[SFS/ACE] 7-06 Archives of Eternity (Inactive)

Game Master Kludde

Twilight takes another shot at it, hoping to penetrate the hole GRIM*! made.
al: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 electricity: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Ponyfeathers!

Henga squawks as her meat shield staggers, pouring blood everywhere. She moves back away from the robot and continues trying to talk it down.

"I promise we only want to search for information!"

Diplomacy to Trick: 1d20 + 11 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 11 + 3 + (1) = 22 for Trick Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 1 and Trick bonus decrease: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Pew pew (thunderstrike sonic pistol): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 for Sonic Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

It's most likely too late for diplomacy Henga. Besides, I'm not sure these miner bots are that sentient.

Armstrong is going for broken, but just barely misses. Fortunately, GRIM comes in with a brutal tackles, and breaks the robot in half.

Combat over!

Besides the - now broken - mining robot there are some scattered parts and pieces on the floor, including a a static shock pad (of modern construction) with a half-charged battery. There's also a powerful explosive and the charges required to set it.

GRIM*! poses with the broken robot
"Xylavol film a shot of this too."

"Got it, by the way, MR GRIM*! I think you need more medical attention. I was thinking that it might be a good idea as part of my contract if I was a beneficiary on your life insurance policy."

"Good idea I'll sign it you are the smart one after all that's why I hired you!"

GRIM*! takes out and uses a Serum of Healing MK1 on himself
Serum of healing MK1: 1d8 ⇒ 8
And if there is time GRIM*!spends a resolve point to take a 10-minute rest to recover and sign insurance forums for Zylavol

If there is time for a 10 minute rest to spend RP to regain SP, Armstrong will.

You're exploring at your own pace, so there is. Where do you want to go after that?

"Hm, this looks useful."
Irress collects the explosive and the detonators.

"The other room has 2 small doors, but this room has a big door, there could be something big behind it, I think that would be more important, why else would that have made a big door for it."

GRIM*! picks up half the broken robot, and drags it to the double doors.
"I got an idea, this place has not been nice to us I bet it has traps too, what if two of you open the door and I'll throw this robot in to check for taps, and if something is waiting to drill us again it will drill this instead. What do you think is that a smart plan?"

"Robots are frequently sentient on this planet, so I didn't want to assume, Twilight."

Henga has an ability when she recovers stamina, but she didn't take any damage. *sigh*

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

"GRIM, I love your idea, but wait a minute. I hear something on the other side, but it keeps changing. Maybe we should open the door quietly and look in. If there's nothing there, *then* throw the robot in."

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10
"Ok just say when, and I'll throw the robot, or say notwhen I won't throw it."

"... Did someone throw a cat in there? It sounds exactly like a cat after getting spooked and running around a room in a panic."
Irres swaps batteries for her plasma bolter.

As soon as GRIM opens the door, all senses are assaulted by constant change as the environment within the room flicks from one impossibility to another in rapid succession. A deadly rainstorm, a humming server room, a swirl of colorful gas, a meadow of razor-petaled flowers, the void of space, a confusing collection of shuddering pixels. With each fluctuation it’s possible to glimpse small details of the room containing these ever-changing environments. Now-familiar white walls lined with glowing circuitry, doors to the north and south, rotting chairs. Still, the flickering chaos unfolds in a collision of sights, sounds, smells, and sensations—unbelievable, but feeling all too real.

The room is filled with a shifting maze, where the Starfinders encounters alternative versions of themselves - as if their own selves from different timelines decided to make a visit. There's a GRIM who looks exactly like a brother of GRIM, a male bald version of Irres with a moustache, a differently colored Henga, a dawn version of twilight, and a Nelly with particularly muscular legs.

This round, you all gets +2 to skill checks and saves

The place is an area of degraded reality, and while you can escape it, it would leave the area unsafe for further visits by follow-up teams.

Each of you can make 1 action every round:
Encourage: You can encourage another player with an appropriate skill check (as long as you can somehow defend its use) to aid in repairing or escaping.
Escape: You attempt to escape the alternate reality and return to one of the adjacent halls by attempting either a Reflex or Will save or a Acrobatics, Athletics, or Mysticism check. Multiple successes are needed to escape.
Repair Reality: You can try to repair the degraded reality by attempting a Mysticism or Physical Science check. Alternatively, you can spend 1 Resolve Point and attempt a Will save to instead repair it through sheer force of will. Multiple successes are needed.

---
Henga
Grim
Irres
Nelly
Twilight
---

"Grandmother's cloak, that's not a cat."
Irres shudders at the male version of her, then tries to repair the reality.
Physical Science: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 2 = 15

GRIM*! panics when seeing what looks like his brother and throws the half robot at the other GRIM*!

"WHY ARE YOU HERE? THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE GRIM*! AT A TIME!"
Intimidate amplified: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

GRIM*! tries to leave before anyone else can see two GRIM*!'s at the same time.

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Henga quivers as the shifting realities assault her senses. Focusing on the other Henga, she attempts to figure out how to Make It Stop!

Mysticism: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

athletics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 to escape.

OK. Let's see if I can fix this

phys sci: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Irres tries his hands at controlling the reality, but makes little progress. Grim forces himself out the maelstrom of alternatives universes, along with Nelly, while Henga and Twilight stay in to fix the rift, and manage to make some progress in stabilizing the area.

They're not quite there yet, though, and as reality keeps warping, Twilight suddenly sees Henga become razor-thin, then disappear. When Henga re-appears again, it's become clear that the Hanakan, Twilight herself and Irres have become two-dimensional... utterly flat!

Which comes with a sickened for 1 round

---
Henga
Grim (Escaped - Can encourage or re-enter)
Irres
Nelly (Escaped - Can encourage or re-enter)
Twilight
---

Irres tries to force herself back to being 3d.
Physical science: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

GRIM*! tries to encourage the best way he knows how
trying to use intimidate the same way it's used in starship combat in the demand action

"HURRY UP AND FIX IT OR GET OUT OR YOU WILL END UP FLAT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE."
Intimidate amplified: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

GRIM*! Then turns to Xylavol and whispers
"What's he doing here this ruins our plans."

Twilight has another go at fixing this although part of her mind is analysing the surroundings attempting to figure out how to replicate it.

Probably a Witch Warper thing. Might have to ask Starlight in my next missive

phys sci: 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 10 - 2 = 27

Mind you, the closest thing to a Witch Warper I can think of back home is Pinkie Pie

Will encourage repairing with engineering, he will show off his knowledge engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Irres focus on the thir dimension, while GRIM steps up the hooliganism from the sideline. That is enough for Twilight to finally put a stop to the maelstrom, and make the area safe again.

The mundane version of the room is actually kind of boring: there are a couple of rows of chairs arranged in a viewing theater, facing two different monitors in the wall, that by now have been utterly broken. There's also a broken datapad on the floor.

Computers or Engineering to perform some data salvage on the datapad

There's also a big, vault-like door on the other side of the room.

Well that was oddly interesting

computers: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Twilight gets minimal access to the destroyed datapad's RAM, and manages to recover the last file on it. It is an elaborate message from @SupremeProclaimant, containing a list of mechanical components
and construction materials to be procured. Among them is a 'key', with a description matching the eternity drive. It's quite clear that most of the items on the list are used to craft incredibly powerful weapons, including starship and orbital weaponry.

The large, vault-like door is locked Computers, Engineering, or Mysticism to change that

Twilight copies the file to her own datapad and packs away the destroyed datapad for further analysis.

She then has a go at the door.
engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Her idea of opening it was to use percussive maintenance, i.e. bucking it with her hind hooves. Maybe that wasn't the smartest move as all it did was to cause her holographic body to fritz for a split second as her hooves hit the door.

Irres gives Twilight a blank look after she tries and fails to kick open the door.
"How can someone be so smart and yet so stupid? One of life's great mysteries."
She thinks, then tries the door.
engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

"Xylavol I think the door is stuck we should help."

GRIM*! tries some manual engineering to aid Irres
Athletics Aid engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

"Good idea I'll get right on it."

Engineering Aid to Irres: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Will try to get to the vault door engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

"I agree, Twilight. That was a very odd way to be for a minute. We should investigate that further at some point."

Henga waits patiently for the group to work together, while she skims through the recovered message. "I thought the First Ones were peaceful. They made the anacites and some other stuff and just left. What would they do with orbital weaponry?"

Mysticism: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Irres manages to open the door after Twilight's failure.

The room is entirely spherical, with bright white walls that ripple like the surface of a pond when touched. Hovering in the room’s center is an incredibly complex device composed of interlocking panels, glowing wires, magical energy, and colorful holograms, all shifting and moving constantly.

Those trained in Mysticism AND at least one of Engineering and Computers get an advantage - let me know if that's the case

No advantage for GRIM*!

GRIM*! readies half a robot to throw into the new room
"Maybe I should throw half a robot in there to, see if it goes flat?"

That's what's bothering me too Henga. I'm going to have to double check the dates on when the First ones were here and figure out what the state of the Pact Worlds and the Galaxy was at that time.

But I know at least one Arch Magus and three beings of near divinity back home. I'll send them a message later

Twilight is trained in all three

The weird spehrical room is designed such that 'down' is everywhere on the wall, and 'up' is in the middle. The rippling walls are safe to walk on, it's just that getting into the center and near the complex device is hard - whenever the walls ripple hard enough, it's possible though.

Twilight understands the interaction of magic and complex physics well enough to control her own motion, and effectively fly through the room.

Getting info from the central device requires a (harder) Computers, Engineering, or Mysticism, or a combination of a(n easier) succesful easier Computers/Engineering check along with a(n easier) Mysticism check. Everyone can try, and multiple successes are possible.

computers: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17
engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15
mysticism: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18 to gather info.

"I'd love to hear what you find out from your acquaintances when you contact them. I'm both confused and concerned."

Henga can make checks for all three skills, but is technically only trained in Mysticism.

"This place is...very strange. An intersection of magic and technology I have not seen."

Computers: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Engineering: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Mysticism: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

She will attempt to fly.

I'll do that ... but it takes a while to get messages to Equis and back

And yeah ... it is ... I'm looking forward to studying it further.

And I suspect that if I do tell them, an entire herd of ponies will come down to have a look at it to study it ... I can think of at least four

"Xylavol, can you help them, I don't think breaking that would help."

"Sure thing."
Aid Computers: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
Aid Engineering: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Aid Computers: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

"Huh, this gravity is weird."

computers: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Sorry about not posting, I was traveling for Christmas."

No issue with not posting - I'm travelling and on an intermittent posting schedule until at least Jan 1

The first to succesfully extract some information from the data cortex is Armstrong, who locates a map of the facility showing many secret passages (See the transparent blockers on the map)

Irres find some blueprints for many other buildings in Eternity, including the complex the Eternity Cortex was in before its destruction, which was much larger and contained numerous data pods.

Armstrong and Irres also pull up an image of the Eternity Drive, which is clearly an encrypted magitech key for accessing restricted areas.

There is more information, but it needs some deciphering with the Lexi-Kin, because the words 'all-digit', 'marination' and 'also-real' don't make a lot of sense.

Needs a culture check

culture: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

If the Lexi-Kin doesn't help, she'll cast Comprehend Languages

Culture Aid Twilight: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Culture aid: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"It would be helpful if we could actually *bring* the Eternity Key with us when we're exploring. Very useful for opening doors and such." She looks at the maps that her companions provide. "Where to, space fans? I'm not picky."

Suggestion: pick a side, start at the "top" (A7e or A7j), work our way down, through the room we started in, then back up the other side?