#the final straw for me was the 1.8% wipe

[aur-eliaa]

Killed Honey B. Lovely on Monday after a hellacious pf experience. I was literally going insane this weekend.

[solarwindandcosmicash]

priority: anhur (part i)

prev | start | next

Upon landing on Anhur, the party quickly goes to check out the coordinates the Shadow Broker and Annos had given to them. There, they discover a worn-down shack and the secret cellar beneath, learning that they’re going to need a password to get into the rebel headquarters. After a few confrontations, wherein they learn that quarians are typically viewed as slaves on Anhur, they arrive at a tea shoppe owned by Delta T’Rola, one of their targets. They quickly get the password out of her and, once they do, shoot her dead. One down, three to go.

summary

The session begins with Kate, Vekar, Phos, and Vasir preparing to board the shuttle that will take them to Anhur. Before departing, Phos speaks with Isolde about the upcoming fight she had challenged her to - there is not set time in mind, and Isolde hints that Annos is far more dangerous than Phos thinks. Vasir, meanwhile, says a brief farewell to Muffy, who is sitting next to Kara’s feet; when they warn the cat to behave, Kara assures them they’ll be fine, and they both tell each other keelah se’lai before Vasir goes. Conversely, Kate and Vekar do not talk to anyone and instead go directly into the shuttle, and once Vasir and Phos have boarded, the shuttle departs.

Once they touch down on Anhur, the shuttle pilot, an asari, hands them all communicators and informs them that Annos has given each of them 1500 credits - and Phos realizes that C-Sec had taken back the 25000 credits she had been given by Vasir on the Citadel - before telling them to call her via comm before pickup and flying off. Aster contacts them shortly thereafter: as navigator, he will be advising them on what they need to do and where they need to go, and he explains that he will be doing so with the help of a friend. This friend ends up being Beetle, a salarian who meets the party on the ground and joins them as they begin to move.

The first stop is the coordinates that had been included in the data packet Tris had given the party last session. They lead to an dilapidated, run-down shack that looks like it had been abandoned for quite some time. They go in to check it out and find a small room; inside is a worn wood floor, a carpet on the floor, a table, a chair, and a ratty armchair. Kate notices that there’s a clear path that’s been trodden into the floor that leads under the carpet; Phos eventually lifts the carpet and the party discovers a trapdoor, and the party briefly checks for traps, resulting Phos rescuing Beetle from a corner before descending into the hidden cellar.

The cellar is much more high-tech than the building above, though all of the electronics and screens have been destroyed save for a single datapad that reads the following:

Changing location. Get there fast. To get password, talk to Del.

When Vasir hacks the datapad, they discover a set of coordinates that Aster then presumes leads to the actual rebellion headquarters. While they’re doing this, Phos notes that the room has been cleaned up rather than the sight of a fight and realizes that this happened recently - no more than two days ago. She also notes that the person who did destroy the room was between 1.5 to 1.8 meters in height.

Aster then does a little research into the name Del and finds a single lead: Delta’s Tea Shoppe. The party debates how they are going to approach it and ultimately decides on going through the back door of the shoppe. They then move on out of the building, where Aster tells them he has identified two routes: the backstreets or the main road, laying out the pros and cons for both. The party decides on the backstreets, but as they begin to walk, they are confronted by three rebellion supporters, identified as such by the patch on their shoulders - an artistic rendition of a bird’s wing.

A quick battle later, wherein Beetle decides the human is her ultimate enemy and Vekar oneshots a batarian, the party takes the human hostage and unsuccessfully interrogates him for answers as well as hack into his omni-tool. Phos then decides that they’ve gotten enough use out of him and goes to kill him; Vekar and Kate stop her, and Phos eventually relents. Vekar then knocks the human out and the party drops him into the cellar and closes the door before leaving the shack for good, taking the backstreets to Delta’s Tea Shoppe.

In the backstreets, the party manages to avoid conflict with three batarians, only to run into an Eclipse sister pressuring another two batarians to cough up their protection fees or else. The batarians attempt to flee when the party arrives, as they briefly distract the Eclipse sister, but instead are caught in a Singularity. One of the batarians’ shots clip Vasir’s shoulder, however, and seeing this, the sister invites the party help her kill the batarians. After this is done, the party asks the Eclipse sister a few question and learn that Delta has a sister and pays Eclipse protection fees, slavery is technically illegal but still happens, and that most quarians on Anhur are slaves. The party, once knowing this, decide on Vasir and Phos waiting outside while Vekar, Beetle, and Kate go inside to investigate.

Eventually, they run into a human and her two Eclipse bodyguards in a narrow alleyway. After a brief standoff, the bodyguards point them in the direction of Delta’s shoppe, and as the human bumps past Kate, she drops a pouch onto the ground. When Kate picks it up, she discovers it’s red sand, though the drug smuggler is long gone. Having nothing else to do with it, Kate pockets it, and the party continues to the shoppe, arriving at its back door a few minutes of walking later.

After Beetle unlocks the back door, the party splits up: Phos and Vasir stay outside to guard the door while Kate, Vekar, and Beetle investigate. They don’t find anything of note in the back storage room, however, beyond shelves and shelves of tea. Beetle takes a small pouch of tea for herself as they exit, and the three circle around to the front in hopes of speaking to Delta herself. Upon doing so, the three notice three cameras, which wouldn’t be peculiar except that on is following Delta’s movements around the store exactly. On a hunch, Beetle orders a large amount of tea to cause Delta to go to the back and leave the front unattended, and after she disables the cameras, the three swiftly move to investigate.

Beetle hacks the sales kiosk but doesn’t find anything of note. Kate keeps guard at the entrance to the backroom while Vekar roots behind the counter, and he finds a tablet behind the counter that reads the following:

T’Rola:

Excellent job on the quiet relocation – a clever password, as well, I will say, using your half-sister’s name. You needn’t worry, she will stay safe with us… for now. If you turn on us after all we’ve done for you, that’s the end of her. Don’t disappoint.

- N

Beyond that, however, they do not find anything else and are at the front of the counter when Delta returns. Delta, however, had noticed that her cameras had been disabled and asks them to leave. The party manages to get the name of her half-sister - Zeta - after a prolonged confrontation, and at Aster’s urging and per their directive, Vekar shoots her in the head and kills her.

When Vasir and Phos come to investigate the gunshot, the party quickly cleans the shop out of its tea and exits, ready to move on to the third and final pair of coordinates: the rebellion’s new headquarters.

notable lines + interactions

Beetle [to Phos]: Oh my god, you saved me. I was getting trapped between two walls and they just kept getting closer.

Beetle: Let’s crack this baby open. DM: I thought you were going to make a ‘cold one’ joke and I was going to punch you through the screen. Kate, OOC: Dammit, I missed my chance.

Phos, haltingly: Can you even - drink - tea? Vasir: I can drink things. There’s these things called straws. Phos: Fair. Okay. Beetle, OOC: I’m rolling a perception check on the existence of straws. [pause] It’s a 2. I know they exist. DM: So Beetle, you don’t know what straws are, but you know portable filters, and you’re pretty sure that Vasir is saying some bullshit right now. You don’t know what a straw is. Beetle: Don’t bullshit us, Vasir.

Phos, OOC: I take the datapad with me. DM: Oh - oh, okay. Uh, Phos goes over to you, Vasir, and snatches it out of your hands, and you’re like, ‘okay.’ Unless you want to roll strength to see if you keep holding onto it? Vasir, OOC: No, I’m just going to roll my eyes and let Phos take it.

DM: Vasir, it is your turn. [pause] Jesus Christ, I just remembered, I forgot about shields! Fuck! Vasir, OOC: It’s fine. DM: You guys have shields, too, mother of god. Actually Kate has a barrier, fuck.

Vasir, OOC: Are there any, like, navigational apps or maps on the omni-tool? DM: Google maps. Space Google maps! Beetle, OOC: Nice. Kate, OOC: Google universe! DM: Google galaxy! Kate, OOC: Nice.

Beetle: We have a no-nark policy.

DM: Convince me with your words.

Vekar: Are you happy now? Phos: No. Vekar: Good!

Kate, OOC: [Vekar]’s my new disaster son. Vasir, OOC: Oh, so now you have two of them? Kate, OOC: I have many disaster children, but he’s getting up there now.

Phos: I really don’t like the idea of slavers and slavery. Vasir: Yeah, well, the Reapers didn’t win, so they didn’t wipe out all the bullshit of sentience. Kate: You got a point there. Phos: I like you for that, Vasir.

DM: Okay, okay, before - before you go on, can we just appreciate the fact you’re letting the krogan be your spokesperson? Vekar, OOC: Well, if you let the turian be the spokesperson, he’s going to talk to a wall. Kate, OOC: True.

Vasir: I‘m with the human on this. How about no more shooting?

Phos, OOC: I can kind of read from your tone of voice that we kind of disappointed you in that scene. Kate, OOC: We’re always disappointing, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Vekar, OOC: It’s our special skill. DM: Yeah... yeah. Actually, since you realized that, roll a perception check. Kate, OOC: [laughter] Vasir, OOC: All of us? DM: All of you. [softer] All of you.

Kate: No, we’re not doing lines of red sand. Vasir, OOC: Isn’t Kate the only biotic here? Kate, OOC: ... True.

DM: You find the safe where the money is kept, uh, not - wait, do they have safes? Because this isn’t - this is space future - Kate, OOC: I don’t know, do they? DM: Yeah, no, I don’t think they do.

Kate: I’ll take something mild. Delta: Mild? Okay. DM: And then she proceeds to list twenty different kinds of tea. Delta: What would you like? Kate: ... Uh.

Beetle: This is amazing, it smells great, I want so much of it, what is the largest amount of tea you can sell to me so I can put it into my body.

DM: I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to continue the - the teapocalypse.

Beetle, OOC: I cancel my order for the coffee. DM: You - you don’t have coffee! You have tea! Beetle, OOC: ... Crap.

DM: This is not how I expected you to find this, but it’s cool. Though that seems to be a running theme, actually.

Vekar, OOC: Are the cameras still disabled? DM: Yes, they are. Vekar, OOC: Okay, how about this - Vekar kicks in the door and uses Cryo Blast!

DM: Okay, well, now Delta’s dead. What do you do? Kate, OOC: First things first: I flip the ‘open’ sign to ‘close’.

technical notes

Phos checks the mood of the Apricity’s crew. Perception roll. 1d20 + perception modifier → 5 + 3 → 8 Phos thinks that the crew is pretty confident that the party will be fine.

The party checks for snipers around the shack. Perception roll. 1d20 + perception modifier.

Vekar → 20 - 4 → 16 Kate → 16 + 1 → 17 Vasir → 18 - 1 → 17 Phos → 10 + 3 → 13 Beetle → 9 + 3 → 12

Kate and Vasir note that there are no snipers around. Vekar notices that the building has only just been abandoned a few days ago.

The party investigates the room. Investigation roll. 1d20 + perception modifier.

Kate → 17 + 1 → 18 Vekar → 16 - 4 → 12 Vasir → 12 - 1 → 11 Phos → 7 + 3 → 10 Beetle → 7 + 3 → 10

Only Kate sees the pattern in the wood floor that suggests people walked on the wood in a straight line towards the center of the carpet - but the carpet itself isn’t worn.

The party checks for traps. Perception roll. 1d20 + perception modifier.

Phos → 18 + 3 → 21 Vasir → 20 - 1 → 19 Kate → 13 + 1 → 14 Beetle → 1 + 3 → 4 Vekar → 1 - 4 → -3

Kate is pretty sure there are no traps. Beetle gets lost in the corner. Vekar crouches on the trapdoor and looks at it, and it’s good that Phos and Vasir note that there were not any traps, otherwise he might have died.

Phos checks to see if she can fit through the trapdoor. Dexterity roll. 1d20 + dexterity modifier → 13 + 2  → 15 Phos manages to squeeze through the trapdoor and enter the cellar.

The rest of the party descends into the cellar via ladder. Dexterity roll. 1d20 + dexterity modifier.

Beetle → 18 + 3 → 21 Vasir → 13 + 0 → 13 Kate → 4 + 1 → 5

Beetle slides down the ladder very smoothly. Vasir descends normally. Kate slips and falls when a rusted rung breaks beneath her weight.

Phos catches Kate at the bottom of the cellar. Strength roll. 1d20 + strength modifier → 11 + 4 → 15 Phos catches Kate bridal-style.

Phos and Beetle determine what happened in the cellar. Investigation roll. 1d20 + perception modifier.

Phos → 20 + 3 → 23 Beetle → 1 + 3  → 4

Phos correctly deduces that the destruction in the cellar was not caused by a fight, but rather by someone looking to cover their tracks. Beetle, meanwhile, asks Vasir what a datapad is.

Vasir hacks into the datapad. Decryption roll. 1d20 + technical modifier + proficiency bonus → 17 + 4 + 1 → 22 Vasir discovers another set of coordinates, which Aster says leads to another building deeper in the city, presumably the actual rebellion headquarters.

Beetle thinks on the existence of straws. Perception roll. 1d20 + perception modifier → 2 + 3 → 5 Beetle knows portable filters exist, but not straws.

The party rolls initiative. 1d20.

Kate → 19 Vekar → 17 Phos → 12 Vasir → 10 Beetle → 5

The rebels roll initiative. 1d20.

Batarian 1 → 15 Batarian 2 → 2 Human → 1

The human fumbles their gun and drops it, losing their surprise round.

The rebels take a surprise round. Attack roll. 1d20.

Batarian 1 → 4 Batarian 2 → 1

Batarian 1’s shot goes wide, going far above Phos’s head. The Batarian 2’s shotgun explodes, taking 5 damage.

Kate takes a shot at Batarian 1 with her Stiletto pistol. Attack roll. 1d20 → 14 This is sufficient to hit.

Damage roll. 2d4 + weapon damage bonus → 5 + 2 → 7 Kate shoots the batarian’s shoulder for 7 damage.

Vekar takes a shot at Batarian 2 with his assault rifle. Attack roll. 1d20 → 20 Crit.

Damage roll. 3d4 x 2 → (4 + 4 + 2) x 2 → 20 Vekar shoots the batarian in the head three times, killing the batarian instantly.

Phos shoots at the remaining batarian with her assault rifle. Attack roll. 1d20 → 13 This is sufficient to hit.

Damage roll. 3d4 → 4 + 2 + 3 → 9 Phos shoots the batarian, but he is still alive.

Free action. Phos yells, “We are aiming to take one hostage.”

Vasir braces. Vasir ducks behind a box and draws their pistol, but doesn’t take a shot.

Beetle takes a shot at the human with her pistol. Free action. Intimidation roll. 1d20 + knowledge modifier → 2 + 0 → 2 Beetle mimes having her eyes on the human, and then draws her fingers across her neck. She manages to look adorable; the human is unbowed.

Attack roll. 1d20 → 15 This is not sufficient to hit.

Beetle tries to shoot the human’s leg, but he ducks out of the way in the nick of time.

The human takes a shot at Beetle with his sniper rifle. Attack roll. 1d20 → 14 This is not sufficient to hit.

The human narrowly misses Beetle’s head.

Kate biotically charges the batarian. Attack roll. 1d20 → 17 This is sufficient to do damage.

Damage roll. 1d8 → 8 Kate hits the batarian hard, killing him instantly.

Vekar grapples with the human and ties him up. Strength contest. 1d20 + strength modifier → 17

The human contests. Strength contest. 1d20 + strength modifier → 14 + 2 → 16 The human fails to contest.

Vekar, having taken the tape from Phos, wrestles with the human and manages to bind his hands.

The human attempts to escape his bonds. Strength contest. 1d20 + strength modifier → 7 + 2 → 9 He does not escape the tape.

Vasir hacks into the human’s omni-tool. Decryption roll. 1d20 + tech modifier + proficiency bonus → 11 + 4 + 1 → 16 Vasir hacks into the omni-tool after a brief struggle. They find another set of coordinates that leads to Delta’s Tea Shoppe.

Phos intimidates the human. Intimidation roll. 1d20 + knowledge → 11 + 0  → 11 The human is not impressed and spits in Phos’s face.

Vasir checks to make sure there aren’t any trackers or viruses on the omni-tool. Technical roll. 1d20 + tech modifier → 20 + 4  → 24 Vasir knows that the omni-tool is clean.

Phos shoves Vekar aside. Strength contest. 1d20 + strength modifier → 19 + 4 → 23

Vekar contests. Strength contest. 1d20 + strength modifier → 20 + 1 → 21 Vekar successfully contests with a crit.

Phos tries to shove Vekar aside, and it’s close, but he stands his ground.

Vekar and Kate refuse to let Phos kill the human. ◈ Phos will remember that.

Vekar carries the unconscious human into the cellar. Dexterity roll. 1d20 + dexterity modifier → 16 + 1 → 17 Vekar carries the human down without incident and closes the trapdoor behind him.

The party intimidates the skulking batarians. Intimidation roll. 1d20 + knowledge modifier.

Kate → 19 Beetle → 13 Vasir → 11 Phos → 3 Vekar → 1

Vekar trips over his feet, but Kate’s small display of biotics is enough to scare the batarians away.

A batarian caught in the singularity takes a shot. 1d6 to decide who in the party gets hit → 4 Vasir is clipped with this shot, taking 1 damage.

Phos takes a shot at one of the batarians. Attack roll. 1d20 → 4 This is not sufficient to hit.

Phos tries to hit one of the batarians in the singularity and misses.

The Eclipse sister takes a shot at one of the batarians. Attack roll. 1d20 → 11 This is not sufficient to hit.

The Eclipse sister tries to hit one of the batarians, but the singularity drops as she takes a shot, so she misses.

Phos and Beetle roll initiative. 1d20.

Phos → 16 Beetle → 15

The batarian melees the Eclipse sister. Attack roll. 1d20 → 4 This is not sufficient to hit.

The batarian takes a swing at the Eclipse sister, but she dodges.

The other batarian melees the Eclipse sister. Attack roll. 1d20 → 20 Crit.

Damage roll. 1d6 x 2 → 6 x 2 → 12 The batarian decks the Eclipse sister in the face, causing 12 damage.

The Eclipse sister takes a shot at the batarian that had punched her. Attack roll. 1d20 → 15 This is sufficient to hit.

Damage roll. 2d4 → 1 + 2  → 3 The Eclipse sister clips the batarian with her pistol, causing 3 damage.

Phos takes a shot at the batarian in front of her with her shotgun. Attack roll. 1d20 → 20 Crit.

Damage roll. 2d8 x 2 → (2 + 4) x 2 → 12 Phos shoots the batarian twice, killing him instantly.

Beetle takes a shot at the remaining batarian with her pistol. Attack roll. 1d20 → 4 This is not sufficient to hit.

Beetle misses her shot completely.

The batarian melees the Eclipse sister. Attack roll. 1d20 → 11 This is not sufficient to hit.

The Eclipse sister ducks under the punch; she’s not falling for the same trick twice.

The Eclipse sister shoots the batarian with her pistol. Attack roll. 1d20 → 13 This is sufficient to hit.

Damage roll. 2d4 → 4 + 4  → 8 The Eclipse sister puts her gun to the batarian’s head, killing him instantly.

The Eclipse sister examines the party. Perception roll. 1d20 + perception modifier → 16 + 1  → 17 The Eclipse sister realizes the party is suspicious after the mention of the word ‘contact’ and quickly departs.

Beetle unlocks the back door of Delta’s Tea Shoppe. Decryption roll. 1d20 + technical modifier → 14 + 4 → 18 Beetle unlocks the door.

Kate, Vekar, and Beetle sneak into the tea shoppe. Stealth roll. 1d20 + dexterity modifier.

Beetle → 19 + 3 → 22 Vekar → 17 + 2 → 19 Kate → 15 + 1 → 16

The party successfully and quietly sneaks into the tea shoppe.

Kate, Vekar, and Beetle explore the back room. Investigation roll. 1d20 + knowledge modifier.

Kate → 16 + 1 → 17 Beetle → 2 + 3 → 5 Vekar → 2 + 2  → 4

Kate doesn’t find anything suspicious. Vekar and Beetle are fascinated by how many jars of tea are on the shelves.

Beetle makes a pouch of nightrose tea. Sleight of hand roll. 1d20 + dexterity modifier + proficiency → 17 + 3 + 1  → 21 Beetle takes her favorite kind of tea and makes a pouch of it.

Beetle checks out the shop. Investigation roll. 1d20 + perception modifier → 14 + 3 → 17 Beetle notices the three cameras around the shop, including the camera that is tracking Delta’s movements exactly.

Vasir hacks the cameras remotely. Decryption roll with disadvantage. 1d20 + technical modifier + proficiency bonus → 11 + 4 + 1 → 16, 3 + 4 + 1 → 8 Vasir fails to hack into the cameras.

Beetle hacks the cameras. Decryption roll. 1d20 + technical modifier + proficiency bonus → 20 + 4 + 1 → 25 Beetle disables all three cameras.

Kate, Vekar, and Beetle check to see if Delta is close to returning. Perception roll. 1d20 + perception modifier.

Kate → 17 + 1 → 18 Beetle → 12 +3 → 15 Vekar → 14 - 4  → 10

Kate vaults over the counter and checks the back door, noting that Delta is still rummaging around and busy.

Beetle hacks the sales kiosk. Decryption roll. 1d20 + technical modifier + proficiency bonus → 10 + 4 + 1 → 15 Beetle successfully hacks into the kiosk, canceling her original sale of her mug of tea and retrieving her twenty credits.

Vekar and Beetle check the shoppe out for anything suspicious. Investigation roll. 1d20 + perception modifier.

Vekar → 18 - 4 → 14 Beetle → 4 + 3 → 7

Vekar finds a datapad behind the counter threatening Delta.

Vekar attacks Delta with Cryo Blast. Vekar uses a talent slot to use Cryo Blast. He has three talent slots remaining.

Attack roll. 1d20 → 11 This is not sufficient to hit.

Delta ducks under the Cryo Blast, avoiding it narrowly.

Vekar shoots Delta. Vekar shoots Delta in the head and kills her instantly.

prev | start | next