Starfinder Adventure Path #1: Incident at Absalom Station (Dead Suns 1 of 6)

Now available for preorder! Cover image and description are not final and may vary before release!

Don't go on the asteroid!

It's real. Quite cool.

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!!

Bimonthly?

Bimonthly?

Yeah, what they said. Bimonthly?

woot

bimothly = 2/month or every 2 months?

To clear this up: when we say "bi-monthly" on paizo.com, we are referring to "every other month."

Also only 64 pages instead of 96 apparently.

Do we know if the 64 pages indicates a lesser page count for adventure or for supplementary info? (or both)

Technically, Paizo could shorten the APs. Much of what is being covered after the adventure ends is now being taken care of in the Campaign Settings, Player's Companions and Pathfinder Tales.

Hmm, this AP will have the same "ancient alien weapon" plot as my Starfinder homebrew.

My setting will be called the Alpha Sector. It's divided between three distinct regions: the Core worlds, ruled by the militarist and authoritarian Federation, the Mid-worlds ruled by the democratic and prosperous Republic, and the Outer worlds, an anarchic territory ruled by warlords, pirates, and smugglers. Basically, the players will have to race across the Alpha Sector trying to find components of the alien weapon before the evil Federation admiral Joseph Cain can find them.

Hopefully this campaign will be different enough to where people don't accuse me of ripping it off.

Classic scifi scenario, good start!

Will this be part of a subscription, or do we have to order all Starfinder products individually?

So hope there will be subscriptions to these also.

And it's written by Rob McCreary!!

Can't wait!!

THIS IS AWESOME

wasn't there a new playable alien race supposed to be introduced in every other issue? or did I dream that? 64 pages seems very short

Somewhat interested.

Leviathan Rising, anyone?

I would be really happy if the Starfinder Adventure Path subscription turns out to grant Pathfinder Advantage as the Pathfinder Adventure Path subscription does.

I'm hopeful that the 64 page mark is an indicator that there is no need to slog through unnecessary filler encounters just to gain experience in order to be an appropriate level. Cut the fat and leave us clean, crisp story with exciting challenges.

Could the "alien weapon" mentioned in the description possibly be the superweapon from Eox?

64 pages seems very bad and a serious area of concern. When Starfinder was announced the APs were supposed to be using the backmatter to fill in for the lack of a separate campaign setting or player companion line. Now they're shorter than a Pathfinder AP?

When can I sign up for a subscription to this?

Finally, an Absolam based adventure path!!

Heh.

Bimonthly.

64 pages.

This feels very tentative.

-Skeld

Was it ever confirmed that Starfinder APs will only be six issues long like the PF APs? Maybe they are trying a different model.

Was it ever confirmed that Starfinder APs will only be six issues long like the PF APs? Maybe they are trying a different model.

I'm assuming six issues, since it says, "Dead Suns 1of 6" in the page title.

I'm ok with one AP/year for this.

-Skeld

Bimonthly.

64 pages.

This feels very tentative.

-Skeld

The number of support products makes me lean towards realistic rather than tentative in describing the rate of release.

I'd prefer they err on the side of caution rather than promising the moon and finding themselves falling behind. I daresay the incidence of hysterical giggling/sobbing coming out of Sutter's office has gone up markedly in the last few months.

I need to figure out if this part of the AP subscription or if I will have to wait for the new sub to come out

I'd bet any money there will be a new subscription. It definitely won't be part of the Pathfinder AP.

The safest thing to do is to preorder. In general, if you add a preorder and then a subscription comes out down the track, their system is clever enough to realise that you probably want to cancel your preorder so you won't get it twice.

Skeld wrote:

Bimonthly.

64 pages.

This feels very tentative.

-Skeld

The number of support products makes me lean towards realistic rather than tentative in describing the rate of release.

I'd prefer they err on the side of caution rather than promising the moon and finding themselves falling behind. I daresay the incidence of hysterical giggling/sobbing coming out of Sutter's office has gone up markedly in the last few months.

Nah, I get that. It's just a slower delivery model than what they've done with PF.

I'm a little disappointed it isn't 96 pages though, especially given the price tag. Less ambitious page count and lower print volume, I guess.

-Skeld

No doubt. It did seem to me that intitially they were only going to do the core book and then expand the universe via APs. Now there are books like The Alien Archive (the bestiary-equivalent, I believe) I wonder if they've rejigged the idea and scaled back the AP size accordingly to save content for other products.

Wait, is Robert G McCreary a Space Fantasy pseudonym? Doesn't he usually just use Rob McCreary?

Cult of Devourer huh. I wonder if thats different from Rovagug... But considering Paizo still keeps using word nihilistic(as nihilist I'm offended xP Well joking aside) it probably is Cult of Rovagug

Please excuse my incoming skeptical post, I'm incredibly excited about the first Starfinder AP, and am really chomping at the bit to get to know the story and universe that's being built. I do have some concerns and thought I might voice them.

Disclaimer: I don't know about the economy of these products, and the costs involved, nor am I asking Paizo to defend any pricing decisions they have made. /disclaimer

I'd be fine with bimonthly 64 page adventure, but the cost of this book is only about 8% cheaper than the cost of a 94 page book. While being roughly 30% smaller. Then when you consider that there's a bunch of backmatter content, it's not really a 64 page adventure. Looking at the most recent Pathfinder Module "Seers of the Drowned City", the "Appendices" or backmatter start on Page 46, the adventure starts on page 4. Leaving roughly 42 pages of adventure content, and 18 pages of backmatter.

I'm not worried about being shorted adventure content (I'm confident that I can pad and expand adventures myself), I'm worried I'm not going to get enough backmatter! Since it's been stated that the Adventure Paths will be the primary method of delivering new lore, rules and monsters to the setting only 18 pages of backmatter might not be enough to get the job done.

There's an entire universe to explore in Starfinder, and as a GM I thrive on having more content to build and expand on for my players. To make the universe feel lived in rather than roughly scribbled as we go.

So understand that my issues are only coming from a place of being a bit greedy for content and worrying that I won't feel satisfied with the morsels being delivered when I'm hoping for a feast.

I'm assuming six issues, since it says, "Dead Suns 1of 6" in the page title.

Ha, ha! Alternative facts.

<.< >.>

(Okay, so reading is fundamental. D'OH!)

My initial reaction to 64 pages for 22.99 was: "No thanks."
But i will definetly buy issue #1 and look how it is.
Lots of previews will be necessary to build up interest and let people know what to expect of this.

The print run will obviously be lower than the one for an established product like Pathfinder (which is in the low quadruple digit numbers - 2,000 minimum, but i estimate it to be around 3,000 for most APs).
For Starfinder it could be 1,000-2,000 for issue #1, definetly lower for issue #6 (1,000 maybe), so a quick sell-out for issue #1 is a possibility.

I think the page count for a 2nd AP (if there will be one) will rise IF the first one sells enough copies.

The price likely won´t go down, but will more likely go up to 24.99 along with the page count from 64 to 96.

To me it is obvious, that this is an experiment which depends on sales numbers.

The decision to remove the creatures from the AP Bestiary (if true) and put them in "The Alien Archive" (where did you hear that, Steve?) would be a mistake imo, as a Bestiary style book should be available earliest after the first AP, even if these books tend to sell very well.

I´m looking forward to Starfinder, even if i strongly doubt it will unseat Pathfinder as my #1 roleplaying game. ;-)

The decision to remove the creatures from the AP Bestiary (if true) and put them in "The Alien Archive" (where did you hear that, Steve?) ...

There was a lot of speculation in my comment above.

This was where I first saw James Sutter reference the Alien Archive which I understand to be the bestiary equivalent.

When Starfinder first came out, my impression was we were going to get a CRB plus monthly APs (which would include setting material). Now that APs are going to be bimonthly and 64 pages i was speculating that perhaps that indicated a shift in approach to APs+setting books.

I haven't heard anything official confirming that though - I'm just trying to read the tea leaves.

Leviathan Rising, anyone?

Leviathan Wakes!

Here's my two scents on the size of the adventure path. The originals were made so long because they were adding more info that they couldn't fit into the original core rule book. Hopefully they feel they have streamlined the Startin der core rule book to the point where they fit the fluff in there like info on the world's and the gods. All the knowledge that was held in the back of the adventure paths is probably now compacted into the core rules

The print run will obviously be lower than the one for an established product like Pathfinder (which is in the low quadruple digit numbers - 2,000 minimum, but i estimate it to be around 3,000 for most APs).

For Starfinder it could be 1,000-2,000 for issue #1, definetly lower for issue #6 (1,000 maybe), so a quick sell-out for issue #1 is a possibility.

Not to drag this off-topic, but...

-Skeld

An evil ancient item able to cause death and terror?
Being chased by death cults and undead?
So... its Mummy's Mask in space?

How is it possible that you have a woman with purple hair on the front cover? Isn't Golarion's moon gone with Golarion?

(For anyone who does not understand the questions above: Reference the early 1970s TV show UFO.)

It should be noted people already pay 22.99 for campaign setting books, and the module line is 24.99 and also has 64 pages.

Just saying.

It should be noted people already pay 22.99 for campaign setting books, and the module line is 24.99 and also has 64 pages.

Just saying.

How dare you use facts and reason, sir?! Do you not know that this is the Internet, where such things have no place? I am most disappointed, especially from a fellow of such exalted rank, most disappointed indeed.

Just telling it how it is.

I wonder what this is going to mean for high level Starfinder play. Since they've indicated that all casters are now 6-level casters, I assume that means play will still go to 20th level. But 64-page adventures won't even get to the level 17 of the 96-page Pathfinder adventures.