Sea of Stars - OOC III

[rax]

Spoiler: PotatoGolem

Show

Understood - no worries!

[Destro_Yersul]

I don't think there's anything major that needs taking care of at Port Wander, but if there is, this is the time to do it. Once you're ready to go I need Echo to do some Navigation rolls.

[Blarghy]

Don't we need to register the Terminus while we're here, or did we already do that? Or is it happening off-screen? Just want to make sure we don't forget. All I've got is this conversation with Sargon; we can have it happen on its own little timeline while we move forward if the rest of you are ready.

First, gonna spend some XP. I want Scrutiny (300), of course. I'll gladly accept Forbidden Lore (Daemonology) (200) too, thanks. Talented (Psyniscience) (200) and Navigation (Warp) +20 (200) both seem like they'll be useful for this upcoming adventure. That leaves me 300 left over.

Now for Navigation.

Determining Duration of Passage: Navigation (Warp) (86): (1d100)[75]
Locating the Astronomican: Ordinary Awareness (84): (1d100)[86]
Charting the Course: Ordinary Perception (64): (1d100)[85]
Steering the Vessel: Navigation (Warp) (86): (1d100)[28]
Leaving the Warp: Hard Perception (34): (1d100)[2]

And then I think you make the Warp Travel Encounters rolls, since I'm not sure how long the trip is yet, right?

[Blarghy]

Gonna use a Fate Point to bump Locating the Astronomican up by +10 so it passes, and another to reroll Charting the Course.

Charting the Course: Ordinary Perception (64): (1d100)[31]

[Destro_Yersul]

Don't we need to register the Terminus while we're here, or did we already do that? Or is it happening off-screen? Just want to make sure we don't forget. All I've got is this conversation with Sargon; we can have it happen on its own little timeline while we move forward if the rest of you are ready.

And then I think you make the Warp Travel Encounters rolls, since I'm not sure how long the trip is yet, right?

I off-screened that, since it was something I had no obstacles or plans for, it was just something you needed to go to a place and file some paperwork. Consider it done.

And yes, I'll be doing the encounter rolls. Probably after work today.

Edit: Nope, gonna leave it for my weekend. You guys are still doing conversations, and maybe I can fit Echo's thing in before the warp travel.

[rax]

Echo confessing to Sargon (...right after the commercial)

[Blarghy]

Echo confessing to Sargon (...right after the commercial)

And just like that, this scene got 30% less serious for me.

[rax]

Then my work here is done!

[Blarghy]

"You installed a Cogitator Interlink on a Shrike? Is your Magos mad? What did you expect would happen?"

Can you refresh my memory about the Shrike model and their relationship with this/similar ship components? I remember the line came from some war/rebellion, fairly recently (by Imperium standards), less than a thousand years ago. I think they're rumored to be unlucky or a bit cursed or something? Just wondering what Echo would know, for the purpose of this conversation.

[Destro_Yersul]

Hm. Echo probably knows the Shrike came out of the Meritech wars, but perhaps not what that means. You don't have any relevant Lore skills, so it'd just be the stuff everybody knows.

The Shrike was used by the Meritech clans in their bid to secede from the Imperium.
The Merates cluster the Clans hailed from was purged in a massive effort by Battlefleet Calixis
Many of the ships were captured and refitted when the wars ended.

Echo has been around the bridge as well, including briefly before the Interlink was installed. He might have recognised that the Manticore's Sting has a lot of extra consoles and monitors and things on the bridge. There were a significant number that had been mothballed and covered in dropcloths before the Interlink was installed, but are now active post-installation.

For your benefit, and entirely separate from what Echo knows, the Shrike class was designed by Hereteks to be partially operated by a near AI. When they were retrofitted, the Imperium tore out the heretical cogitator cores, but left most of the cables and subsystems because they would have been too much of a pain to remove.

[Blarghy]

That is interesting. And it's fun how things work out without being planned. Let this be a lesson to us if we decide to refit any questionable ships in the future, I suppose.

[rax]

I'm failing to see the problem. We now have the coolest ship in the galaxy. Why the long face?

[Destro_Yersul]

That is interesting. And it's fun how things work out without being planned. Let this be a lesson to us if we decide to refit any questionable ships in the future, I suppose.

He says, as one of the Dynasty's primary goals involves refitting a ship that is demonstrably haunted.

ANyways, moved on here, didn't have much for you at Port Wander and I think we're far enough into everyone's conversations that another post or two would wrap them. So timesplit those if needed, and let's see what new and exciting things have boarded you!

[Blarghy]

Oh, the Terminus is only haunted in fun ways. I'm sure it's fine.

Regarding our new friends, I assume that Kennoch should keep navigating instead of joining the welcoming party. Would be fun to get involved, though, if you don't have something else planned for me to do. Maybe I could send in some Rings and play them for this fight?

[Haval]

He says, as one of the Dynasty's primary goals involves refitting a ship that is demonstrably haunted.

Which is worse. Warp taint or Abominable Intelligence?

[Destro_Yersul]

If you ask Sargon, it's warp taint all the way.

[Leon]

If you ask Sargon, it's warp taint all the way.

everything is, hard to distinguish when its all you are

[PotatoGolem]

Well, we're a little boned haha. Hopefully they hate each other enough to wear them down a bit before we arrive. Then we just need to drown them in PCs, meltas, and expendable redshirt mobs. What could go wrong?

[rax]

Looks like it's time to spend all those juicy xp we just got. Hannabel isn't going near battling Astartes until she's skilled up a bit more...

Edit
Hannabel purchased the following advances and entered standard Void-master rank 4:
WP +15 = 500
Awareness +10 = 300 (elite advance)
Dodge +20 = 200
Jaded = 200
= 1,200 xp

[PotatoGolem]

Spending XP:
Dodge +10- 300 xp (elite advance)- takes him to Rank 4 Rogue Trader
Into the Jaws of Hell- 500 XP

Saving 400 XP towards Counter Attack. Was torn between the two, but the last adventure was more Macharius as a leader than Macharius as a blender. Now everyone is immune to Fear and Pinning as long as they see Macharius.

Also rolling to try to identify the Space Marines:
Scholastic Lore: Legend (1d100)[80] vs 48
Forbidden Lore: Heresy (1d100)[57] vs 48

EDIT: I'll spend a FP to make that a pass on FL:Heresy

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika is relatively certain she's heard of both sets of heraldry, but isn't sure where. Macharius positively identifies the blue-clad marine as a member of the Thousand Sons, but can't place the red one.

[Leon]

but the last adventure was more Macharius as a leader than Macharius as a blender. Now everyone is immune to Fear and Pinning as long as they see Macharius.

Have no fear, the blender is here

[Blarghy]

I'm not sure what advice Echo could give here, especially without being present to see these visitors himself. Can't use Psyniscience from the other side of the ship, surely. A Lore check is about all I can think of at the moment. Maybe he can remember some information regarding how likely they are to actually be Space Marines, versus just a daemonic trick.

Forbidden Lore (Warp) (71): (1d100)[52]

More broadly, I'm in favor of helping some, in the hopes that we can kill the Marine we're confident is evil, while weakening the other one in case he's also bad news.

[Destro_Yersul]

It's entirely possible they are actually space marines. Most daemons aren't subtle enough to bother doing something like this, and the ones that are probably wouldn't do it after bashing their way forecefully through the Gellar Field. It's also possible to teleport yourself using the warp, though only a really powerful psyker is able to do it over any sort of distance.

A Thousand Son sorcerer totally qualifies.

[rax]

So, it looks like Macharius already gave the order to shoot the blue guy, but no one's done that yet. I'm off to bed but I'll have Hannabel get right on it tomorrow.

[PotatoGolem]

Yeah this week has been a bit nuts. I'll post Friday or Saturday at the latest- unlikely to have time today or tomorrow. What magnitude is our mob of marines?

[Destro_Yersul]

I've generally been assuming squads of ten, probably from wargame experience. These games are not really balanced around the idea of players having hordes of minions to throw at things, and magnitudes get nasty fast at larger numbers.

[rax]

Bah! Spending an FP to re-roll that tragic to hit roll...

(1d100)[73]

Edit: Still crap, but at least it's two hits on the Thousand Son...

Edit no 2: And I just realized that telling the dice roller to roll 2d10+2 means one can't tell whether any tens were rolled on the damage roll, so we just don't know if there was a Righteous Fury in there. Le sigh...

[Destro_Yersul]

Well, I'll throw some extra dice on your behalf, then. You can keep your damage rolls, but... the probability of one of two dice being a 10 is 19%. So on a 19 or less, you get Righteous Fury, First shot: (1d100)[49] Second shot: (1d100)[38]
Since your target to hit was 100, you can't actually fail on the roll to confirm, so here's some extra d10s: (1d10)[9](1d10)[9](1d10)[7](1d10)[7](1d10)[8] No righteous Fury for you, unfortunately. Which means the shots plink off his psychic shield.

O'Connor hits, but the other Praetorians don't. Pen 13 is quite a lot, but the shield our friend has up is giving him a truly epic amount of armour. Even at AP13, he gets 5 points of armour, and 8 points of toughness. So the melta shot does 6 wounds.

Macharius, however, ran into melee, and doesn't have to deal with the extra armour from the psychic power. He smashes face with his hammer, and only has to deal with Toughness Bonus. Which is still 8, but you know. Another 8 wounds from that.

Now it's the sorcerer's turn. He hits Macharius with his staff: (1d100)[81](1d10+15)[19] - well not with a roll like that, he doesn't.

He also manifests a psychic power (1d100)[8]. This is aimed at O'Connor.
- This, however, goes off. O'Connor is afflicted by Thought Cage. Every round he must make an Intelligence test, or take 1d10 Int damage and be stunned. Thanks to the very successful Focus Power test the sorcerer did, this test is at -20. If he passes the test, the power ends.

The Red Marine, who you have bought some time, gets himself into melee. (1d100)[78](1d10+15)[19] He strikes at the blue marine. - and misses.

[Blarghy]

"Hey! Navigator-sama! The traitor marine's got some sort of force shield up. If it's psychic in nature, can volume of fire overload it?" she calls up Echo on her micro-bead looking for answers.

Kennoch doesn't have Forbidden Lore (Psykers) or Scholastic Lore (Occult), which I assume is what we need here. Unless Destro will let me roll something else?

Ravia does seem to be trained in Forbidden Lore (Psykers), though. No bonuses to it, but her Intelligence is good.