Starfinder Adventure Path #7: The Reach of Empire (Against the Aeon Throne 1 of 3)

Damn, I cannot really afford to spend $20+ AUD on just a theme. Hope other people enjoy the book though.

Milo v3 wrote:

Is there any player content aside from starships?

There is a colonist theme!

That was a very pleasant surprise when I did my skim read!

A little bit of a complaint I guess?

It references Alien Archives 2 for a very minor part of the set up of the game, which isn't being released until the middle of October...

It'd also be pretty nice to have a picture of Cedona, who all of the players are assumed to of met, somewhere in the first module...

A little bit of a complaint I guess?

It references Alien Archives 2 for a very minor part of the set up of the game, which isn't being released until the middle of October...

It'd also be pretty nice to have a picture of Cedona, who all of the players are assumed to of met, somewhere in the first module...

If you're going to be running this before the second book launches I recommend looking at the product page for book 2 as the android on the front cover is her!

Can somebody answer these questions:

-How much population has "Madelon's Landing"?
-What kinds of Atzlanti starships are in the article?

Thank you!

Can somebody answer these questions:

-How much population has "Madelon's Landing"?
-What kinds of Atzlanti starships are in the article?

Thank you!

Population of Madelon's Landing:

Azlanti Ships:

Those shorter adventure paths send me one message, which is that the developers have no confidence in the high level play of their new edition. I'd love to see them actually do a full six part adventure path which goes to level 17 or 18, because it is a system I want to try out. But my group and myself have no interest in just going to level 12 or 14, even if it is a full six part AP. Three part adventure paths don't even enter the equation for my guys.

Or I would be happy if they did a series of 3 or 4 3-part adventures that took the party all the way from 1st to 20th levels. As I recall, Dead Suns and the two combined 3-part adventures that followed it both covered the same level range (as the 2nd 3-part adventure started at the level where the 1st one ended).

Amongst other things, I really like the flying gelatious cube creature, the monkey, and mystic ship weaponry. The drones sound cool but I'll need to reread the rule as it's confusing. I'm only half way through deadsuns so this AP is still far off for me.

Or I would be happy if they did a series of 3 or 4 3-part adventures that took the party all the way from 1st to 20th levels. As I recall, Dead Suns and the two combined 3-part adventures that followed it both covered the same level range (as the 2nd 3-part adventure started at the level where the 1st one ended).

As long as there would be an (optional for people who only want to get one trilogy) hook to connect the three-parters as a continuous story, I would be eminently okay with that.

I love this adventure path so far but my biggest complaint is the maps. The maps for this adventure path are particularly bad for converting to a VTT like Roll20. Not only are they more of a pain than usual to extract they are ridiculously small once you try to separate them all to use on their own.

Why they dont simply offer a map pack.. or place these in a more usable scale at the back of the adventure ill never know. Please consider doing something like this. I would gladly pay extra for the convenience. I subscribe for one reason only and that is to get the free PDF. I get the pdfs because they are the one way I can easily convert this stuff for use with Roll20 but this particular one is hardly friendly to that sort of use.

There is a growing market of us who primarily game through VTTs please keep us in mind when designing these things or at the very least offer us a product to use with that in mind.

My first ever AP purchase during publishing.

This feels like a wild and bold decision but the concept here and the shorter length have me feeling like taking the plunge here!

Very excited to try this out (even if its going to be a real challenge to convert to VTT)

Can I suggest - if not including a code for a digital copy of the AP in the physical product, then perhaps a code for accessing things like pictures and maps in a clean state? Those would go a long way for me.

EDIT: I realize you do this for subscribers and I may go ahead and subscribe to the next two parts for exactly this reason, but I usually prefer to buy from FLGS when possible and its a bummer that I would need to essentially buy the product twice if I want a digital copy to complement the physical.

Those shorter adventure paths send me one message, which is that the developers have no confidence in the high level play of their new edition. I'd love to see them actually do a full six part adventure path which goes to level 17 or 18, because it is a system I want to try out. But my group and myself have no interest in just going to level 12 or 14, even if it is a full six part AP. Three part adventure paths don't even enter the equation for my guys.

Developers have said more than once the reason why they don't publish more higher level adventures is because people just prefer low to mid level adventures.

As for this product, I will say I very much enjoyed the first book. It is quite clear that they've learned a thing or two about balancing combats from Dead Suns as they feel challenging without being overwhelming. The Starship combats included here don't feel tacked on in the least and have a very important role in the narrative. The story is easy enough to follow for someone like me who doesn't really follow the lore very closely.

On the negative side, I would have liked to have a map for the Starship Combat with Nakondis on the background. The combat against the midbook boss is a bit undewhelming as a solo encounter and some of the fetch quests to "Gain Trust" seem a bit menial.

Overall I highly recomend this

Could anyone with this book give some information on the Endiffians? What sort of creatures are they?

Could anyone with this book give some information on the Endiffians? What sort of creatures are they?

Most of the information about them can be found on StarfinderWiki.

Those shorter adventure paths send me one message, which is that the developers have no confidence in the high level play of their new edition. I'd love to see them actually do a full six part adventure path which goes to level 17 or 18, because it is a system I want to try out. But my group and myself have no interest in just going to level 12 or 14, even if it is a full six part AP. Three part adventure paths don't even enter the equation for my guys.

Unless I'm mistaken.. the next 3 part path will be the high level play. Nothing was lost.

magnuskn wrote:

Those shorter adventure paths send me one message, which is that the developers have no confidence in the high level play of their new edition. I'd love to see them actually do a full six part adventure path which goes to level 17 or 18, because it is a system I want to try out. But my group and myself have no interest in just going to level 12 or 14, even if it is a full six part AP. Three part adventure paths don't even enter the equation for my guys.

Unless I'm mistaken.. the next 3 part path will be the high level play. Nothing was lost.

If that were the case, I'd like to read the announcement about that somewhere, since I would not be averse to getting all nine parts, then.

There are only two successive three-part adventure paths, with the second one (Signal of Screams) starting at 7th level. The next adventure path after that one has six parts and presumably starts at 1st level.

While I said earlier that I would very much like to see more than two three-part adventure paths strung together to make a possible campaign from 1st to 20th level, nobody at Paizo has to date announced such a thing.

There are only two successive three-part adventure paths, with the second one (Signal of Screams) starting at 7th level. The next adventure path after that one has six parts and presumably starts at 1st level.

While I said earlier that I would very much like to see more than two three-part adventure paths strung together to make a possible campaign from 1st to 20th level, nobody at Paizo has to date announced such a thing.

Thanks, that was the info I had as well.

If Paizo ever gets to do a proper high-level Starfinder adventure path, then I'll bite. If they don't... well, that makes me think that they don't trust their high-level gameplay to hold up and why should I go out on a limb then and do their playtesting for them?

High-level adventures (and Adventure Paths) tend to sell fewer copies than lower-level ones. As a result, we produce fewer high-level adventures.

One reason we're starting Signal of Screams at a higher level than usual for APs (7th level instead of 1st level) is to experiment with the AP format and see if people are interested in buying APs that start at higher levels. If Signal of Screams does well (i.e., there's a strong market for higher-level campaigns), we may look at more higher-level APs. If not, then we're unlikely to do so.

Lower-level adventures have everything to do with economics, and nothing to do with a lack of confidence in our rules.

As far as i am concerned, Starfinder seems to flow much better at higher levels than Pathfinder.

As a GM, it becomes very exhausting to prepare encounters of higher levels and you forget to use something every session.

This doesn't seem to be a problem with Starfinder yet (we're at level 6).

Personally i love Dead Suns & Against the Aeon Throne part #1, but Signal of Screams sounds great too.
I am not (yet) excited for "Dawn of Flame", but i would love the 5th Starfinder AP to be a three-parter starting at level 13, so the Dead Suns or Signal of Screams characters can be continued to be played to level 19 or 20. :-)

High-level adventures (and Adventure Paths) tend to sell fewer copies than lower-level ones. As a result, we produce fewer high-level adventures.

One reason we're starting Signal of Screams at a higher level than usual for APs (7th level instead of 1st level) is to experiment with the AP format and see if people are interested in buying APs that start at higher levels. If Signal of Screams does well (i.e., there's a strong market for higher-level campaigns), we may look at more higher-level APs. If not, then we're unlikely to do so.

Lower-level adventures have everything to do with economics, and nothing to do with a lack of confidence in our rules.

Typing this on my phone, so I will try to be brief.

But if no one is willing to buy an AP starting at 7th (or the sales are more like a 4th book of an AP), it is strong evidence that you and your group are in the minority, and the economics for an AP starting at 13+ just won't pencil out. This is a business, not your privately commissioned writing staff, and you may not be in their primary (profitable) audience.

Another consideration is that 7-9 is where the current Society play maxes out, due to a relatively new system, and a need to provide low level material to have something to encourage new players. APs are being sanctioned MUCH more rapidly than has historically been the case for PFS (we have sanctioning documents for the next book as well as the one just coming out),and SFS players looking for new material are more likely to buy at 7th, where they can apply Chronicles immediately, than 13th, where they don’t have a character available.

<shrug> Then what's the point of including high levels in These rules at all, if the devs are not willing to write for them?

<shrug> Then what's the point of including high levels in These rules at all, if the devs are not willing to write for them?

Homebrew.

Also, Pathfinder is only now getting it's very first AP that goes from level 1-20 at the end of it's life cycle.
I imagine it's impossible to get to level 20 when you have only 6 books with 64 pages & one advancement track, so i guess they have to do APs which start at a higher level.

I want to continue playing my Dead Suns character beyond level 13 (we're level 6 now in book #3), but that campaign will be finished at the end of the year if everything stays as it is.
Starfinder is 13 months old, give it some time. ;-)

I was more talking about levels 17 of 18, which plenty of AP's have done. And reaching level 20 is only a question of getting enough XP, which Starfinder, as a brand-new system, should have been built for in the first place.

I was more talking about levels 17 of 18, which plenty of AP's have done. And reaching level 20 is only a question of getting enough XP, which Starfinder, as a brand-new system, should have been built for in the first place.

Where i agree with you is this:

That is too much low level content.
It's good that "SoS" starts at level 7, but it would be better if AP #4 would start at level 11, 12 or 13 and not again at level 1.
Otherwise, as you have said, there is no way to playtest higher levels than 13 with official content.
Starfinder Society will not reach levels that high soon, if ever.
AP #5 HAS to start at a higher level, especially if it is another "short AP".

There are not many people (yet) which have played through the entire "Dead Suns" AP, but i imagine once there are, there will be a significant demand for higher level APs.

<shrug> Then what's the point of including high levels in These rules at all, if the devs are not willing to write for them?

Because the number of people whose homegrown games reach high levels is apparently higher than the number of people whose games ran off premade adventures reach high levels.

magnuskn wrote:

<shrug> Then what's the point of including high levels in These rules at all, if the devs are not willing to write for them?

Because the number of people whose homegrown games reach high levels is apparently higher than the number of people whose games ran off premade adventures reach high levels.

A fair point.

Damn, I cannot really afford to spend $20+ AUD on just a theme. Hope other people enjoy the book though.

Colonist Theme:

High-level adventures (and Adventure Paths) tend to sell fewer copies than lower-level ones. As a result, we produce fewer high-level adventures.

One reason we're starting Signal of Screams at a higher level than usual for APs (7th level instead of 1st level) is to experiment with the AP format and see if people are interested in buying APs that start at higher levels. If Signal of Screams does well (i.e., there's a strong market for higher-level campaigns), we may look at more higher-level APs. If not, then we're unlikely to do so.

Lower-level adventures have everything to do with economics, and nothing to do with a lack of confidence in our rules.

I understand this post doesn't directly relate to the thread topic but this is the message I need to reply to so apologies in advance to the moderation team...

Anyway, I'm hoping you might be able to answer this Rob. I'm very interested in high-level (level 15+) content for Starfinder but I'm not so interested in the genre of the next adventure path. How else can I show my interest and support in high-level content without purchasing an adventure path I'm likely not going to use?

Very good question, Sharrakor.

I guess Paizo HAS to produce an AP which covers higher levels than 12 after "Dawn of Flame", because it is impossible to reach a higher level with a standard 6 book AP of 64 pages and one advancement track if you start at 1st level, without making it either very combat-heavy or changing the format to have fewer pages of articles.

As it is now, all AP volumes conclude their story on page 35 or 37 & have 16 pages of variable content, 8 pages of Alien Archives & 1 page each for the codex of worlds, open game license and advertisement.

So theoretically it is possible to make an AP which reaches higher levels than 13 by only using creatures from the two Alien Archives hardcovers and reducing articles.

If you reduce the additional content from 25 to 12 pages & lenghten the adventure 13 pages, characters could advance one additional level per volume, bringing them to level 19 instead of 13 at the end of the campaign.

That would be a possible solution to test higher level play without having to start an AP at higher levels than 1st.

What do you other Starfinder players think: higher level start APs or longer adventure content at the cost of less additional content (like it is the case with "Pathfinder AP: Return of the Runelords")?

They could produce a one off module at level thirteen. That could act as a sequel to Dead Suns, Signal of Screams and Dawn of Flame for those who want to continue playing into the higher levels, plus it would test the waters and see if there’s a significant market for high level content.

We’ve just hit fifteenth level in our game (we never made it that far in PF) and it seems to run pretty smoothly. We’re starting to run into the autofailorsucceed skill problem. Combat is working fine though.

As someone who is interested in running Starfinder if the devs would give out at least one real high-level AP, the latter idea seems the best.

They could produce a one off module at level thirteen. That could act as a sequel to Dead Suns, Signal of Screams and Dawn of Flame for those who want to continue playing into the higher levels, plus it would test the waters and see if there’s a significant market for high level content.

We’ve just hit fifteenth level in our game (we never made it that far in PF) and it seems to run pretty smoothly. We’re starting to run into the autofailorsucceed skill problem. Combat is working fine though.

While i'd instantly buy a stand-alone module of higher level, i don't think Paizo will do one in the immedeate future and focus the resources on the AP line.

I hope that Signal of Screams will sell well enough to warrant a higher level AP.

Thank you for the info about gameplay up to 15th level, Steve!

The auto-success/fail thing is something that already happens a lot in our 6th level game, but it's very good to know that the combat holds up. :-)

Are you playing a homebrew adventure?
There are not a lot of high CR creatures in the Alien Archive, did you create your own?

Yeah, more info on high level play, please. :)

So, I submitted my review of Reach of Empire. I like the shorter APs immensely, even if I had structure and story problems with RoE.

This AP installment marked the beginning of my 2nd Starfinder campaign and 1st Starfinder AP. I even created a Star Wars style opening crawl to kick things off!

Starfinder continues to be a huge crowd pleaser for my players, with every excited to try out their particular species/class combo. The game just runs very smoothly and is straight-up fun to play.

I'm glad Starfinder AP installments are now monthly but I really think the page count needs to rise on par with PF AP installments. There were a lot of missed opportunities in this adventure that I believe are probably due to page count restriction more than the adventure writing.

While I think Paizo is doing a really good job of balancing personal/on-the-'ground' and starship adventuring, I really wish vehicles would get some attention. Reach of Empire sends a strong Endor vibe and it just seemed like a huge oversight not having some kind of speeder chase/combat in the game. Also, the presence of starships and vehicles means the reach of the players is much greater than your typical FRPG (esp. at low levels) and adventure design should account for that.

All in all, though. I really like the premise/plot of this AP overall and hope these shorter APs become more prevalent.

In case anyone's interested, here's the opening crawl that I used at Star Wars Intro Creator.

Somewhere, across time and space...

STARFINDER

AGAINST THE AEON THRONE

PART 1: THE REACH OF EMPIRE

It is a turbulent time in the galaxy.

The loose alliance of the PACT WORLDS drives interstellar expansion for dozens of species throughout the galaxy. New colonies are established across NEAR SPACE and THE VAST by pioneers, pilgrims, research teams, and corporations. Many seek a life of adventure among the stars.

One such starship crew races through THE DRIFT on a mission to transport supplies to a colony on the mist-shrouded forest world of NAKONDIS. There, they also hope to meet up with CEDONA, an old friend.

Unbeknownst to the crew, the evil AZLANTI STAR EMPIRE has arrived in the system and mercilessly occupied the colony. Unless the crew can overthrow the Azlanti occupation force, the invaders’ mysterious mission may spell doom for the galaxy...

Cool!

Can you scale this AP up for 5 or 6 ppl?

Sure, just add more guys to each encounter.