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​

To watch the game session on YouTube, visit https://youtu.be/M22opPvWpig.

​Kymber joined the group and is playing Zaleria (female human solarian who grew up with the Free Captains).

Note: We spent a little bit making a cooler token for Nuil’s nano-swarms. It took a couple iterations but the group picked a cool pic.

Stephen did a great Cypher impression. Switch, Drez, and Nuil went to walk the perimeter.

Wesley and Ryder searched the tent and found 7,080 credits. They also located a very simple tier 1 datapad which Cypher quickly hacked into. The datapad reveals the marrowblight’s name was Xerantha Mortrant and she was recruiting Eoxian dissidents for the Corpse Fleet. She was working with someone named Captain Zeera Vesh, a name Ryder recognized from his time as a slave. He grudgingly reveals his past to the rest of the crew and his concerns about facing Captain Vesh. He recalled she was a vampire with some unique abilities and weaknesses. Her weaknesses included an aversion to a bowl of cooked rice.

Cypher remarked, “That is a messed up childhood.”

Wesley searched Xerantha’s body and found the thunderstrike streetsweeper sonic longarm she had dropped at the end of the battle.

The PCs were too far from Orphys to tap into the InfoNet but Cypher used a comm dish Xerantha had mounted on her tent to boost his signal. While Cypher hooked up his gear, Drez returned from his patrol. With the boosted signal, Cypher finally taps into the InfoNet and begins scouring it for information about Captain Vesh. After an hour, he finds a secure mobile data node which has worked very hard to keep itself invisible on the net. Cypher nails it down and breaks through its defenses. Inside he finds a series of orders directing Corpse Fleet activities in Orphys. Finally, he finds a message from Vesh herself giving orders to gather her forces at Skullcap Gorge. She plans to launch one final assault against the PCs to end those “blasted Starfinders!” The location is 7 clicks from their current location. The crew debates their course of action for a bit and decides their window to take advantage of this information is small so they go on the offensive.

As the crew starts moving towards the Skullcap Gorge they notice a humanoid figure moving through the hills nearby following them (Zaleria). Ryder slides behind a boulder and waits for Zaleria to pass. He steps out his laser pistol drawn and said, “Why are you following us?”

Zaleria responded, “Well, I was sent here to help you but you didn’t seem to need the help.”

Ryder asked curiously, “Send here by whom? Clearly, anyone who knows us knows we don’t need help.”

Zaleria rebutted, “Well, tell that to the Free Captains.”

With that, Zaleria explains she was sent by Captain Allera Okwana who felt obligated to send them aid according to the Free Captain Code. It’s an honor thing. Cypher was suspicious but Wesley was enthralled with the idea that Allera had sent someone to help “him.” He was disappointed to hear Allera hadn’t mentioned him by name. The rest of the group introduced themselves and Ryder gave a quick overview of their quest. Wesley thought the group was sharing too much (or his feelings were just hurt, hard to tell). Ryder got the impression Zaleria was being sincere with the crew and when he sized her up, he realized she was a solarian which means she was probably good in a fight.

Despite mixed (and hurt) feelings, the crew proceeded with Zaleria at their side.

Note: I got suckered into the group having a second ship which is how Zaleria made it to Eox. That needs to be worked out, lol.

As the crew approached Skullcap Gorge, they noticed the hills which formed the gorge we actually enormous piles of corpses left her long, long ago. Despite the macabre nature of the hills, they searched for a path to allow them to approach the gorge stealthily. The rest of the crew negotiated the hill and Cypher used a combination of his jump jets with his new haste module to make his way to the top.

After some quick planning, the crew launches a surprise attack. The battle begins at approximately 1:25 in the video on YouTube. The crew defeated Vesh and her minions (Ryder got to land the killing blow on Vesh!) and the group began to rummage through the Corpse Fleet’s bodies for loot as we ended the session.

Note: Removed the Fleet feat from Zaleria and gave her Order of the Empty Orbit. This feat enables her to use her supernova ability and only target her enemies. This should turn the “avoid the ticking time bomb” approach to “fighting bravely side by side with the solarian.”​

To watch the game session on YouTube, visit https://youtu.be/e_oRpMhcles.

​Nuil, Drez, and Switch take the crew’s surplus gear to be sold.

Cypher, Ryder, and Wesley continue the investigation and heads to the flat to meet Gretal who reported her roommate. They are wary of the dangers in the Splice and they keep a constant vigil for threats. They notice a pair of undead humanoids who look like spacers who died in tragic decompression accidents. They seem to be very intent on the PCs as they move towards them.

The PCs try to reason with the undead aggressors but the villains insist the “Master” sent them to eliminate the Starfinders. The undead are physically powerful and possess powerful auras which manipulate gravity around them and cause their victims to feel like their lungs are decompressing. Battle ensues! The two creatures put a hurting on the trio and Ryder almost paid the ultimate price but in the end, the PCs prevailed. On the creature’s bodies, the PCs find evidence the creatures had been sent by the Corpse. In the words of Cypher, “These guys are really starting to get on my nerves.”

Nuil wandered back to the trio after selling the crew’s surplus goods and she treats Ryder’s wounds (restoring 6 hit points of damage). The group wonders who the “Master” was but no one can recall anything in particular.

The crew made a quick stop at Gentlesage’s Necrografts & Sundries and bought some mk 2 healing serums (Ryder).

When the crew reached the address from Waneda’s second report they found the sliding door to the flat partially busted in. They cautiously crept inside and called out for Gretal. They found her on the ground and beaten to within an inch of her unlife. Ryder introduced himself and heard a voice from the shadows say, “Ryder, that’s not the name I knew you by, A230385.” Ryder recognized the voice of Larex, the ghoul who was Ryder’s hander when he was a slave of the Corpse Fleet. Horrible memories flooded Ryder’s memory but he managed to fight to maintain control of himself. Larex taunted, “Well, what do you have to say for yourself, A230385?” Ryder responded, “Bastard!” “Is that any way to talk to your master,” said Larex. Ryder quick drew and fired his pistol just as TIM-X attacked the approaching ghoul. Larex managed to block TIM-X’s attack and ducked into an adjoining room to dodge Ryder’s attack.

The ghouls were well trained but the crew of the Raza had slowly become a force to be reckoned with over time. The battle begins in the video at roughly the 1:38:00 mark. Shots were fired. Grenades were thrown. Hammers down! The crew prevailed and Ryder had his revenge against Larex (turning him into green goo in the process).

Switch dragged the ghoul soldier’s bodies into the flat from the street to avoid any unwanted attention. Gretal was immensely grateful to the Starfinders and gave them free and full access to search the entire flat for any valuable clues. They found her roommates journal (How archaic!?!) which confirmed Gretal’s suspicions. Harvinne had left to meet with a creature called the marrowblight to join the Corpse Fleet. Included in the journey were coordinates for a meeting outside the city of Orphys later that day.

The crew ventured out into the hellish landscape of Eox and managed to negotiate their way to the coordinates with little difficulty. They passed through Skullcap Gorge, terrain covered in hills formed from the corpses of Eoxians who died millenia ago and were preserved in the toxic atmosphere of the dead planet. When they reached the coordinates, Wesley released Canary to survey the area. They found a tent (crafted from living flesh) and a campsite built from scavenged gear and equipment. They also found a garden crafted from bones and flesh to mimic the appearance of a rose garden. Wesley runs a scan for sources of life and picked up a very large creature moving towards the camp. Nuil can’t tell what it is from the readies fed to the group from the drone. Nuil climbed the highest tree for cover (which proved to be a hazard during the battle). Meanwhile, Wesley scanned for any underground structures but found none.

Cypher quoted, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat!”

An ellicoth soared over the nearby hills and charged towards the Starfinders. Xerantha Mortant was hidden inside the flesh tent but joined the battle when Wesley ran into the tent for cover. The battle begins in the video at roughly the 2:46:00 mark. and runs through the end of the game session.

​To watch the game session on YouTube, visit https://youtu.be/an6vJwsjCfQ.

We reminisce about an earlier time in Cypher’s life when he ran with an organization called The Guild and a previous ward of his named Li Shao-Sho. Not one to talk much about his past, Cypher recalls the last time he saw the young woman during a botched job. The pair decided to part ways and Cypher hasn’t seen Li in years.

As the crew arrives at Absalom Station, they find themselves in Docking Bay 47 (minor retcon on location from the last session). Michael couldn’t join us for this session so Wesley remained with the Raza and worked on implementing the upgrades the group had previously decided on. This became a very important point in the story at the end of the session. The group recapped their holoskin disguises for their visit. Ryder had already established himself as Captain Zsa Zsa Gabore. Nuil became a neon purple/lavender skittermander named YAYAYAYAYAYAYA or Stitch, still to be decided. Cypher became a dwarf named Mickey. Drez became a grizzled, older Vesk named Draz. Switch (poor Matt hadn’t gotten online yet) became a shirren exotic dancer and Wesley became a female eoxian.

As the crew met the dock security, Captain Gabore/Ryder introduced herself and tried to talk her way past the guards as a representative for her husband. Cypher/Mickey quickly caught on to what Ryder was doing and realized the group would need a digital trail to reinforce their disguises. He remotely sliced into the guard’s datapad (after rolling a crit on the check!) and created an all-points memo from Director-General Lin Camulan indicating Captain Gabore is on Absalom Station as an ambassador and should be afforded all possible accommodations.

I tempted the crew with the opportunities that Absalom Station offers but they didn’t bite the hook. Almost everyone wanted to go straight to the Lorespire Complex to avoid any trouble (and in the words of Bill, it was time to fight some stuff and roll some dice). So the group grabbed a Space Uber (or Suber) and after a couple hours in traffic found themselves at the headquarters of the Starfinder Society. The crew met with Chiskick and began catching him up on their activities.

NOTE: The next time we engage in starship combat, BRING THE PAIN! The group is ready for the challenge.

Chiskisk is dismayed to hear the group has encountered evidence the Corpse Fleet is involved in this matter. He is equally concerned to learn there is a bounty on the crew. 15,000 for each of them and 30,000 credits for Switch. his bounty also references crimes on the planet Aballon and involvement with a group known as the Android Abolitionist Front. Chiskick provides the crew with a contact on Eox, Waneda Trux, who works at the Ministry of Eternal Vigilance which is responsible for reporting all Corpse Fleet activity to the Pact Council. She is stationed in the city of Orphys in a district called the Splice. The crew asks Chiskisk to pass credentials for Captain Gabore and her crew to Waneda Trux.

The crew went to the archives and cross referenced information on the Cult of the Devourer and the Corpse Fleet. What information was available indicated they possessed opposed worldviews and the more likely scenario is they were opposing each other. So the group decided to learn more about Nyara. Nyara was a spiritual masochist who would use pain to invoke visions which she believed came from the Devourer. The Starfinder Society put little stock in her visions but it seems there may have been something to her words. Finally, they look up the Stellar Degenerator and find a few, obscure references to an ancient starkiller weapon of mass destruction. As far as they can tell, the weapon was only used once although they cannot find who deployed it. They find no information about the creators and specifically target the Maltur to see if Nuil’s creators had anything to do with the weapon. The only hit is the report Chiskisk added to the archive referencing the runes found on the Drift Rock by the PCs.

Chiskisk gives 2,500 credits to each PC. Ryder opts to substitute part of his pay for UPBs. I tried to tempt the group to do some shopping but once again, no luck. They’re getting wise to my tricks!

Cypher received a warning from Clara-247.

Someone was able to hack through his encryption and a group of bounty hunters knew the PCs were on Absalom Station. Cypher quickly let the group know they needed to move fast and get off Absalom Station. The crew debates what to do and decides the best plan of action. They were sure they could not return to Docking Bay 47 so they decided to contact Wesley and have him pilot the Raza to another location, Docking Bay 86 (after considering a number of other plans).

Their plan worked. The crew quickly departed from Absalom Station and prepped for the Drift jump to Eox. Their navigation calculations were off and while they successfully reached Eox, it took them 8 days to make the trip.

Eoxian Aerospace Control proved droll but accommodating and the crew found themselves landing in the city of Orphys and then wandering on foot towards the Splice district. The Splice is an industrial sector known for the mass manufacturing of necrografts, flesh, and necro-weaponry. The crew found their way to the Ministry of Eternal Vigilance and met with Waneda Trux. She was not thrilled to be helping “breathers” but she saw no reason not to cooperate with agents of the Starfinder Society. Before their arrival (because she had 8 days to prep), she had scoured all of the recent reports and identified 2 reports which she thought might have some credence to them.​

​The crew reviews the reports and decides to investigate the report by Voxel Darksend at the Fleshworn Fabrications. At the factory, the PCs meet with Voxel and begin questioning him about his report. Voxel isn’t much help but he does give the PCs access to the facility’s closed caption video system and the location from which the vat was stolen. The PCs review the video and find strange anomalies as something entered the facility. They recall a number of reasons for the distortions but need more clues to determine what happened there. At the location of the missing vat, they find some biological evidence and Nuil identified it as the bony spurs of the arms of a marrowblight. A marrowblight could have also created the distortions on the video. Fairly confident the crew decides to start hunting the creature.

END OF SESSION​