[YFF/SFS/DMK] 6-09 Ridgerock Rescue (Inactive)

Game Master Kludde

"Trober - you're flying!"

Trober is the best pilot

"I'll get the engines warmed up."

Pockets runs to the engine room and divert power to the engines to accelerate the warm-up process, skipping any safety protocols and likely voiding the ship's warranty.

Divert DC16 Engineering: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24
Ship speed increased by +2 this turn

Over the intercoms.
"I hope no one has to go, I just diverted power from the refreshers to the engines."

We could have Ongie take over engineering or science officer to free up either Seldszar or Pockets as extra gunners, Seldszar is the better gunner. Once we get a good scan on the other ship we could have Ongie engineer and both Seldszar or Pockets. Anthethriss is the best gunner of the 3 of us.

Yep, Gunner or Chief Mate - that's all Anthethriss can do.

Volitare settles into the command chair and encourages the gunners
diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

I guess I am suppose to say something encouraging about now so ..... I have complete confidence in you

"What, me, I can't fly this spaceship!!! I don't have a license for this type of vehicle and I'm not trained for combat!!! I didn't sign the liability forms if we get in to an accident before we left Absalom Station!!!"

Piloting (Initiative): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

At least we are not being piloted by an SMC loving maniac

"Trober you'll do fine, flying in combat is just like accounting, just pick a financial target and cook the books however you have to to get there, And if you crash don't worry I got safety cones."

Trober gets to move first. Enemy ship will try to get on the drake's port/starboard side if movement allows.

[ooc]As always when I do starship combat: everybody can move/roll ahead as much as they like, and I'll piece the parts together.

Pre-rolling initiative for round 2: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

---(Round 1)--
Helm: Beat 28 piloting or move first
---
Engineering: Pockets (+2 to ship speed)
Piloting: Trober (24, so moves first)
Captain: Volitare (Encourage gunners)

Anthethriss
Seldszar
---
Ongie
---
===
---(Round 2)---
Helm: Beat 26 piloting or move first
---

Antethriss starts firing from the turret with a smug smile.

Turret - Coilgun: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 144d4 ⇒ (4, 2, 4, 3) = 13

Seldszar gets to work with the Heavy Laser Cannon!

+2 Capt bonus/Trinode
Attack 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 2 + 1 = 27
Damage 4d8 ⇒ (5, 3, 5, 7) = 20

Round 2 Initiative: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

"Oh god, they're going to get behind us!!!"

Trober attempts some evasive maneuvers while keeping some distance from the enemy ship.

Piloting (Evade) + Node Bonus: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 1 = 17

As Trober closes is (Doesn't matter too much at this point, I suppose), the enemy ship tries to get on the 9 of the Thunderbolt, but the enemy ship looks to be too sluggish to accomplish that.

Antethris and Seldszar open fire, burn straight through the front shields and start ablating the frontal armor. Some smoke from the aft side suggests the capacitor array may need replacing, and Seldzar blast off the forward sensor dish

Ongie doesn't hesitate, grabs the controls of the missiles, and sends a volley flying in the pursuer's direction!

Ongie, Gunnnery: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 204d8 ⇒ (8, 6, 2, 7) = 23

Crits: 4d100 ⇒ (99, 15, 53, 58) = 225Power core and sensors, weapons x2

Missiles: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 114d8 ⇒ (4, 4, 8, 4) = 20
Laser Cannon: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 102d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

A volley of missiles soars past the bow, and the lasers don't find their mark either.

Feel free to suggest an action for Ongie

---(Round 1)--
Helm: Beat 28 piloting or move first
---
Engineering: Pockets (+2 to ship speed)
Piloting: Trober (24, so moves first)
Captain: Volitare (Encourage gunners)

Anthethriss
Seldszar
---
Ongie
---
Enemy: 0/5/5/5; (51); Power Core Glitching, Sensors Glitching
===
---(Round 2)---
Helm: Beat 26 piloting or move first
---
Pockets
Trober
Voli
Seldszar
Ante
Ongie
---

Turret - Coilgun: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 124d4 ⇒ (2, 2, 4, 2) = 10

"I'm diverting power from the emergency backup generator to the main thrusters, what could go wrong?"

Divert DC16 Engineering: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

Pockets talked to the engines out loud but not over the intercom. [b]"Good engines, now don't make me regret this...

Ship speed increased by +2 this turn

Initiative Round 3: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Trober keeps the Thunderbolt at a safe distance from the enemy ship.

Piloting (Back Off) + Node Bonus: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 1 = 27

"Ongie - keep those guns going!"

Trinode
Attack 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 5 + 1 = 16
Damage 4d8 ⇒ (4, 8, 7, 8) = 27

Potentially +2 if Capt encourages again :)

Trober back off, allowing the drow duo to fire again. As Antethriss misses with the coilgun, Seldszar takes a moment to adjust him aim and scores a direct hit.

Explosions in space are always a bit underwhelming - the absence of an atmosphere to create a shockwave makes a burst powercore look a bit like a puff of flame, but the effect - total destruction of the enemy vessel - is all the same. What is more impressive is the electricity arcing over the surface of the ship, and the vacuum collapse of the protective shields.

Combat over!

Ongie breathes a sign of relief, and for the first time she seems to put some trust in the Starfinders. “I, ah, seem to have been hasty in my assessment of your abilities. Please, let us get out of here and I can give you the information you want while we make our way to Absalom Station. I only have one request in return: my father Roget is a hostage of the Order on Kortus IV. Promise me that the Starfinder Society will help me rescue him, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

I see no reason why the Starfinders would not honour such a request Volitare replies.

Yes, the Captain would have encouraged again
diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

"Well start from the beginning - who is 'The Order', what are they doing on Kortus IV, and what do else would be good to know so we are triumphant and bring your father back?"

“The Order, that's the people that the folks in my hometown know as the Mongers, and what you Starfinders seem to call the Organization, are actually a group of cutthroat criminals called the Order of Dawning Fate. You can search all you want for that name, but you won’t find much information about them. As far as I can tell, most of the people who work for them don’t even know that name. They think they’re working for crime bosses, government agencies, corporations, charitable foundations—whatever cover suits the Order’s current needs. These dupes are the rank-and-file minions of the Order. The others—the ones who know what they’re a part of and who they work for—they’re the true agents of the Order of Dawning Fate. They’re fanatical. Zealous. Almost like it’s a cult or a religion or something.”

“It took me a long time to puzzle things through, but I’m certain that the one calling the shots in the Order of Dawning Fate is someone named Zhaneni. She’s a witchwyrd—one of those tall, four-armed folks with innate magical ability. What’s more, Zhaneni is a precog, so she can see her enemies’ movements before they happen. That’s why I’ve had to keep moving from planet to planet, that’s why I can’t figure out a proper way to rescue my dad, and I bet that’s why they’re always one step ahead of you lot. When your enemy can see the future, the deck is stacked against you, you know?“ Ongie shakes her head and sighs. “Zhaneni’s followers are fanatical. I don’t know what they see in her, but it certainly gives her an edge to have a whole legion of folks who will fight and die at her command.”

"Zhaneni has some sort of machine that the Order calls Project Dawn. It enhances her psychic powers beyond what normal precogs can manage. Her visions are far more detailed and accurate than should be possible. I’ve sketched out some theories about how Project Dawn works, but I can’t really make heads or tails of it because I don’t have what they use to run the machine: a starmetal called finitrium.

“Finitrium is what brought the Order to Kortus IV. It is one of those rare elements that we call starmetals. If you touch it, it can let you see into the future—only a fraction of a moment when it’s in its raw form, and multiple possible futures, but if you can refine it, the visions become clearer, more accurate, maybe even easier to direct or control—this is all theoretical, see? As near as I can tell, the Order has figured out how to refine the finitrium they’ve been mining on Kortus IV, and they use it to power Zhaneni’s machine. I think she’s able to see months into the future—maybe further—if she has a steady supply of finitrium.”

"The Order first discovered finitrium on Deepwater Prime. I’m not sure where, but I do know that the supply was slow and unreliable. Once they figured out how to use the finitrium, the race was on. They took over my home quick as could be and made the whole colony dependent on them—folks work in the mines and folks obey, or they die. But Braerton’s finitrium supply is played out. Their usefulness is at an end, if you get my meaning. I’m certain the Order will try to get rid of the evidence—the mine, the miners, even the colony itself. If we don’t help the people of Braerton, they won’t survive the Order’s purge.”

That revelation effectively brings up to the end of this adventure. Can you all roll your day jobs before I post answers to further questions and the final debrief?

Volitare made sure Ongie's report was recorded and fed into Guidance.

profession: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Day Job: Accountant: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22

"Someone else take the controls now. I think I need to lay down." Trober looks like he is about to go into shock.

Day Job Profession maintenance worker with tools: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

"Get some rest Trober I'll fly the ship."

"We'll have to see what Guidance has to say seems like someone needs to save the miners on Kortus IV. If we got time I wouldn't mind helping Ongie try to recover or salvage her ship." Possibly my day job could be helping Ongie with her ship

It's hard to believe this Order could open as much as a can of beans with that cardboard ship they sent out here, but nevertheless Ongie's own ride is reported as a total loss.

Seriously, I checked twice if I wasn't running the wrong subtier on that starship combat.

Thanks Kludde!

Day Job - Corporate Professional 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Maybe the starship combat was just for cinematic effect?

Chronicles are up! I'll adjust Ante's once he rolls his day job. please tell me if everything is correct.

---

On the way back, Radaszam (@dealmaker) chimes in with another video conference on an encrypted channel. He seems satisfied with the rescue and the huge step forward in information gained, but also concerned:

“If Ongie’s information is correct, and I have no reason to believe it isn’t, we’ll have only a limited time to get ahead of the Order of Dawning Fate. We finally know who they are and what they’re after, but they apparently have a machine that predicts the future, and they’re close to supercharging it with a whole new supply of finitrium. We’ll keep Ongie protected, and I’ll have her tell her story to the Dataphiles and the First Seeker so we can get cracking on some predictions of our own and figure out Zhaneni’s next move. Stay ready and stay sharp—the Society will undoubtedly need you again soon.”

"Ongie, lets see if we can make a GoCreditMe page for your ship. Trober perhaps you could set the financial goals and accounting for it? If anyone else wants to help I could use some help writing something more persuasive, I'm afraid if I write it it will either be too intimidating or cause legal problems."

Computers: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

"So far for the writing all I have is"
On my way to the store to help my dying mother grocery shop, our family ship that's been handed down from generation to generation was destroyed by a sudden swarm invasion, although we were able to fight off the swarm and save the planet by ourselves, our ship and all of our grocery for the month were destroyed, please help I don't know how we will survive another week without our ship and grocery.
"How does that sound?"

Bluff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Thanks for finning the game Kludde, was a fun game!
My Chronicle are missing my day job, or was it added to the credits gained? If it's missing I'll just donate it to Ongie. Also nice artwork in the chronicle!

Whoever built that other ship didn't have a safety inspector...

Thanks for finning the game Kludde, was a fun game!

My Chronicle are missing my day job, or was it added to the credits gained? If it's missing I'll just donate it to Ongie. Also nice artwork in the chronicle!

Whoever built that other ship didn't have a safety inspector...

Glad you enjoyed it! I've added the missing day job now, I just forgot to press save on my editor.

This is also a good moment to plug the other adventures offered by AbadarCorp Entertainment. If you find something you like, feel free to sign up. There's the 6-10 sequel (I assume) to this game that will drop end of November, and a run of 6-02 that I hope to start once my table of 5-16 wraps up.

I curious just exactly what is AbadarCorp Entertainment. At first, I thought it was a way for you to help recruit and run multiple games at the same time, but have noticed other GMs being promoted by AbadarCorp Entertainment. Whatever it is, I do think it has helped make finding games easier.

Thank you. Chronicle received, processed, and filed.

Seemed a short game overall looking at the number of posts.

Looks like a middle scenario mainly intended to set up #3 :)

I curious just exactly what is AbadarCorp Entertainment. At first, I thought it was a way for you to help recruit and run multiple games at the same time, but have noticed other GMs being promoted by AbadarCorp Entertainment. Whatever it is, I do think it has helped make finding games easier.

---

As far as I'm aware, it's really just me trying to keep a level of chatter on Castamir's station using a lot of aliases ;-)

The starfinder player/gm base on the paizo boards is not too large, so finding a matching group of DM and players can be challenging, so I try to promote other tables, especially when I have a stake in them lifting off :). Fully without other GM's consent, I might add.

Many of my tables don't fill up at all, and I see the same with other GMs. I try to join tables whenever I can (especially when they're good GMs, I have had excellent games with our phaeton_nz, shifty, GM S, etc).

---

Yes, this game felt really short. The Baazo encounter is set up to be bypassed, but could've led into combat. You guys were also quite quick with the starship encounter. I felt like this was set up a bit as an intro scenario - it wouldn't have made a bad 6-01 to introduce new players, I suppose. Loads of exposition crammed in.

I had recently signed up for several of the bounties phaeton_nz is running thanks to you reposting his game links. I think what you're doing really helps it is great to have the current games available reposted to keep them visible. Currently, all my characters are tied up waiting for games that don't have start dates yet. I'd like to play the sequel to 6-09 but no idea how the timing on that will be for my characters.

Have you thought about posting them on reddit, r/starfinder_rpg is much more active than the Paizo forums. Lots of people new to Starfinder there too.

I have only GM once, and was thinking of doing so again but when noticed other tables not filling up, so decided to play as a player more to help fill tables instead.

The last starship combat I was in before this game took 16 days to finish and from the sounds of it had we played it differently could have lasted much longer. My guess is Paioz made this one easier to avoid long drawn-out ship combats but hasn't found the Goldilocks zone yet.

"Yes, I can definitely help with any actuarial issues stemming from the destruction of your ship. Please give me your insurance information and we can set an appointment time for you to meet me at my office in Absalom Station."

Trober seems quite relieved to be going back to the station.

My guess is Paioz made this one easier to avoid long drawn-out ship combats but hasn't found the Goldilocks zone yet.[/ooc]

Agreed! Starship combat is difficult in PbP unless people post frequently, especially the pilot. Because a lot of it happens in order it can drag in PbP. People are also pretty passive at picking roles which further adds complexity. At the table people also compare modifiers so it becomes evident who should be doing what - once again this is hard in PbP hence I now make a sheet and go get everyones modifiers and put them in a slide (assuming everyone has their character sheets and info posted).

Face to face Starship combat is really fast and plays easy, put it online and and it can get painful

Switch Pockets wrote:

My guess is Paioz made this one easier to avoid long drawn-out ship combats but hasn't found the Goldilocks zone yet.[/ooc]

Agreed! Starship combat is difficult in PbP unless people post frequently, especially the pilot. Because a lot of it happens in order it can drag in PbP. People are also pretty passive at picking roles which further adds complexity. At the table people also compare modifiers so it becomes evident who should be doing what - once again this is hard in PbP hence I now make a sheet and go get everyones modifiers and put them in a slide (assuming everyone has their character sheets and info posted).

Face to face Starship combat is really fast and plays easy, put it online and and it can get painful

[00c]I think my silly safety inspector idea combined with the table you made on the sides helped us get a head start on picking ship roles or at least made it easier when the time came. I think Paizo should make a safety inspector NPC that can show up at the start of an adventure with ship combat and do the ship safety checks list.[/ooc]

Thank you, great game as always. Kludde, special thanks to you for giving the opportunity to play all the games of the season like this, unraveling the plot step by step. I feel younger again, as if it's the 7th season of PFS1e again, where was the same mysterious detective story and when I first came to play Pathfinder... Cool. Thanks!