GM Valen's Starfinder Society Scenario #1-13: On the Trail of History

Game Master Lysle

Chip frowns as he looks up at the tower. "Not much of a structure. It might just be something for them to climb up to get a higher vantage point, but maybe an antenna?"

That line of thought is quickly interrupted.

Flying. Darn. He should probably fit Checker with some ranged weaponry. Still, while that means the drone is out of position to help, they're easily in rifle range. "You could try not attacking us at all!" he shouts, but primes the battery before firing at the dragonkin. And then hurrying closer to the wall so he isn't standing out in the open.

Standard: Overcharge laser rifle vs EAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 for fire damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + (1) + 4 = 8
Move: Move

The laser shot strikes its target, scorching Farvenzi's shoulder.

The dragonkin flies near the open door to the facility, then breathes fire.
Fly; Breathweapon
30 ft. cone, catches Dirk, Chip, and Checker. Each takes fire damage, Reflex save (DC 15) for half.
Fire damage: 7d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1) = 20

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round One Cont'd!

PCs in bold may act

Chip -20 HP(Reflex save)
Checker -20 HP (Reflex save)
Farvenzi
Dirk -20 HP (Reflex save)
Spinjack
Seldszar
Stell

Map on Slides now updated with positions of Farvenzi and Spinjack.

Terrain Features" The walls stand 15 feet high and provide cover against creatures between ground level and an altitude of 15 feet. A creature can climb the slippery ladders on the wall by succeeding at a DC 17 Athletics checks, or the scaffold itself with a successful DC 22 Athletics check. Climbing the 150-foot-tall tower provides cover against all attacks through the scaffold but creatures doing so must make a DC 22 Acrobatics check to balance while taking actions other than climbing. Sharing a square with a generator or stone provides cover against Medium or smaller creatures at ground level, or up to an altitude of 15 feet for prone creatures. Inflicting 15 damage on a generator detonates it like a shock grenade I (DC 12), removing it from the map. reatures can open or close the automated doors with a move action while adjacent to them, requiring a creature to attempt a successful DC 17 Computers, Engineering, or Strength check. The snowfall provides creatures with concealment beyond 60 feet.

Chip Reflex: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Checker Reflex: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Checker is surprisingly quick to dodge the flames. Chip isn't.

Checker is surprisingly quick to dodge the flames. Chip isn't.

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round One Cont'd!

PCs in bold may act

Chip -20 HP
Checker
Farvenzi
Dirk -20 HP (Reflex save)
Spinjack
Seldszar
Stell

Map on Slides now updated with positions of Farvenzi and Spinjack.

Terrain Features" The walls stand 15 feet high and provide cover against creatures between ground level and an altitude of 15 feet. A creature can climb the slippery ladders on the wall by succeeding at a DC 17 Athletics checks, or the scaffold itself with a successful DC 22 Athletics check. Climbing the 150-foot-tall tower provides cover against all attacks through the scaffold but creatures doing so must make a DC 22 Acrobatics check to balance while taking actions other than climbing. Sharing a square with a generator or stone provides cover against Medium or smaller creatures at ground level, or up to an altitude of 15 feet for prone creatures. Inflicting 15 damage on a generator detonates it like a shock grenade I (DC 12), removing it from the map. reatures can open or close the automated doors with a move action while adjacent to them, requiring a creature to attempt a successful DC 17 Computers, Engineering, or Strength check. The snowfall provides creatures with concealment beyond 60 feet.

Dirk tries to stay steady

Reflex: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

He fires at the dragon.

needler rifle: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Dirk's projectile is stopped by the dragonkin's elite defiance series armor!

Trying to catch up with Farvenzi, Spinjack flies forward.
Double move

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round One Cont'd/Round Two Begins!

PCs in bold may act

Seldszar
Stell
Round Two
Chip -20 HP
Checker -10 HP
Farvenzi
Dirk -10 HP
Spinjack

Map.

Terrain Features" The walls stand 15 feet high and provide cover against creatures between ground level and an altitude of 15 feet. A creature can climb the slippery ladders on the wall by succeeding at a DC 17 Athletics checks, or the scaffold itself with a successful DC 22 Athletics check. Climbing the 150-foot-tall tower provides cover against all attacks through the scaffold but creatures doing so must make a DC 22 Acrobatics check to balance while taking actions other than climbing. Sharing a square with a generator or stone provides cover against Medium or smaller creatures at ground level, or up to an altitude of 15 feet for prone creatures. Inflicting 15 damage on a generator detonates it like a shock grenade I (DC 12), removing it from the map. Creatures can open or close the automated doors with a move action while adjacent to them, requiring a creature to attempt a successful DC 17 Computers, Engineering, or Strength check. The snowfall provides creatures with concealment beyond 60 feet.

Seldszar and Arachne take aim at the flying dragon... "It's like Old Golarion, drow taking shots at a flying dragon"

Seldszar vs YELLOW
Attack 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 - 2 = 23 vs EAC
Damage 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 2) + 6 = 13 F

AAttack 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 9 - 2 = 15 vs EAC
Damage 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 6) + 6 = 16 F

Arachnae vs YELLOW
Attack 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 vs EAC
Damage 2d10 + 10 ⇒ (3, 6) + 10 = 19 E/F
CRIT +Wound 1d20 ⇒ 12 = Lost eye, -2 Perception.
DC 12 Reflex save to avoid.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35

Stell braces herself with her legs as she gets out her specialist coil rifle and takes a shot at the Farvenzi.

specialist Coil Rifle, vs KAC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Damage, P: 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (3, 3) + 5 = 11 range: 70'

Chip overcharges his weapon again, continuing the focus fire on Farvenzi. It also seems... prudent not to be bunched up, so he moves away from Dirk.

Standard: Overcharge Laser Rifle vs EAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 for fire damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + (1) + 4 = 6
Move: Move

Seldszar and Arachne take aim at the flying dragon... "It's like Old Golarion, drow taking shots at a flying dragon"

CRIT +Wound 1d20 = Lost eye, -2 Perception.
DC 12 Reflex save to avoid.

Seldszar and Arachne each land a solid shot on the dragonkin.

Farvenzi, Reflex: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

The projectile shots by Stell and Chip each bounce off Farvenzi's armor.

Undeterred, Farvenzi flies closer to the ground.
Fly down 10 feet
She then swings her dragonglaive at the nearest Starfinder.
Melee (thunderhead dragonglaive): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (19) + 17 = 36
Damage S& E: 2d8 + 14 ⇒ (2, 5) + 14 = 21

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round One Two Cont'd!

PCs in bold may act

Chip -20 SP
Checker -10 HP
Farvenzi -32 HP
Dirk -31 SP
Spinjack
Seldszar
Stell

Map.

Terrain Features" The walls stand 15 feet high and provide cover against creatures between ground level and an altitude of 15 feet. A creature can climb the slippery ladders on the wall by succeeding at a DC 17 Athletics checks, or the scaffold itself with a successful DC 22 Athletics check. Climbing the 150-foot-tall tower provides cover against all attacks through the scaffold but creatures doing so must make a DC 22 Acrobatics check to balance while taking actions other than climbing. Sharing a square with a generator or stone provides cover against Medium or smaller creatures at ground level, or up to an altitude of 15 feet for prone creatures. Inflicting 15 damage on a generator detonates it like a shock grenade I (DC 12), removing it from the map. Creatures can open or close the automated doors with a move action while adjacent to them, requiring a creature to attempt a successful DC 17 Computers, Engineering, or Strength check. The snowfall provides creatures with concealment beyond 60 feet.

Dirk fires his rifle again. But the shot bounces.

attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

damage: 1d5 ⇒ 4

"You could try not attacking us at all!" he shouts, but primes the battery before firing at the dragonkin. And then hurrying closer to the wall so he isn't standing out in the open.

I forgot (again) to apply the four-player adjustment to this encounter, so I need to do some retconning. CORRECTIONS follow:

This is a hit for -8 to Farvenzi

Checker is surprisingly quick to dodge the flames. Chip isn't.

DC 12; +10 HP to Chip

Stell braces herself with her legs as she gets out her specialist coil rifle and takes a shot at the Farvenzi.

This is a hit for -11 to Farvenzi

She then swings her dragonglaive at the nearest Starfinder.

+3 HP to Dirk

Spinjack uses his jetpack to fly forward, then fires his rifle at the Checker.
Fly
Ranged (corona laser rifle): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19
Damage (F): 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (1, 4) + 5 = 10

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round One Two Cont'd/Round Three Begins!

PCs in bold may act

Seldszar
Stell
Round Three
Chip -10 SP
Checker -20 HP
Farvenzi -51 HP
Dirk -28 SP
Spinjack

Map.

Terrain Features" The walls stand 15 feet high and provide cover against creatures between ground level and an altitude of 15 feet. A creature can climb the slippery ladders on the wall by succeeding at a DC 17 Athletics checks, or the scaffold itself with a successful DC 22 Athletics check. Climbing the 150-foot-tall tower provides cover against all attacks through the scaffold but creatures doing so must make a DC 22 Acrobatics check to balance while taking actions other than climbing. Sharing a square with a generator or stone provides cover against Medium or smaller creatures at ground level, or up to an altitude of 15 feet for prone creatures. Inflicting 15 damage on a generator detonates it like a shock grenade I (DC 12), removing it from the map. Creatures can open or close the automated doors with a move action while adjacent to them, requiring a creature to attempt a successful DC 17 Computers, Engineering, or Strength check. The snowfall provides creatures with concealment beyond 60 feet.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19
She got a crit on the last acrobatics check. Not sure if she needs to make a roll each round if she has not moved since the last successful check, but if she does, I will spend a hero point and reroll.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21

Still not a success, but not sure what the penalty for failure is. I'm hoping at worst it's a penalty to hit if firing a gun.

Stell squeezes off another round at the Dragonkin.

specialist Coil Rifle, vs KAC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Damage, P: 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (5, 5) + 5 = 15 range: 70'

Seldszar and Arachne maintain aim at the flying dragon - trying to shoot it down.

(I'm picking hes 10' up, so that makes his 10' of height mean he is essentially up to 20' in the air[/ooc]

Seldszar vs YELLOW (Dragonkin)
Attack 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 9 - 2 = 21 vs EAC
Damage 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 5) + 6 = 15 F

AAttack 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 9 - 2 = 9 vs EAC
Damage 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 6) + 6 = 15 F

Arachnae vs YELLOW (Dragonkin.
Attack 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 vs EAC
Damage 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 E/F

She got a crit on the last acrobatics check. Not sure if she needs to make a roll each round if she has not moved since the last successful check, but if she does, I will spend a hero point and reroll.

The scenario states only, "Climbing the 150-foot-tall tower provides cover against all attacks through the scaffold but creatures doing so must make an Average Acrobatics check to balance while taking actions other than climbing." Therefore, Stell's attempt to fire the rifle triggered the need for the Acrobatics check.

The core rules state, "If you fail the check while already balancing (having succeeded on a previous turn), you fall prone and the GM may rule that you start falling, depending on the type of surface you are moving across." Stell is prone (which would not affect her ranged attack). Since the Acrobatics check to balance was triggered by an action, I will further rule that, aftering having failed the balance check, Stell has a choice: 1) lose the action (having lost balance while attempting the action, i.e. slipping while trying to aim the gun) or 2) complete the action and start falling (having lost balance as the result of performing the action, i.e, the recoil from the gun causing a loss of balance).

I will allow Stell to choose before I resolve the attack.

Wrong edition for Hero Points, but if you have a shirt or similar merch reroll, you may use it and forego the choice.

Seldszar lands a shot on Farvenzi. The dragonkin suddenly recalls that she is immune to fire.
I will not retcon prior damage to Farvenzi since it was my error and it is in the PCs favor. However, I will apply the immunity going forward.

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round One Two Cont'd/Round Three Begins!

PCs in bold may act

Seldszar
Stell (prone; choose between losing standard action or falling)
Round Three
Chip -10 SP
Checker -20 HP
Farvenzi -51 HP
Dirk -28 SP
Spinjack

Map.

Terrain Features" The walls stand 15 feet high and provide cover against creatures between ground level and an altitude of 15 feet. A creature can climb the slippery ladders on the wall by succeeding at a DC 17 Athletics checks, or the scaffold itself with a successful DC 22 Athletics check. Climbing the 150-foot-tall tower provides cover against all attacks through the scaffold but creatures doing so must make a DC 22 Acrobatics check to balance while taking actions other than climbing. Sharing a square with a generator or stone provides cover against Medium or smaller creatures at ground level, or up to an altitude of 15 feet for prone creatures. Inflicting 15 damage on a generator detonates it like a shock grenade I (DC 12), removing it from the map. Creatures can open or close the automated doors with a move action while adjacent to them, requiring a creature to attempt a successful DC 17 Computers, Engineering, or Strength check. The snowfall provides creatures with concealment beyond 60 feet.

Stell will take the prone option. Climbing gear usually has a way to secure oneself to something while climbing in case of falls.

On the one hand, taking hits instead of the Starfinders is one of the things Checker is for. On the other hand, Chip winces as the drone is hit again. "Climb down inside, Checker!"

Since the dragonkin is immune to his laser rifle, he considers his options. He could just switch targets, but it makes sense to continue focus firing. And she's close enough now to be within easy pistol range. He lets the end of his rifle drop and rests it on the ground, drawing an electric weapon. He fires the arc pistol.

Drone: Climb Athletics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Move: Draw
Standard: Attack Farvenzi Static Arc Pistol vs EAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 for electricity damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

The dragonkin avoids any shock. Unharmed by the halfling and his drone, Farvenzi concentrates on the Starfinder before her.

She swings her dragonglaive at Dirk!
Melee (basic dragonglaive) w/full-attack: 1d20 + 14 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 14 - 4 = 20
Damage (S & E): 1d8 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
Melee (basic dragonglaive) w/full-attack: 1d20 + 14 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 14 - 4 = 25
Damage (S & E): 1d8 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round Three Cont'd!

PCs in bold may act

Chip -10 SP
Checker -20 HP
Farvenzi -51 SP
Dirk -47 SP
Spinjack
Seldszar
Stell

Dirk drops his rifle and actives his solar weapon aka lightsaber

He swings.

attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

damage: 1d6 + 10 + 1d4 ⇒ (3) + 10 + (2) = 15

"Ah..."

When Dirk misses, Spinjack flies down to the ground and attacks with his power gauntlet!
Fly (this provokes from Dirk).
Melee (thunderstrike pulse gauntlet): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Damage (B & So): 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

SECURITY SHOWDOWN! - Round Three Cont'd/Round Four Begins!

PCs in bold may act

Seldszar
Stell
Round Three
Chip -10 SP
Checker -20 HP
Farvenzi -51 SP
Dirk -53 SP (AoO v. Spinjack)
Spinjack
Seldszar
Stell

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28

Stell regains her situation, bracing against struts of the tower. She aims at Spinjack this time.

specialist Coil Rifle, vs KAC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19
Damage, P: 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (1, 4) + 5 = 10 range: 70'