Game Master S's Playtest 2 "It Came from the Vast!" (Inactive)

Game Master Chris Marsh

Dae shrugs and moves toward the door deeper in. "Let's keep going. We can fiddle with this more later."

I don't think anyone besides Cookie-Cutter has Crafting to assist.

CeeCee shrugs. "If I had more time, yeah. Maybe we can get it aboard the ship later."

She follows Dae.

Dae moves to the door, but as they move a scrabbling sound reverberates through the ventilation ducts. It stops as suddenly as it started...

The Bloom’s engine room was clearly once a marvel of biomechanical engineering, containing a high-speed Drift engine, four sleek workstations with state-of-the-art biomechanical interfaces, and four plush chairs grown from leaf fronds and flower petals. Now, the engine room is a mess. The front panel is torn off the broken Drift engine, tools are scattered around the floor, and something has taken bites out of the chairs and other biomass. The ground near the forward doors is coated in a sticky looking slime, which trails through the open doors to midship. Through these doors, midship is coated entirely in a thick layer of slime and pulsing organic masses. Amid these alien egg-sacs crawl grub-like creatures with oddly humanoid bone faceplates, each engorged and nearly a foot in length. Movement in the distance indicates there’s likely additional grubs in adjoining chambers.

Obazaya looks around at all the grubs.

"What are those?"

Obozaya doesn't know WHAT these things are, but there are enough of them that if they notice you in this room, they could easily swarm you!

Dae peers into the adjoining room, shudders, and shuts the door. "Let's deal with those things later."

With the door shut (for now) the party can focus:

Life Support and QoL
Engine Control
Ship's Records

"If we want to get a good sense of just what this ship is and why it's hear, let's see what they recorded."
Suggesting we hit of Ship's Records

Obazaya nods. "Let's see the records."

Unfortunately the floral chairs at each station seem to have been.... eaten. So they're now standing desks until the ship has time to regrow them. The computer here is locked up tight. Asa biomechanical ship, you've got a few different ways to gain entry. I'll take either a Computer check or a Nature check.

Nature: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

"I had no idea that the residents would eat the chairs."

Dae keeps watch while others examine the computer, keeping a careful eye on the inner door in particular in case any of those horrible grubs wriggle into the room.

CeeCee watches Ceilidh, curious about what she's up to. [b]"I didn't think you could have an organic computer, but I think I can see similarities.
Aid (Computers): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29

Ceilidh, with help from CC, blow open the records...

After reading through the files, they summarize the findings. Looks like that during a routine survey mission to a newly discovered dwarf planet in the Vast currently known by the temporary identifier VDP-32074-S, the crew of the Bloom collected a variety of biological and environmental samples. After these samples were secured in the Bloom’s laboratories for further study, the Xenowardens departed, plotting a course through the Drift to the Pact Worlds to drop off their samples at the Xenowarden arkship Verdant Paradise, which serves as a mobile research laboratory and is currently in orbit around Bretheda. The Bloom has five crew members, including Captain Leah Imaaz, an engineer, a surveyor, and two scientists (a botanist and a zoologist).

Your check was a crit!

Furthermore, they also learn that "Sample 62" was of particular interest to the team zoologist. Originally catalogued as a simple flatworm of about two inches in length, Sample 62 proved capable of rapid bio adaptations— the creature adopts the characteristics of organic materials they consume. The last records of Sample 62 indicate the creature was a foot long, grub-like, and had sharp mandibles and an impressive shriek. It describes exactly what's in the room to afore.

"Huh. If we could get those bugs to eat something that is chill and civilized, we might be able to handle it. You think?"

"Do we have such a thing for them to eat?"

"Not yet. Let's keep looking around though. Maybe where life support is?"

CeeCee heads over to the other controls. There are some basic controls that you can use to operate the lights and control the ship’s interior temperature. These controls have safeguards that prevent users from making the temperature dangerously hot or cold. Furthermore, the ship’s atmosphere and gravity can’t be adjusted, as these effects are created naturally by the starship itself.

"What? We cannot control atmosphere or gravity? You would think that this ship was alive! Let's watch our step as we go. Do any of you have any suggestions on how to deal with that swarm of grubs? I wouldn't want to be surprised by them at a later time."

"Gimme a little space and I can probably clear out most of them."

Dae is happy to run in first and supernova to kick things off, if you all don't mind hanging back for a second.

Go for it

Dae's eyes glow with the light of the sun as they wait for their allies to get ready. Once everyone is in place they slap the button to open the door, ready to dash in to wipe out the bugs! I'm assuming we'll be going into initiative for this bit.

Obozaya nods at Dae and gets ready to follow up with her big gun.

No one really described anything that would make me think they were exploring other than Searching, but if I'm wrong, by all means make a case!

Dae preps.... and go! With a hiss the door opens. This large chamber is completely coated, from floor to ceiling, in slimy effluence, spotted with pulsing growths the size of a brutaris ball. Numerous grub-like creatures with mandibles and bony growths—that look disturbingly like a humanoid skull—writhe amid the alien egg sacs.

The change in pressure and the proximity of the Starfinder team sends the hatchlings into a frenzy as they quickly swarm!

Hostile: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Ceilidh Razkar: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26 (T)
Cookie-Cutter: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22 (T)
Dae: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 (E)
Obozaya: 1d20 ⇒ 14 (T)

Okay, I'm honestly not sure how to do this. It seems silly to me that Dae goes last because Dae is totally ready for what comes. I don't want to lose the cool scene here... but unless I'm misunderstanding the rules.... Dae goes last?

******************************************
TACTICAL MAP
GM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Gravity:Normal
Atmosphere: Normal
Lighting: Flashlights ONLY
Battlefield terrain:

Okay, so here's my thought.... Solarians have a special Exploration activity where they can attune as a free action once switching to encounter mode. Dae called out that they were attuning. So let's do this:

Dae announces they are attuning.

Round 1:
Ceilidh: Readies for Obozaya to open the door.
CeeCee: Readies for Obozaya to open the door.
Hostiles: ???
Obozaya: Opens the door. 2 Actions remaining
Ceilidh: 1 Action remaining
CeeCee: 1 Action remaining
Dae: 3 Actions remaining

Round 2:
Ceilidh: Go
CeeCee: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Obozaya: TBD
Ceilidh: TBD
CeeCee: TBD
Dae: TBD

******************************************
TACTICAL MAP
GM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Gravity:Normal
Atmosphere: Normal
Lighting: Flashlights ONLY
Battlefield terrain:

As soon as the door is open, Dae rushes into the room. Once sure they're clear of their allies, they erupt in a massive ball of flame that washes over the grubs! As the smoke clears, their eyes have turned a light-swallowing black!

◆Stride, ◆◆Supernova (15ft burst; Cycle trait changes attunement to Graviton)

Fire damage: 5d8 ⇒ (5, 6, 1, 2, 4) = 18
DC 21 Fort save
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature takes half damage and is dazzled for 1 round.
Failure The creature takes full damage and is blinded for 1 round.
Critical Failure The creature takes double damage and is blinded for 1 minute.

Dae rushes in like an action star from a vid.

Red FORT: 1d20 ⇒ 15 PASS
Black FORT: 1d20 ⇒ 10 FAIL

The hatchlings screech in an awful cacophony! It's.... nearly too much.

Round 1:
Ceilidh: Readies for Obozaya to open the door.
CeeCee: Readies for Obozaya to open the door.
Hostiles: ???
Obozaya: Opens the door. 2 Actions remaining
Ceilidh: 1 Action remaining
CeeCee: 1 Action remaining
Dae: 3Supernova

Round 2:]
Ceilidh: Go
CeeCee: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Obozaya: TBD
Ceilidh: TBD
CeeCee: TBD
Dae: TBD

******************************************
TACTICAL MAP
GM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Gravity:Normal
Atmosphere: Normal
Lighting: Flashlights ONLY
Battlefield terrain:

Round 1

First, Ceilidh casts Guidance (◈)on Obozaya.

Round 2

Next, Ceilidh cast Frostbite(◈◈). An orb of biting cold coalesces around the red swarm.

Cold Damage: 4d4 ⇒ (1, 2, 4, 4) = 11

Basic Fortitude Save

For Ceilidh's third action, she casts (◈) Guidance on Cee Cee.

"This will improve your shot, use it well."

[ooc[Correcting supernova damage to include swarm weakness to area effect and to fire damage.[/ooc]

Ceilidh gives Obozaya a little boost while FORT: 1d20 ⇒ 4 damaging the more intact swarm.

Round 1:
Ceilidh: Readies for Obozaya to open the door.
CeeCee: Readies for Obozaya to open the door.
Hostiles: ???
Obozaya: Opens the door. 2 Actions remaining
Ceilidh: Guidance
CeeCee: 1 Action remaining
Dae: Supernova

Round 2:
Ceilidh: Go
CeeCee: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Obozaya (Guidance): TBD
Ceilidh: TBD
CeeCee: TBD
Dae: TBD

******************************************
TACTICAL MAP
GM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Gravity:Normal
Atmosphere: Normal
Lighting: Flashlights ONLY
Battlefield terrain:

CeeCee activates her forcefield, fulling expecting things to get ugly when Dae opens the door.

When the bugs swarm, she's not even a little surprised. She's excited. "Here we go!"

The ysoki, feeling Ceilidh's guiding words, takes aim and fires upon the nearest mass of monstrosity.
Advanced Semi-Auto Pistol: 1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 16 + 1 = 37
Damage (P): 2d6 + 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) + (3, 3) = 13 X2 + moved back 5ft

"Weee!" CeeCee shouts with glee, taking a step back as she reloads her pistol.

Obozaya fires her gun at Red twice.

machine gun: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20
ouch!: 2d8 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6

machine gun: 1d20 + 13 - 5 ⇒ (19) + 13 - 5 = 27
ouch!: 2d8 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6

Per Slack, only need to reload when the magazine is empty.

CeeCee quickly changes her mind about stepping back, instead taking another shot at the the nearby swarm.
Second shot vs Red: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Damage (P): 2d6 + 2d6 ⇒ (3, 3) + (6, 5) = 17

Ceilidh tries to recall knowledge (◈) on these creatures.

Nature (Recall Knowledge): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

Next, he casts another Frostbite (◈◈) at the red swarm.

An orb of biting cold coalesces around it and stings!

Cold Damage: 4d4 ⇒ (4, 3, 3, 4) = 14

Basic Fortitude Save DC21

Obozaya takes a couple of shots. While some are killed, it's not the right tool for the job. Still it's enough to disperse the remaining hatchlings. CeeCee straight up misses though.

Ceilidh tries to take a guess at what he's fighting, but the species is unknown. Still he extrapolates what he knows and assumes that weapons that target individuals will suffer, and that area is the way to go:

FORT: 1d20 ⇒ 1

As if to drive home the point he completely freezes the remaining hatchlings!

Out of combat

"Dae, my friend, I cannot thank you enough for using your supernova powers on those grubs. I did not want to get too close to them."

Ceilidh proceeds to investigate the room but does not wish to touch anything or get her fur dirty.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12

Ceilidh looks around and considers himself, and the party lucky. A lot of the excretions here would burn REALLY easily. In fact, in hindsight, I didn't think to check the supernova radius. Dae should have triggered it. Normally I would say this is a GM mistake in player favor, but I want to make sure we're playing as written... Regardless, if Dae didn't move, it wouldn't have caused damage, so no harm no foul.

Other than doors to the starboard, port, and fore, there isn't much here... though the entire area is covered in some kind of oozy secretion not part of the ship.

"This place really is disgusting. This ooze does nothing for the vibe of this place. Dare we push further in the hopes of finding a room that is . . . well . . . cleaner?"

"Yes, let's not waste time." Obozaya glances at the secretions.

Obozaya concludes that the ooze is likely some kind of excretion evolved for protection. As to what made this amount... it's possible it was the hatchlings.

"If you think this slime is for hatchlings, then let's stay on our guard. Obo, I see a door here on this wall. Do you want to check it out?"

Ceilidh suggests investigating and going through the door to the south.

"Sounds good to me" Dae says, moving toward the southern door.

"Can do!" Obozaya opens the door was everyone is in position.

Everyone moves to different doors, and quickly they realize that he meant astarboard ;-)

Obozaya opens the door. Immediately the slime inside makes everyone look around for hatchlings. There are a ton! Thankfully they're spread out enough that you can easily eliminate them before they swarm.

Even a cursory glance is fruitful. You discover a jetpack and an old fashioned, coded paper letter, written in a cipher. Society to decipher

Ceilidh takes a look at the coded paper.

Society, Untrained: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

"How am I supposed to know what that letter says? They made it unreadable."

After giving up quickly, Ceilidh walks over to investigate the jetpack, trying to figure out how to activate it without scorching her own fur.

Society: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

Cookie-Cutter walks over to the paper, shrugs, and moves on. "What's up with that jetpack? I always wanted to fly."

Society: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

"I was never very good at codes."

Once Ceilidh, Cookie-Cutter, and Obozaya are done, Dae takes a shot at decoding the letter.

Society: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Dae also struggles to decipher the letter.

"It's probably a love letter between two romantics who are keeping their affair secret. Can you smell any perfume on the letter?"

The letter smells like the ship.