Just checking if I have the order right for running scenarios for my local group, please met me know if I have the order wrong.
1) #1-00: Claim to Salvation
2) Quest: Into the Unknown
3) #1-01: The Commencement
4) #1-02: Fugitive on the Red Planet
5) #1-03: Yesteryear's Truth
Basically asking where the Quest comes in as the raw #1-XX is very clear.
Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha
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1-00 is a special that uses 4th level pregens. You could run for players and they can apply to a 1st level character per the Guide. Or they could wait and apply it when the characters reach 3rd or 4th level. Story line wise it could be ran anytime.
The others could be run in any order but the way you have them will make the most sense for story line.
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It's also noteworthy that Yesteryear's Truth references Into the Unknown, and the briefing in Fugitive on the Red Planet is written to assume that the team has a few gigs under their belt already.
So basically that order is pretty solid. Yesteryear's Truth is also slightly tougher so it's a good idea to have them at 2nd level.
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Thanks Adder007USA and NiTessine.
I had the feeling my order was a bit off as #1-01 is the introduction of some important NPCs. What threw me off was that Into the Unknown was being used as the introduction scenario at a number of places.
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Into the Unknown is more an introduction to Starfinder and 1-01 is more an introduction to the Starfinder Society. Into the Unknown is also split into 5 episodes, so its run-able as a demo, another reason it likely is run as the introductory scenario. It also has Starship combat because its an intro to the system which 1-01 lacks.
That being said, as the posters above stated when you're talking about continuity it makes sense to play 1-01 first before Into the Unknown.
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Timeline listed in the order in which I believe the events (scenarios and AP) take place, with Justification. 99% spoilers. Also bear in mind that there is no guarantee that any one PC could play all adventures in order for credit. Specifically, just because I believe the quest comes after the AP even though one character could not play it that way does not necessarily invalidate the rationale. SFS is likely to have events across the timeline that no one character could play all of and I think most would recognize that as a physical reality of the system. It would otherwise also prevent backstory scenarios from existing. Without further delay, my timeline interpretation with justifications.
1) 1-00: Claim to Salvation
1-00 is run by random mercenaries hired before the society could rebuild. This takes just a few months after the Scoured Stars incident. Probably before your level 1 is even in training. This is NOT your PC. Yes your PC gets credit at level 4 (not 3 according to RPGG at the time of this posting, but that's a tangential discussion about how this is not PFS) or level 1, but receiving credit is not the same thing as having physically been there.
Justification:1-00: Claim to Salvation pg. 4, Pregenerated characters states
"Unlike other Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild scenarios, this scenario focuses on an event from the Starfinder Society's history."
Furthermore, 1-01: The Commencement, pg 3, para 3 references the use of mercenaries past tense. Para 4 states the use of new recruits as the first wave of graduates taking place after the use of mercenaries.
This is a flashback, whereas the rest of the adventures take place in the present. You just get credit for a level 4 flashback. It is definitively the first scenario in the timeline.
2) Dead Suns Adventure Path: Incident at Absalom Station
The whole premise of this book is that you are on your way to join the Society but some stuff goes down and your contact in the Society gets murdered in a gang shootout. You then go on a mission for the society as mercenaries. The Scoured Stars incident is referenced as a past event. This could technically mean it takes place before or after 1-00: Claim to Salvation, but given that before bringing in recruits Luwazi Elsibo used mercenaries, I believe this is the PCs doing work and deciding to join the Society, thus being right before The Commencement.
3) 1-01: The Commencement
Justification:1-01: The Commencement, pg. 3 para 3 last sentence through para 4 second sentence states:
"Maintaining the Society's interests was too much for the few remaining agents to handle, so Luwazi turned to outside assistance from reputable mercenary organizations. With the Starfinders on the brink of ruin, Luwazi's hopes now rest in the hands of a new generation of recruits and ambitious factions. Today is a momentous occasion for the Society, as it marks the graduation of the first wave of fresh agents from accelerated Starfinder training."
The first sentence of the section Getting Started on page 3 also indicates that the scenario takes place immediately after the aforementioned graduation.
4) Quest 1-1: Into the Unknown
1) The Unbounded Wayfarer (the ship you eventually discover) was launched by the Society before the Scoured Stars incident. It also managed to discover Elytrio (more on this in 1-03 justification) before being chased off by its orbital defense system.
2) You are given information generally not provided to non-society members about Starfinder Insignias, then granted a boon which reinforces the fact that this generally isn't known outside of the society. Any new member of a society would be unlikely to know all of that society's secrets early on. It is likely that they never had time to learn this after graduation or The Commencement and are just now being entrusted with this information because they are, in fact, Starfinder Society members.
3) At no time are the PCs encouraged to join the Society after successfully completing a mission for them.
4) Captain Arvin states that he intends to "put you back to work". With the absence of indication that the PCs are mercenaries under a long-term contract with the Society, he would have no authority to put them back to work unless the PCs were Starfinders.
While mostly derivative, I believe this scenario takes place AFTER 1-01: The Commencement for the aforementioned reasons.
5.x) 1-03: Yesteryear's Truth
This adventure takes place sometime AFTER the quest.
[u]Justification:[/u]1-03: Yesteryear's Truth, pg. 3 second to last para states:
"A Starfinder Society starship briefly charted the ghibrani's home star system, but they were able to obtain only a few samples of orbital satellite data before being driven off by still-active orbital defense drones. The fate of these Starfinders is fully described in Starfinder Society Quest Pack #1: Into the Unknown, in which they were ambushed by space pirates and forced to crash on another uncharted planet in the Vast."
This scenario takes place on Elytrio and the PCs encounter this same orbital defense system.
5.x)1-02: Fugitive on the Red Planet
If you disagree, please provide your justifications, because I'd love to hear them. Thursty, feel free to just set the record straight because I'd rather know than hypothesize, as much fun as it is.
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I agree with your timeline and justification, and its what I've been posting places when people ask as well. I will say that I think for convention sake its probably easiest to say 1-02 then 1-03 for people who ask play order even though as you, imo, correctly state its ambiguous which occurs first.
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I agree with your timeline and justification, and its what I've been posting places when people ask as well. I will say that I think for convention sake its probably easiest to say 1-02 then 1-03 for people who ask play order even though as you, imo, correctly state its ambiguous which occurs first.
I agree with you 100%. I normally do that. Here, however, I wanted to show everything with clear justification first and leave ambiguity for the end.
Venture-Captain, Minnesota
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There is also no slow progression. All this conversation about scenario order is assuming that you are running a single set of characters through.
Once you are doing your secondary characters, maybe getting the evergreens in place is more important than getting a consistent story arc.
Hmm
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Dead Suns 1: Incident at Absalom Station is a great intro to SFS since players are made Starfinder agents in it. The rest of the series ... IMHO take it or leave it, but AP2 ties into SFS 1-15: Save the Renkrodas and SFS 1-18: The Blackmoon Survey loosely ties into AP3.
You should run Aeon Throne (at least the first two books) prior to SFS 1-27: King Xeros of Star Azlant (tier 5-8). Its not a bad idea to have them start with new PCs for this.
I would not run Signal of Screams in society mode.
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Dead Suns 1: Incident at Absalom Station is a great intro to SFS since players are made Starfinder agents in it. The rest of the series ... IMHO take it or leave it, but AP2 ties into SFS 1-15: Save the Renkrodas and SFS 1-18: The Blackmoon Survey loosely ties into AP3.
You should run Aeon Throne (at least the first two books) prior to SFS 1-27: King Xeros of Star Azlant (tier 5-8). Its not a bad idea to have them start with new PCs for this.
I would not run Signal of Screams in society mode.
i was curious about signal more for a chronology type thing.
one of my group members is running dead suns so i was thinking of running society scenarios/ the other paths to provide background/ world building for our current dead suns game.
Chronologically speaking, Signal of Screams "can" take place a little bit after the end of Against the Aeon Throne as one of the tie ins is your friend from Aeon Throne gets your party some invites to a unique spa in Diaspora. As for any other sort of relation to Society's timeline is up in the air.
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If I were to recommend an order for someone trying to 'build a campaign' for a single group of players, it would be thus...
Level 1
Skitter Shot (Great intro to all the rules except for character creation, super fun to play. Let's them 'try before they buy'. Starship combat is at the end, and is optional.)
1-1 The Commencement (Great intro to the Starfinder society, a good 'first scenario' for characters to have under their belt. Repeatable. No starship combat.)
QP 1-1 Into the Unknown (Overall a good intro to the system, though the first starship combat is a slog. Introduces you to a couple of important NPC's, hints at future story arcs.)
Level 2
1-2 Fugitive on the Red Planet (Fun scenario, more character/world building. Very fast to run.)
1-3 Yesteryear's Truth (Also a Fun scenario good RP, but the Starship combat is tricksy. Feeds off of ITU a little. Wayfinders faction.)
1-5 The First Mandate (Important for the overall story. Fun scenario with a lot of RP opportunities. Acquisitives and Second Seekers factions.)
Level 3
1-00 Claim to Salvation (Run this as a sort of 'flashback' to just before your characters joined the society. Important to later story parts. Good chance to try something different for the players.)
1-12 Ashes of Discovery (Scenario doesn't get enough credit for how much fun it is. Repeatable.)
1-9 Live Exploration Extreme!!! (Great scenario that can literally only exist in the world of Starfinder, continuation of 1-00 and 1-5.)
Level 4
1-16 Dreaming of the Future (Super fun scenario. Repeatable.)
1-4 Cries from the Drift (Fun Scenario. Interesting Starship Combat. Ties into later parts of the story. Exo-Guardians Faction.)
1-7 The Solar Sortie (Fun scenario. Starship Combat is at the end and is kind of optional. Ties into later parts of the story. Dataphiles Faction.)
That order hits all of the early scenarios with ties to later scenarios, hits every repeatable except the one coming out at the end of the month, gives a bonus rep for the 5 main factions, and gets you all the way to level 5.
I've more-or-less finalized a road map to include every scenario for my home group, split between two teams (who "crossover" during the two-multi-table events).
First team will reach 10th level (though this requires some slight reworking of two late-game scenarios to fit them in). Second team will be introduced when the first team reaches 6th level, and will go on to have their own subplot, running concurrently with the first team, before wrapping up at 5th level.
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Would you mind sharing this road map?
No problem. The "road map" has evolved slightly since I posted, but here goes. First off, nowadays I treat it as a five-"season" TV series, which will eventually transition into a "movie trilogy" for one group with the Devastation Ark adventure path.
Seasons 1-3 cover The Year of the Scoured Stars; Seasons 4-5 cover The Year of a Thousand Bites.
To keep things simple, I'll just refer to the various parties as Team A, B, and C. (In actual play, we tag them with the name of their starship, so Team A and B are Team Starfish and Team Prominence Burn, respectively.)
At the moment, we've just finished Season One and kicked off Season Two with the introduction of Team B. (Fun note, Team B includes an in-party NPC who entered the campaign as a briefly described NPC rescued by Team A in Season One.) But note that a lot of the decisions as to which scenarios get assigned to which teams involve the personalities and interests of the PCs in those teams. 1-14 became the Season One finale, for example, because Team A's captain is a pop-singer envoy who loves Strawberry Machine Cake, so having that PC get to perform for a massive audience at the end of that adventure and then leveling up immediately resulted in her acquiring the icon's "celebrity" theme ability. But sometimes adventures get booted to the next team simply because there's just no room left for them.
Also, by group decision we've decided that in the "meta" of this campaign, Starfinder field agents generally operate together consistently as teams and have/are assigned their own, individual ship as a home base.
Season One (16 Episodes)
S1E01: Quest: Into the Unknown (Team A, Level 1; PCs are recruits called in on short notice before they officially graduate)
S1E02: 1-01: The Commencement (Team A L1; several elements from this really connected with the players; one PC became a junk racer in his free time; another dated Orsis and had a whole bittersweet relationship arc.)
S1E03: 1-02: Fugitive on the Red Planet (Team A L1)
S1E04: 1-03: Yesteryear's Truth (Team A L2)
S1E05: 1-00: Claim to Salvation (This was treated as a flashback "bottle" episode using iconic pregens just to introduce some setting elements and earn the players a particular boon.)
S1E06: 1-04: Cries from the Drift (Team A L2)
S1E07: 1-05: The First Mandate (Team A L2)
S1E08: 1-10: The Half-Alive Streets (Team A L3)
S1E09: 1-07: The Solar Sortie (Team A L3)
S1E10: 1-09: Live Exploration Extreme (Team A L3)
S1E11: Quest: Dreaming of the Future (Team A L4; PCs rescue an NPC who enters Starfinder training in time to join Team B)
S1E12: 1-11: In Pursuit of the Scoured Past (Team A L4)
S1E13: 1-20: Duskmire Accord 9 (Team A L4)
S1E14: 1-06: A Night in Nightarch (Team A L5; this got tightly woven into one PC's backstory)
S1E15: 1-25: The Beacon Code Dilemma (Team A L5; rewards a *lot* of boons earned earlier.)
S1E16: 1-14: Star Sugar Heartlove!!! (Team A L5)
Season Two (13 Episodes)
Season Two introduces Team B. After two eps in a row with Team B to help the players get comfortable in those roles, the plan is to alternate between the two teams until the crossover finale. Their timelines run in parallel.
Team B doesn't get a Commencement, explained as being because two faction leaders are currently off-station (at the Strawberry Machine Cake concert).
S2E01: 1-12: Ashes of Discovery (Team B L1; note: assign Ulrikka Clanholdings as the hiring organization)
S2E02: 1-28: It Rests Beneath (Team B L1; PCs are introduced to Fitch and the Wayfinders, who become the primary faction they'll interact with)
S2E03: 1-13: On the Trail of History (Team A L6)
S2E04: 1-22: The Protectorate Petition (Team B L1)
S2E05: 1-15: Save the Renkrodas (Team A L6)
S2E06: 1-18: The Blackmoon Survey (Team B L2)
S2E07: 1-21: Yesteryear's Sorrow (Team A L6)
S2E08: 1-32: Acts of Association (Team B L2)
S2E09: 1-17: Reclaiming the Time-Lost Tear (Team A L7)
S2E10: 1-36: Enter the Ashen Asteroid (Team B L2)
S2E11: 1-27: King Xeros of Star Azlant (Team A L7)
S2E12: 1-08: Sanctuary of Drowned Delight (Team B L3)
S2E13: 1-99: Invasion of the Scoured Stars (crossover: Team A L7 & Team B L3; the players earn a boon that will allow Team 3 to begin at 2nd level.)
Season Three (15 episodes)
Team C are assumed to have been neophyte field agents who were trapped in the Scoured Stars, where they earned their peers' respect. They spend this season off-screen convalescing/retraining/on sabbatical before being properly introduced in the crossover finale.
In this season, Team B gets pulled under Jadnura's wing and gets his storyline all to themselves, while Team A sticks to Luwazi Elsebo. Between level limits and continuity, the net really tightens on which teams can run which scenarios.
S3E01: 1-24: Siege of Enlightenment (Team B L3)
S3E02: 1-23: Return to Sender (Team A L8)
S3E03: 1-30: Survivor's Salvation (Team B L4)
S3E04: 1-35: Rasheen's Riches (Team A L8)
S3E05: 1-26: Truth of the Seeker (Team B L4)
S3E06: 1-37: Siege of Civility (Team A L8)
S3E07: 1-33: Data Breach (Team B L4; with the Dataphiles' metaplot being so tightly tied to Team A in this campaign, having to push this off to Team B didn't sit well with me at first; but then later revelations made me realize, "Oooohhhh, no, that makes perfect sense.")
S3E08: 1-29: Honorbound Emissaries (Team A L9)
S3E09: 1-31: Treading History's Folly (Team B L5)
S3E10: 1-38: The Many Minds of Historia (Team A L9; need to bump up the challenge by 1 level)
S3E11: 1-19: To Conquer the Dragon (Team B L5)
S3E12: 2-04: Future's Fall (Team A L9; becomes an ominous portent)
S3E13: 1-34: Heart of the Foe (Team B L5. I plan to run this as a "fake crossover," with the three field teams assembled for the mission being Teams A, B, and C. But Team A's shuttle gets hit hard and has to pull back to base; Team C becomes the NPCs that need rescue.)
S3E14: 1-39: The Herald's War (Team A L10)
S3E15: 2-00: Fate of the Scoured God (crossover event; Team A L 10, Team B L6, Team C L2)
2-00 grants an XP-boosting boon that should go to a new party, but for pacing purposes I will grant to Team A, boosting them to 12th level (4 XP in total, if I read that boon right). On the downside, when the Big Bad of the Thousand Bites launches their multimedia attack on the Starfinder Society, they also focus on Team A personally, dredging up every dirty secret and mercilessly hammering their public reputations into pulp. If I'm successful, my players will likely get angry at me, and will then stay angry and frustrated with the Big Bad. The XP boost covers adventures Team A has off-screen during Season Four, as the Starfinder Society recognizes that they need to keep their best agents way off the public radar for a while. (And all of that is because when it comes to scenarios there's exceptionally thin pickings for PCs of their level in the Year of a Thousand Bites.)
Season Four (14 Episodes)
Okay, now here's where things get tricky. The decision to make the Thousand Bites finale for levels 1-8 automatically knocks Team A out of contention and mercilessly limits how Teams B and C are assigned adventures so they can both squeak in under the wire. This meant that not only does Team A have to be sidelined almost entirely, but Team B has to hit the brakes as well, giving the large majority of Season Five's scenarios to Team C. After much consideration, I've decided to commit to bumping up scenario 3-00 to include 9th-level PCs, taking a lot of pressure off. I will present the "legal" roadmap afterward.
S401: 2-01: Pact World Warriors (Team C L2; getting their solo introduction)
S402: 2-02: Waking the Past (Team B L 6)
S403: 2-03: The Withering World (Team C L2)
S404: 2-10: Corporate Interests (Team B L6)
S405: 2-05: Meeting of Queens (Team C L3)
S406: 2-06: The Stumbling Society I: Sangoro's Lament (Team B L7)
S407: 2-07: Four for the First (Team C L3)
S408: 2-08: The Stumbling Society II: Sangoro's Gifts (Team B L7)
S409: 2-09: Bluerise Breakout (Team C L3)
S410: 2-23: The Edge of Cadascon (Team C L7; must scale this scenario up by 1 level)
S411: 2-13: Storm of the End Times (Team C L4)
S412: 2-12: Colossus Heist (Team B L8)
S413: 2-15: The Infernal Gallery (Team C L4)
S414: 2-14: Data Purge (Team A L12; the original PCs return for the season finale)
Season Five (10 Episodes)
S5E01: 2-16: A Scoured Home (Team B L8)
S5E02: 2-21: Illegal Shipment (Team C L4)
S5E03: 2-22: Rasheen's Reception (Team B L8)
S5E04: 2-11: Descent into Verdant Shadow (Team C L5)
S5E05: 2-18: Forbidden Tides (Team B L9)
S5E06: 2-17: Cost of Living (Team C L5)
S5E07: 2-20: Shades of Spite (Team B L9)
S5E08: 2-19: Truth Keepers (Team C L5)
S5E09: 2-24: Cornered Rat (Team A L12)
S5E10: 3-00: The Last Bite (Team B L9; Team C L6)
Okay, now here's the version of Seasons Four and Five that don't require tinkering 3-00. I don't like this plan nearly as much. In this plan, I leave out 2-15: The Infernal Gallery entirely, though it can be re-inserted for Team C between 2-13 and 2-11.
Alt-Season Four (13 Episodes)
S4E01: 2-01: Pact World Warriors (Team C L2)
S4E02: 2-02: Waking the Past (Team B L6)
S4E03: 2-03: The Withering World (Team C L2)
S4E04: 2-10: Corporate Interests (Team B L6)
S4E05: 2-05: Meeting of Queens (Team C L3)
S4E06: 2-06: The Stumbling Society I: Sangoro's Lament (Team B L7)
S4E07: 2-07: Four for the First (Team C L3)
S4E08: 2-08: The Stumbling Society II: Sangoro's Lament (Team B L7)
S4E09: 2-09: Bluerise Breakout (Team C L3)
S4E10: 2-21: Illegal Shipment (Team C L3)
S4E11: 2-12: Colossus Heist (Team B L7)
S4E12: 2-13: Storm of the End Times (Team C L4)
S4E13: 2-14: Data Purge (Team A L12)
Alt-Season Five (10 Episodes)
S5E01: 2-11: Descent into Verdant Shadow (Team C L4)
S5E02: 2-16: A Scoured Home (Team C L5)
S5E03: 2-18: Forbidden Tides (Team B L8)
S5E04: 2-17: Cost of Living (Team C L5)
S5E05: 2-19: Truth Keepers (Team C L5)
S5E06: 2-20: Shades of Spite (Team B L8)
S5E07: 2-22: Rasheen's Reception (Team C L6)
S5E08: 2-23: The Edge of Cadascon (Team C L6)
S5E09: 2-24: Cornered Rat (Team A L12)
S5E10: 3-00: The Last Bite (Team B L8, Team C L6)
By the end of all this, Team A is still frustrated, denied their chance to personally confront the villain they've been at the forefront of tracking down all along (and who grievously attacked them personally), but then they'll go on to be Big Damn Heroes in the Devastation Ark adventure path, rescuing the Pact Worlds and (very publicly) saving everyone on Absalom Station in particular, closing their rise-fall-rise again arc.
A PC in Team B has connections to Aucturn, so if the players are still up for it in that distant future, we may continue with the high-level Year 3 plot for them. Team C exist entirely in theoretical form for now so mentally this is their whole story as far as I'm concerned. But we'll see!