Goblin Squad Member. Pathfinder Society GM. Starfinder Society GM. 11,020 posts (42,859 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 82 Organized Play characters. 39 aliases.
Presenting Jabari Kybwa'ka, CG Male Human (Bonuwat) Ranger (Tidal Hunter) 4!
Alright, given the statements about relative party poverty, I based my purchases on the idea of WBL for a level 2 PC, rather than 4 (so, around 1000gp), and did not select any magical items - so basically, just some masterwork gear.
Brief Background:
Jabari Kybwa'ka originated from a largely peaceful coastal Bonuwat community, which largely lived a subsistence lifestyle, harvesting the bounty of the ocean. Jabari's family, however, was one of the few 'specialised' clans - they were renowned pearl divers, who collected objects that could be traded to passing merchants for the items that the local community could not produce themselves.
Unfortunately, a group of pirates caught wind of this, and after ransacking the town one night, shanghai'ed Jabari. At first, he truly loathed his captors, but after a while, he began to sympathise with them (in the Stockholm Syndrome sense), eventually discovering that professing a fervent belief in Besmara would offer him a modicum of protection - and over time, the line between act and real belief blurred, until Jabari himself did not ken the difference.
Now, after being passed through several crews, Jabari does not remember, and probably would not recognise, the innocent young man that he once was - now, he revels in his position as a 'free' pirate.
That said, the only one he truly trusts is his pet snake - pirates can (and generally will) betray you, but you always know where you stand with a cold-blooded reptile.
I thought it would be fun to build a semi-aquatic PC, so I went with this build.
Stat Block:
Jabari Kybwa'ka
Male Human (Bonuwat) Ranger (Tidal Hunter) 4
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception +10
**+2 on Initiative whilst above or below water
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex)
hp 26 (4d10+4) 3d10 + 10 ⇒ (1, 3, 7) + 10 = 21
Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +3
SPECIAL ABILITIES Eye For Talent (Replaces Human Bonus Feat)
Humans have great intuition for hidden potential. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks. In addition, when they acquire an animal companion, bonded mount, cohort, or familiar, that creature gains a +2 bonus to one ability score of the character’s choice. This racial trait replaces the bonus feat trait.
Heart of the Sea (Replaces Skilled)
Humans born near the sea are always drawn to it. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Profession (sailor) and Swim checks, and these are always class skills for them. They can hold their breath twice as long as normal, and spellcasters gain a +4 racial bonus on concentration checks when attempting to cast spells underwater. This racial trait replaces skilled.
Favored Enemy (Human):
+2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of his selected type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. A ranger may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.
Waterborn (Su):
A tidal hunter can breathe water for up to 10 minutes per ranger level each day. At 6th level, he can breathe underwater indefinitely.
This replaces wild empathy and the 6th-level combat style feat.
Keen Scent (Ex):
A tidal hunter gains scent, as per the universal monster rule. At 12th level, while in water, the tidal hunter can detect particularly strong or distinct odors (such as blood) up to 1 mile away.
This replaces track and camouflage.
Aquatic Mastery (Ex):
At 3rd level, a tidal hunter must select water as his favored terrain, and he doesn’t gain additional favored terrains. At 8th level and every 5 levels thereafter, the bonus from this favored terrain increases by 2.
This alters favored terrain.
At higher levels, I will double-down on the 'grapple build' for the snake.
Here is a simple stat-block for my submission: Chochok Tooth-Gatherer, a CG Shoanti Skald, with a melee focus!
Role in the Party:
For the most part, he fights in melee with an Estoc, but when things get dicey, he can use Alter Self or Wild Shape to increase his number of attacks per round.
Apart from that, his spells focus mostly upon utility.
A Little Bit of Background:
Chochok Tooth-Gatherer is one of the many Shoanti who have been forced to live in the run-down slums on the edges of the city, after being driven from their traditional lands.
That would be bad enough, but his maternal grandmother was a Varisian woman, which marked him as 'different' to the other Shoanti slum children, making him a target of bullying. Chochok was forced to endure plenty of punishment, but he endured it with all of the fortitude and willpower he could muster.
This steely perseverance was recognised by an old, half-blind skald, who regaled him with the stories of his people, instilling a powerful longing for a homeland that he had never seen, and ancestors that he had never met, in the impressionable lad...
The Crunch:
Chochok Tooth-Gatherer
Male Human (Shoanti) Skald (Totem Skald) 5
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +4 Dex)
hp 47 (5d8+10) 4d8 + 8 ⇒ (7, 8, 8, 6) + 8 = 37
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +5
+1 Save Vs. Disease
+5 on checks to stabilise, and die at -(Con+0.5xCL)
Combat Gear Amulet of Mighty Fists (Agile), +1 Mithril Chain Shirt, +1 Estoc, Cloak of Resistance +1, Boots of the Cat, Masterwork Backpack
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Heart of the Wilderness (Replaces Skilled Racial Trait)
Bardic Knowledge (Ex):
A skald adds 1/2 his class level (+2) on all Knowledge skill checks, and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained.
Raging Song (Su): (13/day).
- Inspired Rage (Su):
- Song of Marching (Su):
Scribe Scroll:
At 1st level, a skald gains Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat.
Versatile Performance (Ex): Sing (Bluff, Sense Motive)
Well-Versed (Ex):
At 2nd level, the skald becomes resistant to sonic effects. The skald gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made against bardic performance, as well as all sonic or language-dependent effects.
Totem (Su): (Mountain Lion - Tiger)
Song of the Beast (Su):
Totem Empathy (Ex and Sp):
Wild Empathy for felines, and Charm Animals (Felines) 1/day
Wild Shape (Su): (Caster Level CL-1)
1/day (Small or Medium Felines only)
Arcadia was originally born in Kyonin, but as a young and foolish Elf, they were possessed by wanderlust, and under the guise of a 'religious pilgrimage' they ended up travelling around the Inner Sea. At one point they visited the lands edging the Worldwound, and ended up lost at its edges.
If it had not been for the intercession of a mysterious stranger, they would never have made it back alive.
Since then, they have oft left the area of Kenabres, but for some reason, they always seem drawn back to it; their dreams tell them that there is someone they need to meet, and something they need to do there, but as to precisely what that might be, the truth of the matter remains frustratingly elusive, just beyond the edge of conscious thought...
Their 'Reliquary' item is an antique holy symbol of Desna, and their main weapon is a bow - mechanically, I see them as being vaguely self-sufficient, a lover of travel and song, who sees the Cult of Desna as worthy of belief, as it dovetails so well with their own predilections.
A Little Crunch:
Humanoid (Elf) - alternate racial traits: Light Against Darkness, Long-Limbed
If it helps, one of the things I would intend to go with as part of Delta's obsession, is to take the Early Stage Adaptation Species graft, so that I qualify for the Bud Drone feat, so that in turn, I can make my drone an actual living creature (albeit an aberration).
Delta-CloudCatI.Q.Prime is a hologramatic submind 'birthed' from an AI research project that was cataloguing information about the Burning Archipelago. They have an incredible curiosity about the Deep Cultures, and how life could have adapted to survive in such hostile environments.
Although they themselves are synthetic, they are obsessed with the possibility of bridging the gap between biological and synthetic life, happily installing non-cybernetic parts into themselves.
Mechanically, I would be going for Lead Engineer - either a Mechanic, or a Technomancer with the Drone Technomancy alternate class feature.
When it is clear that Rimmer is getting ready to move out again, he is approached by Ms Nott's aide, who explains that his superior has another business deal for Rimmer.
Lead back to her office, she expounds at length.
"After you took care of that rogue computer system that was interfering with our *own* networks, a new structure appeared on the surface of the planet."
Clicking a button summons up a holographic display showing a strange, spiral-shaped tower that appears to be made of the same bio-mechanical material as the last structure Rimmer investigated.
"There is an extremely powerful tight-beam signal being sent from this tower. Our analysts have yet to identify were it is headed, or the contents of the message, but we doubt it is anything good for us. We would like you to investigate, neutralise any threats, and shut down the signal. Obviously, we will offer you hazard pay - to the tune of 25,000 credits. Are you up for the job?"
Ms Nott is delighted at the safe return of her xenoarchaeologists, and offers Arnold and Konkrud a 5000 credit honorarium for getting them home safely.
Chiskisk, on the other hand, is *far* more delighted with the data that Rimmer managed to recover, and readily wires him the 100,000 credits that were promised.
Initially, Nifri doesn't looked convinced, but when his colleagues urge him to comply, and he looks over Rimmer's weaponry, he meekly complies.
A thorough investigation confirms that, physically at least, he is indeed actually a kasatha, and not another one of whatever that thing from before was.
The kasatha is understandably confused and horrified.
"WHAT?! I fled after we set off the computer, to try and find help, but fell afoul of the security systems, and ended up barely clinging to life here?!"
Rimmer doesn't quite grasp the research of the first area, but the finished project on the dais in the second area is all-too understandable: A fully-functional Nanotech Golem!
Fortunately, it appears to be in 'standby' mode.
Sorting through the crystals, Rimmer manages to recover a few that could act as spell gems!
A spell gem of arcane eye, a spell gem of flight (5th level), and a spell gem of slow.
Sorting through the wreckage, Rimmer finds two identical metallic badges, that appear to be quantum entanglement badges!
In addition, he finds several limbs sticking out of the junk pile... attached to the body of a *very* familiar kasatha - Nifri! However, this one appears to be badly injured, and unconscious.
The Nifri already with you freaks out at this.
"Why the hell is there a copy of me here? What is going on?!"
His confusion and agitation seems fairly genuine, but Rimmer notices a patch of weirdly-coloured and undulating skin that briefly appears on the side of 'Nifri's' neck, before disappearing down his back.
Metallic islands equipped with bizarre machinery rise from the floor of this crowded laboratory. A miniature force field surrounds a growth of iridescent crystals to the north. A nearby display features crystalline fragments on metal slides. Bundles of wires and cables attached to each piece of equipment trail along the floor before disappearing into the chamber’s walls. In the southern part of the room, strict tidiness and order give way to a pile of overturned machines, dented metal slabs, and broken glass.
On closer inspection...
Three workstations to the northwest are covered in microscopes trained on cultures taken from some kind of technomagically treated biomass.
Life Science *and* Mysticism to learn more.
The workstations in the eastern segment focused on the military use of nanotech. Southeast of the door, a cylindrical shell atop the table is surrounded by bits of mechanical components and bundled nanite filaments. A completed version of this technology stands opposite this workstation on a small dais.
Engineering to learn more.
The destroyed equipment to the south includes broken vials and beakers that litter the floor. Warped chunks of metal are all that remain of what was once specialized machinery unknown to the Pact Worlds.
Perception check.
The crystals contained in the central part of the lab appear to hold magical energy.
Having had a bit of practice, Rimmer manages to hack into the system. Unfortunately, he still doesn't understand the language on the computer, but he is nonetheless able to download a *lot* of data.
Cataloguing all of the items in the room reveals a lot of junk, a bunch of stuff that has deteriorated over time, and even more the purpose of which is difficult to tell, but Rimmer manages to uncover some usable stuff:
A suit of enginerunner armor, a mk 1 spell reflector armor upgrade, three ultra-capacity batteries, and a vorpal fusion seal (18th).
Rimmer easily bypasses the touchscreen, but has less luck hacking the system - as with the other computer, it uses both a language, and a programming language that he does not know.
Rows of floor-to-ceiling metal shelves crowd the northern half of this oblong chamber. Packets of ammunition, deconstructed weapons, armor components, and computer parts are crammed onto the shelves. Metal crates labeled in indecipherable symbols form mountainous jumbled piles to the south. A sleek, metallic desk faces the southwestern wall, a sole bastion of tidiness in the haphazardly stocked warehouse. The desk’s multitiered surface supports a computer surrounded by neatly stacked data chip cases.
If you desire to, you can search through the assembled stuff for anything usable, but that will likely take several hours.
The computer has a touchscreen that is coded to only responded to a certain type of DNA, but you can bypass that restriction with a Computers or Engineering check.
After that, you need to make another Computers check to actually hack the system.
The trio look to one-another, and then the quorlu speaks up:
"I think it would be best if we stuck with you, at least until you head back to the AbadarCorp branch. It seems like you are pretty strong, and I think we would be safest around you."
Rimmer determines that the planet holographically displayed at the center of the room is Jedarat. In addition to Jedarat’s mountain ranges and valleys, the map displays the entire infrastructure of what was once a planet-spanning installation. All wings of the facility save for the nexus at its center flash orange, indicating the extensive damage dealt to those sectors.
Rimmer's first attempt to hack the computer ends in failure, thanks to him not being familiar with the language used to program it, which sets off a shock grid.
16d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 4, 6, 1, 2, 1, 2, 6, 1, 1, 6, 3, 2, 4, 6) = 53 Electricity damage, DC 30 Fort for half.
Fortunately, his second attempt is more successful, granting Rimmer access to the system, allowing him to turn off the system (including its automated defences).
A detailed dig through the system allow him to learn that these ruins are the nexus of a planetwide facility built by the Sivv Dominion, and that the malfunctions top-side are due to a Sivv virus infecting them, and trying to take control.
To save Jedarat from further terraforming malfunctions, I will need another Computers check.
Surprisingly, Rimmer's words manage to calm the kasatha down.
Computers or Engineering check to learn more. Culture or Physical Science to learn more. Computers to hack into the computer, and then another two to download information.
Orange lights blink and displays flash from the array of computer consoles and machinery. Unlike the other rooms, the walls of this chamber are composed entirely of metal, making it difficult to distinguish individual pieces of equipment. Rectangular consoles jut out from the walls and floor around the chamber’s perimeter. A large, hexagonal workstation stands alone at the center of the room. Each of its six sides consists of a panel of switches, buttons, and keys. A holoprojector atop the device displays a three-dimensional topographical map of a mountainous planet.
Of more immediate concern, however, are the disheveled, tired, cold, hungry, and frightened trio huddled against one wall: A quorlu, an android, and kasatha.
Each of the examination tables has an integrated data-terminal, which can be hacked. Unfortunately, the text within is in a language that Rimmer does not understand.
Curiously, a very thorough search reveals a trap on a seemingly unremarkable section of wall...
(Computers or Mysticism to try and disable.)
...however, with Konkrud's assistance, it is revealed to be a secret door!
Rimmer discovers no trap, and easily opens the door.
This room’s vibrant purple walls subtly expand and contract in a motion eerily reminiscent of a living organ. A network of metal pipes connects three free-standing metal cylinders along the chamber’s northeastern wall. Three metallic examination tables with circular indents at one end occupy most of the room.
However, before you can explore the chamber properly, two of the metal cryo-cylinders explode, disgorging horrifically mutated bodies, covered in tentacles and mouths oozing strong acid...
Rimmer and Konkrud make it through the door not a moment too soon, as a disintegration beam bathes the entirety of the entrance chamber in a 'cleansing' glow.
The space the duo has escaped into is a circular hallway surrounding the central hub of the nexus. Three unlabeled doors protected by more biometric locks exit this space.
After a literal hail of bullets, Rimmer overloads the forcefield, causes it to break.
The ramp descends into a circular room surrounding a transparent, cylindrical chamber filled with a blue, plasma-like substance. A hinged panel built into the central tube bears a block of holographic pictograms. The walls encircling the area are mottled red and purple with brown, scabby patches festering at random intervals around the chamber. This material is reinforced with panels of glossy metal. Arcane symbols inscribed on these panels glow and gradually fade before appearing elsewhere around the room. The only exit from this room is a sealed circular aperture to the west.
If you want to identify what is going in this room, feel free to make an Engineering check.
The remnants of a spiral walkway emerge from the snow-covered ground like the fossilized backbone of an ancient beast. This ramp coils downward into a wide tube built into the planet’s surface. Both the ramp and the shaft it encircles are constructed of a spongy, purplish-red material reinforced with sheets of a polished metallic substance. A translucent dome of shimmering energy covers the opening.
The dome is a forcefield that has Hardness 20, and 250 hp. Have at!
Rimmer readily turns off the projector, but the garbled code of the robots proves to be outside his ken.
Konkrud, on the other hand, speaks the universal language of 'break it until it stop', and after reducing the panel to a fizzing mess, almost by accident causes the robots to power-down.
Most of the cabins (A2) are unfinished, being little more than shells.
The building directly east of the village square (A3) is a finished version of the cabins located throughout Snowdrop Village, used for tours and brochures advertising the future vacation community. A cedar double door decorated with a festive wreath faces Snowdrop Village’s promenade to the west. Rear doors open onto two spacious wooden decks to the north and south. Inside the cabin, plush faux-fur rugs cover the lacquered wooden floor, and a stone fireplace adorns the building’s southern wall. The cabin’s decor features a warm color palette and kitschy decorations meant to emulate a lived-in, rustic atmosphere.
The state-of-the-art kitchenette in the northern part of the cabin features marble countertops and stainless-steel kitchen appliances.
Rimmer (Konkrud understandably doesn't understand what is considered 'normal' for a kitchen) indentifies a piece of equipment that doesn’t belong in the kitchen: a sleek control panel designed to control the holograms and robots outside.
Computers or Engineering to turn off the holoprojector.
It takes the better part of ten minutes, but an exhausted Rimmer finally manages to free his plucky Space Goblin companion, who only managed to survive thanks to his Environmental Field Collar.
Having survived this final obstacle, the comedy duo is finally able to make it to the 'disappearance' site.
Hardpack Valley is a sprawling construction site populated with cabins in varying degrees of completion. The cabins surrounding the village square at the center of the valley are completely built, while the buildings on the community’s outer edges are little more than foundations.
The village’s predominant architectural style is a quaint alpine design with a modern twist. A-frame log structures are augmented with walls constructed of metal and glass, and silver solar panels adorn the roofs. The cabins have open plan rooms, and each housing unit is equipped with a wooden deck.
As you approach the village square, you walk past heavy construction machinery, abandoned and barely identifiable beneath a blanket of fresh-fallen snow. Snowdrifts also conceal piles of lumber, metal, and other construction materials.
The impression of a sleepy village of modern log cabins is spoiled by the blizzard raging through the valley. The buildings surround a towering, blue-needled coniferous tree bristling with long, silver pinecones at the center of an otherwise empty promenade. Metal sculptures of cavorting squoxes stand beneath the tree’s snow-laden
boughs, and a nearby plaque bears the Common text, “Snowdrop Village, Est. 320 AG.”
A group of holographic elves with pale skin and flowing white hair gather around the tree and sing through the storm in faint voices. The simplistic but catchy carol about wintery wonders echoes ceaselessly throughout the village square, mercifully drowned out by the intermittent howling of the wind.
Konkrud pays more attention to the carolers' merry song as it repeats, and notices incongruous phrases in the lyrics, such as “protect the nexus” and “victory over the kishalee.”
Kokrud also spts a loggerbot—like the ones seen outside the command center chalet—wandering around the incomplete cabins to the west, apparently malfunctioning. This robot looks like a female dwarf with twin blonde braids whose chassis resembles a red-and-green checkered flannel outfit. The robot hacks at the side of a building with its axe, abruptly stops, and walks into a wall for a few seconds before finally correcting itself and wandering behind a nearby cabin.
Konkrud: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (9) + 21 = 30.
Konkrud is positive that this is definitely unusual behaviour; something is wrong with the loggerbots.
-----------------------
However, before you can investigate further, a pair of roiling clouds of angry air descend upon the party, and attempt to pound you flat!
The section of ruins where the xenoarchaeologist team disappeared is located 2 miles away from the chalet serving as a disaster relief command center. Power outages make using nearby ski lifts impossible, and visibility and landing concerns rule out air travel. Subzero temperatures (resulting in an environment of extreme cold), deep snowdrifts, and powerful winds turn what would otherwise be a brisk but scenic hike into a dangerous expedition...
In fact, the winds are so ferocious, that about 1/ 3 minutes, Konkrud has to make a DC 22 Reflex save, or be knocked prone!
...the snow that you are crossing crumbles away, revealing that it was a delicate snow-bridge over a *deep* chasm!
Fortunately, Konkrud manages to scramble out of the way just in time, whilst Rimmer is saved from reaching near-terminal velocity by the fact that he has Mk II Force Soles installed, leaving him standing on thin air over a positively abyssal chasm.
At the foot of the slope, the supposedly hard-packed snow proves to be a deep snowdrift, and Konkrud sinks into it like quicksand, with a startled yelp!
I will need a decent Athletics check to free him...
Immediately, a hovering aide brings her some gold-embossed AbadarCorp letterhead, upon which she writes a brief letter of introduction, before affixing her personal hologrammatic seal to it.
"It should not be a problem, but just in case, that should serve as suitable identification to prove that you are a fellow contractor."
Rimmer easily lands the ship, as if there was no inclement weather around at all!
Rugged mountain peaks covered in lush forests rise from Jedarat’s frozen surface. Sprawling construction sites nestle within the mountains and valleys, the heavy equipment and incomplete structures nearly indistinguishable beneath mounting snow drifts. Glimpses of a luxurious log-and-stone building perched on the edge of a steep valley appear through the torrential snowfall. The chalet radiates warmth and inviting golden light from its glass picture windows, and sword-like icicles hang from its eaves.
As you get closer, you see that the structure is a beautifully constructed, two-story alpine lodge with gleaming solar panels integrated into its slanting rooftop. A stone path lined with evergreen shrubs leads to the building’s main entrance: a polished wooden door adorned with an intricately carved wreath of interwoven pinecones and antlers. Throughout the grounds, holograms of pale elves engage in a playful snowball fight while service bots in the shape of burly humanoid mountaineers greet passersby and offer directions.
The festive theme continues inside the chalet. Evergreen wreaths decorate the building’s polished log interior, and stone fireplaces crackle with warmth and light. Instead of housing cheerful vacationers, however, the chalet’s lobby teems with besuited corporate workers anxiously chattering into comm units. The nearby gift shop was recently converted into a first aid station, and the upstairs recreation center currently serves as an emergency conference room.
It is there that you meet with the ranking AbadarCorp executive running the operation here.
Eisyfina Nott is a tall, elderly human woman with umber skin and a cybernetic optical implant in her left eye that gives her the appearance of heterochromia. She wears a slate-gray suit with AbadarCorp’s logo on the lapel. Her silver hair is styled into a sleek bob. She carries a slim white datapad and wears a matching wireless device affixed to one ear.
Ms. Nott invites you into a spacious upstairs loft lit by a roaring fire. The walls and floor of the room are constructed of unfinished wood, and its only furnishings are a few folding camp chairs near the impressive stone fireplace. Floor-to-ceiling picture windows provide a view of the incessant snowstorm outside. Ms. Nott greets you politely, but it’s clear that beneath her polished exterior, she’s gravely troubled about recent events. As she gives you an outline, a young human male assistant arrives and silently offers steaming mugs of spiced cider to the meeting’s participants.
Eisyfina Nott grips the snowflake-patterned mug tightly and takes a sip. She sighs at the momentary pleasure and raises her cup toward her guests, gesturing for them to follow suit. She glances around the room to make sure she has everyone’s attention and speaks candidly for the first time. “The ruins were always a problem. This planet is chock full of them. When resort construction started, we decided to build around the ruins instead of razing them. The idea was to add a bit of local color to the project.” Ms. Nott laughs ruefully. “Of course, we did our due diligence and sent teams in to explore. The teams found nothing of interest, and we still have no idea what ruins are, or who—or what—built them.
About a week ago, we discovered another set of ruins in the valley below. This structure was different. It was a walkway surrounding a passage that led deep underground. We immediately sent a team in. None of us expected them to find anything unusual, and New Horizons started drafting plans for an interactive museum incorporating the structure. The last communication we received from that team was disturbing, to be frank. I’ll send it to you.” Ms. Nott pauses and taps her datapad. The simultaneous chiming of multiple comm units instantly signals the file’s delivery.
“Talla, the team leader, reported that one of her squad somehow activated a piece of machinery within. That’s when our terraforming equipment went berserk. Before the comms went dark, Talla said the site’s defenses were back online. I don’t know what that means, but it doesn’t sound good. Topside, we haven’t been able to disconnect or hack into whatever’s causing the disturbance.” She furrows her brow and takes a long drink from her mug. “We haven’t heard from them in over a week. They had plenty of supplies, but they’re researchers, not trained combatants. I’m afraid something might happen to them long before they run out of rations.”
Ms. Nott gently sets her mug down on the stone hearth and types another command into her datapad. She turns the device to display a detailed topographical map of a valley with a set of coordinates marked in red. “This is the team’s last known location. I realize you might have other motives in accepting this contract. Rescuing the team and shutting down whatever’s causing this storm is my only concern. If you succeed, AbadarCorp will compensate you for your efforts.”
Ms. Nott also informs you that the team consists of Talla, a female quorlu; Ariad-N5, an agender android; and Nifri Zamas Gidren Sye, a male kasatha. She insists that they’re professionals who have had no problems exploring other ruins in the past.
The short video-clip that she sent you is fairly grim viewing.
The shaky footage pans a circular room crowded with machinery. Lights link from what appear to be computer consoles, though the technology differs from anything found in the Pact Worlds. The camera’s operator flips the device to reveal herself as a quorlu bundled in heavy thermal gear. Two other humanoids huddle in a corner behind her. “We woke it up,” she whispers in Common. A warning klaxon howls in the distance. “Dear Gods, the defenses are back online!” The camera shakes violently, and the footage ends abruptly.
Before you leave, AbadarCorp offers you some emergency supplies: four white nanite hypopens (Starfinder Armory 106), two green nanite hypopens (Armory 106), four mk 3 serums of healing, a spell ampoule of haste; and two week’s worth of R2E rations.
New Horizons Luxury Retreats is a subsidiary company currently owned by AbadarCorp. The start-up company operates primarily in the Vast, specializing in destination housing developments and luxury resorts. New Horizons attracted their powerful benefactor after they successfully built a tropical spa resort on an artificial island within the distant planet of Yunal’s worldwide oceans.
New Horizons Luxury Retreats was relatively unknown in the Pact Worlds until they cemented a deal with AbadarCorp and the Xenowardens to terraform Jedarat into a winter resort. This joint project began 7 years ago and is nearing completion.
New Horizons Luxury Retreats recently recruited several ex-employees of Paradise Resorts, the company responsible for the disastrous VIP resort opening of New Elysium in the Diaspora that lead to guest deaths and injuries. The similar employee rosters have spurred nasty rumors that the “curse” of Paradise Resorts now plagues New Horizons.
Physical Science:
Jedarat is an inhospitable planet in the Vast discovered in 312 ag. Its poor atmosphere, icy climate, and remote location disappointed the explorers who first landed there.
AbadarCorp saw potential in the remote world. Together with the start-up company New Horizons Luxury Retreats and the Xenowardens, AbadarCorp purchased construction rights and began terraforming Jedarat only a year after its discovery.
While Jedarat isn’t home to any known indigenous sentient life, mysterious ruins cover the surface of the planet. The architecture and materials found within these ruins don’t match any records of known ancient civilizations. A series of AbadarCorp xenoarchaeology teams have explored the ruins, but the ruins’ origins and purposes remain a mystery.
Conspiracy theorists believe Jedarat was once home to a powerful ancient civilization whose technology far exceeded that of the Pact Worlds. Depending on who’s asked, different conspiracists believe this alien species might have designed all life in the Pact Worlds, conquered many systems in the Vast before ultimately destroying themselves, or simply hid away in the subterranean structures beneath the ice.
Life Science:
Sivvs are a now-extinct species of aliens responsible for the creation of the doomsday weapon known as the Stellar Degenerator, a piece of which was towed to Absalom Station 3 years ago. News of the fragment's existence ignited a hunt for the weapon itself, which led to its discovery within a secret demiplane.
Few facts are known about sivv anatomy or culture, save that they were a nonhumanoid species who relied heavily on technomagical devices and weapons. They were conquerors who perpetually warred with another mysterious species known as the kishalee, and their civilization apparently declined long before the Gap.
(Your Drift travel passes uneventfully.)
As you enter Jedarat’s atmosphere and prepare for landing on the icy world, you can spot the project’s significant progress, complete with efforts at commercialization. Cheerful holo-billboards rising from the snowy ground feature several picturesque wintry scenes: quaint villages nestled among snow-capped peaks, sapient species partaking in winter sports, and ads for cozy log cabins equipped with state-of-the-art home upgrades.
Partially constructed communities dot the planet’s mountainsides and valleys. Vast forests of cerulean coniferous trees surround these idyllic villages, and ski lifts traverse the frozen hills. However, the constant blizzard raging over the planet’s surface obscures much of this winter wonderland.
Even though you have been given planetary coordinates for a landing site (near a chalet converted into a disaster relief HQ), fierce winds whip at your starship, drive blinding snow into the viewports, and obscure scanner readings, all of which make navigation more difficult than usual.
Give me a Piloting check to find the landing site!
After resting on Absalom Station for some time, Arnold Rimmer is once again called upon by Starfinder Forum Member Chiskisk for help with a 'small' task, via a holo-message that is played back to you just after you enter the Drift on your way to your destination.
"Hello old friend! How have you been since the Kishalee debacle?
Several years ago, Pact Worlds explorers discovered an inhospitable little ice-planet of a planet that they named Jedarat. A group project cosponsored by
AbadarCorp, the Xenowardens, and a start-up company called New Horizons Luxury Retreats began terraforming Jedarat to turn it into a wintry resort world. As they worked, scientists and engineers uncovered pieces of some ancient technomagical facilities buried within the ice. AbadarCorp xenoarchaeologists began exploring the accessible portion of the ruins, even as resort construction efforts continued apace.
Recently, a team investigating the ruins of Jedarat stumbled upon a tunnel leading to a larger section of the facility deep underground. They accidentally restored power to this part of the facility, and its computers interfaced with the nearby terraforming equipment, creating climatic chaos. The team became trapped within the facility by powerful automated defense systems and a fierce blizzard in the valley above them. The corruption of the terraforming equipment threatens to spread throughout the planetary network, putting all corporate progress on Jedarat in jeopardy. The organizations invested in Jedarat’s future have much to lose, and an old friend of mine at AbadarCorp reached out to me.
Ancient and dangerous technology seems to be your area of expertise. Moreover, the Starfinder Society has a vested interest in investigating the planet of Jedarat - according to the xenoarchaeologists on the ground, the ruins exhibit “potential similarities” to the Drift Rock previously investigated by you.
I want you to explore the ruins on the Society’s behalf, prioritizing the analysis of architecture and technology. I would like a full report of any findings, including your professional opinion about whether Jedarat’s ruins are connected to either the kishalee or sivv empires. Of course, you well be handsomely rewarded - for useful data, I am authorised to compensate you to the tune of 100,000 credits!"
It takes 5d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 6, 4, 6) = 21 days to reach your destination. During that time, I will take Culture, Physical Science, and Life Science checks to recall additional information.
