2.4 The Drill

Overview

After taking the launch cannon over from the mining camp, the party lands on the control apparatus of a drill adjacent to The Inverted Spire. They drop down into the main control area where a minimal Cabal crew awaits them. Investigating the computers on the ground, the party locates the Inverted Spire site close by, as well as information about a powerful Vex discovered in the site. In order to reach the site, the party needs to figure out a way to cross another chasm to the actual Spire dig site. There are more launch cannons along the perimeter of the control deck, but are not aligned to transfer to the Spire site. Bahr'Toran makes contact and informs them that the Red Legion crew is moving to intercept them, and there should be a way to realign the launch cannons. The party may do so, either by pushing the cannons into place or by allowing a hack to move them mechanically. After launching across the chasm to the Inverted Spire dig site, the party must navigate the active drill to enter the actual spire below.

Encounter

Environment

Control Deck

The control deck has two areas, a landing platform from the launch cannon over and then the actual control area below. To navigate from the landing platform to the control area, the players must survive a 40-foot freefall. For them to maintain their proprioception and successfully use their jump ability to avoid damage, they must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. On the control deck the party finds a control panel, a large computer interface, and two launch cannons along the perimeter. The computer interface can be hacked, as can the control panel. The launch cannons are attached to a mechanism that allows them to rotate around the circumference of the deck.


To transition from the control deck to the drill site, the party must reorient the launch cannon to point in the direction of the Inverted Spire while under duress of the pursuing drill crew. There are 2 ways to do this:

1. Hacking the control panel. This method is the safest and easiest, requiring only one roll to hack into the control panel. The downside of doing this is that it requires the party to wait for the launch cannon mechanism to rotate into position. This takes 5 turns total, and can be interrupted by the drill crew with a counter-hack. Restarting the process following these counter-hacks does not require a repeated Intelligence (Technology) check.
2. Manually aligning the launch cannon. This is the faster, but more risky option. The launch cannons also have manual alignment mechanisms that the party can manipulate to move the cannons themselves. This method only takes 3 turns and mandates a DC 17 Strength (Athletics) skill challenge as an Action from the single character interacting with it until completion. The manual mechanisms are made for the much more physically robust Cabal and want to spring back into their original position. Failing one of these checks will forcibly reset the launch cannon back one position, and deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to the player operating it.

Drill Site

The drill site, once accessed, is comprised of a landing area and then the excavation zone. The landing area is little more than a starting zone for the party to orient themselves after launching from the control deck. From the landing area, the party can see a cave entrance with distinct Vex computational architecture. The excavation zone is a highly dangerous live drill grinding through Nessus, and in order to enter the Inverted Spire, the party needs to pass through the excavation zone. There is no combat in this zone, but the party will still move in turns alphabetically by character name. The party must move between two layers of the excavation site while traveling to the entrance to the Spire, avoiding drill arms along the way.


The players move through the drill site at a speed of one square per turn, unless the players chose to Dash. Due to the turbulent environment, Dashing more than two turns in a row may cause players to lose footing. To see if they lose their footing, they must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a success, they keep their footing but are unable to Dash on their next turn. On a failure, the ground shifts beneath their feet and they stumble, falling prone. They must spend their next turn standing up. Switching between the two layers of excavation requires the use of a Dash action.


At the beginning of each round, all drill arms advance on their respective layers. The drill arms move at a rate of 3 squares per turn and have a total of 12 squares between each drill arm on a given layer. If a player is hit by a drill arm, they instantly take 20d6 bludgeoning damage and 20d6 slashing damage. Their Ghost may capture their light and attempt to revive them on their next turn in the initiative.

Enemies

The control deck is manned by 2 Psions and 1 Legionary that will greet the players when they arrive. While realigning the launch cannons, a series of enemies will trickle into the arena until the party completes their task. These enemies appear in groups of 3 at the start of each turn, gradually becoming more difficult to encourage them to move on as soon as possible.

Discoverable Information

If the party chooses to investigate the computer table on the control deck, they can discover information about the Inverted Spire.

• Hack DC 10: The Spire is a cavern underneath the adjacent drill site. This can help ensure for the party that they 
• Hack DC 10: This cavern houses a large Vex frame. A diagram of the Vex frame can be viewed as well.
• Hack DC 10: The Vex appear to have modified this frame to channel several different forms of energy.
• Hack DC 15: The cavern descends nearly a kilometer into the planet with a constantly shifting number of chambers. (Discovering this gives the party Advantage on Protheon's Acrobatics checks in the next encounter). 

Rewards

These rewards can be scavenged from the control deck before beginning the launch cannon process.

• 720 glimmer
• 4 Quality plasteel
• 1 Shotgun (Precision Frame)

Parent Plot

2. Inverted Spire