Through shifting and sliding passages, turning back onto itself but ever forward, the three adventurers find the central room of the mindmaze.
A trinary star system—a place you instinctively know to be the Scoured Stars—floats in the center of the maze. Many of the planets around the three stars grow green, representing an abundance of life. Suddenly a dark presence, felt more than seen, descends on the room and hungrily encircles the stars.
One of the worlds pulsates with a golden aura that continues to grow. Eventually, this vast golden shield covers all the worlds of the region. The clawing darkness recedes. Time passes, generations come and go in the blink of an eye. Gradually, the golden shield lowers. Soon after, eight groups of ships, their shapes too intangible to make out, depart into the cosmos beyond. Each fleet travels through the void on a different path. The home of these eight fleets soon goes dark, and over the coming generations the last vestiges of life in the Scoured Stars disappears.
Sometime later, eight small objects hurtle out from the lifeless planet that summoned the shield. Each object, a relic of immense magical power, follows the course of one of the previously departed groups. The objects disappear along their trajectories, and the vision abruptly ends as the worlds of the Scoured Stars fade to black.
Those relics are similar to the object found by Jadnura, which is why the society went to the Scoured Stars in the first place Royo explains Perhaps with additional research using the star charts available on Athaeum, I may be able to track the path of the relics Royo suggest, though for now we should just report with this finding
---
Suddenly a small flying clockwork drone, roughly a foot wide, whizzes into view and rapidly approaches. A holographic projection of Albryan the Curator emerges from the top of the
drone and begins to speak.
“Starfinders, I am glad that I have reached you. The Order of the Pyre Hellknights who accompanied you to Athaeum have destroyed the lore wardens in a nearby tower and are burning one of our most ancient book collections! We have more wardens on the way, but they will arrive too late to save our books. Please, hurry to the Tower of the Ellicoth and stop the Hellknights from
causing further harm! If you do so, the Curators will waive your research fee entirely and offer whatever assistance we can!”
That is too good of a deal to pass up on, Royo says, the research fees are extortionate. He then bravely proposes to head back to the main library himself, to do further research, while the group travels to the Tower of the Ellicoth to confront the Hellknights...
Dwarf Technomancer 3 Stats: SP 19/19 ; HP 21/21 ; RP 3/4 | Perc' +0 ; Init' +3 ; Speed 25 ft. | EAC 14 ; KAC 15 | Fort' +3 ; Ref' +4 ; Will +3
Makai wakes up and it takes her a bit to adjust to reality.
"That was ... something."
When the drone shows up Makai looks at Royo jumping the gun
"I can see some double morality from lore wardens. When they burn books it is fine, but when someone does that to them, it is not." she simply comments reloading her gun.
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
"Athaeum has the last copy. When it's gone, it's all gone." Burn mutters simply. The decision to go save books or not is outside his job description. He waits for the more intellectually qualified members of the party to make the choice.
Later once the party starts to move:
"Makai, that list you wanted -- the gods, dragons, maybe the big composite barathus and Dreamers. We're pretty near the top." Burn smiles. " So what was the maze like on the inside?"
Female NG Medium Lashunta Damaya Envoy 4 | ST:24/24 HP:28/28 RP:5/5| EAC 17; KAC 18 | F+4 R+2 W+1 | Init +6 | Perc +11 | Speed 30ft | Active Conditions: None.
"I knew it!" Chadrah blurts out.
"This might be a good lesson for the Wardens, but I won't let the Hellknights get away with this. Let's stop them before it's too late," she nods to the others.
Are there any extinguishers on the walls here that we can take? Are we getting there in a vehicle so we could take a 10 min rest on the way?
F Lashunta Technomancer (3), Operative (1) | HP:25/25 SP:21/21 RP:3/5 | EAC:14 KAC:14 BAB:+2 INIT:+1 PER:+8 | F+1 R+4 W+4 | 1st Lvl Spells: 0/5+1 | Living Staff, Tactical +3/1d6+4 B | Boons: Envar's Gift, Dream Whispers, High Society Influence
Reaching the heart of the mind maze is exhilarating and disturbing. Watching the history of the Scoured Stars system from a god-like viewpoint feels like falling into heaven, only to be impaled against the gates.
She comes out of it feeling a little woozy. "That was... hmm."
Then Royo jolts her to alertness with this latest crisis.
"What now?" she says, still trying to separate history from the immediate present. It sinks in that the Hell Knights are doing what they clearly came here to do, and the small amount of information they gave grudgingly on the voyage to Athaeum would have led to this obvious conclusion.
"Seriously?" says Rilynn, incredulous. "The Starfinders were willing to pay the fee. Now they're happy to risk our lives for a freebie? This is Iteration-177's mess. He brought them here and would never say why. I don't suppose we have a choice in the matter, do we?"
Dwarf Technomancer 3 Stats: SP 19/19 ; HP 21/21 ; RP 3/4 | Perc' +0 ; Init' +3 ; Speed 25 ft. | EAC 14 ; KAC 15 | Fort' +3 ; Ref' +4 ; Will +3
Burnham Kenyon wrote:
"Makai, that list you wanted -- the gods, dragons, maybe the big composite barathus and Dreamers. We're pretty near the top." Burn smiles. " So what was the maze like on the inside?"
"The maze was like being a 3-dimensional matrix transformed into 6 dimensions. Besides regular directions, there were also others... It was weird, overwhelming and my mind needed to adjust. Then watching the scoured stars was also pretty unique, in a bit similar to those video projecting devices that can stream directly to your brain"
Making it over to the tower of the Hellicoth takes about ten minutes (Meaning it counts as a rest to recover, if you need that).
The smell of petrol and smoke fills the air here. Cracks and blast marks pit the floor, all of which surround a gaping hole in the wall. A stone control console covered with metal dials rests in the center of the room. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows to the southwest overlook a library filled with shelves, flames, and billowing smoke.
There's a minor hole in the northeast (DC 21 Acrobatics to climb into, and unlock additional options)
The console contains hundreds of button. Figuring these controls would require some engineering or mysticism knowledge (Spend a full round on engineering or mysticism and succeed at a hard check to activate the sprinklers)
The floor of the room is damaged from previous grenade explosions
DC 15 Engineering:
That doesn't look good. Throw another grenade and the floor will collapse.
Below, fire and smoke fill an immense room. A long and mazelike trench is carved into the floor of the room, brimming with gray mist. Shelves line the walls of the trench, filled with rows of ancient parchments and tomes. The trench forms into a rough circle in the room’s center, creating a small island with three bookshelves standing atop it. The twenty-foot-high ceiling of the room mounts large spray nozzles, each attached to a canister of blue foam.
There are two hellknights here, who don't look too happy that there is a group of spectators. One of them looks quite badly hurt, possibly from a previous fight. It doesn't lower his resolve, though.
Loomarch can be seen in the room below, along with two more hellknights. So far, they seem fairly focused on burnination, rather than the new intruders.
Without any form of restraint, they light up their flamethrowers and douse the room in a shroud of flame. Burnham manages to avoid the blast, but Chrysanthemum is hit.
--
Burnham
Rilynn
Chadrah
Makai
Chrysanthemum
---
Hellknight (-Hurt, not looking too good)
Hellknight
---
This fight is complicated. To summarize, you're in a control room overlooking the main hall, and you see hellknights below burning stuff up. You're only contending with the two hellknight up above for now.
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
"I'll tie them up." Burn follows the ebbing flames with sword drawn. He drags the blade across the one on his flank and faces off against the one in front of him.
Move as shown. That's going to draw an AoO from left knight. Mobility will help against that. The party should get the coordinated shot bonus against the left knight.
1. Mobility: +4 AC against movement induced AoO.
2. Close Combat When you are attacking a foe in melee, you know how to maneuver to make it more difficult for other foes to target you. When you hit an adjacent foe with a melee attack, as long as you are adjacent to that target, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your ac against attacks from other creatures that are not adjacent to you until the beginning of your next turn
3. Coordinated Shot You can maneuver a foe to be in the direct line of an ally's fire. When you are threatening a foe with a melee weapon, any ally that has line of sight to that foe without you granting that foe cover gains a +1 bonus to ranged attack rolls against that foe.
F Lashunta Technomancer (3), Operative (1) | HP:25/25 SP:21/21 RP:3/5 | EAC:14 KAC:14 BAB:+2 INIT:+1 PER:+8 | F+1 R+4 W+4 | 1st Lvl Spells: 0/5+1 | Living Staff, Tactical +3/1d6+4 B | Boons: Envar's Gift, Dream Whispers, High Society Influence
soulnova wrote:
I think the hellknights are between us an the sprinkler console.
I agree with this assessment.
Engineering:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20
Rilynn takes quick stock of the tactical situation. She recognizes immediately that the control room itself is in bad shape and wonders what the hell the Hell Knights did to the place.
"Don't use anything explosive or this whole place will go down!" she warns.
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
Looks like a walkway around the perimeter and spiral staircases down at the corners, but also looks like a solid wall between us and the walkway. There's the hole in the wall. It's probably a 10' drop to the library floor.
Female NG Medium Lashunta Damaya Envoy 4 | ST:24/24 HP:28/28 RP:5/5| EAC 17; KAC 18 | F+4 R+2 W+1 | Init +6 | Perc +11 | Speed 30ft | Active Conditions: None.
I think that's the hole in the description with an Acrobatic DC21. If the sprinkler control is not enough to put out the fires, Chadrah could focus on that with the extinguisher while the rest fight.
Burnham changes all of that by taking a hack at the hurt looking (but more fanatical!) Hellknight, and brings him down with a single blow.
Chrysanthemum lashes out at the other hellknight, and manages to land a hit.
It isn't so clear from the map, but there's a walkway all around the map (the outer ring with the spiral staircases) that connects the upper room (the ones you are in) with the lower floor. The Straight stairs (black diagonal stairs in the each corner of the rectangle) lead down to the lower room. You can go there directly if you want to ignore the hellknights. Hell hath no fury like a knight ignored, though.
Rilynn takes a shot a the hellknight, and what she lacks in experience she makes up with sheer luck, making the knight recoil for a moment. Chadrah's shot goes wide.
Upon Burnhams warning, the remaining knight exclaims All who stand in our way will be purged with fire. In this case, that means a flamethrower, it seems.
Female NG Medium Lashunta Damaya Envoy 4 | ST:24/24 HP:28/28 RP:5/5| EAC 17; KAC 18 | F+4 R+2 W+1 | Init +6 | Perc +11 | Speed 30ft | Active Conditions: None.
Chadrah does a Get'em again (+1 on attacks) and attempts a Clever Faint:
"Joke's on you! Our invisible friend is immune to fire!"
Bluff:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
Clever Faint DC (either 10 + your opponent’s total Sense Motive skill bonus, or 15 + 1-1/2 × the opponent’s CR, whichever is greater): that enemy is flat-footed against your attacks until the end of your next turn. If you succeed, the enemy is also flat-footed against your allies’ attacks until the end of your next turn.
I can see the walkway, but I don't see any way to reach it. Where do the spiral stairs take you? Are the angled areas at the corners stairs down? How far down is the library floor from where we are? Are the light areas or dark areas the library stacks?
I think the map is confusing as well. To enhance the safety of this building, I've added escape route markers and marked out two possible routes to the lower level in green scribbles. The architect has been notified.
Chadrah successfully tricks the knight, and Chrysanthemums lash leaves a nasty gash across the hellknights face. Burnham and Rilynn just miss the hellknight.
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
"Gotta admire the dedication." Burn sizes up the situation. It's best if he can open the knight up to fire from the whole party. "I'm clearing the firing lanes."
Gonna swing around him after he and Makai go, so I stop providing soft cover and can get everyone the coordinated shot bonus. Chrys will have an option to flank then too, but she'll be in the grease. 12 Stamina left.
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
I'll bet Loomarch, the fire in a suit of armor is fire immune. FAROL, if you don't like the baton, Burn's side arm is a static arc pistol that he probably won't be using.
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
DM Kludde, unless the knight really badly damages Burn, say drops me to 12 or less hp, Burn will move around him to the square SE of him. Mobility gives him +4 to AC from AoO. The new position will give the ranged party attacks +1 from coordinated shot. Then Burn himself attacks.
Burn slaps at the flame thrower with the flat of his blade to keep the nozzle down and slides along the damaged wall. He feints at the knight then jumps toward the control console and uses it to push off toward the knight as he swings his sword toward the man's head.
Makai really does a number of the last hellknight, and it finally collapses.
The fire-control console can be activated from up here (full action, takes a computers or mysticism check), after which it should be possible to aim it at the flames (or a hellknight) (itself a full action, but no further check needed)
Below, the hellknights seem mostly preoccupied with burning books. Loomarch is feeding books into his burning maw, and seems to be unaware of any combat in the control room.
Female Quorlu Icon Battleflower Vanguard 7 | SP 91/91 | HP 55/55 | RP 8/9 | EP 1| EAC 26 KAC 28; +1 when EP>0; unflankable, evasion, uncanny agility; +4 vs. bull rush, reposition, or trip | Fort +11 Ref +8 Will +3; resist cold 7, elec 5, fire 5; +2 vs. bleed, disease, poison effects; vuln to cold (fatigued) | Init +3; Perception +11; Darkvision, low-light vision | Speed 45 | Reroll | Campaign Coin | Active effects: none
Chrysanthemum nods in satisfaction after the hellknight collapses. She fishes the fire extinguisher out of her bag as she moves towards the knights in the library itself. "Please activate the fire control system while friend Burnham and I deal with the problem."
If we're still in initiative, move to get out the extinguisher, then move to, er, move. If not, move until provoking initiative.
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
The offer to borrow my pistol still stands even though Makai stole my thunder. :-)
I double moved Chrys and Burn. Reworked post below.
Burn nods also. "You got it, boss," he replies and follows the quorlu along the walkway toward the stairs. He groans with frustration and inwardly curses his armor when the vanguard begins to outpace him.
If I need to move towards console (and I assume that I do) Makai would need 2 rounds to use console: one move action to move, full-action to use console
"Hold to that pistol of yours, we have fire to put down"
Ace Pilot Human Soldier 4// Init +2 Percept +0 SenseMotive +0 // F 5 (*check toughness) R 3 W 4 // EAC 20 KAC 23 // Stamina 36/36 HP 32/32 Resolve 5/5 // Speed 25 Fly 25
From our walkwall can we see and be seen by the hellknights or is there a wall that conceals us? Also would like to drop Burn's sword at the end of his last movement.
Everybody needs some time to move, so I'm just going to skip to the point of contact. Makai can now spend a full round action to fire a line of freezing foam (40 feet long, 5 feet wide) anywhere in the room starting from one of the three round things. This deals 3d6 damage (DC 16 for half, cold damage)
Female NG Medium Lashunta Damaya Envoy 4 | ST:24/24 HP:28/28 RP:5/5| EAC 17; KAC 18 | F+4 R+2 W+1 | Init +6 | Perc +11 | Speed 30ft | Active Conditions: None.
Moved Chadrah to the console as she had done Aid another there. Are the sprinklers already working or can they only shoot the foam? How many times can Makai do that? And can Chadrah take a full round to do the same?
Chadrah looks over to the area below. "Do you see that? If you fire a jet from the southeastern one you should be able to hit Loomarch."
I'll wait on a clarification. I had asked for a fire extinguisher from Chrys, I'll assume she left it for us to deal witht he flames.
You can both use the cryo controls. It's a full round action each
If you want to spend a full round action activating a nozzle, just draw a 40 ft line on the map for effect, or alternatively, tell me who you want to hit
