[Gameday XIV] SFS1 #3-01 Crash Down (Inactive)

Game Master cmlobue

This time, Anock tells Poko and Nippostia a story about a merfolk woman who was bullied because she had different-colored skin than everyone else and had tentacles instead of a fish tail. But she had powerful magic, so people would come and demand that she do things for them. Of course, they had no idea that all that practice helped her become powerful enough to single-handedly overthrow their government and rule with an iron fist. The people were too foolish to realize they could've prevented all that by simply not being jerks.

Whenever the firestorm surges nearby, she glances worriedly in the direction of Wilson's improvised shelter. She's realized that he's the most likely to know how to manage in a situation like this, so his life is quite precious to her.

Wilson Fortitude: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 4 = 27
Domehead Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 4 = 16

Wilson Fortitude: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 4 = 14
Domehead Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 4 = 14

Wilson and Domehead survive the storm, with a bit of scorching around the edges.

After that, the journey on the river is uneventful, and they cover 18 more miles. They hope they can pass the halfway mark the next day.

The fifth day of the journey dawns clear, and the Starfinders continue to follow the river.

>Slide 5< - place yourselves and your rafts on the left side of the map. You are traveling to the right. Although the rafts are only 10 x 4, they can fit four squares' worth of creatures comfortably, and more if you squeeze.

When taking to the river, Wilson uses the cable to tie the two rafts together front to back so they can't get separated. "I'll get in the front one with Domehead. You three ride in the other one with the drone. Sound reasonable?" He puts the drone in the back, to keep it from being front-heavy.

Domehead mostly fits in the raft, though as his tail swishes around and dips into the water, it occasionally thumps the other raft.

I put my tokens on the map. I didn't add one for the drone. It seems like it would make sense to just power it down for the river ride, so as not to waste battery charge. I probably would also tie it to the raft, so there's no chance of it falling out.

Nippostia settles into the back of the raft, leaving plenty of space for the rest of the team.

“It’ll be nice to ride for a while…”

Token placed.

"Excellent proposition." Anock agrees. She certainly doesn't want to share a boat with the dinosaur. Why, it may not even be smart enough to "go" over the side. Being in the front of her boat, she's in the perfect position to see exactly how that's handled. Unfortunately.

"Don't relax too much, Nippostia. There could be jagged things under the water and we have no idea whether or not our boats will look like *food* to the denizens of the river. Though I'll not complain if you choose to be on storm watch. We'll need enough warning to find a safe place to beach the boats if one comes up on us."

Wilson and Domehead will be squeezing on their raft, unless the animal has a feat or ability that lets it act as if it were smaller... but considering that the other option was have it alone on a raft, that may still be your best option.

If I were on the other raft, then with the drone, I think we'd all have to be squeezed on that raft. Also not sure if the squeezing has any mechanical impact ... but my guess is that if it puts a penalty on Athletics to maneuver, I'm probably in the best position to take the penalty. (Although, by saying that, I have certainly jinxed the dice roller.)

On the plus side, Domehead's backside is probably hanging over the edge of the boat, so you won't have to shovel or bail anything unpleasant.

Nippostia trails her fingers in the water, leaving swirls in the slow current..

“You worry too much, Anock. Just relax and enjoy the ride and the view.”

An impish expression crosses her face. “And the cool water!”

She pulls her hand up and lightly flicks water over Anock.

“I’m sure the microbes want you to relax too!”

She giggles.

Shortly after midday, a large, snakelike creature emerges from the water, seeming intent on making a meal of the Starfinders.

Round 1 - bolded may go

Anock
Nippostia
Poko
Wilson
Creature (sickened)
Hazard

Anock sputters, grabbing a disinfectant wipe to clean up the water droplets that Nippostia splashed on her. Just then, a huge snake rears out of the water. "Relax?! *Relax?!* Oh, *sure*. I'll 'relax'," she retorts, her voice rising an octave as fear-induced adrenaline kicks in. She whips out her azimuth laser pistol and fires off a shot at the soggy serpent.

Azimuth laser pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Unfortunately she doesn't have her sea legs yet; the rocking of the boat throws off her aim. "There! See what good relaxing did? Yeah! *I thought so!*"

The creature’s sudden appearance cuts Nippostia’s laughter short. She sits up in the boat and senses the creature pain.

“It’s sick… I think we can drive it away.”

Life science to identify. It's a longshot, but hey...
Life Science: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

As Anock shoots one of the nearby trees, she glances toward shore, then back to Anock.

“Uh, maybe we can drive it away while you protect us from the trees…”

A faraway look fills her face as pinkish energy swirls around her hand. Matching swirls appear around the creature’s head.

She speaks softly, almost lyrically. “You don’t feel good. It’s been such a long day. You’re tired… so tired… you just want to turn around and rest…”

Cast Day’s Weariness on the creature.
Day's Weariness damage: 4d8 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 8) = 13

DC 15 Will save to take half damage and negate fatigued.

Day’s Weariness: (Target: one living creature) You launch an opponent's mind forward in time, forcing them to experience a day's events in a moment. The target takes 4d8 damage and becomes fatigued for the duration, or they become exhausted for the duration if already fatigued. The target can attempt a Will saving throw to halve the damage dealt by this spell and negate the fatigued condition.

Fatigued: You can neither run nor charge, and you take a –1 penalty to your Armor Class, attack rolls, melee damage rolls, thrown weapon damage rolls that add Strength to damage, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Strength- and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks. The amount of bulk you can carry without becoming encumbered is reduced by 1. If you are already fatigued and would gain the fatigued condition, you lose the fatigued condition and are exhausted for the total duration of all fatiguing effects.

Anock's shot is well off target.

Nippostia recognizes this as an iski eel, a type of animal. One question. It's not hard to tell that it's sick because it hasn't eaten lately and that there are only four of you. A Starfinder snack would likely help with that.

Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Definitely meal time.

Round 1 - bolded may go

Anock
Nippostia
Poko
Wilson
Creature (-6 HP, sickened)
Hazard

Wilson drops his paddle into the raft, then begins reaching into his pack for his animal-handling kit, to try to persuade the creature to leave them alone ... but once it's shot at with a laser pistol, he sighs and pulls out his static arc pistol, set to stun by default (like a responsible law enforcement officer).

I am guessing, from the positioning on the map, that there probably isn't an easy way to go around this thing. There is room below it on the river, but the current will take us right into it I imagine before we go there.

Swift action: Summon called static arc pistol. Standard: Fire pistol

Static Arc pistol attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Static arc pistol damage (electricity, nonlethal): 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

He observes to make sure it can be damaged by electricity.

sorry my laptop battery died and I had to get the laptop fixed.

Poko shoots the closest bad guy

needler: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

"Darnit my pistol is off!

Nippostia recognizes this as an iski eel, a type of animal. One question.

I'll take resistances and immunities for 300 please.

Poko's dart zips into the water harmlessly.

Wilson, on the other hand, manages to zap it. It seems to react like most creatures do to being zapped.

The creature moves forward and tries to turn Wilson into lunch.

Bite: 1d20 + 12 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 12 - 2 = 27
Piercing Damage: 1d6 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 - 2 = 13

And holds the officer in his mouth for future chewing.

The boats continue to drift downstream.

Round 2 - bolded may go

Anock
Nippostia
Poko
Wilson (-13 SP, grappled)
Creature (-12 HP, sickened)
Hazard

Looks like you may have cross-posted with Nippo's request for resistances/immunities.

Wilson punches with his thunderstrike pulse gauntlet at the creature.

Standard action: Attack
Pulse gauntlet strike w/ grappled modifier vs KAC: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 - 2 = 23
Pulse gauntlet damage (bludgeoning/sonic): 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Wilson grunts, in a way that is clearly giving a direction to Domehead.

Move action: Give Domehead an attack

Domehead headbutts the creature to let go of Wilson.

Head butt attack vs KAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Head butt damage (bludgeoning): 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

"Well, that's horrifying." Anock remarks, releasing her nanites in a cyan L-shaped cloud. With a flick of her wrist, she causes them to surge, granting Wilson Fast Healing 1 (SP only, not HP). Then she tries to shoot it farther down its body so as not to hit her meal ticket teammate.

Azimuth laser pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Move action for Cloud Array, Swift action for Nanite Surge, Action for attack.

Poko shoots again. This time she aims better.

attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

cmlobue wrote:

Nippostia recognizes this as an iski eel, a type of animal. One question.

I'll take resistances and immunities for 300 please.

None of either.

“I get that you’re hungry, but seriously. You want to play? We’re gonna play. You’ll like this game.”

Deep blue swirls mix with the pink around her hands. Her voice takes on the same tone it had moments ago.

“Home is safe and secure. Home is a full belly and safety. You miss home. Focus on it… dream of it…”

She yells to Wilson. "Get out! It won't resist you right now!"

Cast Dream of Home on the creature.

DC 14 Will save to be fascinated for only 1 round.
Fascinated for four rounds if fail the save.

Dream of Home: Drawing on the magic of the kasathan Pillar of the Homeworld or similar homey memories, you overwhelm the target with pleasant visions and thoughts of their home, whatever that means to them. If the target fails the saving throw, they become fascinated for the duration. If the target saves, they’re fascinated for 1 round instead.

Fascinated: You are entranced. While you have the fascinated condition, you stand or sit quietly, taking no actions other than to pay attention to the fascinating effect, for as long as the effect lasts. You take a –4 penalty to skill checks made passively in response to others’ actions, such as Perception checks. Any potential threat, such as a hostile creature approaching, grants you a new saving throw against the fascinating effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a ranged weapon at you, automatically ends the condition. An ally can shake you free of the effect and end this condition as a standard action.

Wilson tries to free himself the old-fashioned way - by punching the creature that has a grip on him. Said punching works fairly well. Domehead's follow-up could use some work.

Poko's attack barely misses the eel.

Anock does hit, helping to guard his -teammate-.

Nippostia tries another spell.

Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

The eel is not drawn completely into the vision, but does spend a moment contemplating a nice warm cave. It releases Wilson, who then moves further downstream along with the rest of the Starfinders.

Round 3 - bolded may go

Anock
Nippostia
Poko
Wilson (-13 SP)
Creature (-28 HP, sickened)
Hazard

Start of Turn: Fast healing 1 restores 1 SP, so I'm at -12

Wilson drops his pistol into the raft, just as his merciful called tactical cryopike appears in his hands ... also set, per safety protocols, to nonlethal mode. He uses it to whack at the creature.

Free action: Release pistol. Swift action: Summon called weapon. Standard: Attack.

Cryopike attack vs EAC: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Cryopike damage (cold, nonlethal): 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Anock adjusts her nanite cloud to keep up with their not-fast-enough progress down the river, then grimaces and shoots point-blank at the serpent. She fully expects to get splattered with something unpleasant in the process.

Azimuth laser pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Nippostia looks up… and up… and up at the massive snake next to her. She involuntarily shrinks back against the side of the raft.

“You looked a lot smaller and cuter when you weren’t so close. You could swallow one of us whole! Sorry, but I have to protect my friends…”

The mist around her hands turns dark violet. It rushes to the snake’s head with a snap of her fingers.

Cast Mind Thrust at second level on the creature.
Mental damage: 4d10 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 8) = 16

DC 15 Will save for half damage.

The dice roller knows she doesn't want to kill the snake... bad time to wear your emotions on your sleeve.

Neither Anock nor Wilson are able to strike the eel. Nippostia's spell, however, gives it the headache it did not need over lunch.

Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Round 3 - bolded may go

Anock
Nippostia
Poko
Wilson (-12 SP)
Creature (-44 HP, sickened)
Hazard

Poko boosts Wilson.

"GO Go Wilson!"

5 STA back

Poko cheers Wilson on.

It's not entirely sure what Nippostia is doing, but it is quite suspicious.

Bite: 1d20 + 12 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 12 - 2 = 27
Piercing Damage: 1d6 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 9 - 2 = 8

The boats continue onward.

Round 4 - bolded may go

Anock
Nippostia (-9 SP, grappled)
Poko
Wilson (-6 SP, fast healing 1)
Creature (-44 HP, sickened)
Hazard

Again adjusting the nanite cloud, Anock tsks. "Wilson, we're moving too fast for the cloud. It won't heal you much longer!" I can only move one square per round, and the Fast Healing only works if you're in or adjacent to it.

On the plus side, maybe the snake won't follow if it gets hurt badly enough. *Surely* it'll decide that there's less life-threatening food elsewhere, right? Speaking of which, hopefully she'll actually hit it this time.

Azimuth laser pistol: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Nope. How could she miss two point blank shots in a row? "Gol ding it! Is the barrel *bent*?!" Anock shrieks indignantly.

“AHHHHHH!!!”

Nippostia flails against the eel, twisting and turning to pull free.

Standard action to attempt an escape
Acrobatics to escape the grapple: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Move action to grab her knife just in case.

Looks like I'm already out of the range of the healing array, then.

Wilson releases the grip with his cryopike, dropping it into the raft, and summons the pistol back into his hand and fires.

static arc pistol attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
statis arc pistol damage (electricity, nonlethal): 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

With his other hand, he grabs the paddle out of the raft. "Okay, let's try to speed away from this thing. Maybe he'll decide we're more trouble than we're worth."

Free: Release cryopike. Swift: summon called weapon. Standard: Shoot. Move: Grab paddle.

Poko shoots again.

needler: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

@Wilson: You're adjacent to the cloud array, so the Fast Healing does work for you this round.

Poko is the only one who manages to hit the eel. Nippostia does manage to get out of its jaws.

The eel still hungers. It hopes Poko will be a more compliant snack.

Bite: 1d20 + 12 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 12 - 2 = 25
Piercing Damage: 1d6 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 9 - 2 = 10

It gets an extremely firm grip.

The boats continue to move, sliding around a protrusion.

Round 5 - bolded may go

Anock
Nippostia (-9 SP)
Poko (-10 SP, pinned)
Wilson (-5 SP)
Creature (-46 HP, sickened)
Hazard

@Wilson: You're adjacent to the cloud array, so the Fast Healing does work for you this round.

Healed 1 SP on Round 4, then.

Wilson doesn't row, as he realizes that Poko would fall out of the boat, and instead unloads fire at the eel.

Full attack

Static arc pistol attack vs EAC: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 7 - 4 = 12
Static arc pistol damage (electricity, nonlethal): 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Static arc pistol attack vs EAC: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 7 - 4 = 23
Static arc pistol damage (electricity, nonlethal): 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Critical extra damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
The pistol also has arc 2, but I believe I can choose not to have that effect apply. If the critical effect happens automatically, then I assume Poko would be closest and would take 2 points of nonlethal electrical damage

"Sorry, Poko! I'll watch my aim next time!"

Landing back in the boat, Nippostia watches in horror as the eel grabs Poko.

“No!! Poko!!!”

Violet mist boils around her hands.

"You will stop NOW!”

She slams her palms together. The mist shoots toward the eel and envlopes its head in sickly colors.

Cast Mind Thrust at second level on the creature.
Mental damage: 4d10 ⇒ (5, 9, 4, 5) = 23 Mental damage

DC 15 Will save for half damage.

Wilson's shot knocks the eel unconscious. It drop Poko back into the boat and sinks into the water.

The rest of the day's journey is uneventful, and the team covers 24 miles that day. That puts them 45 miles from the probe, though the river diverges from their path from here on.

"Ouch that hurt. Nice Wilson killing the eel. Where's the dryer? I'm all wet!"

Wilson packs the rafts back up in tube form and stores them into the porter drone, shifting supplies around a bit now that two of the tents are destroyed.

"If anyone wants to ride on Domehead to relax a bit that is fine." Being the heaviest of the group, Wilson has been walking to avoid burdening his mount over long distances.

Time to camp or still enough daylight to continue on?

Once they're stationary enough, Anock allows each of her wounded allies to spend a minute breathing deeply of her nanites, repairing most of their wounds.

Everyone's SP should be topped off now.

She deliberately does *not* talk about how she couldn't hit the broadside of a barn serpent at point-blank range, doing everything she can to keep the conversation going in any other direction. "Honestly, despite the many dangers we'll likely encounter on land, at least our individual maneuverability won't be limited as it was on the boats. We were just like snacks on a conveyor belt out there!" She actually helps set up camp, or at least tries to. Her help isn't the most helpful, as she doesn't do anything quite right, leaving the others to decide whether they'll leave it, call her back to fix it (with supervision), or just fix it themselves.

“You deserve to ride for a while, Wilson. Great shooting back there.”

Nippostia helps the team assemble camp. She chuckles at Anock’s “snacks on a conveyor belt” line.

“Too true. That eel was so huge when we got right next to it!”

Later, she happily settles in for a night’s rest.

Wilson also takes any batteries expended during the combat and hooks them up to the backup generator, so they'll regenerate as he's scouting out the camp and hunting for food.

Done moving for the day. If you'd rather march through the night, you can, but that could go badly for you.

The next day, the clear skies continue, and the Starfinders can cover 12 miles on foot.

(Please notify me if you want to try to go faster.)

If we are covering 12 miles a day, we're about 3 more days from the probe right? I think normal march is fine. Don't want to show up someplace fatigued.

Pleased for the clear skies, Wilson continues his ritual of hunting and recharging batteries at the end of the day, while the others set up the one remaining tent for camp.

Poko helps around the camp and sings to her self.

♫"How do you solve a problem like a crash"♫

"You are entirely too--" Anock bites off her acerbic comment a bit too late, but better late than not at all. She takes a deep breath, swallowing her irritation at Poko's song. Okay, it takes multiple deep breaths, but hey: she's trying. Plastering a smile onto her face, she picks up a stick and begins whacking a rock to the rhythm of that song. "Go on. You can finish it." She braces herself for more, while mentally patting herself on the back for being such a good sport.

Nippostia sways at the rhythm of the song, gradually letting herself slide into a joyful dance.

She spins toward Wilson and tugs at his arm.

“C’mon… jump into the moment! Let your spirit gush and refresh!!”

The weather holds for the next day, allowing the Starfinders to cover another 12 miles of terrain. However, the team is awoken before midnight to the sound of thunder. Another storm front is rolling in - and from the flashes you can see, it is going to be intense.

In addition to dealing with the immediate hazard, you will need to decide if you want to Remain in camp late to make up for the lost sleep or press on at your normal schedule and risk fatigue.