"Wonderful! I'm so pleased we could come to this arrangement. For 200 credits, I will provide you with the location of the cargo."
Switch awaits payment.
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Switch says, "Excellent. That makes two of you, and brings the payment down to 600 credits. Would the rest of you care to offer your services as well, or are you content with that amount?"
Switch observes Gotal, and says, "Unfortunately, seeing as I don't know if I can trust you to uphold your end of the agreement, I cannot agree to that. However, I believe we could find an alternate arrangement. Perhaps, if you were willing to keep me apprised of things you learn as you travel throughout the galaxy, I would be able to lower the price I ask now. For each of you that agrees to send me information you learn in your travels, I will lower the fee by two-hundred credits. Is that agreeable to you?"
Zixto, Gotal, and Ace:
The three of you notice, as you walk through the room, there are a few other beings hidden throughout. They aren't actively hostile towards you, but you definitely get the feeling Switch is not without protection. Switch listens as Gotal and Rilri explain the situation to him, droid face impassive. When they finish, his photoreceptors flicker a few times, in a manner reminiscent of blinking, before he says, "Ah, I see. So, the one I was expected to meet with is unable to arrive. Well, I am pleased she - and by extension, you - did not lead Imperial stormtroopers to my door. Well, I have received a cargo I am holding for Maya. I would be happy to release it to you for the eminently reasonable sum of one-thousand credits. After that, you can take the cargo wherever it is you wish."
I will be mobile only until January 2. I'll update as best I can, but don't expect map updates.
So, if it wasn't clear, I need you guys to make a Persuasion check to Improve Attitude on Switch to get him to the point where he'll admit the existence of the cargo, and then there will be further negotiations that will also occur once that is done. You cannot take 10 on these checks.
Switch looks at the motley crew before him, eye photoreceptors flickering in what you think is an imitation of blinking, and then says, "Welcome, then. As you have ascertained, I am Switch. This is R5-B8." He gestures to an astromech beside him. "Won't you come have a seat? Well, those of you who sit, anyway." He gestures to several chairs on the other side of the desk. As you approach the desk, you notice a shifty-looking Twi'lek off to the side - not intentionally hiding, but not visible from the entrance.
As you approach, he says, "May I offer you a drink? We have an excellent 15-year aged bottle of Whyren's Reserve, some Chandrilan red wine, elba beer, and some Ryl'kolsa, a very potent liquor made by the Twi'leks on Ryloth." Once everyone is comfortable (and has a drink, if desired), Switch sits behind his desk and says, "Why don't we all use Basic to discuss business. My services are, of course, open to anyone who seeks them. As to any cargo I may or may not be holding, on behalf of anyone who may or may not be named Maya, who may or may not work for Alderaanian security, well, discretion is a vital part of my business. I simply could not discuss such business unless I had confirmation that I was dealing with proper representatives. Perhaps you could tell me more about the incident which prevented Maya from arriving here?"
A tinny voice comes out of the comlink, too low to hear, and the one Gammorean turns to the other and grunts something. The other grunts in reply, and they move the vibro-axes out of the way. The one gestures that you can go in. The deep storage bay is as run-down as the hallways leading up to it, with entire metal plates missing from the floor and a huge, open exhaust shaft near the back of the room. Large crates litter the area, creating the appearance of a haphazard mess, and the air has a distinct smell of sweat and fumes that makes the entire area unpleasant. Flickering lights provide modest illumination, and a burst pipe along the ceiling leaks blue fluid down one wall. Near the center of the room is an item that seems very out of place- a large, finely crafted desk made of Japor ivory wood, which means that the desk is both priceless and rare. Sitting peacefully behind the desk is a Protocol Droid with shiny, ebony coverings that seem to soak up light and offer only the slightest reflection. The Droid's eyes flicker slightly, as though imitating a person blinking rapidly.
As the group approaches, the two Gammoreans finally notice you. They don't take any hostile actions, but they do cross their vibro-axes across the door, barring entry. As Gotal approaches and says they have an appointment, the one Gammorean grunts something in response. Gammorean:
"What you see Switch for?" The other pulls out a comlink and grunts into it.
Please include a Persuasion check.
Gotal takes a moment, closing his eyes, reaching out to the Force to provide him guidance.... Gotal: You sense that climbing through the exhaust ducts would be incredibly challenging and dangerous. You don't get much of a sense of whether the front door is a good idea or not - but you don't sense any hostility from the Gamorreans, either.
For those who wield the Force, don't forget that you can always Search Your Feelings about a proposed course of action.
Do you need any assistance with making a decision on how to proceed?
are the exhaust conduits used continuously or periodically? How big are they? Is the exhaust hazardous to droids and/or fleshy people? Likely not continuous, but they are probably large enough to easily fall into them, and they are likely lacking in safety precautions like guardrails. It is not hazardous to droids and/or organics.
Ace finds a maintenance terminal in the hallways to plug into, and begins scanning the network. After a minute of searching, the droid is unable to specifically find any reference to 'Switch', but Ace is able to find that Deep Storage Bay V14 is located in a section of the station that is flagged as being quarantined for over a year and a half, and yet no maintenance requests have been submitted for that area. He also ascertains that the storage bay is located along one of the station's primary exhaust systems, meaning that exhaust conduits should be running right through the bay.
When you arrive in the area of the Deep Storage Bay, you find that this part of the station is highly neglected. Many of the lights are burned out, and there are blaster marks and carbon scoring all along the walls, floor, and ceiling. The smell of burned ozone and electrical fires is in the air, and pools of coolant litter the hallways at regular intervals. After winding your way through a near labyrinth of corridors, you finally manage to find Deep Storage Bay V14. Standing guard outside are a pair of vibro-axe wielding Gamorreans, but they don't seem to have noticed you yet.
"I can make it on my own. Retrieving the cargo should be your highest priority. Again, thank you for your assistance."
Maya breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Contact me once you know the location of the cargo. I can arrange transport for you to get the cargo back to the Senator." Maya stands, clearly still in pain. "I can get to a safe house from here, so I can heal up enough to get off the station. The location of a deep storage bay should be relatively public knowledge, particularly if it's in a more run down part of the station. Again, contact me once you know the location of the cargo."
"Thank you. I don't know what model of droid this Switch is, but I suspect he's a protocol droid. No offense, but most astromechs don't have vocabulators. As for the cargo, I don't know what it is. All I know is that it is imperative it be delivered to Senator Organa. I believe the storage bay is secure, but I don't know precisely where it is. I would assume it is somewhere infrequently visited by Imperial patrols, possibly down several levels. Switch is...trustworthy enough, I think, but he's a droid who answers only to himself. That likely means he hasn't had a memory wipe in a while. You asked what the catch is, Zixto? The catch is that he may be somewhat tricky to deal with, depending on his personality. I'm not personally familiar enough to be able to tell you more - I simply don't know."
Okay, gameplay post coming up now.
Yes, sorry, everyone. My colleague left for Texas and I've been under a double workload at the same time as mandatory annual trainings. I'm going to try and get things resumed this week. Can I get a sound off of who's still around?
Hasdrubal sets the wounded woman down. She's clearly in pain, but not in any danger of dying. Gingerly sitting on the floor, she says, "My name is Maya. I'm a member of Senator Organa's personal security detail in the Alderaanian Security Forces. I came here to locate a droid named Switch, who is located in Deep Storage Bay V14. Switch was charged with receiving and storing a highly valuable cargo that was shipped here from the Deep Core. Once I retrieved the cargo from Switch, I was supposed to transport it to Senator Organa. Within a few hours of arriving on Sel Zonn Station, however, I was waylaid by Imperial troops. I guess working for a vocal opponent of the Empire is enough to get you labeled a troublemaker, and the Empire wants me off this station one way or another. "I need your help. I'll survive this injury, but I'm not going to be able to recover the cargo. Will you assist me? Will you meet with Switch and recover the cargo for me? If you do, I can provide you with transport off the station and to Alderaan."
Actually, I've been waiting on you guys. So far Gotal is the only one to respond to my last post.
Once through the maintenance hatch, you find that the station hasn't been as thorough in keeping up the non-public sections of the station. Lights flicker at random intervals or are dead altogether, access panels lie open, and the occasional grease or coolant stain mars the floor. You also find some signs that someone may have been living in here at some point, but those are old enough that you're reasonably confident they no longer do. After a moment, you come to a larger intersection, and the woman stirs in Hasdrubal's arms. She groans in pain, but her eyes flicker as she seems to be coming to. Finally they open, and seeing Hasdrubal, she says, "Thank you, stranger, for your help. Will you stop here? I have other assistance I need you to render, if possible."
And this is just a general system? I guess that means that hacking is simply not an option at all for at least five to six more levels. And for secure systems, probably ten more levels. I wish I had known that before making my character. Yes and no. You are directly connected to an Information Terminal, which has an attitude of Indifferent. However, that terminal only has information about the layout of the space station and the stores on the Promenade. You need to connect to the station's Central Computer for information about any potential fugitives, which is a secure system. Everything is built off the rules for Use Computer. The Central Computer has a Will Defense of 17 and an attitude of Hostile. Getting Information from a computer is the Access Information use. You can only Access Information from a system that has an Indifferent attitude or better. In order to get a system from Hostile to Indifferent, you need to Improve Access twice. The DC for that is equal to the system's Will Defense, modified by the computer's attitude towards you. I don't see a Talent on your sheet. I'm not sure if that was my oversight when I was reviewing your character, and if it was I'm sorry, but may I suggest that you grab Gimmick off the Slicer talent tree so you can get Master Slicer at level 3. Since we're fairly early in the campaign, I'll also let you rework your Skill Focus feat to Use Computer instead of Deception, if you want.
I'm at about 75%, she's probably around the same or even a little better. Our kid's got it now, too, but she's doing better as well. We're still Covid positive, though.
Ace plugs into the information terminal. While the terminal itself doesn't resist the connection, it only has information about the layout of the Promenade and the shops there. For any information about prospective fugitives, the astromech will need to access the central station computer.
Covid moved to me, will post when capable.
Mostly tired and sniffly.
Gotal fired a parting shot at the fleeing informant, but it was plain he was unaccustomed to using a blaster as he fired wildly off-target. Ace scans the area and finds an information terminal he can plug into.
Rilri joins Hasdrubal with the unconscious woman as he looks for a place to move her to. He spies a maintenance hatch nearby they could possibly hide out in. Zixto fires his own parting shot, only to wildly miss the target, as well. He, too, appears highly inexperienced with a blaster. Jaath holsters his weapon, content to let the last informant flee.
This part of the Promenande is otherwise empty and silent, everyone else having vacated the area. You also know that there are likely reinforcements on the way, so lingering too long here would be unwise.
Wife tested positive for Covid. I'm okay so far, and I'm going to update shortly, but that's the reason for the delay.
I'll give Jaath another day to take a parting shot before I end combat. Ace: Yes, there is an information terminal you can plug into.
Jaath is stunned by the revelation that Jedi are here, but he's so excited about it he leaps into the fray, going after an informant who's practically right there, a perfect point blank shot - that leaves the gun way too early and pings into the floor. He feels rather embarrassed by that, however. Gotal feels a deep feeling of sorrow at his aggressiveness with the Force, before he was snapped out of his reverie by a blaster bolt in the arm. Again reaching out with the Force, this time he targets only the blaster, attempting to pull it out of the informant's hand. Unfortunately, he isn't quite able to wrench it free. Ace finds himself quite annoyed at being shot at, wishing they all wore distinctive armor so they could easily tell who was who. Moving into cover, the little droid fired another stun blast at the informant. The stun blast hit the informant, who collapsed under it.
Hasdrubal moves to check the woman. She's definitely injured - badly enough she needs more than a medpac to get back up on her feet - but otherwise she's just stunned and unconscious, so she'll at least live. Zixto runs towards the remaining informant, lightsaber ignited. The remaining informant, considering his options, turns and starts running away down the Promenade - one against 5 (or 6) aren't good odds for anyone. Initiative Order
Sorry for the delay, bit of a family emergency. Updating us now.
Jaath surveys the scene, trying to figure out how it will play out as his hand rests on the grip of his blaster. Gotal grimaces at the scene and weighs his odds. This situation is dark, and the Jedi Order is gone. He decides that he has to take a stand, and it might as well be now. Gathering the Force, he moves to ensure he won't accidentally strike the Rodian with the Force and hurls it towards the two stormtroopers. The wave of Force slams into both stormtroopers hard, causing both to crumple to the ground immediately and lie there, unmoving.
Ace was calculating their odds of survival, noting they weren't good, when suddenly the two stormtroopers crumpled as though hit by a speeder truck. Deciding those made better odds, a hatch opened on the astromech to reveal a stun pistol, firing at one of the informants, who staggers as the stun blast washes over him.
The woman remains unconscious.
With both stormtroopers down, Rilri grabs one of their blaster rifles and takes cover in the doorway from the informants. As he does, he reminisces about how secret police make this Empire very different from the Republic and how at least the Separatists would shoot you in the face. Hasdrubal sets about getting his rifle out of his case and getting ready to use it. Zixto decides it's now or never. Charging one of the informants, who are still shocked by the wave of Force that just caused the two troopers to fall, he ignites the lightsaber and brings it down in an overhand strike, cutting the informant in two.
Not quite smart enough to realize that they're heavily outgunned and outnumbered - or perhaps just thinking that there are more Stormtroopers on the way - the remaining informants fire their blasters at the uppity insurgents. They clearly aren't well-coordinated, though. The first one returns fire at the droid that shot at him as he takes cover from the droid behind some boxes. The bolt barely grazes the astromech's leg, leaving some carbon scoring. Another of the informants yells, "Jedi!" and takes cover firing at the lightsaber-wielder. The other points at Gotal and says, "That one's a Jedi, too!" as he fires at him, also moving to cover. The one firing at Zixto is clearly panicked as he sprays blaster bolts everywhere but at his target. The other informant is much more accurate as he lines up a shot and hit's the other Jedi's arm. Initiative Order
EVERYONE is up for either Round 2 or Round 3. GM Rolls:
One of the troopers turns his blaster towards Rilri and says, "This was none of your business, alien, until you got involved. Now drop that stun baton and put your hands up. You're coming with us." The other trooper steps forward and fires a stun bolt at the woman. It hits her in the back and she collapses to the ground. The four men dressed similarly all pull out hold-out blasters and point them at Rilri. One of them calls out, "You heard the trooper, you alien scum. Drop your weapon and put your hands up." The others call out things like, "Do it now, criminal!" and "This is what you get for sticking your long nose in things that don't concern you!" GM Rolls:
Initiative Order
EVERYONE is up for either Round 1 or Round 2. I will resolve your actions in the correct order. If you are concerned your target will not be alive/conscious when I resolve your actions, please include a secondary target, or else I will choose one.
Okay, sorry about that, folks. I thought I'd have more time to get in here while I was on vacation. I'm updating now and assigning control of tokens. EDIT: Right, that's done. Everyone should have control of their tokens, except Storyteller Shadow. I need you to join the Roll20 in order to grant you control.
Rilri, throw me a Persuasion check.
I will be on vacation beginning Sunday through next Friday. I will be mobile limited, so I might be able to get an update in depending. Regardless, I won't be able to update the map. Still waiting for people to act in the first half of Round 1.
Moments pass on the Promenade as Gotal reacquaints himself with a droid once owned by a fellow Jedi, and everyone else carefully observes four men, watching to see if they'll bring any kind of trouble - good or bad - to the deck. Just then, a woman with short black hair and the greasy uniform of a mechanic comes stumbling onto the Promenade, clutching her midsection as though injured. She struggles to make her way across the floor towards Gotal and Ace, though clearly she is having difficulty walking. "Please, help me," she calls out to you. "There are credits in it for you, just help me!" Mere seconds later, two Stormtroopers burst into the area from the south end of the Promenade. They raise their blasters, aiming them at the woman, and shout through their helmet speakers, "Step away from that woman. She is under arrest in the name of the Emperor!" Initiatives:
Initiative Order
Rilri, Hasdrubal, and Zixto may take actions for Round 1.
Okay, finally got that taken care of. Here is the Roll20 Invite link. Go ahead, join the game, and let me know who you are so I can give you control of your token. Next Gameplay update coming momentarily, as well.
STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE
THE TRAITOR'S GAMBIT It is a dark time in the galaxy. The evil Galactic Empire has spread from The Deep Core to The Outer Rim, and everywhere the Empire's tyranny can be felt. Fleeing from the oppression of the Emperor's minions, agents of Senator Bail Organa have run to a remote space station above Brentaal. Known to be a vocal opponent of the Empire, Organa may be the last hope of freedom in the galaxy. In the hopes of stopping these dissidents before they can reach the Senator, the Empire has alerted its forces on Sel Zonn Station, where the struggle for liberty rages on, and the first sparks of rebellion have begun to burn... ======================================================================== Seemingly motionless among a sea of Starships and satellites above the twinkling world of Brentaal, Sel Zonn Station grows larger in your view every second. A central pylon forms the bulk of the station's mass, and three landing platforms leading to docking bays extend from the central section, equidistant from one another and jutting out into space. The dorsal side of the station features a disc-shaped secondary structure, on top of which blinking lights indicate the presence of a landing platform reserved for wealthy patrons. As you disembarked from the ship that brought you here, a Brentaal customs agent backed up by Brentaal security officers, verified everyone's identity with a bored look on his face. After clearing you, he gave you an admonition not to cause any trouble, before moving onto the next person in line. After briefly exploring the station, you find yourselves in what seems to be the most popular thoroughfare, known as the Promenade. You've heard that there's also a "Blue Deck" that's rather popular, but that's for the well-to-do and well-connected - not really your type of scene. Here on the Promenade, you notice an assortment of shops, a cantina called Gundark's, a casino with the name The Credit Chip, a medical store called Delgas Medical Supplies, and a droid repair and accessories shop, Mechanical Allies, that looks to be run by the somewhat unsavory looking Twi'lek behind the counter. There are also large, open seating areas with plants, fountains, and other decorations. The Promenade is filled with the bustle of revelry and commerce. Spilling out of the gambling halls are the sounds of victory and the moans of defeat, while the music of local bands issues from the cantinas. Only a handful of citizens mill about in the main areas of the Promenade, a few gazing out the massive windows at the planet Brentaal hovering below. Businesspeople hawk their wares to the passersby, and a few Imperial Stormtroopers make their way down the main avenue of the Promenade on their usual patrol at a leisurely pace. Perception DC 10:
You notice four men who are loitering about the Promenade that don't seem to be part of the larger crowd. Perception DC 15:
Despite wearing normal traveling clothes, the four men are dressed identically and carrying hold-out blasters tucked into their jackets. Perception DC 20:
The men seem to be whispering to themselves, obviously speaking into hidden comlinks.
Makes sense, Obi Wan didn't remember R2 so clearly even the "nicest" Jedi don't pay Droids much mind unless they tinker with repair. To piggyback on this, there's an episode of The Clone Wars animated TV show where Anakin's fighter gets hit during a mission and he temporarily loses R2, and Obi-Wan's like, "Well, it's just a droid, we can't get too attached." That's the prevailing attitude towards most droids in the galaxy, particularly given that it's common procedure to regularly memory wipe them. First gameplay post coming shortly. Feel free to continue ironing out any pre-game connections. The Roll20 link will either come later this afternoon or tomorrow. I've also placed the house rules and home-brewed droid accessories in the Campaign Info tab, and I'll continue to post other information there, such as the names and brief writeups of potentially important NPCs.
Sai’liana’yi has decided they don’t have the bandwidth to play and learn the system at the same time in a large group, so they’re going to just follow along. We’ll have six, then.
That's fine. Also, I almost forgot: maps! We will be using Roll20 for maps. If there is a specific image you would like me to use for your character's token, please provide a link. Otherwise, I'll use the picture from your alias. If you have difficulty getting to Roll20 (such as predominantly mobile posting), let me know and I'll try to remember to provide a screenshot of the map for your actions. I'll post the invite link on Monday.
Okay, everyone, welcome to the game! First and foremost, if you have any lingering notes from the Recruitment regarding any changes, go ahead and get those finished up. Second, feel free to discuss amongst yourselves regarding any potential backstory ties - I know Philo left several openings in their backstory to tie into PCs. Finally, a few notes to hopefully make gameplay run a little more smoothly: 1. For combat, we will use a block Initiative format. I will roll Initiative and then post the order. Players can act in whatever order they post in their block of players. For enemies, I will group their initiative together based on type. As an example, if you were engaged in a blaster fight with 2 stormtroopers and 2 scout troopers on speeder bikes, the stormtroopers would act on the same initiative count, and the scout troopers would act on the same initiative count. 2. I may also roll Perception checks on your behalf, depending on the situation. 3. When creating your alias, make sure your alias header has your character's Hit Points, Defenses, Damage Threshold, Perception Modifier, Force Points, Destiny Points, and current location on the Condition Track. This will make it easy for me to determine if an attack hits you and tell what your current status is. You may include any other information you feel may be relevant. 4. If you have an ability that can be used as a reaction (such as Deflect, Block, etc.), say you intend to use it in your combat post for your round, and if it requires a roll, please make that roll ahead of time, as well. If the ability can be used multiple times, like Deflect or Block, either you can roll the additional checks, or I roll them as needed, applying any relevant penalties. This goes for any possible opportunity attacks, as well. 5. Finally, if a majority (over 50%) of the players are in agreement about making a specific choice, I may move the party in that direction even if others haven't weighed in yet. This is just to try and keep things moving forward so we don't get too bogged down over a decision. That's it, for now. If I come up with anything else, or if there are any questions, I'll be around. Oh, and Gameplay is open, so you can go dot in there to add the campaign to your Campaigns tab. I'll post the opening crawl and set the opening scene on Monday.
This thread will be for OOC discussion and announcements.
Knowledge (arcana) DC 23: Baraket is also known as the Sword of Pride. Said to have been forged by the Runelord Xanderghul himself, it is a basket-hilted rapier with an invisible blade, causing it to appear to be broken. It is reputed to have several other properties, such as allowing it's user to strike quickly and having the ability to cast spells. The weapon is even rumored to be intelligent.
Sir Roderic looks at the gauntlets with sorrow. "Would that I had the courage to take them, but the flames were too great. Baraket. Once it lay in a case in my study, but the woman found it. The woman with the skirt of blue and green feathers, like that of the strutting bird. She knows not what evil lies within it. She knows not what it does to her. Find it! Find the danger to my Cove, and be gone with it!" Sir Roderic then fades from sight, disappearing. Knowledge (nature) or (local) DC 12: It sounds like the feathers and strutting bird he's referring to are peacock feathers, which are quite popular with the Order of Resplendence.
"Did you find the vault? Did you enter it? I should have taken the gauntlets, but I fled. I was a coward. Baraket. It will consume them! It will consume you! The gauntlets? Have you the gauntlets!?" The ghost seems agitated and possibly a little confused.
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