You can go ahead and dot and delete so it appears in your campaigns when this starts two to three weeks from now.
You are on a low-flying enercopter piloted by Arda Vonn (N female jububnan) to land on the roof of the grav-train.
T"here she is!” shouts Arda Vonn, wrenching the enercopter’s controls hard to one side. Straining to make her voice heard over the whirling rotors, the jububnan pilot motions to a pile of packages under a tarp behind the passenger seats. “Better get yer war bags on!”
Through dust-caked windows, the train can be seen hurtling through the desert ahead like a massive serpent of glass and steel. "This is it: the big score that’s going to make the whole team rich. And the plan couldn’t be simpler! Just rappel onto the roof of a speeding train filled with armed gangsters, somehow get inside, find the passcode that opens the cargo car, locate and grab the prize, and then signal Vonn for pickup before the train reaches its destination. You could do this in your sleep."
Barat Oza is an ijtikri, a muscular species of terrestrial squid native to Vesk-2, but with their purple dyed kykor plate armor they look more like a spiny armored crab. They are completing yet another safety check on their armor as they await the drop.
"We're all going to make this out alive as long as we stick to the plan and don't take any unnecessary risks. Taking careless risks is the number two reason that operations like this fail. Number one is equipment failure. And on that note; did everyone get the safety checklist I sent out?" they nervously ask the rest of the crew.
"My equipment is never at risk for failure. Only biological creatures make those types of mistakes," Elena says disdainfully. The small combat drone's spiderlike legs clack across the floor of the enercopter as she moves beside Barat Oza. She checks the action on her needler pistol, the lights on her faceplate blinking in satisfaction. "Good to go."
You all see a guard here.
Barat looks back at the team before deciding to make their move.
Alright, everyone act in surprise round, then roll init, you can also act in round 1 if you beat his
Barat's weapons are also self contained. The vanguard raises up one gloved tentacle and a shimmering aura of force emits from the end. Barat Oza reaches out to touch the unsuspecting guard.
Barat presses the attack, moving into an adjacent position with their allies to take a hit if needed. As they move into place, a swirling field of force forms around their other tentacle. Then Barat reaches out yet again with their manipulator tentacle.
Bokoloff catches the guard off guard and strikes him hard. Squidboy can't hit the guard, even though he if flatfooted. But readjusts his punch and punches him in the arm really hard, it hurts and gives him a bruise.
Elena subtly brings her needler to bear and fires on the guard.
LNA 4676 shoots the guard in the foot, not pulling off trick attack on the guard. The guard a Naur tries to stab Bokoloff with horn to hit and misses
All heroes are up
Barat Oza props up their shield and pushes it against the guard. At the same time Barat's flexible arm whips around the shield to lash at them.
"Just stick by me Bokloff...we have this in hand."
Elena attempts another trick attack!
Amaresh can't seem to hit the guard, his weapon can't penetrate the armor. Bokoloff does claw him up good. Squidboy does put the guard down killing him. .
The security guard wears a pair of magboots (Pact Worlds 198) and carries a mk 1 serum of healing.
You must now get into the VIP room
Bokoloff easily gets in, no problem.
On the other side, you all find a well-appointed luxury passenger car filled with Ixo Syndicate’s finest. Here, welldressed passengers fill a lounge area with a fragrant haze of cigar smoke, conversing with each other from upholstered leather chairs and engaging in a lively game of skimmer around a card table. At the bar, an android bartender diligently mixes drinks as they’re ordered. Six security guards keep watch over
the proceedings.
Brom Lancaster (LE male damaya lashunta) sits at the bar, sipping from a tumbler of bright blue liquor; Brom is the train’s chief of security, and he has the datapad you all need. A throng of well-armed bodyguards surrounds him, but your attention is drawn to his conversation partner, a sharply dressed human in a spotless white suit. . You also see a game of skimmer in which you can win credits.
Barat doesn't recognzie the human in the suit, but decides to walk forward and puts their credstick down on the table. "You will deal me in, yes?"
Barat plays slowly and purposefully, laying each card down with a throaty grumble.
As the ijtikri mercenary plays, they carefully scan the room for any sign of danger.
Aramesh thought he might know the person but apparently they are not that important after all...
Elena is likewise unable to recall much about the well-dressed man, but she does recognize the lashunta as one of their targets. "Aramesh, can you cause a distraction? I'll get close to Lancaster and try to nick the datapad from him."
|
Mostly trying to determine how the datapad is secured and who might notice it going missing.
Bokoloff opens a telepathic link to his team as he wanders toward the bar. <I can shrink it down if I can get a paw on it, but otherwise I',m not good for much more than a distraction. Spill a drink on the lady, maybe?>
Aramesh nods, looks at the gaming table and nonchalantly walks past the group of VIP and guards, obviously on the way to either the facilities or the bar. He stops short and looks at the well dressed man.
"My apologies, but aren't you... Oh, how embarrassing! I know you from somewhere but I just cannot remember! That flawless suit, one would think I would know. Who are you, good sir? Oh, my apologies for interrupting your conversation! I just know that I know who this very important person is but cannot remember his name! He looks to Brom and all the guards. "You must also be a very important person. Oh wait, is this your party? If so, it is Fabulous!
He gushes like a bad fanboy, trying to be a little loud to get everyone's attention.
Elena waits until the lashunta is thoroughly distracted, then casually skitters by and snatches the datapad from his pocket with one of her appendages.
Most of you lose credits on the game.
None of you know who the sidekick is.
LNA snatches the datapad easily, he just walks on by whistling, the guards ignore him as he gets close snatches and pockets and continues walking.
As long as the PCs don’t call attention to themselves, they can freely converse with anyone they choose, except Brom, who’s surrounded by bodyguards while he converses with Royce. The PCs will need to get around both the bodyguards and Royce to maneuver Brom into a position where they can steal his datapad. The PCs are outnumbered, so violence isn’t a wise option; they must rely on subtlety and guile.
This encounter is structured in abstracted social rounds, each lasting between a few seconds and several minutes. Every round, each PC selects one of the following seven roles and attempts a DC 20 check using a skill determined by their role.
One PC must select the conversationalist role. PCs can’t duplicate
roles, but they can change roles each round (except for the PC who takes the conversationalist role). If a role allows the use of multiple skills, the same skill can’t be used on two successive rounds, even if a different PC takes over the role. The PCs can act in any order, but the conversationalist always acts last.The PCs’ skill checks represent their
success in maneuvering Brom into a more advantageous position or stymieing Royce’s effort to get the datapad. For most roles, a successful skill check grants a +2 bonus to the conversationalist’s skill check at the end of the round; the conversationalist andpickpocket roles have special rules. When the encounter begins, the PCs have 0 Progress, while Royce has 1. At the end of each round, Royce automatically gains 1 Progress, while the PCs gain or lose a number determined by the results of the conversationalist’s skill check. The PCs can never have less than 0 Progress. Once the PCs have 5 Progress, they can try to lift the datapad off Brom using the pickpocket role.
Conversationalist: The conversationalist sidles up to the bar and engages Brom in dialogue, employing jokes, anecdotes, or other conversation with the intent of leaving him vulnerable to another
PC’s attempts to pick his pocket. The conversationalist uses Diplomacy for their checks. On a success, they increase the PCs’ Progress by 1; on a failure, the PCs’ Progress decreases by 1. If the conversationalist succeeds at the Diplomacy check by 5 or more, increase Progress by 2 instead, and if the PC succeeds at the check by 10 or more, increase Progress by 3.
Copilot: The copilot sets the conversationalist up for punchlines, aids in steering dialogue toward or away from specific topics, and uses nonvisual cues to help the other PCs perform their roles. The copilot uses Culture for their checks.
Distraction: The distraction creates a situation elsewhere in the car to draw the attention of Brom’s bodyguards or Royce’s cronies. The distraction can use Bluff, Intimidate, or Perform for their checks.
Interference: The interference watches for circumstances that might hinder the other PCs’ efforts and counters them before they become problems. The interference uses Perception for their checks.
Pickpocket: This role can be taken only when the PCs have at least 5 Progress. The pickpocket casually approaches the now-vulnerable Brom and tries to remove the datapad from his pocket. The pickpocket uses Sleight of Hand for their checks. On a success, they pocket the datapad; if they fail, they can try again on a subsequent round. If they fail this roll by 5 or more, Brom is alerted, and in the confusion, Royce steals the datapad as if he had reached Progress 5 first.
Saboteur: The saboteur surreptitiously interferes with one of the car’s mechanical or computer systems; for example, the saboteur might raise the thermostat, motivating Brom to remove his coat. The saboteur uses Computers or Engineering for their checks.Windbag: The windbag briefly derails the conversation by using their knowledge of obscure trivia to make an outrageous but accurate claim. The windbag uses Physical Science or Life Science for their checks.
Development: If the PCs get 2 or more Progress ahead of Royce, he requests a moment of private conversation with the conversationalist, suggesting they work together. If the PC agrees to work together, NPC who's name you do not know cause you failed the culture check suggests the PCs finish stealing the datapad (“You’re obviously more cut out for this kind of hustle than I am.”) and departs, promising to meet them at cargo car 67C.
Otherwise, Royce returns to the bar, and he and the PCs continue the encounter where they left off.
If the PCs reach 5 Progress and steal the datapad, they can gracefully exit the conversation, leaving Royce at the bar.
If Royce reaches 5 Progress first, the PCs watch helplessly as one of his cronies slips Brom’s datapad from his pocket and disappears through the exit, whereupon Royce gives the PCs a smug wink and politely excuses himself.
Aramesh continues with some vapid small talk until the targets, er.. marks? er... nice people with lots of guards tell him to go away or are obviously wanting to be rid of the pest. Once that happens he'll walk away and maybe try a round of the game.
"We have observed. Is this how it is played?"
The armored cephalopod takes back their now empty credstick. "I'm gonna quit before I lose any more money. Thank you for the lesson in humility" Barat Oza bows politely as they back away from the table.
Pathfinders finish playing their game. Someone approaches you, Hi, my name is Royce. Then he whispers. I see you got the datapad, look I need it too. My people can make more than double off of it what you are making. How about you meet me over there, and we will pay you for the datapad a little bit extra for what they are are paying you.
Whether or not you say no or yes, you got to make yourself over to Cargo Car to gather an artifact.
The car is crammed with crates and boxes of various shapes and sizes. Between two large crates against the left wall stands a machine the PCs recognize: a grav-crane that uses a beam of concentrated gravitons to move large objects. According to Aramesh’s information, the artifact is stored inside the crate. The crate is at the bottom of a stack of three.
Barat will let someone else handle the horse trading for the data pad, and merely stands by making sure that Royce isn't up to no good.
Seeing the crane, Barat Oza sighs and says "This is too heavy for me to lift up. Everyone, lend me your arms."
Aramesh uses the full might of his body full of small insects... to varying degrees of success..
Okay so the heroes get the crate down using the crane. It is magnetically sealed but you get it open.
At first, nothing happens. Suddenly, dozens of sharp mechanical clicks snap loudly as the magnetic locks on every container in the car disengage simultaneously. A signal light above the far door illuminates and spins rapidly, accompanied by an ear-piercing klaxon wail. A moment later, the din is compounded by a grinding noise followed by the massive bay doors in the roof sliding open.There’s a ringing clang as the lid of the huge crate on the other side of the crane suddenly crashes to the floor. Clearly printed in large letters on the metal are the words: “HANDLE WITH CARE: LIVE ANIMAL.”
Map is up, place yourselves in section A you were operating the crane. The Eel is in section D moving towards you.
of eel And roll init, you can go if you beat the eels init. It is hungry and attacking you, it will be moving towards you to attack.
Aramesh holds off, letting it come closer...
Barat forms a shield of force around one tentacle arm and crackling entropy in the other as he hops off the platform and lands next to Bokoloff. Then he raises the shield as they prepare for the creature to charge.
"Teamwork, Bokoloff. Let my shield protect us both "
Elena is a bit slow to react...
It doublemoves forward. You are all subject to its gaze All heroes are up
Staying where he is, Aramesh points at the beast with vigor. "Get it!"
He then makes a rude gesture at said beast and buzzes and says "You're dead now! My friends know your weak spots!"
Barat Oza feels their body lock up, and is unable to move forward.
2 of you are paralyzed, while Aramesh confuses the heck out of hit, trying to follow his movements, making his dizzy.
LNA is up
Elena's servometers seize up as well, freezing all of her motor functions!
LNA is frozen. It moves closer and tries to bite Bokoloff vs KAC and does so for All heroes are up