A tiny white ysoki with a large gun on her back chats on a comm unit away from the group.
"No, you have to cancel my bet...Yeah, I'm on the Starfinder team now...Look, I would bet on myself if I could, but it's against the rules...No, I'm not gonna sabotage anyone!...Yeah, ok, move it over to Ishkitik and Ishkitok to win the Absalom Station Annual Battlebot tourney...Ok, good talking to you."
I don't have Diplomacy, but I do have the Streetwise feat and Society, which seems like it might work here?
Society if it works:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
"Oh hey, everyone, it's good to see you again! It was nice being back on Akiton, but I gotta say, Absalom Station really is home now."
Niksi needs to step away from the game for a while, so the character will engage in some magical research. Niksi is welcome back at any time if real life calms down.
Certainly no pressure to go to the distillery! I find it easier in PBP if the GM presents a few options rather than an open-ended "What do you want to do?" so I just wanted to list the items you knew about. I'll get you moving toward the Tower in the New Year.
N female anadi (polychromatic anadi) bard 13 | HP 151/151 | AC 33 | F +19 R +21 W +23 | Perc +23 (spiritsight) | Stealth +4 | Speed:30 ft | Active Conditions: ---
Wisps moves out of the cloud, and tries to target Binji to bring her closer.
flat check:1d20 ⇒ 15
She sends out ephemeral strands to grasp Binji and bring her close.
LN female tengu ranger 14 | HP 231/231 | AC 35/36 with twin parry | F +26 R +28 W +24 | Perc +27 (low-light) | Stealth +27 | Speed: 30 ft | Active Conditions: ---
Kioko darts over to try to take out Red before it can flank the General against the cliff.
Female human magus 3 | HP 38/38 | AC 20 | F +8 R +6 W +7 | Perc +5 | Stealth -1 | 25 feet | Active Conditions: none
Demonica has mixed some soft cheese with a little dye and is spreading it over the scars from demon while looking in the mirror. "Puddins, does that look okay? Can you still see it? And yeah, don't worry! Henry's with us!"
Adding such a skill check with a higher DC, which is the way I'd prefer to deal with some of these, could be construed as increasing the difficulty of the adventure, which we have now clarified is not allowable.
I’m not campaign leadership here, but my perspective is that allowing an additional option at a higher DC is overall lowering the difficulty of the scenario, not increasing it.
If there is only one skill allowed for an obstacle, that’s pretty tough! PCs either have it trained or not. If there are two skills, even if one is tougher, then more PCs can attempt the check, so the obstacle is now easier. Each additional skill allows another group of PCs to succeed.
I will say as an author that it’s basically impossible to guess everything that the PCs might be capable of. They might have “this exact thing Lore” or a feat that seems like they could use X skill instead of Y skill for this purpose or a spell that seems super relevant. I think this is exactly where that level of GM discretion comes in handy. You should be able to say, “yeah, that seems like a good way to approach this problem. Go ahead and roll!”
Gideon identifies identifies the spheres as an alloy of the rarest starmetals in the galaxy, adamantine and horacalcum, the latter of which has properties that warp space‑time around it on a quantum level.
He quickly realizes that the terminals next to him are non-functional, but it seems like the next pair of terminals just past the first blast zone would allow him to shut the first pair of doors, and so on.
That spell is literally perfect for this encounter. You can cast it on the first set of terminals to bypass the first hazard and so forth. Give me a few Computers or Engineering checks.
The creature is uninterested in shots from Rex, but she does seem more interested in Tiny and Gideon. She gets really excited when Gideon discharges electricity. That is a +2 to your roll!
You are able to guide the hexolin back to Fullbridge, then, using the footage from Gideon's bodycam, you find a shortcut to get back to the same place.
Unfortunately, you soon reach a dead end. As you retrace your steps, you see passages that definitely weren't there the first time. However, you do see more of the pink marks from the missing engineer.
This new path follows steeply down for several hundred feet, then opens into a massive cavern. You feel light on your feet as you enter into low gravity.
This dark cavern is lit by stalactites that protrude from the ceiling hundreds of feet above, each pulsating with a faint cyan glow, and a lake of indeterminate depth taking up most of the chamber’s floor. The gentle sound of droplets hitting the lake is audible every so often, causing its liquid to luminesce in gentle blues, greens, and purples. Some of these drops illuminate another figure crouched at the lake’s edge.
You see a lightly armored jubabnan--a human-sized toad who stands on one leg--at the edge of the lake. He looks at you very nervously, and you realize that you are a little bit scary as an armed adventuring party, and he probably thinks that you're gang members.
You can try to ease his fears and get him to share information with Bluff, Culture, Diplomacy, Mysticism, or Sense Motive.
Vic is aware of dangerous groups such as the Strong Absalom movement and the Bulkhead Bruisers gang, and hopes to teach able-bodied community members how to protect their own. She welcomes the assistance from Tiny and Calisst. Tiny tries to lead combat drills but gets distracted when a pack of children tackle him as they do Vic. Calisst has more luck leading observation exercises.
Rex goes to find the medical facilities, such as they are. Nizrixy Vaylamra has bright blue hair with jagged yellow streaks. She was waiting at Absalom Station’s spaceport for her flight home to Verces when the Drift Crash occurred, following a failed job interview. Nizrixy has spent time working as a hairdresser, a tattoo artist, and an assistant at a specialist eye-augmentation parlor. Shockingly, she’s the closest thing Fullbridge has to a medic, and against her initial judgement, has found enjoyment in helping others. Rex is able to take on quite a few of the waiting patients, and Nizrixy is quite grateful.
Mehzidig worked remotely as tech-support for a holographic interface company in the Marixah Republic before the Drift Crash severed communication with their home. Unable to afford rent near Bluerise Tower, they moved here and are the only thing Fullbridge has resembling a trained electrician. Gideon tries to help, but as soon as he touches one wrong wire, Mehdizig grabs the tools from his hands, with a grim warning about what happened to their predecessor.
Yeah, it would need to be someone who hadn't succeeded yet. It's a pretty tough combat to avoid, but I wanted to make sure I gave y'all a fair chance at it!
Female leshy (pine) thaumaturge 1 | HP 17/17 | AC 18 | F +6 R +6 W +5 | Perc +5 | Stealth +6 | Speed:25 ft | Active Conditions: ---
Hollifyr's eyes start leaking a little sap as well. "Agnes is right! There are so many amazing things to experience out in the world. You could guard a castle! You could save a princess! Or a prince! Or fight a dragon! Or save a dragon! Who knows what you could out there!"
We are looking for half the party to succeed on the social skills to get them to back down, and I'm afraid you only got one success. I'll pause in case someone wants to use a reroll mechanic, otherwise we will go into combat.
That seems like a success! I'll proceed assuming that, and I can retcon if it's not.
"I heard about you from a Nutcracker friend! I know your weakness! Ballet shoes!" With her bell hand, she draws a ribbon that seems to have come from a pair of well-worn ballet shoes.
Hollifyr moves a little closer and pulls a star-shaped ornament from another of her branches. She hurls it at the rat.
If the White rat attempts a strike, Hollifyr will use her Ring Bell reaction.
Ring Bell:
Trigger The target of your Exploit Vulnerability makes a Strike or Casts a Spell that would affect you or one of your allies.
Requirements You are holding your bell implement, and the triggering creature is within 30 feet of you.
Your implement sings out abruptly, disrupting your foe. The piece played depends on whether the trigger was a Strike or Spell, and it applies to the triggering Strike or Spell, except where noted otherwise.
Distracting Cacophony The trigger is a spell. You create a musical crash of sonic energy that assails the target and breaks its concentration. The target must succeed at a Fortitude save against your class DC or become stupefied 1 until the end of your next turn (stupefied 2 on a critical failure). The target doesn't have to attempt a flat check to avoid losing the triggering spell, but the discordant ring does lower the spell attack roll or spell DC of the triggering spell from stupefied.
Disrupting Harmony The trigger is a Strike. You create a strangely discordant harmony that sinks into your foe's mind and throws its movements off. The target must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or become your choice of enfeebled 1 or clumsy 1 until the end of your next turn (enfeebled 2 or clumsy 2 on a critical failure).
N female anadi (polychromatic anadi) bard 13 | HP 151/151 | AC 33 | F +19 R +21 W +23 | Perc +23 (spiritsight) | Stealth +4 | Speed:30 ft | Active Conditions: ---
Wisps puts on her best pompous look. "We must see the students now. We have our own lesson for them. Where are they?"
Female human (skilled) druid 3 | HP 41/41 | AC 19 | F +9 R +6 W +11 | Perc +11 | Stealth +1 | Speed:25 ft | Active Conditions: ---
Aella gives her grudging approval. "Well, I'll hand this one to ya. You found a much better way to surprise your teacher with opossums. I've known a lot of opossums in my time, and they're bigger than you think they are. These could be young opossums that you've done here, but I'd make the next batch 50 percent larger."
With Prism's careful work, the device immediately and permanently ceases drawing power from the aeon orb. The orb shines brightly and consistently again, and the spring at the base of the tower once again produces clean water. You all gain the resonant reflection of the aeon orb!
Reflection of Water
Your body is infused with the essence of water and becomes adapted to its presence. You gain a swim speed of 10 feet and can breathe underwater. In addition, you can also focus this affinity to gain an additional effect.
Activate [two-actions] envision; Frequency once per day; Effect You cast control water as a 5th-level innate divine spell. The area of water you control increases by 10 feet in length and width for every 2 levels you have beyond 10th level.
N female anadi (polychromatic anadi) bard 13 | HP 151/151 | AC 33 | F +19 R +21 W +23 | Perc +23 (spiritsight) | Stealth +4 | Speed:30 ft | Active Conditions: ---
Wisps puts her mask on, with huge spider eyes and flames rippling at the edges.
I'm trying to balance making sure that everyone gets to ask all their questions with also making sure that the game doesn't drag on for too long, so if anyone needs to retcon a question at any point, please feel free to do so!
