Up next in 10
Tavern Watch Plays Starfinder: Murder in Metal City, ep 1: If you see this, I've already shut down
Feb 23, 2026
A group of strangers gather in a dimly lit bar in the mechanical megalopolis of Striving at the behest of one Tier-99-Professor, who promised them some incredible news. Unfortunately, Tier-99-Professor -- "Tierney" to his friends -- has already experienced an unexpected shutdown, and now it's up to his group of friends to hunt down who would want to take out Tierney and why on the mean streets of a metal city. Was this just a robbery gone wrong, or is there some deeper conspiracy at play?
Luckily, Liz Harper as GM is here to guide our group through their investigations, and we've got a crack squad on the case:
* Joe Perez as "Nitpick" Bennit, Ysoki Witchwarper, who always knows a guy, and is a daft hand with both magic and technology
* Phil Ulrich as Lunar-17, Android Mystic, who's so terminally online that it gave her magic powers
* Matt Rossi as Tooth Hug, Skittermander Solarian, who could really use a snack right now
* Special guest Trish Olson, a.k.a. AwkwardishPanda, as Jaedana, a Kasatha Operative gamer who's uncannily good with a gun, but doesn't know why she's here
This is the first in a three-part actual play series of the Starfinder 2E published adventure Murder in Metal City -- look for new episodes every Monday!
This game was played using the second edition of Paizo’s Starfinder, which expands their Pathfinder game into space. We're really fomd of this rollicking science-fantasy game system -- so much so that we've even played it before on the show -- and if you like what you hear today, you can easily pick it up for yourself!
Music from this episode is “Start a Trek,” by Edgar Henderson; you can check out more of his music on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-126456914
Subscribe to Tavern Watch in your podcast player of choice to keep up with our latest actual plays:
RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/674cf5861c6967d814005868
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qIQaOPskXoKmqqOqNYz1k
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tavern-watch-podcast/id1788120623
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:26
Hello and welcome to another episode of
0:29
Tavern. Tavern Watch plays. This week we
0:32
are playing some more Starfinder, but in
0:36
particular, we're playing an adventure
0:38
called Murder in Metal City, which
0:42
you can kind of make some assumptions
0:44
based on the name. I'm just saying you
0:45
can kind of make some assumptions. So,
0:48
uh, here we are all in the city of
0:51
striving, a great machine city, and all
0:54
of our players have been called here by
0:58
a mysterious message from an old friend.
1:00
And I'm going to ask each of you to
1:03
first uh, you know, I'm going to start
1:06
with you, Joe. Would you read the
1:08
message that you have gotten and uh,
1:11
introduce your character?
1:13
>> Sure. So the message that we received is
1:15
an encrypted message log. Uh it is
1:18
friend I recognize that it has been some
1:20
time since our last communication. I
1:22
hope this transmission finds you well
1:24
and finds you at all. We live in
1:26
exciting times and I believe there is a
1:28
chance 14.6%
1:30
or more that this communication is
1:32
intercepted before you receive it. Which
1:34
is exactly why I've asked you to meet
1:36
me. There is so much to tell you. I
1:40
can't share over a comm unit even with
1:43
encryption. Meet me in downgrade
1:45
striving. I have a reservation at Analog
1:47
Cafe and my tab should still be open
1:51
when you arrive. Meet me there in two
1:53
days exactly. Expect company as I have
1:56
invited others. You can recognize one
1:58
another by this passphrase. Incredulous
2:01
static. Your friend, tier 99, Professor
2:04
Polytenica. So, that is the message we
2:06
all received. And I will be playing uh
2:08
Benny uh who goes by the name Nitpick.
2:11
Don't call him Benny. Uh Nitpick is is
2:13
really his name. Uh and uh he's uh he's
2:16
what you call a a Yoski. Uh maybe has a
2:20
little bit of magic power. Maybe he does
2:21
a little bit of the shooty shoot. You
2:23
never know. Tries to keep uh things a
2:24
little close to his chest. Uh he knows
2:27
uh Professor Tier 999 uh from uh
2:30
basically it was his first friend. You
2:32
know, we like friends. When friends ask
2:34
for help, you come find your friends.
2:35
Yeah,
2:36
>> I I certainly hope so. I certainly hope
2:38
so since that's that's theoretically why
2:40
why all of you were here. Uh so, and
2:43
Trish, why don't you introduce your
2:45
character and uh tell us how how you are
2:48
doing? Tell us how you're getting uh how
2:50
you were how you were coming and
2:52
arriving to join everyone today.
2:54
>> Uh so, I'll be playing Jay Donna. Jay
2:56
Donna is really young, very kind of
2:59
skittish. She's very observant. She
3:02
likes to sit back and people watch, but
3:04
she's never been around this many
3:05
people. And yeah, she got a note from
3:08
Professor Tyranny, who's a friend of her
3:10
parents. She thinks her parents just
3:12
kind of dropped her off here and was
3:13
like, "Hey, go find this guy." And then
3:16
she forgot. And then she got a note and
3:18
now she's just like, "Okay, I guess I'm
3:19
here."
3:21
Uh, okay. And Matt,
3:25
>> hi, I'm Matt. I am playing Tooth Hog
3:27
again. And then to try to let tooth hug
3:29
explain tooth hug. I am tooth hug. I
3:32
help people who need their help cuz they
3:34
need to be helped. And I need I can help
3:36
with hugs or sometimes I have to help
3:38
with sharper things. But even sharper
3:40
things is just a tooth hug. It's just me
3:43
trying to hug you until you stop doing
3:45
bad things. And sometimes I have to hug
3:47
people very very extremely hard. So
3:51
please don't be bad. And and because you
3:53
are you are a skitter mander, could you
3:55
tell us what Tooth Hug looks like?
3:57
>> Tooth hug is about three and a half feet
4:01
tall. Uh completely covered in
4:04
multicolored fur that shifts. It kind of
4:07
has like a like a sunset umbra on the
4:10
right and on the left side it's glowing.
4:13
And sometimes it seems to shift into a
4:15
sudden like a starfield like look. you
4:18
like you're literally looking through a
4:19
window into a starfield and like the
4:23
eyes begin to go kind of purple and and
4:26
scary there, but then it pops back to
4:28
the glowing heart and and generally uh
4:30
multiple arms. I believe we've got six
4:33
total arms.
4:34
>> Yeah.
4:34
>> Uh in addition to the two legs, which
4:37
which are nice because they hold us up.
4:38
Um I I didn't keep my stomach mouth cuz
4:42
that that's that I was people didn't
4:44
find that huggable. Um but
4:46
>> that's fair. But a lot of skinnamanders
4:48
do have a big tube coming out with a big
4:50
mouth on it and they can just choose to
4:52
keep it past the juvenile period. I did
4:54
not because I wanted to be as huggable
4:56
as possible at all times. However, I do
4:59
have this enormous mo sharp pointy teeth
5:02
completely dominating my squat little
5:04
head. Uh I kind of look like Gengar from
5:07
Pokemon if it had six armed. See, I was
5:10
I went into that imagining a very
5:13
fluffy, glittery Care Bear and then you
5:15
got to the end and Oh, maybe maybe not.
5:17
>> You know, Care Bear with the gigantic
5:19
mole of of teeth, you know, but but you
5:21
know, we all have them and I could
5:22
mostly cover him up.
5:24
>> Another way to think about this would be
5:25
punk rock Stitch from Lily and Stitch,
5:28
but again with six arms.
5:30
>> Okay. And uh has six arms.
5:32
>> It is true. It is true. He can hide
5:34
them, but he does indeed have six arms.
5:36
So,
5:38
uh, Phil, introduce yourself. Who are
5:40
you playing and, uh, what are you doing
5:42
here?
5:43
>> Hi. Uh, I'm playing Lunar 17 and
5:47
Android, uh, Mystic. Uh, the best way to
5:50
think about Lunar 17 is if you think
5:52
about those people back in the '90s who
5:53
thought that the internet was going to
5:55
be a force for like good and free will
5:57
and advancing civilization. Um, it's
6:00
like that except um, she's so terminally
6:02
online it gave her um, mystic powers.
6:05
Um,
6:07
uh, Lunar 17 has a connection to the
6:08
Akashic record, the mystic, uh, like
6:12
repository of all knowledge in the
6:13
multiverse and, uh, eventually realized
6:17
that that was something most people
6:18
didn't have and, uh, knows Tier 99
6:21
Professor, uh, because she ran into him
6:24
to first, uh, figure out what this power
6:28
was that she had. um and she's not quite
6:32
sure about the tier's theory on
6:35
multiverses, but uh they did promise to
6:37
get in touch when they had something
6:38
important to share. So, uh so all of you
6:41
are coming through the city of analog,
6:43
whether you uh coming through the city
6:45
of striving, whether you live here, have
6:48
been here for a while, have just shown
6:50
up because of Tyranny's invitation,
6:53
um you walk through the city, you're on
6:55
one of the lower levels because it's you
6:58
don't want to be on the upper levels.
6:59
It's hot. It's sunny. It's very bad. Um,
7:02
air pumps are exhaling swirls of sickly
7:05
fog that sort of cling around the feet
7:07
of these skyscrapers here. Uh,
7:10
silhouettes of floating towers are dimly
7:13
visible above you, hovering ponderously
7:16
over the busy thoroughares as they
7:18
parade across the megaplex cities,
7:21
circling the planet's surface in a
7:22
monotonously predictable path. Agile
7:25
maintenance bots skitter up and down
7:27
skyscrapers. Slick angular surfaces
7:29
gleaming silver in the faltering
7:32
sunlight. Crowded into a niche on the
7:34
first two floors of one of dozens of
7:36
lofty towers lining the streets of
7:38
downgrid striving. Analog is a boxy cafe
7:42
with an overhanging roof and a two-story
7:44
patio constantly shrouded in thick
7:47
swirling gases. Now, for those of you
7:50
who, you know, maybe like breathing, the
7:53
gases are thick, but they are safe to
7:55
breathe. They're produced by an air pump
7:57
kind of on the side of the building that
7:59
is uh part of a terraforming effort to
8:02
actually try and make this place more
8:03
habitable to organic life. Striving is
8:06
this is a m a machine city. This is
8:09
primarily inhabited by non-organic life
8:12
forms. And uh the organics among you are
8:15
actually a minority here. Maybe maybe
8:18
two maybe one out of three people is an
8:20
organic being in this place. You all
8:23
arrive at the analog cafe. Uh what are
8:26
you doing?
8:27
>> I think uh Nitpick is probably uh
8:30
running up to your tab a little bit more
8:32
cuz I mean that's what friends are for,
8:34
right? He said the tab was open. I mean
8:36
he's going to you know and he's I think
8:38
he's talking a little bit maybe not
8:39
about what's going on with his friend
8:40
but just you know chatting with
8:42
whoever's nearby and it's got an ear. So
8:44
listen, right? Like it it was just like
8:45
it was really shiny. It was red. I mean,
8:48
I had to, right? Like you you got to go
8:50
and like you got to take that and just
8:52
kind of like go for a joy ride. It
8:54
nobody minded, right? It was fine. And I
8:56
think everybody around him is completely
8:58
disinterested.
8:59
>> Um, so yes, it's a busy it's a very busy
9:02
inside. There's a a big synth wood bar
9:05
with an android bartending behind it.
9:08
Uh, and a whole tons of dining space.
9:13
Uh, a mix of organics and inorganics
9:16
here. Organics have food. Inorganics may
9:19
be looking at the holo vids in the
9:21
center of all the tables. Um, and there
9:24
is um, so you can show yourself in.
9:27
There's a a console to check in if
9:30
you're looking for a table or anything
9:32
of that nature. So I think at least for
9:34
me also while he's talking because of
9:36
the the catchphrase or code phrase he's
9:39
kind of working that into whatever story
9:42
like that he's like telling to whoever
9:44
around it like you know just kind of
9:46
like throwing it out there so that when
9:48
the other contacts hear it maybe they
9:50
understand that you know he's he they
9:52
should be coming to talk with him.
9:54
>> Okay. What about the rest of you Trish?
9:58
I think Jay Donna probably uh walks in,
10:02
orders like a drink, some snacks,
10:04
whatever, and is like sitting there w
10:06
like people watching like she does. And
10:08
as soon as she hears incredulous static,
10:12
uh she will like creep over to where
10:15
Nitpick is and just be like, "Did I just
10:17
hear you say incredulous static?" Cuz
10:18
I've been experiencing a lot of that
10:20
lately. And she'll like tap like one of
10:22
her headphones.
10:23
>> It's the darnest thing. I'm glad to meet
10:26
you. somebody else who knows what's
10:28
going on. And then he kind of leans in
10:30
conspiratorally. Professor S for you,
10:32
too. Eh.
10:33
>> Yeah, he's friends with my folks. I
10:35
think
10:35
>> I probably know your folks then. Okay.
10:37
Well, that's one. At least one. Hey,
10:39
Barti. Uh, one, two, three, four, five,
10:42
six. Seven drinks, please.
10:44
>> Seven.
10:45
>> One for each and then one for me.
10:47
>> Okay.
10:49
She's just like, I've only got four and
10:51
I only need one, but okay. Uh,
10:53
>> he's a friendly guy. He doesn't know
10:54
better. Um, I have been very carefully
10:57
searching for friends, friends that I
10:59
know, friends that I haven't met yet,
11:01
whatever. But I'm on the lookout for
11:02
some friends. I was told to come here by
11:05
a friend. So, if a friend says to come
11:08
here, maybe there's other friends here.
11:10
And also, is there any kind of audly?
11:17
Like I as as people go by me with food
11:19
of any kind, there's like a little sight
11:21
of a hop and then I scurry away and go
11:24
hungry. Spent too much time in in in
11:27
ship. Need friend? Friend friends? Any
11:30
friends? Looking for friends. Something
11:32
about static and I couldn't understand
11:35
it. But but you know, it was a really
11:37
great static. I I'm not good at this
11:40
part. Can we go up to the part where we
11:41
hug?
11:43
And I'm looking around for somebody
11:45
friendly that I might recognize.
11:46
>> Um, oh, well, I mean, it's pretty busy.
11:49
There are plenty of hugging targets. Um,
11:52
Nitpick, do you think you might have
11:54
heard this commotion?
11:56
>> I mean, Nitpick generally is pretty
11:58
aware of what's going on around.
12:00
>> Uh, it's sort of like his MMO. He is
12:03
loud and and boisterous, but it's more
12:06
of a not necessarily a deflection, but
12:08
it's an it's as much an act as it is his
12:11
real personality. Uh, so I think he
12:13
would probably clock this. I don't know
12:15
what he would think about it because I
12:17
don't know if he's ever met this
12:18
creature. Uh,
12:19
>> probably not.
12:21
>> But if the, you know, I'm hoping that
12:23
said creature would possibly hear the
12:25
code word, uh, as, uh, me and Jadonna
12:28
are talking. And um
12:30
>> you see a pair of little eyes swoop up
12:33
and look at you and then look down and
12:36
look at you again and then look up and
12:39
then look at you again and then just
12:42
this just you you saw them move. They
12:44
weren't it wasn't magic. They didn't
12:46
teleport but man they can come over
12:48
quick. It's like one second there second
12:50
there. You you you tear friend you you
12:53
friend of you know him. They blink blink
12:56
blink blink blink blink. I'm like right
12:58
I'm like as close to your face as I can
12:59
get considering I'm only I don't know
13:01
how tall you are and we could be at the
13:02
same level.
13:03
>> We're we're about the same height give
13:04
or take. I think I think Skittermanders
13:06
and uh Yoskai are about the same uh same
13:09
height. Um
13:10
>> yeah yeah yeah. We're just uh we're just
13:12
having a good time here. This is uh this
13:14
is our other friend Jadana. Who are you?
13:16
>> I am Tofufog.
13:18
>> Well Toffog, I'm uh I'm Nitpick. Uh nice
13:20
to meet you. see uh you might be a
13:22
little bit on the uh the hungry side.
13:24
And I just kind of like slide over what
13:26
weird alien sandwich I had ordered
13:28
earlier and didn't eat.
13:29
>> It's now gone. You didn't even see it
13:30
go.
13:32
Like as you slid it over, you turn for a
13:35
second to talk to someone else or see
13:38
something else and then when you're
13:39
back, the sandwich is just gone. There's
13:40
not even a sign that I chewed any.
13:41
>> All right, I'm going to ask a really
13:43
weird question. Please do not take
13:44
offense to this. Are you an adult or a
13:47
child?
13:48
>> Everyone asks. Um, except of course
13:51
Skitterander people because Skitterander
13:53
people know uh the difference. Uh, I
13:55
don't have a stomach mouth no more. I'm
13:58
now Welp. I am I am a full-g grown
14:01
skitter.
14:02
>> Ah, okay. Well, then uh
14:04
>> as of last year.
14:05
>> Well, we're going to put some more. And
14:08
he nitpick stops and looks you up and
14:10
down. We're going to put some more hair
14:11
on that you here. And I hand you one of
14:14
the drinks.
14:15
>> Okay. I throw the container into my
14:18
mouth and you actually hear like a weird
14:21
light flash inside my mouth and then
14:24
it's gone.
14:25
>> Right. That's going to be useful. I can
14:27
already see uh I already see we're going
14:28
to get along famously.
14:30
>> I can do that when I point too.
14:32
>> Yeah, this is going. All right. Well,
14:35
any other friends we got to we waiting
14:37
on? Do we know if anybody else is
14:38
coming? I guess
14:39
>> that's that's a good time. Phil, what
14:41
are you?
14:42
>> Yeah, I think I think about this time uh
14:44
Lunar Lunar had maybe like overheard
14:47
this. She is probably
14:50
>> pretty hard not to overhear
14:51
>> kind of hard not to overhear this this
14:53
nonsense, but she had uh been she just
14:55
kind of comes and sits down silently at
14:57
first and kind of watches this all
14:59
happened. I say gesturing at the
15:01
Skittermanders. Um I think we're right.
15:04
Uh non-organics. Hi. Um I I take it
15:07
you're also all here for for tierney.
15:09
Uh, I'm I'm Lunar.
15:11
>> Well, ain't you uh tall, glowing, and
15:13
full of malice. I like you already. Hi,
15:15
I'm Nipic. Ah,
15:17
>> good to meet you. You seem familiar.
15:20
Maybe we passed each other on the street
15:22
once.
15:24
H
15:24
>> I'm pretty sure I have definitely seen
15:26
you at least once or 17 times. I'm not
15:28
too sure. And he winks when he says 17.
15:32
>> She giggles.
15:33
>> Well, uh this is uh this is our friend
15:36
Jadana. And uh this is our other friend.
15:39
I'm so sorry. I forgot your name
15:40
already. Uh, Toothless. Tofui. Tufi.
15:43
>> Tofuof hug.
15:44
>> Tofu hug.
15:45
>> Tofu.
15:46
>> Tofu hug.
15:47
>> Hug. Got it. Interesting. Good to meet
15:50
you.
15:51
>> I like I like to help with hugs. But
15:53
sometimes to get them to stop doing bad
15:55
things, you have to hug really hard.
15:57
>> That's true, kid. That's true. All
15:59
right. Well, I don't see anybody else uh
16:02
picking up on what we're putting down,
16:04
so I got us a table in the corner. Go
16:06
ahead. I I before you get into that, I
16:09
have a question. Are you at the bar
16:11
right now? Where are y'all congregating?
16:13
>> I would have been at the bar.
16:15
>> Yeah, I would have been at the bar a
16:16
little further down the bar probably.
16:18
>> And then the my my plan was to have like
16:21
reserved a table and then once
16:23
everybody's here, ushered to the corner
16:25
table.
16:25
>> Uh so the bartender uh is an android
16:28
with kind of silvery skin wearing a red
16:30
tank top kind of been kind of keeping an
16:33
eye on everyone at the table. She's a
16:36
bartender. She She keeps an eye on
16:37
things. Uh when she sees you starting to
16:40
move away, she comes over. You're You're
16:42
here for Tyranny. He has a table
16:44
reserved in the back.
16:46
>> What a kinky dink. That's where we were
16:48
going. Thank you.
16:50
>> Order what you want. I'll put it on his
16:51
tab.
16:52
>> Already have been.
16:54
>> Little little little meat things. You
16:57
got little meat things. They sometimes
16:59
are on a stick and they're round or
17:01
sometimes they're not like you just but
17:03
they're small and they're
17:04
>> we do we do have things like that. I
17:06
will have some sent to the table and uh
17:09
as she says
17:10
>> I like hug do they have legs that I
17:12
could reach?
17:13
>> Uh she's on the other side of the bar.
17:16
>> Okay. So in order to hug her I have to
17:18
go over the bar.
17:19
>> Uh yes you would.
17:21
>> I'm going to go over the bar to hug her.
17:24
>> Personal space. Personal. Um
17:25
>> thank you for your food.
17:28
I
17:29
>> then I let her go and get up back go
17:31
back over.
17:31
>> Well, I've seen straight. Uh so actually
17:34
some lights on the floor, little arrows
17:36
hovering over the floor sort of point
17:38
you way into the back corner. Uh a back
17:41
corner booth with a um you know, y'all
17:46
were being pretty loud talking about
17:48
this incredulous static thing, weren't
17:50
you? You weren't you weren't trying to
17:52
be subtle there. No, I was trying to I
17:54
was trying to to to get people like I
17:57
was trying to make contact. So,
17:58
>> so before before she sends you off, but
18:02
I heard what you were saying and Tyranny
18:06
left something for anyone who used that
18:09
phrase.
18:11
Uh, so I assume you are his friends. I
18:14
haven't seen him in a while, but uh she
18:16
reaches into a compartment under the bar
18:18
and pulls out a hollow disc, which she
18:21
hands over to uh you nitpick.
18:24
>> Well, thank you very much. I appreciate
18:26
it. Uh yeah, we're uh we're hoping we
18:30
can uh figure out and meet up with Prof.
18:32
>> I hope so, too. He hasn't been around in
18:34
a while.
18:34
>> Oh, well, that's that's disheartening to
18:37
hear. Well, I know uh you can't really
18:39
dip yourself on the uh the the the tab
18:42
portion of it and then Uh, nitpick
18:44
slides over like a bunch of creds.
18:46
>> You don't have to do that. This is what
18:48
I'm here for.
18:49
>> You're right. I don't, but I did anyway.
18:51
Thank you.
18:53
>> Well, thank you. And uh the credits you
18:55
put on the table vanish. Um, but yes,
18:59
you have a kind of secluded table in the
19:01
back. This this the backside of the bar
19:04
is a little quieter. Uh, there are more
19:07
inorganics, uh, anocytes, androids back
19:11
here. So, and they're mostly talking
19:13
electronically. So, it's it's quieter
19:15
back here. You've got a quiet a corner
19:17
way back in a quiet table back in the
19:21
corner of the bar. Uh in the center of
19:24
the table, there is a hollow uh a hollow
19:27
projector that's showing uh it just has
19:30
a sort of generic showing uh pictures of
19:32
the ice fields outside the city. Just
19:34
sort of uh a stock video.
19:37
>> Okay. Once everybody is settled in and
19:41
uh we're pretty sure nobody's really
19:43
paying attention to us. Uh so I think
19:45
it's time for us to see what's on the
19:46
disc. Eh,
19:47
>> what? Huh? Huh? And you realize at this
19:50
point like Jay's just been kind of
19:51
following but saw the food vaporize and
19:54
has just been wideeyed staring at Tooth
19:57
Hug like the hell was that?
20:00
>> Oh, just hi.
20:01
>> Absolutely fascinated. Yeah, I'm like
20:04
looking back cuz if I the second anyone
20:06
pays me any sort of attention, I glom
20:07
onto them as a potential friend.
20:09
>> Hello.
20:10
>> Hi.
20:10
>> Can I help you, friend?
20:12
>> You ate very
20:13
>> Oh, technically that wasn't
20:15
>> I don't like how their mind altering
20:17
chemicals, but I didn't want to be rude,
20:19
so I just used solar manifestation to
20:22
shoot it inside my mouth until it
20:24
>> Oh,
20:25
>> yeah. It's not food. But food is food. I
20:27
like food.
20:28
>> Well, I was talking about the sandwich
20:30
that vaporized.
20:31
>> Oh, no. I didn't vaporize that. I just
20:33
swallowed it. See, I can open my mouth
20:35
this big and I open my mouth to my full
20:37
scammander size
20:38
>> and it's now quite apparently huge and I
20:43
got a hair.
20:45
I only got two.
20:47
>> I get it now. Tooth hug. All right, that
20:50
makes way more sense now.
20:52
>> Yeah, cuz cuz I got a lot of tooths and
20:55
I can really hug with them if I have to.
20:56
Don't make me.
20:57
>> I thought he was saying tooth thug. I
20:59
was looking for a second one somewhere.
21:01
No, no, that's a two. That's a hood at
21:03
Andrew site from the other bar. We're
21:04
good. We're good. We're good. Don't
21:05
worry about it. So, yeah, I think I
21:07
think we're all friends here. I think we
21:09
start the disc.
21:10
>> There's a little skittering inside the
21:12
wall behind and a a door opens and a
21:15
little conveyor belt comes out to the
21:17
table with a giant plate of meatballs.
21:20
>> I just slide it over to two.
21:22
>> No, you don't have to like literally go
21:24
through and then just like half of it is
21:27
gone before you even notice. I'm I have
21:30
the usual I I just I'll just tell you
21:32
guys I have the hyper feet.
21:35
>> I'm like Skinner Mander turned up. So
21:38
I'm like
21:38
>> try to snag I'm going to try to snag one
21:41
meatball before the plate gets all the
21:42
way to T tooth hug.
21:43
>> Okay, I'm not going to stop you. I'd
21:45
even give you one if you asked.
21:46
>> I know. I'm more worried about my hand.
21:48
>> Okay, that's fair.
21:51
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Did I bite you?
21:53
Did I bite you? I'm sorry. I
21:56
>> No. No. I'd have yelled if you did.
21:57
Thank you.
21:58
Janna has like her face mask on and she
22:01
was going to take it off so she could
22:02
eat a bite and just reattaches it and
22:06
just leave it alone.
22:08
>> There are digital menus on the table in
22:10
front of you which you can order from if
22:12
you so desire. Uh the safety of the food
22:14
is not guaranteed at the table, but it
22:17
will be perfectly fine until it gets
22:18
here.
22:19
>> I think she'll start tapping in to order
22:21
more food while we're waiting for the
22:22
hollow disc to play.
22:24
>> Yeah, at this point Lunar's more curious
22:25
about this disc. Yeah, I'm uh I'm
22:28
probably getting a few more drinks and
22:30
uh maybe maybe some more orders, but
22:31
like once everybody's settled in, I
22:34
wanna I want to see what's on this this
22:36
uh disc because Nitpick's a little
22:38
concerned. He hasn't heard from the
22:39
professor in a while, and hearing that
22:41
the the bartender say the professor
22:43
hasn't been around in a while really
22:44
concerns him. Uh this was his first
22:47
friend, he's he's now a little bit a
22:49
little bit worried. And you may have
22:50
noticed that uh Nitpick is being a
22:52
little quieter right now. Not as
22:53
boisterous as when you first met him.
22:55
Uh, so he puts the disc on the table,
22:57
make sure looks around, make sure
22:58
nobody's paying attention to him. Uh,
23:01
maybe stands so that he's blocking the
23:04
view of the table from the rest of the
23:05
bar, and then presses play.
23:07
>> Okay, so coming up out of the disc is a
23:10
holographic image of what who everyone
23:13
knows as tier 99 professor. Uh they are
23:18
anite, a robot, a robotic being with
23:22
four spindly long legs and three spindly
23:25
arms with different kinds of
23:27
manipulators on the ends of them and a
23:30
head of sorts with uh different
23:33
different lenses that you can interpret
23:35
as eyes if you so desire. Uh tier 99
23:39
professor appears as a ghostly hologram
23:41
and speaks in a crackling imitation of
23:45
their own voice. Greetings, former
23:47
companions. If you're watching this,
23:49
it's because I have experienced an
23:51
unexpected shutdown. In organic terms, I
23:54
am dead. I propose you enjoy a meal on
23:56
my prepaid tub and seek emotional
23:58
support. My shutdown is within the
24:00
normal range of variability. However, it
24:03
has occurred prematurely and left many
24:05
of my tasks incomplete. In fact, the
24:07
reason I invited you all out tonight was
24:09
to share a new theory with you. I am
24:11
being pursued by a clever adversary who
24:14
intends to shut me down permanently. I
24:16
had planned to ask for your protection
24:18
in exchange for payment, but the
24:20
scenario has evolved. As I no longer
24:22
have need of protection, I have an
24:24
alternative proposal for you. Solve my
24:27
murder. Suddenly, you're you're all
24:31
uh staring at this. I I assume you're
24:34
all watching this. Uh and at the at the
24:37
end of this, it's just freezes. You
24:39
know, it's you've got the end of the
24:41
recording, that's it. Tyranny speaking,
24:43
this sort of clipped voice with an odd
24:45
cadence, which if you if you're familiar
24:48
with them, you know that was that was
24:50
just how they talked. Um, but the
24:52
recording gets to stand and a laser
24:56
streaks in through a window and cuts
25:00
through the center of this hologram
25:03
coming right over your shoulder. nitpick
25:05
like you can't you can't really feel a
25:08
laser coming by you but it's just it's
25:11
so close. It was it was very close. Um I
25:16
but it goes straight through the
25:18
hologram which shatters in into static.
25:23
Um what are what are you all doing?
25:25
>> Uh at this point I think I dive over the
25:28
table and flip it. Uh,
25:30
>> okay.
25:32
>> And start looking for where that shot
25:34
came from. I don't know what anybody
25:36
else is doing, but you see me like as
25:38
soon as that happens, my immediate
25:39
reaction is to roll over the table, flip
25:41
it so that it's a barricade. Uh, and
25:44
start like peering around figuring out
25:46
what happened while everybody okay?
25:48
Everybody okay? You good? You good? You
25:49
good?
25:49
>> Yeah,
25:50
>> I am I am behind you with a
25:51
semi-autodrawn.
25:53
Uh, good instincts. Uh
25:55
>> yeah, Jaydana is very much the same like
25:57
with what she does typically and she is
26:01
undercover at some point like in the
26:03
shadows immediately but she's got her
26:05
rifle out.
26:05
>> First thing I do is is I'm assuming that
26:08
we're either not in initiative yet or we
26:10
have like an a rounded act
26:11
>> after after you explain what you're
26:14
doing. I'm going to ask you to roll
26:15
initiative yet.
26:16
>> Okay. I am going to reach out and for a
26:19
second there's nothing in my hand and
26:20
then suddenly there is a very very large
26:24
I mean this thing's like six foot long
26:26
for like it's it's it's scaled for a vos
26:28
desk to use and I pop one into existence
26:31
that is glowing in silver and gold and I
26:35
bring it up to my like almost like
26:36
choking up on it like a baseball and go
26:39
friend and I'm looking to see where I
26:42
can see somebody who's got a weapon.
26:44
>> Yeah. So, I think my my action is going
26:46
to start scanning for uh where where the
26:50
shot came from, trying to figure out.
26:51
>> Um so, um yeah, give me a perception
26:55
roll. Nitpick.
26:56
>> Uh that is a 15 on the die. Nitpick gets
27:00
a
27:02
plus four. Unless this is against a
27:05
illusion or hologram in which I get an
27:08
additional one.
27:09
>> Uh it's not against an illusion, but
27:11
that is enough to get it. You see a
27:15
window. You were trying to stand to
27:17
block the hologram from the rest of the
27:18
bar, but there are some high windows. Uh
27:21
that could still get a view in. And
27:25
outside you see
27:28
uh a drone. And you can tell that it's
27:33
>> a drone. You say
27:34
>> a drone, I say. You can tell that it's
27:39
uh this is a stealth drone and it's you
27:42
can see it just for an instant after
27:44
it's you look up it's fired its laser
27:46
you catch it just for that instant
27:49
before it activates its cloak and zooms
27:52
off. But
27:54
>> do we get to act before it zooms off or
27:55
no?
27:56
>> It it's starting to zoom off and that's
27:58
when we're going to go into initiative.
27:59
Um, okay. You know, you've been you've
28:03
been around striving, you know that
28:05
cloaking is not not totally outside of
28:08
the realm of possibility, but while
28:09
cloaked things are moving, usually their
28:12
cloak isn't perfect. So, you see it
28:16
shimmer out of existence, but then you
28:18
see a blur where it moves, where it
28:19
can't quite maintain its cloaking as it
28:22
goes. So, now I do want everyone to roll
28:25
initiative. Um, you can roll with
28:28
perception or give me a reason why
28:30
something else would be a good thing to
28:31
roll.
28:32
>> I rolled a natural 20, so I got a 24.
28:36
>> Okay,
28:36
>> this is bows poorly for when I do actual
28:38
actions.
28:40
>> This is an actual action.
28:41
>> Using all your 20s up on initiative. I
28:43
got a 17.
28:44
>> 13.
28:45
>> Uh, 21.
28:47
If it's perception based initiative, 21.
28:50
>> Uh, so that puts Nitpick up first.
28:53
>> All right. All right, Nitpick reaches
28:54
into his bag, pulls out what is
28:56
ostensibly a little like looks like the
28:59
world's weirdest Game Boy of cobbled
29:01
together like screens and buttons and
29:04
toggle switches and uh and little
29:06
things. Uh and then he's going to try to
29:10
deactivate the cloaking uh by
29:13
essentially hacking into this thing. I'm
29:15
going to try to do if I can get it to
29:16
drop its cloak.
29:17
>> Okay. Uh give me a roll. uh 11 on the
29:21
die and my computers is a plus seven. So
29:25
18.
29:26
>> Okay. So yeah, you you click away and
29:31
just as it was about to that little blur
29:34
was zooming out of sight. It's it
29:37
flickers. There's kind of a staticky
29:39
thing around it and its cloak drops. You
29:42
see it uh swooshing away, but you can
29:45
clearly see it as much as you can
29:48
clearly see things in the busy streets
29:51
of uh stride.
29:53
>> Well, that that is one action. And I
29:56
think how far is it more than 100t away
29:59
from me?
30:00
>> Um I'll say to get outside is you know
30:04
in the 30 to 40t range. You're you're
30:07
way in the back of the cafe. So it's
30:09
it's a good
30:10
>> Yeah. getting through and there's a
30:12
little bit of hubbhub as people. What's
30:15
that?
30:16
>> So, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take
30:17
one of my actions then to move and and
30:19
book it out the door.
30:21
>> And then my second reaction now that
30:22
this thing's cloak is dropped is I'm
30:24
going to or my third action, excuse me,
30:26
is I'm going to warp reality uh on a
30:29
point that I can see within 100 ft,
30:30
which is going to be this thing.
30:32
>> And I want to essentially um
30:36
I want quicksand in air essentially. I
30:38
want this thing to be heavy air or heavy
30:40
gra around it so that it's slowed down
30:42
so that other people can get a shot at.
30:44
Um,
30:45
>> so let's see how this works. Quantum
30:48
field activates and lasts as long as I
30:49
sustain it up to 10 minutes or until the
30:51
end of my turn. Quantum field say 20
30:53
foot burst centered on a point I choose
30:55
with 100 ft. Uh, while your quantum
30:57
field is act is active, I can use
30:58
actions that have the anchoring trait.
31:01
Uh, your quantum field's other specific
31:02
effects are determined by your paradox.
31:05
uh one of the affected by your quantum
31:07
field when you warp reality uh each time
31:11
you sustain and when that creature
31:12
enters your quantum field each time or
31:15
each time you sustain a quantum field
31:16
the sustain action instead of the
31:17
anchoring action I can move it to a new
31:19
position. Uh, so essentially I think
31:21
it's just going to have to make a save
31:23
versus my spell DC which is 17. Cuz for
31:26
those at home, I'm not just a techno
31:29
guy, I'm a witch warper because I
31:31
apparently only play witch warpers in
31:33
Starfinder even by accident.
31:36
>> So basically, I'm just making it half
31:38
difficult the way that it was.
31:39
>> So it's so it's just it's moving at half
31:41
speed essentially.
31:42
>> Yeah. Yeah.
31:43
>> Yeah. Okay. Uh yes. Yes, that did uh
31:47
attract it. And uh it's it's not zipping
31:50
away as quickly as it was before.
31:53
>> And then I'll I'll shout back to uh to
31:55
my new friends. Try not to blow it
31:57
completely up so we can trace it.
32:00
>> Uh tooth hug, you are up.
32:03
>> Okay, first up, I've used manifestation.
32:05
So the big axe appeared. Also, there's
32:09
like a dot of energy circling my wrist
32:12
and kind of going from my elbow back up
32:15
to my hand and then back as it circles.
32:18
Uh, and finally, I'm now surrounded in
32:20
what it looks to be bright gold armor.
32:23
Uh, but you can kind of see through it
32:26
like um essentially it's it's here. It's
32:29
around me. Uh, but like the axe, it's
32:32
got a kind of not quite realness to it.
32:35
Uh, it is glowing. Both the uh armor and
32:38
the weapon are glowing kind of gold
32:40
while the thing floating around my hand
32:42
is purple. And I'm gonna say don't don't
32:45
smash. Okay. Uh, it's 30 ft away. You
32:50
said
32:51
>> uh it's outside and it's it's moving
32:53
more slowly, but it's continued to move
32:56
into traffic.
32:57
>> Okay.
32:57
>> You know, I mean, the busy city street,
32:59
it's continued to move. You can see it,
33:01
but you are going to have to everyone's
33:02
going to have to keep following it.
33:04
>> Okay. I'm going to use graviton
33:06
attunement.
33:08
And this does 1d8 bludgeoning. Uh, and
33:12
then I can make a trip attack.
33:14
>> Okay. I
33:16
>> This is a free action. The trip part is
33:19
a free action. Even if I don't have a
33:21
free hand or aren't adjacent, I can pick
33:23
one of the two. I'm going to try for the
33:26
trip attack. It has to it has to be a
33:29
critical success on the attack roll for
33:30
me to do that. So,
33:31
>> but this is a a ranged attack. or are
33:33
you trying to get to it? Okay.
33:35
>> No, it's a ranged attack. I'm not moving
33:37
because I don't have to. Uh, okay. That
33:40
is a critical success. So, and rather
33:43
than do damage to it, I'm trying to trip
33:44
it. So, now uh it basically I have made
33:49
a trip attempt and now it has the option
33:52
to try to resist that. I don't really
33:54
know how trip attacks work. I'll be um
33:57
so trip attacks if I remember correctly.
34:00
Um e it's what you call it. It's
34:03
generally in opposed athletics. So I
34:04
think it has to make that athletics
34:06
check.
34:06
>> Yeah.
34:07
>> Um triple. You can drop.
34:09
I think it just knocks them down or
34:11
knocks them prone, which I don't know
34:12
that this can.
34:13
>> Yeah. In this case, I'm going to say
34:16
it's heading out into traffic. You're,
34:18
you know, the cafe is on a corner. It's
34:20
heading out to cross traffic. You hit it
34:24
with this attack and it wobbles. It
34:27
wobbles and smacks into an oncoming like
34:31
bus and it sort of wobbles away
34:34
unsteadily and it continues to move
34:37
forward, but it's very slow about it
34:41
right now, but it it has gotten into
34:43
it's gotten into the flow of traffic
34:45
across the street. Do you have anything
34:47
else, Matt?
34:48
>> Uh, technically, yeah. Let's see what
34:50
this thing
34:51
>> for those of you at home. We're playing
34:52
pregen characters for this adventure.
34:55
So, it's us trying to get you to know
34:57
what our guys do in the moment. It's a
34:59
little a little bit of the uh the the
35:01
learning as you go because you can only
35:03
read a piece of paper so much before you
35:04
try to do things.
35:06
>> I just use two out of three actions.
35:09
>> Okay.
35:09
>> For my third action, I guess I will just
35:12
straight up um run out there. I have 35
35:16
feet of movement between being a
35:18
celebrity and the hyper feet.
35:20
>> So, okay. Uh, just be aware this is a
35:25
busy street. This is like this is like a
35:28
non-stop wall of traffic that's moving.
35:30
>> I will make every attempt to avoid going
35:32
into vehicles or if I can avoid it.
35:35
>> Are you going into the street or not?
35:38
>> I'm going to bounce off of things
35:40
because I'm going to try an acrobatics
35:42
here. I'm basically gonna just try to
35:43
like get to the side of the street and
35:46
try and basically bounce off of
35:47
something
35:48
>> close by and then be up where I can see
35:51
things.
35:52
>> Give me an acrobatic. Are you Are you
35:54
trying to look like a You're trying to
35:56
get over here and do a perception check
35:58
or are you trying to basically get
36:00
across the street?
36:00
>> No. No. I'm trying to get up so I can
36:02
see it like bounce off of a railing,
36:05
bounce off of an awning. I don't want to
36:07
bounce off of a tall person if I can't
36:09
avoid it because that's rude. Uh, but I
36:11
do want to I want to make sure I can
36:14
still see it as it
36:15
>> uh Okay.
36:17
>> So,
36:17
>> um
36:18
>> that's a ging on the athletics check.
36:22
>> Yeah. Athletics or
36:24
>> acrobatics? It can be either one.
36:25
>> Yeah. Yeah. It's a total of 20. It's 17
36:29
on the die and plus three. So, I rolled
36:31
20.
36:32
>> Okay. So, you managed to get up on you
36:35
you clamber up like a like a street pole
36:38
that has um it just just for like the
36:42
where the light the lights are to tell
36:43
you cross, don't cross, uh etc., etc.
36:46
You manage to clamber all the way to the
36:48
top and you get a good view of the drone
36:51
over traffic wobbling unsteadily and
36:54
it's like trying to stay over the flow
36:57
of traffic, but it's it's it's having
37:00
some trouble. Do I get the sense that if
37:02
I had done the damage instead that I
37:04
would have killed it?
37:04
>> I don't know. How much do you know about
37:06
uh drones?
37:07
>> Not a whole heck of a lot, but I can
37:08
give you a shot on a roll. I
37:11
>> I
37:13
um I'm going to say this is this is not
37:16
your area of expertise. It's just Well,
37:19
it looks it looks kind of hurt. It's not
37:21
moving very well. Yeah. I mean,
37:23
>> pilot. That's all I think I have that
37:25
would be useful in this situation. I
37:27
think I have stuff, but they're smaller.
37:29
Piloting is the only one I can think of
37:30
that would work. And I
37:31
>> Yeah, I I'm just gonna say
37:32
>> someone's gonna say I'm not gonna try.
37:34
>> I I'm just gonna say you I mean, you
37:37
don't know for sure. It's It's not
37:39
moving very well. Maybe it could have
37:41
killed it. Maybe it's better to slow it
37:43
down. You know, Nitpick said not to
37:45
destroy it so you could track it. So,
37:48
yeah. But it's it's moving slow. It's
37:50
moving slow. I'm I'm picking up on your
37:52
on your weird accent, Joe.
37:54
>> It's infectious.
37:56
>> And by weird, you mean uh you mean New
37:58
Yorker. So, I mean,
37:59
>> uh-huh.
38:01
Really? Okay.
38:03
>> It's a little chinoesque.
38:05
That's the whole point. I'm I'm playing
38:07
a character. I'm literally a rat named
38:10
Benny. What do you want?
38:12
>> Uh, Bill, you are up next. What is Lunar
38:16
doing?
38:17
>> Oh, man. Uh, what is Lunar doing? Uh,
38:22
Lunar wants to stop this thing from
38:24
getting away. And the best option I
38:26
think I have for that is attempting to
38:28
stun it entirely.
38:30
>> Um, yeah, which uh will require me to
38:34
crit with my arc pistol, but why not?
38:37
Uh, so three actions. I'm sure I need
38:39
one. Okay, the window. The window that
38:41
it shot the hologram through. Did it
38:43
like break the window? Can I go out this
38:44
window after it?
38:46
>> Can I gravity at it from inside the
38:49
building? If there was a window in the
38:50
way of that, it probably got hit.
38:52
>> The window is broken. It's a It's a You
38:55
know, yeah, you could you could get
38:56
through it. It's shot from up high, but
38:58
it's a normal It's a normal window.
39:00
>> Okay. It's a window. Okay. I just want
39:02
to make sure I could follow this thing
39:03
without having to like book it out the
39:05
front of the building and all the way
39:06
around and all
39:06
>> around the around the panicking crowds,
39:08
etc., etc.
39:09
>> Yeah, I don't want any of that. I'm sure
39:10
the firefight has attracted a little
39:12
notice. Yeah, Lunar's going Lunar's
39:13
going out the window after this thing.
39:15
>> Okay.
39:16
>> Um and that I'm just going to assume
39:18
that's one of my three actions to follow
39:20
it.
39:20
>> Yeah. Um, I want to take a shot at it
39:22
with an arc pistol. Um,
39:25
>> uh, 19 + 6 25.
39:29
>> Uh, yeah, that's a hit.
39:30
>> Joe, remind me how crits work in this in
39:33
Starfinder. I know they're different
39:35
than like D and D.
39:36
>> Yeah, it's been a
39:39
>> Is it like a certain amount over their
39:41
AC? Not like
39:42
>> I think it's 10 over.
39:44
>> Okay.
39:45
>> I believe.
39:46
>> Okay. So, I guess Liz would know if it
39:48
had an AC of 15 or not, but either way,
39:50
uh, it takes two points of electricity
39:52
damage.
39:53
>> Uh, yes, it's, you can see it in the
39:55
distance wobbling. It, uh,
39:59
>> yeah, it's a natural 20 or when an
40:01
attack exceeds the targets uh, active AC
40:04
or uh, KAC by 10. The result is double
40:09
damage plus all bonuses added to plus
40:11
any special weapon effects like
40:13
bleeding, burn, stun. Um, and then if it
40:16
has any other modifiers like blast or
40:18
line weapons.
40:19
>> Okay.
40:21
>> Uh, so you see it fizzle. It's like a a
40:26
electricity fizzling around it and it uh
40:29
starts to fall and it thunks off another
40:32
vehicle and it kind of knocks it knocks
40:36
it off to the other side of the road.
40:37
You can't tell what happens to it from
40:39
there.
40:40
>> All right. And getting across traffic is
40:42
going to be interesting because it's
40:43
non-stop traffic. Uh, that's not really
40:47
Actually, I don't know. That actually
40:48
does kind of look like I might be decent
40:49
at that. Um, is there is there a safe
40:53
way to cross traffic? Is Is there I know
40:56
there's probably like a crosswalk. Is
40:57
there like an underpass to the other
40:59
side of this road or something that I
41:00
can use?
41:01
>> Well, there there is a crosswalk
41:03
actually. In fact, Tooth Hug had
41:05
actually climbed up on the the traffic
41:08
signal to to get a look at this thing.
41:11
Um, but yes,
41:13
>> it's it's currently Well, it's currently
41:16
favoring
41:18
I just mean uh the what am I trying to
41:21
say here? It's uh there is a crosswalk,
41:24
but it's it's you know, it's favoring
41:27
traffic right now. So, cars and uh cars
41:32
are moving through it. There would be a
41:33
crosswalk if the signal were to change.
41:36
>> I mean, I can do or I mean, we still
41:38
have a first go, so we
41:41
>> Yeah. Does the H. Okay. So, if I
41:46
Yeah. So, I can actually try to hack
41:51
wirelessly without the need of a hacking
41:53
toolkit because of my shortwave trait as
41:55
being aworked Android. So, I think I'm
41:57
going to attempt to hack the traffic
41:58
signal with my last action.
42:00
>> Okay.
42:01
Um,
42:02
>> that's
42:02
>> Yeah, let's see. Only got a plus four on
42:05
this, but we'll see how it goes. Um,
42:07
dirty 20.
42:08
>> Uh, that will do it. So, uh, you you
42:14
focus on hacking the signal and
42:17
bang, all of a sudden the signal goes
42:20
red to traffic and everyone just stops
42:24
perfectly the same time. Every all of
42:27
the vehicles here areworked
42:30
and the intersection is completely
42:32
still. There's a perfect r uh lane for
42:35
pedestrians to cross.
42:36
>> All right. Perfect time for somebody
42:38
else to go cuz that's my actions.
42:40
>> And uh yes, that is your turn, Trish.
42:43
What's Jadana up to?
42:45
>> Well, seeing that everything's already
42:46
basically taken care of, she's going to
42:48
march across the street and pick this
42:49
thing up.
42:50
>> Uh okay. Yes. you find it has um it's
42:54
it's trying to get back up. It's got
42:56
some static stuttering and it's man on
42:59
the far side of the street. It's it's
43:01
gotten up and it's wobbling forward in
43:04
the air, but it's not very far off the
43:06
ground. Yeah. Can I just like grab a
43:08
hold of this thing and like pull
43:09
whatever power wire I see and just be
43:11
done with it so we can just pull out its
43:13
guts and get all the information off
43:14
whatever discs and memory drive it has?
43:17
>> Uh you certainly can. I don't know if
43:21
anything
43:22
>> um you know I I think grabbing whatever
43:24
wires you're just grabbing whatever's on
43:27
there. I I think you can just do that.
43:29
I'm just I'm just going to give it to
43:30
you. You you It has kind of some control
43:33
wires that that link its uh uh that link
43:39
its little sort of uh hover jets and you
43:42
just sort of you yank at the wires and
43:46
it stops it it stops even trying to move
43:48
at that point. Then I'm gonna either
43:50
wait for my companions to get here or
43:52
I'm just gonna like start pulling to see
43:53
if I can find where like memory drives
43:55
and the stuff that actually runs it is
43:56
so we can just get the information off
43:57
of that while this thing is just done
44:00
and be like well we're going to figure
44:01
out who did that.
44:03
>> Uh absolutely. So uh yes you're pulling
44:07
off the casing of it. I'm going to say
44:08
we're out of initiative now. And uh what
44:11
is everyone doing from here?
44:13
>> Well my goal is exploration at this
44:15
point. So trying to meet up
44:18
>> uh and get I guess my hands on this
44:20
thing so we can start decoding. I have
44:23
potentially two applicable skills here,
44:25
but I'll let other people I don't want
44:26
to I don't want to hog all the
44:27
>> uh do we have someplace safe that we can
44:29
do this? Are we we're not just going to
44:31
stand in the middle of the street?
44:32
>> Yeah, kind of. Cuz I live in I I live in
44:35
striving so I would assume I have
44:36
quarters somewhere.
44:38
>> Yeah, I mean I'm sure I have a room
44:39
somewhere because my parents just kind
44:40
of dropped me off here and we're like
44:42
good luck.
44:44
Um, so I'm going to say uh who's who who
44:48
among you is the biggest tech person? Is
44:50
that going to be is that going to be
44:52
Lunar?
44:53
>> I mean, I got a plus seven to robot
44:55
lore, striving lore, and computers. I
44:58
don't know what
44:58
>> uh less than that, but I can make you
45:02
even better at what you're already
45:03
doing, depending on what you need to
45:05
roll.
45:06
>> Okay. So, why don't we why don't we find
45:09
like like I said, I'm pretty sure I live
45:11
here. If I'm looking at the uh the
45:12
because this is striving correct.
45:15
>> Yes. I striving striving is also like a
45:19
massive city. It's like a hundred miles
45:21
in every direction. This place is huge.
45:24
>> Um
45:24
>> I'm surprisingly good at artifact. Um
45:27
but all of my other skills are like
45:29
thievery or survival or stealth or
45:31
piloting. I don't really have tech
45:33
stuff. Like I my computer skills is
45:36
zero.
45:36
>> Yeah. I think we This is probably This
45:39
is definitely on the tech side. Um,
45:42
nitpick. I'm going to see you know the
45:44
area well enough that you know somewhere
45:45
where you can at least get off get off
45:47
the street. You know, you have a friend
45:49
of a friend of a friend of a friend who
45:52
owns a shop here and knows you enough to
45:56
like uh you could use the back room. You
45:58
you need to look at this thing. Yeah,
45:59
just he's he's going to turn the other
46:01
way and you can sit in the back room and
46:04
look at this at this uh drone.
46:06
>> All right, I turned everybody. All
46:07
right. Well, we looking at where we are
46:09
in town. I know a guy who knows a guy
46:11
who knows a guy who knows a guy who
46:13
knows a guy. We could probably use the
46:15
back room. Uh we'll just kind of if you
46:17
don't mind, grab the pieces. Follow me.
46:19
We'll we'll see if we can figure out
46:21
what the the heck is going on here. And
46:22
then I just start taking off assuming
46:24
that everybody's following me because
46:26
that's what Nitpick does.
46:27
>> Yeah, I'd be helping lug this thing.
46:28
>> Yeah. grabbing grabbing some pieces.
46:32
>> Uh so you you go into an alleyway,
46:35
there's a bunch of little kind of junk
46:37
shops, secondhand tech, that sort of
46:40
thing. You uh wave hello to your friend
46:43
of a friend of a friend who gives you a
46:45
nod, lets you into the back room, and uh
46:49
yes, you're in kind of a a crowded back
46:52
store room, but there's a table that you
46:54
can push some push some junk aside and
46:56
take a look at your uh new found drone.
47:01
>> It's actually
47:02
>> it's actually in pretty good shape. You
47:04
know, it was kind of it was
47:05
electrocuted. It was It took a couple of
47:08
thumps from cars, but for all of that,
47:10
it's it's in pretty good shape. It's
47:12
scuffed up, but it's not It's not like
47:14
in a thousand pieces kind of thing.
47:15
>> Okay, the first thing that I'm going to
47:17
do is I'm going to analyze it without
47:19
ripping it apart to see if there's any
47:20
markings on it. Uh, so I'm basically
47:23
going to use my robot lure to see if
47:25
this is a model that I recognize or
47:28
>> uh if there's any signifiers or
47:30
identifiers that I could see without
47:32
going hacking.
47:33
>> Okay, give me a roll.
47:36
16. So, it's a 9 plus 7.
47:38
>> Okay. Yes, you definitely uh recognize
47:42
this. This is kind of This is an
47:44
offtheshelf kind of drone, but it's like
47:47
the kind of shelves you would buy this
47:49
off of are not not like the shop you're
47:52
in now. This is a high-end
47:56
uh spy drone, but it's not
48:00
it's the the make of it looks like
48:03
something that was probably made here on
48:04
Avalon or something that was made by
48:07
someone selling at Avalon.
48:09
It it looks familiar. Doesn't look like
48:12
it's some crazy off-world tech. It
48:14
doesn't have the markings of off-world
48:17
mil, you know. It looks it's it's a
48:19
familiar style.
48:20
>> All right. All right. Well, nothing out
48:21
of the ordinary with this thing. So, one
48:23
of the things that Nipic has is sort of
48:24
like a personality flaw is that whenever
48:27
he's investigating something, he kind of
48:29
narrates it even if nobody's around. So,
48:33
he's narrating it and you may think that
48:34
it's for your benefit, but it really
48:36
would have happened whether or not
48:37
you're So, okay, there's uh nothing
48:39
saying who owned it. Smart. I mean, I
48:41
figure if anybody's going to take out
48:42
the professor that that they're going to
48:44
be smart. Cool. Looks like it's an
48:46
offtheshelf model, but I mean off the
48:48
black market shelf. Uh, looks like it's
48:51
maybe uh just a spy drone. Uh, the laser
48:55
is new though. That's a little bit
48:56
interesting. Uh, so somebody definitely
48:59
did a little modification for it, but I
49:01
don't think we're going to see anything
49:02
else from the outside, so it's time to
49:04
start cracking into it. Uh, and he puts
49:06
on a pair of like welder's goggles with
49:09
like the jeweler's loops on it and
49:11
starts hooking it up to his handheld.
49:13
and uh we got to go deeper. And then he
49:16
just starts, you know, trying to hack
49:18
in.
49:18
>> Um okay, you know, you did a really good
49:21
role. We'll just go with the role you
49:23
already did because this is not You've
49:25
got a disabled drone here. This isn't
49:27
this is not a crazy challenge for you.
49:29
Um so you look into its logs. There's
49:33
not a lot here. There's not a lot here.
49:35
This isn't like uh it looks like it was
49:38
purchased pretty recently in the last
49:40
month or so, month or two maybe. And
49:44
it's just uh hang on, what do I um I
49:48
thought I had something for this and now
49:50
I cannot find it cuz that's how these um
49:52
you can see it's been it's been going
49:54
around the city on orders from its owner
49:57
to watch people and uh unsurprisingly
50:02
uh you are one of the people you and
50:04
your group are one of the people it has
50:06
been assigned to watch. Um, in it you
50:10
find a uh its latest programming scan.
50:15
Uh, as you get in the end, well, I'm
50:17
gonna I I asked you to do the last one,
50:19
but uh Joe, would you read the contents
50:22
of this log or explain to everyone else
50:25
what you uh found in this log?
50:29
>> All right. So, I think as Nitpick's
50:31
going through, he's looking for
50:32
telemetry data. He's looking for logs.
50:35
Uh, and so yeah, this is what he finds
50:38
as he's going through sort of the target
50:40
logs. And of course, he narrates it out
50:42
loud because he narrates everything out
50:43
loud as we've just established. All
50:46
right. Data log, current recon location,
50:48
analog, cafe striving. Okay, we knew
50:51
that. That's where we got shot at.
50:53
Current recon target, unknown subjects,
50:55
filter chatter from regulars, ex accept
50:57
relevant terms. Great. They listened in
50:59
on the communication. My fault. I'm the
51:01
problem here. All right, I understand
51:03
that. Uh current relevant terms T99
51:06
professor tierney relic first ones
51:08
investigate Zym. Uh okay well those are
51:12
interesting ones. Make note of that for
51:14
later emergency protocol on detection of
51:16
communication from tier 999 professor.
51:18
Take measures to intercept eliminate or
51:21
corrupt return to agent. Recent audio
51:23
input club beats reverberating
51:26
irrelevant. Filter out crowd chatter
51:28
irrelevant. Filter out siren skins
51:30
determined trajectory determined
51:31
irrelevant. Filter out shouting. No
51:33
relevant terms detected. Recent visual
51:36
input. Rain slick rooftops. Dense smog.
51:38
Neon lights. All typical. All
51:40
irrelevant. Anomaly detected. Origin
51:42
unknown. Likely irrelevant. Audio visual
51:46
glitch detected. Hollow likeness of tier
51:48
99 professor. Emergency protocol
51:50
triggered. Oo. So it wasn't me. This was
51:53
because we did. We played the hollow.
51:54
Well, I guess kind of me. I pushed the
51:55
button. Uh damage log evasive maneuvers
51:58
resulting in collision power surge
51:59
rotors unresponsive. termination of Oh,
52:02
so this was this was going back in real
52:04
time, ain't that? Uh, and then he turns
52:07
around. You guys,
52:09
>> I've just been I've just been scribbling
52:10
notes on a tablet the whole time,
52:11
assuming that this is for this is for
52:13
our benefit.
52:15
>> Yeah. Like this is this is where this is
52:18
your first indication of his of his
52:20
personality trait cuz as soon as he's
52:22
done going through us, he turns back to
52:24
all of you and repeats all of it as if
52:26
he's talking to to you for the first
52:28
time.
52:28
>> Yeah. That's very interesting. Is there
52:31
food in this place?
52:32
>> There's not food.
52:33
>> No, no, no food. What were you saying
52:34
then, my uh my fine multi-arm friend?
52:37
Yeah.
52:38
>> Uh, it said return to agent. If we
52:40
follow this, fire this thing back up, we
52:43
might be able to follow it back to who
52:44
sent it.
52:45
>> That's
52:47
idea.
52:47
>> Us. I think it just wanted to bust up
52:49
the hollow and leave. We were just in
52:52
the way.
52:52
>> That's a That's a fine idea. All right.
52:55
Well, I guess Go ahead, Luna. But if it
52:58
was transmitting video from that uh hit
53:01
it we're we've all been spotted by
53:03
whoever this is.
53:04
>> I mean I'm not very good at the whole
53:07
stealth thing. I'm good at like being
53:09
distraction. But you you all seem like
53:11
you got maybe some uh you got a hat in
53:13
that ring maybe. I'm thinking
53:16
>> good at sticking to the shadows.
53:18
>> Yeah, I saw you disappear. Don't think I
53:19
didn't notice.
53:20
>> I'm very sneaky. I So your idea I like I
53:23
think maybe maybe we fire this back up
53:26
or we put a homing beacon on it or
53:28
something where we can track the
53:29
telemetry uh and we make it blind to us.
53:32
I think I might be able to program it to
53:34
not pay attention to us anymore.
53:36
>> I mean I'm down. We can just follow it
53:38
wherever. I'm I mean it also what else
53:40
did it say? Something about uh Zyum,
53:43
right?
53:44
>> Yeah, that was one of the one of the
53:45
things the professor was mentioning.
53:47
Investigate Zyum. So, I think there's
53:50
more. That might that might be the
53:52
answer.
53:52
>> One of the
53:53
>> That was one of the uh search terms the
53:56
drone had. It was just listening for any
53:59
of those terms. Tier 99 professor
54:01
tyranny, which is the name professor
54:04
usually went by. Relic first ones
54:07
investigate. That one seems really
54:09
general. That seems like such a general
54:11
search term. Come on. Come on.
54:12
>> However, Zyum. However, since I have a
54:16
bonus and trained in artifacts, I'm
54:19
going to see if I know anything about
54:20
any first one artifacts on Zyum,
54:23
wherever that is. Uh
54:25
>> um
54:26
>> okay, this this
54:28
>> first ones is actually easy and I would
54:31
say uh
54:32
>> we all kind of know
54:33
>> you Yeah, I think anyone
54:36
>> often, right?
54:37
Yes, this was tier 999's big area of
54:40
research and I think anyone on Ablon
54:43
anyone in striving is going to know
54:45
about this or who spent much time on
54:46
striving which is that the first ones
54:48
are kind of the progenitors of all the
54:52
ances of all the robots on striving and
54:56
uh on on the planet of abalon and
54:59
there's kind of a quasi religious thing
55:03
about you know these are our creators
55:06
and learning more about them or becoming
55:09
better than them or following in their
55:12
footsteps. It's there's there's this
55:14
whole kind of uh sort of religious angle
55:17
to this to the first ones. Um anyone can
55:21
make me a any uh a role they think is
55:25
relevant to recall knowledge about
55:29
something related to this. Just g give
55:32
me what you think what you think would
55:33
be uh relevant. Uh Matt, you said you
55:37
have artifact lore.
55:38
>> Yeah, I have lore and artifacts because
55:41
uh basically I I have all my skill set
55:44
is smuggling. I try to help people now,
55:46
but for there was a while I just did
55:48
some smuggling because stuff needs to be
55:50
smuggled. Uh but yeah, I'm
55:52
>> Yeah, I'm going to check that out and
55:54
see what we get. Anyone anyone else who
55:56
wants to make a role
55:59
could be a religion role, could be
56:03
just give me something you want to roll
56:05
and we'll we'll take it from that angle.
56:08
>> Uh I think rather than try to recall it
56:09
myself when it looks like Tooth Hug is
56:11
thinking, um I'm going to kind of
56:14
>> Yes.
56:14
>> put a h put a hand very gently on his
56:16
head and just tell him open your mind
56:18
and I'm going to cast a fountain with a
56:21
with a focus point. Uh, Tooth Hug's mind
56:24
is temporarily opened to the Akashic
56:26
record and he gains a bonus to his
56:30
artifact lore equal to my proficiency in
56:32
occultism, which is an additional plus4.
56:36
>> Okay.
56:36
>> Also, Tooth Thug's mind is temporarily
56:38
open to the cosmic repository of all
56:40
knowledge in the multiverse. So, I'll
56:42
let you decide how that affects you.
56:45
>> Uh, for a moment, Tooth Hug is like
56:47
suddenly like, "Yes, it's all so easy.
56:49
It makes perfect sense. How? Why? Why
56:52
don't they all understand that we're all
56:54
friends together? Anyway, it's a 17 on
56:56
the dice plus three plus four. So,
56:59
that's 17 20 24 which I think is it
57:04
should be if it's 10 above the
57:06
difficulty or whatever it's critical
57:07
success otherwise just a success.
57:09
>> Yeah, it's it's definitely a success.
57:11
Um, you know, just from your experience
57:15
smuggling that fairly recently a wreck
57:20
was discovered on the planet of Akaton
57:24
so-called and it was uh a wreck that
57:27
appeared to be first one technology. Now
57:30
Abalon itself has lots of sites that are
57:33
full of ancient first one technology and
57:36
it resembled this this wreck resembled
57:40
that. They call it the wreck of the
57:43
return and anesites in general are very
57:47
curious about what's there because this
57:48
was they fully believe this was built by
57:52
their progenitors, the first ones. And
57:56
um there have been missions to go to the
57:59
wreck and retrieve artifacts and bring
58:02
them back to striving for study at Poly
58:05
Techchnica.
58:06
>> Okay, I will relate that information
58:08
like kind of in a like yes, it all makes
58:11
sense. there's a connection to the art
58:14
and the the rack of the returned and you
58:17
know I continue to do this and as I do
58:18
the slowly the smarter sound or the like
58:22
the musing sound fades away and I start
58:24
speeding back up so it goes from then
58:27
they first of course wanted to
58:28
understand the progenitors because the
58:30
progenitors made them what we doing
58:32
again that was that was interesting yeah
58:35
wreck of the returned uh they they've
58:38
got stuff from it at this at the
58:40
university that tierney was kind a
58:42
consultant that he told me cuz he was
58:45
well he wanted me to help him. He's my
58:47
friend. So I thought about it and I said
58:49
yes. That's it.
58:50
>> All right. Anybody else uh got anything
58:53
relevant on a duck before?
58:55
>> I mean I don't know anything about
58:57
anything. I've only been here for a
58:58
couple of weeks and this is all news to
59:00
me. This all sounds real.
59:01
>> Start somewhere. Got to start somewhere.
59:03
>> All right. So that makes all that that
59:05
makes a lot of sense. Professor was uh
59:08
keen on the first ones. I remember when
59:10
I met him, I made the mistake of doing
59:12
some magic in front of him, which is how
59:13
he noticed me. We started being friends
59:15
after that and he kept talking about the
59:17
first ones and how it was part of the
59:18
grand design and all that other stuff.
59:20
And we know that I mean, we know that he
59:23
was looking into your parents probably
59:24
know this isn't isn't existed. So,
59:26
whoever he whoever he he made somebody
59:29
angry or made somebody scared and they
59:32
didn't they either wanted what he had or
59:34
didn't like what he knew. So, I I look
59:37
at everybody. I'm gonna find who did
59:39
this and I'm gonna give them a really
59:42
long hug with some very sharp teeth.
59:44
Y'all are welcome to come along if you
59:46
want.
59:46
>> Looking at your head going,
59:48
>> I'm sorry. You You're not going to pull
59:51
it off with those, but I'll help you.
59:53
>> I can do the actual hugging. You can
59:55
just explain to them why we're hugging
59:57
them.
59:57
>> And he looks he he looks over at uh uh
1:00:01
Wow, my brain is here. He looks over at
1:00:03
uh at Jadana. you you don't have to cuz
1:00:06
I I mean I know your parents just kind
1:00:08
of dropped you off here. But uh you'll
1:00:10
be real helpful. You you definitely look
1:00:11
like you got some skills that I ain't
1:00:13
got. And uh
1:00:14
>> Well, I mean I'm down I'm down to help.
1:00:17
I'm just very confused by all of this
1:00:18
cuz like I said, my parents literally
1:00:19
just dropped me on this planet and said
1:00:21
go find Tyranny like a couple weeks ago.
1:00:24
>> Yeah. So don't think too hard just cuz I
1:00:28
>> I get I get sucked into thinking
1:00:30
>> I mean I'll give you a little context.
1:00:31
the the the first ones are like the the
1:00:33
progenitors of all things that exist. Uh
1:00:36
they they made all the andesites, they
1:00:37
made all the robots. Uh but they also
1:00:39
were tied up with like magic and and and
1:00:42
creation. And there's this theory,
1:00:45
right, that the professor, he would
1:00:46
explain this to no end. Uh but the
1:00:48
drinks were free, so I'd listen, right?
1:00:50
Uh that everything was connected, that
1:00:53
everything had an origin. We just forgot
1:00:55
what it was. And that included him. And
1:00:58
>> the guy over there who touched my head,
1:01:00
Luna, that's who it is. For a second, I
1:01:02
was one with it.
1:01:03
>> I'm I'm I'm not your progenitor, but
1:01:07
>> No, no, but you're the connection. You
1:01:08
you you know the way to the place, the
1:01:11
record. You I saw
1:01:12
>> I think and maybe that's it. Maybe that
1:01:14
I mean, Professor Nini thought that
1:01:16
everybody, all beings that were of that
1:01:19
creation had a connection to it, even if
1:01:21
we don't know it. That's a real
1:01:22
important thing to a lot of people. Like
1:01:24
that's that's a religious thing for a
1:01:27
lot of people. That's that's the gods.
1:01:29
That's the that's how they were born
1:01:31
into this universe. That's that's
1:01:34
important. A lot of people going to be
1:01:36
uh real real interested in when they
1:01:39
find stuff like that out. Tyranny wanted
1:01:41
to do that for. So, like I said, I'm
1:01:43
going to go hurt somebody who hurt my
1:01:45
friend. And and I don't know. I mean, I
1:01:48
it sounds like y'all are in with me and
1:01:51
look at your down. If I know your
1:01:53
parents, I'm going to make sure you get
1:01:54
back in one piece cuz uh I knew a couple
1:01:56
a couple of uh multi multi people that
1:02:00
uh some some of the the they they were
1:02:02
they were nice to me once, too. I'll
1:02:04
take care of the kid. But uh
1:02:05
>> yeah, that's that's cool. Like I said,
1:02:07
they just told me to find Tyranny, and I
1:02:09
guess like I'm going to have to find who
1:02:11
killed him instead, but I'm down. She
1:02:14
just kind of like shoulders her weapon a
1:02:15
little bit. It's like I'm just better
1:02:17
from the shadows. Well, then you're
1:02:18
going to be our primary tracker then
1:02:20
because it seems like you got them
1:02:21
skills. So, I'm going to work on this
1:02:23
thing. I think I'm going get the I'm I'm
1:02:26
going to take the time. I'mma program
1:02:28
it. I'm going to get it to go back to
1:02:30
send it and I'm going to make it blind
1:02:32
to us if I can. And then I think and he
1:02:34
hands out like little communication
1:02:36
things like little like they look like
1:02:38
the old like Star Trek uh and I mean
1:02:40
like the original series like tube tube
1:02:43
communicators like that they used to
1:02:45
carry with them. We're going old school
1:02:46
on this. Uh, and then he's going to try
1:02:48
to uh reprogram this thing to ignore
1:02:52
this group of people uh and immediately
1:02:55
activate its return home.
1:02:56
>> Okay. Uh, give me a role for hacking or
1:03:00
crafting if you wanted to. You could
1:03:03
probably do that if you
1:03:04
>> I have something I want to do while he's
1:03:05
working on this, but I'll let him do the
1:03:06
roll.
1:03:06
>> Go for it.
1:03:07
>> Assuming this is going to take at least
1:03:09
10 minutes probably. Uh, 12 in the die
1:03:12
plus seven for crafting is 19.
1:03:14
>> Uh, that is a success. You fiddle with
1:03:17
it and you manage to h get in its
1:03:20
programming databases and tell it own
1:03:22
home and also ignore me and my friends.
1:03:25
>> All right,
1:03:26
>> it wobbles back up on its little
1:03:28
hovering thing.
1:03:29
>> Well, hold on because Phil Phil wanted
1:03:30
to do something while programming.
1:03:32
>> Yeah, I since the four of us are at
1:03:35
least for now united in purpose, I want
1:03:37
to try to set up my mystic bond. too.
1:03:40
So, this apparently involves a 10-minute
1:03:42
activity related to my connection that
1:03:44
requires me to be adjacent with the
1:03:45
creatures whom I wish to bond. Um, I'm
1:03:48
not sure what that looks like for the
1:03:49
aosic for the aosic connection. A ritual
1:03:54
related to sharing or ritual related to
1:03:56
knowledge. think this maybe looks like a
1:03:58
combination of doom scrolling and also
1:04:00
just looking everyone up on the network
1:04:04
to just kind of gather knowledge about
1:04:07
uh her local companions which obviously
1:04:08
there's not a whole lot about most of
1:04:10
you
1:04:12
>> scrubbing our socials y'all we're
1:04:13
screwed
1:04:14
>> yeah I was going to say I have the
1:04:16
equivalent of like a like late 90s uh
1:04:20
GoDaddy page or something
1:04:22
>> cities
1:04:25
there's a giant picture of me.
1:04:27
>> Tooth thug has Toot has a MySpace and
1:04:29
his top eight are all food.
1:04:30
>> No, it's Friendster. It's 100% Fster.
1:04:34
>> Yeah, but at the end,
1:04:36
>> I'm Toot.
1:04:38
I'm so glad you found my site.
1:04:43
>> And then it just repeats on loop. I just
1:04:45
auto play music.
1:04:46
>> Yeah, it auto plays like a like a
1:04:48
Skittermander band playing Skitter Jazz,
1:04:51
which is basically just really really
1:04:53
fast jazz. It's just they're like going
1:04:55
as fast as they can while singing
1:04:57
everybody needs a friend sometime. It's
1:04:59
just like what is happening and it
1:05:02
doesn't quite buffer properly.
1:05:05
>> So I'll be like I'll be waving and then
1:05:08
I'll stop and the music will just go
1:05:11
and it just picks up again. Yeah, there
1:05:13
you go. Perfect. friendster
1:05:15
>> and you're you're looking at Jay Donna
1:05:16
who's like ultraconnected and has like
1:05:19
you know YouTube reels of you know space
1:05:21
YouTube reels of like her playing every
1:05:24
shooter that's out there and just wiping
1:05:26
the floor with everybody and then
1:05:27
quitting because it's too boring and
1:05:30
it's just like ultraconnected on every
1:05:32
platform.
1:05:33
>> I'm just like wow you hit platinum in
1:05:35
that. I'm just like quietly muttering to
1:05:38
myself as I'm looking everything up and
1:05:40
>> yeah that took like three days. Wow, I'm
1:05:44
so bad at that game. Hm.
1:05:46
>> And I think Nitpix Nitpix is just an
1:05:48
Instagram of like all these artistic
1:05:50
shots of like black and white trash like
1:05:52
from around like the city. Like that's
1:05:55
really that's really what it is. Like
1:05:56
look like look like the the the golden
1:05:59
hour photos of like this artistic pile
1:06:01
of scrap that he found in like a an
1:06:03
alleyway at some point. Like stuff like
1:06:05
that. Like it's weirdly weirdly artistic
1:06:08
but nothing of substance.
1:06:10
>> Yeah. There's like this there's like
1:06:11
this one you can take with the I forget
1:06:13
what it's called this technique where
1:06:14
you can take pictures using essentially
1:06:16
three different uh like three different
1:06:19
colors and so like if people were in
1:06:22
like if a person is in the shot for one
1:06:23
frame but not in the others you get like
1:06:25
a red ghost of a person. It's really
1:06:27
fascinating. This is the kind of thing
1:06:28
I'm picturing you taking is like these
1:06:30
like multisspectrum photos. Okay. Uh at
1:06:33
the end at the end of this 10 minutes, I
1:06:34
don't think there's any real effect for
1:06:36
you guys, but Lunar now knows basically
1:06:41
your general distance and direction and
1:06:43
whether you're conscious, unconscious,
1:06:45
dying, or dead at all times.
1:06:49
>> This lets me do things like this lets me
1:06:51
do things like heal you. Friendship.
1:06:53
>> If anything is happening to me on that
1:06:55
thing, I imagine is like a little head
1:06:57
of mine pops up. Hi, friend. I'm
1:06:59
bleeding.
1:07:03
Yeah, I think it I think it manifests in
1:07:05
her mind palace as just like a like your
1:07:08
uh just like the the user list at the
1:07:10
side of Discord. Tooth thug statuses are
1:07:13
in all caps.
1:07:14
>> Um
1:07:17
>> uh Lunar, would you give me a perception
1:07:19
check?
1:07:20
>> Uh I'd love find my character sheet
1:07:22
again. I have so many things open.
1:07:24
>> Uh okay, perception
1:07:27
uh 17. So, just while you're searching,
1:07:30
you're looking for information on your
1:07:32
friends and you're kind of looking at
1:07:34
some information on striping. I'm just
1:07:35
going to say while you're while you're
1:07:36
doing the searching, you find out about
1:07:40
um kind of a social media
1:07:45
influencer,
1:07:46
like a kind of
1:07:49
kind of a Kardashian sort of social
1:07:51
media influencer who's been on Striving
1:07:55
uh for a a couple of months hanging out
1:07:58
at Magenta, which is a big casino here.
1:08:02
you you're just kind of scrolling by and
1:08:04
there's there's a lot of buzz around
1:08:06
them. That's VA Vazzy. Oh my gosh. I I
1:08:10
practice trying to say this name and I
1:08:12
still can't.
1:08:13
>> So you you want to spell it instead.
1:08:17
>> I'm gonna say it's Vasiliza
1:08:20
who is a a vest
1:08:22
>> Vas Vaselisa
1:08:25
name.
1:08:26
>> Uh it's V A Z Y L Y Z A. How do you want
1:08:31
to say it?
1:08:32
>> Oh, yeah.
1:08:34
>> Yeah. I was nowhere near right on on
1:08:35
writing that down. So,
1:08:37
>> Well, I'm probably nowhere near right on
1:08:39
saying it, but just while you're going
1:08:41
through social media posting and
1:08:42
information about the area, you you
1:08:44
notice some posts about VA Vasilisa,
1:08:48
who uh uh they like to post pictures of
1:08:52
themselves. They're it's it's a whole
1:08:54
thing. It's a whole thing. They're
1:08:56
they're here in town. They're having a
1:08:59
great time being beautiful. That's
1:09:01
that's what they do.
1:09:02
>> And they were at, you said the Magenta,
1:09:03
which is a casino.
1:09:05
>> Magenta is a casino in the area.
1:09:08
>> Noted. Okay.
1:09:09
>> Ew. Is that Vazzy?
1:09:11
>> Do you do you know them?
1:09:13
>> Tangentally, but ew.
1:09:15
>> Yeah. Apparently, she's in town and uh
1:09:18
mostly posting photos from the magenta.
1:09:20
It's it's it's everywhere. Yeah. People
1:09:23
keep reposting this. I don't know why.
1:09:25
>> Scroll, scroll, scroll. And I think
1:09:27
before the I think before the end of the
1:09:30
uh the episode or the end of the scene,
1:09:32
I think uh this is where uh Nitpick like
1:09:35
stares at the camera and goes, "And this
1:09:36
is what we call foreshadowing."
1:09:41
>> Huh? Who are you talking to?
1:09:44
>> Don't worry about it.
1:09:46
>> Um don't use such big words. I didn't go
1:09:48
to college if
1:09:50
>> it wasn't for that space.
1:09:54
>> Oh boy.
1:09:55
>> Okay. Oh god.
1:09:58
Uh, do
1:09:59
>> I was going to say I think I think we I
1:10:01
think we end with this thing worrying to
1:10:03
life for the for for the first uh first
1:10:05
episode.
1:10:06
>> Yes, you've got it towards
1:10:07
>> looking for food.
1:10:08
>> Yeah. Yeah, there's there's still no
1:10:10
food. I mean, you found miscellaneous
1:10:11
tech parts and uh
1:10:15
nothing nothing that would be editable
1:10:17
edible in a traditional organic sense.
1:10:21
Yeah,
1:10:21
>> I think like out of her pocket Jana
1:10:23
pulls out like or Jada pulls out like
1:10:26
you know a snack bar, some protein
1:10:28
snacks or something. It's like this is
1:10:29
all I got left but you're welcome to
1:10:31
have it.
1:10:32
>> It is now gone from your hand.
1:10:33
>> You are the reason that all you can eat
1:10:35
buffets do not exist on striving.
1:10:37
>> I know. I was so sad when they closed
1:10:40
down the bottomless pit.
1:10:41
>> Pretty sure you are the bottomless pit.
1:10:43
>> They kept saying curse you. Curse you
1:10:46
tooth hug. I was like no I just wanted
1:10:48
to be friend. I had to end up smuggling
1:10:50
them off.
1:10:52
>> Uh, that's going to do it for today's
1:10:54
episode and we will find out what
1:10:56
happens next next time.
1:11:21
Blizzard is made possible due to the
1:11:23
generous contribution of patreon.com/b
1:11:25
blizzardwatch. Your continued support
1:11:27
mean that this site and community is
1:11:28
able to thrive and grow. Blizzard watch
1:11:30
supporters exclusive benefits like early
1:11:32
access to our podcast, a better chance
1:11:34
at having your question answered on our
1:11:35
podcast with you and an ad free site
1:11:36
experience.
1:11:38
Thank you friends. We'll see you next
1:11:40
time.