GM Jhaeman's Dawn of Flame, Chapter Five: "Solar Strike"

Game Master Jhaeman

Oh, it is already better than we have had, so thank you. It's just that Tulgram has a really high wisdom, unlike both of us, so his roll has the capacity to help us out in that area...

Actually, we don't necessarily have to wait. I ran across this when I was looking for what to buy... maybe we should buy the party a Multiverse Mirror:

Once per day, you can spend 1 minute focusing on an activated mirror while contemplating a skill in which you have no ranks. As you do so, the image comes into focus, showing you a different version of yourself (presumably from an alternate reality) who is trained in that skill. The quantum energy released via the mirror briefly entangles you with this parallel self. Until the next time you take a full night’s rest, you can attempt one check with the chosen skill as if you had a number of ranks in that skill equal to your level. For that same period of time, the first time you roll a natural 20 for a skill check in a skill you are trained in, you must reroll that check and take the second result.

It is only once a day, but Tulgram would get a +14 on Mysticism that way, just with his level (from the mirror) and his natural bonus (+6).

Might be worth the party investment (1,300) in case we need Mysticism really badly... or really, any other odd check that comes up. It is also bulk 10, so it is something we'd have to go back to the ship to use as well, unless he just used it every morning, trusting that we can do the other checks, which could work.

Yeah. You guys fared okay with no magic users last book, right?

I don’t think there is a way to put a weapon fusion on my claws. I’ll look into one for my longarm though.

Yeah. You guys fared okay with no magic users last book, right?

I mean, depends on what you mean by okay. We got by, but there were a couple of times where we had to do some serious creative thinking to solve things that might have been much easier with a magic user. :)

Also, not sure if it will affect anything in this chapter, but I think the "big thing" we were supposed to recover at the last planet... we chose not to. It was a solar inverter/darkness engine thing that was keeping bad guys out, and we chose not to let them out. Just so you know... not sure if it will come up.

The universe hears your wishes and fulfills them instantly, Zharis! I found that I had lost three ranks in skills somewhere. And put it into Mysticism now. So now I have +9 (+4 for recall), just like Amhesha.

It sounds like all that time dealing with cultists and bizarre mystical prisons has been an educational experience for Tulgram :)

Thanks for the compliment on the character! I always wondered why Iomedae got all the love with the Cathedral ships, so I figured there should be (less numerous, obviously) church-ships for other deities as well. I'm currently playing an Aphorite Pact Witch of Axis in a different campaign, so I thought I'd pivot towards the Maelstrom and Chaotic.

I was torn between Oras and Ydajisk, since I wanted a Chaotic Neutral deity that still has some semblance of order and isn't... Besmara (employing a literal pirate doesn't sound ideal). I went with Ydajisk for two reasons, firstly because the Mother of Tongues has information in both Starfinder and Pathfinder, and secondly they basically send out multiple Voyager probes as a regular thing.

This guy is what I imagine Ydajisk and her followers are like, for the record.

Okay... installing a thermal capacitor on my suit instead of the lights I installed for the last trip, so Amhesha can just have my thermal regulator (not an upgrade... standalone).

___

...Just watched part of that video, Amhesha, and actually loved it. Out of context of course totally crazy, but I was an English major, and I get that type of mania. :) As for Besmara, certainly fickle, but I played a character who was rescued from Hell by Besmara (read: kidnapped and made a slave on her ship), and the whole actually pirate vibe is interesting if you twist it just the right way. :)

___

Still looking into options for the party funds. If I can't find anything good, will just put most of it into healing potions.

GM: Do we need to get the DCI people any gear/protective clothing?

Yeah, I already purchased the Thermal Regulator Upgrade though.

Oh, okay, no worries. We'll just have an extra around.

@Zharis: Nope, any DCI members that come with you will have their own gear, including thermal regulators, etc.

So after that scene, this is who Nib will suggest comes on the expedition in stasis pods from the DCI side of things:

Nib (specialises in xenoanthropology)
Taeress (specialises in magnetospheric monitoring and solar weather prediction)
Ilor (security specialist)
Either Vessu (if you want to "spring the trap") or Kym Hoss (if you don't)(both are xenotech specialists)

I want Vessu so we can spring the trap (and hopefully reunite him with his brother) and he can communicate with his contacts throughout.

Any arguments against?

If Amhesha isn't going to use that Thermal Regulator, I wouldn't mind borrowing it.

It is yours. I'll assign it to you on the loot sheet.

GM: We still have 6 "pink serums" from the last chapter. Can anyone at the DCI identify them for us?

What's the check?

Okay, this is my proposal for team supplies:

--Aerosol Spray [can help find invisible things. 10 applications] cost 80
--Artificial Plant [just a realistic pretend plant to brighten up the ship] 4 x 5 = 20 credits
--Enviro Mask [like a gas mask... lasts an hour] 5 at 75 each = 375 (to have on hand even when sleeping in case someone attacks us with gas, as was planned)
--Fire Extinguisher Pellets [foam that puts out fire in 10 square feet. Each pack contains 4.] 2 x 25 = 50
--Intellivac [automatic cleaner] cost 125
--Portable Window [shows real time views from somewhere else] cost 2 at 50 each = 100 (brighten up the ship, and also if it is truly real-time, could keep an eye on the DCI, and they could keep an eye on us)
--Trampling Boots [trample people: 2d6+4 bludgeoning] cost 2,500 [might be useful in a war zone against a group of enemies? Theo could use them perhaps since you have to be bigger than the people you walk through?]

--Serums of Healing, Mk 1 (35 at 50 each): 1750 credits

Total: 5,000

If you guys disagree, then post your suggestions with alternative ways to spend some or all of the money... like should we get more fire extinguisher pellets and fewer serums, or nix the boots and convert it all to healing serums, or should we buy something I haven't thought of?

(No need to suggest all the seasons of As the Black Hole Turns... that is already in our media library.)

Charming!

Perhaps I would suggest taking fewer serums, but more powerful ones that restore a significant amount of HP, for emergency situations. I still have 20 mk1. However, I'm not insisting, just a thought.

It sounds like all that time dealing with cultists and bizarre mystical prisons has been an educational experience for Tulgram :)

Yeah, as a grey dwarf biohacker and a DNA specialist, he discovered that the cultists of the Great Old Ones are a dead-end branch in the evolution of the species, and elven cultists are immediately candidates for the Darwin Prize. No one gave him a bonus for this discovery, but he did not ask for it.

Charming!

Perhaps I would suggest taking fewer serums, but more powerful ones that restore a significant amount of HP, for emergency situations. I still have 20 mk1. However, I'm not insisting, just a thought.

Yeah, the problem with that is that even just an MK2 is 425, and it gives 3 times the healing (3d8) for over 8 times the price. It's just not cost effective. I know it could be good for emergencies... but if you want a really good one (6d8), the MK3 would cost more than we spent on ALL of those potions, just for one. I think if people want to invest in the bigger ones (3 MK2 instead of 35 MK 1, or drop a couple of other silly things and get one MK3)... I am okay with being overruled, but in terms of value for the money, it just gets worse and worse.

Make sense!

It's a Mysticism check to identify the pink serums. Now that the group has some skills in the area, give it a shot!

Ok folks, I'm away for the weekend. Please finish up any last bits and blobs you need, as we'll dive into the sun once I get back.

I love the concept of the boots, but 1/day is a big limitation. It might be better to buy 2500 credits worth of Frost weapons fusions/cryo grenades/etc.

Mysticism: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Two things:

First: Ouch. Ydajisk doesn't have blessings I'm pretty sure. Guess I'll have to find a different downtime activity. The downsides of a devout religious character of a non-Core deity is you don't get nearly as much tools. (That and, ouch, that Mysticism DC!)

Secondly: Binge-watching is a downtime activity?! I'm loving SF more by the minute.

Zharis, we have two mk 2 serums of healing.
I think I should put them in my inventory right away .)

Experience Points (Instalment # 33)

Oh, we're actually using Experience points? Hopefully there won't be too much disparity

No need to worry there. Sometimes there's a one-level variance for a while within the party, but because the amount of XP required to level up increases exponentially, no one falls too far behind.

Good call, Tulgram. Your wish was granted, even though we didn't buy any. Mysticism rocks. :) They should definitely be in your inventory.

Oh, and speaking of things that we bought... I responded to Theodore, but I don't see my post. I wonder if it got eaten or I did something crazy like forgetting to press Submit Post or something.

Anyway, apologies to Theo. Wasn't trying to ignore you. :)

... I was just saying that I think we all had cold damage weapons or fusions already, and that once a day boots were better than like 3 cryo grenades... However, you guys feel free to overrule me, because it isn't a big deal either way, and who knows whether the boots will actually be useful.

The actual numbers, let's see... we could buy 3 MK1 cryo grenades, or 1 MK2 cryo grenade with that money.

_____

As for the other supplies.

--Everyone gets 5 MK1 Healing Serums (and Tulgram gets an additional 5--I reduced the amount a little because you still had a lot left over. If you need more, this brings me to 12, so you can take some of mine.)
--Everyone gets 1 Enviro mask
--Everyone gets 2 packs of fire extinguisher pellets (and Amhesha gets an extra 2--she has fire resistance, so I thought she could get closest if needed). 4 pellets in each pack.

The boots/cryogrenades are in a Schrodinger state until someone feels strongly about it and decides. If no one does by the time we get to the planet, the default decision is the boots.

Plant, intellivac, and portable window are on the ship... window looks out at the lounge area of the DCI. The DCI has the other window, which looks out at the lounge area of the ship.

(Oh, and anyone who didn't notice on the loot sheet... we have an artificial arm left over from some loot. Can't be reused, but I kept it because I thought it would be funny. Feel free to use it in creative ways.) :)

@Zharis: Thanks for organising!

@Everyone: Please add to your personal equipment sheets the gear as allocated above.

Oh, I forgot the Aerosol spray... anyone want to hold that one?

Fair enough on the boots. That's not enough grenades to be worth it.

Bear hanging from the ceiling is a good image. I didn't respond to it yet in gameplay, but I am sure I will stumble across that on one of the days when I am pacing and spending most of my time on the bridge. :)

Chapter 5 Role-specific XP Awards
Complete your individual role challenge below at any point during “Solar Strike” to earn individual bonus XP equal to a CR 8 challenge. Each challenge can only be attempted (and XP can only be awarded) once, and you should state clearly you are attempting the role challenge between making any dice rolls.

Oh wait, Miracle Worker! Is it okay if we say that Amhesha has been using this every day as siccatite degradation has been happening? If so, what's the base frame HP increment.

Does Miracle Worker work on ships?

Armor: You grant a +2 enhancement bonus to a suit of armor’s EAC and KAC for 1 minute.
Weapon: You grant a +2 enhancement bonus to a weapon’s attack and damage rolls for 1 minute.
Damaged Ship: You restore a number of Hull Points equal to the starship’s base frame HP increment. If this raises the ship’s HP over a multiple of its Critical Threshold, you can repair critical damage to one system per multiple, reducing its severity by one step. For example, if your starship’s Critical Threshold is 8 and you restore 10 HP, reducing the damage to the hull from 17 HP to 7 HP, you could restore one system from wrecked to glitching. Using this ability during starship combat is your action for the turn, and you can do it only during the engineering phase. See page 292 for more on ship construction and page 320 for more on damage to ships.

Oh! I thought you were talking about this:

https://www.aonsrd.com/ExpertiseTalents.aspx?ItemName=Miracle%20Worker

@Amhesha: Miracle Worker can't be used for siccatite degradation (fixing it requires getting the ship out of the solar forces that cause the degradation to begin with), but if the ship takes hull damage from this solar vortex or other encounters, you can certainly use it.

Experience Points (Instalment # 34)

Here's to hoping my combat plan is competent, as I've never done SF before, courtesy of an integrated weapon:

- If Amhesha only has a Standard Action (surprise round or need to move), fire Horizon Striker (3d4+8, reroll 1s)
- If Amhesha has a full-round action w/o Combat Tracking active, activate Combat Tracking and fire the Horizon Striker
- Otherwise, full-attack with two Frost Projector strikes.

GM,

Before we head in... if we rescue 16 people, can we take them with us for a short hop to wherever their base is? I want to be sure we don't get back out here and then the ship dies because it is overloaded or something.

I know it won't be comfortable, but hoping we can just put them all in standing-room only for a small, local hop.

Also, just want to make sure you are aware that I might use biometric implants and/or my vocal modulator while we are in there... so we can get through doors and likely to talk to Gorshak (so he thinks I am someone else). Haven't used those things before, but got them for such a time as this. :)

I said I was asking Grunph for a map... did we get one?

@Zharis: You can cram that many people into the Sun Diver, but they will not have proper seating or restraints, so it's risky if something goes wrong (e.g., the ship gets damaged, is forced to take evasive action, etc.). Thanks re: biometric implants and vocal modulator--should be interesting! Regarding a map, Grunph won't draw you one (he doesn't want there to be evidence he cooperated), but he will tell you the following about the layout of the detention center: The front door leads to a checkpoint with guards on catwalks above. A door to the side opens into an office and provides access to the guard tower above. A door on the far side of the checkpoint room leads to a corridor, and you'll see normal detention blocks on either side of that corridor. At the end of the corridor is another door, and through that you'll see solitary confinement off to the left and an interrogation room off to the right.

@Everyone: Apologies for the slow posting recently. A confluence of external events have made life very busy, but (fingers-crossed) things will slow down in a couple of months.

It's fine to be a bit slow. My posting rate varies from relatively slow and steady to cursing why everyine seems to be in the same timezone depending on the day.

And wow, what an initial 3d4. Farshot is certainly not a mistake.Figured combining high dice count with rerolls and absurd range would pay off, didn't expect it so soon though.