Sunday, October 15, 2017

Session Zero - STARFINDER, Dead Suns AP

Last night was our first session. A point of origin, to what will be at the least, a year long journey into this latest roleplaying game. Everyone enjoyed themselves and were content with their character creations. Their Starfinder recruiter is Duravor Kreel. The old dwarf stood before a hologram of a planet that appeared to have been ravaged by some disaster; there is very little water and no obvious
greenery. 

“Greetings, Starfinders, err... I mean prospective applicants” he says, without turning. “You are looking at Elytrio, a newly charted planet in the Vast. While you might dismiss it as a lifeless rock at first glance, it still has mysteries to plumb. The starship that discovered it was attacked by some kind of orbital defense system when it got too close; the vessel didn’t have the firepower to respond, so the crew made a prudent retreat. But we Starfinders don’t let these sorts of things go.” He pauses before continuing. “I’d like you to take a starship, travel to Elytrio, and discover all you can about it. If you find any inhabitants on the planet, do everything in your power to make peaceful contact with them. If the place is deserted, try to locate information about who might have built those defenses. Once you’ve got something interesting, report back to me here at the Lorespire Complex and by then I should have my answer to your admittance for membership. Any questions?”



Crew of the Pegasus, Explorer; Science Vessel
Science Officer- Twenty, Android Operative
Captain- Cassie, Elf Mystic
Pilot- Xan, Human Solarion
Engineer- Ketch, Ysoki Mechanic
Passenger- Z'idhul, Barathu Solarian

An unexpected journey through the Drift, lasting 25 days, the crew found themselves isolated as the automations of the starship demanded no warranted attention to those aboard. Boredom was a constant companion while mounting imaginations of attacks from those that lurk within the hyperspace dimension. No attacks came as the Pegasus reached its destination of the targeted jump. Receding out of the shadow of a nearby moon, an orbital drone defense platform, suddenly squawked to the comms. The robotic voice crackling in an alien language. The tone of the message was strident, and surly recognized as a warning. Drones were launched from the platform as the Pegasus engaged in its first starship combat. A few rounds, and the crew punched through the shields and ripped into the hull, disabling its sensors and temporarily severing its wireless link for combat operation.

The combat was slow but steady as the rules and phases were introduced. The characters were coming into their own as they assumed their roles. As we become more aware of the tactics and responsibilities, I ascertain the system will be more streamlined and engaging.

The group withheld any salvaging attempts on the platform or collecting floating debris for research, and began its decent toward the planet. Landing upon Elytrio, an hour into their overland travel, they were set upon by a stalking beast.


The hungry creature, appearing as a scaled lion, surprised a few during the encounter. Our android, the silicon based lifeform was taken down, but not before the indigenous fauna received multiple hits from numerous projectiles. A roll of 9 damage from Xan,finally felled the volatile beast. As Twenty was revived, they came into proximity of a non threatening hunting party. Appearing more curious than distrustful, the beetle-like aliens led them back to their tribe housed within a network of cave systems against the bluffs of the wasteland. They made it to their destination after having weathered through a fell wind carrying otherworldly strange crystals upon the wind currents. Initially having thought to be a type of castrolvelan fireflys in the far expanse, but no, these were sharp crystals with debilitating encumbrance upon hemorrhaging under the skin.


Next week we will bring further clarity to the Husk Ghibranis and the one creature who stands out in far contrast, equipped with wings and a dermal exterior appearing membranous over chitinous. Meanwhile, the starfarring party is further away from their initial but indented target. A large energy output was discovered coming from a fully functional city in the southern hemisphere. The readings indicate the city has a level of technology that is comparable to that of the Pact Worlds (albeit slightly outdated), and contains life forms of some kind. It seems like the best place to fulfill the mission Duravor has sent the party on. The destination however is encased within a half-mile radius of an unknown but powerful force field.


art source

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Starfinder House Rules


This week I will be unveiling the Dead Suns Adventure Path to my group. Below are House Rules you may find useful for your spacefaring group. This will likely be the highlight of my career as GM, a benchmark to all of the skills I have sharpened and honed on a weekly basis while at the helm since 2012. 


STARFINDER HOUSE RULES

1) Increase point buy to 11 points. (p18)

2) Allow dropping stats below 10 to recover points on a 1-1 basis, with no attribute going below 7 after all modifiers.

3) Everyone gets perception as a class skill. (p134)

4) The "Penetrating" weapon property ignores an amount of hardness equal to 3*IL. (p181)

5) The healing from the Mystic's "Healing Touch" ability can be split up as needed. (p84)

6) The Mindbreaker Mystics "Mindkiller" ability costs a resolve point. (p87)

7) Remove the "Disproportionate Revelations" rule. (p104)

8) Solarians can use Cha in place of Dex for AC and Reflex saves when using Solar Armor and Cha in place of Str for attack and damage rolls when using the Solar Weapon. (p100)

9) Mechanics can repair their drone at any time by spending 10 minutes to restore either 10% HP (25% with the Repair Drone mechanic trick) or the result of their Engineering check, whichever is higher. (p72)

10) Weapons, armor, and other items can be upgraded, paying the difference in the cost. (p235)

11) Attack rolls for thrown weapons can be done with either Str or Dex. (p240)

12) When calculating the DC for thrown weapons (including grenades) use either Str or Dex. (p181)

13) Power Armor uses the better of its strength or yours. (p203)

14) Serums of Healing can also be technological as nanite injections. (p225)

15) Starship sensors can detect things up to 10 range increments away. (p301)

16) All skill bonuses apply to starship role action skill checks and a Drone can contribute. (p322)

17) Replace starship skill DCs with the following: (p319)
10+2*tier -> 10+1.5*tier
15+2*tier -> 15+1.5*tier
20+2*tier -> 20+1.5*tier
10+3*tier -> 25+1.5*tier

18) Any equipment a PC owns that comes with a battery is automatically recharged to its full number of charges between encounters. The same applies to any individually purchased batteries a PC owns. It is assumed that PCs have access to free recharging stations within the Lorespire Complex or from their starship. Starships, unless otherwise noted, can recharge batteries. If a session involves a starship, and the PCs have access to the ship, they can use the recharge station onboard at no cost. The current number of charges on a battery does not impact the sale price of an item. Any items that are sold with a battery (such as energy weapons) must be resold with the associated battery, regardless of the battery's current charge. The current number of charges on a battery does not impact the sale price of an item. Any items that are sold with a battery (such as energy weapons) must be resold with the associated battery, regardless of the battery's current charge. Update the Pulsecaster Rifle (Starfinder Core Rulebook 176) statistics as follows: Capacity 20 charges, Usage 1.

This Is The End

Running Adventure Paths weekly, and campaigns that would span a year and a half. I say no more Pathfinder. I'm done with the broken mech...