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I've lived near and visited MN my whole life, but I've never ventured this far north. I just checked, and my new home is father north than 2/3rds of Canadians. My wife is very nonchalant about the whole thing. She spent her formative years in Alaska (avg. 6 ft snow/yr, Sep-Jun). She has a great story about being chased through the neighborhood by a moose on her way home from school. I've got an online session w/ my home group tonight, but I hope to update you guys late tonight or tomorrow.
I know I first mentioned this a long time ago, but don't forget that our three Castrovel natives treat the DCs of any skill checks to identify creatures or recall knowledge in or about Ukulam by 5. Also, it may be worth noting that the rules permit you to make checks in untrained skills if the DC is 10 or less.
Oh, I'm not concerned about snow. If it's warm enough to snow, I'll be as happy as a clam. It's the bone-cracking northern-plains cold that'll be worst. When engines start freezing and trees start exploding you know that the weather's truly gotten bad.
From both the building's entrance and Miraj's elevated perch, a herd of large, furred quadrupeds can be seen making their way into the treeless expanse surrounding the statue. With four eyes, a bushy tail, and insectile mandibles, they communicate loudly with each other through a series of chirps, clicks, and percussive barks. DC 11 Life Science check:
These creatures are yasakajas - native to the jungles of Ukulam, these social omnivores have been exported all over Castrovel and beyond, owing to their dependability and endurance as mounts and beasts of burden. DC 11 Survival check OR DC 16 Sense Motive check:
Something has these creatures agitated - they continually mill around, scanning the jungle. Several attempt to move back into cover, but are rebuffed by more members of the herd spilling out into the clearing. Miraj: With the binoculars, Miraj can see that the creatures are being herded into the rocky clearing around the statue. Two large, colorful shapes lope back and forth around the perimeter within the jungle, forcing the furred quadrupeds onwards. Miraj's heart sinks when he gets a clear look. The Starfinders had been harangued by this ambush predator just a few days earlier, and now? Two of them.
I hope everyone has found a way to enjoy their holidays, even if it's not your standard traditions. So, news! You may recall that my wife was laid off several months ago. Well, we have both found new jobs (good ones!), but they require us to move across state lines 600 miles north to the absolute middle of nowhere. January will be a challenge for us (and sporadic posting from me) as I tie up my old job, we sell our house, we buy a new house, and we move all our earthly belongings to within spitting distance of the Canadian border in the depths of winter, all while juggling a toddler. Oh, and we're expecting another kid in April. Still, there are a bunch of upsides. Obviously, financial stability is a great thing, but I'm mostly excited that I'll be spending 90 fewer minutes every day commuting. Also, our new home may not have a WalMart, Target, McDonalds, or Subway within an hour's drive, but it does somehow have gigabit fiber internet, so I'll be able to post that much quicker. So, January will be a sporadic month for my posting (much like the last three have been), but once we get settled I will have almost eight additional hours of free time every week. Until the baby comes, of course. But hey, I love this game, so as long as you're all still here I'll still keep postin'!
Lauren attempts to 'hack' into the comm unit. The password protection on the comm unit is fairly standard, allowing Lauren to crack it open in just a few minutes. It's evident that this unit is a burner, activated shortly before the cultists (and the Starfinders) set foot in Ukulam. The only messages logged are a series of updates on the shirren's progress and efforts to kill the Starfinders, including triggering the yaruk stampede and holing up in this location to set up an ambush. She also mentions that she lost three of the five cult members in her trailing party - one to the sky fisher and two to a pair of creatures she calls "ksariks". Lauren doesn't recognize the name, but it sounds pretty similar to the herbaceous predator that infected Lauren and Miraj with its parasitic seedlings. All the messages are sent point-to-point to a single address without response. The shirren also has an extensive number of recorded broadcasts of Eoxian “reality” programming and blood sport, favoring productions by the elebrian celebrity Zo!, including an entire season of the viscerally grotesque Survival Deathmatch Extreme!
GM:
The night passes without incident. Inside the ancient monument to the stars, the Starfinders sleep more comfortably than they have in many days. As they prepare the morning meal, a ruckus can be heard in the jungle, approaching their position from the east.
The shirren sniper's belongings include a high-powered rifle and a password-protected comm unit.
While Irhok'zath and Johnny secure the area, Lauren, Miraj, and Deidre inspect the ruined statue. As Miraj suggested, there is very little evidence to back up Zan's theory that the reclining elf is an effigy to disease; rather, the raised markings on the statue's skin are more suggestive of the tattoos depicted within the carvings inside. Diedre disagrees with Miraj's suggestion that the building is an observatory, however, noting that its position in the bottom of a valley is perhaps the worst possible choice for such a purpose. Lauren, meanwhile, is caught up looking at the constellations depicted in the entryway. Some of them are familiar - she's had plenty of time to gaze at Castrovel's night sky from the unspoiled wilderness of Ukulam over the past week. Some of them, however, are too familiar - what are star patterns from Primoria doing here? Lauren also identifies several famous constellations from other far-flung locations in the galaxy, and a few that are totally unfamiliar to here, including a prominent pattern etched in the center of the domed ceiling - a perfect circle comprised of twelve stars. Moving into the gallery, Lauren marvels at the carvings of ancient elves, dressed in simple clothes but resplendent in astrological tattoos. Six stony figures on each wall stare down at the scyphozoan, their gazes only partially softened by time. Lauren's wanderings takes her to the statue's head, where Diedre and Miraj are debating the purpose of the structure. The three of them find a collection of opal beads (helpfully stacked on the corpse of a cultist) and notice Irhok'zath's partial cleaning of the floor; by completing the job they discover an elaborate series of carvings inset into the stonework. Depictions of twelves stars, equally spaced, sit in a ring, each surrounded by carved symbols. Some of the symbols look familiar, and Diedre confirms her suspicions by reviewing old footage on her phone - parts of the symbology on the floor matched the alien language they encountered on the Drift Rock!
After a protracted three-way battle with a local predator and deranged cultists, the Starfinders regroup within the confines of what Halukeem Zan dubbed "The Plague Warden".
She makes a little pile with the gems on top of one of the corpses and starts climbing down the stairs. Irhok'zath enters into a long gallery which takes up much of the statue's interior. Sunlight filters through small skylights - some intentional, some born of years of weather - to dimly illuminate the decorated walls, which depict elves using needles to tattoo one another with constellations, geometric designs, and strange runic patterns. Rows of tall stone benches line either side of the hall. Carved along the ceiling are twelve stylized elven figures, heavily tattooed, adorned in different ways, and marked with starbursts on their foreheads. Although it's slow going, Lauren does make it to the statue's interior without being molested by the local flora or fauna.
Irhok'zath looks around the head for cultist-y things, before walking down the body. Irhok'zath feels the same slight waves of vertigo as before, but without the rush of combat she's able to push past it. The first things she stumbles across are the pair of dead cultists she left here moments ago, which certainly count as cultist-y.
Searching the room, the formian discovers a few opal beads gleaming in the muck. They don't seem very cultist-y, but they do seem valuable. Scraping up some of the mold and loam embedded in the floor, she finds a total of 22 beads; additionally, she suspects that some sort of floor carving is under this geometrical bed of fungus.
As Miraj wipes off the sweat and the grime of adventuring, the constellations etched into the ceiling catch his eye. DC 16 Physical Science check: This collection of constellations doesn't match the skies of the Pact Worlds - not entirely. Although many of the star patterns are familiar to the native Pact Worlders, several of them simply don't belong - they require powerful telescopes, faster-than-light travel, or some sort of powerful astronomical divination to view.
Diedre finds Ralkawi leaning against a tree right where she left her. The lashunta is facing away from the action, her breathing heavy and raspy. When she sees the half-elf approaching, she grunts. "You're still alive. Did you wait until the b%@!* ran out of bullets or something?" Ralkawi insists on walking to the statue under her own power, albeit very slowly.
GM:
Irhok'zath stabs at the sniper with her pike, wounding her deeply. Lauren's protean bites at the shirren one last time but fails to connect as it defragments in a burst of chaotic energy. From across the plaza, Entiren takes another shot, striking his target in the side. She spasms, which is enough to send her tumbling off the edge! The shirren is reunited with terra firma 60 feet later - she does not get up. Meanwhile, at the other end of the statue, Miraj peers into what must be the formal entrance - this room, roughly 15'x15', has a domed ceiling depicting hundreds of stars connected to form scores of constellations. Despite the ravages of time, a series of corroded pipes hanging down from the ceiling seem to still channel rainwater into a shallow, broad basin in the center of the room. The stone walls are slick with moisture and bear carvings of tattooed elves in states of undress as they wash themselves. There does not seem to be any immediate danger in this room.
Miraj:
It is apparent that the ancient elves considered this to be a sacred place that required cleansing. Using the water in the basin to wash one's hands and head (a process that takes roughly 1 minute) is essential to begin perceiving the mysteries of the galaxy.
Finally within range of the sniper, Johnny touches the stone beneath his feet, which groans and creaks as pebbles leap and arc around him in wild trajectories. Without saying anything, he points at the sniper and crooks his finger.
GM:
Irhok'zath and Johnny make their way up a steep, crumbling staircase towards the sniper's position, coming within 20 feet or so while watching Lauren's summoned protean unsuccessfully attempt to harass the shirren sniper. Whatever was causing their vertigo within the statue fades as soon as they step into the open air.
While Diedre tends to Lauren, Entiren takes cover and fires a crack shot across the battlefield, catching the sniper's armor on fire! On fire and backed into a corner, the sniper levels her rifle at the approaching formian. {"To be honest, your persistence is kinda annoying."} A shot rings out, striking Irhok'zath in the head at short range!
Johnny hurries after Irhok'zath, clambering up the steep staircase and into the sky.
GM:
Lauren starts to wheeze and tremble as the poison continues to paralyze her muscles, but she's still able to send her summoned creature towards the problematic sniper at great speed. While Diedre and Entiren focus on the scyphozoan's troubles, Miraj runs towards the statue, hoping to join Irhok'zath and Johnny while they fight through unusual dizziness to catch up with the sniper. Despite (or perhaps encouraged by) his rude gestures, another rifle round plows into the ryphorian's armor.
With Irhok'zath's rope, Johnny is able to struggle up the side of the statue and haul himself into the former sniper nest.
GM:
Diedre notices the tell-tale signs of poisoning in Lauren's injury and moves quickly to stem the worst of the venom while Entiren uses his laser rifle to burn away the last of the fisher's gooey embrace.
Meanwhile, Irhok'zath effortlessly dispatches the second cultist despite a slightly nauseating feeling that just won't go away.
Miraj books it for the north side of the reclining statue, but on the way he feels the impact of a rifle round followed by the CRACK of the rifle. Looking up, he sees that the shirren sniper has taken up a new position at the top of the statue's outstretched arm!
Johnny slips, tumbling down the side of the statue to land in an unceremonious heap.
Just to be clear, the area in the dot-dash rectangle on the map is difficult terrain. Does that mean the area outside was not difficult? Seems odd. Is it just tangled underbrush? That's correct. The area inside the rectangle - around the statue dubbed "the Plague Warden" - is a former stone plaza, reduced to crooked slabs and ankle-spraining pits by the ravages of time.
How close together would Entiren be to Lauren? About 15 feet. 2Would it be possible to remove our entangled conditions by burning/cutting away the lasso's still? Yup. Without the sky fisher on the other end, the filaments have an AC of 5. Entiren's filament has 4 HP; Lauren's has 6 HP. Alternatively, you can slip out with a DC 23 Acrobatics check (as a move action).
DC 16 Perception check: There's no obvious door on this side of the statue, but the north side of the structure (where the statue's feet lie) could be easily hiding a sizable entrance behind a titanic foot or an immense fold of stone cloth.
GM:
With poison coursing through her veins, Lauren finds herself without the strength to fight effectively. As she stares up into the maw of certain death, the sky fisher shudders as Lauren's summoned protean tears through its wings. Lauren feels the creature reach out telepathically - a mixture of primal hunger and fear - before Miraj's bullet tears through the sky fisher and it stops thinking entirely. Predator and prey alike tumble from the sky.
The last cultist between Irhok'zath and the sniper slashes wildly at the formian, but she effortless parries the blows.
GM:
Desperate to drive the creature off, Entiren attempts to gore the sky fisher with his horns to no avail. Suddenly, his stomach rises as he enters free-fall, crashing into the ground moments later. Lauren, on the other filament, is instead drawn up into the predator's mouth, where its beak cuts deeply into her bell!
Irhok'zath deftly kills one cultist and wounds another, despite the annoyingly persistent dizziness.
Johnny starts to scale the exterior of the building, but halfway up his foot slips and he needs to take a moment to steady himself. "Hey! You gonna throw down a rope?"
GM:
Focused on ravaging Entiren, the sky fisher is caught off-guard by the appearance of a creature ripped from the Outer Planes, and Lauren's protean slams into the webbed body of the fisher. Lauren compliments this attack with a string of force bolts that cause cartilage to audibly snap. Miraj also takes a shot, but the crowded airspace proves to be too difficult of a target. Meanwhile, in the head of the Plague Warden, the shirren sniper turns to address the cultists that are now between her and Irhok'zath. {"Kill anything that enters the building. And make it... slow,"} she 'paths, not bothering to exclude the formian from her mental conversation. The two cultists, both lashuntas, grip their rusty swords and run at Irhok'zath, heedless of the danger. She casually knocks one of the blades away, but the other finds its mark! The sniper, seemingly satisfied with the situation, retreats up the stairs.
GM:
Miraj, Diedre, and Entiren all strike the sky fisher with a barrage of deadly attacks. The creature staggers in midair for a moment before tucking in its wings and diving at the nuar! It draws the slack out of the filament holding Entiren, effectively maintaining his altitude until the predator flares its wings just above the nuar, gnashing at him with a wicked beak. Lauren continues to dangle just 5 feet below Entiren.
Meanwhile, Irhok'zath pulls herself over the sill into the head of the statue. This domed room has a number of open skylights and windows, creating a steady flow of air. The floor, marked by a misshaped ring of slime mold, opens to two sets of stairs - one down into the body of the statue, and another up the outside of its skyward arm. The shirren sniper has already retreated across the room and seems prepared to make the climb upwards; simultaneously, two cultists emerge from the lower levels, wicked-looking swords in hand! As Irhok'zath grips her pike, she feels a sudden and unexpected wave of vertigo.
Johnny makes it to the base of the statue just as Irhok'zath reaches the window ledge.
Hey guys, I gotta apologize for the sudden vanishing act. Life has been rather hectic the past couple weeks. I promise that I'm still here! Hoping to get back into the swing of things this week.
GM:
As Irhok'zath makes her way upwards, a shirren in grimy wilderness-wear pops her hand out the window. Seeing the formian clinging to the side of the statue, the shirren points her rifle downwards, sending a round through Irhok'zath's armor at short range!
GM:
Both Entiren and Miraj land their shots, but neither is able to deter the airborne predator. Instead, it descends towards the Starfinders, drawing the nuar closer to its snapping beak!
Irhok'zath finds herself just 10 feet under a window large enough to climb through. The outer fall of the statue doesn't have any good tie-down points, but the edge of the window looks promising.
Not quite as fast as the formian, Johnny finds himself a bit behind Irhok'zath.
Lauren pummels the sky fisher with technomantic fury as the mystery sniper stays quiet.
GM:
Both Entiren and Miraj fire upwards without effect. Diedre is able to deal some damage to the filament securing the nuar, but she fails to sever it completely. As the force of her blade reverberates up the translucent tendril, it suddenly snaps taunt, hauling Entiren up into the air! Lauren, already dangling above the ground, watches as terra firma continues to recede.
With a clear path, Johnny breaks into a sprint, trying to catch up with the speedy formian.
GM:
Diedre is able to twist out of the gooey embrace, but neither Entiren nor Miraj have any luck encouraging the mystery creature to release Lauren. Without warning, a large creature appears in the sky above the Starfinders, cyan pigment blossoming across outstretched wings and down the gooey fibers. Shaped like a huge starfish with membranous wings between each arm, the gooey fibers lead to a powerful central beak. DC 17 Life Science check:
This creature is a sky fisher - an aerial predator with a cunning intelligence and a large appetite. Its gooey filaments are a constant threat in jungle-adjacent settlements, but they can be severed with a sharp blade or weakened with the application of intense heat. The creature launches yet another sticky filament, striking Entiren! As the nuar struggles against his bonds, Lauren is slowly hoisted into the air, inching closer to the creature's mouth! She attempts to strike the filament, but she has insufficient leverage to land a hit. To add injury to insult, another CRACK rings out across the ruins as the adversarial sniper strikes Entiren from 200 feet away.
Sorry for the delay - my IRL group decided to move this month's session up a day and move it online, but no one thought to inform me, the GM, until the day before, so it's been a little hectic. I'll move us forward over the weekend.
Johnny weaves between the broken stones, amassing energy about his person.
With the sniper perhaps thinking better of firing at us once he or she knows we know where it is and can return fire in kind, Miraj reloads his rifle and looks above the dangling teammates to see what manner of creature or trap is responsible. Miraj squints against the sun, but the translucent filaments plaguing his fellow Starfinders seem to fade into the bright blue of the sky, apparently attached to nothing.
GM:
Diedre continues to swing ineffectually, suspended by a viscous goo. As Irhok'zath and Johnny rush into position, Entiren and Miraj return fire at range. Both the nuar and ryphorian spot the sniper hiding in the ancient ruins, but only Entiren is able to thread a shot through the small window to strike his target. The sniper does not immediately return fire. Meanwhile, Lauren runs up to the captain, only to succumb to the same fate! A second gooey filiment, nearly invisible against the sky, flies down from the heavens, trapping the scyphozoan!
Johnny's not sure where the attacker(s) is/are, but he doesn't seem overly bothered by that. With a moment's thought, he forms a cloud of defensive entropy around himself before hustling after Irhok'zath.
I've been thinking about this, and I wanna say it's 30 feet above the ground. Let's go with that.
Initiative:
GM:
As Lauren rushes forward, a CRACK rings out and the scyphozoan stumbles as a bullet grazes one of her ambulatory tentacles. Meanwhile, Diedre continues to dangle from a gooey filament that seems to disappear into the sky.
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