The object in question is an incredibly old pulsecaster pistol. The battery doesn't match gun's terminals so it's been taped below the barrel and two wires whose insulation is cut and worn in places run from the battery lead into a small black pillbox glued to the side of the battery, and from thence to the leads in the gun's battery socket.
You have just a few moments to examine the weapon before the boom of an explosion and gentle wave of pressure rock your world figuratively and literally.
Wazasha spits out, "Finally something good! Get some closeups!" Drones swoop in and hover about 4 feet from your faces.
Luanna, the scat appears to vary in age, from very dry and presumably old, to somewhat more moist and presumably fresher, no more than a day or two old.
One of the corpse folk says quietly to Idir, "It's hard to believe, but ratings jumped after they aired your Booth segment. Keep that up and maybe we'll all get bonuses. "
There's something on a small ledge near the top of the wall ... It's just a little too high for even Grathus to reach from the ground.
The tunnels seem endless. Wazasha decides to fill this relatively unexciting time. "Idir, now might be a good time to have you in the booth."
Idir:
The force field curtain and noise barrier goes up and you're alone with the cameras. Wazasha speaks through an intercomm, "Idir, tell us a little about yourself. How did you meet Zo! ?"
After you're through with that, she asks, "What do you think about the mission so far? Is Salvation's End what you expected?"
While Idir's riding and presumably talking in the booth, the rest of you walk along until you come across another few drone and service bots, disabled, dismantled, and dismembered, similarly to the previous ones.
Farther down the tunnel, you also find a midden containing both refuse and excrement.
DC 10 Engineering:
The trash consists largely of low-value technological scraps that might have been attached to something more valuable.
DC 10 Life Sciences:
The ample excrement comes from goblins.
same Life Sciences roll of 15 or more:
Some omnivorous creature about the size of a vesk was the source of another pile.
DC 14 Survival:
Several creatures visited this midden within the past hour, and you can confidently follow the goblin tracks further down the tunnels.
The tunnel beyond the doors is lined with sheet metal, conduit, and piping. Since you're leading, the camera lights cast long shadows from your feet stretching until they're swallowed by the deeper darkness of the tunnels.
A network of service tunnels crisscrosses this outermost subsurface layer. Almost every light fixture is broken or malfunctioning, making the 15-foot-tall tunnels dark but for the occasional, haunting flicker of light from the distance. In the few places where it seems signage once hung, someone has purposefully defaced or removed the analog signs and torn out any digital displays. Occasionally the tunnel wall is ruptured, exposing the rock behind.
.
As you explore, Wazasha prompts you to voice your thoughts aloud.
Engineering or Computers DC 12:
the technological elements in these tunnels seem to be roughly comparable to Pact Worlds’ technology but are of a design never before documented.
Physical Science, DC 12:
The rock appears to be natural, but there are signs of warping and buckling as though the moon has eriodically experienced heavy forces such as strong gravitational forces or the large-scale movement of something large toward the moon’s core.
You go a short distance before finding the first broken robot of an unknown design.
You'll find other broken and incomplete robots and drones of unknown design at irregular intervals along the worn steel hallways.
"No time now. Get in line with the others and we'll put you in the booth later. GET IN LINE PEOPLE. LIGHTS, CAMERAS READY."
A flurry of activity from the crew getting everything ready for the first shot. Lights and cameras point your way.
When you line up you can see yourself on the monitors, and the doors behind. The background blurs out and is replaced with shadowy shifting muted colors. Bold red lettering spelling out LIVE! EXPLORATION! EXTREME! arcs over your head.
Wazasha says, "There will be a voice over for a while. I'll let you know when our mikes are live. Just hold your position and wait for the camera drones to start moving. Look heroic for Kuthon's sake, especially when the cameras zoom onto you. After the intro, go , no march through the doors behind you."
On the monitors you can see a montage of overly dramatic renditions of your personal biographies to introduce viewers to the show’s stars. Obviously Starfinder human resources has fed the 'good' portions of your dossier to Zo!'s team. Cut to a space view of Salvation's End with Exemplarion in orbit. Zoom, rush past Zo!'s ship toward the docking bay on the surface.
A drone zooms from the outer doors toward you. On the monitors the scene transitions smoothly inside the docking bay and picks up the drone's view. On screen fireworks burst in a riot of color behind you. Computer generated smoke clears. Wazasha tells you, "we're live. Mics are hot. Through the doors, explore already."
The doors are heavy built to withstand vacuum and maybe even heavy weapons fire, but they open easily.
Mork's not naturally telepathic, and he smells bad, so you're annoyed. ALso, that was beautiful. How can I twist that? Telepathic so phonetic misrepresentation won't work. I'll just have to play for laughs another way.
Mort's voice is dry, and somehow crusty. "Past tense in the Skyfire Legion, my roll is."
.
" Back to minor military discipline, bring everyone."
.
"Fresh food, possibly a little trouble, I expect."
.
"That this expedition will turn out like most others, there is."
.
"As much trouble as possible, negative conjunction, everyone makes."
.
"Back alive. I don't know anyone else on the -- ."
Mort thumps his chest. "Now team, they be Starfinders though, so at least, they will."
.
"Keep up, definitely can only I speak on one. "
.
"The team's track record, so I say, imperative."
.
"He's the most likely to let down the team , his."
.
"Name is me, and already failed team."
Wazasha holds her face in her hands. "Did somebody drop him on his head? Nine-D, can we use any of that?"
The android operating the Booth answers, "Maybe post-prod can do something with it. Anyway the stoners will love it. There's not time for another take now. Five minutes until we're live. "
Wazasha spins around. "Starfinders! Get over in front of those blast doors. Look heroic and stay there. Nine-D get a monitor set up for them. Let them see the opening scroll. Where's the dromedar and the gibrany? "
Technically no one can see the booth segments until the show goes live.
The tip of Wazasha's tongue creeps out of the corner of her mouth. She nods at the dragonkin. "Mork, in the Booth. Grathus will think to you, and you'll tell the camera what he said. Grathus, this way please."
The corpsefolk Mork puts down a heavy coil of cable, and shambles toward the Booth. It's soon apparent that the Booth was really designed for just one person. Grathus' tail and left wing and occasionally the tip of his right poke through the translucent privacy energy screen. Even though Mort is inches from cuddling Grathus, his entire back is also protrudes outside. Despite this,the noise cancelling effect still holds and those outside can't hear what's said.
Grathus:
Inside the booth is very sparse. The chair wasn't designed with dragonkin in mind. It's uncomfortable. There are two camera ports, the sign that says look here. Wazasha is outside and speaks to you through an intercomm.
" You look every inch the hero, Grathus. You're such a physically impressive specimen compared to the others. The fans will love it if you play that up. Now please for the camera, tell us about yourself, your roll with the Starfinders, and your expectations for this expedition? Will your teammates be able to keep up? Which one do you think is most likely to let the team down?"
No one spoilered their responses so far. ~sigh~ The most fun for me would be if you did spoiler, so that they can read Mort's translation first. But you don't have to. IF you choose to, then title the spoiler something like "peek after Mort translates."
The starship dock featured is roomy. You could park four or five shuttles in here. On the far side of a transparent, temporary bulkhead, a team of workers in heavy mining jack armor bearing the compass rose of the Starfinder Society are repairing a badly damaged, no wrecked, set of outer doors. One of them, a shirren, comes through an airlock in the temporary wall and strides across the bay toward doors to the interior.
After Ferrox finishes, Wazasha nods and thanks the ghibrani. She sees Luanna enter the dock and hustles her into the Booth.
Luanna:
Through the intercomm, Wazasha says, "That was very -- thorough, dear. One more question if you please, have you ever killed anyone in defense of yourself or allies? How did that make you feel?"
After Luanna finishes, Wazasha approaches Grathus. A few a brief verbal-mental conversation, she exclaims, "I can't film telepathy! What was Luwazi thinking? All right. Pick a translator, it can one of your team or one of my crew. "
Sure, you can get it in your color scheme. Luanna gets another choice also if she wishes. Idir also has 2 choices, if he wants. Let me know.
In the hangar bay, the crew finishes their inventory and system checks and starts packing up gear. Wazasha tells the android to deploy the Booth.
"Starfinder Ferrox, I'm sure our fans would love to hear how you're feeling on the eve of this adventure. Would you mind stepping into the booth for a private interview?" Wazasha sweeps a hand invitingly toward the privacy bubble.
Ferrox:
"I'm not sure where your two companions have been taken, but we'll just use this opportunity to get a little footage. Can you tell us about yourself, your roll with the Starfinders, and your hopes and fears on this expedition?"
Another of Zo!'s slim-suited assistants, a simple corpsefolk approaches and signals for Idir and Luanna to follow. "Zo! remembers your previous acquaintance and would like to offer you a token of appreciation. " He leads you to a separate room.
Idir and Luanna:
"There are several manufacturers of adventuring gear that would like to sponsor the show. Zo! doesn't want a lot of company logos cluttering the visual space, but since you are special friends he's willing to make an exception. You may each choose up to two pieces of gear from the samples in here."
Perusing the gear you can see that one main sponsor is Nova Solutions LLC, a family-owned half-orc company that specializes in frontier ready weaponry able to stop even the toughest alien life form in its tracks. t’s sent in several new flame, laser, and plasma weapons from its new Scorched Earth product line, advertised with the motto, “Why end a fight when you can end a planet?” The other main sponsor is Clashwear, the Verces-based producer of comfortably armored clothing that’s on the bleeding edge of Pact Worlds fashion. The high-end stationwear sent covers everything from the stylishly casual to the glamorously eccentric, all created by the wildly popular shirren designer Neshkuay I with the tagline “Dressed to Express.” Additional equipment by less noteworthy companies is also available.
Subtier 1–2 (Armor): Basic iridishell (heavy armor), business stationwear (light armor)
Subtier 1–2 (Weapons): Ember flame doshko (advanced melee weapon), ifrit-class flamethrower (heavy weapon), red star plasma kukri (level 5 one-handed basic melee weapon that deals 1d4 E & F damage, has the wound critical hit effect, has L bulk, and has the operative and powered [capacity 20, usage 1] special properties), static arc pistol (small arm)
Subtier 3–4 (Armor): Elite stationwear (light armor), officer ceremonial plate (heavy armor)
Subtier 3–4 (Weapons): Corona artillery laser (heavy weapon), corona laser pistol (small arm), red star plasma doshko (advanced melee weapon), red star plasma rifle (longarm), skyfire tactical sword advanced melee weapon)
Weapons and powered equipment come with the item’s listed capacity worth of ammunition or charges.
Out in the bay the crew continues going through gear. One of them waves at Grathus, "Didn't I work with you on Heroes of Triaxis? Your wing prothesis looks really good. I'd swear it's real."
"My only connection to the entertainment industry is as a consumer," Luanna admits. "But I've learned how to get along with people and work on a team, so as long as the observers don't get in the way, I'll be okay. My first concern is for the safety of the team and second concern is the success of the mission. Any thought I can give to impressing viewers and earning fans will take a back seat to those mission imperatives."
Wazasha sighs. "So much promise wasted. "
Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:
...
He shudders a bit at Wazasha's tongue flapping around, but tries to keep his own prodigious upper lip stiff.
"I would say I'm...rather boring, I'm afraid..."
...
"...What would you...um...recommend to ameliorate that, Ms. Kevir?"
"A little light flaying and a few hours buried in a bed of hot coals. Unghuhh." Her tongue falls out again and is retreived again by the head flip. "Just joking, dear. Be yourself and it will be fine."
Wazasha stares intently at Luanna while her tongue transits her upper lip from side to side. "The fourth wall?! Do you have experience in entertainment? Usually I tell people to act naturally. Even in the booth, I tell them to talk like the camera is just a friend sitting there. But you should play to the cameras. The fans will eat you up."
See discussion thread for my note on boons and 'the Booth'. I'm moving slowly to the next phase to give a last chance to retcon questions.
The interview complete, Wazasha says, "Follow ..." Her unnaturally long tongue lolls out of her mouth and she flips her head back to return it to a speaking position. "... me." Then she leads you to Exemplarion's shuttle bay. ALong the way she speaks about the show. "Today you're more than Starfinder agents. You're tri-dee stars. Your job isn't just to explore this rock. You've got to entertain. So live big. Act strong. You've got to get the audience to connect with you. So let them know what you're thinking. Show them how you feel.... "
The bay is roomy. In addition two the sleek shuttle, there is a shuttle sized pile of gear. Two androids and twelve ghouls are going through it all, comparing items to an inventory and checking functionality. Most prominent among the gear is a large hexapodal robot, but there's also holocord cameras, boom microphones, reflective screens to amplify natural lighting, and other equipment for properly recording the PCs’ exploits in several multimedia broadcast formats.
While you watch an android uses a datapad to control the robot. The bot marches a few feet, turns a few times and then plants itself on the ground. Three slab sides of the robot scroll upwards to reveal refreshments, portable seats, makeup, some kind of projector, a pair of
heavy-duty broadcast relays, and other equipment necessary to keep the operation running. The top unfolds and doors on a fourth sides wing open to deploy a seat in front of a two-panel screen that creates a visually neutral backdrop. At the same time, the robot deploys a pair of tiny hover drones equipped with cameras as well as a slightly opaque, noise-cancelling bubble to provide some privacy. The android says to Wazasha, "The Booth is ready to go."
"Hello again, Zo!," he says, remembering the undead mogul from the gala before. "It is good to see you again."Oh gods I hope he forgot about the drink I got spilled on him! he thinks to himself.
Zo! looks searchingly at Idir for a few seconds, before nodding. "Agent Idir. Thank you for preserving us from explosive harm. I wish we'd had a camera crew that night."
Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:
Then he nods to Luwazi.
"First Seeker Elsebo. It's an honor and a pleasure, once again."
Luwazi nods her head. "It is for me too, Agent Idir. I'd have liked to reconstitute your original team for this mission, but the others are on remote assignments."
Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:
Idir listens to the "briefing" such as it is and blinks in surprise at Zo!'s monologue. Then he gulps, and turns to Wazasha.
"It is...erm...nice to meet you, Ms. Kevir. Idir, of the herd Fernas, of the Starfinder Society at your service. I...don't recall if we met at the gala."
"Unfortunately I was not at the gala. Zo! had given me an opportunity that I could not refuse on Varos. I was filming a prison break, through the sanitary recycling and evacuation system."
Idir of Herd Fernas wrote:
He turns back to Zo! and Luwazi.
"What should our policy be in regards to possible "first contact" encounters? I've been to Salvation's End previously, and while the situation with the Joros ended relatively amicably, the presence of a film crew may...complicate things, especially if, like the Joros, they've lived their whole lives not knowing the wider moon and indeed galaxy is out there?"
Luwazi replies so smoothly, it sounds prepared, if not actually rehearsed. "Peaceable first contact is always the Starfinder Society's first preference. Facilitating a mutally beneficial exchange of knowledge is one of our primary tenets."
"But don't be afraid to defend yourselves!" Zo! interrupts.
Luanna smiles, amused at Zo!'s attitude and unabashed to be the center of attention, or soon to be. She points to the right side of her head and quips, "This is my good side." Her blue eyes twinkle and her powder blue antennae twitch playfully. Then she adds, "Such explorations are dangerous. Is our crew prepared to defend themselves and administer first aid if the trouble we find does not seem to know that we are the stars and they just the paid staff?"
Then she practices tossing her thick black hair from one shoulder to the other.
Zo! claps his hands. "We can only hope! That would be great tri-Dee. Do your best for them if that happens."
"Ahh,Ferrox is the fourth. All are accounted for now. Please follow me."
The studio takes up the fourth and fifth decks of Exemplarion. It is a large, multi-tiered auditorium with an immense window that looks out over Salvation’s End. Dozens of professionals rush about the studio,
adjusting lights, testing holographic displays, pulling clothes from wheeled wardrobes, cleaning the hundreds of tiered seats, and more. The undead elebrian media mogul Zo! sits on the stage with the Starfinder Society’s First Seeker, Luwazi Elsebo, animatedly telling a story while Luwazi marvels at the ongoing activity. When the First Seeker spots you, she waves for you to walk down the aisles and join them. Assistants immediately rush out with additional chairs to accommodate the new arrivals. (you)
Zo! stands and also gestures for you to climb to the stage. “Yes. Yes! You’re everything I was hoping for,” exclaims the undead showman while looking over the new arrivals. “Oh, Luwazi, you’ve truly outdone yourself. They’re so exciting, so energized, so—”
“—alive?” finishes a ghast woman wearing well-tailored clothing as she steps onto the stage.
Zo! frowns at the blunt observation and tries to respond, but Luwazi intervenes.
“Starfinders, no doubt this is all happening a little fast, so let me explain. After the Scoured Stars incident, the Society struggled to support new expeditions. I reached out to numerous people and organizations for grant money, and our host was eager to help. He financed more than a dozen missions, including the one to Salvation’s End. There was one big catch.”
Zo! visibly bounces in his seat with excitement as Luwazi continues. “If we found anything especially exciting, we’d need to limit exploration long enough for him to get a film crew out there to document whatever we found next. Well, Salvation’s End may look like a moon, but our initial survey of it found there’s something built inside—the whole thing might be artificial. That qualifies as especially exciting, but that was also several months ago.”
The skeletal mogul waves his hands. “Oh, but Luwazi, I couldn’t just send a single crew. No, the Starfinder Society’s greatest triumph deserves far more production value.” He hops up again and gazes out at the moon as he paces and gesticulates. “Imagine: heroes from the Pact World, a mysterious planetoid, untold secrets, limitless adventure—all broadcast before a live audience in our greatest production yet!” He spins to look back at the group, his lipless mouth smiling gleefully. “Live Exploration Extreme!”
The female ghast claps politely before interjecting. “To translate, you’re scheduled to explore part of Salvation’s End accompanied by a professional camera crew and production team. You will find exciting things and be thoroughly entertaining. Any questions?”
Zo! adds "This is Wazasha Kevir, your associate producer. She'll accompany you during your jaunt, and supervise the film crew and pace the event."
Incredibly there's a break in the conversation while everyone breathes. (Or at least 1 of the three breathes, the others pause.) You might be able to fit in a few questions before They start again.
A corpsefolk,a corporeal, intelligent undead, with sickly pale skin, and and advanced case of rot on his left hand that has left the bones of his fingers exposed, interrupts politely. He's wearing the slim maroon business suit that's nearly as tight as the skin drawn over his skull.
The rot and bare bones don't seem to affect his use of the hand. He points at you.
"Pardon me, but are you the Starfinders? I was told I'm to bring you to Zo! and First Seeker Elsebo in the studio, but I only see three of you. There should be four. Is your companion indisposed? Perhaps taking care of an organic inconvenience?"
On first Seeker Luwazi Elsebo's orders, the team has boarded a modest Starfinder shuttle and landed on the Exemplarion, Zo!’s personal starship and luxury space-yacht. Mission details will be communicated on board the media-mogul's ship.
Upon arrival, you're given an opportunity to clean up and to tour the ZO's ship if you wish. The Exemplarion is six decks of luxury. A casino, spa, trio of restaurants, and other extravagant amenities are there to accommodate the hundreds of guests on board.
A chance to pull the team together and get sorted.
It's a tough mission, but you guys did really well. With five players you got to face slightly stronger enemies and that final dragon fight doesn't have an option to scale down for 4 players, so you were playing hard mode.
The ship combat fiasco, I'm going to lay on my plate. I'm sorry. Every ship combat that I've run has been less than optimal. Happy to hear any ideas on how I could get it to move faster or play smoother.
Working on chronicles, still expecting a day job roll from Voldresk, if applicable .
Limping slowly the team follows Lola toward the central room. The forcefield barring the openings is gone.
The finely crafted stairs spiral down to a vault where various strangely shaped bottles and cryptic devices are stored on shelves: the Dreamer’s relics.
With the relics retrieved you make your way back to the ship. Venture-Captain Arvin contacts you on the flight back to Absalom Station. Arvin
is extremely happy, and invites you to personally hand over the relics to Whisperer of Solar Winds. Exactly how these relics may prove beneficial to the Society is as of yet unknown, but Venture-Captain Arvin and the scholars of the Communion Vaults are eager to hear what potent visions Whisperer of Solar Winds might bestow upon them in the future.
Thus concludes the scenario. Please roll your day job if applicable.
BTW, excellent work on that combat. Kanavu has real potential to kill someone especially if his debuffs really take hold.
Stone walls covered with purple runes. The round tablet-topped altar. There's nothing in this room that the dragon is obviously guarding. However glancing through the doorway you came in through, you can see the yellow runes in the circular chamber have disappeared.
By my reading excess damage after 0, doesn't count unless it exceeds your normal total HP, in which case you die. So Idir was at 0. My notation may have been less then truly commmunicative.
Voldresk fires over his two threatened teammates, just as Kanavu lunges forward for another bite. The slug rifles into the dragon's gaping jaws and explodes out the back of its head, streaming darkness. The dragon stops moving and limply hangs in space.
Over the course of the next few minutes the dragon and its wreath of smoke-like shadow evaporates.
Kanavu twists into his own shadows and Idir's shot is lost, hissless, in the gloom. The dromada is staring in disappointment when Kanavu riposte's by lunging at him and its teeth bite deeply. The dragon follows up with a second lunge, as painful as the first.
AoO and regular attack with reach. Both hit for 23 points of damage. which will put Idir at 0 (-2).
Idir is dying:
While dying, you lose 1 Resolve Point each round at the end of your turn. (If your Hit Points reached 0 during your turn, such as from an attack of opportunity you provoked, you do not lose a Resolve Point until the end of your next turn.) This continues until either you die or stabilize (see Stabilizing below). So if no one rescues you, you might as well stabilize by spending an RP to stabilize as described below.
Stabilizing
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 250
There are several ways to stabilize a dying creature, including first aid, healing, and spending Resolve Points. Once stable, you are no longer dying and no longer lose Resolve Points, but you still have 0 Hit Points and are unconscious.
First Aid
You can stabilize a dying creature and keep it from losing any more Resolve Points with a successful DC 15 Medicine check.
Healing
You can stabilize a dying creature and keep it from losing any more Resolve Points with any sort of healing, such as the stabilize spell. Healing that raises a dying creature’s Hit Points to 1 or higher makes it conscious and fully functional again, just as if it had never been reduced to 0 HP.
Using Resolve Points
If you are dying and have enough Resolve Points, you can use them to stabilize. If you’re stable, you can use Resolve Points to regain consciousness and stay in the fight (see below).
Stabilize
If you are dying and you have enough Resolve Points, you can spend a number of Resolve Points equal to one-quarter your maximum (minimum 1 RP, maximum 3 RP) on your turn to immediately stabilize. This means you’re no longer dying, but you remain unconscious and at 0 HP. If you don’t have enough Resolve Points remaining, you cannot use this option and continue to lose Resolve Points as normal as per the dying rules.
Stay In The Fight
If you are stable and have enough Resolve Points, or if you were knocked unconscious from nonlethal damage (see page 252), you can spend 1 RP at the beginning of your turn to regain 1 HP. You are no longer dying, immediately become conscious, and can take the rest of your turn as normal. You can spend Resolve Points to regain Hit Points only if you are at 0 HP and stable, and you cannot regain more than 1 HP in this way. You can’t spend Resolve Points to stabilize and to stay in the fight in the same round.
Long-Term Stability
If you are unconscious and stable but lack the Resolve Points to stay in the fight, there is a chance you will eventually recover on your own. After 1 hour elapses, you must attempt a Constitution check (see Ability Checks on page 242). If the result of this check is 20 or higher, you regain 1 HP and become conscious again. If the result of the check is at least 10 but less than 20, you don’t regain any Hit Points, but you remain stable and you must attempt another Constitution check 1 hour later. If the result of the check is 9 or lower, you die. You must continue attempting a Constitution check once per hour until you regain consciousness or until you die. After 8 hours, if you have not regained consciousness or died, you regain consciousness and recover 1 HP per character level, as if you had a full night’s rest (see Recovering Hit Points Naturally below).
If a healer or medic is tending you are while you are unconscious and stable, the attendant can attempt a DC 15 Medicine check each hour before you attempt your Constitution check. If the Medicine check is successful, you gain a +2 bonus to your Constitution check, and if your Constitution check result is less than 10, you treat it as if the result were a 10.
Constitution Check Result Outcome
20 or higher Heal 1 HP, regain consciousness
10–19 Remain stable, attempt new check in 1 hour
9 or lower Die
Initiative/Status: Round 3 - Everyone to go!
Kanavu : -2 AC 3 rounds -39 HP
Lola : 0 SP, 1 HP
Idir : 0 SP (-2) HP shaken 1 rounds
K.Joro : 0 SP 6 HP
Voldresk : unshaken
GM stuff:
Nightmare bite, AoO:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31 ... damage:1d6 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11 P DC 12 will save or shaken
Nightmare bite:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28 ... damage:1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12 P DC 12 will save or shaken
Kanavu breath available in round 7
Lola : immune to aura
Idir :
K.Joro : immune to aura and bite
Voldresk :
SOrry. Stay-cation this week and I'm prioritizing time with my wife. Will post as able, but probably slow.
Damaged and fragile, Lola backs carefully away. Sensing an easy kill Kanavu follows and lunges to bite again, but the Stafinder fends off the attack.
Initiative/Status: Round 2 - Everyone to go!
Kanavu : -2 AC 3 rounds -39 HP
Lola : 0 SP, 1 HP
Idir : -5 SP shaken 2 rounds
K.Joro : 0 SP 6 HP
Voldresk : unshaken
GM stuff:
Nightmare bite:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23 ... damage:1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12 P DC 12 will save or shaken
Odd. I've never seen the system change the roll after a preview before. I will roll with what I originally had.
Kanavu breath available in round 7
Lola : immune to aura
Idir :
K.Joro : immune to aura and bite
Voldresk :
Kanavu recoils. "Fools! can you defeat the nightmare? Leave now and you may yet live."
Careful move as shown.
The dragon draws itself to its full height, then plunges its head down and slews it to the right. Shadows like oil-smoke and grey ash burst from its mouth and engulf Lola and Idir. Voldresk is safe behind his wall.
11 damage. DC 12 reflex for half. No will save required.
Initiative/Status: Round 2 - Everyone to go!
Kanavu : -2 AC 4 rounds -31 HP
Lola : 0 SP, 6 HP Save pending 11 damage
Idir : shaken 3 rounds Save pending 11 damage
K.Joro : Will save pending
Voldresk : shaken 1 rounds
Ah the viscitudes of PbP. OK I think we can retcon this without disturbing the flow. Alert the Herd gives Lola an extra set of actions in round 1, not subject to the shaken condition, without flanking from Joro.
Blind fear works for Idir. He hears the dragon hiss in pain again. When he opens his eyes, he sees a burnt spot on its chest adding its smoke to the dragon's smoke-like shadows.
You guys batted for the cycle. Well done.
Initiative/Status: Round 1 - Herd Alerted Lola to go
.
(Herd Lola)
Kanavu : -2 AC 4 rounds -23 HP
Lola : 0 SP, -4 HP
Idir : shaken 3 rounds
K.Joro : Will save pending
Voldresk : shaken 1 rounds
Knitter Joro dashes in front of the dragon to flank it. He may be fast, but Kanavu is quicker. The dragon snaps at Joro with large and pointed teeth. He's got reach. I can't find a route that let's you get close enough to strike without an AoO. 10 damage, and a Will save please.
Despite the bite, Joro plunges his ice needle deep into the dragon and draws another angry hiss.
Lola stands in bravely, and confuses Kanavu with a flurry of lights. She takes advantage to score her own hit, drawing a third hiss. Wow, symmetrically bad luck on your damage rolls.
Initiative/Status: Round 1
.
Kanavu : -2 AC 4 rounds -17 HP
Lola : 0 SP, -4 HP shaken 1 round
Idir : Will save pending
K.Joro : Will save pending
Voldresk : shaken 2 rounds
Idir to save and go. Then Kavanu.
GM stuff:
T:V,L,I?:3d4 ⇒ (2, 1, 4) = 7 Nightmare bite:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27 ... damage:1d6 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10 P DC 12 will save or shaken
Lola : immune to aura
Idir :
K.Joro : immune to aura
Voldresk :
The dragon looks on intently while Lola fits the pieces into the main body on the tablet. The pieces seem drawn to their places as if magnetized. The last one actually pulls from Lola's fingers and clicks into its cavity. The tablet glows briefly and the cracks fade away.
The dragon swirls and grows in an intensifying cloud of black smoke.
"Thank you, foolish children! Now begone! I am Kanavu the Deceiver and this prize is mine! "
Fear rolls off the dragon like a tidal wave that engulfs the Starfinders. It doesn't wait for compliance with its order, but snaps immediately at the closest Starfinder, Lola. 10 damage and an extra DC 12 Will Save.
Everyone please roll a DC 12 will save or be shaken.
Initiative:
Kanavu
Lola 0 SP, -4 HP 2 Will saves
Idir Will save
K.Joro Will save
Voldresk Will save
Shaken:
You take a –2 penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks while you have the shaken condition. If you are already shaken and then become subject to an additional effect that would cause you to be shaken, the duration of the shaken condition increases by the duration of the second effect.
Mysticism, DC 15:
This is a nightmare dragon, a natural enemy to the Dreamers, and something is not right about its claims to be a willing guardian. I'll also take this roll as a knowledge roll. For every 5 above 12 that you roll you may request a special bit of additional information about Kavanu.
"You've retrieved the missing pieces? The prophecies are realized! Place them here on the altar and claim your just reward."
The dragon moves aside to let Lola approach the altar. (The pink dot) Coming closer she can see a cracked stone tablet lying atop the altar. Three holes shaped like your fragments mar the tablet's surface.
"I am the Guardian of the Vault. It's been ages since the Dreamers commissioned me to protect their resting place. Only a few have found this place, and they only intent on pillage.
Can you prove yourselves worthy to be here? What form did your invitation take?"
Bolstered by Voldresk's presence, Lola edges forward toward the threshold of the altar room. Joro and Idir trail behind.
Out of shadow in front of the altar, a form slowly coalesces, taking the shape of an ebony dragon with red frills. Its body is terribly contorted and trails shadows.
With a voice like rocks scraping together, it speaks. “Who dares to break the sanctity of this holy resting place?”
Lola peers through the doorway This chamber has not escaped the ravages of time. There are holes in the walls that likely once held doors, and the sandstone tiles on the floor are dirty and broken in places. Softly glowing purple runes cover the interior walls of the chamber, encircling a round altar covered in more runes in the center of the space.
Idir's quick research shows that runes like these are typical of ancient Liavaran Dreamer sites. The sickly green ones often indicate some form of defense or trap has been activated by an agitation in the local zeitgeist. Such a trap can be disabled with proper application of magic, but also with mundane means that lead to a proper frame of mind. Meditation, symbolic motion, or chanting are all suggested means of achieving the proper mental state. It even suggests various incantations. From among the suggestions, the dromada settles on, "Owa tagoo siam," after a few minutes of repetition in four part harmony, the party reaches an amusing revelation about the nature of the chant -- and the green runes transition to the ubiquitous purple.
It is now safe to move about the caverns. But the forcefield around the round room is still up.
Lola and Voldresk step forward suddnely she stops and throws an arm across the vesk's chest to keep him from also stepping forward.
Lola:
Perhaps you're getting mor sensitive to the runes. There are some sickly green ones scattered around the walls ceiling and floors for the next 10 feet. Is it some kind of magical trap?
Only a mysticism check can tell for sure. Not necessarily you, could be anyone you tell about the odd runes.
The forcefield only blocks access to the central circular room with the staircase. You are free to explore the rest of the tunnels and rooms shown on the map.
Lola skirts the edge of the hole to try to get into the central room. When she tries to cross the threshold, the runes on the inside walls, floor and ceiling of the central room flare yellow and a yellow forcefield blocks her passage. The impact unbalances her and for a long heartbeat she teeters for a moment on the edge of the rift, before recovering herself.
She reaches a tentative hand out and earns another, much fainter flare of yellow from the runes inside the room and the air in front of her fingertips also flares and pure focre blocks forward motion.
Ahh. There are more than one sets of stairs.
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Joro and possibly Lola searched the ruins on the surface (Apr 25) while Idir and Voldresk rested. The surface ruins are utterly barren and eroded. There is no staircase in the central room of the ruins on the surface. The only way forward is to descend through the hole, or take the rough southern stairs that lead to the first level of tunnels.
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After resting, Lola started exploring. (Sunday) Because there was nothing to find on the surface, and to move things along I retconned her post slightly in my Monday post with "Lola leads the team down the crude stairs (at the south edge of the map) into the tunnels below.... "
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You are in the tunnels now. Outer perimeter walls and ceiling are native stone. Inner walls, ceiling above the central round room, and all floors are the imported sandstone. The finely crafted staircase in the central round room only goes down.
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The hole continues down through the first level of tunnels, but there doesn't seem to intersect another lower tunnel.
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The runes provide dim purple light. Please let me know if you're using a supplementary light source or have better than normal vision.
Lola leads the team down the crude stairs (at the south edge of the map) into the tunnels below. The concentric pattern of the ruins above is repeated down here.
Although the purple runes flash as you pass through, the purple force field parts for you. On the other side you find there's breathable air in the tunnels and your gear is dry of any traces of methane.
On this level the round central room has another very finely constructed staircase that delves deeper into the core.
