Players:
Caleb: Byln Kair, Kel Dor. Consular (Sage)
Chris: Pranac "Prawn" Anakhis, Quarren. Guardian (Soresu Defender)
David: Altair Badar, Mirialan. Mystic (Seer)
James: B2-F3 "Beefy," Super Battle Droid. Hired Gun (Bodyguard)
Lucas with a C: Astalos "Dragonbane," Clawdite. Consular (Arbiter)
Lukas with a K: Seyo Nemis, Human. Warrior (Aggressor)
Shane: Literally Everyone Else In The World. GM (Lord of Time, Space, and Reality)
[Note: Whenever players are talking, their words will be in Bold to distinguish it from the story proper.]
Session 2
Shane: Great news! I've decided that you should all get 20 XP per session instead of 15. So you all have 5 more than you thought.
Lucas with a C: Yes!
Lukas with a K: Is that really such a big thing?
Chris: It's more important than it sounds. Just buying up all the talents from a single specialization would've taken twenty sessions at a rate of 15 XP per time. Even if we play every three weeks, which is hard to schedule with seven people, it would take more than a year. And that's not counting Force powers, skills, or new specializations.
Shane: Yeah… I still don't want you to all become superheroes any time soon, but with our sessions spaced out so much, 15 XP was gonna feel stingy.
[some players spend the XP, but most are saving up for more expensive purchases]
Shane: Alright, let's jump back in…
With Jedi Master Val Isa's talisman around his neck, now hidden within his robes, Byln feels his connection to the Force… sharpen. His injuries and trauma during Order 66 badly diminished his ability to use the Force, but he is now determined to push his limits and regain some of his former power.
While the grizzled kel dor examined the talisman, the rest of the Party went through the other items that were stored with it. Now Byln Kair relates his vision to them, and they begin to share their findings.
Prawn hefts the two halves of a helmet that's been sliced cleanly down the middle. "This was clearly done by a lightsaber, so this can't be beskar or even cortosis-woven. But it's definitely a Mando helmet. Probably from the ancient wars the Mandalorians had with the Jedi and the Republic." The boy then brings the two halves together and places the helmet on his head.
David: Wait… you're trying to wear it? It's in pieces!
Chris: Yeah, but Prawn's got squid tentacles on his face. I bet he could use them to hold the two halves of the helmet together. Have you seen vids of an octopus climb into a clam shell and pull it shut to hide?
Shane: I'll allow it… for a while. It'll give Prawn +1 Defense… but only for this session.
Chris: Better than nothing.
Shane: [under his breath] You're gonna need it…
Smiling proudly, Prawn says, "Something doesn't have to be lightsaber proof to be useful."
Astalos looks down—way down—at the younger boy. "You look like a moron."
Prawn pulls up his hood, mostly hiding the helmet. "I don't care. Anything that makes me better at taking hits for you is worth it."
The older Padawan isn't impressed. "Your face tentacles look like a meaty mustache now, sticking out to either side like that to hold the helmet pieces."
"Awesome! I have a meat mustache! Could it get any manlier than that?"
Astalos rolls his eyes, Seyo sighs, and Altair chuckles. Byln barely notices the exchange, reflecting as he is on the implications of his vision, and the talisman he now wears.
Ignoring the silly children, Beefy holds up a battered ship's transponder. "This may have contained useful intel regarding where these items were found. Unfortunately, it has been damaged beyond use. I even attempted plugging it into my own system, but the data is corrupted."
Altair holds up a droid control core of baffling design. "For obvious reasons, it's way too dangerous to try something similar with this. So I poked around, and I have a disturbing suspicion: This may be from a Mandalorian Basilisk Droid."
"Whoa…" Prawn whispers. "Those things were bad news… Giant, loyal, and armed to the teeth, ancient Mandos rode them into battle. I am not sorry that they stopped making those things thousands of years ago."
"Or that our brothers of the time destroyed them en masse," Seyo adds. He then holds up the final item from the container. "This is a recording of the official report regarding the acquisition of these items." Ashur Sungazer gestures to a holoprojector, and Seyo loads it and plays the message.
A small image of a stormtrooper officer appears. "Lieutenant TK-575 reporting. All useful cargo has been confiscated and added to our stores. The smuggler has been judged and sentenced."
He pauses at the sound of multiple blaster shots, and the thud of a body hitting the floor. Calm, almost bored, the Lieutenant continues. "All other cargo, a transponder, helmet, electronics, and some sort of necklace, will be delivered to Eriadu. Nothing else to report." The recording ends.
"Nice guy," Astalos observes dryly.
Altair shakes his head. "How can anyone sound so bored and casual while ordering an execution?"
"I feel a very strong desire to seek out the Sanctuary, Val Isa's ship," Byln says with certainty. "The transponder is unusable, but perhaps we have enough information to piece together the most likely location."
The scholar Ashur Sungazer, beaming at what has already been discovered, gestures wide. "Perhaps you're right. You may have full access to the Archive records. Research anything you believe will help."
Byln leads the Party in a brainstorming session on what they should research, then Seyo assigns everyone different topics to pursue. The Party splits between various computer terminals. Astalos considers this a bit of a chore, but soon they all present their reports.
Byln speaks first. "There are no records of anything like this talisman, but I found some highly redacted reports on Val Isa. They depict her as a mad, reclusive painter, and any associations with Jedi powers are dismissed as 'children's stories.'"
"That's the empire for you," Astalos grumbles.
"Indeed." Byln continues. "Curiously, it has no images of her paintings. The only direct mention of them is a list of four titles. 'Bespin: Air.' 'Dantooine: Stone.' 'Koler: Fire.' And 'Mon Calamari: Water.' Perhaps these worlds had special significance to her."
"Just like Master Kair, I ran into a lot of Imperial propaganda," Astalos says. "Most of us already knew a lot about Ilum, where Jedi get their kyber crystals, but wow the info on this planet is a joke. I found claims that Jedi believe crystals contain 'nature spirits,' which made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. One quack theorized that Ilum crystals in particular are toxic, causing hallucinations and other effects that 'gave rise to the myths of Jedi powers.' Totally absurd."
"And only the tiniest percentage of the galactic population would be in a position to know any better," Altair says. "If I didn't have the Force myself, I'd never have believed the stories about Jedi. How many people ever really saw them use the Force?"
"Jedi are not known for needless and flamboyant displays," Byln says. "Most of our open use of the Force was in battle during the clone wars. So the majority of those who witnessed it were clones, droids, or militia."
"And the clones now obey the Empire without question," Altair says.
"And nearly all of the battle droids were deactivated," Beefy adds.
"And most of the militia that fought alongside the Jedi either died in battle or were betrayed and marginalized at the end of the war," Seyo concludes.
"The lies are still so… rude," Astalos says. "None of these idiots ever even visited Ilum. They're just parroting what Imperial survey reports said." For the first time, the suave young clawdite seems introspective, even sad. "So many Jedi, even young Padawans, died in the war… And now the Empire pretends we were just a bunch of nutty cultists who got drugged up on toxins and went crazy."
"At least those lies might help the few of us who survived," Prawn says, trying to cheer him up. "If everybody believes the Force is a myth, anyone who tries to mess with us won't have a clue what we can do."
"That's optimism if ever I've heard it," Seyo says, patting his little Padawan's shoulder. "In these dark days, we must seize every advantage."
"Let us get back on track," old Byln suggests.
"I researched the ship named in Byln Kair's vision," Beefy reports. "The Sanctuary is listed as a Republic support ship which visited the worlds of Fedalle, Rendili, Koler, Duro, and Exodeen."
"I reviewed the highlights of the Mandalorian Wars," Prawn says. "In the worst of 'em, the Mandolorians got deep into Republic territory. Some of the bloodiest battles happened at Churr, Commenor, Duro, and Koler. Maybe the attack on Val Isa's ship happened in one of those systems."
Altair sounds excited, his green face lighting up. "I'm sure I'm not the only one noticing a common thread in our research. Check this out: Over the centuries, a handful of intact Basilisk droids have been discovered. Sightings were confirmed on Basilisk, Gefthaine, Mandalore… and Koler."
"Although Koler sounds promising, it doesn't come up in the most important line of research," Seyo says, sounding disappointed. "It was Lieutenant TK-575 who captured the smuggler that had all of these items, and the record of his tour of duty never mentions Koler."
Unworried, Master Byln Kair prompts, "Where did he serve?"
Master Seyo Nemis double-checks the record. "The bulk of his missions were at Commenor, Exodeen, Empress Teta, and Lamman."
"Well then… I have good news," Byln says. "If my old astrogation lessons serve me… the Empress Teta system is near Koler. The smuggler likely jumped to the closest system to look for a buyer."
"So," Beefy observes, "we didn't need the transponder after all."
James: Whew. I feel better about that terrible roll earlier.
Smiling hugely at this breakthrough, Ashur Sungazer brings up records on the Koler system. "It's a red supergiant system in the deep core. These reports feel psudo-legendary… a 'starship graveyard' they call it, though quite frankly that's common to the Deep Core. The navigation hazards are very real. Oh dear… A reputable report says the system has no inhabitable planets."
"That isn't a worry," Byln says with a wave. "In my vision, they were on Val Isa's ship. Nothing indicated they were near a habitable planet. In fact, her parting words to me implied that she had chosen to isolate herself from most of the galaxy."
"So we have our destination," Seyo Nemis says. "The Force directs us to Koler. The transponder likely would have been useful for making our way through the Deep Core, but hopefully Captain Pe'Tyrbil will prove useful."
"This was a delight to watch," Ashur Sungazer says. "I found all of these artifacts fascinating, but I never would have made all of those connections on my own. Please promise to tell me what you find!"
"Let us head out," Byln says.
"Finally," Astalos mumbles.
The Party heads out. Ashur goes with them, so it won't feel too suspicious that the Party carries the various artifacts with them. To cover for them, he happily jabbers about his gratitude that they "listened to his lecture," and he thanks them for their willingness to help him with his research "offsite." The security detail assigned to the Party is, thankfully, duped by this act, and the guards go their separate ways when everyone reaches the lobby.
"That's a relief," Prawn whispers to Seyo. "That big armored guy made me so nervous."
James: I was certain all your little slip-ups were gonna get us into major trouble.
Lukas with a K: If the official adventure was only supposed to start when we got to this planet, I guess this could be called the "beginner" level. We were probably more worried than we needed to be.
Shane: [evil smile]
"Thank you, Sungazer, for all your help," Byln says. "We'll be on our way."
Nodding, the scholar parts company with them. They exit the building and begin to cross the walled courtyard.
Shane: [Reading] "The campus lights suddenly take on an ugly, off-yellow tint: the signal that the university is on alert. You notice the crowds of scholars tense up as they look around to find the source of trouble. On various computer monitors, both public and personal, you see your images, identichip numbers, and the names you gave on entry, along with the text 'wanted for questioning.'"
Lukas with a K: So yeah… forget what I said.
Two groups of guards approach the Party from different directions, as scholars and civilians scatter. Thankfully, none of these guards are in the heavy armor of the one that followed Prawn earlier. Still a good distance away, one guard shouts, "Hey, you! I need you to come with us!"
Prawn is not the sort to boss around his older companions. Even so, he begs, "Please don't kill them! They're just school security!"
The city air purity warnings sound, and the air thickens with an unpleasant haze of pollutants.
"I could change forms," Astalos suggests. "That way, I could distract the guards without –"
"No," Byln insists. "You'd be too likely to end up isolated and lost in this thickening air."
"But submitting to interrogation is out of the question," Altair says.
"I'd rather bolt than injure people who don't deserve it," Sayo says.
"Then do so." Beefy breaks into a full run, and the rest follow.
Shane: Everyone roll Perception.
Unfortunately, the dark haze soon cuts visibility to such a degree that only Beefy, Altair, and Seyo manage to stay on course for the gate. Byln struggles to keep up, Astalos refuses to pull ahead of his master, and Prawn hangs back to support them. Soon, the three have lost sight of the others in the darkness.
"Don't stop!" Byln orders. "If we can just find the gate–"
A stun blast barely misses the old kel dor. In almost the same moment, a truncheon misses Astalos by centimeters.
"Get your master clear!" Prawn shouts to Astalos. "I'll catch up!" And thus, the only Party member who left his weapon on the ship takes a stand against two guards.
Removing both halves of his helmet, Prawn holds them in both hands as impromptu weapons. Hoping to distract the guards, the boy hauls back and baps one of them, careful not to aim for the face. The hefty man takes no meaningful harm, but it still holds his attention more than the wild shot Byln sends their way. The old kel dor tried firing backward as he ran, and the stun blast misses entirely.
Caleb: I dunno guys… I kinda hate my character. I'm terrible at combat, and Astalos is way better than me at interactions and diplomacy. Hopefully these goons kill him so I can be someone else?
Chris: No! You're the group's grampa! Without you, the oldest character is 30-year-old Seyo, and most of the others aren't even 20! We need our sage to give us some respectability, and you took the Talisman for a reason!
Caleb: Meh. Byln still feels lame.
Chris: Give'm a chance. This is only our second session. And besides, if you try to get Byln killed, you're more likely to get Prawn killed protecting him.
Astalos catches a glimpse of the gate through the shifting mist. He continues running in that direction, calling back to the others so they can follow the sound of his voice.
Both guards close on little Prawn, and they swing their truncheons with brutal intent. In the darkness, neither realize they're targeting a child.
It doesn't matter.
Prawn's arms move with tight defensive efficiency. The half helmet in his left hand deflects one truncheon entirely. The other, aimed for his head, deflects downward and thuds into the child's side.
The boy doesn't even wince, and the man grits his teeth from the uncomfortable shock that runs down the truncheon.
Shane: Wait, you literally took zero damage from that?
Chris: Well, negative two to be precise.
Lukas with a K: How?
Chris: I told you guys, this is one tough little kid, and his defensive skills are no joke. My Parry talent is already rank 3, so it reduces damage by 5. Even if this kid didn't have the physique of a scaled-down powerlifter, that hit still wouldn't have hurt him.
Lucas with a C: This itty bitty nerd is gonna make the rest of us look flimsy…
Caleb: At least his damage output was lame. He might be tougher than us but he won't steal any of our kills.
"That all ya got, weakling?" Prawn says.
The man that struck the boy stares in astonishment, and the other freezes with his weapon raised for another swing. Then the first man says, "I don't get paid enough for this!" He splits, running into the mist, and his companion follows suit.
Easily hiding the pain from that bruising impact, which he knows from experience won't even hurt by tomorrow, the boy smiles in genuine satisfaction at the swift outcome. He then turns toward the sound of Astalos' voice, which guides him to the gate.
Soon, everyone is home free and back at the ship. There are signs that the spaceport is being searched, but whoever sounded the alarm clearly doesn't have the authority to completely shut the port down. Karrul powers up the engines, and–
Shane: The ship explodes.
Everyone: WHAT?
Shane: No one checked for traps. Someone planted a bomb on the ship while you were gone. Everybody dies.
Everyone: …
Shane: [evil smile] Gotcha.
James: You maniac! Ya almost gave me a heart attack!
Shane: Yeah, you guys are totally fine.
–the ship lifts off. They're away.
"That could have been way worse." Altair sighs as he slumps into the copilot seat.
"I'm proud of your performance, Padawan," Seyo says, giving Prawn's shoulder a squeeze. "But you also scared your master. Drop and give me fifty."
Without a word, the little quarren immediately starts doing push-ups.
"Oh come now, Master Nemis, you're too harsh." Byln Kair makes no attempt to hide his gratitude for the boy's protection. "He took a hit from a man three times his size."
Already on his tenth pushup, Prawn says, "It's my job."
"Child, you are by far the youngest person here, except B2-F3 I suppose. Even Astalos is six years your senior. Why would getting hit… be your job?"
Everyone is paying attention at this point. The quarren just hit twenty-five pushups. "In the war… I took one hit. I wasn't tough enough. While I hid and healed… Master died." He goes quiet and reflective.
"You've reached fifty, young one," Byln says quietly, his voice gentle.
The boy ignores him. He continues long after they've cleared atmo and jumped to hyperspace.
Long travel, including careful and tedious navigation through the Deep Core, makes the Lumpy Grub-toad feel more cramped than ever. Karrul has to sleep in the pilot seat, Altair in the copilot seat, and the two adult Jedi in the passenger seats. Beefy, who needs no sleep, stands vigilant at the smuggler's side, but the two Padawans have to sleep on the floor. Astalos at least has room to stretch out in the small, narrow cargo area. But Prawn has to curl up near the exit door. Seyo and Byln spend most of the trip in deep meditation, but the younger Party members get seriously stir crazy.
Focused on the task at hand, and whatever destiny the Force has in mind for them, most still speak little of their suffering since the fall of the Jedi and rise of the Empire. Prawn does ask where Astalos got the title "Dragonbane," but he receives only a smirk.
Astalos reads whenever Byln doesn't force him to meditate or recite famous lectures and court decisions. Prawn spends every waking moment training. There's no room to swing his sword, so this means thousands of pushups, squats, and the like every day. At one point, old Byln whispers to Seyo, "If your Padawan were old enough to be more… 'fragrant' due to such exertion, not even you could have prevented the group from putting a stop to it."
"Ah, is that your Padawan's excuse for taking it easy?" Seyo says with a sly smile. "He neglects his body for our sake, so he won't smell odious?"
"As a consular, he prefers to use his words and wits. And as a youth with such a mindset, he clings to the foolish notion that physical training's greatest value is aesthetic. And as a clawdite, he can shape his body with great freedom. He can appear supremely athletic any time he wants."
"He would not enjoy being my Padawan," Seyo says. "I'd have him competing with Prawn until he threw up. Every day."
"You're a warrior, Master Nemis. And your Padawan has chosen the path of a guardian. I'm a sage whose Padawan was trained by an arbiter. We demand very different things from these lads, and it is right to do so. Let mine use his words, and yours can keep him safe."
"I'll accept that… for now. But if the Force intends for us to remain together, I'll eventually expect more physical competence from your Padawan."
"And I shall expect more diplomatic competence from yours," Byln counters. "He's gotten us into trouble more than once."
"Very well. I accept your far greater seniority."
To the soft sounds of Prawn's strained breathing, the two masters return to their private meditations.
Glad that his shapeshifting abilities make it easy to hide his blushing, Astalos begins to ponder…
At last, the Lumpy Grub-toad drops out of hyperspace in the Koler system. The view is dominated by a dying red supergiant slowly shedding its atmosphere. A few rocky planets, which were gas giants billions of years ago, barely maintain unstable orbits. An asteroid field, and the debris of destroyed starships, are more relevant to the search.
Captain Pe'Tyrbil did not enjoy the journey through the Deep Core, and he really doesn't like the look of all that debris. But he's in this for the long haul. He likely has a bounty on his head, and he'll never sleep soundly without the Party to protect him. So he weaves a careful path between the wrecks…
Shane: An asteroid tears your ship in half. Everybody dies.
Everyone: WHAT?
Shane: You let Karrul do everything alone. Not even David or James offered to navigate or pilot. So everybody's dead.
Everyone: …
David: You really need to stop doing that.
Karrul has little difficulty avoiding collisions. At last, they catch sight of an ancient vessel of Republic design, and Byln Kair is instantly certain they've found the Sanctuary.
"That's a hammerhead corvette," Altair observes, as the others try to crowd into the cockpit. "And wow has it seen better days. Or better… millennia."
Only half of the ship survived the attack Byln witnessed in his vision. From bow to stern, most of the starboard side of the ship is missing or mangled. Now, it looks like a gothic tower with twisted structural beams for spires and electrical arcs for lanterns. Two functional airlocks are sighted on the port side of the ship. Hammerheads have their bridge and most other key systems in the front, so the Party orders Karrul to dock at the rear airlock. The large stone meditation chamber from Byln's vision is more likely located nearer the stern.
As the Party boards the dimly lit ship and breathes the thin, stale air, they tell Pe'Tyrbil to relocate to the forward airlock. The Party will likely explore the entire ship, so exiting from the front may be more efficient. Everyone carries their weapons, and Prawn again wears his bisected helmet, holding it together with his tentacles.
All is silent and cold, so the Party splits up, most hoping to find useful salvage.
Seyo heads in the direction of the bridge, though he slows down cautiously as it gets darker and darker toward the bow.
His Padawan initially follows, but Prawn soon peels off to search the Medbay. Sadly, he discovers that section to be vented to space.
Astalos looks for the crew quarters, hoping to loot anything of value. But the door doesn't automatically open. He attempts to activate the mechanism directly…
Shane: Roll a Mechanics check.
Lucas with a C: Uh oh… Failure… with Threat…
The door opens barely enough for Astalos to see into the room. Credits and valuables are scattered about, plain to see… but he can't reach them.
Lucas with a C: You… monster.
Comforted by the weight of his old-fashioned slugthrower pistol at his hip, Altair enters the Sanctuary's silent science lab. Unsurprisingly, much of the equipment has clearly broken down over the centuries, but he carefully pokes around at a few items that look intact. Even these mostly do nothing, until a powerful electromagnet successfully activates… and immediately overloads. An intense shock runs through the mirialan, but he shakes off the effects while running through a breathing exercise.
James: Wow that was a good Resilience roll. That probably should have hurt.
Emboldened by his ability to withstand the effects of that minor blunder, Altair takes an even bigger risk. A miniaturized particle accelerator shows promise. With far greater care, he tinkers with the device. He suspects that, if activated, it could cause some delightfully dangerous exotic matter to come out the business end.
James: Your rolls are insane. Your Mechanics skills are barely above average. It should not have worked.
David: Maybe the ship's scientist back in the day was a bit crazy, and had already started the process of weaponizing it before the Mando attack?
Lucas with a C: All I care about is we just got an epic mega-cannon! If it can one-shot anything…
Chris: Oh… sorry man, it's not that kind of one-shot. It can be fired… one time.
Lucas with a C: Ok I'm sad now.
David: It still probably hits super hard. If I give it to Beefy, who rolls five dice for ranged attacks, I bet that one shot would be epic.
James: It uses the Ranged Heavy skill?
David: Oh wait… never mind. It uses Mechanics.
Lukas with a K: Who's good at Mechanics.
[everyone checks their sheets]
Shane: Apparently… none of you.
Lucas with a C: I'm even more sad now.
It likely would only work once, but this clunky old gizmo might make a target very unhappy.
Beefy enters the engine room. A true engineer might be able to make something of this mess, but he swiftly concludes the ancient, damaged equipment would be too dangerous to tinker with. It even looks like the gravity generators could misfire, collapsing the ship. Beefy leaves the room and doesn't look back.
While the others conduct their individual searches, Byln heads directly toward where the Force leads him. With a hand resting on his talisman, he easily finds Val Isa's Meditation Chamber.
Shane: [Reading] "The room appears almost exactly like it did in your vision. However, only a few sections of the winding walkways and platforms remain intact. Instead, the now wide-open chamber has a cathedral-like stillness, and rubble surrounds the central dais. The Jedi robes of Val Isa lie sprawled in the middle of the dais over the location of the safe in your vision. Surrounding the robes lie the remnants of her foes. Armor is scattered all about, and the ground is covered in the dust of stone, metal, and the long-decayed and deteriorated remnants of the deceased. One locked chest is against one wall."
Byln drinks in the sensations from the Force. So much training, and effort, and deep thought occurred in this room, and the Force remains strong here. The others can complete their various tasks. There is no rush. They can all find this room when they are ready. And once all are present–
A distant, heavy boom reverberates through the ship. It came from the forward section…
Closest to the sound, Jedi Seyo stands his ground, readying his blaster and stretching his senses. He hears metal grinding against the floor and walls.
Drawing his ancient sword, Prawn dashes toward the sound. He isn't sure where everyone else is, so there could easily be someone closer to danger than him. And indeed, he quickly finds his master.
For a moment, they stand side by side, peering into the total darkness of the front of the ship. They hear metal dragging on metal, heavy thuds, and big old servos working. Then a hideous, howling roar of robotic hatred washes over them.
Master and apprentice do not falter. The fear passes through them with no effect. These two warriors have seen the horror of battle, and both are determined to defend others without letting fear have any say in their actions.
Shane: Wait. You both passed that fear test? Without even generating Threat?
Lukas with a K: Seyo is the guy who scares people. Not the one who gets scared.
Chris: And Prawn's high Discipline is now enhanced by the "Confidence" talent. It'll take more than an unknown unseen massive howling monster on a derelict spaceship to make either of these guys panic.
Remaining calm and serene, Master Byln calls out in a clear, confident voice. "To me! Gather, that we may stand as one!"
Beefy, Astalos, and Altair were already on the move, and now they divert toward Byln's voice. Satisfied that none of the others are closer to danger than they, Seyo and Prawn turn, dashing toward the Meditation Chamber, while the grinding and crashing pursues them.
Soon, the Party has gathered in the Meditation Chamber. Most spread out, blasters ready, but Prawn takes position near the entrance with his sword in a defensive stance.
It arrives.
Shane: [reading] "A massive, four-legged metal beast bursts into the room. Though it once must have been symmetrical, centuries of patchwork repairs using the parts of other droids have turned this powerful mechanized creature into an ugly, hulking nightmare of metal and rust. It growls and gets ready to pounce."
Chris: Basilisk droids normally have lots of heavy blasters. Please tell me those aren't still intact…
Shane: They're not. The guns aren't even attached anymore.
Chris: [Grinning] Then bring it…
Seyo's heavy blaster pistol scores the monstrous droid's armor, doing little damage but causing sparks to fly.
Lukas with a K: Ah man. Zero damage? And the weakest possible crit?
Chris: We learned something useful though. That crit caused a Strain instead of a Wound, meaning this is a Nemesis-class NPC. Unlike most NPC's it has a separate Strain gauge. So we probably should focus on doing Damage or doing Strain, otherwise a lot of our hits will be wasted.
David: I almost know what that means.
Lukas with a K: I almost do too.
Lucas with a C: Not me.
James: It's not that hard.
Determined to keep this monster away from the others, Prawn moves in and strikes it with his sword. He barely scratches its armor, but that's everyone else's job. He's only interested in drawing it's ire.
Immediately, Prawn's fear spikes when Astalos dashes in and slaps the monster with his shock gloves. Thankfully, the clawdite immediately dashes away again. Further, the jolt seems to have affected the huge droid more than expected. Its circuitry must be vulnerable after centuries of decay…
Predictably, Altair's slugthrower pistol does no damage to the giant metal monster, but when the bullet ricochets upward, a rusted ceiling panel partially detaches. The large metal slab swings down and dangles above the basilisk.
Lukas with a K: Somebody needs to shoot that panel again.
Lucas with a C: Caleb's next, right?
Shane: [evil grin] Actually, the basilisk is next…
Servos whirring, the ancient machine rears up, and smashes a huge metal claw down toward Prawn. The boy sidesteps, deflects with his sword, and the attack glances off his helmet before driving deep into the floor.
Shane: How could it miss! It rolls so many dice!
Chris: True. But Prawn's Silhouette of 0 means the Silhouette 2 Basilisk gets an accuracy penalty, plus I took Defensive stance. And my sword and helmet both give defense bonuses as well.
Shane: I am so glad I said the helmet would only last one session…
Lucas with a C: If its arm got stuck in the floor, this is our best chance to try something crazy!
Chris: But it's Caleb's turn! Our two-hundred-year-old sage shouldn't be the one to do something crazy! He could totally die!
Caleb: Oh! Great idea!
Confident and serene, Master Byln yields to prodding from the Force. He dashes up the droid's trapped limb, calling out, "Altair! The droid control core, please!"
Hoping for an opportunity to use the ancient device, Altair already has it in hand. He throws it to Byln, who smoothly inserts it into an exposed port on the droid's back. Both the core and the droid are too old for the connection to grant full control, but junk data and corrupted code begins to flow through the war droid. Disoriented and confused, its movements become more erratic.
Shane: Great. That's two more black dice added to its rolls. It missed Prawn once already, and now that's even more likely.
James: I know this probably isn't possible, but if there's even the slightest chance of taking this thing intact and reprogramming it…
Lucas with a C: We gotta try! It would be the coolest thing ever!
Shane: [eyes nearly pop out]
Chris: Then we need to focus on Strain. Anyone with a stun option should use it. And Lucas has those shock gloves with a Stun effect that even bypasses Soak.
James: My blaster can be set to stun… and I roll 5 dice…
With casual ease, Beefy puts a stun blast right where a missing armor plate exposes internal wiring. Its system is starting to show greater wear, and a series of malfunctions impair its movements.
Shane: Seriously? Another black die added to all its rolls?
Seeing the aggregate effect of all the damage to the droid's circuitry, Seyo Nemis sets his heavy blaster pistol to stun and blazes away. Against something so large, this won't be quick, but overloading it may be easier than destroying it.
Prawn thwacks the giant machine with his sword, predictably doing no meaningful damage. He stays light on his feet, hoping it will continue to focus its malice on him rather than his allies. No one else has the means to even try to block attacks. He resumes his defensive stance, braced for the next strike.
Working himself up for another terrifying risk, Astalos dashes in and aims a slap at the basilisk's trapped arm. But it manages to wrench free in that moment, and the quivering clawdite's swing goes wild. Prawn shouts for him to fall back, and the older Padawan eagerly does so.
Altair takes aim at the swinging ceiling panel, carefully timing his shot to avoid it falling on the old Jedi Master on the droid's back. But his bullet isn't enough to make the panel fall.
It does trigger a hissssss of escaping air…
David: Oh lovely. It's not enough to fight a giant droid monster that I can't even damage. We also need a ticking clock.
Frustrated, Altair dashes toward the chest that rests against the wall. Perhaps it contains something useful. Maybe even… a lightsaber…
Shane: You find the chest unlocked, and yank the lid open to reveal…
The chest contains only dust and tattered cloth.
David: Sigh…
Lucas with a C: Why would you DO that to us? WHY?
Shane: [smiles with satisfaction]
James: Since we're in the middle of a fight, this feels even worse than making Astalos stare at all that loot without being able to reach it.
Lukas with a K: [who is Shane's younger brother] Yeah, you're a total troll today.
Shane: [smile deepens]
The basilisk readies its massive claw, and Prawn's ready to parry and dodge… But to his dismay, he isn't the target. The giant droid instead goes after the old kel dor on its back. In desperation, Prawn sprays ink in the basilisk's face to throw off its aim.
It's barely enough. The huge claw narrowly misses the Jedi master, instead crashing into the droid's own back. Armor plating buckles, and the time-worn edge of the claw is blunted even further.
David: That was close. So many dice rolled, and just one more Success symbol would have been a hit.
Chris: I can only use that Ink Spray once per encounter, but this was clearly the time.
Caleb: It's a bummer. Byln might not die.
Chris: Please don't try to get killed! Your character is better than you think.
Caleb: I really can't see it.
Despite having just avoided gruesome injury by mere centimeters, Byln remains calm and unafraid. Yielding to the Force, he sends a stun blast into equipment overhead that was exposed when the panel swung down. Ancient conduits rupture, and the huge metal panel falls. It misses the old Master by centimeters–
Caleb: Dang it.
–and strikes the basilisk right where it just hit itself, worsening the damage. But then the panel topples and slides, trapping Byln's foot against the irregular surface of the droid's back.
Caleb: Hey, a silver lining. If I'm stuck there, maybe the next attack will splat me.
Chris: I don't think you realize how traumatized Prawn will be if Byln dies. He'll view himself as an unforgivable failure.
Lucas with a C: Don't make our adorable little mascot cry!
Caleb: Hmmm. You do have a point.
Repositioning, Beefy's next stun blast again catches exposed circuitry. He recognizes the signs of impaired cognitive function.
Shane: You literally made the basilisk stupid.
Chris: Too bad it wasn't gonna try to be sneaky or intellectual. It just wants to squash us.
James: Still funny though.
Lukas with a K: Time to save Byln from his player's desire to get him killed…
Reaching out a hand, Seyo Nemis seizes the fallen panel with the Force, lifting it just enough to free Master Byln's foot. Even so, the elderly kel dor will need a moment to get clear.
Chris: Prawn needs to distract this thing from the old guy. Realistically, he'd be near panic at the danger Byln is in. So, instead of just a Defensive Stance… Prawn is prepared to leave himself wide open to be a tempting target. He gets in the basilisk's face and screams at it.
Shane: Roll Coercion.
Chris: Whoa! Two Success and two Advantage? Maybe Prawn's "meat mustache" is somehow terrifying to this ancient janky war droid?
Shane: You see all of its photoreceptors train on you, flaring with deadly intent.
Chris: Epic. Ok, since Prawn knows he has aggro… now he'll assume a Defensive Stance.
Shane: Doh.
Continuing his strategy of quick hit and run attacks, Astalos delivers a crackling slap from his shock gloves, adding to the unstable energy surges building up in the droid's circuitry. But, seeing the droid's clear intent to attack Prawn, Astalos stands his ground, ready to be a bit more aggressive.
Frustrated at finding nothing in the storage chest, and even more so by his pistol's inability to meaningfully damage the droid, Altair puts a bullet into the exposed machinery in the ceiling. A small pipe bursts, and another ceiling panel comes partly free, swinging dangerously above Byln.
Caleb: I kinda wish it just fell… but fine. If Byln's gonna die, I need to find a way for it not to traumatize Prawn.
Chris: It's the least you could do, considering how hard the little guy is trying to protect you.
Shane: Did I forget to mention that the hiss of escaping air just got way worse?
David: Poop.
With a mechanical howl of bestial rage, the basilisk sends its clawed arms crashing down toward Prawn. The boy sidesteps the claw that still has a deadly edge, while his sword partially deflects the other. The blunted claw grinds down the length of the little quarren's sword, glances off his helmet, and thuds into his body. With a grunt, the boy twists, and the claw slides away. "Is that all you've got? Try again, wimp!"
Shane: Oh come on! Just 3 damage? From a roll that good?
James: I think our mascot is "The Boy of Steel."
Lucas with a C: How hard can this lil guy flex?
Chris: Remember, while the rest of you were buying Characteristics, skills, and Force Powers, Prawn put most of his XP into the Soresu Defender tree. There's not actually very much that he's good at… except surviving close quarters combat.
Lukas with a K: It's still hilarious.
Chris: We all know there was no way I'd design a normal character. Something about him had to be crazy. And a tank who does low damage should be fun and useful without stealing anyone else's glory.
Prawn's bisected helmet is now too badly deformed to be of use, but it did its job. The two halves clatter to the floor, and the boy sighs with relief. His face tentacles are sore from holding the helmet. In some ways, it's worse than the brutal bruising he just took from that heavy hit. Getting hit is normal. A deliberate habit. Over the course of the last year, the mystics and monks at the Church of the Force temple got very comfortable beating him with sticks. For the last couple months, they didn't even bother to apologize. They'd just say, "Keep it up, manling," and give him more food.
But using his face tentacles to hold a damaged, oversized helmet in place? Not exactly something he tried before. He should probably start training the lil squigglies…
In any case, he finds himself strangely upbeat and optimistic. For the first time since his master's death, the boy feels… useful. A horrifying monster droid from the ancient past wants to kill his friends, but for the moment, he stands as their shield. His old burden of guilt lightens ever so slightly, and he finds himself smiling.
Then everyone finds supreme relief when old Byln scrambles down from the Basilisk and retreats, allowing the little guardian to do his job.
Chris: Thank you! Seriously man, thank you. Prawn nearly flipped while Byln was up there. Now it'll be way easier to hold aggro.
Caleb: I may not like my character, but I don't want to ruin things for anyone else.
Continuing to focus on cold, methodical offense, Beefy puts another stun blast into a gap in the Basilisk's armor. This time, one of its legs loses power.
Chris: Awesome! Now it's even less likely to target anyone else. Without its free maneuver, it would have to suffer Strain if it wants to move close to someone else and then attack the same turn. And since our strategy is all about hitting its Strain threshold, we've got this in the bag.
Smacking the basilisk one more time for good measure, smiling confidently at the huge thing, Prawn dares it to have another go at him.
But it never gets a chance.
Safe in the knowledge that the basilisk is only interested in Prawn at the moment, Astalos has taken the time to find an exposed mess of complicated wiring. He jams his shock gloves in, and jolts of electricity wash through the decaying machine's wiring.
Lucas with a C: When you only roll two green dice for Brawl, being free to take two Aim maneuvers makes a huge difference.
Shane: It's a bigger difference than you even realize…
At last… it's too much. The overwhelmed and overloaded machine freezes in place, shudders… and loses power. It crashes to the floor, sending up a vast cloud of dust.
Lukas with a K: Nice, man. Shock gloves for the win.
Chris: When you wanna do a ton of Strain to a target with high Soak, they're really good.
James: I love that he basically just slapped the monster droid silly.
With the noise of raging combat subsiding, the Party notices footsteps for the first time, coming close. A sound of many clanking feet pass by, heading toward the rear airlock where the Party entered the ship.
David: The joke's on them. We had the smuggler move the ship to the other airlock.
But six figures turn to stride into the Meditation Chamber. Five are advanced security droids, but for the moment all eyes are on the only organic being. He wears the uniform of an ISB operative, and he sneers at them in disgust. They recognize the man from the University on Eriadu. He's Eren Garai, the bored-sounding official who gave the long, tedious lecture on the school's policies and rules of etiquette. In hindsight, it seems likely that his true purpose was always to feel out visitors for any signs of anti-Imperial sentiment. Their escape from Eriadu clearly wasn't clean.
"So… this was your true purpose." Garai takes in the sight of the inert basilisk droid and the weary state of several members of the Party. "Now that I realize you seek knowledge of the traitorous Jedi order, my duty is clear. You must be taken in for questioning. For the Empire!"
The agent raises his hand in command, Prawn braces himself, and the security droids radiate brilliant light. Their eyes glow a variety of colors, showing a rapid power buildup that forebodes something nasty.
But Seyo used the brief delay to the full. He already reached out through the Force, and now his hand flies forward. The huge ceiling panel, which slid across the floor when the basilisk collapsed, now spins through the air like an oversized Maladian Decapitator Disk. Just as the droids lean forward to unleash whatever attack they had planned, the panel smashes through their midst, cutting some droids fully in half and sending the rest crashing into walls.
Without missing a beat, Garai counterattacks. A small but high-tech pistol springs from his sleeve, and in the blink of an eye, Byln is staggering. The yellow beam merely grazed him, but a burst of red mist fills the air.
Chris: Crap! Is that a disruptor pistol?
Shane: I don't have to answer that.
Caleb: Wow that was a ton of damage. And just when I accepted that this isn't the time or place for Byln to die.
James: Everybody go crazy on this guy! His gun is epic but he's not wearing any armor.
Shane: Actually, it's not a PC's turn…
Backup systems firing, the Basilisk rallies. With its power grid barely functional, it struggles upright. And the first person it sees… is Agent Garai.
Lukas with a K: I take it back. You're not a troll, Shane. You're… alright.
Shane: The basilisk triggers a self-destruct and the ship explodes.
Lukas with a K: Nevermind.
With all its strength, the disoriented war droid wallops the Imperial officer, sending him tumbling.
Satisfied that Garai is unlikely to get a chance for another shot, Astalos dashes up to the basilisk droid and says, "Good boy!" He then slaps it with his shock gloves. "Now go back to sleep!" With a final groan of failing servos, the battered droid collapses and powers down for the second time.
Reeling from the agony of such a terrible hit, Master Byln reacts out of pure emotion for the first time since the fall of the Republic. Without thinking, he switches his blaster from stun to kill and joins the hail of fire converging on the Imperial Officer.
Shane: You suffer 5 Conflict for going against your pacifist ideals.
Caleb: Oh. Right.
David: Good attention to character, though.
Lucas with a C: This guy is really hard to hit…
Chris: The Adversary 2 trait is a very big deal at our level.
James: Not for me. Rolling against 3 dice doesn't matter much when you roll 5.
Chris: I still love that we already have a characteristic that high, despite us using vanilla character creation rules. Your ranged combat is glorious, and we haven't even seen you piloting anything yet.
James: If we didn't want the basilisk intact, I could have used Altair's particle accelerator on it.
David: I'm pretty sure that at some future date we'll be very happy you still have that option.
Lucas with a C: I really wanna see that…
Lukas with a K: The bad guy's still standing ya know.
Chris: Not for long. After you wrecked his super duper laser eyeball droids, his chances were basically zero.
Soon, the Officer is disarmed, disoriented, and barely upright. Astalos steps up, gives him a good sizzling slap, and he passes out.
Lukas with a K: Hold on a sec… did Lucas really just KO the monster droid TWICE… and then do the same thing to the Officer? Is he the ultimate kill-stealer, or what?
Lucas with a C: Nope.
Lukas with a K: [raises an eyebrow]
Lucas with a C: Nobody died.
Lukas with a K: [glares]
Grasping his horribly injured side, Master Byln manages to make his tone light as he addresses Jedi Seyo. "So… what were you saying… about my Padawan… needing to apply himself more… in combat situations?"
Considering the old kel dor's state, the human makes no attempt to argue.
Sheathing his sword, Prawn rushes over to Byln. Totally ignoring his own battered body, the boy coaxes the old man to lie down, and he begins administering emergency first aid. The boy injects the patient with bacta and stims, then he pulls out his medpack and goes to work.
While his Padawan focuses on the wounded Sage, Seyo gives the floor of the chamber another look. The fight disturbed the thick dust covering the floor, revealing complex etchings and designs. With the air growing thinner all the time, they need to hurry, but this is what they came here for…
Trying to distract himself from the pain, Byln gives advice based on his vision of Val Isa's final moments. Soon, the Party discovers a segment of the stone floor that isn't securely attached to the surrounding blocks. Closing his eyes, Seyo levitates the loose block, revealing a small alcove. Inside, they find a Jedi Holocron… and a case containing ten lightsaber hilts, though none contain kyber.
In the same moment, Beefy finishes his examination of the 5 destroyed security droids. "I have discovered an abnormality in the design of these ocular beam weapons. They appear to be powered by energy-producing crystals of a variety not in my databanks."
Astalos is at a full run before the sentence even ends. He skids to a stop in a kneeling position, and shouts with gleeful exuberance: "They're kyber crystals!"
Shane: Epic session everyone. We covered a lot of ground.
Lukas with a K: You can say that again.
James: I loved our first true boss fight.
David: It was cool, but I wish I could have done more. Soak 7 is just so high…
Chris: We've got lightsabers now. High Soak is about to matter way less.
James: I didn't get a lightsaber. There are 10 hilts and 5 crystals, so…
Lukas with a K: You can have the heavy blaster pistol I stole from the smuggler.
Shane: I'm going to let the five Force-sensitives choose what kind of lightsaber hilts they found. 2 for each of you. But you each only have one kyber crystal, so you'll have to pick which hilt actually gets a crystal, and which will have to wait until you get more kyber.
Lucas with a C: This is gonna be great…
Chris: By the way Caleb, when we get a chance, we need to talk about a few key talents Byln has access to. Taken together, they are way more important than you realize. Once you see his potential, you probably won't hate him anymore.
Caleb: It better be really impressive to make up for how underwhelming he is now.
Chris: Oh… it is.
James: So getting lightsabers for you guys is excellent and all, but as for… XP…
Shane: Ah yes. For completing the introductory adventure and finding a Holocron… You get 30.
Everyone: YES!
Chris: Oh wow! That means it'll just be one more session before I can unlock "SUPREME Parry!" I almost hit my Strain limit during that fight, but that Talent will give me the potential to Parry 3 times as often!
Shane: Ok… I've gotta kill that kid.
Chris: You can certainly try.
Author's Note:
After the session, we realized we did a couple things wrong. We forgot that an attack has to do damage in order to trigger a Critical Injury, so the boss took more penalties than it should have. And, although the "Stun" affect on the Shock Gloves does bypass Soak, we totally forgot that you need to spend 2 Advantage to trigger it. Thankfully, Shane didn't even consider retconning anything.
Scheduling complications will delay the next session, but we're seriously looking forward to it.
Lightsabers!