Many of you try to break through the security in Firiz's comm unit, but it proves trickier than expected. The efforts fail to crack the device before lockout procedures cause much of the data to self-destruct!
You are at least able to recover one bit of intelligence. A set of coordinates for a location several miles away. The coordinates seem to be a good ways off any major roads, in a desert environment. Walking there would take several hours, though the trip would be a lot quicker if you could bum a ride...
Going over ans asking Bolgin about the possibility of a ride, the driver looks you all up and down for a moment, expression blank. Then he breaks into a smile. "Aw hells, guess I can give you a lift. Not too far out of my route, and from the way you just handled yourselves, might be good deterrent in case anyone tries trouble with the truck on the way out. We should be leavin' soon now though: there aren't much authorities around here but would rather not get caught up in anyone swinging by to ask about that shootout either way."
The six of you follow Bolgin out and load into his van. "May be a bit of a tight fit back there" he says as he throws opn the back, revealing a rear bed filled partially filled with a variety of crates and barrels. "Luckily I unloaded a few kegs out over here, but the rest and those boxes of kourzo fruit've gotta be dropped off on the Vault's Eastside." There is enough room for you to settle into the vehicle - albiet not very comfortably - and after about a ten-minute long ride out from the spaceport Bolgin pulls over and lets you out. "This's as close as I can get on the roads, and the van ain't exactly an ATV. Happy hunting!"
He peels away and you see that the coordinates from the comm unit are about a kilometer south of the road, leading you into a sparse hot desert. Trekking towards the coordinates' position, you eventually come to a large structure. It looks like an old industrial building, though the massive facility seems long since abandoned. The large building's entrance is chained shut with a rusty set of chains.
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"Chains?" says Chip, checking on Checker's weapon. "That makes me think this place isn't being used for its original purpose--if it needed to be locked up, it'd have locks built in. Although I dunno what that tells us, yet."
"Oh, hang on." Chip points out the broken chain. "Did somebody break in, or is the whole chain a decoy?"
Noticing the trick, its hatching's-play to bypass the 'locked' chain. Going through the doors, you walk into the large entryway of what was once a manufacturing building. The complex is dimly lit by faint starlight coming through windows spread sporadically about while hallways branch out in three directions, and each hallway then splinters off into more and more hallways. The area shows clear signs of neglect: the floors are dirty, and the halls are littered with discarded debris.
While George-023 gets a bit turned around, Chip, Nalotrunos, and Twila-5 notice faint marks amidst the dust covering the floors of the facility. Occasional tracks appear - footprints of large humanoid feet - appear in some of the wings and halls, as are places where a tight path seems to have been cleared and wheel skidmarks visible.
Following these signs eventually leads the seven of you down a set of hallways that terminate in a closed door. This door seems newer than the others you've seen while walking through the complex, and the bulky door is locked -actually locked this time.
With the androids confirming the way's safe, Vomatian hacks in and with some assistance from Twila the door slides open with a *kathunk*.
Beyond a broad, well-maintained hallway runs from west to east between the metal security door and a roomy stairwell at the far end. Another hallway branches off to the south, leading to a dead end.
This part of the industrial complex appears far better-maintained than the outer corridors. light lights are on, illuminating the spaces, and the floors are kept mostly free of debris. Doors designed for large creatures line the halls, and bright fluorescent lights shine overhead.
Moving to the closest door and opening it you reveal a massive computer lab. Large desk line the room, with computer consoles and technical equipment that look like they were are fairly new models and were quite high-end once.
Once being the key word, as the machinery lies in pieces. Electronics are scattered carelessly across the desks and the floor. Most of the terminals and hard drives look positively smashed, as if broken apart by a massive object. An object like the large assault hammer in the hands of the large four-armed tusked figure currently smashing another of them.
The woman looks up at you as you look at her with her blunt instrument wedged in the middle of a server. After a blink, she roars and hefts up her hammer.
The shobad in the lab hits a button on his armor with a lower hand, then moves towards the open doorway to menace you. As she goes, you see the veing on his exposed arms begin to pop. Her eyes start to turn red, and and almost feral growl of rage erupts from her tusked lips.
Down the hall another door pops open to reveal a second shobad! This one is male, but is similarly red-eyed and flexing like mad - hammer in two hands, a pistol in a third.
Initiative
Twila-5
George-09-23
Vomatian
Nalotrunos
Chip
Felix
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Not having a clear shot at the first shobad, Twila-5 throws herself into the nearest corner, hiding for a moment as she draws her before popping out again to shoot at the second one
Well, that was pathetic. Good to know I'm dead weight on the team. She takes a brief moment to clear her head; distractions in fights lead to knockouts...or worse.
The trick is...not good. Yet Twila-5's shot still manages to just strike the shobad target - he seems very angry and focused on smashing the ^&%*$ out of you and less on caring about what happens to him.
The other android's own mental attack also seems effective, at least based on the sound of roaring it provokes.
Initiative
Vomatian
Nalotrunos
Chip
Felix
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Nalotrunos grabs his mote and it blossoms into the faintly glowing blue spear. He wheels and steps toward the nearest threat. "Stand back, Chip, this could get dangerous."
As if to punctuate the statement, his spear hisses over the halfling's head in a jab at the looming shobhad.
( Deals Piercing Damage, Glows blue)
Most often, caster level is used to affect some elements of the spell, as called out in a given spell's text. So to looks at Felix's Dampen Spell spell for example, their caster level would affect both the range at which they can cast it (100 ft + another 10 for each caster level for that spell) as well as the likelihood of it affecting the target magic (as that spell has you roll a 'dispel check' where your caster level is the modifier to the dice). For Stumble Your caster level would just affect the range (25 feet as a base, with another 5 extra feet of range for every two caster levels Felix has).
Now: Spell Penetration lets you count your caster level as two levels higher in a specific circumstance: when you're trying to overcome a creature's Spell Resistance. Some, though not all, creatures are a bit more resistant to magic and have spell resistance (or 'SR'). When you cast a spell against a creature with SR that could be affected by it (if the spell has 'spell resistance: yes' in its description) you would need to roll a caster level check against the target (1d20+your CL). If that result is lower than the SR of the target, they are completely unaffected by it. Felix right now has a caster level of 1, so normally their rolls against an enemy's SR would be 1d20+1. However the Spell Penetration feat would treat your level as two higher for these sort of checks, so if you cast Stumble against a creature with SR right now you'd instead roll 1d20+3 against their SR.
As it turns out, this particular shobad doesn't have any spell resistance so I'll just move onto its save, but I hope that explanation made sense :)
for
Vomation fires a shot that while a bit lower in power squarely strikes the shobad in the lab, who then stumbles slightly from Felix's magic affecting her limbs. And that momentary slack of balance immeadiately give their ally an opening as Nalotrunos is just able to dodge an attack on his wn approach as he pierces the now badly bleeding shobad with his spear.
Initiative
Chip
Chip moves away from the big hammer...and tells Checkers to then get close to it.
The drone advances, and swings.
for
Checkers' swing misses which gives the hurt shobad a chance to strike again at the vesk who injured her. She swings her hammer twice down on Nalotrunos, drawing some blood on the first strike though the second goes wildly off-target in her rage.
for
for
In the hallway, the male shobad roars and sprints down to bring his hammer down on the android operative.
for
Initiative
Twila-5 12/24 SP
George-09-23
Vomatian
Nalotrunos 0/8 SP, 10/13 HP
Chip
Felix
George sends missiles slamming into the shobad in the doorway. She grunts with a *hurk* and takes a half-step back. Her wounds seem overwhelming, and yet she continues to stand through sheer force of will!
Hurt, Nalotrunos strikes twice himself. The first stab manages to miss even the reckless shobad - perhaps due to the vesk's blood loss? - but the second lands squarely in her chest. The enemy looks down at the stab for an instant, before finally crumbling backwards.
Initiative
Twila-5 12/24 SP
Vomatian
Chip
Felix
As Checker approaches, the second shobas swings out his hammer at the nearing drone.
for
It clobbers the robot, whose own strike back fails to connect. Twila-5 at least takes the opportunity to get a breather and lands her own shot.
Initiative
Vomatian
Felix
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** spoiler omitted **...
Seeing Nalostrunos badly hurt from the attack of the shobad he just sent to its demise, they somewhat rewind Nalostrunos personal timeline to an earlier point in his life cycle, imbuing him with renewed vitality and restoring a number of Stamina Points for the vesk solarian, and grants him a +5-foot enhancement bonus to his land speed for 1 round. "You would need that youthfulness." they tell him flatly before moving next to Twila.
Vomatian's exocortex target locks as he fires at the rampaging shobad.
for
Even with his target reckless, Vomatian's dart *pings* off of the shobad's armor.
he yells as he swings his large hammer straight into Twila-5's solar plexus.
for
You then see one of the shobad's lower arms fumbling for a greande.
Initiative
Twila-5 3/24 SP
George-09-23
Vomatian
Nalotrunos 1/8 SP, 10/13 HP
Chip, Checker 7 damage
Felix
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The vesk watches blue drop to the ground and whirls toward the other threat. It's clear the tactical position would be improved if the shobhad could be surrounded and the rest of the team was unlikely to try that.
"For honor and glory!" Nalo charges forward, passing behind checker then dropping into a slide along the floor. He pops up behind the shohad and cuts low at the creature's legs as he rises.
( Deals Piercing Damage, Glows blue)
for
The vesk takes another hard hit as he nears, but he does land a glorious stab that pierces through the shobad's armor. As that impact coincides with another barrage of magical missile,s he roars and spits in pure rage as blood is freely flowing from his injuries to a dangerous degree.
Initiative
Twila-5 3/24 SP
Vomatian
Chip, Checker 7 damage
Felix
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"Private--you were in here breakin' stuff!"
Including my poor robot.
"Checker--guard!" The drone strikes out again with its doshko, but it's a less forceful strike as it keeps the weapon close to itself to use defensively. The halfling himself glares at the Shobhad, keeping his attention and weapon focused entirely on him.
Under Vomatian and Chip's blasts, the rage that was animating the shbad is overwhlemed. He falls down, hammer clattering.
As the sounds of combat ebb, the open room the female shobad was in remains a massive smashed-up computer lab. The other shobad looks to have emerged from some sort of workshop, where a low fire is burning in a metal crate.