Pathfinder Society GM. Starfinder Society GM. 1,568 posts (15,053 including aliases). 642 reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 15 Organized Play characters. 24 aliases.
As Gorchak slithers away, Theodore claws the commander and Xylian lands another blast of his cold gun. The fiery nimbus that surrounds the salamander blunts the latter attack somewhat.
"Sister!" shouts the fire giant Sortar as the lift doors open and he sees his fallen sibling. His face becomes a mask of rage, and it's clear he won't stop swinging his massive plasma sword until all of the spies and saboteurs have paid in blood!
Xylian's attack hits Gorchak. The damage is reduced by DR (magic) and the cold resistance from Corona, but some of it still gets through.
Botting Theodore's AoO vs Gorchak. Result: Hit! All the damage goes through, and Gorchark is hurting. Theodore, you take 10 F from Gorchak's Corona.
Sortar does a full attack on Xylian. Results: One hit. Xylian, you take 12 E & 20 F.
Male LN Occultist (Curator) 2 | HP 7/15 | AC 13 (T9, FF13) | CMD 10 | F: +6, R: -1, W: +4| Init: -1 | Perc: +1, SM: +5 | Speed 20 ft |Mental Focus 2/2; Extensive Collection 0/2 (Chosen Implement: 3/3)| Spells: First (0/3) | Active Conditions:
Neronius reaches into a pocket and brings out what looks like a glowing ball of clay. Dropping the flail, he quickly molds it into the shape of the chair binding Madge. "I'm not sure if this will work . . ." he mutters.
As a move action, I'll use my last Extensive Collection ability for the day to gain access to Transmutation for 10 minutes. As a standard action, I'll cast Liberating Command on Madge. (my last first level spell of the day too!)
The two giants look puzzled--frankly, they seem a bit dim. Instead of using the comm right away, the male and female start talking to each other in Ignan.
Speak Ignan:
The giants are debating whether Commissar Yushiev has the authority to grant access to the psychic resonator or not.
@Zharis: Good point about the Expert Negotiator! Passive PC abilities that affect NPCs are hard for this GM to remember, but it's an important asset for the group. I'm going to say that for now your cover isn't blown as the giants try to figure out how to proceed.
@Xylian, Theodore, and Amhesha: You can still take a Surprise Round action, or wait and see if Zharis' silver tongue can get you out of this scrape.
The triplet cave guards are well-armed and physically imposing, but obviously not very good judges of character. After pausing for several seconds, they shrug in unison and step aside to allow you passage into the cave. One of them speaks, as you go past:
Speak Giant:
"'Member tiny ones, if Chief no like your gift, we smash you up but good!"
@Berato: Sorry, I'm not trying to make this difficult, but as you're lying about your purpose in seeing the chief, I need a Bluff check. To speed things up, I'm going to take your roll and add your Bluff modifier instead of Diplomacy (for a total of 15). I'm going to say your lie is believable (bringing a powerful hill giant chieftain "gifts" to gain assistance), and add no other modifiers to it. I'll then Take 10 for the triplets on Sense Motive to see if they fall for it. Result: Their Sense Motive check fails.
The strange serpentine-humanoid creature jolts when Zharis speaks and almost drops his comm. He looks flustered. "Yushiev sent you? Well, tell him we have those pathetic triangle-heads on the run! Nysteryx will be feasting on their leaders' corpses by morning."
I'm going to give the guy a +5 bonus to his Sense Motive check, which factors in that he's never seen you before and your descriptions have been shared, but that we know the occupation hires outside mercenaries (like the shobhads) so it's not completely implausible you could be "new hires". Result: Zharis' Bluff succeeds, and by a substantial amount.
Depending on how you want to play this, we can either go off Initiative, or we can begin Round 1 and he'll have lost his Surprise Round action because he totally swallowed Zharis' lie.
@Spacefarer Redelia: I'm flexible on start time, and I don't imagine a few days would make a difference. Unless anyone else in the game is in a hurry, I'm happy to wait until you're ready next week. (folks who are already in could do some introductory role-playing)
Zharis quickly searches the bodies and then takes a few minutes to catch her breath.
Tulgram looks troubled by his frequent "freezing" in the middle of battle. "Ach, methinks that efreet cursed me but good! I cannae burden ye. I'll be takin' the lift down, and guarding our escape route."
We'll have Tulgram go "off-camera" for now. I do hope his player is okay and comes back someday--he was a lot of fun.
Zharis' attempt to take a 10 minute rest is uninterrupted. If anyone else wants to take one, you can remove an RP and refill your SP (reminder: HP damage is not recovered in this way).
Having been recruited from Akiton, the shobhad mercenaries did something that few in the Pact Worlds had ever done: travelled into the sun! But now, as Xylian's ice cannon fells the last of their number, their journey is complete.
Xylian's second shot hits and takes out Yellow.
We are off Initiative. Usual adjustments: damage, ammo, limited use abilities, etc.
There's no time to lose when a mysterious servant of the goddess known as Grandmother Rat offers the Society a glimpse into the history of its current foe. Following the novice assassin through a previously secured portal to the Plane of Shadow, the Starfinder agents must contend with the most devoted servants of the goddess of rats and assassins, Lao Shu Po, as they make their way to the only person who knows the history of the mysterious ysoki known as Datch.
Now recruiting for SFS1 # 2-20: Shades of Spite. This is for subtier 9-10. Recruitment is on first-serve, first-come basis, but (to thank GMs and encourage more games) for the next 72 hours, anyone who is running an SFS1 game on PBP will get priority seating. If you would like to play, please fill out the following details. Only completed check-ins are accepted.
Player Name:
Character Name:
SFS #:
Current XP:
Faction:
Currently GMing an SFS game via play-by-post? (if so, please link):
As far as I can tell, Tulgram's player hasn't posted on the Paizo site since mid-June. He's generally pretty active, so I hope everything is okay! I'll continue to bot Tulgram for the rest of this encounter and if he's still not back for the next one, I'll have the PC "evacuated to safety" or "guarding the escape route on a lower level" or something.
@Everyone: Posting will be a bit slow this week, as this were-croc is traveling to the big city! XP from the last couple levels of the Spire below.
@Amhesha: Formally speaking, Chapter Six (the final chapter of the AP) expects the PCs to start at Level 11 (and I'd guess maybe they'd earn another level or two during it). But we're splitting XP among 5 PCs instead of 4, so progression will be a little slower.
The male four-armed warriors look to the female, and receiving a nod, begin slashing at Theodore with long curved blades and spraying Zharis with machine gun bullets!
White and Yellow do melee attacks against Theodore. Result: One hits. Theodore, you take 13 S.
Black does a ranged attack attack Zharis. Result: Hit, but apparently just a graze. Zharis, you take 6 P.
The gem-skinned giant looks shaken as invaders shooting acid and flame are accompanied by a frenzied furry creature!
@Zharis: You actually succeed on the demoralize, and exceed the DC by 5. Blue is shaken for two rounds.
Xylian's attack hits Blue. @Xylian: It doesn't matter for this guy, but just so I know if it does become relevant: is the part of your damage that's fire just the extra 2d8, is all the damage both P&F (so that it would do half of each?)
Theodore's attack hits Yellow.
Xylian:
The four-armed warriors are shobhads! Shobhads
are nomadic inhabitants of the desert world Akiton in the Pact Worlds. They are self-sufficient and many have taken to mercenary work off-planet when Akiton’s planetary economy collapsed. They are skilled warriors, but value honor highly. They can work themselves into a frenzy and continue fighting on after suffering injuries that would fell a normal being. They also have some natural resistance to cold temperatures. Here, there are three males and one female, and the female has different gear and looks tougher than the males.
In a cinematic masterstroke, Zharis triggers her jump jets with perfect timing, zooming over the outstretched arms of the startled occupation forces before spraying the one in the back with a blast of disfiguring acid! The giant bellows in pain and slaps one of the four-armed warriors standing in front of him with an unmistakable message: You have one job--protect me!
Zharis' crit has full effect. (Zharis, if you want to want to roll an Intimidate (demoralize) check you can, but if not, that's okay too)
Lots of combat in close succession here as you reach the climax of Chapter 5, but you're making good progress. Thanks for sticking with it. (I haven't forgotten I owe you XP for the last couple of encounters).
@Tulgram: Are you still with us? You haven't posted in a couple of weeks.
Amped up from the battle, Amhesha urges the group on!
After passing more devastation, the lift grinds to a halt and the doors open. Panels divide this room into smaller areas, each with a single bunk and storage facilities. The room looks like it was once a well-appointed hostel or something similar, but many of the beds are in tatters, furniture has been piled haphazardly in some areas, and rubble and bloodstains cover the floor and walls. Several cubicles remain intact, set up for efficiency and larger creatures.
Several four-armed warriors are here, standing poised for battle in front of an 11-foot-tall giant carved from gems and stone!
@Everyone: This level is the second from the left (I've placed your tokens on it). As a free action on your turn, you can attempt to identify the four-armed warriors with Life Science and the "giant" with Mysticism.
@Theodore: The curse is permanent. The written tactics for Yushiev are that he plays for keeps! However, bestow curse can be removed with break enchantment, miracle, remove affliction, or wish.
As she does, an urgent comm comes in from Nib. "Folks, whatever you're doing, can ya do it faster? Reports are comin' in from all over: that dragon has joined the fighting near the Spire and is inflicting heavy losses! Zhyffor says you can draw it back to the Spire by shuttin' down that psychic resonator do-hickey.
Zharis:
d-suit III (mk 1 thermal capacitor), elite semi-auto pistol w/ 24 small arm rounds, mk 3 grenade scrambler, 2
high-capacity batteries (40 charges each), Level 4 (Copper) Clearance Card, Black Iron Case (contains reagents to animate undead, materials equivalent to an advanced medkit, a subdermal extractor, and an unlocked datapad containing macabre observations and notes on prophetic visions; anyone trained in Medicine recognizes the reagents, which are worth 30,000 credits and weigh 5 bulk)
Zharis' frostbite pistol can't maintain a freezing beam through the wall of fire! Meanwhile, suffering from a dread curse, Tulgram stands staring open-mouthed, eyes vacant, as the battle goes on around him!
Zharis' attack *just* missed EAC.
@Zharis: 4 damage before any resistances. (I always just state damage as rolled, and leave it to each player to subtract relevant immunities, resistances, DR, energy shields, etc.)
Botting Tulgram. Rolling to see if he can act (curse). Result: No.
Although his mind is magically befuddled, Tulgram's combat instincts serve him in good stead as he tears into the efreeti's flesh with his capture pole.
Botting Tulgram. Save vs curse result: Fail. Tulgram has a 50% chance of being unable to act each round. Result: Can act. Using capture pole as per botting instructions. Result: Hit!
Zharis maintains a steady stream of ice to complement Xylian's freezing burst, and the middle section of the barrier of flames is extinguished completely!
As his allies continue making short work of the zombies, Tulgram takes the fight to the real danger by hurling himself through the raging flames! The efreeti on the other side is certainly surprised by the seemingly-insane duergar's actions, but not so surprised he doesn't take the chance to lash out with a flaming fist to Tulgram's face!
Theodore's AoO hits and takes out Red (I did check, and there's no penalty to AoOs even if you've done a full attack in the round).
Amhesha's attack hits Black (even through Cover), and combined with the tiny bit of damage the zombie took from the appearance of the wall of fire, is enough to destroy it!
Zharis' attack will be redirected to Blue since Red is already destroyed; that attack hits. There's a little DR at work, but another such swipe will take it down.
Tulgram takes 13 F from passing through the wall of fire. The efreeti has reach, and so does get an AoO as you get adjacent. Result: Hit. Tulgram, you take 22 B&F from the slam attack.
GM Dice:
wall of fire damage:5d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 4, 4, 1) = 13 Efreeti AoO Slam vs Tulgram KAC:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (16) + 19 = 35 damage (B/F):3d4 + 13 ⇒ (2, 3, 4) + 13 = 22
A primal telepathic scream of pain and fear flashes through the room, as Theodore easily catches up to his fleeing foe! Meanwhile, another swipe of felinoid claws delivers final justice to another anassanoi collaborator.
Seeing the carnage around him, Rehjaer quickly holsters his pistol and raises his hands in the universal sign of surrender. I place myself in your custody as a prisoner of war. Everyone here is talking of the alien mercenaries wreaking havoc in Kahlannal. I wish you would realise you're standing in the way of the future! The efreet can lead my people from backward traditionalism to a new golden age!
Theodore's attack hits Yellow, who is still up (barely).
Zharis' AoO *just* misses, but the regular attack is a hit and drops Black. (Zharis, you will take the damage from the trick attack).
Rehjaer spends a standard action to do an Inspiring Boost on Yellow (returning 22 SP) and a move action to holster his pistol. With Rehjaer having surrendered, we can go off Initiative (unless your intent is positively murderous).
Despite centuries of innovation with laser pistols and shock grenades, sometimes the primitive savagery of sharp claws is still the best choice in battle! Zharis scores one of the collaborators across the chest with her claws, while Theodore nearly disembowels his foe!
The leader of the traitorous anassanois points fires a burst of electricity at Zharis and shouts "The war is over! Better to survive than be crushed under the occupation's heel!"
Zharis' attack hits Black for full damage.
Both of Theodore's attacks hit, dropping Blue!
Rehljaer (Red) does a standard action to use Improved Get 'Em on Zharis, allowing him to attack and give himself and allies a +2 on weapon attack and damage rolls against the pahtra. Result: Hit. Zharis, you take 17 E.
The time has come for the final push to liberate Kahlannal! With the occupation forces weakened and disoriented, the anassanois of Kahlannal are inspired to full revolt! The Protectors take to their chariots and lead assaults in various sectors, while the rest of the resistance stages simultaneous attacks on several key occupation bases; soon, anassanois throughout the city take to the streets in solidarity, inundating security checkpoints, obscuring sight lines, and slowing occupation troop movements.
With the occupiers’ attention directed toward the chaos, the Spire’s defenses are at their weakest, and Zhyffor organizes a major assault near the magtrain station previously sabotaged in order to provide veritable angels from distant worlds a chance to slip into the Spire from below!
Crawling through the rubble of the collapsed magtrain tunnel, you all emerge into a loading dock near the base of the Spire. A magtrain trench loops around a central platform in this vaultlike chamber, natural lightning coming from above through its pearlescent walls. Transparent tube-shaped lifts rise along a thick shaft from the platform’s center into the ceiling forty feet above. Containers crowd the ground near the tracks on the platform. Several anassanois are here, inventorying the containers.
Okay, we are on Slide # 2, Area G1 (the top left of the slide). You can place your tokens as if emerging from the long tunnel. These anassanois are busy with the containers and are not expecting visitors, so I'm going to assume they don't notice you arrive--it's your call on how to proceed.
Poring over the layout of the battle-damaged Spire, the group continues to formulate a plan . . .
Thanks for your patience everyone, I'm now back. It sounds like the group is leaning towards a more traditional assault, perhaps blowing up some chambers along the way? I suggest taking another day or two for any final preparation/planning you'd like to make, and then we can move on.
As it was asked in Gameplay, here's a bit on the psychic resonator:PSYCHIC RESONATOR LEVEL 12 HYBRID ITEM PRICE 40,000 BULK 100
I'm headed off this morning on my course. It's a good time for a pause, as you can continuing deciding on how you'd like to deal with the Spire. We'll get started with the assault once I return on the 25th. See you then!
Male LN Occultist (Curator) 2 | HP 7/15 | AC 13 (T9, FF13) | CMD 10 | F: +6, R: -1, W: +4| Init: -1 | Perc: +1, SM: +5 | Speed 20 ft |Mental Focus 2/2; Extensive Collection 0/2 (Chosen Implement: 3/3)| Spells: First (0/3) | Active Conditions:
I'm off this morning--back on the 25th. GM, you've done a great job with the horror atmosphere of the adventure! I'll level up once I get back--though you guys may have finished by then :)
Just a bit of explanation: the psychic resonator is a device that powerfully amplifies the anassanois' telepathic abilities--it's the device that allowed them to transmit (unfortunately, inchoate) feelings of anxiety and fear to the Burning Archipelago when they first learned of the occupation forces. In theory, it could be gradually improved to allow them true communication with cultures outside of Kahlannal. But after the Spire fell, the psychic resonator was reworked by the occupation into a psychic dampener, which severely hampers the anassanois' telepathic abilities. As always, I don't want you to feel that this adventure is on rails: the "blow up the Spire!" plan would indeed deal with the dampening field problem. You would just need to persuade the anassanois that it's worth sacrificing the psychic resonator in the process.
The next few hours are difficult ones for everyone in resistance headquarters, but sometimes alongside loss, comes rebirth. Everyone is summoned to witness the ritual to induct a new Protector and bond him to one of the recovered chariots. Mehrren and Nyralaen, both dressed in scintillating robes, flank the reliquary recovered from Protector Jheghal’s shrine; behind each Protector floats her chariot, humming in harmony, while a third chariot, now repaired, sits behind the reliquary.
The women call forth Zhyffor, who emerges bedecked in finery similar to theirs. With much chanting and the passing of telepathically charged crystals among the three participants, an idol that starts out resembling Jheghal becomes less distinct as the ritual continues. Hour after hour, they push through telepathic exertion with strained expressions and, as the ritual wanes, noticeable fatigue.
Finally, the conclusion: Zhyffor rises and approaches the central chariot; his outstretched hands touch the sphere (with a visible wince from his injury) which melts open before him, allowing him to pass through its surface as through stepping into a metallic bubble.
After a long moment, he emerges: no physical change has taken place, but he has the air of someone profoundly altered and the idol now resembles him!
The ritual complete, the Protectors see to Faeffel, the anassanoi who lapsed into a coma those many weeks ago after broadcasting a call for help into the beyond. The trio takes a crystal from the reliquary and move to her bedside; each places a hand on her head, and with the crystal and their combined power, they heal her mind and body. Faeffel opens her eyes and nods weakly; gazing around, she spots the newcomers who have brought hope of salvation. Bursting with sudden telepathically infectious joy, even those with no natural receptiveness like Nib are brought to happy tears!
Vessu is nearly inconsolable at discovering his brother is dead. He obviously had such high hopes for the prisoner exchange, and now it's all come crashing down. Zharis and Nib pat him on the back and whisper comforting words, but this may be a blow the man never recovers from.
I was just thinking this would be a perfect time for the group's former counsellor PC, Cabizo.
Male LN Occultist (Curator) 2 | HP 7/15 | AC 13 (T9, FF13) | CMD 10 | F: +6, R: -1, W: +4| Init: -1 | Perc: +1, SM: +5 | Speed 20 ft |Mental Focus 2/2; Extensive Collection 0/2 (Chosen Implement: 3/3)| Spells: First (0/3) | Active Conditions:
As the others chatter, Neronius rubs his chin and ponders what he knows about destroying spectral creatures like the ghostly, dancing woman his companions have described.
@PCs: I was intending the potion for Rekkart, as his injuries are far more severe than a burned hand and it's *kinda sorta* my fault :) Regarding fighting ghosts etc., I do have the "legacy weapon" ability which can make a weapon magical and thus capable of doing half damage to incorporeal creatures, but I've expended my 1/day "Extensive Collection" power that activates it doing something else. I guess in theory we could try to rest, but I don't know what our chances are of not being interrupted by something spooky/deadly.
A resistance evac team arrives and helps usher you (and the demolition charges) safely back to headquarters.
When you arrive, all of the anassanois in the makeshift command center are quiet, and even telepathic communication seems to have stopped for the moment. Zhyffor, a bandage around one arm, gently places a shroud over the body of a member of his team. It seems their mission (simultaneous with your own) was successful--but in war, even success can carry a tragic price.
After a few more moments of silence, the regally-dressed Nyralaen begins to speak telepathically. Her words are accompanied by images of the deceased as he was in life, snapshots of moments of levity, love, and courage. A time will come, soon, to grieve for all of our fallen, including Varyas. Yet the time of mourning must be held in abeyance, for our friend has not died in vain. His sacrifice allows us to take a vital step forward in our efforts to throw off the yoke of our enemies: for this day, we will induct a new Protector! The almost-overwhelming sadness broadcast through the room is replaced with a new emotion: defiance, and hope!
Just an early FYI that I'm going to be away on a training course from 9-25 May with no e-mail. Good news is we're moving into the final section of this chapter! I'm really enjoying playing with you all, and I'm looking forward to seeing what might just be an explosive climax.
Male LN Occultist (Curator) 2 | HP 7/15 | AC 13 (T9, FF13) | CMD 10 | F: +6, R: -1, W: +4| Init: -1 | Perc: +1, SM: +5 | Speed 20 ft |Mental Focus 2/2; Extensive Collection 0/2 (Chosen Implement: 3/3)| Spells: First (0/3) | Active Conditions:
Neronius sighs and reaches into a pocket inside his vest to produce a small vial. "A healing draught," he says, handing it to Zinli. "Rekkart was following my invitation to climb down the rope, after all. Though I hope recompense is forthcoming."
He begins pacing, with a distant, thoughtful look. At last, he nods to himself and mumbles: "Yes, yes--elementary, from a certain point of view."
I've deducted (my only!) potion of cure light wounds from my inventory sheet.
