Watch the game session at https://youtu.be/DlqJfkZUnnY.

Pain shot through Cypher’s body. The PCs spotted the glint off the optics of a sniper rifle before it disappeared from the ruins atop a building near the House of Renewal.

Cypher yelled, “Hey Li, you’re slipping! There’s a time that would have gone through my forehead instead of my shoulder.”

The taunt drew no response. The PCs could chase Li or retreat to their ship. With little time to debate the matter, the group decided to chase Cypher’s wayward protégé. Cypher activated his haste circuit and used his jump jets to leap to the top of the ruined building where Li had fired from. Switch swept wide along the street to flank Li. Ryder and Nuil rushed along the southern edge of the building to cover the other side.

Cypher landed on the dilapidated roof just in time to see a cable hung over the far edge of the building. The operative rushed to the edge and saw Li had rappelled to the ground. Ryder and Nuil came around the southern edge of the building and the three PCs saw Li rush into the lower level of the next ruined building.

Cypher quickly drew his pistol and scored a hit on Li. She had redonned her armor when she escaped from the Raza but had not found the time to repair the damage from their previous skirmish. The laser blast did not slow her down and she disappeared from sight again.

Ryder fired up his comms and informed the whole team of Li’s location. Switch acknowledged and charged forward to close the gap. Ryder also warned everyone to keep an eye out for traps. Li had apparently planned this escape route which made it dangerous. Cypher leapt to the roof of the building into which Li had fled and began looking for a way to descend quickly. Meanwhile, Switch scouted the north side of the second building watching for Li to emerge.

Ryder cautiously checked the opening through which Li charged and he spotted an explosive tripwire. On the north side of the building, Switch also looked for traps but failed to notice the tripwire there. A jury-rigged frag grenade exploded next to him but Switch is so damn tough he ignored the blast (low damage roll plus Switch’s damage resistance = no damage). Cypher located an elevator shaft (sans elevator) and deftly dropped down to the lowest level of the building to rejoin the chase below.

The PCs all reached Li at the same time. The bounty hunter spun and fired on Ryder but the attack flew wide. She then turned and prepared to jump out an open window. Switch blitzed through the building while Ryder sprayed bullets in Li’s direction. He barely caught her and she spun. Nuil summoned her magic and cast a grease spell which coated Li and the area between her and the window.  Switch slammed into Li and wrapped her. The pair slid through the grease and slammed into the wall.

Li demanded Switch release her and struggled against the vesk’s grip. Cypher asked her what she was trying to accomplish and Li admitted she just missed. If she had hit Cypher in the head she would have gotten what she wanted. Ryder commented on how disappointed he was with Li’s efforts to escape. He expected better from one of Cypher’s protégé.

The PCs wondered if they should end Li now or try to detain her again. Cypher tried to question Li and she made her intentions very plain. She was going to keep coming after the ysoki until she ended him. He asked what he had done which made her want to kill him so badly. She responded it was what he didn’t do. Cypher never went back to rescue her after they split to escape the Guild. She reminded him about what the Guild had done to her when they caught her.

Cypher insisted he had gone back to look for her but she was gone. She wondered aloud, “Did you really come back? I don’t think you did.”

Cypher responded, “You know, maybe not physically.”

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT!

Li felt even more justified.

Ryder quipped, “Li, I think you deserve at least another shot.” However, he insisted she clean herself up first because she wasn’t good enough when she was on the juice. She insisted she couldn’t do that and Ryder reminded her that they would help her. Nuil insisted Li needed to get clean before she killed Cypher. In the meantime, she suggested taking Li back to the ship because they had things to do.

Back at the Raza, they found Wesley and Zaleria had given the ship a shakedown and it was fully secure. Wesley rigs one of the rooms so Li could not escape a second time. The rest of the group recognized the flaws in his work and they managed to properly secure the bounty hunter.

The group returned to the Temple Found. Ryder recalled the air ducts Wesley had found with Canary previously. After some debate, the group decided to enter the facility from the roof. They used Canary to scout through the duct system and found a dimly lit hallway below them. Retrieving the drone, they dropped into the hallway below.

In the hallway, the PCs found 2 massive metal doors, a smaller door east of them, and more hallways further to the west. The small door revealed a staircase which led to a lower level. Eventually, the temptation of the giant doors got the best of them and they could not resist. They opened one of the doors and discovered a large fire elemental who was very happy to be freed. He was also ready to cause some mayhem.

The fire elemental pummeled Drez with its fiery fist. It then thanked the PCs for freeing it. The kishaleen had imprisoned the elemental to power the Foundry and the creature admitted to have some pent up rage. Cypher tried to reason with the elemental but it admitted it had been waiting a long time to smash a puny mortal and it didn’t much care which puny mortal that was. Drez took that as his queue and slashed through the elemental with its doshko.

On the far side of the room, the floor rumbled underneath Nuil’s and surged upwards. A large earth elemental had been hiding in the floor and it attacked Switch and Nuil. The elemental rolled a critical fumble (first use of the critical fumble deck) and smashed its hand into the floor. The impact smashed his craggy fist. For the next round, the creature had to use a full round attack to make a single attack.

Ryder blasted the fire elemental, activated his haste circuit, ordered the party to “Get em!” and then retreated around a corner.

Nuil summoned her nanobot swarm and surrounded the large earth elemental. Then she climbed up the wall and retreated around the same corner as Ryder.

Cypher joined Ryder and Nuil behind cover. He then summoned holograms to distract the earth elemental (trick attack) and blasted the creature with his aphelion laser pistol.

A large air elemental appeared in front of the trio undercover and unleashed a wind attack against Ryder. The quick-moving envoy dodged the attack!

The fire elemental tries to smash Drez but the vesk soldier was too quick on his feet and he dodged.

The creature left itself vulnerable and Drez slashed all the way through the monster. That was 81 points of damage crit and it was epic.

The earth elemental swung wildly at Switch (penalty for multi-attack, the penalty for the off-target, penalty for Nuil’s swarm) and his attacks amounted to nothing but futility.

From under the second door, a pool of water began to flow and the PCs finally knew where the inevitable water elemental was hidden.

Ryder used his clever attack and blasted the air elemental (making it flat-footed). Ryder used this opportunity to rush past the monster to find safer space on the other side of the room.

Nuil crawled along the ceiling to move away from the air elemental as well. She then fired back on the air elemental but didn’t do enough damage to harm it. She split her swarm to distract all of the elementals (including the water elemental which was forming).

Cypher, not to be left out, cleared out of the hallway and got farther away from the air elemental. He decided to focus on earth elemental and blasted it knocking it down to 2 hit points.

The air elemental rushed towards Nuil and Switch took a swipe at it. The android hit the elemental and stopped it from moving. Electricity arced off of his weapon and electrocuted the earth elemental for 6 points of damage. It resisted 5 points and took 1 point, bringing it down to 1 hit point.

The “One Hit Point Wonders” strike again!

Switch followed up the opportunity attack with his own turn and smashed the air elemental again causing 1 additional point of damage to the earth elemental, destroying it.

Drez charged into the air elemental and finished it off with a solid strike. Drez broke wind…

At this moment, enough water had finally pooled into the room and the water elemental reformed itself. It bashed Switch with two watery fists.

Ryder turned on the water elemental and opened fire with his laser pistol and a Get em!

Nuil retreated into the far hallway again for cover and blasted the water elemental with her laser pistol. The PCs discovered this elemental was vulnerable to fire when it took extra damage from her attack.

Cypher threw his holograms at the water elemental and mowed it down with his laser pistol. He crit the creature for 56 points of damage (it had 57 hit points left). It was vulnerable so it took additional damage and was destroyed.

The PCs opened the second door. Examining the two rooms, they realized the rooms were rigged to slowly absorb the energy of the elemental and would convert it into electricity to power the Foundry. In the room, they found an ancient kishaleen x-ray visor. They realized they could modify the device to work for a two-eyed creature and stopped for an hour to do so. Everyone took a short rest while they worked.

They decided Nuil would be the best to carry the device. They moved to the additional hallways to the west and explored a series of doors they found there. Nuil put the new visor to good use and scanned the rooms through the walls. These appeared to be offices which had not been accessed in quite some time. The last door led out to the roof but junk and rubble had collected outside the door making it unpassable.

Cypher checked the terminals in the room and was able to access them. They confirm their suspicions about the Temple Found being the Foundry where the Stellar Degenerator was studied. However, any valuable data about the superweapon would be found elsewhere in the Foundry in a secure repository.

Fascinated with the new visor, Nuil walked the hallway and wandered down to the end of the hallway to look through cubicle walls the PCs had spotted there. She spotted a snarling wild creature which was looking in the PC’s direction and sniffing the air.

Nuil identified the creature as an eohi although this specimen was much larger than other eohi she had studied. At some point, the kishaleen must have brought these creatures here before the collapse of their empire. She yelled out to her comrades for assistance.

Cypher ran around the corner and Nuil pointed at the cubicle in which she had seen the creature. Within a good line of sight, Cypher drew his grenade launcher and skillfully fired a grenade into the cubicle from above. Although he could not see the creature, it howled in pain, and the operative was sure he had hit his mark.

The eohi climbed up the cubicle wall and leapt at Nuil. It brought its fists down to smash her but Switch stepped forward and hit the creature (using Bodyguard) knocking it off target. Nuil was spared from the eohi’s fury.

Drez charged the eohi and slashed through it but did not manage to kill it. He howled, “Leave my friend alone!”

Nuil cast Inject Nanobots and slammed her fist into the side of the eohi’s neck. The creature instantly began to froth at the mouth and shake its head violently. It was confused and Nuil backed up five feet.

Ryder leaned around the hallway corner and rained fire down upon the eohi. He scored a crit and caused 69 points of damage to the creature, destroying it.

It was a good night for PC crits, no doubt.

Switch moved farther into the room and spotted a second eohi. He charged into the monster and provoked from a third eohi which was hiding in the cubicles. The eohi crit Switch but was not able to trip the soldier as he went by. Switch smashed into the second eohi but fumbled his attack. He spun out of control and part of his armor popped open lowering his KAC by 2 until he finds time to repair it.

A fourth eohi comes around the cubicle wall and spots Switch. It double moves and flanks Switch.

The third eohi slams Switch again with its fists. It tried desperately to knock Switch down to make him more vulnerable but the soldier managed to stay on its feet.

Cypher loaded another grenade and ran around the edges of the cubicles. He quickly launched his holograms at the closest target (the fourth eohi) and fired his laser pistol. He hit and the creature howled in pain.

The second eohi (flanking Switch with the fourth eohi) clawed at Switch but could not hit the soldier even with the advantage.

Drez could hear the sounds of battle along the southern edges of the room and run in that direction. As it turned a corner, it saw the second eohi attacking Switch. Before he could act, a hidden kish with a drawn battle bow fired on Drez but the arrow bounced off Drez’s armor. Drez taunted the archer feebly and vowed to deal with him soon enough. Cypher was embarrassed by the taunt.

Ryder followed Cypher in and clever attacked the same eohi which the operative had attacked but he missed. He followed this with a “Get em!” and spent a resolve point to affect all the creatures he could see.

Nuil climbed up the wall and used a spell hack on her crossbow. She shot the third eohi and her arcing surge spell triggered from the attack. Electricity ripped through her target and the eohi which stood next to it.

Switch cleaved the two eohi Nuil had attacked. He hit the first eohi but fumbled the second attack. Somehow he managed to tangle up his weapon in his own legs and tripped himself. He failed his fortitude save and when his face smashed into the floor, his eyes were filled with refuge. He was blinded for 2 rounds.

With Switch on the ropes, the fourth eohi which Cypher and Ryder had attacked, turned on them and charged towards Ryder. It smashed into the envoy, crit him with its attack, and knocked him prone.

The third eohi moved into a flank around Switch and tried to hit him but Switch managed to fend off the attack.

Cypher tried to protect Ryder and fired at the eohi which had knocked the envoy prone but he missed.

The eohi closest to Drez turned on him and slashed his legs out from underneath him.

Drez quickly jumped to his feet and dodged the eohi’s attack of opportunity. The vesk slashed through the eohi in retaliation.

The kish climbed across the wall, no longer satisfied to wait for an opportunity to ambush the PCs, and leapt into melee range with Cypher and Ryder. He slashed with his battle axe through Ryder and struck Cypher with his cleaving attack.

Ryder used his clever attack against this new threat and shot him at point-blank range. Now the kish was flat-footed and Ryder was able to jump to his feet and back away to a safe distance.

Nuil, using her x-ray visor, spotted the perfect place in the middle of the cubicles to drop a grenade. She tossed it over the cubicle wall and caught two of the eohi and the kish in its blast radius.

Switch pushed himself to his feet and took a defensive posture to protect himself while he was vulnerable.

The eohi which had charged Ryder leapt over the wall and continued to follow him. It lashed out at the envoy but missed.

Cypher activated his holographic clones and 2 extra Cyphers popped up next to him. He then backed away from the kish and moved back into the hallway outside the cubicle room.

The eohi fighting Drez slashed through his legs again and knocked him prone a second time. Drez cursed the creature!

Drez jumped to his feet again and the eohi clawed through Drez’s shoulder. The soldier slashed through the eohi with his doshko but failed to kill the creature.

The kish climbed up on top of the cubicle wall and fired his battle bow at Ryder and impaled him with an arrow.

Ryder stepped back from the closest eohi carefully and used his clever attack on the creature. He mowed it down and killed it.

Nuil climbed across the ceiling to find the right position to hit the kish and the closest eohi. She unleashed a second arcing surge, this time from herself, and blasted both targets. Only the eohi managed to avoid ‘some’ of the damage.

The kish bellowed, “Why did you do that?”

Cypher taunted, “Cause you’re a dick.”

Switch, still trying to clear the debris from his eyes, went into a total defensive stance until he could restore his vision.

The injured eohi which had been dancing back and forth between Switch and Ryder returned to the soldier as his target and slashed with his claws. Switch, blind but not helpless, heard the attack coming and managed to avoid it.

Cypher repositioned himself and threw his holograms at the kish but failed to distract him. He still managed to hit him with his laser pistol. Cypher spent a Resolve Point to ensure the kish was off-target anyway.

Meanwhile, the eohi which was continuing to pound of Drez missed with his attack and Drez was not knocked prone again. Drez wound up his attack and dropped the creature once and for all. The soldier then leapt through the air and landed next to the kish.

The kish slashed through Drez’s armor with his battle axe. Vesk blood covered the cubicle walls!

Nuil conjured three magic missiles which slammed into the kish. The kish looked back at Nuil and wondered if he should ignore the vesk and go up the wall after the magic user.

Switch finally cleared the debris from his eyes and tore through the last eohi with his blade and killed it.

Cypher made his holograms dance around the kish to distract him and shot a hole through his shoulder. The kish attacker was barely hanging in there.

Drez asked the group if they wanted him to keep the kish alive. The vesk soldier tried to knock the kish out but failed to hit him.

Ryder offered surrender to the kish but the warrior refused. He slashed through Drez with his battle axe and cleaved into Switch as well. He then tried to make a quick getaway. Switch and Drez swung on him as he went and Drez connected with his doshko, killing the kish.

Weary from battle, the group searched the room and took a short bit to rest before they continued on. Nuil checked the crew and administered first aid where it was needed.

They found some baubles hidden in the cubicles which they estimated were valued around 2,000 credits to the right buyer.

END OF SESSION

Watch us play this session on YouTube at https://youtu.be/U5B3EFZHLXI.

The crew left the collapsed Securitech office behind and ventured to the edge of the earth mote where Drez and Zaleria waited for them in the hovering Raza. Drez tried to land the ship but lost control. Wesley quickly accessed the ship’s flight controls remotely and corrected its trajectory before it crashed into the earth mote.

Once on board, the PCs stopped to ponder their next destination. They decided to visit the House of Renewal before heading to the Temple Found. Somehow they also decided the ship needed an Artificial Intelligence and Wesley worked on his “special projects” during the quick trip to the House of Renewal. In route, they also took a short rest.

The external portions of the House of Renewal reminded Nuil of medical facilities from her homeworld. As they approached, Wesley sent Canary to scout the area. Wreckage and ruins had crashed down around much of the building which caused damage and portions of the building to collapse around the edges. Switch inspected the front doors, found they were not locked and heard some rustling noises on the other side of the doors.

They entered and found themselves in a ruined waiting room. Charcoal drawings covered the walls and two kish warriors were loitering inside. The warriors were startled by the PCs and drew their weapons in alarm. Quick thinking, Ryder intervened and talked the warriors down from a fight. His approach worked and bloodshed was avoided.

Nuil mentioned Tyzael which caused tensions to rise again. When last they spoke with Hoyfeq, Tyzael was outcast and they had orders to attack her and her people on sight. Ryder tried to reason with the warriors one last time and managed to talk them down once and for all. Wisdom prevailed. One of them let it slip they had been waiting for too long. The other told him to hush.

Intrigued, Ryder pressed and offered the PC’s help. The warriors considered his words and confess they had come to the House of Renewal with two of their friends who were injured in the battle with the Cult of the Devourer. Their friends had gone into the holy site and if worthy, they would be healed. Nuil asked what the rules of the site were. The lead warrior explained that if the individual meditated before entering the inner temple and found balance, the ancestors would deem them worthy and heal them. Ryder was confident his team would be found worthy and could help. He then eased the transition for Cypher to enter the room (having become fully aware of the effect ysoki had on the locals after their encounter with the cultists). Nuil asked the names of their friends and was told the two who went inside were Hien and Tzuyu.

The PCs searched the room for any systems to access (functioning or otherwise) but found nothing of use. The building was lit but there was no network connectivity. However, they found they could interact to a limited extent with the powered systems around them.

Based on the descriptions of the effects of the House of Renewal by the warriors, Nuil recalled similar technologies on her homeworld but noted they were rare and expensive. She asked the warriors what to do with their friends when the group found them. They answer as expected but they mention an ill fate which sounded suspicious to the group. The warriors explained if their friends were unworthy they would be Noshku, a word which only Nuil could translate as similar to “rebuilt.”

Drez opened the door into the next area and found a short hallway mostly blocked by the collapsed ceiling and junk. Additional doors exited the hallway to the north and south. Above the junk, Wesley noticed some air duct connected to the rest of the facility. He decided to send the drone forward to scout further inside. He managed to navigate the tight duct system and found a darkened room. Canary picked up low levels of radiation. He looked around for a bit before movement flashed across the camera. He quickly retreated.

Through the northern door, the PCs found a thoroughly scavenged storage room. Inside they found a techno-magic hybrid device which Nuil identified as an Mk II Ability Crystal.

Through the southern door, they found a “receptionist’s area” with another door which led south. There was some paperwork left in the room but little of value to them.

In the next area, they found lockers covered in more charcoal drawings. Wesley suspected they were close to the area where he had seen movement in the darkness and he warned Drez to be careful. The room looked promising for loot but they quickly realized the room had already been looted.

Drez approached the pile of junk in the southeast corner. A pylon was rigged to impale the next person who approached too closely. Drez spotted the attack at the last second and rolled with it but still took 70 points of damage when it struck him. Fortunately, the soldier had 72 points of stamina. The wind was knocked from his body but he survived. The blow would have killed almost anyone else in the crew. The group took a short rest so Drez could recover. He had never been struck so hard in his life before.

Recovered from the trap they went through the door Wesley suspected led into the dark room. The crew planned for a bit before they decided for Wesley to overload the lights in the room when they opened the door. Wesley hacked the lights, Drez opened the door, and the lights suddenly grew in intensity and then exploded. There were three creatures inside and two of them looked up at the lights and were dazzled by Wesley’s attack.

[[ The battle begins at the 1 hour 18 minutes 30-second mark of the video. ]]

Drez charged past the first “rebuilt” kish and it smashed him with a tentacle as he went by. The blow was nothing compared to the one he just suffered and he shrugged it off. The vesk soldier spun and slashed through the creature’s side with his doshko.

Switch used the opening made by Drez, swept past the first rebuilt, and attacked the second one on the far side of the room. He slammed his weapon into the creature and it wailed on him in return, exchanging blows. The android taunted the vesk with his prowess.

Wesley moved TIM-X into flank the closest rebuilt with Drez and blasted the creature with his projectile weapons. The bullets ripped through the monster and damaged it but the pain of the attack did not seem to register.

Ryder fired on the closest target and encouraged his crew, “Get ’em!”

The third rebuilt closed with Switch and thumped him with a tentacle. Despite being dazzled, the creature still seemed capable of landing attacks against the threatening PCs.

Cypher maintained a safe distance outside the entrance and conjured his holograms to trick attack the closest target. He blasted the creature, knocked it off target and burned away its flesh. Cypher taunted both soldiers having demonstrated his superior operative abilities.

Nuil moved over just enough to see the target Cypher had blasted and summoned her mystic powers. Twin missiles of magic leapt from her hand and slammed into the creature. Under the combined onslaught of multiple attackers, the first rebuilt collapsed and decomposed in a slithering pile of goo and body parts.

Drez charged one of the remaining rebuilt. He was determined to move the creature aware from Switch who Drez knew was quite proficient at cleave attacks. He managed to move the unwieldy beast 5 feet but not far enough to clear Switch’s threat range.

Switch chuckled and cleaved the two adjacent rebuilt, doing more damage than the operative. He quickly taunted Cypher with HIS superior combat skills.

Wesley sent TIM-X to charge the closest rebuilt and yelled, “Flash him!” The combat drone rushed the monster and went crazy. It was a dirty trick but the chaos was lost on the mindless creature. It was not hindered by the automaton but he was taunted by it. The creature turned on the drone. Wesley used the distraction to fire his pistol and tore into the taunted monster.

Ryder moved to fire on the creatures and was also distracted by TIM-X’s display. The envoy fired wide and filled the air with a spray of bullets.

One of the rebuilt tried to back away from the soldiers but Switch clipped its leg. His quick reaction forced the creature to stay where it was and Drez slashed through it with his doshko.

The second rebuilt smashed two tentacles down into TIM-X and drone components went flying all over the place.

New holograms danced through the air but did not distract the rebuilt this time. TIM-X still held the monster’s attention and Cypher missed with he fired his laser pistol.

Nuil stood her ground and conjured a more powerful barrage of three magic missiles and slammed into the creature on which the PCs were focusing their attention. Her magic pummeled the beast but this time the rebuilt was not destroyed by her final attack.

Drez knew the creature could not have much more left in it and stepped into a powerful swing of his doshko and slashed through it. It crumbled into a second pile of goo.

Switch launched a full attack on the sole remaining rebuilt and destroyed it.

The battle ended, the PCs wondered if these creatures were the kish who had been brought here. Nuil examined the remains and determined there was enough mass here to account for three kish.

Now they had time to examine the room in earnest and found a circular metal plate surrounded by stone statues engraved with the holy symbol of Talavet. Nuil recognized this as a base for the kind of healing technology she remembered from her homeworld.

Wesley dismantled the plate and claimed 29 UBPs from the salvage.

Nuil cringed but wondered if she should try to claim the Bio UBPs from the fallen rebuilt. She realized at the last moment their bodies were tainted. In the end, she decided to collect the “volatile” biological material, 212 Bio UBPs with the keyword “mutation.” These should be tracked separately from the other Bio UBPs as Tainted Bio UBPs.

Seeing the damage to TIM-X, Nuil cast Make Whole and repaired 22 points of damage to the drone.

They studied the statues briefly and Cypher realized they represented the ancestors judging those who passed through the chamber.

Drez opened a door in the north wall and found the remaining hallway on the other side of the collapsed ceiling. The hallway had three doors leading north and one door to the east of them leading south.

They checked the first door and found a room which had not been entered in some time. Scavenging the room they found 3 mk III serums of healing.

Through the second door, they found a room similar to the first one but this chamber had been ransacked already.

Through the third door, they found a partially collapsed room with thick dust on the floor. In the dust, there were heavy footprints. They examined them and realized normal footprints had entered the room and something fell in the corner. Then the footprints leading out were much different than the ones leading in. A charcoal drawing was left on the wall by where the figure collapsed. It was a farewell letter from one of the two kish who had come here and been transformed into Noshko.

Cypher quote after rolling a crit on his third (or fourth) Culture check in a row: “I wrote a book about Istamak and its primitive screwheads!”

Amidst the kish’s belongings, they found a masterwork kish battle axe and an ancient kishaleen jet pack (armor upgrade, claimed by Wesley). Nuil noted scraps of clothing which matched scraps of clothing on the rebuilt they had encountered earlier.

The last door was stuck. Nuil summoned her magic again and cast “Knock.” The door popped open safely. Inside, the group found a capsule attached to a console. Nuil recognized it as a Maltur Chamber of Renewal. Offerings like one would found on an altar were laid all across the floor in front of the capsule. Nuil checked the console and realized it was definitely malfunctioning. No matter who stepped inside the chamber, there was a 25% chance they would be mutated into a rebuilt. The problem was found in one of the emitters inside the chamber which would malfunction and bath the patient inside in high levels of radiation which would cause the mutation.

The techies set about repairing the chamber and successfully restored its functions in roughly an hour. They sift through the console’s systems and find it was configured primarily for Kishaleen biology but they find hundreds of species listed in the system including lamertians AND ysoki. The entry for the ysoki indicates they were also an engineered species created by the Maltur. Nuil downloaded all of the data. Everyone accepted this revelation immediately because “how else would rats suddenly walk on two legs?” Cypher was offended.

However, he was more occupied with the potential profits of the chamber of renewal. In a corner, he found a Kishaleen datapad and reconfigured it for his own purposes. It was a Tier 5 computer.

There was one last door in the south wall which led to a mostly collapsed room filled with rubble and junk.

The PCs returned to the warriors who waited at the entrance. Ryder informed them he had communed with their goddess and garnered the favor of their ancestors. No longer would the chamber harm their people and was renamed the Chamber of Nuil now. Ryder instructed the warriors to return to Hoyfeq to tell the chieftain the PCs had retrieved the “magic password” and were on their way to the Temple Found.

As they stepped outside a laser blast hits Cypher and cuts through his shoulder. The PCs had found Li Shao Sho…

END OF SESSION

You can watch the video on YouTube at https://youtu.be/6D_6kdPtNb4.

​Nuil rushed to tend to Kiram wounds. Kiram explained he was keeping watch over the entrance to the Temple Found under Tyzael’s orders. He had seen Hoyfeq plead with Xavra to reopen the doors of the Temple Found but the crazed huntmaster still refused. Kiram confessed he believed Hoyfeq had grown weak and Xavra was now the leader of their people. Tyzael believed Hoyfeq was ashamed he had lost control and unjustly drove Tyzael away from the tribe when she forced the issue. Tyzael revealed herself as a mystic and healed Karim’s remaining wounds.

While the group debated what to do next Nuil studied the corpses of the sharpwings and gathered 174 Bio UBPs.

Cypher Quote: “That’s your plan!?! That’s not even 12% of a plan!”

Ryder asked where they could find Hoyfeq and Tyzael said they would find him at the Temple Found or north of there at Hearth.

Wesley Quote: “I think Ryder’s got the gentle touch.”

The group completed its trek to the Temple Found and spotted two warriors standing guard. They noticed the guards were not watching the road as much as they were watching the doors to the temple. Wesley launched Canary to scout the exterior of the temple which drew the attention of the sentries. The effort was not a loss as the young mechanic identified numerous air ducts on the roof of the temple.

The warriors know Tyzael and confront her (and the demons she brought with her). The mystic insisted they should not allow this conflict to divide them but the warriors did not trust the PCs. Fortunately, Nuil managed to convince them the PCs were not the same of the cultists. However, they insisted the group go speak with Hoyfeq.

The group continued their trek and decided to find a place to get some serious rest. At the base level of a building northwest of the Temple Found they found a defensible nook they could shelter in.

Before they sheltered, Wesley noticed one of the warriors from outside the Temple Found had followed them. The PCs brazenly called out their stalker and Wesley/TIM-X fired a warning shot which scared the warrior off.

While resting, Tyzael casts a powerful spell enabling all of the PCs to communicate with the kish. She informed them Talavet had recently blessed her with the knowledge of this spell. At the time, she had not understood while her goddess would share this particular spell with her but she now believed it had been bestowed on her to help the PCs.

Tyzael Quote: “All must prove their worth to the ancestors.”

The group asked her about Istamak, in particular, if her people slept for the entire night. She said they do not and she mused that is one of the mysteries she wondered about. Her people do not follow the cycles of their home. She asked the ancestors about this once and they told her about a people called the Kishaleen but she did not understand most of what they told her.

Eight hours later the sky is still dark but the PCs are well rested. They continued their journey to Hearth. As they approached the settlement, Nuil asked how many people lived there. Tyzael told her there were several hundred in Hearth. Cypher followed this up and asked, “How many are locked up in the temple?” Tyzael admitted she did not know how many hunter Xavra had taken into the temple with him. The operative wondered if Tyzael’s people could take Xavra if the PCs would get the temple open but Tyzael did not believe so. She thought Xavra would have taken the best of her people’s hunters with her and taking the temple by force would be costly in lives. The group decided to stick to their plan of action and speak with Hoyfeq to ask for his help.

Sentries stopped the PCs as they approached Hearth. Once again, Tyzael was informed she was not welcome and the sentries were horrified to see her with the “demons” who had attacked them and defiled the temple. The PCs explained (again) they were not the cultists and eventually convinced the sentries to take a request to Hoyfeq for an audience.

Nuil Quote: “Look, four arms. Not the demons!”

While the group waited for Hoyfeq, the PCs questioned Tyzael more about the situation and the “demons” who came before them. The PCs also told Tyzael a bit about the Devourer who the cultists worshipped.

Hoyfeq, the aged and battle worn chieftain, arrived and stopped 50 yards from the group. He admonished Tyzael for returned to Hearth. She explained she had brought the PCs to help and Hoyfeq bristled at being challenged again. Ryder spoke to the chieftain and Hoyfeq grew angry that Tyzael had shared the kish’s language with them. Ryder bluffed the chieftain and told a story about a prophet who sent them to reunite all of Hoyfeq’s people. He asked for Hoyfeq’s blessing. Hoyfeq, a prideful leader, lied and said he had ordered Xavra to keep the door to the temple shut. He did not like the PCs and he did not want anyone’s help. Cypher called him on his bluff.

Nuil explained the demons had taken a dangerous weapon from the temple, one which could destroy stars. Hoyfeq denied this as a foolish tale. Nuil grew frustrated and Ryder pled for Hoyfeq to take a wiser approach.

Finally, Hoyfeq dropped the façade and admitted he had grown old and weak. He told the group there was a way to open the doors to the Temple Found past down from chieftain to chieftain. There was a place in the Broken Lands where the chieftain could retrieve “magic words” from the ancestors which could open the doors. When he shared this hidden secret, he passed the role of chieftain to Tyzael. He admitted he was too old to make the journey but Tyzael’s allies should be able to survive it.

Cypher Quote: “The Broken Lands? Why is it never the Happy Lands? The Candy Lands? Why is it never the lands of rainbows and puppies?”

On the PCs map, Hoyfeq showed them one of the floating rocks in the northwest corner of Istamak. Ryder wondered aloud if the group should retreat to their ship. This confused Hoyfeq and Ryder explained that once the kish flew in ships like the PCs. Hoyfeq was not sure he believed the tale.

The PCs returned to the Raza to find the gangplank is down and the ship is in disarray. They checked the ship’s systems and discovered Li Shao-Sho managed to free herself. She rummaged through the ship until she found her gear. In a secret compartment in the butt of her rifle, she retrieved more of the drugs she had grown addicted to. She injected herself and then left the ship, disappearing into Istamak. Ryder used the ship’s sensors to scan Istamak but could not locate the wayward bounty hunter. The group debated what to do. In the end, they decided to rely on Tyzael’s hunters to track Li. More than anything, they did not want Li to ruin the work they had already done.

The PCs dropped Tyzael off at Cloudside to begin the hunt for Li and they continued on to the Broken Lands. They quickly found their way to the designated island and circle it. They find there is nowhere to land their ship. Switch maneuvered the ship in close enough for the PCs to drop onto the island. Zaleria and Drez stayed in the ship.

The PCs who ventured onto the island found a building covered in white mold with a sign labeled Securitech. The air is filled with a sweet honey-like smell. Nuil decided to take some samples from the mold (36 Bio-UBPs and the trait Angry). She took a moment to study the mold but did not recognize it’s species (failed check).

The group had the environmental protections of their armor but to be safe, Nuil cast Life Bubble on everyone (which did protect them from some of the threats in this location).

The crew spied in the windows (after cleaning enough of the mold off) and see a reception-like area and a couple conference rooms. Just for good measure, Wesley flew Canary around and above the building to look for other entrances. He found none.

Switch tried to pry open the doors but the mold held firm. Nuil tried to analyze the mold again to see if there was a way to break it free (another failed check, a botch this time). Ryder wondered if it was angry mold and they just had to be nice to it. While the group worked on the puzzle, Switch used his bone blade and cut down the seam of the door. He managed to break it open.

The smell of sickening sweet decay was thick inside the building. Nuil rushed to the mushrooms on the floor but found they weren’t very useful to her. Ryder searched the rest of the area and found some ancient calibration tools. Although worthless, Wesley claimed those.

The PCs passed through the hallway and into the cubicle offices in the northwest corner of the building. The room in the corner was a location for preparing meals and an ancient refrigerating unit which still had power. Wesley extracted the power supply from the unit and 86 UBPs of scrap. Hidden in the back of the unit is a syringe with whirling purple liquid. Nuil identified it as a serum of enhancement (scientist).

Beyond the cubicles they found two offices for a Chief Executive Officer and a Chief Technical Officer. They found a child-sized set of ancient kishaleen armor with stats equivalent to the next level of armor for Cypher.

East of the offices, they found another door grown over with the mold. They use Switch’s “universal key” to open this door as well. Beyond they found a workshop. Wesley walked into the room and stumbled into a hazard. Wiring on one of the workbenches decayed and electrified one of the floor plates. When Wesley walked across it, he closed the circuit and electricity threw him back across the room.

They rummaged through the room and found an ancient kishaleen motion detector. Nuil handed it over to Wesley who needed something to make him feel better after walking into the hazard.

They moved into the southeast room and found another room covered in mold except where two large server mainframes sat. The mold did not grow on the mainframes. The group searched for a means to turn the power on but realized there was no good source. Wesley decided to use the power unit he scavenged and rigs up the system to run for 1 minute (10 rounds). This was not a large window to retrieve the data they needed but Cypher thought it would be long enough.

Wesley powered up the system and the PCs waited 2 rounds for the system to come online. Cypher began running his protocols and immediately ran into resistance. The system gave everyone around the mainframe a slight jolt which stuns them for just a moment. Cypher bravely told everyone to back out of the room and he took Nuil’s serum of enhancement (scientist) which gave him an additional bonus to Computer checks. This enables him to successfully bypass the system’s security protocols. The system gives him a password to access the Foundry.

With the necessary information in hand the search the room one last time and find an ancient kishaleen weapon (equivalent of an ultrathin doshko). Nuil examined the biological material on the floor and identified it as the inner lining of an animal’s stomach. They suddenly realized the mold was more than they realized and they were inside its stomach.

Nuil quickly recognized the creature as a writher swarm, a mobile mold with carnivorous tastes for flesh.

The writher swarm attacked. The battle starts at the 2 hour and 10 minute mark in the video. The PCs opened fire on the swarm and Switch was engulfed by it but they managed to destroy it.

The building began to suddenly collapse around them. The skill challenge to escape the collapsing building begins at the 2 hour 29 minute and 13 second mark.

The group barely managed to escape in time and were battered and worn from the experience. With the password in hand they began the return journey to Tyzael and Hoyfeq.​

Watch this game session on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zlbKXSWSrs4.

The crew sorts through the data left in the museum’s systems and pieces together a history of the kishaleen and Istamak.

Grab your favorite beverage and a snack. It’s story time!

Thousands of years ago, the kishaleen were surveying Nejeor VI for its invaluable gas resources when they discovered numerous floating earth motes within the atmosphere of the world. They claimed the largest of these motes and decided to build facilities which would allow them easy access to the planet’s gases for mining. A few enterprising maltur (the engineers and innovators of the kishaleen) were inspired to create a manufacturing facility where they could create technological wonders like their people had never seen before. They called facility the Foundry and for a thousand years, they fulfilled this dream.

The Kishaleen Empire spread far and wide and eventually came into contact with an equally powerful empire deep in what is now known as the Vast called the Sivv. Initial contact and diplomatic relations did go well between the two empires and conflict erupted. This grew into a full-blown war which lasted hundreds of years.

Until the fateful day when the Sivv devoted most of their resources to build a weapon and they called that weapon the Stellar Degenerator. It was a weapon capable of destabilizing a solar unit within minutes which would destroy an entire solar system. Kishaleen spies learned about the Stellar Degenerator and a massive offensive was launched before the Sivv could use their weapon against the Kishaleen. The superweapon was captured and brought to Nejeor VI where it could be studied. The Sivv had overextended its resources to build the weapon and when it was stolen their empire imploded on itself. The empire was crippled and the war came to an end.

The Kishaleen studied the weapon and mastered its technologies. Soon they began to augment the weapon and added their own technology to it. The weapon became a symbol of their power but it remained unused for hundreds of years. Their empire continued to grow and in time they came into conflict with another great galactic empire called the Veskarium. The Kishaleen tried to fight the Vesk traditionally but losses soon reminded them of the heavy cost of the war with the Sivv. The Vesk were superior warriors and the Kishaleen were being swept aside.

A decision was made and the Stellar Degenerator was flown into the heart of the Veskarium where it was deployed. The system’s sole star was instantly destroyed by the superweapon and the system’s planets, each one inhabited by the Vesk, were thrown from their gravitational orbits. Trillions of lives were lost in the chaos and the Kishaleen were devastated by what they had done.

The Kishaleen vowed to never again use the weapon and would have destroyed it if not for the strong voices of a few military minded individuals. What if the Kishaleen encountered another force which threatened to destroy them? What if their very way of life was in jeopardy? The vocal minority insisted the weapon should not be destroyed but should instead be hidden and locked away. So the Kishaleen used their great technology to create a gate to a demiplane in which they hid the Stellar Degenerator. They called it the Gate of the Twelve Stars.

In time, the Kishaleen empire waned like all empires do and it grew smaller and smaller. The Maltur left the rest of their people on a great crusade to create a new civilization elsewhere. There came a day when the empire finally fell and the city of Istamak found itself cut off. Some fled the city but others remained. Lacking the knowledge of the Maltur and the ability to leave the city, their world began to crumble around them.

Very little was documented from this point on but it has been thousands of years since the fall of the Kishaleen.

Drez recalled the history of his people was well documented for a seven thousand year span before the Gap. Before that was a dark time in history where very little is known other than the Vesk journeyed from some other location and arrived at the planet which is now known as the homeworld of the Veskarium.

Finding no additional information, the group continued searching for the museum. While they searched, Switch spotted another secret panel in the wall which opened a secret door. Through it, they found a maintenance tunnel which ran the length of the halls of the museum. Buried in the dusty tunnel they find an old cache of goods which includes a haste circuit, an 8th level shock fusion seal, a snub scatter gun with 16 shells, and a mk 2 null space chamber.

Nuil found a kishaleen datapad behind the cache. She studied it and picked up some technomagic vibes from the device. She studied it and realized she could use it as a spell cache and cast 2 level 3 technomancer spells from it (player’s choice).

Also on the datapad was a voice comm which said, “Chief Technology Officer here at Securitech. Our customer service rep received your message about *static* and I assure we take your concerns seriously here. An admin copy of your key code resides on the service in the Foundry. It cannot be accessed from outside that internal terminal or from the Securitech offices but the one we have is only a 24-hour key. Your key hasn’t been accessed in over a year but that was a normal maintenance *static*” The messaged ended.

As they left the facility Nuil insisted on restarting the hologram systems. She respected it as a holy site for the kish and she quickly scrubbed the system to remove the corruption from their programming. The site would be much safer for the kish to visit in the future.

Outside Tyzael greeted them warmly and asked if they learned what they came here to learn. Nuil informed the mystic she had made the place a bit safer and Tyzael was ecstatic to hear that news.

The group continued on its way to the Foundry. Roughly twenty minutes later they began to hear cries for help in the distance. Nuil suggested Wesley send Canary forward to scout for the source of the trouble. In some ruins beside the road, Wesley spots a wounded kish bleeding out. Tyzael recognized the kish as Vib, one of her scouts she had sent to keep an eye on the Temple Found but had not reported in the last couple days.

Drez insisted the group split up to approach the injured kish. They snuck ahead and spotted a pair of enormous winged creatures with light wings and eyes covering their bodies. Nuil had never seen this species before but she identified them being similar to a predatory bird called sharpwings. It is immediately evident the predators had spotted the PCs and were watching them closely.

Wesley tried to communicate with Tyzael but was grossly misunderstood. Nuil heard vows and language reminiscent of mating rituals across voice comms and suddenly young Star Crusher was not very engaged in the effort to save the injured kish.

Despite the dangers, the group moved forward. The sharpwings dropped from their perches and swooped quickly towards the PCs. Cypher activated his hologram clones and conjured four of them!

Switch and Cypher had readied for the attack and took shots at the sharpwings as they descended.

One of the sharpwings bit Drez and ripped a chunk out of his armor. The vesk warrior immediately retaliated with a [readied] attack but his assault bounced off the tough hide of the beast. Nuil quickly summoned her magic and blasted the same sharpwing with magic missiles. Even with its natural armor it could not resist her magic.

Ryder clung to the ruined walls around them for cover and fired his trusty pistol at the same sharpwing.

Cypher activated his jump jets and landed on top of one of the ruined walls to get a better vantage point. He summoned holographic images to flitter through the air to distract the sharpwing attacking Switch. He followed this up with a blast from his laser pistol but missed as well.

Wesley unloaded with his thunderstrike streetsweeper rifle and shot the same creature targeted by Switch and Cypher.

The sharpwing leapt away from Switch [without provoking an attack] and lands next to Ryder. The creature attacks viciously but only managed to hit with a single claw attack, drawing blood from the envoy.

Drez loses himself in bloodlust and throws everything he had at the sharpwing. The creature deflected one of the attacks and ate the other one. The sharpwing leaps away from the vesk, lands next to Wesley and mauls him with a claw before leaping away again to safely on a ruined wall north of the group.

Nuil followed the beast and smashed it again with a trio of magic missiles.

On the other side of the battle, Switch charged the other beast and impales it with his sword.

Ryder stays under cover but positioned himself to take a shot at the sharpwing Switch had wounded. The creature was looking quite battered and the envoy hoped he could finish it off. The sharpwing stumbled but managed to stay on its feet.

Not wanting to leave Nuil to face one of the creatures alone, he conjured another holographic distraction around the sharpwing up on the wall. His attack bloodied the monster.

Wesley tried to use TIM-X’s grappler to ensnare the same sharpwing but barely missed.

The other sharpwing leapt away from Switch and landed next to Ryder. It viciously ripped into the envoy and nearly killed him with its flurry of attacks. It also ripped a claw through Ryder’s semi-auto pistol but barely damaged it.

Drez rushed to Ryder aide and crushed the sharpwing ending its life. The vesk then handed Ryder a healing serum.

The remaining sharpwing leapt over the group and landed next to Wesley. It slashed poor Wesley and bloodied the poor mechanic.

Nuil rushed to Ryder and started to apply first aid.

Switch maneuvered himself into position and readied an attack for when the sharpwing moved in to attack.

Despite being mortally wounded, Ryder moved forward and blasted the sharpwing before retreating again to cover.

Ryder leapt up to the top of another wall, distracted the sharpwing again, and fired wide of his target.

Wesley ordered TIM-X to leap high into the air and at the apex of the jump TIM-X began to tumble. However, Wesley managed to get a shot off at the sharpwing but missed.

Drez deftly maneuvered through the walls and charged with his nova lance. He impaled the beast with the weapon but it clung to life. It leapt away from the vesk and landed next to Cypher and Switch. The android used his readied action and cut the sharpwing down before it could attack.

With the danger passed, Nuil tended to everyone’s wounds.

You can watch this game session on YouTube at https://youtu.be/UIgT6l3OOh8.

With the threat of the snake beasts dealt with the PCs begin to investigate the entrance to the Vault of Tales. They find more of the charcoal drawings, a ruined ticket booth, and a sealed set of double doors. Above the doors hung a sign depicting the location to be the “Istamak Historical Museum.”

Nuil collected 128 Bio UBPs from the corpses of the snake beasts. Once finished she asked Tyzael if this was the door they normally enter through. Tyzael confirmed Nuil’s thoughts and informed them this was the first “feat of strength” through which they must pass.

Secret Door Attempt #2: The group searched around the booth/counter and I called for another Perception check to find the secret door. The dice did not favor the players this time either and the secret door remained hidden.

The group began to search the area for a way to open the door, wireless connections, or data ports. They search for a long while when Ryder realizes one of the charcoal drawings is actually pointing to a particular spot on the wall. Searching that spot, he finds an incredibly well-hidden panel with a switch inside.

Wesley decided to do a quick scout of the area and deploys Canary to search the outside of the building. He found no windows, alternate doors, or any ventilation access points big enough for them to enter.

Cypher flipped the switch. A hologram of a welcome sign popped up which quickly transformed into a 3D map of the city of Istamak. Wesley realized it showed an older version of the city with many differences from the one they were exploring. The ysoki records the 3D map with his cyber eye.

Once the greeting was complete the entrance to the museum rolled up out of the way. Tyzael complimented them on a job well done. Wesley mused on how he was beginning to believe Nuil’s creators valued brains over brawn.

Through the doors, they found dusty shelves, another booth and a dim hallway leading deeper into the Vault of Tales/Maze of Ghosts. The PCs realized this must have been a gift shop thousands of years ago. Drez moved to the hallway to scout for danger while the others searched the room. He spotted some holograms showing the early days of Istamak when the city was first being built.

Although the gift shop had been looted long ago a thorough search revealed an ancient package which had been overlooked. Inside the group found a holoskin still in good condition. Wesley dressed TIM-X in the holoskin and tried to make him look like a giant dog.

Drez checked for traps ahead and determined the way was safe. Wesley studied the holograms and the glitches hoping to find a pattern but he found none. The group continued ahead cautiously. The holograms in the next hall depicted industrial projects such as gas mining vessel zooming through the atmosphere of Nejeor VI. These panels have touchscreen displays which the earlier ones did not.

While Nuil gives Cypher a crash course in the Maltur/Kishaleen language, Wesley watches over their shoulders. He doesn’t pick up much of the language but he does pick some kish curse words.

A new hologram popped up which said, “Thank you for choosing Chief Engineer Hasha. What questions can I answer for you today?” They noted it spoke in the pure language of the kishaleen, not the broken language of the kish.

Ryder asked if Hasha knew anything about the temple doors but the holograms said it knew nothing about a temple. The envoy asked what Hasha was famous for and the hologram responded it helped to build the Foundry, a center of industrial innovation and growth. It detailed numerous incredible items which the real Hasha had helped to invent and manufacture. It lauded the automation capabilities of the city and how very few individuals had to engage in menial tasks here in Istamak.

Nuil retreated to where Tyzael waited and reviewed the 3D map. She where the Temple Found was located and Tyzael showed her. The Herald gave a quick tour and highlighted the differences between the map and Istamak today.

Ryder asked the hologram if there was a central power hub for the city. Security protocols kicked in and the hologram deflected the question.

Nuil returned to the hologram and pointed to the Temple Found and asked what it was. The hologram indicates that was the Foundry, the heart of the city’s industry. Ryder inquired about accessing the Foundry but the hologram’s responses were elusive. Using his mind circlet, Ryder communicates with Cypher and asked if he could hack into the datapads to get the information they wanted. Cypher engineered an interface and jacked into the datapad.

The hologram glitched a little and then turned to Cypher, “That was a mistake.”

Cypher checked the system and found between 20 and 30 hologram sub-routines running the facility’s system. He asked the group to hold them off for a couple minutes while he shut them down.

Wesley tried to reprogram his holoskin to make him look like a hologram but he botched the attempt and ended up looking like an insectoid alien with smoke coming out of his arms.

Drez attacked with his nova lance but the hologram dodged much to their surprise. Zaleria identified the source of the holograms and fired at the projectors but missed.

“Careful! I’m working over here,” Cypher complained.

“Well work faster!” Zaleria retorted.

The hologram of Chief Engineer Hasha swung its fists at Nuil but missed the nimble lamerta. Still the group wondered if the holograms could even hurt them or if they could hurt the holograms.

One of the holograms slammed Zaleria with its fists and the question was painfully answered.

Two of the holograms closed on Drez and began to beat him down. Somehow the holograms were able to focus their energy into hard light when they attacked.

Nuil could not recall the Maltur having a similar technology but she does remember extremely rare occurrences of holograms becoming sentient and becoming living holograms from her mystic studies. She took a guarded step back and lined up three of the holograms for her arcing surge spell. Her magic ripped right through them. It did not destroy them but it did draw their ire and she could tell they were somewhat resistant to her attacks.

Ryder followed Zaleria’s lead and tried to blast one of the projectors but missed in the flashing lights of the holograms. As always, he rallied his allies, “Get em!”

Cypher killed a group of the sub-routines and one of the living holograms disappeared. Meanwhile, Switch swooped in and cleaved through two holograms with his sword destroying one of them and drawing the attention of the other.

Wesley (disguised as an awful alien) ripped out a piece of tape and went to cover one of the projectors before he realized it wasn’t that kind of projector. Instead, he decided to jack in with Cypher and attack the hologram sub-routines. He stripped a cable and fashioned the necessary hook up.

TIM-X (partially disguised as a big dog) tried to smash one of the holograms but crashed his hammer into the wall beside his target.

On the other side of the fray, Drez launched a flurry of attacks and managed to land a solid hit on the closest hologram.

Holding the other line with Switch, Zaleria’s photon aura continued to grow in strength and intensity. She drew her solar weapon and slashed through the adjacent living hologram. She immediately realized the creature took full damage from her attack.

The Hasha hologram pummeled Switch with its fists. Light flashed from the hologram as each blow fell and dazzled Switch with their brilliance.

Nuil lined up another arcing surge using up the last of her high-level spell slots. Her might destroys one of the living holograms and Hasha begins to twitch and distort violently.

One of the approaching living holograms closed on Zaleria and punched her hard (draining the last of her stamina and beginning to eat into her reserve of hit points). Kymber expressed her dislike for me which I gleefully enjoyed. 😀

The living hologram next to Drez moved to challenge Ryder and Drez stepped up and slashed the creature across its back. He drove it down to 1 hit point. Woot! The One Hit Point Wonders strike again!

Ryder guardedly stepped away from the attacker and used his envoy abilities to restore some of Zaleria’s stamina.

Cypher killed another sub-routine and a second living hologram winked out of existence.

Switch pressed his advantage and cleaved through the two holograms in front of him (including Hasha). Neither dropped but they were not looking good at all.

Wesley ordered TIM-X to attack one of the projectors and the combat drone ripped it apart. This caused another one of the living holograms to disappear.

Drez slashed through the living hologram beside him.

GM Note: I made a mistake here. Cypher shut down the unharmed living hologram and Drez hit the one that had 1 hit point remaining. He should have destroyed it. My apologies!

Zaleria reached full attunement and unleashed her supernova ability. The blast nearly destroyed the Hasha hologram (and Kymber giggled). LOL

More copies of the Hasha hologram suddenly appeared.

Wesley pleaded, “Cypher! I think you turned the dial the wrong way!”

The Hasha hologram smashed into Switch (crit) and the android’s joints began to lock up (crit deck, no ranged attacks for a few rounds).

Nuil cast a higher level magic missile which immediately destroyed both of Hasha’s mirages and the harmed him as well.

Ryder opted to encourage Switch (envoy stamina boost, for the win).

Switch ended the battle with a pair of slashes through the Hasha hologram. There was a flash of light and the last hologram disappeared.

Watch the game session on YouTube at https://youtu.be/FBKbPZcDkLc.

The two maltur on the docks drew their archaic looking weapons and rushed towards the PCs. They babbled in a language Nuil recognized as a vulgar form of the maltur language she knew from her childhood. Nuil quickly cast a spell on Ryder enabling him to understand the maltur as well. “Demons,” they called the PCs. The group tried to calm the maltur down but the sentries insisted the “demons” must leave. This was Hoyfeq’s orders after the “demons” had attacked and took their temple from them, “The Temple Found has been desecrated by you!” The maltur raised a spear to attack and Switch stepped between his allies and the aggressors. Nuil quickly convinced the maltur the PCs were not like the others.

The maltur guards explain the demons had left already but Hoyfeq believed more would return and posted guards here to watch for them. They further explain that after the demons left Xavra went into the Temple Found and took control of it. Nuil asked if there was anything the PCs could do to help. The guard explained he could not take them to Hoyfeq but he could take them to someone named Tyzael but only if they left their weapons behind on their ship. Nuil made a show of leaving her weapons behind while others hid some of their arms (cheek pockets, gloves of storing, etc). The guard explained he could not take them to Hoyfeq but because they “disarmed” themselves he could take them to Tyzael who would explain everything.

As they walked through the ruined spaceport Nuil spots a neon sign which flashes in perfect maltur, “Welcome to Istamak.” Nuil asked about the maltur and the maltur says they had no maltur left in Istamak.​ He said they had legends of the maltur but there was no need for the makers there. Nuil explained that the maltur had visited her planet and left a long ago. He suggested Tyzael might know more. Nuil thanked him and asked him his name to which the guard replied, “Zim.”

He led them through the spaceport and out into the city. The entire place was in ruins and they could tell it had been this way for quite some time. Although the damage was not so bad that Nuil could not recognize architectural features similar to those on her home planet. Nuil asked if the demons caused the damage and Zim explained their world was an old one and these were the ruins of his ancestors. Nuil asked if the maltur created Zim’s people but he explained the maltur had created the buildings and mechanical devices but not the people. He was still somewhat confused by her questions. The group began to wonder if the maltur were not a race but were instead a profession that some members of this race practiced.

On the way, Zim steered wide of a large building and Ryder questioned him about the detour. Zim explained that place was called the Giant’s Bounty and was once a good place to forage but hunters reported it had become infested by large and dangerous beasts.

In the distance, the group heard the sounds go battle and cresting a ridge they spotted a battle on a decrepit bridge crossing a steep ravine. On the far side of the bridge, two groups of people like Zim were engaged in a skirmish. Zim pointed out Tyzael and begged the PCs to help her. He called his side the “outcasts” which Ryder immediately questioned. Zim insisted there was no time for questions and once again begged them to help. Wesley dramatically unleashed TIM-X and ordered him to attack. The combat drone ran up and laid down cover fire for Zim’s allies.

Nuil cried out to Tyzael but was met with confusion. The lamerta technomancer then summoned her nanite-swarm in the midst of the bad guys. The bad guys retreat from TIM-X and the summoned swarm and begin firing arrows at targets from a safe distance. One of the arrows slams into Nuil (critical hit). The pain broke her concentration and her nanite-swarm disappeared. More arrows were fired but missed their marks.

Ryder advanced and chided Nuil into getting back into the fight (envoy; restored some of her stamina). Wesley ordered TIM-X to fire the drone’s grappler into the ground next to Tyzael. Nuil yelled for Tyzael to grab the grappling hook. Still wondering about the lamerta, Tyzael decided to comply and TIM-X quickly reeled her in and away from danger. Then Wesley opened fire on the bad guys to add insult to their injury.

Tyzael quickly demonstrated she was not completely helpless as she and telekinetically threw rocks at her foes.

Switch charged across the battlefield and before he realized what was happening the decrepit bridge collapsed underneath him. He tumbled into the ravine below and was partially buried by falling rock.

Cypher pulled a pistol from his cheek pouch and moved into range to trick attack and fire on the closest bad guy. He scored a critical hit and drew aggro from the rest of the bad guys (critical hit deck effect).

Nuil could not bring herself to attack her “creators” yet so she summoned a second nanite-swarm to use as a distraction. Between Cypher and Nuil, the bad guys lost their nerve and retreated from the battle.

TIM-X fired his grappler down into the new rubble below the bridge and helped to free Switch. Meanwhile, Nuil and Ryder began tending to the wounded. Wesley forgot Zim could not understand him and he began his pitch for Star Crusher Artisanal Weaponry. Zim displayed confusion but Wesley mistook it for encouragement and he continued the show. While Nuil checked the fallen on the other side of the broken bridge she found a technological device on one of them she recognized as an Instinctive Stabilizer. The device was a handheld techno-magical device which could be used to automatically succeed on a first aid check if the user is trained in medicine and with a bonus if not.

Tyzael watched all of this activity with interest and nodded approvingly. She commented on how they resembled the “demons” but she could tell they were not like them. Nuil remarked how she was confused and mentioned the maltur. Tyzael responded that she knew the legends of the maltur and when Nuil further inquired for clarification she explained her people were called the kish and the maltur were also the kish. Ryder explained that the maltur had created Nuil’s people. Tyzael was not surprised to hear the maltur had done such a thing. The legends indicated they were capable of great medical miracles.

Nuil finally introduced the PCs to Tyzael and the rest of the kish. When Cypher was introduced, Tyzael recalled there were two others like Cypher with the demons and they were quite unpleasant. She told the story of how the demons arrived in a metal cloud and landed in the lichen farms. They met with her chieftain, Hoyfeq, and soon after forcing their way into the Temple Found. Shortly after the demons returned to their cloud and left Istamak.

After the violent encounter, Huntmaster Xavra believed more of the demons would return and he entered the Temple Found and sealed the doors. Tyzael insisted Xavra open the doors again and hounded Hoyfeq to order Xavra to open the Temple Found again to the people. Hoyfeq grew tired of Tyzael and grove her out of the tribe calling her an outcast. Some of the people left with her and became outcasts as well. Tyzael led her new people and found a safe place. She recalled how Hoyfeq had once been strong and would have retaken the Temple Found but now perhaps Xavra would become the new chieftain. While the controlled the temple, this was their inevitable fate. The power of their ancestors sealed the doors to the temple and Xavra had control of that power.

Tyzael told the PCs they could continue to talk but asked if she could take her people back to their new abode. The two groups leave and head towards the outcast’s home. As they approach their destination Nuil spotted a sign which read, “Cloudside Condominiums.” Painted on the entrance to the abode is the symbol of Talavet, a goddess Nuil recognizes from the Golarian system.

Inside the rest of the outcasts rush to greet Tyzael and shower her with concern. She insists she is fine. When they notice the PCs they shrink away, especially from Cypher. Tyzael explains that two of the demons looked like Cypher and they were able to control the ruined technology of Istamak and used it against the kish.

The PCs discussed the kish’s ancestors with Tyzael and eventually, she asked if they would like to commune with her ancestors. She told them they must go to the Vault of Tales (also known as the Maze of Ghosts) and if they were worthy the ancestors of the kish would speak with them. She promised to show them the way if they promised to speak with Hoyfeq to help resolve their current dilemma.

Tyzael led the group to the Vault of Tales and while they travelled she mentioned a place called the House of Renewal which Nuil might find interesting. There the maltur had left them wonders that could heal and alter the bodies of the kish if the ancestors allowed. The group decides they do want to investigate that location but not before they complete their primary goal at the Temple Found.

They arrived at the Vault of Tales and the PCs recognize this location as a museum of sorts and based on the imagery outside the building probably held holograms with which they could communicate. The building was also covered in charcoal drawings drawn by the kish honoring their ancestors.

The PCs moved into the rubble surrounding the entrance of the facility and spot a pair of snake-like creatures attacking from both sides. Nuil did not recognize the particular species but she had seen others like it and warned the others it probably had some kind of constricting attack. Tyzael pleaded with the PCs to leave. The presence of the creatures indicated the ancestors had not found them worthy.

Nuil refused to back down and conjured a trio of magic missiles which slammed into the closest creature.

Cypher used his jump jets to put some distance between himself and the snakes. Not one to leave others to fight he turned, used his trick attack against one of the creatures, and blasted it with his laser pistol.

Switch drew his bone blade and attacked the closest target but his blade slid across the scaly hide of the monster. It snapped back at the android and bit into Switch’s shoulder. The creature wrapped itself around Switch’s body and began to constrict him.

Seeing Switch in danger, Wesley sent TIM-X but the done also could not penetrate the armored hide of the creature. Wesley rushed in and tried to blast the snake but it twisted around dodged the attack.

The second snake rushed Cypher, bit into the ysoki’s side, and wrapped itself around him.

Nuil quickly cast a grease spell on Cypher and he slipped free of the grasp of the snake. She then retreated up the western wall of the entrance to avoid attack by the snakes.

Cypher used his jump jets to escape but the snake nips him as he escapes. He used his trick attack and fired on the snake but misses.

Meanwhile, Switch tried to stab the snake while grappled but the android couldn’t land a good attack while grappled. The snake retaliates by squeezing the android tight causing bludgeoning damage.

Wesley commanded TIM-X to bash the snake holding Switch but the drone fails to hit the creature again. Then Wesley misses as well.

The battle continues to rage. Nuil realized she could neutralize the snake’s most dangerous ability by casting grease on the creature. Covered in the magically conjured grease it finds it can no longer grapple and constrict its prey. TIM-X moves in on the crippled creature and smashes its hammer into the mouth of the monster (crit) smashing out its teeth.

The remaining creature fled. Tyzael thanked the PCs as the creatures would have easily killed any of the kish who had come here to commune with the ancestors.

END OF SESSION​

You can watch the game session on YouTube at https://youtu.be/uqLmQHPzgDo.

​Cypher easily hacked the datapad he found on Captain Vesh and recovered the missing bits of data from the recordings on Asteroid K9204. On the way back to the spaceport they decided to make some quick purchases. Nuil made some healing “bombs.”

The crew knew they had little time to spare but the coordinates they secured from the clutches of Captain Vesh of the Corpse Fleet indicated they were heading into the deep reaches of the Vast. Supplies and last-minute upgrades to the Raza were in order. It took a few days to complete their preparations and when Switch powered up the ship’s engines to depart Eox they quickly shut themselves down. Wesley rushed to the engine room to find the cause of the untimely malfunction while Nuil began running checks from her station. The ship’s systems were mostly unresponsive but she skillfully managed to access the security subroutines. From there she learned a group of armed intruders had snuck into the ship shortly before launch and had hacked the Raza’s controls. They were hiding in the maintenance ports on the underside of the ship.

Ryder grabbed the ship’s comms and immediately contacted Waneda Truxx but she seemed to have little interest in their troubles at the starport.

Nuil took control of the ship’s sensors (or so she thought) and used them to locate the position of the intruders. The crew rushed to secure the ship’s exits and fell into a trap. The intruders rushed up from below in different locations than Nuil had identified and the crew found themselves split into three groups and separated from each other (although they still had comms with each other).

Cypher immediately identified the intruders as members of the Guild, an organization of bounty hunters and assassins. The operative had a bad history with the group and it was during a job to steal their ill-gotten gains that Cypher had lost contact with his apprentice, Li Shao Sho.

Much to his surprise, Li was leading the cadre of bounty hunters but her body had been ravaged by torture and wicked cybernetic implants. Her face had been ripped away and replaced with a titanium ceramic facsimile he almost didn’t recognize. Even worse, it was immediately evident her mind had been broken and twisted. The Guild had caught her and turned her into a weapon for their own purposes.

She was accompanied by a pair of burly ungorans (dog-like humanoids) and a plethora of Guild grunts. Cypher realized this must have been the group which tried to catch them at Absalom Station. Li’s presence also explained why the bounty hunters had been so successful tracking the crew of the Raza. Li knew many of Cypher’s tricks. Many, but not all. And if the hunters had caught the crew on Absalom it might have been the end of the Starfinders. Now, the crew had grown stronger and more experienced. They would not be taken so easily.

Insert several minutes of interesting RP.

The crew and the hunters clashed! See the video for the breakdown of the battle.

The PCs captured Li and dispatched the rest of her team. She almost got herself killed during the battle when she called Switch “property” but somehow he had failed to kill her before she was subdued.

She was secured in one of the cargo bays and Nuil performed a thorough inspection. She recognized the drug coursing through the young girl’s system and synthesized a counter-drug to help her fight its effects. That said, she and Ryder emphasized to Cypher that is he wanted the young lady to fight off the effects of the addiction, she was going to need Cypher’s help. And that is what she spent his time doing while they travelled to the Nejeor system.

After a LONG time, they arrived in Nejeor and set about scanning all of the planets in the system. They picked up signs of life on one of the planets and on that planet they found a series of floating earth motes on which were built a ruined city. They found a port to dock and exited the Raza.

Immediately they spotted two natives moving towards them, insect-like beings with three eyes. Nuil recognized them as the Maltur but before she could speak… they attacked!

END OF SESSION​