[SFS/PaizoCon Online] 5-13 Finding the forgotten (Inactive)

Game Master Kludde

Rani trick attacks and shoots Red from hiding.

stealth: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (20) + 23 = 43
aphelion laser pistol: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30 fire: 3d4 + 5 ⇒ (4, 3, 3) + 5 = 15
trick damage: 5d8 ⇒ (7, 2, 6, 1, 3) = 19

Saar continues trying to crispy-fry the birds.

GM — Saar will target whichever bird has taken more damage or whichever one is still an available target on his turn.

Move action: Calibrate on the target
Standard action: FIRE!!

White Star Conqueror: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (12) + 13 = 25 vs EAC
Damage: 3d12 + 10 + 10 ⇒ (4, 5, 10) + 10 + 10 = 39

Nimh targets the Big Bird with the most damage and hits it with a Magic Missile, full round so three missiles.

Magic Missile damage to Big Bird that is most hurt: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (3, 3, 4) + 3 = 13

That's above average. I like that

Rani emerges from behind a bush, and shoots the most blackened bird straight between the eyes. It goes limp almost immediately, and drops from the air.

Saar shoots the other bird, singeing its wings. The volley of missiles that follows proves to be too much for handle for an avian, and the second one also drops down into the bushes below.

Combat over! That was some effectively damage-dealing!

Nimh, with his extensive knowledge of these creatures, concludes that actually there must have been something that has riled up these birds. They would simply not attack like that otherwise.

And the trail goes on, the forest becomes darker, and the trees are starting to look a bit more ragged.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
Life Science, DC is 5 less for Exobiology: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24

Can't make the survival roll, even on a natural 20

The rest of that was disappointing

“They say bears, we get birds. This just gets weirder.”

Perception: 1d20 + 18 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 18 + 4 = 31 Includes +4 for scanner if that applies
Life Science: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Survival: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

Saar keeps his weapon out and senses up as the team continues through the woods, the portable scanner in his other hand.

He stops suddenly. “Wait… something changed.”

He swings his gun back into its carrier and runs the scanner with both hands. He moves it side to side, then aims farther down and touches a few buttons. The device responds with a irregular beeping pattern and outlines several things in read on its screen.

“Look at this. Bear tracks were regular, now the’re uneven. Like whoever — whatever — made them only stepped on certain spots.”

His faces squinches as he catches an odor on the wind. “And there’s rotting plants. But why plants if we're getting close to a carnivore's lair?”

perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (19) + 17 = 36

Peee..ewwww. Yeah ... confirm the smell

I'm gonna make a recommendation for a new standard operating procedure for situations like this, after this mission. Scan the entire darn planet before landing.

Saar points out the odor and the unregular tracks when Rani spots a dangerous passage in the woods. The roots here have so thoroughly rotted through that stepping further may cause trees to fall.

You can use Engineering to disable the trap, or Life Science to find a safe route through.

Engineering to find a way through, +4 if this is considered a trap: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (18) + 18 = 36

I agree. We should have scanned this whole place more thoroughly. That might have given us more of a clue as to what the heck is going on.

Saar kneels for a closer look at the decaying root structure and trees. “I can work with this.”

Engineering: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (1) + 22 = 23 Or maybe not.

He frowns. “This... these... trees... gah, I don't know. I’m used to cities and ruins, not stupid trees. Nimh?”

fort: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13 oouch that really hurt What did I go blind?

Z gets +2 vs poison, making this a successful save

Shortly after the battle, Z's arm starts itching in the place where he took the initial hit. The internal nanite defense mechanism of the android seems to prevent worse effects, though, though the arm might remain a bit stiff for a while.

No effect

Nimh manages to find a way to support the nearby trees, which should be enough to allow the group safe passage. The trail leads to a little mound in the forest, consisting of boulders and claw-gouged trees. Inside are two large creatures with green fur chomping on a deer carcass, an activity that comes with a fair share of growls and snorts.

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear
Bear
---

I take it the party is up?

First off, what are we looking at

Life Science, DC is 5 less to recall knowledge for Exobiology: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29

Are they inherently hostile? Can we get by without a fight?

Yes, the party is up.

Nimh has a good look at the bears, which look exactly like the rock bears that were described to him earlier. These creatures behave rather strangely for wild animals, since they immediately move to the attack, rather than growling at the intruders. The growling also seems a bit repetitive...

So yes, hostile

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear
Bear
---

How badly are Nimh's nerves tingling? Not only is he an exobiology specialist, his day job is profession zookeeper. What would I have to roll to determine if these are real "Rock Bears" or some sort of illusions or automatons.

Also, are the stumps actual stumps, or trees? I am trying to determine line of sight.

GM — Are the rocks to the east of our “start” area difficult terrain?

“Huh… there’re real. Time to cook some bear.”

Move action: Calibrate on red
Standard action: FIRE!!

White Star Conqueror: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17 vs EAC -- Oh, poopberries.
Damage: 3d12 + 10 + 10 ⇒ (11, 4, 5) + 10 + 10 = 40

Assuming they're not synths Rani comments.

Data moves forward and casts a wall of steam wall of steam The steam will be on the bears side.
red within 5 feet dmg: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5 fire

Yes, the rocks are difficult terrain. I've just randmly plopped you into the box. Feel free to adjust your starting position, as long as it's within the dotted lines

The lair is dotted by large, sturdy trees that a person can hide behind (For cover, including those lying down.). The trunks are impassable, but all soil is easy to move on, except for some rocky parts and an area that is covered by the canopy of a fallen tree.

Nimh nerves are tingling so hard they're audible. These bears are not natural, they're moving way to jerky for that.

Engineering check to know more - you called it.

Saar proves that the White Star Conqueror is not a weapon for novices. Even the experienced mechanic doesn't manage to get a shot on taret.

Z sets up a barrier of searing steam, which serves to confirm Nimh's notion that these bears are not normal - instead of covering from the heat, the bears to continue their advance!

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear
Bear
---

GM — I changed Saar’s starting position and then moved him a bit more. He has the Nimble Moves feat, so the first 20’ of difficult terrain each round is treated like normal terrain.

“You’re on it Nimh. Something’s not right with those bears…”

If Nimh wants to lead the Engineering roll, Saar auto-supports.

Rani knows a bit about engineering. She used to design the 'death traps' she escapes from.

engineering: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22

She then does what she did against the birds. Go stealthy to get up closer. She ends up hiding behind a nearby tree stump.

stealth: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (4) + 23 = 27

Engineering check to understand the bears behavior : 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (11) + 18 = 29

I suspect these bears belong somewhere else not here in this forest

Rani moves stealthily through the forest

Nimh thinks he has the answer to the bear's strange behaviour. They are indeed not real bears, but somewhat cleverly disguised robots. As constructs, one would normally expect fire and acid resistance (res fire 10, acid 5), and vulnerabilities to electricity and critical hits.

The rock bears move rapidly in the direction of the group.

Edit: wall of steam deals fire damage when passing through
Wall of steam: 3d4 ⇒ (1, 1, 1) = 3 0 Damage after resistance

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear
Bear
---

“So that’s how you want to play…”

Move action: Take a new position in the rocks
Standard action: Fire on red (still calibrated)

White Star Conqueror: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23 vs EAC
Damage: 3d12 + 10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (5, 8, 9) + 10 + 10 + (4, 4) = 50 Using Corrosive fusion so damage is half electricity, half acid. Also using Improved Overcharge for an extra 2d6 damage

GM - If 23 vs EAC is a miss, I'll take my shirt re-roll with 3 Novas

It sems that these are robots, not bears, so we don't have to feel guilty about killing them.

He will move to his right, pulling his 8-notch forked pistol as he moves.

He casts Arcing Surge at the "Bears" DC 19 Reflex save for half of this
Arcing Surge damage: 10d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 5, 6, 4, 2, 2, 1, 2, 6) = 35

Wasn't feeling guilty anyway. They started it.

Saar hits the construct with a blast of acid and electricity. It seems to be mostly the electricity doing the damage to the construct.

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

After Nimh dealt a powerful jolt of electricity, one of the bears starts to wobble a bit, and the growl - a recording - starts sounding a bit glitchy.

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear - Red (110)
Bear - Blue (27)
---

Rani goes for her fighter handcoil and trick attacks Blue from hiding.

stealth: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (7) + 23 = 30
fighter handcoil: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20 electricity: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
trick damage: 5d8 ⇒ (6, 3, 1, 6, 5) = 21

Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (11) + 17 = 28

Rani gets the bear from a blind spot, and a bright arc of static electricity starts playing havoc with the bear's servos.

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Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear - Red (110)
Bear - Blue (76)
---

Data will 5 foot step back and cast mirror image. images: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Z Data Z makes sure she's well-protected, which is just as well, because of the bears steps up to him and swipes a claw, destroying one of the images.

Claw, Z: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (16) + 22 = 38
1 for the real Z: 1d5 ⇒ 3

The other bear moves after Saar, who is too far in the rocks. The bear emits a deafening roar, which is loud enough to strip flesh off the bones. Fortunately, the noise breaks on the roll, and just sounds like a rolling thunder.

Roar, vs Saar: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (1) + 19 = 203d6 + 9 ⇒ (6, 5, 2) + 9 = 22

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear - Red (110)
Bear - Blue (76)
---

Standard action: Fire on red
Move action: Take a new position in the rocks thanks to Nimble Moves.

Saar draws a steady line on red and calmly squeezes the trigger.

White Star Conqueror: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33 vs EAC — CRITICAL HIT!!
Damage: 3d12 + 10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 12) + 10 + 10 + (6, 4) = 54 Using Improved Overcharge for an extra 2d6 damage. Corrosive fusion replaces fire with acid, so damage is half electricity, half acid.
Critical Damage: 3d12 + 10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (7, 12, 1) + 10 + 10 + (2, 6) = 48 Same damage types.

If I did my math right with the 5 acid resistance and the weakness to electricity, that's 122 points of damage (51-5 acid; 51+24 electricity)

Wound roll: 1d20 ⇒ 1 That’s a “general” wound. It would gain Bleed, but it’s immune. Dammit.

“And that’s what you get for messing with our team. You okay, Data?”

He turns his attention back to the blue bear and growls back at it. “C’mon big blue… come and get me… Rani, you ready for a shot at this one?”

Saar nimbly shifts to a new position, trying to draw the bear into a better angle for Rani’s trick shot.

Rani acrobatically trick attacks Blue, moving a bit closer in the process.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (19) + 23 = 42
fighter handcoil: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14 electricity: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
trick damage: 5d8 ⇒ (6, 3, 2, 8, 8) = 27

Sorry Saar - was a bit too 'trick-ey' this time.

It was indeed a great trick - unfortunately she didn't time the firing right.

Taking my turn assuming Saar dropped Red, because if he didn't, we're in trouble anyway.

Nimh moves over to get a bead on Blue with his pistol.

Attack with 8-notch forked pistol: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
Electrical/Fire Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Hopefully this contributes a bit.

inject nanobots: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18 vs eac red dmg: 4d8 ⇒ (5, 3, 1, 3) = 12 Unless, they aren't constructs. It only works if they are living or constructs. If that hits red gets a fort save dc 20 to half it.
If red is dead, I move to blue and do it.

BLATTAAAH! Saar gives whoever owns these robot a sizeable repair bill. The White Star Conqueror hits the Bear Robot at a very unfortunate spot, and promptly detonates the power source of the construct. The beast blows up, scattering bits and pieces across the forest.

It's that one extra damage that did it :-P

Rani very nimbly shoots the canopy of a nearby tree. Nimh's plasma pistol hits the last bear standing, and take out a small visual sensor.

Z does his best, but the nanobots don't connect.

Bite, Z: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (1) + 22 = 232d6 + 15 ⇒ (4, 5) + 15 = 24

The bear tries to bite Z, but only breaks a few teeth on an armor plate.

Everyone is up!

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear - Red (Destroyed)
Bear - Blue (80)
---

Rani takes another shot at Blue

acrobatics: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (9) + 23 = 32
fighter handcoil: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25 electricity: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
trick damage: 5d8 ⇒ (8, 1, 1, 4, 3) = 17

GM - Does Saar have line of sight on the blue bear from where he’s standing?

Engineering: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (4) + 22 = 26 To see if there's any extra info I can glean about these robot bears.

Yes, Saar has LOS

Rani targets the bear this time, and manages to completely catch it off-guard and jolts it with a rough shock of electricity.

Saar remembers that robotic bears are unlikely to defecate in the woods.

You already know most interesting things. They have a burrow speed, and darkvision, as well as a growling ranged attack that deafens

---
Saar
Z Data Z
Rani
Nimh
---
Bear - Red (Destroyed)
Bear - Blue (120)
---

Thanks, GM!

Move action: Calibrate my gun on blue.
Standard action: Fire on blue.

Saar adjusts his weapon and allows himself a smile. “I like how these explode. Awesome.”.

He squeezes the trigger.

White Star Conqueror: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17 vs EAC
T-shirt re-roll attack; +3 Novas: 1d20 + 13 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 13 + 3 = 23 vs EAC -- thank goodness for Novas!

Damage: 3d12 + 10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (8, 11, 7) + 10 + 10 + (2, 1) = 49 Using Improved Overcharge for an extra 2d6 damage. Corrosive fusion replaces fire with acid, so damage is half electricity, half acid.

Saar takes another shot, and blasts the last bear to smithereens!

Combat over!

The site is strewn with robot parts. One of the bears is completely and utterly demolished, but the the other one is intact enough to determine some of its functioning.

I need an engineering check, plus perception/survival

Rani collects the most useful parts as evidence

engineering: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33

Rani collects the parts, but doesn't really find anything specific about them. She does notice a set of humanoid footprints circling the battlefield...

Saar joins Rani and the rest of the team in examining the bear’s necessities.

Engineering: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (15) + 22 = 37
Perception: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23

“Data, do you need to sit a bit? That first bear got you a good one. Anyone else get swatted?”

Engineering: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (19) + 18 = 37
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29
Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

I suspect we can find the simple bear necessities, but let's forget about our worries and our strife

Any chance the tracks belong to King Louie?

Ooooh Nimh ..... I see what you did there .... good one. Rani smiles.

I was hoping the code for these things might give us a clue to who manufactured these things.

She takes images and measures the footprints.

Saar started it!!

“All I said was… ”

Then he bursts into laughter and holds up his hands.

“Truth, truth… I started it. I really needed that laugh. Thanks.”

Methinks we're all getting a little slap happy. :)

Quite likely

Rani starts humming an appropriate tune as she works, gathering evidence. She too smiles as she too, needed that.

After a short while ...

I was hoping that doing escapes in front of the crowd would have got my mind off the situation here but ... yeah ... thanks. My head feels clearer now.

We've had much more success here than we had talking to people back in town, so yeah, I feel better about this, and maybe a little giddy, but I think it is well deserved. Nimh comments as he sorts through the robotic bear scat in the forested area.