[Gameday XIV] SFS1 #3-01 Crash Down

Game Master cmlobue

"Me coming Anock!" Poke hurries down the hall towards the exit.

double move

Anock rushes out the hole in the hull, with Poko trailing behind.

The purple crab tries to chase Nippostia down. Provoking a reaction.

Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Slashing Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Round 4 - bolded may go

Poko (-3 SP)
Purple
Wilson
Nippostia (-8 SP)
Green
Red
Blue
Orange
Yellow
Anock (-7 SP, escaped)

A skittermander has 3 Bulk plus what they are carrying, FYI.

What did Anock get in Engineering?

Would grabbing Poko or connecting a cable to her and dragging her take an action?

No reaction; Nip doesn’t have her knife out. She ran from the bridge to the escape pods, searched and moved west, then used withdraw to move south.

Nip yelps and rubs the spot where the crab pinched, then repeats the motions that threw off the other crab. She races for the exit, ready to grab Poko and drag her forward if it would help.

Full action: Withdraw
Withdraw gives her double movement and no AOO from creatures within sight. Sadly, that means she’s open to an AOO from whichever crab didn’t use their reaction on Poko.

My apologies. Engineering has: a chemalyzer, ion tape, a zipstick, a trailblazer fusion seal, a porter domestic drone, and a backup generator armor upgrade.

As long as Poko doesn't resist, it will be a swift action.

Okay, I think this works then ...

Move action - move 20 feet due to encumbered
The overloaded Wilson marches as quickly as he can toward the exit.

Swift action
As he gets next to Poko, he slaps an end of the cable onto one of the utility hooks on her flight suit stationwear.

He then whistles for Domehead. "Let's go, girl!"
Sacrifice standard action to give Domehead a standard action (and move)

Domehead doesn't need to be told twice and moves full speed toward the exit. While moving toward the exit, the large creature slams into Wilson and Poko, shoving the willing people in front of her large body toward the exit.
Full 40 foot move + standard action

One last crab swings at Nippostia as she hustles out the gap in the hull.

Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Slashing Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

She makes it through the hole safely, and turns back to look at the opening just in time to see a ball of human, skittermander, dinosaur and miscellaneous gear crashing through the gap, a swarm of crabs hot on their tails. Just when it looked like the Starfinders would be swarmed, the Drake lurched once more, flinging the creatures deeper into the doomed ship's hull.

The wing, slick with rain and engine grease, served as the only escape route. The team scrambled along its surface — boots slipping, hands clutching exposed cables and scorched metal. Bruised but alive, moving quickly before the whole craft was swallowed by the swamp, the Starfinders scrabbled away from the quickly-receding hull. The ship gave a final metallic shudder, sinking deeper into the mud as steam rose around them like fog.

They leapt off the edge just in time, landing hard in the thick wet earth. The impact sent them sprawling, but none dared pause. The mud gurgled hungrily as the ship’s tail disappeared beneath the surface, leaving only bubbles and the acrid scent of burning fuel. Silence fell, broken only by their ragged breathing. They were stranded now, deep in unknown territory, but alive — and together.

Panting, Wilson looks around. "We should head to that probe we sent down. We can use the planetary comm unit on the probe to send a signal any rescue ship that comes this way." He glances toward Anock. "Do you, um, happen to remember where you landed the probe?"

He walks over and begins to boot up the porter domestic drone. "This thing should be able to carry the heavier gear." He stows four long tubes - one of the emergency rafts and the three tents - into the drone, keeping the other emergency raft on himself.

Looks like the basic porter drone can carry 9 bulk unencumbered, so it can hold 3 more bulk of supplies.

He looks over the supplies. "We don't need it yet, but I have room to hook that backup generator into my Second Skin armor. My pulse gauntlet and the drone use the same size battery, so we can swap them out every hour, to be sure we don't risk it going dead on us ... though it should run for 20 hours on a full charge."

Assuming their current location doesn't seem precarious, he connects the new upgrade into his armor.

As long as none of you weigh the same a a duck starship, you think you will be safe here for a while. You'll probably want to pick a drier spot for camping, though.

"Let's head to the probe! I think we're better off there!"

"It takes Anock several moments to pull herself out of shock, then to prevent herself from panicking at being exposed to so many alien pathogens all at once. I am going to get sick with heretofore unknown microbes!!!

Wilson's practical assessment and no-nonsense demeanor help ground her, though. It isn't too long before she is able to speak again. She compensates for her lack of composure by sounding extra bossy. [b]"Right. I was going to say the same thing. But *first*, we should take stock of what we salvaged and divvy it up appropriately. *And* someone should keep watch while we do. I nominate Nip to watch for incoming threats. Now, everyone lay out your goods so I can take stock." She begins setting down the stuff she was able to grab.

She has:
a tier 1 datapad that is hardened and self-charging with a mystic cure (1st level) spell chip installed
a basic medkit
a clear spindle aeon stone
a chemalyzer
a roll of ion tape
a zipstick
a trailblazer fusion seal

"Hmm. The chemalyzer and basic medkit are redundant. I can create those with my nanites, as well as an emergency beacon, which will come in more handy than I anticipated. As the medic, I should take the datapad, and I'll carry the other medical supplies if no one else is trained in how to use them. That aeon stone looks like a good fit for me too. Who wants the rest of it?"

Happy to move divvying up the goods to Discussion so we can move the fun part of the game forward.

Using the team's computers, the Starfinders can locate a path to the probe. It is approximately 120 miles away through mostly forested terrain, and without a vehicle, that will take multiple days of travel. You will need to figure out a plan on how to get there, including a daily routine and how you want to travel - a normal pace with sufficient rest breaks will take you 12 miles per day, but you can go faster or slower if desired. The rescue ship could take anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks to arrive.

Iski has a breathable atmosphere and standard gravity, but the area where the Starfinders have crashed is hot and humid, especially by day. This will be uncomfortable, but not pose a hazard due to heat. You will not need environmental protections for basic survival on the planet, which is good, because your opportunities to recharge your armor are limited. You have a number of hours of environmental protections equal to 24 times your armor's level, and do need to track this.

I'll take 10 to get an 18

Wilson puts the extra medical supplies and the chemalyzer into the porter drone, along with one of the backpacks off of Domehead. "I'm trained in medicine a bit, in a pinch, but not an expert. And I don't know anything about how to get those spell chips to work. We'll keep the other medical supplies there for backup. If you have that aeon stone, then we have enough of the R2E's to cover us for about 10 days, but I'll be looking to try to live off the land." He pulls a survivalist's kit out of his own starfinder backpack, to have it at the ready.

He motions off into the distance. "There are some waterways over there. With the two boats, we should be able to use them to get a decent chunk of the route there. Seems worth the risk."

He also begins looking for any indication of flora or fauna that might be edible.

With the survivalist's kit, my take 10 on Survival gets me up to 22.

I also updated my profile to have the supplies held by the porter drone.

Wilson takes off his security guard outfit, revealing a suit of Second Skin armor underneath, and puts on the traveler's clothing. "This will help us traveling overland."

"If no one else wants it, I can put that trailblazer fusion on my cryopike."

"Boats, you say. Did anyone grab a boat on the way off the ship?" Anock glances at the supplies, unsure about exactly how big an inflatable raft would be and absolutely certain there isn't a rigid boat taking up space in her teammates' arms.

Wilson taps the tube over his shoulder, then the one in the porter drone. "We've got two. Plenty of room."

Nip’s armor is level 2, so that’s 48 hours of environmental protections.

Nippostia sits with the team and absently rubs the pinched spot on her leg.

“Wow… we made it! That was crazy. The landing, the water rushing in, the crabs… what the heck with the crabs? Yikes, they pinch. Thrilling, but ow, too. It’ll be a bit before I trust a crab dinner entree.”

She looks over the assembled gear. The data pad catches her eye, and she gestures to Anock.

“That data pad has a spell chip in it. I think it’s mystic cure. If it is, I can cast that to help keep everyone healthy. May I?”

She continues talking while checking out the data pad.

“Wilson, how are you at foraging for food? Think you can keep us alive here? I keep a couple of spell gems for emergencies — life bubble and megavitamin. They’ll probably come in handy while we head toward the probe.”

She pauses and nods, still looking at the pad. “Yep, it’s mystic cure all right. Can you cast spells, Anock? You nanocytes do some pretty amazing things, but do you have spell abilities? I can carry this and lighten your load a bit.”

If shirrens could blush, Anock would be as bright as a strawberry right now. Fortunately for her enormous and fragile ego, they cannot. She waves her hand dismissively as she replies: "Oh, fine. Take it. I have enough to keep me busy, anyway. Now, how badly did those crabs get you? Any lacerations? Assuming we're safe enough here, we should fully heal ourselves before moving out."

Anock can grant one person at a time Reactive Repair, granting them Fast Healing 1 (for SP only) for 1 minute. She can do this 7 times per day.

Nip notices the shift in Anock’s stance and general presentation. She smiles at the shirren and speaks as she stows the data pad. Her voice is low and soft.

“Thanks, Anock. You’re a valuable teammate. I’m glad you’re here.”

At Anock’s question, she turns and shows a red mark across her leg.

“It practically missed… I’ll be fine after a rest. No serious damage done. How’s everyone else?”

"I'm ok. Anyone know where the probe went?"

level 1 armor

Poko looks around. "This reminds me of an old vid I saw. Survivor? But me not like starving to death!" She frowns and rubs her fur.

"I am dinged up a bit and could use it. Thanks, Anock."

Seems better to use that to heal up to 10 SP rather than burning a RP on a short rest.

GM: How long is the hike to the river?

With as much gear as possible loaded into Domehead and the porter drone, Wilson guides the group as best he can toward a docking point along the river, while looking for any possible food.

The river is not really a goal in and of itself, and definitely does not have docks. Knowing what you do has allowed you to locate areas where it is close enough to your path that you can cut some time off your travel by boating instead of walking.

The next phase is figuring out your routine and then responding to some hazards along the way. You are 120 miles from the probe, and at your team's land speed you can travel 12 miles per day if you take normal rest breaks. A forced march will speed you up temporarily at the cost of fatigue, and you can also spend time hunting and foraging to increase your supplies (you can do about two person-hours per day as part of setting up and breaking camp, but that won't result in as much food as a full day of gathering supplies). The river will reduce the journey by 2 days, but that amount cannot be sped up, and you will need to be actively guiding the boats, so it is not any more restful than walking.

So your immediate needs are to find a place to camp for the night and figure out a plan to get to the probe.

Wilson tries to use his survivalist kit supplies to find a place to camp. "Doesn't look like we'll get out onto the river until tomorrow, so might as well set up camp."

Since I assume we can take sort of as much time as we need, I'll take 10 or take 20 as allowed, getting either 22 or 32 on the survival check to find a spot. If I can find a spot near the river so we can fill up our canteens, I'll do that.

He shows everyone how to set up the tents and then, once they seem on track with that, turns his attention to hunting with Domehead for some possible food.

"Anock, on second thought, I would appreciate that healing. We don't know what's ahead, so it makes sense to be at full health, ready for anything."

Wilson makes a good point about guarding our RP. Nip will happily accept the Reactive Repair from Anock. That will bring her back to full SP.

This post is the last combat post, which lists everyone's HP. Looks like Wilson went unscathed, though Domehead isn't listed. @Wilson: Can you verify this so I know how many nanite surges to use up?

After spending a minute each allowing the injured to breathe in her nanite cloud, Anock announces that she is ready for whatever's next. One can almost forgive the smug expression on her face. She's not much help with setting up camp, but she does volunteer to take a watch in the middle of the night. "If it gets too dark to see, my blindsense will come in handy, and I can wake all of you telepathically if it seems that making noise or moving around would be unwise."

As they're discussing their plans, she states her obviously-superior opinion: "I'd much rather not bushwhack my way through an alien jungle. The pathogens we'd encounter--just *think*! At least on the river we ought to be able to bypass most of them, assuming we keep our boats righted. But if we hear a distant roar, like rapids or a waterfall, we should pull over to the bank as soon as possible. Going underwater in this place will probably be even *more* dangerous than going overland. And no one wants to die of illnesses that have been eradicated in settled worlds, like dysentery." She subconsciously adds a haughty sniff at the end. "And we shouldn't strain ourselves too hard, at least at first. Exhaustion leads to mistakes, and we can't afford those out here."

The Starfinders start their journey toward the probe. The river is not close enough yet to reach in a single day, but they find an appropriate campsite. Wilson manages to find enough food to feed the team for the night - hope you like crabs - and the day passes uneventfully.

The next day, the team sets out for the river. They should be near its banks when they camp for the night and be able to set out upon it tomorrow.

Near the end of the afternoon, the storm raging through the atmosphere catches up with the Starfinders. The team has about an hour to prepare for heavy snow approaching.

Storm Rules

When a storm approaches, the Starfinders have three options for how to handle
* Set up the tents and shelter inside.
* Activate their armors' environmental protections.
* Try to ride the storm out unprotected.

The first two options will prevent any harm to the characters, but the tents could be damaged and the protections on armor will run out if used too much.

Any Starfinder who is unprotected can make a Survival check to find some makeshift protection, then must make a Fortitude save to determine the effects of the storm. The best Survival check will determine how severely the storm affects the party, but the Fortitude saves are individual.

During storms, visibility range is one-quarter normal and Perception checks take a -8 penalty. Archaic ranged weapons cannot be used, and other ranged weapons suffer a -2 penalty to attack.

Characters can also transfer hours of environmental protection between suits of armor with a transfer charge spell or an Engineering check with DC 15 + 1.5 x armor level.

"Well, we have time to get the tents up, so might as well do that. Domehead is kind of claustrophobic, so probably would just as soon ride it out outside. She has an environmental protections on her collar, but I'll only turn that on if the storm lasts longer than expected. If we do that, we'll just need to set up two of the tents, keeping one stored up in case there is damage to either of these."

While setting up the two tents, Wilson helps Domehead find some makeshift shelter and ties up some heavy duty tarps from his survival kit to help out. He lays down blankets, and triggers a couple of chemical heater packs to help warm the area.

My survival kit gives a +4 to enduring the elements. I'm assuming I can use the supplies to provide that benefit to Domehead.

Domehead's Survival: 1d20 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 4 = 13
Ooh, not good ... Well, at least 1E didn't have crit fail for skills.
Domehead's Fortitude save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Yikes. We may end up with a dinocicle.

If Domehead begins making cries like it's clearly in pain, I would activate the collar's environmental protections from my comm link. (There's an app for that.)

Anock assumes Wilson knows what he's talking about, and she'd *much* rather ride out the storm in a tent than out in the elements, even with environmental protections. She "helps" set up the tents by reading the instructions *at* everyone else doing the work, and is the first to head inside to claim her territory.

Nippostia scowls at the crabs, then bursts into laughter.

“I knew it’s be crabs… just knew it. Luckily I have some recipes…”

After the meal, she helps Wilson with storm preparations.

“I learned some of this stuff as a kid. It never really was my thing, but you never forget…”

She looks for a protected area to set up the tents. “Maybe we can get the best of both worlds… Anock! Get out of that tent! We aren’t even done assembling it yet.”

Survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Poko takes a tent out and uses an arm to rub her head. She looks puzzled.

"Anyone know if we're glamping?" She looks around. "Where's Anock?"[b] Then at the rations. [b]"Where's the steward robot? We need someone to make lattes in the morning?!?"

The Starfinders set up their tents and get inside - except for the poor dinosaur.

Cold Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Domehead's Fortitude save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Cold Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Donehead takes 4 nonlethal cold damage and is fatigued until it is healed.

After it is over, snow covers the ground, slowing the party. Fortunately, they were close to the end of the day anyway, and covered 11 miles.

Fortitude Save, Tent: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Fortitude Save, Tent: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

The tents, however, are too damaged to be of mush use any more.

Nippostia crawls out of the tent’s remains in the morning and surveys the damage.

“That was a rough night! Oh nooo... our tents are mush. I hoped some of the poles gave out, but it's way worse than that. Looks like we’ll be roughing it for the rest of the trip.”

Would it be possible to use an engineering kit to use parts from one tent to repair the other tent?

Wilson shakes his head. "How did snow do this much damage to the tents in a few hours? I wonder if there's acid in the snow or something ..."

"Anock, can you treat Domehead's frostbite while we pack up?"

To Nippostia, he replies, "We do have one other tent that is fully operational ... but I think the next time I get to an AdabarCorp order screen I'm going to be buying a high quality mobile hotelier."

"Yes, yes. But if the snow is acidic, we're going to *despise* being caught out in any precipitation. I *sincerely* hope you're wrong and the tents were just defective." Anock continues grumbling as she releases her nanites into a cloud around Domehead, allowing the dinosaur to breathe them in so they can repair its internal systems. As always, she runs them through her special sanitizing protocol before pulling them back into herself. There's no need to spread pathogens between individuals, after all.

"Poko, did you make coffee? I thought you mentioned something about lattes last night." She holds out her hand, expecting a coffee to be placed in it.

Gotta love the idea of Anock just sitting around with Domehead while everyone else breaks camp, as if she *needs* to be standing right there the entire time, doing nothing, for the nanites to work.

Snow, wind - whatever caused this amount of damage, it seems like a strongly worded letter to the company that made these tents is in order.

Module specifically mentions only that mending can repair a tent, which makes me think no non-magical means will suffice.

Another storm strikes in the early hours of the morning, this one promising lightning. Again, the team has to decide to ride it out or use environmental protections. You can also set up the last tent for two characters.

Wilson cannibalizes the broken tents, using pieces of tarp, straps, cords, and other things to fill out his survivalist's kit. They then set off again ... only to be hit by another storm.

"Okay, so ... How about you guys set up the other tent. It's normally a two person tent, but ... two of you are real small. Domehead and I will see about riding it out."

Survival: 1d20 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 4 = 23
If that exceeds the Survival DC by 1 then I can grant the Fortitude benefit to Domehead, too.

He and Domehead hunker down in the cover they're able to find and fortify.

Wilson's Fortitude save: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 4 = 26
Domehead's Fortitude save: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 4 = 25

Anock huffs at the thought of sharing a tent with *two* people, but it's better than huddling next to that dino in the lightening. "This planet is *the worst*."

Poko rubs her hands to stay warm.

"Nippostia or Anock. we share tent? It cold!"

Nippostia notices Domehead's sluggish movements and realizes the dinosaur still needs healing.

“I can take care of Domehead’s frostbite, Wilson. Do you have a snack they like?”

She gently approaches Domehead, speaking softly and offering the goodie. She keeps talking in a soft, sing-song voice as her hands glow with rippling wisps of color.

Mystic cure on Domehead: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Wow, dice roller... no sense 'wasting' anything extra on that heal! Does that bring Domehead back to full or do they need another shot?

Nip takes a few of Poko’s hands in hers and rubs them for warmth.

I need to get her mind off the cold…

“We’ll be fine, Poko. With all three of us in the tent, it’ll be like a sleep-over! We can stay up late and sing songs and make up stories… this will be SO much fun!! I’ll bet Anock is really good at stories!”

She turns and flashes a “now’s the time to suck it up and get on board” smile to Anock.

“Aren’t you, Anock?”

A tense moment ticks by before Anock inhales sharply, as if that's the only way to prevent herself from huffing. Suddenly she realizes that, as the obvious leader of this expedition, team morale is one of her responsibilities. Delegation is often essential, but the peons need to know that she's willing and able to pull her own weight. And honestly, this is a safe and sanitary way to help. Of course she can tell stories. "Yes. Yes I am. Come inside, and I'll tell you the tale of an old witch that lived in a *very* unsanitary house, made entirely of gingerbread, sugar, and candy. Can you *imagine* the infestations?! Don't worry, that's not a spoiler. You'll find out why in a bit."

Yes, two small characters can equal a medium one.

Wilson and Domehead ride out the storm outside the tent. Fortunately, they find a place where the lightning does not strike. The others remain safely inside...

Tent, Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

...of a tent that survives until morning.

The rest of the day is clear, and the Starfinders reach the river round the time they need to camp, 23 miles from the crash site.

Another storm comes upon them as they are breaking camp the next day. This one looks to be bringing acid rain. This planet really doesn't like you.

"Oh my *actual* *freaking* *gosh*! Well, I guess we set the tent back up again! Geez Lou-frickin-wheeze!" This time Anock actually helps. "Wilson, make sure you find a spot on high ground for this one so you don't end up marinating in a pool of acid. I don't think your hidey spot from last time will help with this storm." Aww. She's caring for her team. Pat her on the back, Universe/dice roller--and stop sending storms!

Wilson nods as he looks for a good spot for the shelter, both mass produced and makeshift. "I am just worried about these storms coming up too quick when we are on the river."

Will just take 10 for a 22 on Survival

Wilson Fortitude: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 6 + 4 = 21
Domehead Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 4 = 16

Nippostia frowns at the weather forecast.

“If it’s acid rain, then it's pretty sure to eat through the tent isn’t it? I guess we should look for cover… ”

Survival to find shelter: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Fortitude save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

The rain continues for 3 hours. Anock and Poko use the tent while the other tough it out.

Wilson Fortitude: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 4 = 29
Domehead Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 4 = 18
Nippostia Fortitude: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Wilson Fortitude: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 6 + 4 = 23
Domehead Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 5 + 4 = 22
Nippostia Fortitude: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Nonlethal Acid Damage: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 2) = 6

Tent Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

3 damage to Nippostia and sickened for 1 day.

The tent survives, as do the Starfinders. After it passes, the team has enough time to travel 10 miles down the river.

Anoher fire storm approaches mid-afternoon on the fourth day.

"A fire storm! I'm no scientist, but I really think someone should look into the climatology of this planet. We were in the middle of a blizzard just two days ago and thirty miles away!"

He sighs and tries to find good coverage. "Nippostia, I suggest you get in the tent with the others this time ... No reason for you to risk yourself when you don't need to."

The backup generator can't recharge the charge on armor can it?

Nippostia looks a bit bedraggled in the aftermath of the acid rain.

“I think you're right, Wilson. ‘Roughing it’ isn’t at all like the vid channels make it look. I never saw one of those people pitch a tent in acid rain! Do you actually like these outdoor, um, things?”

When her stomach lurches again, she shakes her head.

“Nope, that's not gonna happen.”

She places her hands over her abdomen. They glow a vibrant green-gold for a few moments, then the color dissipates.

Color returns to her cheeks, and her eyes get their smile back.

“That's MUCH better. Now what were you saying about a new weather front coming in?”

Cast lesser remove condition on myself to eliminate the sickened condition.
Currently 3 of 4 level 1 spells left for the day.

"Can we find a cave? That might be much better than this horrible weather!" Poko turns to Anock "I really liked that witch and gingerbread story! Me tell it to VC Naiaj when we get back! She'll love it!"

Environmental protections work differently than other systems. Think of it less like whether it has power and more like whether it has CO₂ scrubbers.

The Survival check is for finding a feature like a cave that will protect you. You won't find any perfect cover, though.

The storm lasts for two hours. Everyone but Wilson and Domehead packs into the tent.

Fort saves vs. 1d6 ⇒ 2 and 1d6 ⇒ 2 nonlethal fire damage.

Tent Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

The tent looks singed, but is still holding on.