Not going to rub me wrong.
SOLD! For double price then. Miniaturization costs.
Guys, I apologize for disappearing for a week. Work was sucking home life was busy, and I just couldn't get enthused to post. Part of it is my next news. Some things have come up and I'm going to be traveling for about three weeks starting Friday. I won't have internet the first week for sure. Posting schedule is likely to be shaky otherwise.
What I'd like to do is put the game's story on a very slow roll. There's a couple of mechanical things to work out regarding dinner. Let's resolve that over the next few weeks and we'll pick up the story when I return.
All I take from that (aside from wishing you a reprieve from your troubles and a safe trip) is that we're going to have plenty of time to widen the roleplay while traveling aboard a luxury space yacht. Let's do this! :)
I'm back!
Catching up on work has me wiped. I'll post in game tomorrow morning.
ANy decision regarding Royo will work. The scenario doesn't provide combat or skill stats for him. So if he comes along he's going to hold your coats while you solve the problems. It's strictly a role-play decision.
No worries. Jaeric was saying that mostly for roleplay effect. :)
Also, we don't seem to have everyone checked back in yet for the game. Are we down a player or two?
Everyone's posted since I got back except for Atlas2112/Alison.
I'll ping them with a private message.
Hey there!
If it's still ok and fits, i would love to join now.
Moving house and plenty of other stressful stuff finished and i finally got some time at hand again.
Ken! I thought you'd dropped us. I am open to the idea.
We need a vehicle, a device, a stratagem, to explain how your character comes to be on this super-secret library world, and why you would join the party.
Players? Thoughts and feelings?
Mh good questions, let me think about it a bit.
And i need to read up on the library world a little^^
Ken, how about you were part of a research party and somehow were stranded here?
Zephyr , second half of Monday's post was me just trying to move forward. We could retcon negotiating an additional contract for sedatives --
A tier 1 sedative deals 1d4 nonlethal damage, standard price is 150 units. In the circumstances -- short supply, immediate demand, etc, you could have up to three doses at 200 each.
That sounds good!
Should i still do the Soldier/Technomancer?
Or is there anything else that would really be needed?
I do like to play envoys and operatives as well, just in case.
I doubt the sedatives are worth it if they are that weak. I was hoping for something that was “Make the save or go unconscious”. He’ll have to catch up with the Drow and see if they still make their sleep poison if this becomes a recurring mission.
I fear we may have lost Atlas/Alison. I PM'd them without response. Does anyone play with them in another game?
At this very instant you are waiting with your team at the Tower of the Dragon. When I-177 arrives, he can send you with a message for Royo.
Play what you like. The party has pretty good balance. Jaeric, (envoy 1, technomancer 2) has been handling most of the face-type duties, but Alison, and Never have been very active too. I wouldn't expect that to change.
HK, is your PC ready to go?
Yes actually ready to go.
Here's the character.
Still level 1 gear, not overly familiar with gear stuff on levels beyond that yet.
You let me know when to post.
|
You are waiting with your research team at the entrance to the Tower of the Shadows. It's been a long three weeks, sifting through records, looking for information on naturally produced force fields. At last you'll finally meet the team's patron face to face.
One of the magically driven stone shuttl cars stops in front of you. Inside are one of your inevitable hosts and an android that must be your patron.
Iteration-177 wears their sleek dark hair pulled back, in a sharp contrast to their silvery skin and the android’s signature circuitry pattern shining nearly white. They wear Absalom Station’s latest fashions in shades of black, white, and gray. The android looks perturbed.
"I've just learned that the Starfinder team I brought with me has negotiated a bargain with our hosts to deal with some problems in the tower that holds their research. There's a couple of lore wardens that have fallen prey to a virus, and a ksarik on the loose. Veda, I believe you are the most combat capable of this team. Would you hurry to the Tower of the Oma to aid them? And please send Alison Whiteangel back here. I believe her skillset could be helpful in looking at your progress so far. This shuttle car can take you there. "
It's not really a request.
Ken, when you get a chance can you add a stat line to Veda's profile please?
I suppose I owe you all a little explanation. I finally exchanged PMs with Atlas. He's still very busy with OT at work. Hopefully things will slow down some time and he can rejoin us.
Done. Hope that includes all important things?
Looks like you missed your wisdom save. Sense motive might be useful too.
Thanks.
Guess I have no points in sense motive, but will save is there now.
Almost forgot. I'm visiting my parents this weekend. So you won't hear from me til Monday.
Never, I love the last post.
Oh my, looking forward to the first combat here^^
Work and home life keeping me busy. Will try to get a post in tonight or tomorrow morning. Gone away again this weekend.
I see the damage on the lore warden is much lower than the damage realty by Aephyr’s laser. Was it obvious the laser did not do full damage?
Zephyr rested and spent a RP during the rest.
Guys, sorry for the late heads up. I am teaching at a customer site this week. I can guarantee one post in the weekday evenings except on Wed. I'll try to get you a good game post today.
I'm not surprised you're confused, Neil. I was too. The rules are a little foggy. Although I hate to strip away the game veil, here's the rules.
Creatures that touch the mindmaze fall into a trance. In their minds, these creatures find themselves
suddenly standing atop the surface of the mindmaze. Any
creatures that touch the cube appear at the same location in
the maze, allowing the PCs to traverse it together. Go around
the table and have each PC inside the maze attempt a DC 10
Intelligence check. With each success, the PCs make progress
toward the center of the maze. With each failure, the mindmaze
draws on the psychic energy of the PCs, fogging their minds; this
deals 1 Wisdom damage to each PC and causes the surface of the
cube to shift, further complicating the maze and increasing the
DC of all subsequent checks by 1. The PCs must continue taking
turns rolling checks until they succeed six times, reaching the
center of the maze. Once inside, PCs can escape the maze only by reaching its center or by falling unconscious from Wisdom
damage.Although PCs inside the mindmaze cannot voluntarily
leave the trance, PCs outside the cube can shake them awake.
PCs who do not touch the cube can observe that illusory
duplicates of their companions appear on its surface after touching
the mindmaze. They can follow the progress of entranced PCs
across the cube and can even provide aid by whispering directions.
This functions as aid another, allowing PCs on the outside to
attempt Intelligence checks to assist a primary navigator.If one or more PCs slotted the High Society Influence (Royo)
boon, then Royo actively coaches his allies as they navigate the
maze. He points ideal paths in the mindmaze, granting PCs with
the boon slotted a +2 insight bonus to their Intelligence checks to
discover the center.
My reading : Everyone inside the maze has to roll. If one person succeeds then the whole party advances. Anyone who fails the intelligence check takes the wisdom damage. The DC increases by 1 in each round in which anyone fails the check.
Primary navigator is what I've been calling a traveller, someone in the maze. Each outside PC (Never and Veda) can aid one traveller. (Lorne, Jaeric, Zephyr).
Royo is a walking , talking, +2 bonus. He doesn't roll.
**
Sound fair?
Is that 6 successes total, or six for each PC?
As I read it . . ..
6 successes total.
Any time anybody fails, everybody takes the Wisdom damage AND the DC goes up for all following rolls. Apparently even the following rolls in the same round?
Still a horrible mechanic. The layout is designed to keep success less common. Could have accomplished that without new rules by setting an appropriate DC to begin with. Module writers aren't supposed to be doing game design inside modules.
|
Are we to assume the Wisdom damage is semi-permanent? Or once you fall unconscious in the mindmaze does that reset? If so, then unless there is some other obstacle to overcome inside the maze, characters can just get up, go back in and try again with no actual penalty. Of course, if the difficulty of the maze does not also reset then at some point it just becomes impossible. That would be very bad module design indeed.
I think Lorne is right - it would have been better had he suggested only one of us go into the cube and the rest aid.
Are we to assume the Wisdom damage is semi-permanent? Or once you fall unconscious in the mindmaze does that reset? If so, then unless there is some other obstacle to overcome inside the maze, characters can just get up, go back in and try again with no actual penalty. Of course, if the difficulty of the maze does not also reset then at some point it just becomes impossible. That would be very bad module design indeed.
I think Lorne is right - it would have been better had he suggested only one of us go into the cube and the rest aid.
No reason we couldn’t do that now…the people outside can wake up everyone except Lorne and we can go from there.
Mechanically, either Angel or Lorne could be the pawn. 2 assists would make her need a 1 on the d20 while they would make me need a 0.
|
|
Agreed, it's a mess. My reading was so much easier than Neil's. But hustonj's made me go back and re-read.
It's worse than I originally thought, but maybe not as bad as hustonj's reading.
New reading:
We are not in rounds. We rotate through the travellers. So ...
Traveller #1 rolls. All travellers either advance or take wisdom damage.
Traveller #2 rolls. All travellers either advance or take wisdom damage.
Traveller #3 rolls. All travellers either advance or take wisdom damage.
Traveller #1 rolls. All travellers either advance or take wisdom damage.
etc, etc, until you succeed, or fall unconscious, or drive the DC of the check to impossible.
I am almost certain this is the correct interpretation.
***
I don't believe the DC resets. If you fail, you fail. Otherwise success is inevitable and the dice rolling is just a waste of time.
***
No reason we couldn’t do that now…the people outside can wake up everyone except Lorne and we can go from there.
Except you're not a dirty pack of meta-gamers.
***
Are we to assume the Wisdom damage is semi-permanent?
Assume what you like. The risk inherent in uncertainty is part of what makes the game fun. We're already too far down the meta rabbit hole for my liking. I opened it up because Neil's confusion mirrored my own and I wanted to be more sure of giving you a fair shake. I think we've got it now.
What's the recovery rate for Wisdom damage in Starfinder?
Slow, in the absence of magical healing.
***
Quick estimate -- you've got a 1 in 8 chance of making 6 successful straight rolls. Your first rolls are most important. Failure will breed failure.
Jaeric definitely needs to go in for the mindlink to be possible. He needs to experience whatever lies at the end of the maze for us to learn. Otherwise, he won't be able to share the memory of it with anyone who doesn't go inside. And, just in terms of having a 'record' of it for future Starfinder use, I still plan on attempting this gauntlet...but obviously at great risk to us, because he's a mystic who's pretty reliant on Wisdom...so that Wisdom damage is going to be pretty harsh.
Normally I'm not a metagamer. It just isn't as much fun. When mechanics are altered to increase difficulty, I figure the author EXPECTS metagaming.
Indubitably.
I think we've got the right read on the rules. Let's see how this goes.
Looking at the map, do we have access to the hallways leading to the spiral staircases? Also do the defeated hellknights have any obvious weapons other than the flamethrowers? I have a feeling Zephyr’s laser is not going to be too effective against the fiery foes.
Weird month coming up at work. I'll be traveling Tues-Thursday next week and the week of the 22nd. The week of the 8th I'll be on the road Mon-Thur. And the week of the 15th I'm in a class.
Posting may be spotty.