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

Game Master Kludde

*nods* They're hiding something. I'm sure of it. I just don't have any idea of how we're gonna get to the truth.

Nimh inspects the robot debris, and sees something that is definitely the receiver for a remote control unit. Somebody must have been controlling these robots from quite close by.

With a bit further inspection of the footprints, there is the sounds of something heavy dropping in the bushes, and nobody less than Zatteh appears. Oh! the kasatha says with teary eyes, I'm so glad you rescued me. I was sure these bears were going to eat me!

Is there any chance we could get enough from the receiver to locate the remote control, say a frequency the control uses to transmit.

So you were hiding in the tree? Did you happen to see the person who was remotely controlling these fake rock bears?

“Zatteh… what are you doing out here? Why would you think that the fake rock bears would attack you?”

He reloads his gun as he talks and keeps a wary eye out for another attack during the conversation.

I don't know, Zatteh says with very dramatic teary eyes I have just been fleeing these bears all this time.

Nimh, you can either roll engineering or perception

Engineering to understand Zatteh: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (3) + 18 = 21

I hope I haven't used my promotional reroll, cause I think we need it.

Engineering to understand Zatteh: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (7) + 18 = 25

Not much better, but a little bit. Saar asked a similar question?

The engineering check was in reference to your question on seeing who might have been controlling the bears.

The type of remote controller that was used would mean anyone directing the bears would need to be close by. Anyone that was further away than Zatteh would have been out of range.

Zatteh says I didn't see anyone controlling these bears, I was just cowering in these bushes all the time.

“Zatteh, what are your people hiding? What’s really going on here? Too many things don’t fit. You. Redozoko. Robotic ‘bears’ attacking at just the right time to bring us out here. Even the Hospital records. What’s happening here? Why is everyone lying to us? And who are the Mongers?? We can help if you're in trouble, but we need the truth. NOW.”

Saar seriously considers firing a couple of rounds into the ground at the kasathan’s feet to encourage cooperation like the drow did when Saar was little, but he tries to stay calm.

Saar starts confronting the Kasatha for explanation, and Zatteh quickly realises the game is up.

Hah! Zatteh says with much theatre, and changing attitude completely. The kasatha explains with a haughty smile you're onto me. You were never supposed to be the target of the attack, but the Sheriff, and now you, you just got in the way!

She continues her rant You see, major Aliorno is incompetent! I should be running the town. My plan was perfect, until you interfered!

Zatteh is defiant, but she is not stupid enough to resist, not after Saar scattered a bear all over the forest floor.

Speaking of floor, nearby in the bushes a remote controller can be seen, tossed aside in a hurry.

OMG, it’s a four-armed version of Mrs. Jenkins… right down to the killer robot!! https://scoobydoo.fandom.com/wiki/Sarah_Jenkins

Saar bares his teeth in a very unsettling smile.

“Hands up, Zatteh. Appropriate that my drow keepers called me degahr'hi dalhar because I made such trouble as a child. Guess I never lost the knack. Why do you want to run the town? And you still haven’t explained who the Mongers are. Speak.”

He pauses to let the confession run out, then raises his gun in a cover position.

“Let’s tie her up and take her back to the Sheriff. Sounds like he’s someone we can trust in the middle of all this. We'd better grab that controller, too.”

Nimh will head over to grab the controller.

Even with this confession, there are things that don't make sense. What about the records changes we found. Is she responsible for those as well. What purpose do they serve?

degahr'hi dalhar

I didn't even have to look that one up. Well played.

The Mongers... Zatteh says pensively so you figures that one out. They're just small time traders. Braerton trades minerals and ores with them, in exchange for a variety of imports. Braerton doesn’t need any help from the Pact Worlds! We just want you out of our business.

I'd recommend another sense motive check

I think this is part of our problem. I don't think we have actually succeeded at any Sense Motive Checks.

Sense Motive, Untrained, Wisdom bonus only, low probability of success, Aid someone with a decent Sense Motive if possible: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

I'm just going to leave that there as I originally wrote it for the GM to adjudicate.

Ah yes, our old nemesis Sense Motive… I expected your call.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 Untrained, just leaning on Wisdom and positive thoughts… which apparently weren’t positive enough. :( Good luck, Rani and Data! Maybe you can support Nimh and we can get our first Sense Motive success!!

Obviously, Saar needs to get a henchman for such things. I’ll do that right after the adventure is over…

I started to look at the Hireling Boon for this exact reason, and it doesn't look like there is a Hireling with Sense Motive.

Interesting... I never noticed that before. Guess I'll go for the Diplomat one. At least they could intimidate for me. Or blow some credits on the level 5 Pheromap (https://www.aonsrd.com/Cybernetics.aspx?ItemName=Advanced&Family=Phero map)... or just take Skill Synergy and make Sense Motive a class skill.

Rani has a reasonable Sense Motive but she kept rolling ones

sense motive: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Thank you DiceBot - at least it wasn't a two

Rani will make sure Zatteh is tied up securely and comfortably.

We're at 21 with Nimh and a support from Rani. Go, Data, go!!

Of Course as I looked at my character, I realized I already have Amateur Hireling access and could have been rolling Culture, Medicine and Survival at +10

We all have those games...

sense motive aide: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (4) - 2 = 2

The sense motive DCs in this game are brutal

Nimh gets a hunch there is more to what Zatteh is saying, but can't quite pinpoint it.

---

Back in the village, Sheriff Rin looks at the shackled Zatteh and says Well well well, what do we have here? Did this one step out of line?

Sorta, yeah Rani chirps. We got attacked by robotic bears .... would you believe it .... robotic bears .... here. And she had the controller.

So .... we're coming to the conclusion there's something really strange going around here and I'm determined to start looking under rocks and things until we get to the bottom of it

Oh ... the birds were real enough. And I'd like my silk rope back thank you.

Before they got back to town, Nimh would have a quick word with his companions.

There is something else going on here, but I can't figure it out. I am concerned the Sherriff though. This might have been a power struggle amongst the baddies. I don't trust anyone here.

We were warned at the party that the Mongers were watching. Nimh will try to figure out how a group of traders might be monitoring the settlement.

Engineering to look for surveillance: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (15) + 18 = 33

— Before getting to the Sheriff’s office… —

”There is something else going on here, but I can't figure it out. I am concerned the Sherriff though. This might have been a power struggle amongst the baddies. I don't trust anyone here.”

“I feel the same, Nimh. We have one break — Zatteh. Even if we walked into a power struggle, Zatteh wanted to take out the Sheriff. That makes the Sheriff our ally. ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ Maybe we can leverage that.”

— At the Sheriff’s office… —-
“Speaking of the robot bears, Zatteh told us that you were his target, not us. We just stumbled into the setup. And she said she wants to ‘run the town’ instead of Mayor Aliorno. What’s going on? What do you know about a group called the Mongers?”

Before we get back
We should check out her office

I'm going into a bit of a nonlinear timeline here with all the before and afters, so bear with me

Just before meeting with Sheriff Rin, who has an office at the town, Rani passes by the office of Zatteh. It is firmly locked, and Sheriff Rin, whose office is in the same building, passes by before the thought of breaking an entering crosses Rani's mind.

That's a very serious allegation. Robotic bears, huh? the sheriff says, I fear I have no option but to take Zatteh in custody. They then turn to Zatteh and say, while rubbing the superficial bear claw wounds Zatteh, you are under arrest. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you. You have the right to an attorney, if you can find one in this town.

Sheriff Rin then turns to the group again I know nothing about mongers. they say, and then quickly change the topics Let's get to Mayor Aliorno, he'll be quite pleased to hear this news!

Rani produces some of the bits she had collected.

Saar listens to the Sheriff. I have a bad feeling about this. It just gets worse and worse.

He points to the bear parts Rani has. “We got these off one of the bears, and found the remote control as well. The other bear… I think my shot hit the power supply. It blew up. And Zatteh confessed to what she did.”

Saar pauses a moment and his eyes rest on the sheriff’s wounds. He cocks his head and leans in. [b]“Say, those looked a lot worse at the party, Sheriff. You seem to have healed pretty quickly. Mind if I have a look at them?”

GM - If he’ll let me, I’ll do a check to compare what I saw earlier with how they look now. Would that be Medicine or Perception?

Here's the remote control that was used. It doesn't have a ton of range, and Zatteh was the only one we found in the area. Nimh says as he produces the remote he picked up at the site of the bear attack.

GM, earlier I asked about trying to locate surveillance based on the note Saar got at the party stating "The Mongers are always watching." I didn't see a response to that, although I understand if it is not covered in the scenario. I am grasping at straws to find a away to get around the Sense Motive issue.

Sheriff, the Mayor introduced Zatteh as his Aide when we arrived, Why would the Mayor be "quite pleased" to hear their trusted Aide has been arrested? And why did you quickly change the subject when we asked about the Mongers?

Maybe we can get some information by stirring the pot?

I'm right there with you, Nimh. That's exactly where Saar was going. Maybe if we irk someone enough, we'll get a break.

Saar has a glance at the Sheriff's wounds, and do they look exactly as serious as previously. That wasn't very serious at all, but at least that hasn't changed.

What I meant wasthe Sheriff says to Nimh's objection Mayor Aliorno will be happy to keep that you prevented an attempt on his life. The fact that his close aide turned out to be a traitor is nothing to laugh at. I think your evidence is quite damning, and enough reason f me to put Zatteh into custody.

I'm going to rehash some pieces of the puzzle here, based on what you have (and could) discover. You found a number of things out of place in this village. There's a statue of a person, whose date of death was altered, and cause of death misreported as 'animal attack', while the true cause was 'gunshot wound'. You've located a mine outside the village, and have been warned multiple times not to venture into the forest because of wild animals , but in hospitals records you didn't find anything regarding animal attacks. The 'rock bears' that were deemed to be so dangerous turned out to be robots. As for the mine, there seems to be a lot of activity in terms of people employed, but there's no sign of refineries or any product produced. Still, the village seems to be doing well for themselves. Finally, Zatteh mentioned mongers as a group of traders, but everybody is the village seems to refuse to acknowledge their existence. Then there is the detail that there weren't supposed to be any Vesk or Kasatha as part of the original colony - you got some fishy backstories that explained their presence, but these could just be lies.

I'll tell you what is going on once we've finished the game

---

Sheriff Rin puts Zatteh in cuffs and leads the Kasatha into the town jail, just as Mayor Aliorno arrives. After a brief recap of the attempt on his life, he steps up to thank the group What you did was very brave! You truly live up to your reputation! Let us celebrate tonight, before we send you on your way!

We're nearly done - can you all roll day jobs if you have them?

Day job as Profession Zookeeper: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Day job — antiquities expert: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (6) + 18 = 24

192 credits for day job ... (24 [roll] * 2) * 4 [Known Quality, tier 4] =

circus performer: 1d20 + 29 + 2d4 ⇒ (17) + 29 + (1, 3) = 50 (Acquisitives pin)

Total credits = 50 * 2 * 4 (Acquisitives Tier) = 400 [Known Quantity]

profession architect: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (15) + 22 = 37 known quality.

The celebration is a remarkably short affair, just a dinner with Aliorno and first hunter Redozoko that is somehow kept to minimum duration, with Aliorno and Redozoko mostly talking between themselves about trivial local affairs.

---

As the group packs up to leave, an elderly Ysoki male comes up to the group, holding a box. I wish to thank you for what you did for this village he says. I am Roget, my daughter got killed in a rock bear attack, so you dealing with those creatures means a lot to me. I'd like to give you this he says as he hands the group a cardboard box that smells of baked goods. It's an old akitonian recipe. These cookies are freshly baked, but they need some time to cool down. They taste better after a day, so wait until you're on the road before you eat them. Good travels on your way home.

The box contains a large quantity of delicious-looking cookies. Under the cookies is a hidden notes, with hand-writing matching the warning the group received earlier:

To be continued...

I hope the note clears up what was going on - if you have further questions, let me know. That brings us to the end of the adventure. I'll post chronicles soon. Thanks everyone for playing!

Rani is a bit disappointed she didn't perform for the colony but she does give her companions a bit of a show on the way back to Absalom Station.

I dunno about the rest of you but, if I get a chance to come back, I'm doing it. I want to get to the bottom of this

Oh ... and these cookies are so delicious.

Obviously, after we have left.

Nimh will inspect the ship to make sure they didn't get bugged while they were on the planet.

Engineering to look for bugs, I have the same bonus for Computers if that would be used instead: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (18) + 18 = 36

This note helps make things clearer, but It still feels unsatisfying to leave those people in that situation. I still have questions we will need to answer later.

Thanks to DM Kludde for running, and the other players as well. If those does continue, I'll have to make sure we have multiple people with string Sense Motive for the next part.

DM Kludde, did we notice whether Mayor Aliorno and first hunter Redozoko made the news that the Rock Bears were automatons Public. Roget's statement at the end makes me think they didn't publicize it, as if Ongie was supposedly killed by Rock Bears, that now means Zatteh, or whoever else might have been controlling the Rock Bears, actually killed her.

And I agree with Rani that the cookies are excellent.

[ooc]Wow... well, we were right feeling that something was off, but I didn’t expect EVERYTHING to be off!! What a crazy ride. Thanks for running the game, DM K. This was fascinating. And kudos to the rest of the team on a fun adventure. We did pretty well together — apart from the Sense Motive rolls. :) [/ooc

Saar lifts a cookie and a glass to the team as they return home. “Glad we didn’t know about these cookies on the planet. I might not have left.”

He chuckles but the laugh dies out. “Can’t help thinking about those people, stuck there. Just awful.” He shivers involuntarily, almost spilling his drink.

Maybe we can do something about it. Think I’ll petition Ehu to take it on when we get home.

Here's the chronicles. Let me know if everything is correct, and I will submit the reporting.

Erm - it's an empty folder

It was indeed. Should be fixed now.

Chronicle processed and filed - looks good

Looks good to me.

Looks good. Thanks for running, DM Kludde!!

I had one question on the Chronicle I assume the boxes to be checked were "Discovered signs" and "Defeated mining robots?" Everything else looked good.

That's the ones I checked too. I also discovered there was some disagreement between my faction recording and Paizo's so I adjusted the end faction scores. Seems some of my games were credited to Wayfinders instead of Acquisitives.

The correct boxes are indeed "Discovered signs" and "Defeated mining robots".

After returning to Absalom station, the debrief with Fitch and Ehu causes some concerned glances.

Ehu says “These people went to a lot of effort to make sure that we wouldn’t be interested in returning. What is it that they’re
really trying to hide?”

“It must be more than simple trade—someone erased all records of Kortus IV from the Pact Worlds!” Ehu stays silent for a moment as he ponders the situation. “This isn’t right. Rest assured that we’ll get to the bottom of this. We’re not done with Kortus IV.”

Fitch adds “I’m glad that you left when you did. Who knows what those people might have done if you had stayed longer! Who knows how deep this reaches…”

“So, this Ongie person is out there somewhere? Girl’s got moxie. I’ll ask Celita to track her down. If she can get us a lead, I can put a team together to pick her up. If Ongie’s still alive, she’s got information we need.”

The end! Thanks all for playing!

Let me know if you do please. I have a feeling I am not finished with Kortus IV either