All Cha'mon finds at his current location is the remains of a previously abandoned campsite lie outside the ruined structure, with some old Shadowtongue graffiti spray painted on the walls.
Meanwhile Morvruul is able to shut down the forcefield and discovers that the western headstone conceals a bundle of incense, tied with a crumbling ribbon, and smelling faintly of musk and spicy flowers. The crystal figurine with Datch’s password is buried beneath the eastern headstone and is carved to resemble a sorrowful ysoki with her hands covering her eyes.
After retrieving the item, you can return to your ride. When you reboard the vehicle, the VI happily announces that it will arrive in Vehenstrenal in five minutes and that it hopes they enjoyed their peaceful nature tour. Once back in the city, you can contact the Starfinder Society via long-range comms to report your success and book a shuttle to your next destination - which is Pabaq (see Handout #3).
As your shuttle touches down on one of Jhavom’s many launchpads, you can easily spot the Hall of Records, a skyscraper of 180 stories in the exact centre of the city.
Roll Culture to Recall Knowledge or Diplomacy to Gather Information on the Hall of Records.
The osharus of Pabaq are a scholarly species that view religion and science as two halves of the same whole. The Hall of Records is the osharus’ pride and joy: a home for digital copies of all the information osharus have collected over centuries.
Many osharus worry that their knowledge troves could be exploited, and therefore have made the more dangerous archives accessible only by mentally entering a virtual reality server within the Hall of Records. Permission from the Grand Librarian is required to find and access these records.
The Grand Librarian is an osharu of advanced age named Rethra. She gained the position more than two decades ago and is known for her various academic papers on the storage of cognitive memory inside computer systems. Tragically, her own memory is on the decline. PCs who learn this information gain a +2 circumstance bonus to all skill checks to assist or influence Rethra.
Male N Ysoki Wild Warden Operative 3 | SP 18/18 HP 20/20 | RP 6/6 | EAC 15; KAC 16 | Fort +1; Ref +8; Will +4 | Init: +7 | Perc: +9, SM: +9 | Speed 40ft, Climb 20 ft, Burrow 30 ft. | Darkvision, Moxie, Trick attack (Survival +17) +1d8 | Klikharp mount HP 30/30
"Well, I reckon we get the permission from the Grand Librarian, then we go fishing inside Datch's brain. Should be one hell of a ride!" Gava resigns himself to that terrible fate.
Gava steers clear from the cursed Cha'mon Cha'mon.
Given the immense size of the labyrinthine Hall of Records, you need guidance to the memory’s exact location. The Hall's enormous front desk stretches hundreds of feet long, and translucent panes of glass separate it into orderly queues for visitors. After a surprisingly short wait, you reach the front of your line and are greeted by an upbeat, masculine osharu.
Good day. My name is Siltiche, how may I direct your request?
Errr .. yes ... quite a lot ... in fact a new bank just came online yesterday ... but surely you are all not here just to enquire about that, are you not?
Female CN Tiefling Biohacker 3 | SP 21/21 HP 22/22 | RP 3/3 | EAC 18; KAC 17, 5 cold, electricity, fire resistance | Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +3 | Init: +8 | Perc: +10, SM: +8 | Speed 30 ft | Biohacks 4/4 | Fiendish Gloom 1/1, Applied Knowledge 1/1 | Active conditions: none
Sturmvanger wrote:
"A sound plan, Gava," Sturmvanger says as they start to find their way toward the central tower and Grand Librarian.
Seggas gives a gurgle that sounds like an evil laugh that got drowned on the way out of her mouth.
Sturm:
<OH The things I could create! Giant monsters and tiny nanomachine like cells! So many possibilities!>
She follows Sturm into the library and watches with interest, and watches Cha'mon try work his verbal magic on the desk manager as she checks out th locals for odd genetics or genetic phenotypes.
Sturm:
<Many of them are probably exploring places we could never visit just outside. Worlds of ages past or theoretical light refraction, or just theology. But yeah, there are some obvious indicators that some of them aren't exercising a healthy amount.>
"Sounds fascinating, we'd love to enter the your virtual reality server and take a look at some of your records. From what I understand the history of Pabaq is quite interesting."
female CG stellifera enhanced envoy 7 | SP 42/42 HP 60/60 | RP 9/9 | EAC 24; KAC 25 | Fort +6; Ref +10; Will +7 (+2 vs. MA) | Init: +7 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 60 ft.), SM: +6+1d6+1 | Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. | free Clever Feint 1/1 | 1 Reroll | Active conditions: None.
"We are particularly interested in memories. I have heard that you can even store those here. Oh, to relive moment in the lives of luminaries would be fabulous!"
Memories ..... yes ... we have lots of those. .... you want the Chamber of Memories and Grand Librarian Rethra as he waves you to the lifts. Next please
When you arrive ...
The Chamber of Memories occupies a large, circular wing of the building, lined with banks of whirring servers stretching to the hundred-foot-tall ceiling. Stairs of gilded brass scale each row of servers, with catwalks branching along the sides in ten-foot increments. Dozens of osharus in lengthy, colorful robes dot the catwalks, servicing the equipment and replacing nodes. A long row of chairs sized for average humanoids runs along the main space. Helmets are attached to the headrests with heavy cables running behind them and into the floor.
An elderly osharu with yellowish-orange skin, dry and sallow from age, patrols the chamber at an excruciatingly slow pace. She wears blue and purple robes and leans on a triangular frame as a mobility aid. She catches sight of the newcomers and walks over.
My, my, my, she says in a reedy voice. Visitors with weapons. Is the Silent War going so poorly?
It soon becomes obvious that Grand Librarian Rethra suffers from memory lapses. When you introduce yourselves she interrupts you with a story about the last time Starfinders came to the Hall of Records and remarks about how polite they were.
You must navigate these lapses to get Rethra’s help with locating Datch’s memory. Each of you can attempt one of the following skill checks: Bluff (to follow Rethra’s perception of the situation and steer it to Datch), Diplomacy (to gently guide Rethra back to the topic at hand), Life Science or Medicine (to assess Rethra’s condition and provide treatment that makes her more lucid).
female CG stellifera enhanced envoy 7 | SP 42/42 HP 60/60 | RP 9/9 | EAC 24; KAC 25 | Fort +6; Ref +10; Will +7 (+2 vs. MA) | Init: +7 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 60 ft.), SM: +6+1d6+1 | Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. | free Clever Feint 1/1 | 1 Reroll | Active conditions: None.
Diplomacy:1d20 + 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (16) + (5) + 7 = 28
"You can never be too careful, of course, even if the war is over. Of course, we do not expect to use these here. Weaponry has no use in a library, especially when what you are hoping to find is a memory."
What a cruel joke, to put someone with a poor memory in the room that stores memories.
Female CN Tiefling Biohacker 3 | SP 21/21 HP 22/22 | RP 3/3 | EAC 18; KAC 17, 5 cold, electricity, fire resistance | Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +3 | Init: +8 | Perc: +10, SM: +8 | Speed 30 ft | Biohacks 4/4 | Fiendish Gloom 1/1, Applied Knowledge 1/1 | Active conditions: none
Seggas raises an eyebrow at the sudden mention of an already settled and done war. "Not so much us being at war, more trying to stay safe in places where security is lacking. I assure you we have the right Pact World permits for these weapons, and got permission to carry them here as is standard."
She then gives Sturm a sharp glance.
Sturm:
<Keep thinking and treating them like that and they will be. Yes don't forget they might harm us if we falter, but also recognize we need to accept them as well, or we'll never have true peace.>
She then focuses on the Grand Librarian, mixing up a small drink with a few drops of a liquid from her pinky fingernail.
Medicine:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
"Here to help clear your mind, you seem to be a bit fogged today, if I'm not mistaken. You're not on any meta-opioids, right?"
"Oh yes, what was I thinking, the Silent War. I just got my military conflicts mixed up. Of course I know what you are talking about. In fact we are here to secure this facilities data servers just in case the war reaches this planet. I promise you we will be completely discrete. Please show us to the servers now."
You have made three successes, the maximum you need.
Rethra leads you to a set of chairs in the research station and fits you with neural helmets. The process is painless and minimally invasive, allowing you to travel through the library’s virtual records to access the memory where Datch embedded her passcode. There are enough open chairs for all of you, and the system is malleable enough to accommodate any species’ physiology. As you are being strapped in, Grand Librarian Rethra calmly explains how the process works.
Now, dears, you’re going to feel a bit dizzy at first. Once that passes, you’ll find yourselves in one of the file paths in the library server. Everything should work for you just as it does in the real world. You shouldn’t encounter any trouble, but just in case, think of your equipment and you’ll have it. I’ll help direct you to the memory you need, since this is a big place. Give me a holler when you’re ready to come back. Speak up, now, I don’t hear so well anymore.
For a moment, a field of white is all that is perceivable. This gives way to bright sunlight, then silhouettes of palm trees with pale trunks and deep blue fronds. Dozens of paths cut through the pixelated jungle, extending out of sight. The multiple paths then fade away until there is only one route through the pixelated trees, leading to Datch’s memory.
The trip along the synthetic jungle path is eerily quiet, with only the soft buzz of electricity to accompany the sound of your footsteps. After what feels like hours of walking, the surrounding landscape dissolves, giving way to a new locale.
The virtual jungle melts away, leaving behind the view of a starship’s cold steel deck. The sound of indistinct whispers comes from the vacant stands. With a flicker, the form of a male ysoki dressed in sleek combat armor suddenly appears.
Prepare, my students, he says in a chilling monotone. For your final graduation exam. By this point, there is nothing left to teach you. You are either capable of making use of Grandmother Rat’s lessons, or you are not. Witness. Adapt. Survive. Or do not.
Shadows pass over the ysoki. When the shadows dissipate, he is gone. Three other forms slide into the light, each a gaunt ysoki wearing a featureless mask and brandishing a pistol.
Cha'mon Cha'mon, unslings his plasma guide sniper rifle from his back and attunes its wireless telemetry to the ysoki to the southwest. He then fires a plasma bolt at it that flies unerringly to its target, guided by the rifle's wireless telemetry. guided
Plasma Guide vs. Blue EAC:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17Guided negates the target's cover bonus. Electricity/Fire Damage:1d8 ⇒ 1
Female CN Tiefling Biohacker 3 | SP 21/21 HP 22/22 | RP 3/3 | EAC 18; KAC 17, 5 cold, electricity, fire resistance | Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +3 | Init: +8 | Perc: +10, SM: +8 | Speed 30 ft | Biohacks 4/4 | Fiendish Gloom 1/1, Applied Knowledge 1/1 | Active conditions: none
Seggas reaches into her slightly blocky looking lab coat noticing that the fidelity of this piece of her is ... lacking. She grabs something and pulls out Bii, the biomass of the weapon forming around her right hand into her firing form. Seggas's face falls into a frown at the feeling of it. "NO! NO! NO! This is comepletely the wrong feeling for Bii. That slime is not anywhere NEAR slick enough, and the tentacles aren't gripping properly. I'm going to have to talk to a programmer about this."
As Seggas complains about the feel of the simulation, it actually adjusts to conform to her memories of using Bii. She hits Blue (-7) but Morvruul misses.
"Oof..." Sturmvanger says as the bullet slams into him.
"Too...basic?" he asks Seggas, with a straight face as she complains about her weapon.
He closes the distance with red and swings and arm at him. It would be woefully short were it not for the fact that he extends his bone blade in the middle of it.
Cha'mon Cha'mon, heads for cover. He looks like he is about to dive behind an obstruction, but suddenly pops up from behind it and fires his plasma guide again. Feinting Stunt
Bluff:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16If the bluff role succeeds (20 + the target's CR) the target is flat footed to the attack. If both the bluff roll and attack roll succeed the target is flat footed to all attacks until the beginning of Cha'mon Cha'mon's next turn.
Plasma Guide vs. Blue EAC:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14 Electricity/Fire Damage:1d8 ⇒ 1
Female CN Tiefling Biohacker 3 | SP 21/21 HP 22/22 | RP 3/3 | EAC 18; KAC 17, 5 cold, electricity, fire resistance | Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +3 | Init: +8 | Perc: +10, SM: +8 | Speed 30 ft | Biohacks 4/4 | Fiendish Gloom 1/1, Applied Knowledge 1/1 | Active conditions: none
Seggas loads narrows her eyes at the not-Bii Bii, and pulls out a hand from the gun, rubbing the slime from it in between her thumb and pointer finger. "Hrmmm... still not quite perfect but much better. It'll work." She glances up at Sturm not entirely sure if he's making a joke or not. "Nope, too base!"
She replaces her hand and takes aim. "If I can get the slime to nearly what it should be, I wonder if I can't get the acid to burn properly?"
Sturmvanger glares at the multiple man. He contemplates popping illusions for a moment but then draws his head back then shoots it forward, opening his mouth wide to release a gout of flame that engulfs the opponent, both real and illusory.
Cha'mon Cha'mon, is determined to put an end to the ysoki he has been and continues to shoot at. Feinting Stunt
Bluff:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17If the bluff role succeeds (20 + the target's CR) the target is flat footed to the attack. If both the bluff roll and attack roll succeed the target is flat footed to all attacks until the beginning of Cha'mon Cha'mon's next turn. Plasma Guide vs. Blue EAC:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14 Electricity/Plasma Damage:1d8 ⇒ 8
Sturmvanger glares at his target...or one of his digital clones, it's hard to tell. Wait...are they, technically, all digital clones? None of these are anyone's real bodies, as far as he knows, they're all just representations so attacking the "real" one is impossible anyway...
Before he can give himself a headache, he tries to give his target a headache.
