I don't suppose you'd allow somebody who's running a game of Threefold Conspiracy to come along?
I know there are some big bombshells that're pretty key to the story, but I'm willing to take a role that'll allow others to take the lead on investigation.
I don't suppose you'd allow somebody who's running a game of Threefold Conspiracy to come along?
** spoiler omitted **
Simeon, you may feel free to make a submission. I will keep your unique situation in mind should you be chosen.
That is some interesting work there, Ragi. I have been surprised as well to see so many humans. I thought I was the only one who favored them. I guess that extra feat and extra skill points is a big deal.
I think we can more readily identify with humans as well. It's easier to role play Han Solo or Captain Kirk among a sea of aliens as opposed to the other way around.
I think your point about being able to identify more easily with a human character is well taken. I'm less sure that the feat and skill points are that important. (Don't get me wrong, I have a human entered here -- and I do love the feat and particularly the skill points.)
Another consideration is that if we're playing for Starfinder credit, don't we have to own the books? That would limit many people's choices.
I can vouch for The Ragi's penchant for helpful lists.
Maybe I should make John a ysoki…
Thanks for the update GM. I hope I get picked! But if not, thanks for the opportunity and I'm sure we'll have some other games together somewhere down the line.
I suppose theoretically you do need to own the books. I would not want to skirt any rules.
As far as skill points and that extra feat, I have always found that it was easier to shape my character RIGHT AWAY at first level by using that feat. I have two Society characters who are human, and another one that I am using in an AP. With another feat, I always felt like I could reach my vision for the character sooner.
I considered humam but I always find it to be too vanilla when there are 100+ alien races xD
I admit that Elf isn't the most original choice but I wanted to try something from the COM n.n
I always find that interesting. I tend to play races that are just slightly different flavors of human in there.
At my tables we joke that each time we do a champaign its "Oops no humans".
I just like the flavor you can get from all the different races out there. I do have a hard time with the fully not humanoid races though. I would have to try even harder to put myself into character.
Love seeing the characters out there. I am curious about the lack of Witchwarper. Is it not considered good? I have not delved into the class, but it seemed pretty fun and flavorful.
I played the Iconic Witchwarper in a couple of SFS scenarios and had a blast coming up with creative causes for the alternative realities my character kept generating.
|
I suppose I should throw my guy up.
I should note that I have several other character ideas running around in my head and that if the party needs a healer or a frontline soldier I am willing to switch to those rolls.
Name: Beauregard Truthpelt
Race: Nuar
Class: Witchwarper
Gender and Pronouns: He/Him
General Backstory: Beauregard grew up on Akiton as one of the few Nuar there. After serving in the war between the Pact Worlds and Veskarium vs. the swarm, he retired back to Akiton where he opened a small business as a private investigator.
He didn't make a lot of money, just enough to get by in fact. But that all changed one day when he got a call from the Institute for Extraordinary Minds. One of their students had activated a strange inter-dimensional device that had resulted in the loss of three students and then the ringleader ran away, and the Institute was hiring private eyes to find him. While Beauregard was getting the rundown at the Institute, they reactivated the ringleader's device to try and retrieve their lost students, only something went wrong.
When Beauregard woke up, he found that he had begun to hear voices that weren't there and see fragments of images. He thought he was loosing his mind at first, but the people at the institute told him that when the device overloaded, it had somehow 'opened his third eye,' and made him a witchwarper too. Angry, confused, and now with newfound powers, Beauregard has recently taken to using his new abilities to help him on cases. He eventually turned down the case to find the kid who made the device, but has recently come back from an excursion to nearspace on a job, and is looking forward to getting home and taking a few local cases on Akiton.
Personality: Beauregard is gruff and comes off as uncaring, but actually has a big heart. He's fairly analytical, and likes to switch between being detail oriented, and a guy who looks at the 'bigger picture.'
Flaw(s): Recent Events have left Beauregard more surly than ever, as he views his new witchwarper 'powers' as a hindrance sometimes because he has trouble sorting out his reality from neighboring realities from time to time.
Quirk(s): There are a set of realities that Beauregard gets a peak at more often than most. They are cold, black-and-white realities where people talk very dramatically and with odd accents, and their clothing styles are bland and feature long coats and suits. This has started to subtly influence Beauregard as well and he has started to take on these quirks.
Serious question for any GM's following this thread: I briefly considered creating a second table for this adventure, but I simply don't have the bandwidth to do a good job with two tables. It wouldn't be fair to the players.
Would anyone like to step up to GM and collaborate picking players with me for an additional table? There are several fine submissions, most with excellent posting history. Honestly, I could see even THREE excellent games being chosen from this group of players.
I am ending submissions on Friday.
Serious question for any GM's following this thread:
Would anyone like to step up to GM and collaborate picking players with me for an additional table? There are several fine submissions, most with excellent posting history. Honestly, I could see even THREE excellent games being chosen from this group of players.
I considered something like that, but I admit that I'd much rather play it before running it. (Same thing I do with Society scenarios)
Presenting Aygavan Salmain, former specialist, psychic reality-bender, and broken man!
Aygavan Salmain
Chaotic Good Male Human Witchwarper
Init +2 Perception +0
____________________________________
Defense
____________________________________
EAC 13 KAC 14
SP 5 HP 10 RP 5
Fort +0 Ref +4 Will +0
____________________________________
Offense
____________________________________
Melee: Survival Knife +2 (1d4)
Ranged: Azimuth Laser Pistol +2 (1d4 F)
____________________________________
Statistics
____________________________________
Str 10 Dex 14 Con 10 Int 11 Wis 10 Cha 18
Base Attk: +0
Feats: Spell Focus, Skill Synergy
Theme: Esper
Skills
ACROBATICS* (DEX) +2 ( 0 ranks, +2 ability)
BLUFF (CHA) +10 (1 rank, +3 class bonus, +4 ability, +2 feat)
DIPLOMACY(CHA) +8 (1 rank, +3 class bonus, +4 ability)
INTIMIDATE (CHA) +8 (1 rank, +3 class bonus, +4 ability)
MYSTICISM (WIS) +7 (1 rank, +3 class bonus, +1 theme, +2 feat)
PERCEPTION (WIS) +0
PILOTING (DEX) +2 (+2 ability)
Languages: Common
Gear:
Azimuth Laser Pistol
Second Skin (L)
Survival Knife(L)
Battery x2 (-)
Personal Comms Unit (1)
Hygeine Kit (1)
Backpack (1)
____________________________________
Spells
____________________________________
Level 0
Churn Fluid
Hazard
Psychokinetic Hand
Token Spell
Level 1 (3/day)
Ectoplasmic Barrage
Shifting Surge
____________________________________
Abilities
____________________________________
Infinite Worlds:
Standard Action to spend spell slots to create effects, range 110 feet, 10 foot burst
Environmental:
Difficult Terrain (1st): Cause one type of movement to be affected by difficult terrain
Instantaneous:
Bright Flash: Each creature within the area must succeed at a fort save or be dazzled for 1 round/witchwarper level. Nat 1 also results in blindness for 1 round
____________________________________
Theme (Esper):
____________________________________
Theme Knowledge: Reduce the DC by 5 for Culture, Life Science, or Mysticism checks to identify creatures or opponents with psychic or magical abilities
From even a young age, Aygavan was exceptional. A child prodigy, he was able to exercise minor psychic abilities starting when he could walk, wreaking havoc in his family’s flat on Absalom Station with his burgeoning telekinetic powers and ability to change liquid and material compositions of mundane items. He was enrolled in a specialized academy for psychic individuals, and his talents grew. He was designated a class 4 reality bender, with great potential but currently limited ability. He also displayed talents with small arms and a keen mind for mystical studies.
Upon graduation he was contacted by a group of psionic specialists calling themselves the Psi Corps. They combatted supernatural threats using their psychic powers, protecting the defenseless from dark and terrible forces. Aygavan took to his training with gusto. The academy was calm, safe, and supportive. Aygavan was bored with that. The Psi Corps gave him risk and challenge. It pushed him to improve his skills, both mystical and mundane. Though nowhere near the world-unmaking skill of the elite members of the corps, his skills were promising, and with his considerable charm he managed to secure an assignment.
An asteroid mine in Near Space had recently stopped sending communications to HQ, and the presence of a mysterious obelisk discovered the week prior suggested that supernatural forces might have been at work. The mine was a horror show, miners dead at their posts with expressions of sheer terror plastered on their faces. Wisps of dark vapor filled the dark and claustrophobic tunnels of the mine as they ventured deeper. They found nothing but terrified bodies and silence.
In the obelisk chamber they found...something. They found whatever had killed the miners. Or more accurately, it had found them. Despite their potent combat and psychic abilities, the entity hunted the squad down and killed them, draining their life force before Aygavan’s eyes.
Aygavan had been trained to fight until the end. Their abilities were too valuable to fall into the wrong hands. Aygavan, however, was not the perfect soldier. He fled, leaving the mine and that deep and unknowable horror behind. Leaving behind his squad, his calling, and his future.
He was broken, wracked with nightmares of stifling, silent darkness. His psychic powers, once potent, were unstable and greatly diminished. His combat skills and battle telepathy were stunted. Each pull of the trigger brought back memories of that...thing.
Aygavan became a drifter, taking odd jobs in whatever wretched starbase was cheap enough for him to crash at for as few credits as possible. A few months later he found himself at Legacy Station, waiting for a ship to Absalom Station. He didn’t know what he intended to find there, but anything would have been better than the dark spiral he found himself in.
Aygavan is a human man in his mid twenties. Having sold off his Psi Corps combat gear, he carries the cheapest weapons and armor he could find, being a laser pistol and a set of second skin armor. His head is shaved, and he wears a bomber jacket over a set of coveralls, along with a pair of welding goggles. Few would suspect a down-on-his-luck mechanic to be a former psionic specialist, and that’s just the way Aygavan likes it.
Aygavan, or Ayg to those he knows well, is a good-natured but unpredictable man. Though he rarely intends malice or pain, his abilities are inherently unstable and can have unintended consequences. When he is able to keep his eccentricities in check, he is an exceptionally charismatic man with sophisticated intrapersonal skills, but his deteriorating mental state has eroded much of his past confidence. Much of his trained combat knowledge has been lost, either to trauma from the massacre or the drugs and alcohol he began to heavily partake in after it. Despite all his pain and difficulties, Aygavan still wants to be a good person, to protect the innocent from the unknowable horrors that lurk beyond common perception. This goal is what keeps him sane, and he will leap with an almost suicidal enthusiasm at danger.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Getting a nice feeling for the direction I am going to go.
Of course I will continue to consider any last minute submissions.
Things close up on May 1st, decisions on May 2nd.
Thank you again for giving me such great submissions. I am feeling terrible that there isn't a way for all of you to participate.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Thank you for GMing and the Opportunity.
As a GM, I am somewhat tempted to help out with the amount of players. I was likely going to spin up a new game soon, but I think I was going to go with PF2. I really want to play, so I am going to resist stepping up to offer to GM another table.
It's been great seeing all the submissions.
Good luck everyone!
I suppose theoretically you do need to own the books. I would not want to skirt any rules.
As far as skill points and that extra feat, I have always found that it was easier to shape my character RIGHT AWAY at first level by using that feat. I have two Society characters who are human, and another one that I am using in an AP. With another feat, I always felt like I could reach my vision for the character sooner.
That's a good point. I often feel my first level characters are only halfway to where I really wanted them to start. The extra feat and skills can help ameliorate that condition.
Erkem's point about his non-human PCs having humans [wrapped] inside there has often been my experience as well. It is difficult to roleplay a truly alien mindset.
Perhaps that's why my nonhuman PCS are likely to be androids and lashunta more than some of the other SF species. They seem more like modified humans.
I enjoy playing Humans, so they are most of my characters.
I tend towards humans or half-races in Pathfinder, but somehow, I don't feel as compelled to do that in Starfinder. Maybe my brain processes 'alien living on a human space station' differently than 'elf living in a human city'. I find the idea of a planet or ship designed for a Kasatha or Vesk more compelling than a city designed for dwarves.
I run the gamut for races in Starfinder, but usually play humans in Pathfinder. I chose to make a human because I knew I would want to run Del in this AP, but only after I started making other characters of different lineages.
Del is... special
Gender/Race/Class: Female halfling envoy w/ expertise in Medicine, likely taking a dip in biohacker in the near future
Theme: Battle medic
General Backstory: Born in the Drift to a family of long-haul freighters and traders, little Lilly set foot on a dozen worlds under a dozen stars before she even learned to walk. Ever curious (and burdened with sticky fingers), she frequently found herself in hot water with the locals, which taught her the value of charm, wit, and bold-faced lies.
Frustrated with the limited opportunities available to the sixth child of a cargo freighter family, Lilly decided she would attend medical school. When her lack of academic credentials became an issue, she "acquired" the appropriate paperwork, and in short order the ambitious halfling was attending lectures at an esteemed Castrovelian university. By-in-large, Lilly succeeded in the challenging academic environment, but after four years of intensive study she grew impatient, and she signed up to take her final exams two years ahead of schedule. Faced with this impossible task, she took the only option she felt she had, concocting an elaborate scheme to obtain the test answers and cheat her way out. Unfortunately, her ruse was discovered and the intrepid halfling was summarily expelled.
Undaunted by this setback, "Doc Flint" grabbed her meager belongings and took to the Vast, where doctors are in short supply and people don't question credentials. Slowly building a reputation as a medic-for-hire with various mercenary groups, Doc Flint is finally heading back to the Pact Worlds in the hopes of securing more lucrative work.
Reason for boarding the Chimera: Veteran
Personality: Headstrong, intelligent, and insatiably curious, Doc Flint is accustomed to getting what she wants by shear force of will and getting out before things turn sour. She can be charming and polite, but struggles getting close to people, often viewing relationships as transactional.
Flaw(s): Doc Flint has issues with authority (other than her own) and a natural resistance to conventional wisdom, medical or otherwise. She also has a dangerous habit of delving into dangerous situations without a plan or a way out, relying on halfling luck and her own wits to escape unharmed.
Quirk(s): Doc Flint tends to rely on her force of personality when her medical talents fail, attempting to convince her patients that their injuries aren't as bad as they appear to be. This has had, surprisingly, some success. She also has a tendency to overdress for the occasion and employ a (fake) high-class accent, implying that she is the very expensive kind of doctor. If the situation ever becomes especially dire, her adversaries may be surprised to learn that this medical professional carries a dangerous vial hidden in a concealed compartment within her cybernetic arm.
I almost feel bad adding yet another submission to a crowded field of quality submissions, but darn it all to heck, I really want to play this one. I was pretty tempted to cave in and offer to GM another table, but I promised myself to keep enough bandwidth open to run a table of Devastation Ark in August, so no new GM responsibilities for now.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I will continue to consider submissions right through the end of the day on Friday.
Your submission is welcome, Jimbles.
Now we have Envoys in the lead with 4 entries. And 2 Witchwarpers joined - but no Solarians yet! And Nuars are apparently the second favorite race, alongside the Drow.
I usually choose a race after I decide on a class and concept, always trying to pick something that will work better, considering stats. In this case (heavy weapons soldier) I started with races with bonuses both to Dexterity and Strength - if nothing interested me in the list, I’d check races with bonuses to Dexterity and no penalties to Strength, and so on. Fortunately the Haan matched what I needed right away, and it’s a race that caught my attention when first reading the AA.
When the race interests me first, the character usually has a harder time being built. Right now I’m smacking into shape a Quorlu (my favorite race from AA2) Witchwarper, for SFS use, though I might switch him to Envoy and use some of the COM options. Next I’d really like to play an Urog, probably as a non-droid mechanic or something. Perhaps even a technomancer.
I tend to run in streaks. My DnD elf phase lasted forever. I certainly don't always choose a race to complement the class. Historically I've often created characters counter to the race-stat indicators. As you may suspect, my characters are often sub-optimal.
I might be wrong, but I think in SF those racial skill bonuses are less important than they were in PF. 16s seem plenty good enough for your primary stat at first level, so if you're satisfied with that you can compensate for a racial deficit, or pick a race that had bonuses in secondary stats that you planned to boost anyway.
16s are good enough for me. In recent years I like characters that are more of an everyman, and less of a hero. At least at level 1.
Of course you can still totally hose yourself with a bad race-class combination.
I've really enjoyed reading all the submissions being posted. Regardless of who is selected, it seems like it's going to be a solid group.
It's a shame we haven't had anyone take up running another table or three given the quality of the submissions. I keep feeling the temptation to try, but really don't have either the experience or the bandwidth to GM an AP just yet.
In addition to the submissions, I've appreciated the interactions and discussion taking place. To that end, I thought I'd add my own contribution. Like several of the above posters, I also tended to gravitate toward human in PF/D&D but for some reason, am yet to make a SF human PC. So far I have stayed within the core humanoid races.
Given the opportunity for greater selection than SFS would normally allow, I wanted something a little more out of the usual (Trox). All 3 races I mentally shortlisted for my submission/backups were humanoid. I found it interesting to note that the 2 back up races I had in mind (Ghoran and Vlaka) have also appeared in submissions by other players.
I looked for inspiration within the races and classes that interested me the most, seeing what stood out to me about each and how they might combine together thematically, and within the setting, in interesting ways.
I'm far from an expert, but have found starting with 16s to be satisfactory. Although, like therealthom above, my characters are usual below optimal.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I find less than optimal characters far more rewarding to play and GM for. Having to find inventive ways to overcome real or perceived inadequacies makes for some of the most interesting types of rp I've seen.
Couldn’t agree more with Doctor Mono on the optimal/fun balance. I’ve got a PF2 halfling alchemist with a fairly heavy hillbilly moonshiner vibe, and as a result almost none of the skills that alchemists are best at, and he’s one of my favorite characters.
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
Going to be closing things out at midnight eastern time U.S.
I can't thank everyone enough for the excellent work creating submissions.
Good luck everyone!
Best of luck folks!
Good luck to all.
I would like to offer congratulations to the following submissions, as they have been invited to participate in this endeavor:
1. Yariel Flash, Ysoki Technomancer
2. Rar' Gul, Trox Vanguard
3. T'Sorkel, Shirren Mystic
4. John Rawlins, Human Operative
5. Dr. Lilly Flint-Bridge, Halfling Envoy
6. Beauregard, Nuar Witchwarper
These six players have been sent PMs.
I would like to make it clear that I could have been happy, in fact ecstatic, with a totally different set of 6 players from the submissions here (in fact, I have a few in my back pocket for alternates in case one of the chosen six decides they can't participate).
I still hold out some hope that perhaps someone else will step forward to run another table. I guess we'll see what happens. You are all invited to use this thread, particularly if you are considering picking any of the remaining submissions for your own game.
Congrats guys! Have a great game!
thank you for you consideration, and have a great game all!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thank you for your consideration!
If anyone wants to pick up another table I would be interested. In the coming weeks I will likely get another game going. Will probably be PF2’s Age of Ashes. Might be tempted to do Attack of the Swarm.
When I do get that going I hope to see some of your submittions too. Take care, and may your dice roll well when needed.
Congrats to everyone selected. Enjoy the game one and all.
Cheers for the consideration GMQ
That sounds like a strong selection. Have fun everyone!
Might be tempted to do Attack of the Swarm.
I'm already in an Age of Ashes campaign but I would love to do attack of the swarm.
Too bad. I'll try harder next time!
|
Waves to everyone.
I believe I should be joining you soon. Just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself.
https://paizo.com/people/Pokotho
I've previously played up through the middle of Book 2 Chapter 3 before my campaign came to a halt, and resuming this character here will allow you to meet another victim of the Gray's experiments.
Pokey is a Mystic with the Healing connection, built basically as as a Healer/Support.
Personality-wise, he's a Shirren choice-addict, which has caused a bit of a crisis of faith from his former Clergyman position. If you imagine basically any movie where an alcoholic Priest goes out and fights some sort of an evil spirit, you've got a good feel for Pokotho. Except that he's addicted to making choices instead of booze, and he's here to stop manipulative infiltrators, instead of demons.
Well, that was unexpected news! Exciting! Welcome aboard.