You were hustled onto a Starfinder vessel with a preprogramed flight plan without so much as a briefing. You are 16 days into your drift flight into the Vast. You are on approach to your destination the only information you have about your mission is a holographic message contained in a spell gem like crystal.
>> START PLAYBACK
On the left half of the illusion, First Seeker Ehu Hadif sits behind a black desk in his neat office. “You’ll be excited to hear
the Society has decrypted the beacon found on Kizmatta. Though, not as excited as Radaszam, I expect.”
On the right half of the illusion, Radaszam stands in a museum warehouse alongside several crates labelled “Rasheen.” Radaszam grins. “This is a historic expedition! We’re back on Rasheen’s trail!”
Ehu nods. “The beacon is one used by the well-known explorer Jelev Rasheen to mark the path of her expeditions. She operated in the early days of Drift travel when courses were less predictable than today. Thanks to Radaszam’s research, we know that parts of the code from the Kizmatta beacon contain Rasheen’s notation for graves and memorials.”
“You’re going to Tombworld!” Radaszam interrupts with excitement.
Ehu shakes his head at the name. “A little sensational, don’t you think?”
“Nonsense! Show them the imagery!” Radaszam retorts.
Ehu obliges, pulling up a screen showing a star map of a nondescript solar system, then magnifies a section of its asteroid belt. Further magnification of a large, spherical object in the asteroid belt reveals a pyramidical structure. “It appears to be a pyramid, a structure used on old Golarion for religious and magical purposes, and yes, sometimes as tombs,” Ehu concedes. \
“Rasheen never mentioned an interest in old Golarion in any of her authenticated talks or records, but this architecture could indicate a civilization that had contact with Golarion colonists.”
“Or it could be an Azlanti outpost, so keep your weapons charged,” Radaszam points out. “Either way, we want to know why Rasheen went to check it out.”
“The beacon’s message contained what I think is an access code, most likely for the pyramid.” Ehu adds. “In the mission packet I’ve duped authentication tokens with the code, which we hope will help you enter it. Once inside, we’d like you to document the contents. Stay safe.”
<< END PLAYBACK
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Kelvin watches the message quietly, the whole time slowly wiping down his light reaction cannon. Kelvin is a human male, fairly non-descript, short brown hair, he is dressed in armor but over the armor he wears what appears to be oversized coveralls, torn and patched. His hands have the worn and calloused look of someone who makes their living with their hands. During the trip so far, Kelvin has mostly kept to himself, in what appears to be a near religious habit of laying out all of his gear, checking and cleaning it and then packing it back up again. When he has spoken it has been mostly short sentences about "I'm here for when things go bad, and they always go bad."
orbited the sun where Absalom Station now does and is the home world of dwarves, humans, halflings, orcs, and many more. The planet
disappeared during the Gap, along with its inhabitants and a few deities. If the pyramid has any connection to Golarion, it would be the discovery of the century.
contained coordinates leading to another beacon on the planet Kizmatta. After carefully navigating Kizmattan politics, the Starfinder Society was able to reach this second beacon, from which they extracted encrypted coordinates.
Jelev Rasheen sallied forth from Absalom Station in the early days of Drift travel. She returned every few years with fascinating tales and a hold full of fantastic treasure. After her final disappearance, stories continued to circulate that her final haul put her previous expeditions to shame—but no storyteller could present hard evidence of where she’d set her last set of Drift coordinates. The ambiguity of Rasheen’s disappearance inspired holovid dramas and adventure novels that, while short on historical accuracy, inspired a generation of explorers and treasure-hunters to set their own courses into the stars. Radaszam was one of them.
A few years ago, while searching for leads on Rasheen’s discoveries in the Lorespire Complex, Radaszam stumbled across a flight plan that Rasheen had registered. He set some Starfinders on the same course. On an icy moon they found a beacon Rasheen used to mark her progress, store data, and leave messages for friends.
Jelev Rasheen sallied forth from Absalom Station in the early days of Drift travel. She returned every few years with fascinating tales and a hold full of fantastic treasure. After her final disappearance, stories continued to circulate that her final haul put her previous expeditions to shame—but no storyteller could present hard evidence of where she’d set her last set of Drift coordinates. The ambiguity of Rasheen’s disappearance inspired holovid dramas and adventure novels that, while short on historical accuracy, inspired a generation of explorers and treasure-hunters to set their own courses into the stars. Radaszam was one of them.
Starfinders uncovered a beacon that contained coordinates leading to another beacon on the planet Kizmatta. After carefully navigating Kizmattan politics, the Starfinder Society was able to reach this second beacon, from which they extracted encrypted coordinates.
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A large hover suit with a shield slowly lowers to the ground a few meters away from the others. With a hiss of steam, the cockpit opens, and a green-haired halfling with a prosthetic right arm exits. Her approaches the group and grumbles, "Tombworld? And they couldn't have told us before we left?"
He then appears to be distracted for a moment, and whispers to no one in particular, "And if you don't behave, it will be yours, too."
"Anyway, I am called Kneepuncher, at least when I am in that getup," he continues, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the powered armor. "I think we all know why they picked me for this job."
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A woman in tight black armor with decorative elements made of latex and leather lights a cigarette. Her pointed ears show that she is a half-elf, and the blue-purple skin color and white hair clarify: half-drow. Releasing a ring of smoke up, she makes music (crazy roaring black metal) quieter in the earphone in her left ear and looks at her comrades.
Hello kittens. My name is Yarameh. I'll be your best shot on the ship. And the only one who will turn on normal music, I think.
She's obviously not joking about the music. A music speaker is mounted in her left shoulder (and there is a microphone near her face), and there is also a separate flying drone (stylized as something demonic like a quasit), which is easily identified as TuneBot-2000 - ideal for broadcasting music.
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Moxie is a slim, athletic human female in with light brown skin and short black hair with streaks of gold. She is dressed in a gold colored space suit that is adorned with a symbol of Abadar in black that goes down the side of her torso and her right leg. Everything about her appearance is incredibly put together and she seems to almost exude light that draws attention towards her.
As she walks into the room she is holding out a comm unit at arms length and talking to someone on the other end who she calls "Murray."
"I'm here, Murray. I'll have to talk to you after the mission. Say hi to your kids for me. Tell them Moxie wishes them a happy Life Day. Alright, bye."
Moxie puts the comm unit away and flashes a charming smile as she scans the occupants of the room. "Well, this is a fine looking group of professional Starfinders if I have ever seen one!" she says, her gold flecked eyes sparkling hypnotically as she looks around the room.
"Huh...I remember watching a documentary on the pyramids of Old Golarion. I wish I could remember more about it. If we have time, maybe we should do some more research on the InfoSphere."
After the long but uneventful transit to the Ukkoruuk system, you reach your destination amid an asteroid belt. Unlike its neighboring natural asteroids, the planetoid at Rasheen’s coordinates is spherical. It’s almost perfectly smooth surface consists of a hex grid divided by neat canals filled with a silver liquid, crossable by narrow footbridges. Each
hex contains a structure, some only two or three yards tall. Most notable is the largest structure, a pyramid which almost occupies its
entire hex. It has no visible entrance.
You manage to scan through the interfearence and determine the planetoid has unusually high gravity, approximating that of Absalom Station and lost Golarion, which is likely artificial. The canals are filled with liquid mercury.
You recognize some of these structures as famous buildings from lost Golarion. Most notable among these is the pyramid, which looks like a tomb from the desert nation of Osirion.
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"That is an unusual looking planet. With all those hexes it kinda looks like one of those strategy games some kids play," Moxie comments. Hearing about the rivers of mercury Moxie says, "We should make sure our environmental protections are active when we go down there. I don't think anyone wants to get a mouth full of mercury down there."
Moxie does a quick check on her equipment and gets ready for landing.
With your preperations made you look for a landing site. Because of all the buildings covering the asteroid’s surface, there’s only one hex that is clear of obstructions and suitable for landing a starship. This hex is 1 mile from the great pyramid.
Black sand covers the planet’s entire surface except the footpaths, which are paved with opalescent white stone. Liquid mercury ripples intermittently along the 10-foot-wide canals that divide the surface into hexagonal grids. Each grid contains a single structure, colored in infinite variations of gray and silver. These small monuments range in size and shape from blocky, angular three-story buildings to open-air pavilions only a few yards in diameter. Some are clearly miniature copies of larger buildings, with inch-wide “balconies” a mere foot above
the ground. All are architectural follies with no functional entrances—save one; a towering pyramid of shining white stone. Three of the pyramid’s faces are smooth and featureless, while the fourth features an inverted triangle enclosing one circle and overlapped by another, inset in gold and opal.
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Moxie takes photos of some of the buildings as she moves through the miniaturized city.
"We don't know much about Old Golarion. If theze are really replicas of buildings from there, then this planet is going to be a treasure trove for historians." Moxie leans in to get a shot of the details on one of the replica's facade.
"Let's get some good photos while we're here, just on the off chance we happen to blow this place up."
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As the group is hustled onto the ship at the start:
A large female Vesk in heavy armor and several weapons marches aboard. There is a holy symbol of Desna hanging from her neck. The skin you can see is a darker green but she has a hue of colors ranging from that green up to a vibrant dark purple on the top of her spine ridge from her head to.. well, you assume the tip of her tail.
She smiles broadly as she enters. "Greetings! I am Yith, a humble servant of Desna. Very nice to meet you all."
As the ships travels on she talks to everyone a little bit, getting to know them, does some reading, spends some time in meditation and prayer and, once near the destination makes sure all of her gear are in perfect condition.
Once down:
"I do not think I have ever seen a planet like this..."
The pyramid seems to be the only full sized structure. It has 3 blanks faces. The 4th face has some kind of geometric symbol on it.
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Am I the only one who thinks that this is all pretty weird?
To calm herself down, Yarameh turns on the roaring death metal in the drone. Through the female growl, you can distinguish texts about dark murders for the glory of the lords of the abyss. Definitely, this half-breed has unusual ideas inner peace.
It is not difficult to notice that a camera is built into the head of a quasit-drone, but this camera shoots not so much the surroundings (although they are also) as the Yarameh itself. The material for the future clip - she explains.
Does anyone have any ideas about this symbol? It doesn't seem to be mystical, so it's out of my area of interest... Anyway, we're going there. And so she goes to the pyramid from the side that is different from the other three.
The symbol rests at ground level and is 15 feet in diameter. It’s a door with no apparent hinges or handles. A small slot in the seams of the design could fit an ID badge or keycard.
You identify the design as the symbol of the Prophecies of Kalistrade, a philosophy that espouses that personal self-denial and spiritual cleanliness aid in the acquisition of personal wealth. Although this philosophy has its roots in ancient Golarion, it remains strong today, with many adherents—known as Kalistocrats—living throughout the Pact Worlds and Near Space. Kalistocrats are easily identifiable by their white and gold attire, long white gloves, intense dietary restrictions, and excessive wealth.
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Moxie acknowledges that the situation is strange. "Yes, this is a strange place. All the information about Old Golarion was wiped out after the Gap. How did this survive? Or was it made by someone with pre-Gap knowledge? We need to find out."
"Hmmm....Kalistocrats out here? Definitely wasn't expecting that. I don't suppose anyone happens to have a Kalistocrat ID card on them?"
At the word Kalistkrats, the design depresses and slides up into the wall. Revealing the chamber within.
Inside the pyramid, the pristine white walls are framed by a white-and-gold marble floor, polished gold ceiling, and six tall obelisks. As the
entry door slides closed, breathable air flows into the entry room from subtle vents in the ceiling. Soft golden lights activate, revealing a desiccated corpse in the northeast corner.
The corpse was a male ysoki killed by blunt force. Searching the body, you findan employee badge with a photograph of a brown-furred ysoki identified as “maintenance technician third-class Atezo Demari.”
None of the rest of your searches turns up anything of interest in this chamber.
This long, high hallway is lined with pedestals and gallery displays that showcase holograms, art, and statues lit by subtle columns of light. Material sculptures include an elaborate model of an arch supported bridge, a split-level villa with multiple balconies and porches built into a tiered hillside, a luxurious spaceport lobby, and a partially complete sculpture of a humanoid-snake hybrid with a star for a face. One hologram of a red pyramid periodically fades to show the layout of corridors and chambers within and below it. Another hologram features an old-fashioned musical performance theater, and yet another shows a pre-planned city center expanding outwards into a metropolis.
A sphinx sits on a pedestal. Her white leonine body sports robotic wings, complete with feathers of gold enamel and a human woman’s head.
Drow looks curiously at this place and this whole stand, then turns her gaze to the sphinx. Oh, I've heard of such creatures, it's going to make riddles now...
She herself, however, is in no hurry to enter into a dialogue with the sphinx, rightly assuming that this may end in shooting.
The woman hops off her pedestal, "Greetings and welcome honored guests My name is Rishni. I have the honor of assistingmy lady Dortay ven Corbosi, an architect of renown, most honored among the Kalistocrats, founder and chief architect of Corbosi Incorporated. If you enjoy the display here, feel free to scan, draw or otherwise record them."
Yes, with pleasure. As if nothing had happened, Yarameh takes out her smartphone and photographs the statue she is interested in
[dice=Mysticism]1d20 + 13 + 4
Your phone promtes you with a requst to upload a data file relating to the statue you just took a picture of. The signal seems to be coming from the display.
You get a file containing historical information about the
piece and its construction. There are similar plinths under the other displays.