SFS Bounties 5-8 (KS) (Inactive)

Game Master phaeton_nz

Gameplay Thread

A tall human wearing a somewhat old-fashioned top hat and a large crossbow slapped across his back is waiting. For lack of someone to talk to - for now - he is browsing through a pile of what seems to either playing cards or business cards.

Beautiful, isn’t it? the kasatha asks, gesturing at the hologram of Bretheda, a blue-and-purple gas giant orbited by dozens of moons. Of course, Shelyn’s influence is everywhere if you’re open to seeing it, but the dance of Bretheda and its moons has always taken my breath away.

After a minute of watching the orbits, he turns away from the hologram. My name is Nairon Shalorrh, and I’m one of the lead organizers here at Songbird Station. I’d welcome you to explore our grounds, but I’m in dire need of your aid.

One of our resident artists and a dear friend of mine, Kivi, went on a short trip to Yashu-Indiri and never returned. Nairon gestures, causing the hologram to zoom in on one of Bretheda’s small, cratered moons. This is Yashu-Indiri. It’s an airless moon, covered in small shrines built and tended by an order of mystics. Kivi visits every other month to tend to Shelyn’s shrine. Her last transmission indicated she was approaching Yashu-Indiri. We didn’t receive confirmation of landing. It’s my belief she’s in danger. I implore you to find her and bring her back home.

My name is Saja Joseung the human says, but don't let that alarm you, there is no cause for concern.

Kivi is her full name? Saja asks with the precision of a clerk while he browses through his cards K as in Kyton?

How long ago did this friend of yours depart?

"And this Kivi? She was an organic lifeform?" inquires a bright-eyed android dressed in a loose-fitting trenchoat that frames the limbs of her skeletal, metal frame. "And no confirmation of landing? You don't suspect that her ship came crashing down into the moon, do you?"

The android's excitement appears to intensify at the thought. "I am Mech-Ro-Nancy. If you want this Kivi to be reclaimed, then I am happy to offer my services."

Kyton, Ignian, Victor, Ignian

And yes, she's a kobold. No no, that's why we're sure something went wrong and, there's been no communication since. I can only suggest that you retrace her path to Yashu-Indiri and scan for her starship’s signal. She’s on a shuttle called Muse. When you’re close, you should be able to pinpoint her starship’s location. If you have no luck, see if she made it to Shelyn’s shrine. Otherwise, try speaking with the mystics on Yashu-Indiri. They might know what happened to her.

Mech.. Ro.. Nancy Saja repeats, then tips his hat Saja Joseung he adds as he nods at his cards. Satisfied with the spelling of the name, he put his deck of cards away.

You don't suspect that her ship came crashing down into the moon, do you?"

Suspect, no, Saja responds to the speculation of Mech-Ro-Nancy, and adds matter-of-factly every name is called at some point.

Without any concern about the effects of his words, he turns back to Nairon Does this shrine of Shelyn attract many visitors?

Oh yes .... even I visit it once a month at least. Oh friend, what is life without Shelyn? She’s an idyllic melody, a breathtaking painting, the glint of a rainbow cast across the sky, the dance of the planets, the patterns in the stars, a parent’s loving gaze, a child’s wonder. Shelyn is the goddess of art, music, beauty, and love. It’s my belief that if the art and beauty we create and nurture spreads to envelop all the known worlds, Shelyn’s voice will ring out, loud and clear, for all the galaxy’s people to hear. She is love and peace. Would that we all held her teachings dear

A ysoki swaggers into the room late, his small drone following close behind, buzzing quietly.

"Oh, of course, we'll find your friend. We're great at finding people.
Even people that don't want to found. I'm a bounty hunter by trade. I do have to ask though, there might be expenses associated with this...how much are we getting paid?"

200 credits each, payable upon the return of Kivi, or her remains, to Songbird Station.

A slight, white-furred vlaka follows the ysoki into the room impatiently. "There exists a reality where your friend is safe and sound" he signs, his words appearing on a datapad strapped to his forearm. "We shall endeavor to make that reality this one."

"Your Kivi may be more in need of Desna's blessings than Shelyn's. It augurs well that you've chosen us to find her. How long has she been missing?"

The elf that says this is decked out in basic heavy armor.. A white mask conceals his face. A long sword hangs from his belt and an odd star-shaped case hangs on his backpack.

Consider the job accepted Saja says, then turns to the other people in the room The name is Saja Joseung, but there is no need to be alarmed. With whom do I have the pleasure to be acquainted?

He grabs that deck of paper cards again, he must be quite attached to it.

A tall humanoid wearing a real-leather knee-length jacket, and a broad-brimmed leather hat, leans against the wall.

Their face is unreadable - large subdermal plates means that its expression is largely rigid, and it peers out at the world through a trio of pale green eyes, as if waiting for something.

Their only visible armament is a battered auto-pistol.

"I, Sovellis Ilphukiir, also accept the contract. You must supply a ship for us to trace Kivi's path. "

It's only been a matter of hours since she hasn't reported in. And I intend to. The shuttle Vivacity is already prepped and ready for launch. If you'll all follow me please.

Nairon escorts you to Songbird Station’s starship hangar gives you the access codes for the shuttle you'll be using for your mission. Vivacity has long-range sensors and a sparkling, rainbow-hued paint job.

Only a few hours? Sovellis is momentarily tempted to urge Nairon to patience, but two hundred credits is two hundred credits. He follows Nairon to the hangar.

"Vivacity is a good looking ship. Is anyone else a pilot?"

I know my way around a cockpit, but would not consider myself a specialist +6 piloting

"Hey, nice paint job! It's not stealthy, but sometimes, you can can go unnoticed by standing out. It's the only thing people remember about your ship, right? The wild paint job! They don't pay as much attention to anything else. One of you can take the pilot's seat; I'm happiest at the sensors or Engineering."

"I'm no specialist either,but I can follow a plotted trajectory."

+7 piloting. If you want it,you can have it. We'll be depending on the gunners if there's a ship fight.

Into the Black you go. Retracing Kivi’s route to Yashu-Indiri takes four days and turns up no trace of Kivi or the Muse. As Vivacity approaches Yashu-Indiri, a dynamic melody of chimes echoes through the starship, signaling that the Muse has been found on Yashu-Indiri’s surface, three
miles east of the shrine of Shelyn.

Mysticism or Computers check please.

Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits communes with spirits to divine what can be learned.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25.

It's more like diving with the ship's computer but you sense a second signal coming from a shrine 1 mile north of the Muse. This signal is emitting strong magical and electrical interference.

A moment later, the tone of the chimes becomes alarming, interior lights flash, and the starship begins to shake. Vivacity has entered the range
of the what ever that was; the starship’s sensors and navigational systems malfunction catastrophically, sending you on a collision course with Yashu-Indiri’s surface.

Challenge 1 - Out of Control

At least one PC must attempt a Piloting check to regain control of the starship, while the other PCs each must attempt either an Athletics
check to manually adjust the starship’s internal steering mechanisms, an Engineering check to strategically boost the thrusters to aid the pilot, or a Physical Science check to rapidly calculate how to counter the spin.

A success is if at least one Piloting check is successful, and at least two other PCs succeeded at their attempted skill checks.

I took 'at least one' to mean more than one could do it. If that doesn't work, my next-best option would be Athletics with a +1.

Filled with desperation, Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits does his best, despite the unfamiliar controls, to prevent the Iron Cloud from impacting upon the surface.

Piloting: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13.

"We got this, we just have to get a little more juice out of the ship!"

Engineering: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

Engineering: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Despite the chaos of the plummeting ship, Mech-Ro-Nancy remains calm and calculative. "I suggest that you strategically fire a three-second burst of the thrusters to correct the vessel's current rotational speed on my mark... Mark."

Trained in none of those, so I'll try the one that I have a positive mod for.

Piloting: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Rinko has sudden flash, a vision from another reality where a wrong turn is disastrous. Quickly dropping into the copilot seat, he tries to help Thrym avoid that fate.

When the starship starts to spin, Saja calmly accepts his fate. The card have been dealt already, after all, and they are never wrong.

No Athletics, Engineering of Physical Science... Sorry guys

Eventually, he does try to help in controlling the spin of the vessel.

Piloting: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

That is a success

The navigational systems and sensors wildly malfunction, feeding false information to the pilot and crew, while supplementary systems overload and shut down completely.

At least one PC must attempt an Engineering check to restore power to all systems, while the other PCs each must attempt a Computers check to force a reboot of the navigational systems, a Piloting check to fly without sensory input, or a Survival check to ensure the starship is heading in the correct direction.

You succeed as a group if at least one Engineering check is successful, and at least two other PCs succeeded at their attempted skill checks.

Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits lets the Spirits guide him, trusting them implicitly.

Survival: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20.

"Don't worry, gang, I've gotten ships out of worse scrapes!"

Engineering: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

"The computers require a reboot. I shall kill power to system, then reanimate the computers so that they can better comply with our intentions." Mech-Ro-Nancy notes as she gets to work.

Computers: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

"The process if familiar. Only the energy source and vessels differ."

Sovellis jumps into the co-pilot seat to try to slow the ship's descent.

Piloting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

The ship's issues far exceeding his meager technical skills, Rinko continues trying to aid the piloting effort.

Piloting: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

That is also a success.

The starship crashes into the surface of Yashu-Indiri.

At least one PC must attempt a Piloting check to perform an emergency landing, while the other PCs each must attempt an Athletics check to prepare the shuttle for landing, an Engineering check to cut power to the engines, or a Mysticism check to magically soften the collision.

The PCs succeed as a group if at least one Piloting check is successful, and at least two other PCs succeeded at their attempted skill checks.

Listening to the screams of the Spirits, Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits frantically does his best to make the crash one that the party can all walk away from.

Piloting: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21.

A hard landing is not for today Saja says as he attempt to infuse the thruster with some extra magical energy. Maybe it's just enough to prevent him from showing his cards.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

”You did good, Vivacity, but we need to cut your power before we all blow up!”

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

Mech-Ro-Nancy tries invokes some magic to soften the collision.
Mysticism: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Though, if a few of her allies end up deceased, it wouldn't be the worst outcome.

Rinko gratefully cedes the copilot seat to someone more qualified as he frantically sifts through myriad realities to find one with an acceptably safe landing.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Saja and Rinko both rolled higher than Sovellis on the first round of checks. It's not clear who's most qualified. Except that Thrym probably just saved our bacon. But piloting is Sovellis' best roll, and he's unlikely to add anything to the other good rolls, so ...

Piloting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Sovellis stays at the ship's controls, struggling unsuccessfully when suddenly the ship's nose lifts. He stares in disbelief, then looks across the cabin where Kish has taken control.

"Well done."

And that is a third success. This turns out to be a relatively soft crash landing with minimal damage, and you can easily escape the wreckage and crash site. Now the next question is ... why did you crash?

Computers, Engineering or Piloting for one answer, Computers, Engineering or Mysticism for another.

Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits inspects the crash...

Piloting: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21.

...and communes with the Spirits....

Mysticism: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27.

...seeking answers.

Sovellis reviews the last few minutes. The controls weren't responding as expected, but they'd passed pre-flight with flying colors. Had he made a mistake during either flight prep or the emergency? He tries to run some diagnostics.

Piloting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25 Preferred roll.
Engineering: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 Second roll if needed or permitted.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Saja knows full well the answers have already been spelled out to him. There's only so much fate he can alter, or is even allowed to alter, so it's clear to him that the crash is intertwined with his reason of being here.

"Poor Vivacity. You did good."

Engineering: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

You realise that your starship’s malfunctions weren’t due to a problem with Vivacity, but some external force. You also determine the cause is something in the vicinity emitting powerful magical and electrical interference—likely a hybrid device or a magical anomaly. The interference is originating from approximately 1 mile north of where you spotted the Muse.

You have landed 2 miles east of the shrine of Shelyn and 1 mile west of the Muse’s location. So, you need to get your bearings.

Survival, Computers, Perception or Piloting.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Mecho-Ro-Nancy scans the area with her optic sensors.

Thrym-Who-Speaks-With-Spirits does his best to guide the party.

Survival: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25.

Sovellis checks a few guidance instruments before all power is lost.

Piloting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17