Adder007USA's page

I think I would allow cleave with an unwieldly two handed weapon. Just because it makes sense from a dramatic perspective. That is pretty much what two-handed melee weapons do.

Certainly no problem with house ruling until we get an official response.

I played it as though the bridge is connected to the hallway that "Circles the entire tower". Figured there should have been door tiles, but the way I see it, it's pointless for the hallway on the upper and left sides of the map to go towards the bridge unless it connects.

interesting. So this scenario is meant moreso as a step off point for new characters, as opposed to a continuation of the main story? My group has played straight through 1 to 9, as well as into the unknown and the 1-00 pregen scenario, so they're going to be out leveled for this one.

...I'd completely forgotten about the fact that there are mixed tier groups, where you have 1s and 2s running with 3s and 4s. That makes a lot more sense now.

The challenge seems about right for the 1-4s. And I second TOZ's point that lower challenges make for more diverse player-bases and builds.

For what it's worth, my second-ever SFS scenario, 1-02, featured a table of three plus a pregen having our poor pregenerated Navasi one-shot from full health straight to death! There's still room for dice to make for a dire situation with the current challenge level. I wouldn't mind a little more difficulty in the 3-6's though.

This is what I was suggesting earlier. A goblin with only 17hp in a level 3-4 scenario isn't a challenge, much less a threat if he only gets to fire his d6+1 junkblaster only once. Make him a little more survivable, and the encounter feels more fulfilling. What you DON'T want to do is give the little biter a better gun.

You're welcome. My suggestion, if anything is to change....give minions a little more staying power, though be careful how much hitting power they have, I think that's mostly in the right place. We actually had one person go unconscious in 1-08...but that's because they tried to solo teltham without waiting for the group, and he scored a crit after the first round, rolling almost max damage. They were fine because they had RP to stabilize, but still.

More staying power means more chances for the PC's to use abilities, keeping the attacking ability of the NPCs about the same will give them a chance to react to combat, use healing, etc. Tense situations where you have a chance to save a PC in distress can be fun. Massive hits that drop someone in just one round aren't.

As far as high tier content...I've run my group through everything, including the 1-00 with premades, and the special quest "into the unknown". They're currently on 1-09, and after 1-10, they're going to be level 5. So right about now, we do need a slight ramp up in difficulty, especially as they're starting to get their hands on equipment that rolls more than just one dice per hit. HP 17 goblins just don't last long enough to be a challenge.

Foreward: I'm not new to GMing, but this is my first season of society play.

Now, I'm aware of the fact that death in society play is a much more significant threat than in regular play, since when a character is dead, they're gone, unless the group has access to a raise dead spell of some kind. The buildup of a chronicle that could be lost also adds weight to this. I'm also aware that most scenarios are designed to be run in 4 hours or less, so things can't get too in depth.

My home group, which I've been running exactly by the letter for each mission, has been utterly smashing every scenario, with one exception (I believe it was the end boss fight in 1-02 against Talbot). There's actually been a running joke that our Solarian is always frustrated because combat has never lasted longer than 3 rounds, so he's never gotten to use supernova or any of the other 3 charge solarian revelations. Most fights, the PC's take one or two good hits that eat up most of their SP, but then the sheer amount of damage they're putting out as level 4's (Example, our vesk has a damage code of 1d10+8 on their doshko, our mechanics have 1d8+4 on their rifles) just kills stuff too quickly for anything more to happen.

Is this intentional, that society play combat is usually pretty easy? Is this still just a growing experience, in that starfinder is a new system so the balance has to still be worked out? or am I missing some rules that should be making it more challenging? Does it get more difficult in the higher level scenarios?

Thanks for the advice.

So...for this mission, I figured I'd put together something to introduce the characters to all the viewers....it says there's a 15 min shuttle ride down to the "moon", and Wazasha lets the group see the intro. I decided to play up Bombastic Zo!...and my home group insisted I post it on here after hearing it. My home group composition is as follows...along with some of their more memorable moments and/or tendencies.

Goldie Ramsay: F Lashunta envoy, icon background (celebrity chef), personality consistant with her name. Fights with polearms

Cassandra: F Human Mystic, specialization in longarms, bounty hunter background.

Rick-1: M Android Mechanic, usually designated pilot and sharpshooter, personality consistant with another "Rick" of fame.

Gray-5: F Android Mechanic, more skill built than Rick, usually the group hacker/engineer

Rishkal: F Vesk Solarian. Has profession as "professional wrestler/gladiator. Born with the family "looks", so attractive, for a vesk.

Rishkar: F Vesk Soldier, older sister of Rishkal. All brawn, no brains or beauty. Body slammed her sister through a table during the gala in 1-05 to impress Zo!

Boom-Boom: M Ysoki operative. Made the lost children cry in "The commencement", and got high on helium at the gas bar in "The solar Sortie".

Anyways. Here's Zo!'s bombastic intro to the show.

Good evening, good afternoon, and good morning, whatever time it is wherever you are in this galaxy, good whatever, it doesn't matter, because this is the FIRST episode of Live Exploration Extreme! I'm your host, the one, the only ZO!!!! But you already knew that, so why don't I introduce you to the stars of the newest hit reality show as they prepare to delve into the depths of Salvations End! Big! Mysterious! Dangerous! Who in the galaxy would risk their lives to bring this experience to your holo-screens? First spotted as the pit crew of the starfinders contestant for the annual spire junkrace, they've since rocketed to fame and notoriety! Here they are, a team of the most experienced adventurers the starfinder society has to offer!

First, someone who many of you know, love and hate at the same time, this famous chef has decide to try her hand at adventuring. If you thought she wielded a mean meat cleaver, just wait until you see what she does with a lance! She's no idiot sandwich for sure, the one, the only GOLDIE RAMSAY!!!

Our next adventurer will blow your mind...literally! So don't get her angry! This mysterious mystic bounty hunter has a reputation for bringing in most targets in without a pulse...and I don't mean her targets are mostly eoxians! Deceptively friendly, a skilled healer, but an absolute dead-eye with a long rifle, if her powers don't get you her rifle will, give it up for CASANDRA!

Next up, we have one of the most mysterious of figures known on absalom. Found floating in space with no idea of who or where he came from, this murderous mechanical genius is an ace pilot, and a crack shot! He's the stone cold mechanic, the robotic fanatic, RICK-”the-D*ck”, 1!!

And who would he be without his associate and counterpart, a fellow mechanic that is just as cold and unnerving, who I'm told is one of the most talented targeters on a starship. There's no one else who could turn a pile of scrap into a winning racing machine as easily as she did....dead or alive, she's GRAY-5!

Now everyone, be seated and keep away from the screen, because this next duo is DANGEROUS. The first is one of the most popular gladiatorial fighters known on absalom. Beautiful, bold, exciting, the fighter known as the scaled supergiant, who else could I be talking about but RISHKAL!

Now, who you ask, could ever hope to challenge her for magnificence? Turns out, that while she got the family looks, someone else got the brawn! Stronger than a raging orc, taller than a kasathan, we were shocked and excited to witness this display of sisterly love at the starfinder gala (Screenshot). Give it up for newcomer, the other half of the blitzer sisters, RISHKAR!

And finally, last but not least, don't let his height decieve you, the sneakiest member of the team. Known for pulling off dangerous trick shots, a voracious appetite for helium, and making little children cry, this is one dangerous rodent! The most devious ysoki in the room-room, prepare for doom-doom, its BOOM-BOOM!

Thanks for the info. Again, I use a virtual tabletop so....drawing out or gridded wrapping paper isn't an issue. I'd be willing to pay more than just the 4.99 if they started including a file for those of us who use virtual, but 40 is a bit excessive, heh.

Sorry if this comes off as a complaint, because I really am enjoying SFS.

Up until starfinder scenario 1-08, there would usually be blank maps from the scenario, without designations of rooms, the locations of NPCs, etc. Now that no-longer seems to be the case. I see that it does mention which flip mat they belong to, but I just looked in the store and the blank maps, even in PDF form, cost more than the scenario itself! (4.99 for the scenario, 9.99 for a PDF of the flip mat). In the case of 1-09, there are 4 separate maps used during the scenario, meaning I have to spend over 40 dollars just for this one scenario if I want maps that are blank!

Is this now the norm, where if we want to use the official map in the scenario, we have to buy it separately? Or is this something that just got overlooked? I run most of my games on Roll20, the blank copies were a huge help for my prep work. I'm still going to be playing, I just need to know if I now have to budget for this.

After running this scenario with my group, I have a little feedback from the GM's perspective. This is with a level 3 group.

Final thoughts

I'm currently running my group through the shattered stars arc. We're about to tackle 1-07, and it's likely that 1-08 will be completed before 1-09 is released. Since 1-09 is more or less a sequel to the events of Claim to Salvation (1-00), I figured I'd do a "flashback" and run my players through CTS.

Now, I'm aware this scenario requires the use of the level 4 pregen characters. Easy enough to find those...but I'm a bit confused on how to apply the credit to their main characters, since I know that's what they're going to want to do.

Preface: My group are all sitting at 7 xp (CL 3), having run through scenarios 1-6, as well as the quest into the unknown.

Here's where I get confused.

On page 6 of the SFS guide, it says "Credit for playing higher-level pregenerated characters must be applied to a Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild character of a lower level than the pregenerated character or to a 1st-level character"

However, on page 7 it states "You may apply credit for an adventure once your Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild character reaches the level of the pregenerated character used to play through it"

These two seem to be in conflict with each other. After they finish 1-07, they're going to be 1xp away from hitting level 4. If we do 1-08 before 1-00, they're going to hit level 4, and by the first paragraph, be ineligible for the credit since they are no longer "lower level than the pregenerated character". And yet, by the second paragraph, the credit can't be applied until when they are level 4?

In any case. My two questions are as follows.

1. When should I have them run 1-00, so that they can apply it to their player made characters? After 1-07, so that the credit from 1-00 makes them level 4, or after 1-08, when they're already level 4?

2. When applying the 1-00 chronicle sheet, am I correct in my understanding that the name and number of the character will be that of the player made character the sheet is being applied to?

Thank you for any assistance

My biggest Problem is that the point defense is mounted in the aft and not in the turret most of the time, that leads to very wierd gameplay if you are fighting enemies with missiles.

Or on one of the sides. Again, not looking for a murder-machine...just looking for ships that actually put things in positions where they can be useful.

Ooh, good point sebastian. The ranged attack would work, so I can use that if need be, and that should suffice for now. Still hope we get an errata/FAQ on it, the core rulebook isn't entirely clear on this one.

Right, but I can't remember the last time we had a combat last more than 10 rounds. Until then, I still haven't heard any definitive answer on if incorporeals can damage the temp hp of a force field. We know they can't pass through them, but that's the same as saying your weapons can't pass through a steel plate. Yet, if you strike hard enough you can damage them.

Going to be running this scenario tomorrow with my group. Has anyone had a ruling yet on this interaction?

Has anyone had an official ruling yet on how incorporeal interacts with force field armor upgrades? That is, how will a person with the brown force field upgrade be affected by the driftdead fight? I'm aware that the purple field on the captains armor is holding her, but it's being overcharged by the ship battery.

I mean, it seems odd that a simple 1 temp hp item could make a player immune to the creature.

Various highlights from the group I GM for

Awesome. Honestly the tier 2 drake is the biggest offender, since it just makes starship combat "Un-fun" once the missiles run out.

And yeah, I get it, we're not looking for total optimization (murderboats, as you said). The luxury and flavor addons to ships make total sense. I'm just talking about ones where for the same, or even less points, you could do something that will get more use, and actually be fun to fly, instead of having one of our gunners twiddling their thumbs because they don't have a weapon mount that can hit a target, or have neat weapons like the laser net that don't do anything because of how limited/specialized they are.

Right, but said forcefield was being powered by a source OTHER than the usual batteries available to the PCs. I still feel like an official clarification would be helpful.

Didn't see anywhere specific to post this, so I'm just putting it in the general SFS forum. Mods, feel free to move this if it's not in the right place.

For society scenarios where players get a choice of starship....most of them are fairly balanced from what I can tell...but I'm seeing an issue with some of them. Part of this has been through experience in one scenario where we ran into the problem, but I can see it being an issue later.

Bottom line, I believe some of the ships need a re-design, balance and practicality wise. The most glaring issue is that some of the ships (Notably the tier 2 drake, where we first ran into this issue) have only a single missile weapon on an arc or turret. If the PCs have really bad luck with rolls, or run into enemies with point defense weapons in their scenarios...well, they've only got 5 shots. And once that weapon is depleted, even if it does have a big whammy when it hits, it's totally worthless.

In one scenario, where the group picked the tier 2 drake, they didn't finish before the combat ended....and then it was just their single forward mounted coilgun that could actually hit the target. The coilgun has an average damage of 8-9, vs an enemy ship that can regenerate 5 shield points if they succeed at a fairly easy engineering check. This makes for long and tedious combat, especially since in a group of 6, you have 2 gunners.

Other ships have really weird configurations. Sometimes it's just weapons that are different (Less of a problem, though it does mean more stats to look up since they're not listed on the sheets). Other times, it's a serious "Why would you design it like that when you could do it better".

Anyways. Both from the standpoint of a GM and a player, starship combat should feel fun and engaging, not confusing and tedious. I'm aware we aren't being given state of the art, min-maxed ships where victory is guaranteed, but an organization such as the starfinder society should probably go with practicality. Here's a list of the ships, and the issues I feel need addressing.

Drakes: Mostly limited fire weapon issues here.

Drake 2: Only weapons are fwd coilgun, aft gyrolaser, turret missile launcher. Once missiles are gone, this thing puts out less damage than the pegasus 2.

Drake 4: This one is actually good. Has a decent balance of weapons, and isn't totally neutered once missiles are gone.

Drake 6: Less of a problem than the Drake 2, since it has other weapons, but once the missiles are gone, the turret is useless. Designers spent 9 BP (3 for the new mount, 6 for the weapon) to add a weapon to the port arc. Was this really a better option than adding the mount to the aft arc, possibly the gyrolaser that we saw on the tier 2?

Drake 8: Mostly good, but again the odd port slot, instead of reinforcing the forward, aft, or turret arc

Drake 10: Awesome ship. No issues here.

Drake 12: Same as the 10 but better.

Pegasus ships: Most of these aren't reliant on missiles, so they can keep fighting longer. Most of them however, have very strange weapon placement. I understand it's usually maneuverable enough to face the way it wants vs. an opponent for special weapons, but initiative easily spoils that advantage. And turning your side for a shot with an EMP weapon instead of a big hit from your forward weapons...it just doesn't seem logical.

Pegasus 2: Solid ship, no issues, actually a better fighter IMO than the Drake 2 outside of the durability.

Pegasus 4: Weird placement for the laser net. Exceedingly short range (5 max), and it's only on the port arc. Why not put this in the turret, re-distribute points among the other weapons as needed? That way it can actually be a point defense weapon, not just if the players are lucky enough for a missile to hit their port side.

Pegasus 6: Again with the weird placement on the laser net, and a single missile launcher on the starboard side that is worthless once it runs out of ammo. Turret and fwd weapons are...functional.

Pegasus 8: AGAIN with the laser net. Turret and fwd weapons are good at least. EMP weapon is worthless against shields and limited to side arc, but if the shot is there, might as well take it.

Pegasus 10: Laser net again. Other weapons are decent.

Pegasus 12: Laser net, and that EMP weapon is back. Rest of weapons are solid.

Again, I understand players aren't being given min-max vessels. But there should be some thought as to where very specialized weapons (Such as the laser net) are placed. And again, in scenarios that are played with limited time, combat that becomes tedious due to limited ammo just isn't ideal.

We've started running into incorporeal creatures in scenarios and missions, and I haven't seen anyone flat out ask this.

How does "incorporeal" interact with personal force fields? I'm speaking of the brown, purple, black, etc. force shield armor upgrades.

The rules for incorporeal state that they cannot pass through force effects. Force shields, while not explicitly stated to be "force effects" are usually mentioned together with other force effects (Such as the spell "wall of force") that can block spells affected by force effects.

So in the scenario that an incorporeal creature attacks a character with a force field armor upgrade, which of the following occurs?

A: Nothing. The incorporeal creature can't pass through, nor affect the force field.

B: The creature can damage the force field, but can't do direct damage to SP or HP unless the field is taken offline first

C: Same as a normal attack, the incorporeal creature damages the target, going through the temporary HP first, with any additional damage rolling over into SP and HP.

Functionally, personal force fields are just a temporary hp reserve with fast healing, so although implied with similar language, it seems strange that a simple 1 THP brown force field upgrade could make someone immune to incorporeal attacks.

Further question for this scenario.

Can the driftwraith use its melee attack against a PC with a force field upgrade in their armor? Since incorporeal can't pass through force effects, and the wraith was trapped inside the power armor using a purple force field upgrade, this seems to be an easy way of combating incorporeals. I'm assuming the ranged attack would still work normally though, if melee doesn't work.

I've added a question to the standard starfinder rules questions forum, since I feel this is a good general question for the FAQ

Thank you Thurston for the quick answer, and thanks Graham, I'll make sure any future posts are in that forum.

I didn't see any thread regarding this scenario, and the errata/faq thread for the "first wave scenarios" indicates it's just for the gen con released scenarios, so I'm starting this one. Mods feel free to move this to the errata/faq thread if it belongs there.

Anyways. Just a few questions that I feel need clarification. Add any that come to you guys.

For # 2, I interpreted the "AbadarCorp Respect" boon to require not just friendly negotiations but *also* delivery of what was promised (Talbot). Because in the game I ran Talbot escaped, I crossed that boon off and left the players with the "AbadarCorp Annoyance" boon.

Clearly it will be annoyance if he escapes. The only place where it's unclear is if they kill Talbot instead of capturing. Non-negotiation also obviously earns annoyance, but what about successful negotiation....but they off him instead of capturing alive? Technically justice is being served, albeit in a harsh manner. RAR, it's a little ambiguous, but I'm currently interpreting it as annoyance, since they want him alive for trial, I'm assuming.

So in summary, for the reporting options, Final scenarios A and B earn annoyance, scenario C earns respect?

Looking for some perspective from people that are familiar with society play from past pathfinder seasons.

So we've now got quite a lot of sanctioned content coming out. I'm seeing that there are 2 distinct story lines.

1. Scoured stars, the scenarios
2. Dead suns, the adventure path

Now, I understand the rule in that every scenario gives 1 xp, and every completed adventure segment gives 3xp (1 lvl). Is it generally possible to do both the adventure path and still do all the scenarios in a given season?

I see that since each dead suns adventure is tuned for increasing level brackets (1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8,9-10,11-12), if we're using them in society play, it's assumed that we're going to have to do at least 3 scenarios between each adventure module just to keep up with the required level.

That being said, I see that while we're due for part 3 of dead suns soon (level 5-6), all of the scenarios released thus far have been tuned for 1-4. Will we start seeing content that accomodates players of level 5+ soon, or will using their characters in the adventure path negate the chance for them to experience the scoured stars story?

My current situation.

My players have completed commencement and into the unknown. They're going to hit level 2 after Fugitive on the red planet. After that, I've got Incident at absalom station, Yesteryear's Truth, and Cries from the Drift. Total of 5 xp there, enough to put them at lvl 3, one scenario away from level 4.

If then I then put them through temple of the twelve, they'll be level 4, which means they'll then be one scenario away from level 5, which makes them inelligible for all the current scenarios except Splintered Worlds, adventure path 3.

Again, my main concern, do I risk out-leveling available content? Or is it assumed that players will be able to enjoy everything without having to roll separate characters for each storyline? I'm wondering if I should hold off on doing temple of the twelve, let them hit level 4 and do one or two scenarios there before doing Splintered worlds.

Well, remember one big difference between starfinder and all past editions of DND and Pathfinder is that you're actually expected to go down every now and then. Half your hit points are refillable instantly with the expenditure of 1 RP during a 10 minute rest (Stamina points, just to be clear). Getting zero'd out, unless you get hit with massive damage (or an enemy that just constantly whales on you), you can instantly recover, again provided you have the RP. While I don't know what your regular group's playstyle is, in SFS play, GMs are encouraged NOT to go for the insta-gib or TPK, so I don't see this happening too often unless you've got a particularly vicious game master.

The balance in this game seems more akin to certain video games. You have a certain number of "lives", use them wisely, as opposed to certain players being tougher to kill, and only having one life. Getting zero'd happens more often, but is more merciful when it comes to recovering from it.

Can't find the exact answer to this in the rules, but hopefully this should be relatively straightforward.

Can you "under mount" a weapon slot on a starship? That is, if you're short on BP or power, can you put a small weapon in a heavy slot, or put a small or heavy weapon in a capitol slot?

Ah, rank, not skill, thank you. So the +1 is to rolls, not any statistics.

I have a question regarding the statistics on the players ships.

I'm assuming that NPC ships such as the vessels in "Into the Unknown", we use the values of AC and TL "as is", since it's been established that NPCs abilities are computed differently to player characters

However, for the ships the players will be using (I'm aware that we're using the Pegasus from the SFS guide, not the included one), it lists AC and TL values. Do we use them "as is", or do we add the player's piloting ability as per the formulas on page 320, including the bonus to piloting from the base profile? Example:

Tier 2 pegasus has a listed AC of 12. Assuming that the group chooses someone with 1 rank in piloting, which value is correct?

A. Use as is, AC =12
B: The +1 from piloting has already been factored into the 12, so just add 1 more from the player, giving AC =13
C: Factor in both the +1 to piloting from the hull, as well as the players skill, AC =14.

I've actually found that it seems to make a little more sense to run Commencement before "Into the Unknown" (ITU). Not only is commencement refered to in ITU, but commencement is the graduation of the PC's from the starfinder society academy, so it would be odd to go through all the events of ITU, receiving orders from a venture captain, the society trusting them with a ship, before they've even graduated. So what I did was the following

1-01
ITU
1-02
1-03

Also, commencement is somewhat simpler to run, since there's no starship combat. Gives people a chance to get the flavor of their characters before jumping in to the 5 parter.

Yep, though again that's pathfinder, the rules don't necessarily apply as well. From what I remember anyways, most people didn't use those, since once called shots come into play, monsters can do it right back to you

Right, but for 1. Is this for ALL quests, or just ones that only award 0xp? For example, into the unknown does NOT give 0 xp, it gives a minimum of 1. This means that players are at risk of death as normal, correct?

Currently the only one available is into the unknown, but these questions I imagine will pertain to future quest packs as well. Attempted to find the answers using "search", but couldn't find anything, so forgive me if I've somehow missed the answer somewhere.

1. On page 46 of the starfinder society guide (Appendix 6), it states;

Quests: Some quests award special types of boons. These boons
must be applied to the character you played for the quest. If your
character dies in a quest that grants 0 XP, the Chronicle sheet
can be applied to the character, but cross off the boon. The death
condition is not permanent for such quests. This is an exception to
the normal death rules (see page 17)

Does this mean that player death in quest scenarios is not permanent? Or should it be interpreted that player death is still permanent, UNLESS the quest grants only 0xp, in which case they don't receive any boon rewards, but still are usable for the next missions/scenarios/quests. Just need clarification on the rewards.

2. In between individual quests in a quest pack (Such as the 5 stages of Into the unknown), what kind of recovery is allowed? Common sense obviously dictates when a 10 minute short rest can be made, but what about long rests? Do we just look for narrative clues, implying that more than 24 hours pass for things such as travel on a starship?

3. No boons, does this mean flat out, no boons whatsoever? I'm aware that provisions are made for reputation and fame (Usually a faction boon), but what about slotless boons such as the implant received at the beginning of commencement? I'm assuming the intention is to prevent undue advantage by players who have accumulated a few, although the given scenario is only open to level 1s...

My first question there would be, to what purpose?

If you're aiming for a weapon, that's going to be a sunder or disarm, depending on if you want to break it or drop it, respectively. Sunder can also be used to break other accessible gear.

There is currently nothing in regards to called shots that target specific organs or body parts. If you recall, that was a variant ruleset in pathfinder, not part of the core rules.

Thank you!

If possible....one thing I don't know if it's been addressed. Unlike pathfinder, where ammo is mostly trivial (Arrows and bolts are cheap, and magic ammo is rare), ammo in starfinder is actually a fairly major expense, especially when it comes to higher level batteries. It doesn't really fall under the "less than 50 credits" threshold to be sure. Ammo in general, actually, is kind of weird...unlike other loot found, it doesn't get turned in at the end, and unlike credits spent, found ammo isn't required to be paid for if used. Clarification on this, as well as other expendable/shootable/splodable items would be helpful.

Yeah....I really don't like the solution of "No batteries for you" when it comes to weapons. Not only does it put them at a disadvantage compared to projectile weapons (unless you're planning on making these come with no ammo as well?) The price of a battery is factored into their cost, and at low levels, even an extra 60 credits can be a big deal, never mind the cost of the high charged batteries.

Devasura.

By my understanding...everything gets turned in. So yes, your PC's would wind up with negative credits earned for that stage, though per society rules, if your credits earned would be negative, just put it to zero. But...they do all have 150 credits worth of "stuff and services" so technically they came out ahead, 10 credits ahead from what they would have gained just from that first page.

My understanding: When you're working with the starfinder society, all items and loot you find technically belong to them. This is in exchange for the benefits of being part of the society (Boons, fame, reputation ewards).

You can use items in the course of your mission, but end effect, you must pay for any use beyond reason(they're not going to charge you for using the ammo inside a found gun). In the example of selling everything for 10% value, you're essentially selling something that doesn't belong to you. You're permitted to do so, but you're expected to reimburse the society for this action.

At the end, EVERYTHING, loot and credits get turned in, and then you receive your cut/pay for everything you did for the society.

Adder007USA wrote:

Just looking for clarification on something about this encounter as well...it states that a DC 21 intimidate check can be used to interrupt the thugs. Does this imply that they collectively decide "NOT WORTH IT!" and we skip the combat entirely? Or does it mean they go on the offense immediately, instead of just trying to grab Ceren?

I'm assuming that if they flee, then just add their loot to the gift box after completing this task.

I'm interpreting it to mean that the thugs will back down and not attack if they're successfully Intimidated. The PCs will earn the rewards for successfully completing the encounter.

I got clarification in the errata thread, yes, they don't attack.

And Hilary Moon, is that a game piece from Mousetrap I see, representing ratrod?

Thank you sir for the hard work, and for the clarification. It's a new system, we're still getting used to the new math, or lack thereof compared to the old what-we're-used-to.

Right, I'm aware that they don't follow the same rules for stats and the like. The confusion stemmed from page 501, in the rules for converting pathfinder monsters to starfinder. Yes, different rules I know, but it emphasizes "Remember to add str bonus to melee damage". That, and it's a core rule that we're ignoring here, moreso than just an odd calculation in a stat block.

It just seemed like an accidental omission since later on in the scenario, another NPC combatant DOES appear to have their strength bonus included in their melee and thrown attack, so I thought I'd ask.

Nonetheless, the powers that be have spoken. We shall run as written. Thank you for the clarification.

It also means that if you use one of these spells to duplicate any other spell, the applicable DC will be as a 7th (See page 241, spell saving throws), and any rules that refer to spell level treats it as 9.

Two questions regarding "The commencement"

Ah, I misread that spell, my error. That being said....I would still argue that since it is YOUR standard action that is causing the movement in the first place, because you're busy actually causing the movement that provokes, you can't interrupt yourself. Your allies however, absolutely are able.

To state it a different way (assuming I do understand what you are saying): Allies get an AOO, I would not, as a result of movement caused by my bull rush.

Yes. Both from a rules standpoint, as well as practically...it just doesn't make sense to be able to smash someone so hard that you move them several feet, and then also have the time to make a full force attack while they're flying away from you.

It also doesn't make sense that you'd be able to get an attack at no penalty prior to a bull rush just by giving up your reaction. Would also open the door to AoO from reposition (I moved you so I get to hit you?). Solarian abilities such as black hole and gravity hold also have prohibitions against this (GH works like psychokinetic hand, specifically prohibits attacking).

Would taste of cheddar, in my opinion.

(From GM's perspective) the operative is already asking about the contents of the other player's pockets

I don't believe that the person doing a bull rush would be able to AoO, but I believe any other person would, as a result of said movement. Here's my reasoning.

Page 249: Attacks of opportunity are always resolved before the action that triggers them.

The action that triggers, in this case, is the bull rush. Bull Rushing, or rather, the movement as a result of the bull rush, is what would trigger the attack. However...you don't KNOW that the bull rush would trigger the movement until AFTER you've rolled, or how much. You could flub it, and the target wouldn't move at all. So you don't know if the person would be eligible for an AoO from yourself, as you are taking the (Potentially) triggering action. Assume that the bull rush is a success, they go flying...but it's now too late to make said roll, since you'd have had to make it BEFORE you knew they would move ("...before the action that triggers them), and thus could be hit with an AoO.

Your allies, or anyone else for that matter, see you smash the person, they go flying....and then that movement gets interrupted as they make their AoO swing.

Does that make sense? I mean, doing a reaction IN THE MIDDLE of the standard action that you yourself are taking...you'd be interrupting yourself.

Just looking for clarification on something about this encounter as well...it states that a DC 21 intimidate check can be used to interrupt the thugs. Does this imply that they collectively decide "NOT WORTH IT!" and we skip the combat entirely? Or does it mean they go on the offense immediately, instead of just trying to grab Ceren?

I'm assuming that if they flee, then just add their loot to the gift box after completing this task.