GM Jhaeman's SFS1 # 2-20: 'Shades of Spite'

Game Master Jhaeman

Chorizal rushes to the slowly moving walls to try to stop them in place!

Meanwhile, Twich looks at the plinth more closely and identifies it as a version of the common ysoki children’s game ‘Spider’s Nest’, where a weave of lightly electrified wires surround a piece of candy, and children try to remove the candy without touching the wires which would glow and make a buzzing sound if touched.

@Chorizal: It's a full action to try to stop the walls from moving, so you can roll a check (Athletics or Physical Science) on your turn next round.

@Everyone: There's no need to fly to reach the top of the plinth--it's at waist height. Attempting to retrieve the key requires you to be adjacent to it and spend either a move action or a full action (+2 bonus for the latter) and make a Sleight of Hand check to get the key without touching the wires. Small-size creatures get a +2 bonus to this roll (Tiny-size get +4). You can instead try to remove the wiring completely with an Engineering check, but this will take multiple rounds, or you can spend a full action and make a Strength check to try to just rip the wiring off the top of the plinth.

Twich and Blinky are up.

Twich moves over close to the key and carefully tries to grab it.

SoH, small creature: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 = 30

"I'll help hold the walls - take your time" teh big bear responds...

Will athletics next round

Twich reaches in to grab the key and manages to snag it, but catch their hand on an incredibly sharp monofilament wire! A deep wound opens up that won't stop bleeding!

Meanwhile, the walls continue visible grinding closer!

Twich is successful in retrieving the key, but takes 14 S and 1d4 bleed (which will occur at the beginning of your next turn).

The starboard and port walls each move 2.5 feet closer, denoted by the thick red lines.

@Blinky: I've moved your token next to a wall, because it's a full action to try to hold the wall back next turn.

Initiative (Round 1)

Twich (1d4 bleed)
Chorizal
Blinky
Special
Kosigan

Bold should go!

Kosigan reviews its list of arrays mentally, finding none that will help hold the walls back. It can adjust its nanites to strengthen it, however, and chooses to do so will producing a slightly smaller weapon. It then moves to the opposite wall from Blinks and braces.

Athletics to +20.

As Kosigan rushes to the other wall, hidden valves open on the floor near the plinth and a greenish gas quickly seeps into the chamber!

Everyone automatically loses one hit point (straight to hp, bypassing stamina) from exposure to the gas (even if you have environmental armor seals active, the gas is corrosive and can still affect you). In addition, everyone needs to attempt a DC 11 Fortitude save vs a poison effect. If you make the save, there's no further effect this round. If you fail the save, you now have the Weakened (Wisdom Poison Track) condition.

Initiative (Round 2)

Twich (1d4 bleed*) (save vs poison)
Chorizal (save vs poison)
Blinky (save vs poison)
Special
Kosigan save vs poison

Bold should go!

*Twich, you take bleed damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4 at the beginning of your turn.

Fort 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Athletics 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (10) + 21 = 31

Blinky tries holding the walls...

Fortitude, Don't Botch: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18

In case it becomes relevant, Kosigan's Carbonic Respiration means that we count as two fewer characters for purpose of suffocation.

Fort: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Chorizal tries to delay the potential inevitable by planting his shoulder against the oncoming wall, planting his feet and applying muscular torque.

Athletics: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18

Blinky and Chorizal put their impressive strength to work holding the walls from advancing!

Blinky's Athletics check is successful (even if Chorizal's isn't), and the walls will not move this round.

Twich (w/ Fort save) is up.

fort save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Twich tries to insert the key in one of the keyholes.

The key fits in one of the two keyholes on the plinth!

The two keyholes are on opposite sides of the plinth, and one person can't reach both at the same time (unless they have 10' reach).

Initiative (Round 2)

Twich (1d4 bleed)
Blinky
Special
Kosigan

Bold should go!

GM, can you please clarify something? Is there a second key, or did it feel like Twich needed to turn the key and then take it out to use on the other side too, or is there some other thing in the description that I missed?

@Twich: Ah, you didn't mention trying to turn it, but as you had the actions left to do it (it's a move action), you would have noticed it doesn't *actually* turn.

Kosigan braces as best it can and pushes on the wall.

Athletics: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (16) + 20 = 36

Roots go a long way to keep yourself, well, rooted.