Of the various fights I liked the chase scene best. It presented puzzles to be solved as well as grinding enemies down, even if our driver didn't understand the rules at first.
Search Posts
I'm reminded of why I prefer wizards to sorcerers, the way you get stuck repeating the same spells with spont casting. Enemies fighting solo (with decent numbers of HP) make that problem worse. It's easier to keep interested when there's a variety of opponents around and you can pop one in a resilient sphere for a while, line up and blast a couple of others etc., but a 6-level spontaneous caster could easily get tedious anyway. On spells, haste is generally a waste of time in SF. Microbot assault is OK when people remember that it has been cast. Having a reliable damage spell to blast with is clearly important. With few magical enemies (just the android in the first fight?) some of my choices of spells, magic hacks & equipment were clearly wasted. The technomancer's powerset is all about the spells. Even if they're built to use weapons it's still about the spells used to buff the weapon. The MVP of a technomancer's powerset is therefore... spells. Arcing Surge in particular for Deneth.
Loram's step away to widen the gap makes placing one more lightning bolt easy, though Deneth has to call up his notes on the spell before he can complete the casting. "Good thing that pirate hasn't an evil twin to call upon. This is becoming tiresome."
As Raxsortun and Loram maneuver to keep Haarlock between them, Deneth drifts to the side and fires another bolt of lightning between the two.
With their target closely engaged Deneth kicks in his jetpack and flies up leaving a cloud of sand behind him. Once up above the pirate he carefully aims then blasts down with his arcing surge. "That's right, catch him in the crossfire."
Running forward Deneth grabs Kibbens and Raxsortun. "Not like that, he's sure to have something set up for us!" With quick words he makes the world shimmer and twist to deposit them on the far side of the pirate down the canyon.
"Loram, you look ready to drop! Nothing a few minutes and a few healing serums won't fix I'm sure," he pulls out a battered case marked with AbadarCorp's logo, "but let's not give Haarlock a chance of taking one of us out with a lucky shot, eh?"
In an attempt to finish the monstrosity swiftly - who builds a vast cyber-worm and sets it loose anyway? - Deneth stops concentrating an unleashes another arc of lightning at it. Or at IT.
"Comets, if it looks close to going down let me know and I'll try to finish it swiftly." For now however Deneth continues his concentration.
"I guess it has reason not to fear the lightning. Well, let's see how it enjoys microbots picking at its teeth." Deneth calls forth an assault of microbots upon the monster.
Deneth moves to the side to get a clear line on the great worm. "Dodge this, you overgrown fish bait!" he suggests to it as he drops the previous spell and calls forth a streak of lightning.
If they're opposed it wouldn't make much difference, would it? A point or two sure, but there's not a huge range in the vehicles attack penalties.
The combat part isn't that different. The attack penalties and possible difficulties moving around mean that it goes slower though. Xera was the only one to interact much with the chase rules themselves, ask her about that. It might have been interesting for all of us to have had our own vehicles, but we'd have had to plan that from the start with piloting skill for all.
Deneth continues to concentrate on maintaining the microbots.
Deneth maintains concentration on his spell while reloading his pistol; not that he expects to need it, but just in case.
Now that he has the time Deneth fills the pirates' cruiser with microbots before dodging back through the wormhole to the ATV. "Best I can do here - make us proud, Comets!"
Deneth crosses the darkness between the stars to the enemy cruiser and opens fire on the vehicle rather than its contents. "Dodge this!" - unfortunately the bullets skip off the hardened exterior of the cruiser.
A timer buzzes and reminded, Deneth glances at the ysoki. "Kibbens, you're ready to send us on to Haarlock's cruiser now?" He waits for the answer.
"You don't have time to play with that vesk Loram, we have serious business here," snaps Deneth as he calls forth a bubble of force on top of the ATV.
"If I had ten minutes I could turn this moving junkyard into a piece of art... discouraging these fools is the best I can do for now, Xera. He injects a virus into the lead vehicle to trigger every collision-avoidance alarm and protection in the cruiser, but the occupants are used to those after crossing the field of jetting water in any case.
"If you can get us free of this harrassing cruiser and free to pursue our true quarry, that would be most appreciated Xera."
"When you're ready then," Deneth replies. He calls up the timer from the list and Hastes the crew once more. "Until then that cruiser there is getting annoying. Be so good as to shoot its pilot, would you Rax?"
Deneth looks distracted as he consults a list of magical effects projected by his comm unit. "It took more than a few shots to take out his followers on the ship. Xera, if we can engage with Haarlocks' cruiser, perhaps Kibbens might jump onboard?"
I can't imagine anyone could or would steal that job from Xera.
Kibbens and Rax have no ranks in Piloting, Loram has +10, I have +17. Since I'd rather not catch up to the enemy without our front line lets all squeeze into a hover pod or something.
Let's split the party! Or... not. My vote is for one vehicle. Thanks Jelloarm, I'll keep that in mind if I'm in the NE USA some time. It's a long way from New Zealand though.
It's looking like my group I meet face-to-face won't go for Starfinder - it lacks that verisimilitude and isn't as simple to use as some other Scifi RPGs. It falls into an awkward gap in that sense. At least I now know where to look to find out how those damn snipers were able to ignore cover - soldier, sharpshooting combat style.
As far as I can tell the only ways to restore stamina points are to rest for 10 minutes (or 8 hours), or to spend $14 000 for a dose of transdimensional pesh, or to have an envoy use a particular power. I don't think we can do any of these right now. Despite the flavour text it's much easier to recover hit points. Looking forward to the chase.
One thing - with the right spells you don't need a gun. I'm fairly sure that in some fights just opening with the amplified glitch feat, then casting microbot assault & moving out of the way to concentrate in peace would be sufficient.
Concentration being an automatic fail rather than a check means that if you're concentrating on something, you should get entirely out of sight. Skill checks against people are for specialists only. I should have used amplified glitch rather than a normal intimidate check as that would have used computers for the same effect, and were I making Deneth again I'd have no more in intimidate than the 3 ranks prereq for the glitch feat - +10 intimidate is not going to be any use at level 10. Seriously, the DC of ~30 is success only on a 20 anyway. Arcing surge (technomancer, 3rd) is apparently at least as effective as mindthrust IV (mystic, 4th) given that you're not going to take someone out with one blast spell anyway, and so affecting ~2 targets for 10d6 seems a better bargain than one for 10d10. Did the snipers have some sort of ability to ignore cover?
Deneth moves closer and aims at the android. "There isn't a stun setting on this gun Ms, but there is worse than a goop round. Surrender or die."
Deneth moves across the passageway pulling out his old pistol as he does so. He touches a green rune on the gun and fires a single shot at the android. Sticky tendrils explode out from the impact.
Deneth moves out of the limited cover afforded by the corner before sending another surge of arcing energy down the corridor. "Sorry!" he calls as it barely misses Loram.
Deneth loses his place in the repetitive motions of the spell when the sniper's bolt of energy wings off his shoulder. "Desna's knives, that was a lucky shot" he curses. Looking around for the android he asks "Where'd that metalhead go?" To answer his own question he projects an image from his comm unit and looks through it.
[ooc]The microbots will hang around this round anyway; duration concentration + 1 round.[/oc]
"Clustering together? There's many reasons not to do that. If only Gerry was here with his grenades." Deneth mutters as he weaves his fingers in a repetitive spell. Moments later tiny but long-limbed robots are crawling over the android and the power armor pilots.
Frustrated at Haarlock's escape, Deneth lets the shock ground on the two pirates in power armor.
Pulling energy from a battery hanging off his belt Deneth shouts "You can't hide behind your tools Haarlock, power armor conducts like a dream!" The hallway fills briefly with an arcing surge of electricity. He takes cover in another doorway after unleashing the blast.
Some roles turn out to be more affected by the degree of optimisation than others. I could have a computers skill 5 points lower without noticing the difference in starship combat, but piloting and gunnery could soak up any and all bonuses you could give them. As a PbP the multiple phases where the GM needs to post in each and every one will slow things down. If the GM posts once a day that's one round per three days at best. The GM at least could fold the engineering phase into the helm phase (since engineering has nothing that directly affects or is affected by the enemy) which might help. Since the starship combat is going away, Xera probably needs to reject my presumptuous order and join us for the personal combat that's coming.
"Let the dog run, we have more urgent matters - some fleas jumped from its back to our noble Comets'! Kibbens, Loram, with me to repel the boarders. Xera, keep us from danger - our captain seems incapacitated by her addiction, I fear, guide us as you see fit. Wraith, guard the bridge lest a flea slips our net. Rax, please join us once you have secured engineering." With that Deneth stands and concentrating on his comm unit starts the timer. As he concentrates the numbers change faster and faster until a wave of magical energy energises everyone on the bridge.
"I never liked the port side cabins anyway," growls Deneth as he shunts power from that side to bring the forward shields back to capacity.
|