Diedre holds her breath as the stonework tumbles, but no hordes of cultists come charging out of the ruins. Cautiously peeking around a mossy wall, she points the binoculars at the statue. Scanning the weathered stone and rusted metal, Diedre sees no snipers hiding in the lifted hand, but she does catch a glint of movement through a window in the statue's head! She eagerly focuses the magnification on the binoculars and
WHAP!
Diedre grunts as she hits the spongy soil, feeling like she's been struck with a pillowcase full of gelatin. Looking down, she's surprised to find her left arm, torso, and leg covered in a web of a fibrous, gooey material that tapers to a translucent filament almost as thick as her thigh. As she stares in confusion, the filament snaps taunt, and Diedre is dragged across the ground and into the air!
Oh no! Look's like Diedre got someone's attention after all. I'll roll initiative in my next post (probably tomorrow), but for now, anyone who isn't Diedre can make one of the two Perception checks listed below.
Deidre, you take 9 non-lethal bludgeoning damage, you gain the entangled condition, and you're hanging upside-down just off the ground. Ya know, just another Tuesday.
Who's hiding in the Plague Warden?:
DC 23 Perception check
Spoiler:
There are small windows in the head of the statue, and you can just make out a humanoid figure.
DC 18 Survival check (reduce DC by 5 if you succeeded at the Perception check)
Spoiler:
The position of the statue's head gives it a clear line of sight on every angle of approach to the statue, and there is minimal cover for roughly 120 feet in every direction.
What's got Diedre?:
DC 31 Perception check
Spoiler:
The translucent filament, nearly invisible against the bright blue sky, rises 100 feet in the air to a huge, jellyfish-like creature that is almost completely transparent.
DC 23 Life Science check (reduce DC by 5 if you succeeded at the Perception check; this stacks with the bonus for being a Castrovellian native)
Spoiler:
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. For every 5 by which you beat the DC, you recall one addition fact of your choice about sky fishers.
I think it's an ancient bantrid hibernation tower:
Pact Worlds (pg.211) wrote:
However, less than 5 years ago, previously unnoticed machinery under Hibb’s surface began to stir. All across the moon, apertures opened in the ground, from which rose tall towers with spiraling ramps. Heretofore unknown creatures emerged from these towers, their small visual sensors adjusting to the light of the distant sun. The members of this sentient species, who call themselves bantrids, had slumbered in stasis for eons before their ancient computers woke them. Because of the Gap and faulty data-storage drives, however, the bantrids had no knowledge of the solar system’s current political climate and no recollection of why their people entered stasis in the first place. Some believe they were hiding from an imminent threat or natural disaster, while others posit that bantrids were the first sentient species in the system and that they put themselves to sleep to wait for others to interact with.
The pendant is probably some sort of emblem of office or something. Also, I'd be willing to bet that the mysterious reason for the bantrid's hibernation is gonna be evident pretty soon!
Planning to resurrect/retool an old character from a dead campaign, a dwarven technomancer with an affinity for melee combat. He's likely have the tinkerer theme, as his day job is rebuilding and refurbishing "gently used goods" at his cousin's junkyard with a long-term goal of opening up a family franchise.
Alright! Meet Thuldas Crawdun, junior associate at Crawdun Scrap and Salvage.
Thuldas Crawdun:
Race: Dwarf (pulling heavily from the alternate racial features in COM)
Class: Technomancer (favoring spells with "junk" in the name)
Theme: Roboticist
Feat: Shield Proficiency
Born aboard the first great star citadel Heorrhad, Thuldas grew up in a dwarven society starting to hit its stride post-Gap. His mother, Thuldwin, is a battlemage with over 100 years of active duty aboard the Heorrhad, a seasoned veteran who has defended the Pact Worlds against both the Veskarium and the Swarm. His father, Beowdas, is a second-generation junk dealer who has successfully franchised the family business aboard his scraphauler Deck 17, a welcome visitor among the remote mining stations of the Diaspora.
Thuldas draws strongly on both family traditions, forging his mother's arcane talents into tools for refurbishing and repurposing junked starships, scrapped mining tools, and antiquated computers. For the past few years he's been working under his cousin Ferindas (another successful franchisee of the family business) at Crawdun Scrap and Salvage, a compact junkyard comprised of several contiguous landing bays in Absalom's Gateway district.
Thuldas is lanky for a dwarf (nearly 5 feet tall!) with a ready smile and a film of grease and rust seemingly ground into his skin. His hands are rarely empty; he's always picking up bits and bobs around the scrapyard that catch his eye. He's also taken to carrying around the blast cover off an old reactor porthole after an incident with a not-quite-inert fuel cell that cost him a few teeth (which have since been replaced with palladium analogues).
At 50 years old, Thuldas is barely an adult, but he dreams of one day operating his own scraphauler, servicing communities and colonies throughout Near Space and the Vast. For now, though, he's content to work in a junior role, learning from both the complex technical challenges of the scrapyard and the cultural melting pot of Absalom Station.
Why does shield regeneration behave so differently in and out of combat?
Tech Revolution Playtest (pg. 14) wrote:
At the start of its turn, a mech regains a number of Shield Points equal to its tier, though its total can’t exceed the mech’s maximum Shield Points.
Tech Revolution Playtest (pg. 15) wrote:
Shield Points regenerate out of combat automatically at a rate of 2 per hour.
A tier 1 mech regenerates 10 SP/min during combat, which is 300 times faster that out of combat. A tier 20 mech without enhanced shields can fully recharge its shields three times every minute during combat but takes nearly a day to do so out of combat. I can't find a justification for this in the text.
Female halfling envoy 2 / biohacker 1 | SP 16/18 : HP 20/20 : RP 4/4 | EAC 13 : KAC 14 | F +5 : R +6 : W +5 | Init +2 : Perc +10 : SM +8 (+1d6) : Speed 30 | BH 2/3 : IB B/J/-/T/Y : TDW -/J/-/T/Y | Bottle Caps 1
GM Quirk wrote:
The, AHEM, "gaggle" has been severely depleted, though there could be drama in the kitchen!
In retrospect, retreating to the kitchen was probably not the best move tactically, but hey - at least now I'll have the opportunity to bond with the cook?
Dotting with significant interest! I've been watching and waiting for this specific AP to appear on the forums. I'll put together a submission in the next couple days - something akin to the medical doctor role in classic pulp mystery repackaged as a halfling envoy (perhaps with a dip in biohacker down the line).
Raising this old thread from the dead just to mention that the guide has just been updated to include all published content through the Character Operations Manual, which contains tons of envoy-related goodies.
Alright, recruitment is closed! The final list of applicants is:
Dr. Amalara Vallassar, an elven studious biohacker with the genetics field of study, the medic archetype, and the scholar theme played by Redac
Christon Rynx, a human solarian with the solar weapon manifestation and the guard theme, played by Jereru
Dhoshgan, Son of Ganmul, a korasha lashunta with the hunter fighting style and the wild warden theme played by Simeon
Elil, a sarcesian witchwarper with the cult hunter theme played by joker 27
Gertrude Adrianna Steele, a strix mechanic with the exocortex AI and the xenoarchaeologist theme, played by CigarPete
Johnny Lawrence a half-elf vanguard/solarian with the boundary aspect, the solar armor manifestation, and the guard theme, played by Vrog Skyreaver
Irhok'zath, a formian soldier with the blitz fighting style and the athlete theme, played by the Ragi.
There are a ton of great character concepts here, but unfortunately I only have two slots to fill. I'm going to take a couple days to review the characters and discuss with the current party; hopefully I'll have selections for you soon. Thanks for applying!
Male Vesk Solarian 11 | SP 110/110 : HP 78/78 : RP 7/9 | EAC 30 32 : KAC 30 32| DR 11/- : ER acid 5, cold 10, sonic 10 | F +10 : R +7 : W +7 | Init +4 : Perc +9 (low-light, darkvision) : Speed 40, fly 60
Attacks & Abilities:
unarmed +13 (2d6+18 B) : chains +13 (9d4+13 C crit bind) : void rifle +15 (2d10+11 C crit suffocate; 40/40) : microfusion rifle +13 (1d8+11 E&F; crit irradiate or anchor; 40/40) : forcepack (98/100) : SJ (3/3)
Stats & Skills:
S 14, D 18, C 16, I 12, W 11, C 18; Acrobatics +18, Athletics +8, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +18, Mysticism +6, Perception +9, Physical Science +4, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +18
Stefani Mills wrote:
"Wow. Is that the same s*&* they were broadcasting before that drove everyone bonkers? This'll be even worse," Stefani says with a shake of her head. "We either need to shut them down or get the f~%% out ASAP."
"I don't think this is something you can run from. Maybe for a year or two, but before you know it space will be clogged with creepy masochistic psychopaths. If you wanna get as old an' pretty as I am, we're gonna need to burn this out from the bottom up."
Damon studies the map with the locations of the signal transmitters. "I say we scour this place for any info on this broadcast tech and then go blow that shit up. If we make enough noise, we might trigger a response big enough to trace back to the black site."
Still feeling a little uncomfortable about speaking with the contemplative after she lied to him, Diedre nevertheless lays out their needs in regards to Halkueem Zan's research.
{"I reviewed the entirety of Zan’s original notes early in my time here as faculty, and to my considerable knowledge, only Doctor Solstarni has studied them more recently. Zan’s methodology was imperfect, catering to an uneducated reader’s lexicon, fetishizing the 'exotic,' and conveying a pathological love of his self-image as an adventurer — likely to earn money or as an elaborate mating ritual. As a result, his work is scientifically wanting and his conclusions doubtful. Nevertheless, his notes provide enough detail to hypothetically retrace his steps."}
{"Zan's notes are stored exclusively on physical media in one of the university's secured archives; they are in themselves artifacts. Now that my library access is restored, I can access those records, convert them to a digital format, and annotate them to allow the layperson to best interpret his writings. This process will take some time, but I am confident I will have the notes ready for you before 1800 this evening."}(GM's note: it's currently between 0900 and 1000.)
Third-party spellcasting is a solid option that will automatically succeed in a metropolis like Absalom Station, but there are other options as well.
Is this a house rule you plan on sticking with and does it apply to player cast remove affliction spells (should we gain access to those later)? Or did you mean that we could automatically succeed in finding a spellcaster of appropriate level? I ask because normally the caster has to roll a caster level check vs the disease DC +4 to cure a disease.
Oh, good question. What I meant was that:
(1) Finding a spellcaster on Absalom Station of high enough level willing to sell their services is an automatic success (more generically, I would assume a settlement has spellcasters of a level on par with the max item level of that settlement, because that makes sense to me).
(2) If you pay someone to cast remove affliction, you're paying for a successful check, not for a single spell slot. I think that's solidly in houserule territory, but having it the other way around would just suck. This doesn't change how remove affliction works.
Lauren:
It's normally Clara-247 that's carrying the aeon stone, yeah? I'm pretty sure you guys never looted her - only confiscated her weapons.
Can I use Profession: Archaeologist to see what I know about Halkueem Zan and his expeditions?
This is a perfect opportunity to flex your archaeological knowledge.
Aureum:
Halkueem Zan is better known among the archaeological and anthropological communities than the public at large, but you happen to know much more about Zan than most (in fact, I'll say that you know every publicly-available tidbit about him and his work - that was a very good role). You probably didn't come across this knowledge casually; instead, it's likely that you have done some formal research that touches his "legacy" in some way, making you somewhat of a Halkueem Zan specialist.
Halkueem Zan was a human male who styled himself as an archaeologist, but he was far more interested in building his own "heroic" persona than contributing to the collective knowledge of society. He was most prolific roughly fifty years after the Gap, traveling all over the Pact Worlds system, slapping together reckless expeditions in search of "lost treasures" and writing sensationalist books with little factual basis that were nevertheless extremely popular with the general public. While he inspired many to take up studies of the past, he also inspired a generation of trigger-happy tomb looters.
Zan is perhaps best-known for his infamous expedition to the unsettled continent of Ukulam on Castrovel, where he violated local travel bans to investigate a buried site his scanners had identified from space. When Zan emerged from Ukulam’s jungles months later, lashunta authorities arrested him and confiscated his findings, though he retained enough notes to publish a sensationalist travelogue titled "Pyramid People of Ukulam" after he was released weeks later. Precious few have followed up on this work, not only because it was overshadowed by early contact with the Veskarium, but also because of Castrovel’s limits on travel to Ukulam. The incident single-handedly shifted Castrovellian public opinion, prompting restrictions on off-world explorers for several generations.
Not only are we back, but we're finally out of the longer starship combat ever! The Rictus hung on with 4/40 HP for three rounds before you dumped 36 damage into a single arc.
Suddenly, warning lights flash all over the bridge! An unknown ship is inbound, and its weapons are locked on Moriko's Legacy! The Moriko is hailed, and Sunny patches through a video feed of a withered husk of a humanoid.
"This is the Iron Rictus. You will surrender the Acreon's cargo and be destroyed." Just as suddenly as the video appears, it winks out of sight, leaving only the image of an organic-looking ship with an ocher-colored eye, rapidly closing the gap.
DC 13 Engineering or DC 8 Culture check (Ace Pilot only):
The Iron Rictus is a Cairncarver, a versatile freighter produced by Thaumtech Unlimited, an Eoxian shipyard. The unnervingly skeletal Cairncarver has been in production for centuries, and they are quite popular in Eoxian space, both as legitimate haulers and as illicit marauders.
DC 15 Culture check:
The image was a bit grainy, but the captain of the Rictus didn't look very... alive. His undead state, commanding tone and antique military garb could only mean one thing - the Iron Rictus is a vessel of the Corpse Fleet, a navy of undead renegades who oppose the very existence of living creatures! Defense fleets of the Pact Worlds have standing orders to destroy Corpse Fleet vessels on sight.
Looks like the trip back to Absalom Station won't be so easy after all! I've updated the Moriko handout with a combat map showing the ships' initial positions and headings. I'll get the first combat post up tomorrow, but Aureum, feel free to post your action for the Engineering Phase.
Miraj, since you're a gunner, I'm going to ask you to bot Jehir and Clara for the time being. Jehir has a +3 bonus to gunnery checks and Clara has a +6. The android mercenary will take orders from any member of the Moriko's crew, and she is willing to switch to the Engineer or Science Officer role (+8 to each) if needed.
Spotting the lever situated along the back wall of the hanger, Entiren will work his way over to it. Once he gets next to it, he will examine it to determine if he can tell how it functions (i.e., seeing if simply pulling the lever opens the doors). If it appears to require any form of technical knowledge, he will call over another member of the crew (likely Lauren or Aureum).
Entiren isn't exactly a technical expert, but this large lever looks very much like an open-the-big-door kind of lever.
Reminds me of a Doctor Who special where the Doctor was trying to figure out how to make an ancient device work and he asks rhetorically, "Why can't they make these things with a big red button."
Do these weapons look like the miners brought them here? Or do they look like they've been here longer?
She continues to shine her flashlight around as she moves forward to the juncture to look both ways.
As Diedre glances over the weapons, they would not seem out of place aboard the Acreon. Heading down the tunnel, she notes that her half-elven eyes can see perfectly well in the gloom afforded by the flickering lights (dim light from this point on). At the end of the junction, she spies the tunnel turning north on both forks.
Aureum wrote:
Aureum glances eagerly across the cavern, itching to examine the door and the hallway beyond. First, though, she kneels next to Lauren and looks her over to see if she can do anything to relieve the scyphozoan's injuries.
Aureum does her best, but Lauren's anatomy is more... gelatinous... than what the lashunta is accustomed to.
---
As Aureum lends to Lauren and Diedre scouts, the rest keep watch.
DC 10 Perception check:
As the Starfinders wait, a rogue thought slides through the void, brushing their minds. An alien emotion - an insatiable curiosity - paired with a driving hunger. Then comes a sensation - a feeling like popping the joints of a cooked bird carcass - but so much bigger. It fades, leaving a memory on the mind like an oil slick on a puddle.
Male Vesk Solarian 11 | SP 110/110 : HP 78/78 : RP 7/9 | EAC 30 32 : KAC 30 32| DR 11/- : ER acid 5, cold 10, sonic 10 | F +10 : R +7 : W +7 | Init +4 : Perc +9 (low-light, darkvision) : Speed 40, fly 60
Attacks & Abilities:
unarmed +13 (2d6+18 B) : chains +13 (9d4+13 C crit bind) : void rifle +15 (2d10+11 C crit suffocate; 40/40) : microfusion rifle +13 (1d8+11 E&F; crit irradiate or anchor; 40/40) : forcepack (98/100) : SJ (3/3)
Stats & Skills:
S 14, D 18, C 16, I 12, W 11, C 18; Acrobatics +18, Athletics +8, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +18, Mysticism +6, Perception +9, Physical Science +4, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +18
Damonkayo snorts derisively at the blatant flirtations of his companions. Nodding to the other members of the brutaris team, the vesk stands up and takes his drink for a walk. "If you don't mind, I'd like to find a table with fewer pheromones in the air."
Luckily, he spies Dr. Freebairn a few tables away. Noting the android's cleaned-up appearance, he joins her, whispering conspiratorially, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you might actually be enjoying your shore leave."
Male Vesk Solarian 11 | SP 110/110 : HP 78/78 : RP 7/9 | EAC 30 32 : KAC 30 32| DR 11/- : ER acid 5, cold 10, sonic 10 | F +10 : R +7 : W +7 | Init +4 : Perc +9 (low-light, darkvision) : Speed 40, fly 60
Attacks & Abilities:
unarmed +13 (2d6+18 B) : chains +13 (9d4+13 C crit bind) : void rifle +15 (2d10+11 C crit suffocate; 40/40) : microfusion rifle +13 (1d8+11 E&F; crit irradiate or anchor; 40/40) : forcepack (98/100) : SJ (3/3)
Stats & Skills:
S 14, D 18, C 16, I 12, W 11, C 18; Acrobatics +18, Athletics +8, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +18, Mysticism +6, Perception +9, Physical Science +4, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +18
Xio wrote:
”Morning!”
"Xio, I presume?" Damonkayo knows well who Xio is, but he really loves this joke.
Stefani Mills wrote:
She raises one arm slightly and leans her head down to take a sample sniff. "About time too."
"Tribute to the Conqueror, I lost my sense of smell years ago."
Bluff +4, Computers +3, Culture +3, Diplomacy +4, Engineering +3, Life Science +11, Medicine +11, Perception +11, Physical Science +8, Sense Motive +8, Sleight of Hand +7
If you deal enough damage to pass a critical threshold, you "deal critical damage", regardless of whether you rolled a critical hit or not. If, for example, the gunners surpass a CT without rolling a 19-20, that critical is determined by the target action, as per the second line you quoted. If you get lucky and cause multiple criticals in a single round (by either rolling a 19-20 and passing a CT or dealing enough damage to surpass multiple CTs), only one of the critical conditions is dictated by the Target action, as per the third quoted line.
Hey guys! Looks like everyone is back from the holidays (more or less), so I'd like to chat a bit about my plans for this campaign in 2019 (and beyond)!
Most important thing first, I suppose - my wife and I are expecting a baby! It'll be our first, and we're due in late March. It's gonna be a very exciting yet stressful time, and I will take some time off from GMing for a bit of parental leave (something in the neighborhood of two weeks, perhaps). Hopefully baby Jimbles will wait until the due date, but babies are notorious for following their own schedules, so if I up and vanish one day, that's the likely culprit.
Between now and then, baby willing, I would really love to push through the remainder of the Drift Rock and complete Book 1 of Dead Suns. That should leave you at a good break point and give you some time to level your characters, plan a bit of shopping, and engage in some peer-to-peer RP before we pick back up with Book 2. I don't think we'll have difficulty getting there by then, but I'm gonna be a bit more aggressive with botting people just to ensure we don't slow down too much.
Speaking of botting, I still haven't heard anything from Jehir's player. It's been nearly six weeks at this point, so Jehir will be leaving the group to pursue his own goals at the next sensible story break. Fear not, however! I've already lined up another player whose own Dead Suns group fell apart between Book 1 and 2. We'll still have a full compliment of six.
I haven't mentioned this yet, but I plan to issue Chronicle Sheets to anyone who wants one at the end of Book 1. For those of you who participate in or are interested in joining Organized Play, this is a fun little reward for participating in the Dead Suns Adventure Path.
How do I move in a zero-g environment?
In zero-g, you can't take a move action to move your speed, crawl, or take a guarded step. Feeling stuck? Fear not! There are still plenty of ways to get from point A to point B:
Flying: A creature with a fly speed can fly normally unless their method of flight requires an atmosphere that doesn't exist.
Climbing: A creature with a climb speed can move along any wall with sufficient handholds at their full speed (or their full climb speed, whichever is greater). Creatures without a climb speed can do the same by succeeding at a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check.
Push, Float, Catch: A creature next to an object or creature one size category smaller than themselves or larger can push off that object or creature to start moving half their land speed in any appropriate direction (if that object or creature they push off of isn't nailed down, it starts floating in the opposite direction at the same speed).
An object in motion stay in motion! Unless they hit something, a creature floating in zero-g will continue to move at the same speed in the same direction at the beginning of every turn. This does not take an action.
A creature can catch itself on a secured object or surface as a move action by succeeding at a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check. Failing the check imposes the off-kilter condition (see below).
What happens to creatures that collide in zero-g?
When two creatures collide, both must attempt a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check or become off-kilter. A creature anchored to a solid object (such as by boot clamps) gains a +4 bonus to this check (for the purposes of this game, any creature that is not in motion and is next to a stable object is considered anchored).
How much can I carry in zero-g?
A creature can lift and carry 10 times their normal amount in zero-g.
How does zero-g affect my weapons?
Thrown weapons have their range increments multiplied by 10 in zero-g. In addition, all ranged weapons no longer have a maximum number of range increments - their wielders simply continue to accrue penalties the farther away the target is.
What does it mean to be off-kilter?
You are disoriented and floating in zero gravity. You can’t take move actions to move your speed, crawl, or take a guarded step. You are flat-footed and take a –2 penalty to attack rolls.
You must use a method of propulsion to right yourself or grab a stabilizing object such as a wall or ladder (usually as a move action) in order to end this condition. Throwing an object of 4+ bulk counts as a method of propulsion for Medium creatures.
A couple clarifications/rulings to streamline things a bit.
You only gain the off-kilter condition by running into something (or getting run into by something). If you attempt an Acrobatics or Athletics check to climb across a surface and you fail, you simply lose the move action - you do not become off-kilter.
As long as you have something to grab onto to steady yourself (or you can fly), removing the off-kilter condition is just a move action that does not require a check.
As long as you are not off-kilter (or you can fly), you can remove the off-kilter condition from an adjacent ally by taking a move action to steady them.
In the Starfinder Wed Q&A, it sounds like they intentionally didn't playtest any cost-reduction features because they didn't want to delve into how that might affect the game economy as awhile.
I for one, am excited to see how this class evolves in the future.
I can understand the sentiment of not wanting to derail the playtest of a fairly unique class concept by including some potentially economy-breaking features ("OMG, biohacker totally breaks the economy" would suck the air right out of a bunch of other interesting conversations we're having right now).
Looks like this idea is shelved (but not forgotten) for the moment.
We are absolutely looking at starship roles for all these classes. And we are aware we likely don't have them all covered well enough yet. What we really want is feedback from people who have run these characters through both normal and starship combat, with other characters, and their experiences, so we can fine tune where to go with these.
I'm in the process of running #1-25 as a PbP with six 4th level playtest characters (two of each class), and while the scenario doesn't have the starship tag (and the players weren't told to accommodate starship roles into their characters), it does have a few skill challenges based on starship crew roles; a few thoughts:
Between six 4th-level characters, there were zero ranks in Piloting. None of these classes has Piloting as a class skill.
Only one of the six (the Int-based biohacker) had ranks in Computers or Engineering. Wis-based Biohackers are going to be lackluster at those skills even if they put ranks in them, especially since it's tempting to build a Wis-based biohacker with a race with an Int penalty, such as kasatha.
All three gunners were lackluster. Sure, the vanguards have full BAB, but they've dumped so much into Con before splitting the rest between Str and Dex.
Starfinder lends itself to a lot of Dex/Int builds, which is great, but outside of that there are many interesting and fun characters that are gonna straight up struggle because they aren't naturally tuned for starship combat, and the playtest classes are really shining a spotlight on the issue. Yes, any character can be adjusted to fit into a role, by either sacrificing theme or a feat slot as well as 1 skill rank / level (hurts some more than others), but that doesn't really fit the intuitive style of character building that Starfinder seems to be trying so hard to promote, and as Hmm mentioned earlier in the thread, it's best practice to prepare for two starship roles, especially if you're at a Society table.
How do I move in a zero-g environment?
In zero-g, you can't take a move action to move your speed, crawl, or take a guarded step. Feeling stuck? Fear not! There are still plenty of ways to get from point A to point B:
Flying: A creature with a fly speed can fly normally unless their method of flight requires an atmosphere that doesn't exist.
Climbing: A creature with a climb speed can move along any wall with sufficient handholds at their full speed (or their full climb speed, whichever is greater). Creatures without a climb speed can do the same by succeeding at a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check.
Push, Float, Catch: A creature next to an object or creature one size category smaller than themselves or larger can push off that object or creature to start moving half their land speed in any appropriate direction (if that object or creature they push off of isn't nailed down, it starts floating in the opposite direction at the same speed).
An object in motion stay in motion! Unless they hit something, a creature floating in zero-g will continue to move at the same speed in the same direction at the beginning of every turn. This does not take an action.
A creature can catch itself on a secured object or surface as a move action by succeeding at a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check. Failing the check imposes the off-kilter condition (see below).
What happens to creatures that collide in zero-g?
When two creatures collide, both must attempt a DC 20 Acrobatics or Athletics check or become off-kilter. A creature anchored to a solid object (such as by boot clamps) gains a +4 bonus to this check (for the purposes of this game, any creature that is not in motion and is next to a stable object is considered anchored).
How much can I carry in zero-g?
A creature can lift and carry 10 times their normal amount in zero-g.
How does zero-g affect my weapons?
Thrown weapons have their range increments multiplied by 10 in zero-g. In addition, all ranged weapons no longer have a maximum number of range increments - their wielders simply continue to accrue penalties the farther away the target is.
What does it mean to be off-kilter?
You are disoriented and floating in zero gravity. You can’t take move actions to move your speed, crawl, or take a guarded step. You are flat-footed and take a –2 penalty to attack rolls.
You must use a method of propulsion to right yourself or grab a stabilizing object such as a wall or ladder (usually as a move action) in order to end this condition. Throwing an object of 4+ bulk counts as a method of propulsion for Medium creatures.
Serums are injectable (I think), but the Core Rulebook isn't very forthright in this area - you need to check the section on ammunition, of all places:
Core Rulebook (pg. 190) wrote:
While most combatants rely on darts to deliver toxins to enemies, particularly desperate or overworked field medics sometimes employ darts to conveniently deliver antitoxins, healing serums, and other beneficial drugs across a crowded battlefield.
The playtest also explicitly says that you can shoot serums out of an injection weapon:
Starfinder Character Operations Manual Playtest (pg. 7) wrote:
Friendly Aim (Ex)
When you use a ranged weapon with the injection weapon special property to attempt to deliver an injection to one of your allies (including healing serums, medicinals, counteragents, restoratives, your breakthrough formulas, or any of your injections), you gain a +3 insight bonus to the attack roll.
Still, I would like to get some errata that explicitly states that serums can go into injection weapons. Spell amps are a bit more thorny - despite all the flavor text suggesting that they're injectable, there's no mention of loading one into an injection weapon.
For those of you interested in a fast PbP dive into the new Starfinder playtest, I'm currently recruiting for a playtest-friendly run of (repeatable) #1-25: The Beacon Code Dilemma right here at subtier 3-4 (level 4 playtest characters).
You don't need to play a playtest character, but I would like to reserve space for at least one of each of the playtest classes.
Gonna speed through a couple rounds since everyone is waiting on something or other, I think. Feel free to retcon.
Round 4: Miraj joins the others at the aft airlock.
Round 5: The airlock goes "ding", allowing everyone to pile in and seal the door behind them. Aureum starts tinkering with the exterior door in an attempt to blow it. Just a few seconds later, she succeeds, and the hatch opens violently!
In Round 6, Aureum, Diedre, Entiren, and Miraj are all shot out of the Acreon like a cannon. Everyone (except Entiren, who can fly) must make either an Acrobatics or Athletics check to grab onto the Hippocampus. Because Entiren can fly, he can grab onto two of his compatriots to steady them, granting each a +2 bonus to this check. Check your results below!
Acrobatics or Athletics 20+:
You fly across the gap between the ships, grabbing onto the pitted hull of the Hippocampus right next to the airlock! One of the goblins is inside, holding on for dear life as all the air rushes out of the Hippocampus, while the other is flung back towards the Acreon.
Acrobatics or Athletics 13-19:
You tumble head over heels, crashing into the side of the Hippocampus. At the last moment, you manage to grab the edge of a battle-scarred panel. You're on the ship, but not close to the airlock. Is that one of the goblins, bouncing off the Acreon?
Otherwise:
You sail into nothingness, watching the sun spin in circles around your head. After a few sickening seconds, you realize that you can see both starships... parked next to each other! It seems that you've completely missed, and without your companion's intervention, you'll likely tumble through space forever.
Earlier Miraj tried to put binders on them when they first surrendered. If he did not achieve that, what rolls are needed to bind their hands around something that anchors them in one of the crew quarters with a working door?
Sorry, I missed that when you first attempted it. Thanks for re-upping.
The goblins don't resist as Miraj zips the binders around their wrists and a bedpost in the neighboring crew cabin (ya know, the one with the working door), although they do whack their helmets against the bed while trying to get a better view of the restraints.
"Whats the deals?!" exclaims the first goblin, "you tryin' to marry me or somethin'?!"
"JOKES ARE ON YOU!!" bellows the second, adding "only reason for marrying is preferring tax statuses, and GOBLINS DON'T PAY NO TAXES ANYHOW!"
Lauren wrote:
"I think you wrong." She flips through the pictures she gathered earlier when researching who Ambassador Nor was, and shows them his picture. "He is decides ownership."
"Big SQUISHY!" admonishes one of the goblins, "don't let creepy dead dude tell you how to lives your lifes!"
Str 14 : Dex 16 : Con 12 - 2 : Int 10 : Wis 12 : Cha 9 | Acrobatics +6, Diplomacy +1, Life Science +4, Medicine +4, Piloting +3, Survival +5 (AC check -1)
Angrid Axeflail wrote:
"Care for a beer?"
Angrid plops down beside the Shirren, pops open an IPA, and offers one from her travel cooler.
{"By the gods, you are a saint."} Vchk gladly accepts the proffered beer, savoring the hoppy aroma while idly picking bits of corpse and ectoplasm off his armor.
Str 14 : Dex 16 : Con 12 - 2 : Int 10 : Wis 12 : Cha 9 | Acrobatics +6, Diplomacy +1, Life Science +4, Medicine +4, Piloting +3, Survival +5 (AC check -1)
Is there any way to tell if there's a direction to the blood smear? Does it run from port to starboard or vice versa? If not...Fate:1d2 ⇒ 2Starboard (northeast room)
{"I'm with Andgrid on this one. Let's find out what left this mess - dead or alive."}
Vchk walks through the bloodied doorway, machine gun at the ready, telepathing softly. {"Yoo whoo... Housekeeping..."}
Acrobatics +9, Athletics +5, Culture +9, Engineering +9, Medicine +7, Piloting +9, Profession (cook) +10, Sense Motive +6, Slight of Hand +9, Stealth +11, Survival +11 (+15 to trick attack)
I like Ainsemseo's idea to style our ship like a Starhive Drone, with its bug-like appearance. The Pantala could even be a Starhive Drone that was originally purchased as part of a shirren or formian defense force before going to military surplus, bouncing around a few owners, collecting a few modifications, and finally landing in our laps like a well-worn but still-running insectile Humvee.
Str 8 : Dex 14 : Con 10 : Int 13 : Wis 18 : Cha 10 | Culture +6, Diplomacy +1, Engineering +7, Mysticism +9, Perception +8, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +5, Survival +10, -1 ACP
Seeing the vicious-looking creatures, Cournae immediately taps into the Akashic plane. Her mind whirls, gleaning scraps of knowledge until she finds an old favorite - the complete history of Castrovellian cheeses. Siphoning this knowledge, she psychically injects it into the closest flying serpent, melting its mind with the knowledge of 100 generations of elvish dairy farmers.
Move action to find some cover; standard action to cast mind thrust (1st level) at the closer creature.
Mind Thrust Damage:2d10 ⇒ (4, 5) = 9 DC 14 Will save for half damage; mind-affecting, no effect on creatures without an Intelligence score.
Just an FYI - I've had a friend express interest in trying out PbP and playing some Dead Suns, so we'll be getting a sixth PC in the near future. Be nice, children.
I think that intentionally blurring the line between what is monstrous and what is playable is a key design aspect in the worldbuilding of Starfinder, so we're unlikely to see any sort of split in Archive materials.
I also don't think we'll see a split between the PC/NPC rules in future rulebooks, because that leads to some issues for the person physically organizing the book's layout - where do you put the art or the lore text? It'll end up with readers flipping back and forth so they can read both entries.
For those of you saying that a list of separated PC stats would be useful for players to browse, don't forget that Alien Archive delineates playable races in the very useful table of contents.
Str 8 : Dex 14 : Con 10 : Int 13 : Wis 18 : Cha 10 | Culture +6, Diplomacy +1, Engineering +7, Mysticism +9, Perception +8, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +5, Survival +10, -1 ACP
"Thank you, Hido! I feel much better with a digital backstory. Just gotta work on my new personality."
Later on, when the ysoki is alone, she stands in front of the mirror, wearing her secondhand radiation suit with bits of formalwear - some nice earrings and a worn, but previously expensive scarf - layered over the heavy rubber and plastic. She whispers to herself in an over-the-top Akitonian drawl.
"When Lady Rebella, heir to a mining fortune, was caught in a freak solar storm, she was presumed dead, and her entire fortune was lost to an evil cousin. But she was not dead! The cosmic rays had transformed her into a mighty killing machine! But, an elegant one! With class! With nowhere to go, she turned to the gladiatorial circuit, hoping to earn enough to hire an estate lawyer and win back her fortune! She is... LADY RAD-ELLA! Whoo! Yeaaaah!"
Fast-forward...
GM Blazej wrote:
"Welcome to Brilliance. Based on your what you are carrying I can make some assumptions on the purpose of your visit, but, for the record, could I get your names and purposes for arriving on station?"
Cournae trundles up in her heavy environmental suit, silk scarf trailing behind her. She's not quite waist-high on "Reno" and barely clears "Gabril's" knee.
"My name is THE Lady Rad-ella, and I am here to avenge the mismanagement of my estate!" After a moment's uncomfortable pause, she adds, "err, by fighting. With them. Well, not fighting with them. They haven't stolen anything from me. I am here with them. And I am also here to fight."
Pact Worlds is out, folks! I have dutifully added the sweet, sweet new Pact Worlds gear to everyone's favorite equipment spreadsheet. The new gear includes:
Seven new weapon families, including a cheaper line of sniper rifles, actual sword canes, and some sick organic whips.
A new family of solarian weapon crystals with a lower price bracket.
Ten new weapon fusions, including one that that hides your weapon as an actual tattoo and one that allows your weapon to create its own ammo from UPBs.
Three new families of armor (one light, two heavy).
Eleven new armor upgrades, including an invisibility cloak.
A... bunch... of new technological, magic, and hybrid items. More than I feel like counting, at least.
Quickly re-aiming the Missile Launcher on the enemy ship, telling the missile to jet around and target the enemy's forward arc. As usual, he requests assistance from Clive.
WOW!
"That missile strike is substantially more destructive than what statistical data would indicate for analogous payloads. In fact, my initial calculations show that to better than a one in two-thousand shot.
