A Shining Planet Known as Golarion

Game Master rando1000

Without objection, I will have Elowen create a background for Clarissa, as well as sorting everyone out together. Maybe I met Clarissa at school. I was doing Technomancer School, while she was doing medical school?

James is a people person... good soul. Probably became an operative on a dare.

Besides patriotic duty, he just wants to have some fun.

Without objection, I will have Elowen create a background for Clarissa, as well as sorting everyone out together. Maybe I met Clarissa at school. I was doing Technomancer School, while she was doing medical school?

More likely she was visiting where your school was as a tourist. Clarissa was born of a wealthy merchant family. In fact, even now she "lives" on one of the luxury space-liners that travel with the fleet, when not out on missions with the team.

She had just finished nursing studies when the destruction of the Colonies happened, and through the misery during and immediately after, she gained her chops as a top-class field medic.

James is a people person... good soul. Probably became an operative on a dare.

Besides patriotic duty, he just wants to have some fun.

If you need Elowen (my ChatBot) to write you a background, she can, but give me more info that you want to go into it.

Burlap’s background is at the bottom of his profile.

Burlap’s background is at the bottom of his profile.

Did you just add that? I swear I looked earlier! Ok, I grabbed it.

James "Joyride" Maxwell wrote:

James is a people person... good soul. Probably became an operative on a dare.

Besides patriotic duty, he just wants to have some fun.

If you need Elowen (my ChatBot) to write you a background, she can, but give me more info that you want to go into it.

Weave it in as you like. I'm just saying he's more of a Tom Sawyer turned fleet recruit.

Yes, another song... Tom Sawyer by Rush.

Vaëlorin wrote:

James "Joyride" Maxwell wrote:

James is a people person... good soul. Probably became an operative on a dare.

Besides patriotic duty, he just wants to have some fun.

If you need Elowen (my ChatBot) to write you a background, she can, but give me more info that you want to go into it.

Weave it in as you like. I'm just saying he's more of a Tom Sawyer turned fleet recruit.

Yes, another song... Tom Sawyer by Rush.

One of the greatest song intros ever!

Burlap 'LongTail' wrote:

Burlap’s background is at the bottom of his profile.

Did you just add that? I swear I looked earlier! Ok, I grabbed it.

Nope, it's been there for awhile.

Black Betty Floorplan

I'm a little tired to do the legend right now... but here's the gist.
Red doors = pressure doors
Blue doors = 'normal' doors.
Circles (solid line) = Iris valve pressure doors in floor
Circles (dotted line) = Iris valve pressure doors in ceiling
'bar-bells' (seen in conjunction with Circles) = ladders up or down
Little two-square rooms between cabins = bathrooms
Green Line (in the cargo hold) = crane system for loading/unloading cargo

Upper Deck is the 'Boom Boom Room'... just the turret.

Main Deck has the Bridge, weapon hardpoints (not shown), crew cabins, dining area across from the galley, common room, the ladder up to the turret, and the engineering spaces.

Lower Deck has the guest room (currently configured with a nice bed but could be turned into a series of bunkbeds), Science Lab, Mechanic's Shop, and Cargo space.

There are three exits from the ship: the big cargo door (which might have a smaller door built into it, the escape hatch out of the turret), AND the iris valve right by the door to the Science Lab. You can drop down beneath the ship from there.

Black Betty Ship Pics
Now, with our pinup girl art to replace the red sun graphic on the ship's exterior. Enjoy!

I think we need one more bunk, for the Doc. Honestly, in the circumstances we’re in, I say you double up bunks in 2 rooms, for 4 racks. Give the Skipper his own room. And now some amount of Medical area, although that could double with the Science Lab, and be cramped for space. We share some of the same gear anyways. This isn’t a luxury cruise. Make him a bit more utilitarian.

Might I suggest that the 4 rooms on Deck 2 accommodate 2, 2, 1 and 1 person. With the 1s on the port side of the ship. Add a second head just aft of the second room on the port side. That gives the captain and someone else a single stateroom with their own head. On the starboard side, those 2 are both double bunks, and share the head between them.

Anyways, he looks good. Utilitarian, I’m just suggesting we go further with that aesthetic. She was a rust bucket of a trader, but we’ll clean her up, at least on the inside!

'Good' crew quarters are dormitory-esque, so I assumed bunk beds in 3 of 4 crew cabins... so 6 crewmen with the Captain getting a private room. And we have a guest room on the lower deck.

We're saying the same thing. 3 of the 4 crew cabins are double-bunked, holding six crew. The Captain gets his own room. We also have the passenger room downstairs. I don't think we're short on bed space. Burlap could throw his gear up in the turret and sleep in there, if need be.

We can have the Doc work anywhere - even on the dining room table if we want. There is no benefit to the place chosen. According to the rules, IF we want an actual Medical Bay (with the bennies), it cannot 'share space' with another bay, it has to be it's own thing. And given the limitation on expansion bays in our size of ship, we'd have to lose one of the existing bays - so the Sci Lab, Mechanic's Shop, Passenger Room, or Cargo Hold would have to go.

That gives the captain and someone else a single stateroom with their own head.

Can't do it. 'Good' crew quarters share a bathroom between cabins. I think the upgrade version is 'Luxury' and those have private baths. And we can't mix and match. We bought a 'bay' of 'Good' quarters. To get a bay of 'Luxury' ones, we'd have to purchase another bay for them exclusively... and then we run into the limit on the number of bays we can have again.

Roger all!

He’s perfect as he is!

LOL! I'd say 'utilitarian' and utterly rules compliant. :D

That’s what we’re shooting for!

In terms of character connections, maybe a lot of this is friend-of-a-friend kind of stuff?

Burlap and Joyride could have run in the same circles at some point. Both do covert stuff and it would make sense that a mercenary group might hire a non-military and somewhat daredevilish pilot to drop/retrieve them from a dangerous LZ.

"You need me to drop you inside a druglord's compound? I'm IN!"

If the Vesk got her training in the military or did contract work on a military base, Burlap may have met her. He grew up with parents that were engineers and he's familiar with the skills, so it wouldn't be a stretch if they met and enjoyed talking shop.

With everything you've said, here is what Elowen has to say about "Joyride"

James "Joyride" Maxwell

Human Operative, Pilot of the Fleet

James "Joyride" Maxwell has always been a man who chases the horizon—not out of duty, but out of sheer thrill-seeking curiosity. Born into the bustling colonies of the Diasporum, he was never one for rigid structure or long-term plans. Instead, life for James was one grand improvisation, an unscripted adventure where the only rule was to never stand still long enough to get caught.

A natural pilot from the moment he first set hands on a control stick, James didn’t come up through military training like most of his fleet-bound peers. No, his introduction to flying was far less orthodox—one part instinct, two parts recklessness, and a dare that landed him in a cockpit before he even knew what the buttons did. Turns out, he had a gift—not just for flying, but for pushing machines past their limits and still landing in one piece.

From Daredevil to Operative

Somewhere along the way, Joyride stumbled into a role as an operative, mostly by accident. A friendly bet, a bad idea, and suddenly he was running a smuggling route between disputed territories just for the hell of it. Turns out, he had a knack for getting in and out of tight spots—whether by ship, by charm, or by sheer dumb luck. His operations weren’t exactly sanctioned, but when the war with the Cyleerin escalated and pilots were in short supply, the fleet looked the other way and put him in a cockpit.

Joyride doesn’t talk much about what happened to his home colony—if it even still exists. Like most survivors of the war, he lost things, lost people, but that’s not the part of the story he chooses to dwell on. Instead, he plays the role of the easygoing, thrill-seeking pilot, cracking jokes and turning every high-speed maneuver into a performance.

A Pilot With a Need for Speed

• People Person, Risk Taker: Joyride is always looking for the next challenge, the next big gamble—whether it's pulling off an impossible stunt or bluffing his way past an armed checkpoint.
  
• Doesn’t Fly By the Book: Regulations? Those are for people who haven’t felt the controls in their hands. Joyride flies on instinct, intuition, and a bit of madness.
  
• Operative by Coincidence: He never meant to become an operative, but he’s good at getting into places others can’t—and even better at getting back out.
  
• Loyal to the Crew, But Not to Authority: He respects people, not ranks. If someone wears a uniform and tells him what to do, he’ll probably find a way to do the opposite.
  

Why He’s Here

The Diasporum may have fallen, but Joyride doesn’t dwell on it. He keeps moving. The fleet needs a pilot, and Joyride is one of the best—or at least, the best at making it look easy. He doesn’t know if Golarion is out there, and frankly, he doesn’t care. As long as there’s a sky to fly in and a ship that needs a good pilot, Joyride is exactly where he wants to be.

Besides, if this whole journey turns into a legendary story, he damn well wants to be in the starring role.

Ok, I know the Solarian is Alzura Frostchild, but nothing about her background.

I don't know a name or background for Critzible's character.

With those things, I can get a story together describing how we came together.

I decided against the Gremlin for now. Having 1 battery powered spell per day was too attractive of an idea to pass up! Maybe at 5th level I can take the Gremlin and will have a story based reason to do so.

With everything you've said, here is what Elowen has to say about "Joyride"...

I like it! Sweet and spot on!

Sorry been a crazy week, and been working on my character. Including name and Drone. Though the drone will have a Heavy Weapon

Vaëlorin wrote:

With everything you've said, here is what Elowen has to say about "Joyride"...

I like it! Sweet and spot on!

I'm glad you approve!

I think her known moniker is "Cherry Pitt" as she loves cherries and often eats them. Lol workinf on a name, but I know she was given Mainentance duties or Cook on Vesk ships and built weapons, armor and Tin Man on her down time. Thinking of picking up a
Weapon profiency for either longarms or advanced Melee. Or both.

Remember that, except for grenades, taking an alternate weapon proficiency is a 2 feat commitment, because you’ll need Specialization also.

Remember as you're finishing your characters to add 1 die to Small Arms and Longarms for damage. I might dial that back when we get to more powerful weapons, essentially keeping the Level 1-2 gear damage-consistent with the level 6-7 gear. we'll see where we are when we get to that.

Rando, how are you planning to do maps: Roll20, Google slides, something else?

On the gun damage bonus, I'm assuming that also applies to Sniper weapons. Or am I wrong about that?

Rando, how are you planning to do maps: Roll20, Google slides, something else?

I generally share out a map on Google Docs which I update once or twice a round based on what people say their movements are. It will be linked at the top of the page.

EXAMPLE

Honestly I never considered combining PBP here with VTT somewhere else. I'll give it some thought but for now assume my description above.

I'm a regular user of Roll20, so no problem for me if you want to do maps there.

I'm unsure how I want to export my character fro Hephaestus, or if I do. I can store him there, I believe, and just do my rolls and such here.

Google Docs work.

Here's your early-subscriber starter pack! I give you Black Betty MK2 (floorplan)

I left out most of the chairs to avoid clutter. I added some potted plants for our elf and a reclining chair for our Vesk in their shops. I'm happy to throw in a bit of personal gear for anyone in their assigned room... assuming I can find a graphic that works. So let me know if there is something you'd like. I wasn't trying to snub anyone.

Also, Burlap is officially done.

I'm unsure how I want to export my character fro Hephaestus, or if I do. I can store him there, I believe, and just do my rolls and such here.

I don't think you can. At least, I didn't see a way to do it so I had to hand type the info into my profile.

Here's your early-subscriber starter pack! I give you Black Betty MK2 (floorplan)

Nice work.

I can store him there, I believe, and just do my rolls and such here.

Yeah, that's fine. Is your profile here accurate? I copied that for my DM reference.

Yeah I want her to have access to the Doshko due to back ground. So thats fine. But now I have her moniker as Ruby Boom. My background is shaping up nicely. She is obbessed with Wonderful Wizard of Oz and has the book. And the Religious bible of Damitosh

Nice work.

Thanks!

rando1000 wrote:

Nice work.

Thanks!

Will take good care of her... :)

"You promised! Not a scratch on her." The Ysoki says, resting an arm on the hull to conveniently hide a 6" long rusted groove in the metal.

;P

Vaëlorin wrote:

I can store him there, I believe, and just do my rolls and such here.

Yeah, that's fine. Is your profile here accurate? I copied that for my DM reference.

It's not. I've been fiddling with Hacks, and Spells and such.

I've been fiddling with Hacks, and Spells and such.

Noted.

Hey folks:

Does any of this apply to piloting a starship?! It's the Operative Exploit.

Uncanny Pilot
Ex
Level 2
When you attack while you’re driving a vehicle, you halve the vehicle’s penalty to your attack roll (to a minimum of no penalty if the vehicle normally imposes a –1 penalty). When you’re in a chase, you gain a +2 bonus to skill checks you attempt when taking the evade or trick pilot actions.

I think that only applies to non-starships.

Thanks!

Hmm... tried to multi-class Operative 2/Envoy 1

Maybe I'll stay pure Operative.

Any suggestions for Feats? There aren't many that are starship focused.

Are we mostly in starships or are we also going to be boots on the ground?

Rando has been playing his cards close to his chest. I'd plan on a good range of planet-hopping and hijinks, so my advice would be to diversify. If you've got a good DEX and 3 points in Piloting, I wouldn't force yourself to take every Pilot-related feat in the book. Pick stuff you'll have fun with or fits with the non-piloting part of your character.

Right, as long as you keep your Pilot skill maxed, everything else is gravy! Build a good rounded adventuring PC also.

Thanks guys, will do!

Rando has been playing his cards close to his chest. I'd plan on a good range of planet-hopping and hijinks, so my advice would be to diversify.

Adventures will range quite a bit. Some planetside, some on board ships, some ship combat. Some exploration, both planetside and in space. So yeah, a wide variety of skills and abilities. I'll try to make sure people get chances to use their abilities.

I changed my equipment a little bit, reflected in both my character sheet and online build sheet.

You can also build ships in Hephaistos:

Black Betty STATS

Okay, so I believe

Burlap 'LongTail' is completed
Vaëlorin is almost completed
Joyride is still showing Mechanic 7/Operative 1, rather than the current level 3 version
No official stats yet from Critzible or Crisischild

I have enough ready to begin the campaign once characters are complete.

I tweaked Burlap one last time. He is now updated in his profile and character sheet (link in the profile).

I also tweaked Betty a bit. I found a way to shave off some unused BP. She is updated in Hephaistos. Unfortunately, her manufacturer bonus (a reduction in the Drift Engine energy consumption) can't be changed. However, if you don't mind Rando, I can manually increase the Core output by the same amount. Basically, getting the math correct in a different way. Let me know.

Here are Betty's stats:

BLACK BETTY (TIER 3)
Medium Explorer

Speed 10; Maneuverability Good (Turn 1); Drift 1

AC 15; TL 13

HP 55; DT -; CT 11

Shield Light Shields 70 (Forward 19, Port 17, Starboard 17, Aft 17)

Attack (Forward) Light Particle Beam (3d6; 10 hexes; Mystical)
> Mystical - Gunner can use Mystical instead of Piloting ranks and/or WIS instead of DEX bonus
Attack (Turret) Coilgun (4d4; 20 hexes; Adamantine)
> Adamantine - Against unshielded hull, the weapon does +1 DAM per Die

Systems
Power Core - Arcus Ultra (150 PCU); Drift Engine (Signal Basic); Sensors (Basic Long-Range), Crew Quarters (Good), M10 Thrusters, Mk 2 Armor, Mk 2 Duonode Computer

Modifiers
+2 to any 2 checks per round, +2 Computers (sensors only), +1 Piloting

Bays
Cargo Hold, Guest Quarters, Science Lab, Tech Workshop

Crew Complement 6 (Minimum 1, Maximum 6)

POWER: 150
PCU (All In): 111 (with manufacturer correction)
Power (Essential): 90

----- CREW -----

Captain (Alzura, callsign: )
Acrobatics +2, Athletics +4, Bluff +7, Diplomacy +10, Intimidate +7, Mysticism +4, gunnery +4 (3rd level)

Engineer (Cherry Bomb, callsign: 'Dorothy')
gunnery +4 (3rd level)

Gunner (Burlap, callsign: 'Longtail')
Acrobatics +8 (1 rank), Athletics +5 (1 rank), Engineering +7 (1 rank), Intimidate +4, Piloting +10 (3 ranks), gunnery +7 (3rd level)

Pilot (James, callsign: 'Joyride')
Piloting (3 ranks), gunnery +3

Science Officer (Vaelorin, callsign: )
Computers +12, Engineering +11, Mysticism +9, gunnery +3 (3rd level)

Medic (Clarissa, callsign: 'Juliet')

Black Betty STATS

Guys, let me know when you have finished your character sheets so I can plug your stats into the ship profile. It would be very helpful if you listed your ranks as well.

EDIT: And the manufacturer adds a bit to her history. About 40 years ago, whoever owned her had an up-and-coming company with flexible morals refit her a bit, specifically, putting in a very efficient engine.

Dot