This is Not a Dream

Friday, November 18, 2016

The end of 2016 is proving to be an exciting and incredibly busy time around the office! The Starfinder team is chipping away at the process of filling the gaps in our grand science fantasy plans and working with our playtesters. More and more bits of truly stunning artwork are trickling in, and it's starting to feel like this is all really happening now! Yesterday Polygon released an exclusive article, and since I've taken over the blog for today, it's about time we show off some places and a new iconic character here. Meet Navasi, an iconic Envoy!


Illustration by Remko Troost
The envoy is a class dedicated to aiding and manipulating others. They are giving orders and encouragement that help your allies do better, while taunting and demoralizing your opponents. Envoys are naturally charismatic leaders and smooth-talkers, ranging from celebrities and starship captains to con artists and cult leaders. Lando Calrissian, General Leia Organa, Ruby Rhod and Inara Serra would all be envoys. And as you can see, Navasi and Lando would definitely appreciate each other's taste in clothes.

Earlier this year we revealed a preview of Absalom Station on the main Starfinder page, and the final illustration is even more fantastic! Akiton and Eox are new planetary locations, seen below, and were also shown off in the article.


Illustration by Leon Tukker


Illustrations by Sebastien Hue and Leon Tukker

Keep an eye out for more Starfinder news as we get closer to it's launch next August!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Iconics Leon Tukker Navasi Remko Troost Sebastien Hue Starfinder
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AKITON!

This game cannot get here soon enough!

Sovereign Court

Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

Loving the iconic look.

And Eoxxxxxx... xoxo

Liberty's Edge

Navasi reminds me of Iomedae

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16

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Akiton looks like a scene out of Blade Runner. Cool.


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Disappointed with the art for Akiton.


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Eox's backstory is basically, "this is why you don't fire the Death Star from atmosphere."

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I'm so excited for this!

Hmm

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I like almost everything I'm reading, except the Drift. I'm axing the bits about it ripping out pieces of other planes in any game I run. *shudders*

Silver Crusade

7 people marked this as a favorite.

Just saw the shoutout to Ruby Rhod. Awesome.

Creative Director, Starfinder Team

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QuidEst wrote:
Eox's backstory is basically, "this is why you don't fire the Death Star from atmosphere."

Exactly! When I first created Eox, I was actually thinking of the Manhattan Project, and the old story about how the first time they tested a nuclear bomb, they weren't *entirely* sure whether or not it would actually set the whole planet's atmosphere on fire. And yet they did it anyway. :D


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So is Remko Troost in charge of all the Starfinder Iconics like Wayne Reynolds does the Pathfinder ones?

Dark Archive

I´ll probably buy the Starfinder Core rulebook and the first Adventure Path and then decide if i will continue.


AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!


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After reading the article my desire for this game went through the roof.


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Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DJ Ruby Rhod wrote:
"Korben sweetheart, what was that? It was BAD! It had no fire, no energy, no nothing! Y'know I got a Show to run here, and it must pop POP POP! So tomorrow from 5 to 7 will you PLEASE act like you have more than a two word vocabulary. It must be green, okay?"

TAKE MAH MONEH!


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You may have all of my monies now, Paizo.


I love it.


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Please include rules for starting corporations, income generation, trade routes etc...

I've been searching for years for a sci fi game that allows players to not only adventure but to also build a corp, a fleet and have full on space naval battles. A player normally can not get enough money to buy a multiple ships unless they have a system in place for income generation...

If this were added to Starfinder it would be a huge plus that I and many people I know would enjoy.

Additionally I know that Pathfinder has a very good relationship with Lone Wolf/Hero Labs. If Starfinder could be available on that platform it would be awesome!

Thank you!


This might be of interest to you.


Scorpi wrote:

Please include rules for starting corporations, income generation, trade routes etc...

I've been searching for years for a sci fi game that allows players to not only adventure but to also build a corp, a fleet and have full on space naval battles. A player normally can not get enough money to buy a multiple ships unless they have a system in place for income generation...

If this were added to Starfinder it would be a huge plus that I and many people I know would enjoy.

Additionally I know that Pathfinder has a very good relationship with Lone Wolf/Hero Labs. If Starfinder could be available on that platform it would be awesome!

Thank you!

Stars Without Number has rules for starting a faction, and even has supplements for starting your own mercantile empire. It's no economics simulator but it gets the job done.


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Scorpi wrote:

Please include rules for starting corporations, income generation, trade routes etc...

I've been searching for years for a sci fi game that allows players to not only adventure but to also build a corp, a fleet and have full on space naval battles. A player normally can not get enough money to buy a multiple ships unless they have a system in place for income generation...

If this were added to Starfinder it would be a huge plus that I and many people I know would enjoy.

Additionally I know that Pathfinder has a very good relationship with Lone Wolf/Hero Labs. If Starfinder could be available on that platform it would be awesome!

Thank you!

Please do not incorporate a 'stock market' in the campaign by the nittiest grittiest method of granularity, but instead have it as a function of skill level and ability, perhaps even feats or traits or knacks or perks or whatnot.

'Rocket Ride', Tom Smith


Mythraine wrote:
So is Remko Troost in charge of all the Starfinder Iconics like Wayne Reynolds does the Pathfinder ones?

I'm seconding this question.


I would like to see Wayne Reynolds take on the Starfinder Iconics.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

The artwork for Navasi looks really great, but also seems to run smack into a strangely specific trope.


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Cydeth wrote:
I like almost everything I'm reading, except the Drift. I'm axing the bits about it ripping out pieces of other planes in any game I run. *shudders*

+1. It's going to be hard enough getting B. A. Baracus the paladin/_G cleric onto a hyperspace-jumping ship as it is. If the known side-effect is always going to be ripping apart the planes, they are going to be very p!ssed off when they wake up from the drugged milk arrive. I can't imagine big picture druids and other means-don't-justify-the-ends party members will be too keen on it either. Which means the good guys won't use it.

(This was tried, and then quickly dropped, as a plot-line in ST:TNG too.)

Now if the "planes ripping" was a side effect of earlier jump drives, or a malfunctioning/patched-together-emergency-repaired drive, then I could see it working. Or it happened by taking design shortcuts in the ship's "shielding"/ex machina compensators. Or it happened when navigators plotted a faster/easier/more fuel-saving shortcut instead of following the normal rules/guidelines (the same kind of thinking that produced defiling magic in Dark Sun).

Edit: Or is the planes ripping what happens when your party doesn't have someone (or an ally/commander) with levels in the Starfinder class equivalent to a melange-prescient Guild Navigator?


Is Navasi a human or an android? The hair color looks more like an android, but she is missing the distinct circuit-like tattoos.


The whole "planes ripping" thing will take some massively engaging writing and integral mechanics to talk most people out of simply ditching the idea. Be careful. Focusing on something that players deem unwanted can quickly seal the fate of new ventures. So far, it just seems like a tacked-on random encounter excuse.
This game will be a fantastically welcomed addition to all of my friends' regardless. So don't get the wrong idea; I'm super excited to buy all this.


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The planar ripping thing isn't universally disliked. I'm pretty fond of the idea, and think it's a clever solution. Even in regular Pathfinder, there's the question of "how do I stop my players from teleporting/wind-walking everywhere and bypassing any interactions on the way?". This allows random encounters for traveling, broadens the scope of monsters that can show up, puts a scalable cost on jumps, and encourages short hops with quick stops.


The planar ripping idea is interesting as long as it is not overused like transporter and/or holodeck malfunctions.


I like the idea of the plane-ripping to go along with the metaphysical shift of Prime Material Plane residents evolving ideologies and interpretations of "after life" What if, in addition to the classic outerplane final sorting of souls, those who follow the AI god have their souls uploaded to a great machine in the Drift where they can refine and enlighten themselves until such time as they are deemed worthy to join the great AI god directly. Then as needed, these sub-souls are housed in ultra advanced (Construct) (Robot) (Outsider) bodies to carry out the physical will of their AI god mind. Or in general, it could just be a reflection of the gods having a diminished presence and technology or belief in technology over the older godlike beings is sapping those older entities of their power.

The one thing that gets me about this is that if every Drift (please tell me that ships dont have neon under carriages and wildly swing in and out of the Drift to travel!) ripped bits of the outerplanes and permanently depleted even a small portion of them, wouldn't the devils just go straight to war against the Drift and attempt to subvert or destroy every ship on the Prime Material they could? I guess it makes for great "Event Horizon" types or stories, or even just low level imps acting as the gremlins of the future.

It also acts as a plot shield for a lot of Drift shenanigans if attempting to Drift too close to a gravity well actually shunted you to an outer plane or guaranteed a chunk of outer badness spawning ontop of you.

It also seems like something that can be convinently ignored since all the planes invovled are effectively infinite so you never encounter that aspect of it if the GM and group dont want to.

Creative Director, Starfinder Team

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The planar ripping is proportional, and depends on how far you're going. Short jumps don't do much of anything, it's only when you're going across huge stretches of the galaxy that it's a problem. (And as folks say, it allows for Event Horizon-style adventures.) Remember, the planes are infinite—I suspect a lot of people in-world aren't going to worry overmuch about stealing small amounts from an infinite (and thus renewable?) resource, in the same way that most of us still drive cars despite knowing exhaust is bad for the atmosphere. Some folks may indeed object strenuously, and that creates fun stories, but since we know how our own society deals with resources held in common (i.e. tragically), I'm not super worried about everyone deciding to stay home. But it's certainly something to think about, so I'm glad folks said something!

Creative Director, Starfinder Team

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Plasticity wrote:
The artwork for Navasi looks really great, but also seems to run smack into a strangely specific trope.

Hey, thanks for the link—I wasn't aware that was a trope, and it's something I'll definitely think about going forward.

If it helps, though, I expect you're going to be seeing a lot of colored hair in the game, and not just on a particular ethnic group—my punk-rock roots refuse to imagine a future without a whole lot of dye. :)


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And now i have a plot idea centered around cycling Drift engines continuously for super long race track patterned loops that end up back where they started... for the sole purpose of dragging hell on top of the local Prime Material. Might go with it being a NASCAR kind of race through the drift that is being funded in secret by a devil cult. As the races become more popular the general well being of the host planet drops and rumors start of people disappearing off the streets at night. ooh! The players will start out as the drivers and pit crew for the racing. :)


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James Sutter wrote:
Plasticity wrote:
The artwork for Navasi looks really great, but also seems to run smack into a strangely specific trope.

Hey, thanks for the link—I wasn't aware that was a trope, and it's something I'll definitely think about going forward.

If it helps, though, I expect you're going to be seeing a lot of colored hair in the game, and not just on a particular ethnic group—my punk-rock roots refuse to imagine a future without a whole lot of dye. :)

If its still just plain ol' dye at that far in the future i will be disappointed :P basic gene-mods for neon or glowing highlights should be available off the shelf dude!


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

This is all looking so fantastic. The more I read on Starfinder, the more I want to see. Keep it comin'!


James Sutter wrote:
Plasticity wrote:
The artwork for Navasi looks really great, but also seems to run smack into a strangely specific trope.

Hey, thanks for the link—I wasn't aware that was a trope, and it's something I'll definitely think about going forward.

If it helps, though, I expect you're going to be seeing a lot of colored hair in the game, and not just on a particular ethnic group—my punk-rock roots refuse to imagine a future without a whole lot of dye. :)

indeed, I thought this was a direct call to the character- I mean for crying out loud, the term drift is even reused here.


so yeah, how is the term used in the setting? do you Drift when you travel FTL, drift in and out of space or real space, something like that?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

James Sutter wrote:
The planar ripping is proportional, and depends on how far you're going. Short jumps don't do much of anything, it's only when you're going across huge stretches of the galaxy that it's a problem. (And as folks say, it allows for Event Horizon-style adventures.) Remember, the planes are infinite—I suspect a lot of people in-world aren't going to worry overmuch about stealing small amounts from an infinite (and thus renewable?) resource, in the same way that most of us still drive cars despite knowing exhaust is bad for the atmosphere. Some folks may indeed object strenuously, and that creates fun stories, but since we know how our own society deals with resources held in common (i.e. tragically), I'm not super worried about everyone deciding to stay home. But it's certainly something to think about, so I'm glad folks said something!

I'll be honest. If the Drift stays as listed, I won't buy the Adventure Path for Starfinder. I originally planned on it, but as listed, it just makes me balk, and you'll lose me as a potential customer.

Not trying to cause issues, but...I feel it necessary to say something. This seems like something that will come up in any adventure path involving interstellar travel, so that would make me lose interest.

My 2 cents, just FYI.


Cydeth, how do you mean? is it just that the FTL solution is tied in some way to the outer planes?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

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Perhaps I should clarify. My objection is that, the way you described it in the interview, every time you jump through the Drift, a chunk of the outer planes gets yanked in. If it was a mistuned drive, an excessively long jump, or even just a rare occurrence, I wouldn't have an issue. It's that this is something that happens every time that I have issues with, even if you might not have much of an effect most of the time. I hate the very concept of this hyperspace ripping parts of the other planes apart every single time.

And an Adventure Path would cram this down my throat. I have been looking forward to Starfinder. I have been excited to run it, and promised my wife I'd run it for her, as she loves Alternity. I was planning to subscribe to the Adventure Path for guidance on how to run a science fantasy campaign, since I has mental blocks that make it difficult for me.

And this...is just a bucket of cold water for me. It makes me more distressed than it should for such a simple thing. It's my problem, not yours. But by the same token, I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't tell you about it.


James Sutter wrote:
The planar ripping is proportional, and depends on how far you're going. Short jumps don't do much of anything, it's only when you're going across huge stretches of the galaxy that it's a problem. (And as folks say, it allows for Event Horizon-style adventures.) Remember, the planes are infinite—I suspect a lot of people in-world aren't going to worry overmuch about stealing small amounts from an infinite (and thus renewable?) resource, in the same way that most of us still drive cars despite knowing exhaust is bad for the atmosphere. Some folks may indeed object strenuously, and that creates fun stories, but since we know how our own society deals with resources held in common (i.e. tragically), I'm not super worried about everyone deciding to stay home. But it's certainly something to think about, so I'm glad folks said something!

As a technical point removing any finite amount from an infinity still leaves the infinity.


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Cydeth wrote:

Perhaps I should clarify. My objection is that, the way you described it in the interview, every time you jump through the Drift, a chunk of the outer planes gets yanked in. If it was a mistuned drive, an excessively long jump, or even just a rare occurrence, I wouldn't have an issue. It's that this is something that happens every time that I have issues with, even if you might not have much of an effect most of the time. I hate the very concept of this hyperspace ripping parts of the other planes apart every single time.

And an Adventure Path would cram this down my throat. I have been looking forward to Starfinder. I have been excited to run it, and promised my wife I'd run it for her, as she loves Alternity. I was planning to subscribe to the Adventure Path for guidance on how to run a science fantasy campaign, since I has mental blocks that make it difficult for me.

And this...is just a bucket of cold water for me. It makes me more distressed than it should for such a simple thing. It's my problem, not yours. But by the same token, I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't tell you about it.

Hrmm. Of course i am not an expert on it but the impression i have is that, sure, a trace amounts of outer planes are pulled in with every drift. the outer planes and the Drift itself are all more or less infinite so one will never fully decay because of the other. i would expect that most ships never encounter anything meaningful from these pulls either, or no one would ever use the Drift. and if i jump into the Drift with my warship and a few imps got sucked in with me... too bad for them, my wipers can handle the splat. but it does sound like there will be areas of the Drift where colonies in exile are taking root, colonies composed of all kinds of outsiders from all of the outer planes. i would expect some new kinds of outsiders native to the drift as well. Just enough of all of this to have encounters and plot hooks within the Drift itself but not to the point that using the Drift is a hassle to the point of discouraging FTL travel.

If every AP had something happen whenever you jumped it would be too cliche too, everyone would expect it and it would get dull.


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

So would Drift be sort of like a side-effect of a 'Skip'-type drive?

A series of tales by F.M. Busby, which used an FTL drive to 'suppress' being in normal reality, but the higher the exponent used, the greater the 'Skip' potential between realities?

ie, low-Skip drives (with a numeric rating under a hundred-ish, if memory serves) didn't even 'hiccup' and didn't show any signs of distortion, but the protagonists were running around in a courier vessel that was in the 10^6 range, and they were *seriously* bouncing realities?


It sounds like Skip drives could slip between alternate realities? Drift sounds much more like skimming between the known planes of existence from the standard D&D/Pathfinder multiverse model. So where as a multiverse often refers to the Star Trek/Sliders popularized notion of IDIC and infinite possible Material Planes, in the Pathfinder model of a multiverse there is only one Prime Material Plane and everything else is a Transitive, Inner or Outer plane. The Drift so far sounds like a new (either created or discovered) Transitive plane that unlike, say, the Astral plane only touches on the PRM and the Outer Planes. It could be the story justification for the Drift being so well suited for rapid travel that it loops out and back without intersecting with the Inner and other Transitive planes. This lack of "proper" stepping between planes might also be why it has the side effect of ripping away chunks of planes when entered or exited. So i doubt think we will see an AP where you go for a long drift and pop out in a system where everyone looks the same except for the goatees but it does look like they are borrowing a fairly common notion that the longer your journey, the more dangerous it is.

One thing that keeps occurring to me is that there should be a bias towards the "lower" planes when Drifting (i still want to know if that is the proper term for using FTL in setting) I mean, if you are on an expedition to set up a new colony and you have a particular religious bent, you get there and accidentally pulled in some celestials along the way... so, good? They are miffed about being pulled out of heaven but all in all your goals align with heaven and they want to help you out? It just seems more difficult to set up accidental angel pulls as antagonistic to the typical PC party. But if there was a bias for devils popping up than that creates a stronger incentive to move in a series of small, calculated, jumps.

Also, the more i think about it, the more i am comparing the notion to 40K's Warp and Gellar Field. We need something similar to bias Drift Pulls towards friendly planes. And then we can freak out when the Philosophical Bias Engine (PBE, pronounced "fib") fails and the ship is flooded with hell energy. Because liars go to hell ;)


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

I think it adds a great way to make sure people aren't flitting about the galaxy all willy nilly. The chance of a rip provides drama and tension to using FTL, only using it for long trips if the need is dire. I feel as this can only enhance the game experience in Starfinder.

See also: Random Encounters in Space.


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Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Perhaps the responsible use of the tech has no real ramifications, with 'off-setting penalties' for a net 'energy gain/loss' of zero?

But if someone is *pushing* the envelope for whatever reason (and we know folks that *just gotta be there NOW!*) that's when things start to fall out of the 'off-set' and turn into a hot steaming pile of planar excrement?


Wei Ji the Learner wrote:


Perhaps the responsible use of the tech has no real ramifications, with 'off-setting penalties' for a net 'energy gain/loss' of zero?

But if someone is *pushing* the envelope for whatever reason (and we know folks that *just gotta be there NOW!*) that's when things start to fall out of the 'off-set' and turn into a hot steaming pile of planar excrement?

yeah, this makes sense to me. Short safe jumps or risky long range exploration. Also, lots of room for different engine designs that have differing planar affinities and risk margins.


ooh, another possibility; if Drifting skims the outer planes than imagine signing up for a spiritual commune cruise where you enter the drift just to more easily commune with the spirits of the deceased.

Liberty's Edge

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They... bound something to serve as the engine? Oh hells no. I don't care HOW bad whatever is, that's not a punishment for ANY entity. Master of Masters grant me patience and serenity to not strike this lost soul down now where he stands.

The tengu sighs heavily.

"That's a bit of a problem, Captain. I'm not one to tell you aboard your own vessel how things should work, but Vrock Containment Drives have been proven to be exceptionally dangerous over time. They weather down the containment housing and it leads to systematic failures of the vessel that they are attatched to, even with extreme precautions.
I wish could give you many, many technical volumes of recent discoveries in this field, but unfortunately they're back at the Home Office, which is several weeks travel away.
With your permission, sir, I'd like to take your crew to investigate the engineering compartments and do a quick assay to determine viability? When we're done with that we can focus on the repairs we can make, if that's acceptable?"

Dark Archive

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"Wei Ji, Vrocks are profane champions of the Abyss; they embody all the rage, hatred, and violence of that despicable realm. Reminiscent of vultures, they are as ravenous and grotesquely opportunistic as the scavengers they resemble. Vrocks delight in bloodshed, relishing the sounds and sensations of ripping the still-pulsing entrails from a living husk. They are capable of both telekinesis and teleportion."

"It is quite the ingenious design, harnessing that awful power for the cause of knowledge."

I want to see this design. Perhaps it will be instructive for fighting off the horde.

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