Star Frontiers Network

Terl Obar wrote:"Well, since what is probably the bridge is blocked at the moment," Dalmar says after looking in the elevator shaft, "I say we start at the bottom and work our way up. We can haul the elevator down to a lower level once we get to that point."

The ladder well is clear all the way up and down but then you must start somewhere so if you want we can begin with the lower deck.

How are you going down, ladder well or elevator shaft? Remember there is not a recessed ladder in this elevator shaft unlike the newer models.

Marching order?

Activities or things people are looking for?

Referee Note: I'll address individual post as they come up or wait till I have a few posts to craft a response- it will largely depend on whats happening. If someone was investigating something specific I might answer that post quickly to allow for what might be a side trail investigation by one individual. For example if you found a working computer and one character plopped themselves in the chair to try to nurse some information out of it, I might keep up a series of back and forth posts with them while everyone else is still searching (alternately I might just craft a quick post like I did with Kahn examining the body) a lot will depend on if you ask a question I didn't anticipate or if I have a clue for you to discover but that I wasn't going to give it away for free.

OOC: Rigel will not mind taking point if called upon. I'm interested in salvage/survival items, and information - why is this ship here, who did it belong to, what's going on on Volturnus.

IC: Rigel points his flash light in the direction of the shaft. "So I guess I'll go first then?"

OOC - @Jedion - Just read the cut scenes. FANTASTIC stuff!

Once Far Off wrote:OOC - @Jedion - Just read the cut scenes. FANTASTIC stuff!

Glad you're enjoying it. I didn't plan the campaign from the beginning but I've invested a lot of thought lately when it became obvious I might be running it to its conclusion. I wanted to try to have story continuity, as much as possible, to explain going from one module to the next in a semi plausible fashion. I also wanted to test drive the Villainous NPC article from the STar Frontiersman that I helped Larry write- using the Malthar as a running example in that article was my idea and clearly I'm fond of it. So the cut scenes will be about linking things together and tying up loose story ends because the PCs couldn't conceivably see everything that happens. Plus I thought the section on vignettes (cut scenes) from DMG2 rule book from D&D 4.0 was really interesting though in that case you provide players with pre gen characters and 1-2 lines of motivation and let the players role play the cut scene.


BTW are you guys climbing down the ladder or trying some fooling around with the rope in the elevator shaft. yazirians can probably hop down their 10 m to the bottom of the elevator shaft in one hop using their pataguim to catch air. Double check to be sure you character has a flashlight as its pitch dark down there unless someone puts a light fixture back on line.

Also please describe the kind of salvage you are attempting.


As to info on the ship it was part of the pirate fleet and suffered a hyper ignite of the atomic engines on take off (probably a poor maintenance issue) and was forced to make an emergency landing. Grod and Col Jamison witnessed the emergency landing from the kurabunga village and Grod left a leather scroll with information including compass bearings for locating the ship. From interegating the pirate prisoner you do know that this ship was salvaged by the pirates when it was determined that it would not fly again. Hence the presence of pulleys laser welded under the elevator and just inside the air lock for off loading heavy items they wanted to salvage and for the assault rocket magazine doors being open on the opposite side of the ship from the airlock.

EDIT: just fleshed out a page on Keeno the kurabunga:
viewtopic.php?f=84&t=345

First things first...Gideon will use his VaporScanner to ensure the air is safe to breath (no chemical leaks etc), as well as a sweep with the ToxyRad Gauge to make sure there is no danger from radiation leaks via the atomic drives.

Aside from the rank odor the atmosphere is within acceptable limits and there is not even a weak blip on the radiation gauge.

Once Far Off wrote:OOC: Rigel will not mind taking point if called upon. I'm interested in salvage/survival items, and information - why is this ship here, who did it belong to, what's going on on Volturnus.

IC: Rigel points his flash light in the direction of the shaft. "So I guess I'll go first then?"

"OK, I got the next one. Be careful," Kriss says as he points his own flashlight so Rigel can see better.

By this time everyone except Keeno and Grekka are on board the ship.

Gideon is in the airlock scanning the horizon.

Rigel takes the ladder well down with Kriss crowding into the ladder well to shine a light down it for his compatriot. Kahn likewise sits at the edge of the elevator shaft dangling his feet in shaft. he moves his sungoggles back to his forehead and shines his light down the shaft to add some illumination to the deck below.

Rigel reaches the bottom and shines his light out of the ladder well. "Looks like the engineering and workspace down here. Some of the control panels are ripped open as well as wall panels."

Kriss reached the bottom and Dalmar started down the ladder.

jedion357 wrote:BTW are you guys climbing down the ladder or trying some fooling around with the rope in the elevator shaft. yazirians can probably hop down their 10 m to the bottom of the elevator shaft in one hop using their pataguim to catch air. Double check to be sure you character has a flashlight as its pitch dark down there unless someone puts a light fixture back on line.

@ Jedion - Yup. Good to go on the flashlight. Have an unanswered gear question, though:

There were some weapons collected from the pirates at the Kurabanda village. I'm not sure if any were standard laser pistols or not, but if they were, Rigel would have wanted to swap out his blast pistol for one. I had asked back when the party was still in the village, but didn't hear back. Thanks.

EDIT - and Rigel will check the rope to make sure it's safe, then use it if so. Flashlight in teeth until he reaches the bottom, then pistol drawn, flashlight in off hand.

Arriving on the Engineering deck, Dalmar starts inspecting all the consoles and equipment that is left to see if anything is functional.

OOC: sorry I tried to post this answer from my phone at work but the blinking smart phone was on the fritz all day- Yes the laser weapons you got from the pirates are standard AD models.

Rigel sweeps his flashlight around the room and notes a non pressure door to the far left past the elevator. Advancing in that direction he's briefly startled when Kahn jumps down the elevator shaft using his pataquim skin flaps as a parachute. Kahn grins at him. Rigel proceeds toward the door which is only a quarter of the way open shining his light in without opening the door it appeared to Rigel that the small room was a tool crib or parts storage area. Kahn wandered toward the middle of the room to just look around.

Kris and Dalmar approached the center console. Some of the panels had been opened and some of the small back up power packs that would power the consoles in the event of total power loss from the engines are missing. Above the center console one of the light fixtures was opened and a console power pack had been wired to it directly and the pack dangled from the fixture by the wires.

Dalmar considers what he sees, "Looks like they had no power from the engine or the parabattery on each deck so they pulled these console power packs and powered lights and pressure doors with them."

"There may be some of these console power packs to salvage that we could use for power but they wont be able to fit into a weapon."

Kriss's foot slipped and he shined his light at the floor, it was covered in sand-there had to be an opening in the hull for this much sand to get in, "What did you say?"

Dalmar, "I said there may be some of these console power packs..."

Kriss laid a hand on Dlamar's shoulder, "Listen."

Into the half illuminated gloom of the deck came a sharp hiss and a chitter of the burrower snake.

"Look out those burrower things are in here!"

Dalmar and Kris started to climb the center console and Kahn as well. Rigel being across the room opted to squeeze into the tool crib/storage room and shut the door. As Kriss stepped up on the console there was a searing pain in the back of his leg.

"Ahhh! I'm bit." [2 STA and 2 pts to skien suit 5pts from poison]

Kahn scrambled across the console top to Kriss scanned him with the med scanner and administers a shot of anti-tox.
"Not much damage from the bite but the toxin is enough lay a grown being low. If someone was not as fit as you Kriss, or near enough to medical treatment a bite from one of these could be deadly."

Rigel swept the storage room with his flashlight looking for rents in the hull that might allow a burrower into his area but found none. He appeared to be safe for now but cut off from escape.

Kriss had his weapon out and was looking for a shot on the burrower but every time he managed to get a flashlight beam on one it slithered for the shadows hissing all the while. [darkness counts as soft cover, you must localize the target with a flashlight before shooting and it gets a RS check to dodge back into soft cover]

[topside] Grekka was watching the horizon when Keeno tapped her arm "Gone, hiss lizard, gone, not in holes anymore."

Grekka thinks to herself that this can not be a good sign. She tells Keeno, "Start throwing things at the burrows and see if we can make them reappear."

Decision time the robot might be able to stir them up but I wonder if they can damage it. But if the lizards are gone then we won't need the robot to tranfer everyone just to carry the water.

OOC: Sorry for being absent for a bit. Got busy with school.

JJ embraces working with Keno and is happy to lend a hand. JJ will happily share his supplies with him too.

JJ thinks for a second, and says,

"We could try to smoke em out......or we could make their burrows so unpleasant that they have to come out.

"Maybe we can figure out something they don't like that will make them leave......maybe we can mix a gas or release a toxin into the burrows. JJ ain't no scientist....but some brilliant minds here can do it."

Kriss still wincing from the pain of the bite from the snake makes a statement, "I think it's safe they like the taste of flesh and in here, they don't like light!

Thanks Kahn!"

Sit Rep:
Grekka is with the water supplies, robot and there is a potentially annoying little hairy kid patting her arm to get attention and point out the burrowers are not in their burrows.

Gideon has overwatch in the airlock, keeping an eye on Grekka and the horizon as well as an ear on the party.

JJ did get a ride from the robot over to the ship and is in the suit locker areas. The brutality of the the pirates locking someone in a locker and leaving them to die does not surprise him after his previous experiences though it does turn his stomach some.

Kahn, Dalmar and Kris are on top of a console in the engineering area. Safe for now but with one or more burrowers loose in the room. Its pitch dark and difficult to localize the burrowers with their flashlights making shooting the annoying little creatures a pain.

Rigel has squeezed into the tool crib/parts locker on the far left of the deck and pulled the standard door shut. there appears to be no openings in the hull in this area that would let a burrower in. He's safe for now and the room looks mostly stripped of its contents.

Gideon spots the kurabanda youth getting antsy near Grekka and chimes in on the chronocom to the vrusk: "What's the whelp getting excited about?"

Hearing the response concerning the idea that the burrows have been vacated sends a chill up the yazirian's spine. He opens the general hailing channel for the entire party to hear. "Be advised, the whelp says the burrows are empty...and I'm inclined to trust the native's instincts. We have already established that these critters react to vibrations, it's entirely possible those burrows are somehow connected with a sheared opening in the hull below the sand. Considering how efficient metal transmits vibrations, we could have some nasty company. I suggest vacating the ship ASAP until we know more about these beasties."

"A little late," Dalmar replies to Gideon's warning. "We've already found them down here on deck three. Or is that they found us. Either way, their burrows extend into the lower level of the ship. What we really need is some light."

Dalmar will take a look at the console he's standing on and try to see if there is any way to jack one of the spare powerclips he's carrying into the system and use it to activate the lights. (Technician level 2)