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As you enter the briefing area, a tall Kasatha stands to greet you all with a short bow, "Greetings, I am Hef Sadir, Priest of the Protector, Kadrical, at your service. I solemnly vow to value your lives above my own."
Hef is tall with four arms and only black eyes and a bald head visible above his ritual face covering. Dressed very simply in what appears to be station maintenance gear crafted for zero g maneuvering with a handaxe clipped to his waist. Crisscrossed across his back is a tactical spear and boring looking staff. Other than the weapons, he appears more suited for manual labor than an exploration party.
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Staar is a very small lashunta woman, with a sickly visage. Her eyes are glowing red motes of fiery-red light which smolder and produce thin trails of white smoke. If you ever come close to her, you are pretty sure you can hear voices whispering from inside her head, though her mummified skin might distract you from noticing it...
She sits by in a chair, lifting her head when someone addresses her. Her usual greeting is a low energy "Hey.", accompanied by a slight nod.
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An immaculately dressed elf calmly surveys the two other Starfinder agents in the briefing room. Every strand of his hair lies almost too perfectly around a face that has impossibly high cheekbones and a strong jaw. The dark gray glen check suit he wears is custom tailored to his body. A light blue shirt, navy grenadine tie, white linen folded pocket handkerchief, black socks and black derby shoes complete his outfit.
Cavaler Traleth, is no stranger to the spotlight. The ambassador from the elf nation of Sovyrian on the planet of Castrovel to Absalom Station is known by most.
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Robust android, whose muscles seem to be reinforced by electronic augmentation, wearing a heavy armor walks in and stares you blankly for moment. He has reaction cannon strapped to his back and a bone scepter hangs from his belt. "Greetings, comrades" he speaks in soft, monotonous voice. He doesn't speak anything else.
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Hef has the spell Life Bubble. If feasible he would have cast it twice the day before they arrive. That casting would grant up to ten players the spell for five days. This would provide the entire group four full days of its use once they arrive and he would still have his full complement of spells.
It would make sense in my mind if this were a planned starfinder mission on an alien planet that he would be able to have already done this. Let me know your thoughts, thanks!
Well then, Cavaler would not be dressed in a business suit than, but rather a jaunty set of custom designed freebooter armor with a rocket rifle slung over his shoulder.
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While gathering for our departure, a shirren man wearing darkly-colored armor joins you all. He has a variety of gadgets attacked to his belt and is currently eating lunch. "Greetings, fellow Starfinders. I am Senko. It is pleasing to meet you."
After finishing his meal, he pulls out a case containing a variety of eyeglasses, goggles, and visors. "Each of these is already connected to my computer. Please, either take one of these or grant me access to your own display. If I spot any traps or other hazards, it may be useful to highlight them."
The sun shines brightly over the ice fields of Akiton, the snow sparkling in the light. On the outskirts of a complex of ruined buildings ahead are numerous portable shelters emblazoned with the Starfinder Society’s symbol. Starfinders hurry in and out, ferrying supplies and calling instructions to one another.
A loud chime sounds from the largest shelter, positioned at the center of a cluster of others, and First Seeker Ehu Hadif emerges. As he holds up his hand for attention, the hubbub around dies down, and everyone pauses their activities to look at him.
“Good morning, Starfinders, and thank you all for joining me on this expedition. It’s my hope that today, we will not only investigate this site, but uncover the truth behind the rumors of hauntings here. We have some final preparations to make before we begin our mission, and I ask that no one advance into the ruins until I give the all-clear. Never fear, you’ll get your chance to explore—but first we need to ensure we’re ready. If you’d all please check in at your assigned location, we can direct you to tasks where we still need assistance.”
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Radaszam, leader of the Acquisitives, seeks volunteers to clear away rubble and debris blocking access to portions of the site. “Be careful when you’re moving things around,” Radaszam says gruffly. “Don’t want to destroy anything valuable in the process. That goes double for those of you using vehicles—choose your targets carefully.”
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Celita, leader of the Dataphiles, looks up from her datapad and nods to the party as you approach. “Good morning,” she says. “We’ve identified some weaknesses in our mobile communication infrastructure, given the remoteness and temperature of our location. Your help in patching these vulnerabilities will ensure all agents can stay in contact during the mission.”
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Fitch, leader of the Wayfinders, asks the party to aid in a preliminary survey mapping the site. “The more research we do now,” she says with a wide grin, “the more we’ll be able to orient ourselves once we go down into the depths. Oh—if you’d all pose there for a second?” She holds up her datapad to show the party her camera app. “I promised the kiddos I’d send them pictures!”
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The party finds Ixthia, leader of the Exo-Guardians, issuing orders to some Starfinder teams. “Hello!” Ixthia nods to the party as you approach. “Looking for a way to help? There are a few settlements to the south that might know more about these ruins. Most of the locals don’t venture up this way...but the rumors come from somewhere.”
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As the party approaches, Venture-Captain Arvin is giving a pep talk to a cluster of nervous-looking Starfinders. “Ah!” he says, as he spots the party. “Perhaps hearing from your peers would be helpful.” He steps aside, gesturing for the party to follow, and murmurs, “It’s their first mission, and they’re a bit skittish. I have some things I need to attend to, so would you mind giving them some advice?”
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Venture-Captain Naiaj, looking harried, is coordinating with workers outside the supply tents. “If you’re here to assist,” she tells the party, “You can help organize these supply lines. We don’t know what we’ll find down there, so we want all our teams well-equipped with rations and medicinal supplies. Can’t have anyone getting trapped without adequate equipment.”
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Staar joins the efforts commanded by Radaszam, carrying huge chunks of debris with her unnaturally strong arms.
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She also tries to help with Fitch’s surveying, but it’s not her strong suit - she’ll mostly wait for someone to point her towards something that needs to be done,
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She tries to ask politely for information from the locals, as suggested by Ixthia, using her natural charisma as a solarian
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“Obey your superiors. And everything will be fine.” she commands the recruits, as suggested by Arvin - after meditating for a minute to focus her sidereal influence.
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Senko helps out his boss by operating an excavation vehicle to clear the debris.
He also helps out Celita by working to repair the environmental damage to the communication equipment.
Senko tries to find the best angle to pose for Fitch's photo.
Senko helps Ixthia by determining which rumors contain grains of truth.
As requested by Arvin, Senko leads the Starfinder initiates in guided meditation to calm their nerves.
Finally, Senko fortifies Naiaj's supplies by preparing a meal, using his chef's tools and some meat remaining from a space dinosaur he hunted last week.
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Cavaler, is not particularly strong, but he does his best to help clear debris in any way he can.
"Let me help you get that communication suite up and running. I'm no computer expert, but I think I can help."
Fitch's mapping job seems more agreeable to Cavaler than the previous two tasks he has undertook so far.
Interviewing the locals is right up the politician's alley.
Cavaler, looks at the group of rookie Starfinders and smirks, seeing that most of them look nervous. Standing in front of them he decides it's time for a speech.
"This is for all you new people. I have only one rule. Everybody fights, no one quits. If you don't do your job, I'll kill you myself! You get me?"
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"Staar, let me help you lifting the debris."
"Comms tech can be vulnerable to errors and deliberate interference so regular maintenance is critical."
Terminatrix looks at Fitch's maps "Yes correct orientation is key to success
"Stay focused to your mission and you have a good chance of survival!" Terminatrix sternly reminds starfinders Arvin was addressing
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Kai hops into a hauler and deftly maneuvers it to load up supplies efficiently and safely.
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Kai chips in, performing some penetration testing of the other engineers' work and upgrading a system or two himself.
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Kai sneaks into the site for a little preliminary exploration.
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Kai chats up the locals in the nearby village to try to figure out where the rumors come from and what they might mean.
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Kai shares a few tenets of Weydan, assuring the Starfinders that the deity would be watching over them as they explore this new site.
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Kai checks over the equipment.
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Hef pops into a power suit loader, ala Aliens, and zips around moving some heavy stuff.
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He skips the technical stuff and just sets up with binoculars to see what he can see.
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While interviewing the locals, he just stands and watches. Black eyes boring deep into their souls. All falsehoods weeded out and exaggerations seen though.
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And gives a rousing soapbox sermon to anyone who will listen to how Kadrical really isn’t a bad god and a lot of his followers just went a bit extreme. He just wants to look out for those that can’t look out for themselves. That is true strength.
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And lastly tries to help locate the rats getting into the rations so they can be exterminated. And which ones are just sneaky hungry ysoki pathfinders.
Staar dives into using brute force to clear away the rubble with Cavaler and Terminatrix's help. The three of them combined make a bit of progress but doesn't get very far when Senko, Kai and Hef each individually hops onto forklifts to clear debris. Senko manages to clear away as much as Star, Cavaler and Terminatrix combined. Kai and Hef, however, shows great skill in managing their respective forklifts, clearing nice, open paths to the site! Kai even manages to fill a few potholes here and there!!
"Well done!" says a clearly impressed Radaszam. His amazement is short-lived as he follows up with, "Now get moving along! There are more preparations that need tending to!"
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Senko, assisted by Kai, manages to repair a good amount of damaged equipment but doesn't have the time to get to all items. Terminatrix performs standard maintenance on other comms tech and successfully updates a few pieces with outdated firmware. Cavaler attempts to assist but is too tuckered out from the physical exertion of moving around debris - unable to concentrate on the computers.
"Thank you Starfinders," says Celita. "Your assistance will not go unnoticed."
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Staar and Hef visually examines the area and notices some interesting features of note and marks them down as places of interest. Senko finds a great angle to pose for Fitch's photo and it comes out fantastic. Unfortunately, it doesn't help with Fitch's survey request. Terminatrix reviews Fitch's maps, spots some rookie errors in the notations - particularly around how land features are oriented - and corrects them. Cavaler and Kai, however, set off to explore the area in more detail, avoiding any native wildlife, sticking to the shadows, not drawing any attention to themselves. They both get a good, detailed look around!!
"Woo! Nice job!! This preliminary intel will come in very handy for our upcoming mission!!!" exclaims Fitch.
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The party, except for Terminatrix, sets off to meet the locals. And like well-oiled, experienced diplomatic mission the party gets the locals speaking in no time! Kai recognizes their love of football, which provides Staar a way to begin coversations putting them all at ease. Senko and Hef notice a few individuals who are dying to reveal something and approaches them to get them to talk. Picking up from Senko and Hef whom else to press for more info, Cav gently prods and ends up with an outpouring of info from those couple of locals who even provides a gift!
"Should our expedition here result in encounters with any other sentients, I have absolute confidence that this team will establish the most successful first contact possible!" says Ixthia.
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While Staar gets a few of the rookies nodding their heads, Cavaler and Terminatrix scares them into absolute submission! They stand stiffly at attention and pay full attention. Senko gets the recruits to relax a bit but they continue to remain at absolute attention. Kai and Hef's spiritual teachings contribute to the new Starfidnders' readiness as they become noticeably emboldened for the upcoming mission.
"A good mix of fear and and inspiration in the new recruits. That'll keep them on their toes and performing one hundred and ten percent. Thank you Starfinders!" says Arvin.
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Hef assists Kai with developing traps to attract and capture all the rats that have been eating away at the mission food stores and possibly contaminating them with disease. Senko takes some of the more questionable foodstuffs, combines them with some other ingredients he recently acquired and whips them up into an absolutely delicious, nutritious and, somehow, well-preserved fondue that won't spoil for days on end!
Naiaj raises a single eyebrow - which all of you know means she is extremely impressed.
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“Attention, Starfinders!” First Seeker Ehu calls from in front of his shelter. The remaining hubbub quiets, and the Starfinders gather in lines for the briefing. “Our preparations are complete, so we can begin our exploration momentarily. Our first step is investigating the aboveground portions of the ruins and those accessible just below the surface.” He nods to Fitch, who’s tapping on the edge of her datapad. “Fitch, the surveys?”
Fitch quickly tucks her datapad away and hops into position next to him. “Right! Our preliminary surveys indicate there are five main sites that might provide access to the lower levels. To better organize the expedition, we ask that each team choose a site to investigate. Once you decide, the leader in charge of that site can provide you the details we know... though in most cases, that isn’t much. After you’ve secured a site and verified whether it leads further down, report back here and we’ll determine our next moves.”
Fitch steps aside, and Ehu takes her place, glancing over the assembled crowd.
“Some of you have been with us for years,” he says, “while others are new recruits. Whatever your level of experience, I have every confidence that your skills will be invaluable to our efforts here. Exploration and discovering forgotten secrets are what we Starfinders do best, after all. I expect all of you to work hard to achieve our goal, take care of each other, and report anything you find. Now, without further ado, let’s begin!”
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
The efforts of Pathfinder Society agents in the distant past were successful!
In tinkering with time, Pathfinder agents have spun off a temporal anomaly that may help you in dangerous situations.
Pathfinders were careful to rescue their agents from peril whenever they could.
Your first mission briefing is provided by Celita who takes you into a large tent emblazoned with the symbol of the Dataphiles. As the you follow her in, she takes a position next to a map of the ruins projected onto the wall. She surveys everyone for a moment before nodding in satisfaction.
“There’s no point wasting time on preambles,” she says. “Our early surveys of these ruins identified an intact section of the structure at its eastern corner.” She taps a pointer to the map, where an area is highlighted in red. “Judging from pictures taken of its exterior, it appears it was once some sort of shrine. A structural analysis indicates there’s likely a basement or passage below the main floor, but we need you all to verify that theory and to ensure it’s safe to proceed.”
She pulls up an image on her datapad of a crumbling stone structure, displaying it in hologram form at the center of the tent. “This is the site. If you learn who or what this shrine was once dedicated to, let me know."
She warns, "Be careful not to damage the site and remember the commissary is open in case you need to purchase any last minute items for your mission."
The shrine is a crumbling complex of stone buildings connected by corridors; at its center is a large domed chamber. The stone walls have worn away in spots, though not enough to be passable from the outside, and ice coats the exterior.
The party enters through the only available entrance, a pair of double doors. They lead into this stone-walled chamber, one of the few portions of the complex that appears intact. Three pillars, carved with geometric designs and weathered with age, stand on either side of the room. Rubble that may have once been additional wall carvings lays scattered across the floor, and two windows look out onto the ice fields. A door across from the entrance leads further in. Two side doors are visible but inaccessible due to immovable rubble.
Then, without warning, the weather-beaten walls flicker! They reform into elaborately carved stone arching up to the dome above. Outside the shrine’s windows, the icy fields surrounding the building have been replaced by a sparkling lake, this building now sitting at the center of a small island. The lake’s waves lap gently against the shore. Through the double doors you just entered walks a robed figure, its features covered. It passes through the chamber to the door across from the entrance.
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Cavaler, activates the environmental controls on his armor and affixes his syringe stick to the light bayonet bracket on his rocket rifle before entering the complex. A turquoise cube aeon stone orbits his helmet covered head.
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While approaching the building, Senko draws a pair of pistols and, seeing Cavaler activate his environmental seals, will do the same.
Senko pings the communication network the Starfinders set up for the mission, trying to determine if the change in locale is an illusion or if we've been transported somewhere.
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Hef moves in, hands free to react to things. He raises an eye as his allies seal up their suits. He simply says, ”Kadrical Protects you and I will act as his emissary. Do not fear.”
He takes the scene shift in stride, stepping between the group and the newcomer with his four hands in front of him open, ”Hello, we are not hostile.”
The response to Senko pinging the comms network comes back mostly normal, indicating that you probably haven't been transported. However, you notice that some response times take longer than expected while other response times are faster than expected.
The robed figure does not respond. In fact, portions of the building begin flickering between its magnificent appearance and its initial, ruined appearance when you first entered. Similarly the robed figure fades in and out of view, appearing only when you see the 'magnificent' appearance. Your vision fluctuates between the two appearance more and more rapidly....
The visual fluctuations hits everyone and disorients the entire party! You're able to shake it off partially but Cavaler, Kai and Terminatrix are left slightly disoriented...
With everyone putting their heads together, the party deduces that you're experiencing temporal fluctuations blurring the boundaries between the past and the present. As a result, you're experiencing a bewildering array of visions of the shrine as it once was. Though the fluctuations are not directly harmful, the experience is unsettling and disorienting.
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The floor of this oval-shaped room is carved with wave patterns, radiating outward from a statue of an androgynous humanoid figure at the room’s center. The statue’s face is so worn as to be nearly featureless, but it holds a hand outstretched toward the room’s western door. Another door, its stone crumbling, stands to the north.
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Hef feels the mild nagging in his brain as the images flicker, but it quickly fades, "See? Kadrical can even protect our sanity. I think that what you all have figured out is correct, we are experiencing temporal fluctuations blurring the boundaries between the past and the present. As a result, we're experiencing a bewildering array of visions of the shrine as it once was. Though the fluctuations are not directly harmful, the experience is unsettling and disorienting. Anyway, let's move on."
He strides into the next room and looks around, this time prepared for a mystical inspection.
"Odd, the statue doesn't seem to depict any known deity or demigod. Perhaps it is simply a piece of art?"
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Senko issues a command to his digital assistant. "Navi, continue pinging the Starfinder network. Chart the delays over time and put it in the corner of my display. Alert me the delays go beyond two standard deviations of currently-observed values."
He also accesses his library chip to try to identify the statue.
"The statue could just be a person of historical significance, perhaps?"
Senko follows the party deeper into the structure, looking for traps.
Although the time fluctuations provide fragmented glimpses of the room in its former glory, the visual flashes unfortunately do not encompass the statue.
Searching around for traps within the room and the northern door, none are found. And with that being the only path forward, the party opens the door!
At the far end of this circular room stands a peculiar clockwork telescope, pointed at a gap in the domed ceiling thirty feet above. To its left is an elaborate orrery, made of similar clockwork and frozen in place. Two towers on either side of the chamber contain spiral stairways, now collapsed. The five doors leading into the room are all blocked by rubble, save for the door the party entered through. The remains of several statues stand atop plinths near the walls.
And within this room four ice creatures snap to attention at your presence and attacks!!
Round 1
The following characters in bold may take their turn:
Kai (-1 to ATK/Skills)
Senko
Staar
Cavaler (-1 to ATK/Skills)
Hef
Terminatrix (-1 to ATK/Skills)
Green
Blue
Orange
Red
Our intrepid Starfinder heroes get the jump on these hostile creatures!! Will they be able to press the advantage and prevail???
Hef and Senko determine that the shrine bound what were once water elementals to serve as guardians, but the change in the surrounding climactic energies has shifted their forms to ice over what must have been millennia. Therefore, the hostile entities you now face are...
Medium Ice Elementals!!
Things you know:
1. No DR
2. No special attacks
3. Cold Immunity
4. Elemental Immunities
5. Vulnerable to fire