 8 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 6 = 30 - Move enemies 5 feet back for every 5 by which your attack exceeds the creature’s KAC + 8

Vyv blasts the injured creature.

Rastar tries breaking free, but the creature maintains its grip.

Saves 3d20 ⇒ (2, 7, 13) = 22
The creatures get blasted!
They also get shunted back to the edge, dragging the grappled rastar along with them!

R5 actions
Helix
Izzip - acted
J'Shun - acted
Rastar - acted/grappled
Vyv - acted
ENEMY

R 61 + Flat Footed
O 8
Y 8

Someone want to bot Helix?

Helix hustles to Rastar’s side and administers some first aid after his pummeling.

Move, standard field dressing.

Healing (HP): 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (4, 5) + 6 = 15

J'Shun, it is an interesting point - it seems to talk about double moves or charges, but doesn't mention run. While it doesn't meet RAW, I think it still is within the bounds of RAI, and will allow it - please adjust your flight distance, I am tracking you will end up 1 round behind the platform by the time it gets to the ship, but more importantly, one round AHEAD of the Worm

***

The beast roars at such a tremendous volume that it numbs the PCs’ bodies and briefly transforms some of the nearby gases into plasma! L

All DC 18 Fort save or become sickened for 1d3 rounds.

Wehemothal brood
instead gain the effects of their blood frenzy for 1d3 rounds.

***

The worms are driven berserk by the roar!
BLOOD FRENZY!

Attack 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 11 + 1 = 25 vs KAC
Damage 1d6 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 11 + 2 = 17

Attack 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 11 + 1 = 30 vs KAC
Damage 1d6 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 11 + 2 = 17
+Grapple

Attack 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 11 + 1 = 28 vs KAC
Damage 1d6 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 11 + 2 = 17

Pain train, stopping all stations

R6 actions
Helix
Izzip
J'Shun
Rastar - grappled (again)
Vyv
ENEMY

R 61 + Flat Footed
O 8
Y 8

fort: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Rastar resisted the roar, though only barely. It felt as if his internal organs were being turned to jelly by the constricting worms, though. He slashed with the knife in his lower left hand, all while trying to escape the grip of the creature holding him.

knife attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
S damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

escape: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
Sickened: 1d3 ⇒ 1

J'Shun, uses entropy to boost his flight away from the space leviathan.

Okay so every round now his overall speed will be boosted by 10' because he will always gain an entropy point by running and expend one to boost his speed. The first round he escaped the leviathan he had no entropy points, but this round and last round he would have so that makes his speed 40', so if he is running that makes the distance he traveled 160'. He has thus traveled 120+160+160 after his current turn, putting him 440' from where he started. He also can take an extra move action any time he wants because of his hyper graft. I'll probably save that for the final round of the chase.

Wow, look at all those attacks. Did those all hit and damage Rastar?

Vyviane glances at the monsters attacking Rastar but realises that she should probably focus on distracting the big monster instead.

Fort save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
How long: 1d3 ⇒ 2

She feels sickened by the sudden screams of the big monster, but still fires another Comms Noise Generator off into space.

Bluff: 1d20 + 17 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 17 - 2 = 17

Fortitude: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Helix fires another shot at the most injured attacker, out of realistic options for healing Rastar.

Move draw caustoject, standard fire at red.

Attack vs EAC (flat-footed): 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 12 + 2 = 29
Damage (A): 1d8 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12

Rastar remains gripped by the horrid creature, but manages to shank it.

J'Shun keeps flying!
Yes that was a clean round on Rastar, three hits, 51 damage

Vyv fails to distract the beast.

Helix pops a needle into the heavily wounded creature - it now looks moments from defeat!
soooo close!

R6 actions
Helix - acted
Izzip
J'Shun - acted
Rastar - grappled - acted
Vyv - acted
ENEMY

R 73 + Flat Footed
O 18
Y 8

Izzy up!

"Sorry, no space for space-worms!" Izzip cries, as he once again attempts to push the beasts off the platform. Move Action to step forward, Standard Action to cast force blast again on all the enemy worms (DC 19). Using Communalism to roll twice and take the best result on the Bull Rush roll.

Force Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 5) = 8
Bull Rush 1: 1d20 + 8 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 8 + 6 = 21
Bull Rush 2: 1d20 + 8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 6 = 15 - Move enemies 5 feet back for every 5 by which your attack exceeds the creature’s KAC + 8

3d20 ⇒ (10, 7, 18) = 35

***

The two creatures try beating on Rastar.

Attack 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17 vs KAC
Damage 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12

Attack 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23 vs KAC
Damage 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

In the distance, the giant beasts opens its maw and begins unfurling another enormous tongue...

R7 actions
Helix
Izzip
J'Shun
Rastar
Vyv
ENEMY

R Dead
O 26
Y 12

3 rounds to get to the Pegasus!

J'Shun, continues to focus all his control over entropy into speeding up his flight back to the Pegasus. J'Shun, spends 1 entropy point to boost this speed by 10' and then uses the run action to fly 160'.

Over the team's tactical comm channel, J'Shun says, "Lieutenant Isafira, I could use another distraction, the creature is unfurling its tongue again."

Vyviane flings another device that makes a ton of comms noise, hoping this one isn't a dud like some of the others have been.

Bluff: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (4) + 17 = 21

Helix keeps firing on the remaining attackers, zeroing in on the more injured target. Must go faster. MUST GO FASTER!

Move stow needler pistol, standard fire at orange.

Attack vs EAC (flat-footed): 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 12 + 2 = 23
Damage (A): 1d8 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

With a deep breath, Izzip calls upon Sarenrae’s zeal in one last effort to drive the assailants off the escaping platform. Move Action to step forward, Standard Action to cast force blast again on all the enemy worms (DC 19).

Force Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5
Bull Rush 1: 1d20 + 8 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 6 = 29 - Move enemies 5 feet back (to the left and off the platform, if possible) for every 5 by which your attack exceeds the creature’s KAC + 8

J'Shun manages to keep pulling forward whilst expressing concern about the unfurling tongue.

Vyv manages to distract the creature momentarily - no tongue grabbing after all!

Helix shoots one, whilst Izzy manages to blast them OFF THE PLATFORM - they flail uselessly as they tumble away - luckily they weren't holding Rastar!

rastar up!

Rastar, finally free, takes a deep breath and shudders, thinking how close he had come to being completely overwhelmed.

How far away is J'Shun?

Essentially not in this combat, he should arrive in R11, the creature will TPK the party in R12

The tongue retracts, but you can see the worm getting ready to spit more creatures.

R8 actions
Helix
Izzip
J'Shun
Rastar
Vyv
ENEMY

Is there anything we can do to go faster?

"Get ready, the creature is about to launch more hostiles in your direction," J'Shun says over comms as he continues to fly as fast as he can away from the leviathan.

Same routine as last round, flying 160' and using, but then regaining entropy. Let me know when J'Shun is in his final round and I will use his extra move action to travel as far as he possibly can.

I think if you can distract it again maybe it won't be able to launch its worms again.

I have a grappler and 100' of cable. I was hoping to be able to snag J'Shun with it to help him along if/when he gets in range.

@Rastar yeah best you might get to is hauling him in around round 10, as a guess, he can either burst the extra move in R10 to get to the platform or you can cable him in. There was quite a gap between you, and hes only catching up 10'/round

You might want to heal :)

Rastar takes a moment to down the last of his healing potions.
serum of healing mk 2: 3d8 ⇒ (4, 2, 5) = 11

Vyviane decides to try seeing if she can't reactivate one of her failed comms scrambler.

Bluff: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37

Before Rastar burns his serum of healing...

Izzip hops over the Rastar and lays hands on his wounds, which start to glow with golden light. Cast a 3rd-level mystic cure spell to heal 5d8+6 damage.

Healing: 5d8 + 6 ⇒ (7, 3, 3, 3, 3) + 6 = 25

You get Rastar healed up quickly, but the creature is still in hot pursuit - luckily Vyv manages to distract it once more (though how many gadgets does she have spare to keep throwing!?)

R9 actions
Helix
Izzip
J'Shun
Rastar
Vyv
ENEMY

"Here Vyv, see what you can do with this."

Rastar pulled out his static arc pistol and handed it to the operative. Perhaps she could make it blink or something.

Helix audibly swallows as the behemoth approaches, absentmindedly wrapping his injured shoulder in gauze.

Using field dressing on myself.

Healing (HP): 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (3, 3) + 6 = 12

Vyviane takes the static arc gun and starts fiddling with it. "I was just about out of those scrambling devices! I promise to buy you another of these when we get back to civilization, but until then you can borrow mine!"

She then amplifies the frequency of the device so it starts to emit burst of static and sound as it slowly overloads, before she flings it off the platform and near the monster.

Bluff: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (9) + 17 = 26

J'Shun, continues to chase the platform at maximum speed.

The beast is distracted once more! Devouring the item!

At the end of this round, once the beast resolves, the party will be on the ship in R11, J'Shun should also be able to make it straight into the ship in R11, in R12 if you are still there the ship gets eaten :p

R10 actions
Helix
Izzip
J'Shun
Rastar
Vyv
ENEMY

As J'Shun gets closer, rastar fired his grappler out to give the kasatha a line to grab on to so they could swing him into the ship as soon as he was in range. "Get ready to fire up the engines as soon as J'Shun is in the pocket! We'll close the airlock on the run!"

Not necesarily trying to grapple J'Shun, but to make it so he can swing into the airlock as we move, rather than trying to precision aim his jetpacks.

As J'Shun gets closer, rastar fired his grappler out to give the kasatha a line to grab on to so they could swing him into the ship as soon as he was in range. "Get ready to fire up the engines as soon as J'Shun is in the pocket! We'll close the airlock on the run!"

Not necessarily trying to grapple J'Shun, but to make it so he can swing into the airlock as we move, rather than trying to precision aim his jetpacks.

J'Shun, keeps flying! He prepares to grab Rastar's grappler line once he gets close to it. He'll grab it if it helps him get to the ship faster.

"Keep distracting the creature, I'm almost there."

Everybody try to distract the leviathan, so it won't use its tongue again.

He'll use his extra move action in round 11 to add another 30' of movement to his run speed of 160'

If Izzip casts wisp ally to distract the beast with a mote of light, would that qualify as a successful skill check to distract it?

You recall that these things love to eat electronics - and the footage showed the smaller ones going for people with tech items as a priority...

Vyviane picks up her last scrambler electronic device and sets it to overload massively, hopefully giving everyone enough time to reach the ship and quickly strap in before the monster goes for the ship again.

Bluff, don't fail me now!: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33

Looks like a workable plan!

With the final distraction, and a novel use of a grappler, you manage to get enough of a lead to pile into the ship, Fitch fires a laser salvo to discourage the huge beast further and quickly pilots the starship out of Wehemothal’s atmosphere. Vexed, the beast withdraws deeper into the planet, leaving the damaged space station to its brood. Without a sustainable means to maintain its orbit, Indigo Deep gradually descends over the next several weeks, its hull crumpling under the weight of the planet’s substantial atmosphere.

***

Fitch’s grandchildren eagerly greet you all and beg for stories of what you encountered below, though Kivv is far more restrained yet no less curious. With the starship at a safe distance, Fitch does what she can to welcome the few survivors and ensure you are in good health.

OK who wants to summarise? :p

"Venture Captain, I'll have my written report typed up for you by 0600 hours tomorrow, but for now let me summarize what we found on the station. After a thorough search we found the missing scientists. Some of them were barely alive, including Dr. Tsorsk. They had locked themselves in one area of the station in order to survive an assault by alien creatures bent on their destruction. We defeated the creatures in ritual combat, but at the moment we thought we had dealt with the situation the station was then assaulted by a space leviathan. We barely escaped from it's clutches as you clearly observed."

"A harrowing encounter I can tell! Well we have achieved our goals and effected a rescue"

***

Dr. Tsorsk recuperates within a few days of being provided her essential hormones, all the while regretting the loss of Indigo Deep.

As best she can ascertain, the great beast learned of the station from the launched probes, ascending to investigate and attack by following the station’s communications signals. She’s willing to start work on the Starfinder Society’s new joint venture with Resurgent Technologies, but only after debriefing and explaining to her mechanical superiors why it’s important that she have time off to mourn. Resurgent Technologies grants the request after some deliberation, using the opportunity to also allow your team to keep any of the hardware they recovered from Indigo Deep but requesting any data you might have recovered. Celita and Fitch send much of this information to the corporation, through Celita no doubt has hidden away copies for her own analysis.

End!

NEW SLIDE UP!

You have just returned to Absalom Station, having completed your last assignment and eager for a little rest and recreation. Chiskisk an elected member of the Forum, brings you all together shortly after your arrival on the station, instructing you to report to their office in the Lorespire Complex for a mission briefing. Upon arrival, you reach the designated conference room, where Chiskisk awaits them. After exchanging some short pleasantries, the shirren gets down to business.

“As you may know,” Chiskisk begins, “First Seeker Hadif has made it an early priority to expand the Starfinders’ exploratory presence in the galaxy, particularly in the Vast, where so much remains undiscovered. For that goal to become reality, however, the Society must modernize. Our fleet is becoming outdated and ill-equipped for the rigors of deep-space exploration. Now, we hope to change all of that!”

“In collaboration with our manufacturing partner, Resurgent Technologies, we have the opportunity to test a prototype starship that we hope—will serve as the blueprint for a new fleet of Starfinder vessels".

“I am sending you to a Resurgent Technologies shipyard orbiting Aballon. There, I need you to help oversee the prototype’s completion, then subject it to a series of rigorous tests. This is an important trial and the Society expects an exemplary performance, so be as thorough as you can. Your contact is Dr. Tsi Tsorsk, the project lead. She’ll work with you to outfit the vessel for testing. She expects your team to arrive within the week, so best not delay.”

Dressed in an immaculate Starfinder Space Navy dress uniform, J'Shun sits rigidly in an office chair listening to the briefing.

"Understood, venture captain I shall transfer my flag to our transport vessel." J'Shun, seems a little bit subdued in comparison to his normal over the top self.

Allowing others to check in :)

Izzip jumps up and down, getting slightly less air time due to the added weight of his new dermal plating. ”Oh what fun! It’s not often a priest of Sarenrae gets first crack at a a new starship prototype - I’ll have to brag about it to my Weydanite friends on my HolyHub group chat!”

Chorizal strides into the briefing looking a lot more relaxed and tan than he should for having been visiting his ailing grand dam in her home for a week.

In fact, the person he's chatting with on his personal device is awfully furry, young, giggly and scantily clad to be an ailing grand dam.

"No, I had a great time, too. Ha! Ha! No, next time we won't get the mollusks. Or maybe we'll get twice the mollusks. Ha! Ha! Ok...sorry Babe, gotta get to work. I'll send you some pics," he says into his device.

The grin on his face fades as he looks at the group and he looks much more somber. "Gran's doing much better. Hope you didn't have too many troubles while I was gone. I know you guys can handle yourselves, though. You probably didn't even miss me."

"Starship testing? Sounds great. I can't wait to get my hands on some new tech. Are they properly insured?"

Rastar slumped in one corner, having R&Red himself into a near coma over the last week. he rubbed his head as Chiskisk talked of their mission, only taking in the parts about a new toy to play with.

"You mean, we get to be this first ones to take this new class of ships on a shakedown cruise? All I want to know is can it kill giant space whales? Because that seems to be a thing now. Chorizal, be glad you weren't there for the last one. I almost became worm chow and He Who Must Be Insane over there was nearly eaten by a giant space whale. The whole time Vyv was throwing our gear at it screaming "Suppressing Fire!". It was fun, but really, not something I want to do again sober. Speaking of, did we ever replace that gear, Vyv?"

"Yes, Izzip and Chorizal, a new ship to play with and likely insured - and we're leaving what the tests look like largely up to you. First Seeker Hadif expects an honest, impartial, and comprehensive evaluation. He feels there is no better judge than a team of Starfinders, so consider this a field simulation.”