Yeah, okay. Too bad that the decision was made to make the first AP for their new product line only go to about level twelve. That makes it an automatic non-buy for me. :/Seriously? Is an adventure only fun if you go to level 17-20? Why? Please enlighten us. (and how many times are you going to post this complaint?)
I like high level play. Notice the "I" in the sentence. Since I am not the arbiter for the universal standard for enjoyment, I am only speaking for myself (though also for the players I wanted to play this AP with, who share this enjoyment of high level play with me).
And posting in two places on the forum is not a crime. Stop being passive-agressive.
The "smoky hand" thing the Lashunta on the cover is using (both there and in the interior artwork) looks really awesome- but I don't see what exactly it is supposed to be. None of his abilities or equipment quite match up, unless I'm missing something. Anyone have an idea what it is supposed to be, or is it just a case of something cool in the artwork but there not being an equivalent in the mechanics (either due to the new NPC/Monster generation rules or just an oversight)?
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The "smoky hand" thing the Lashunta on the cover is using (both there and in the interior artwork) looks really awesome- but I don't see what exactly it is supposed to be. None of his abilities or equipment quite match up, unless I'm missing something. Anyone have an idea what it is supposed to be, or is it just a case of something cool in the artwork but there not being an equivalent in the mechanics (either due to the new NPC/Monster generation rules or just an oversight)?
It looks like a plant/vine monster coming out of a canister rather than an ability the NPC is using.
It looks like a plant/vine monster coming out of a canister rather than an ability the NPC is using.
Either way, it still isn't described in the adventure itself for all that I can tell, and I am disappointed because it looks really cool.
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Anyhoo, now that this has been released, I think its okay for me to say what issue I have with this?
Its mainly related to "ya know, player's guide to tell what is appropriate for pc backstories" would be really useful in this. The adventure seems to presume that as starfinders, pcs are actually appropriate archaeologists(their contacts even make fun of one wannabe archaeologists in tone that players' are probably supposed to agree) instead of the "Hey let's blow s%%~ up" style of archaeology :P As in, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't let group of scarred grizzly mercenaries visit university and even less they would let you help with your PR problem.(pretty sure that to outsiders, asking group of violent people to ask lecturer apologize looks like you hired thugs to threaten them, so that is huge pr issue as well) And if group is full of outlaw theme characters, well, working with police is little bit weird isn't it, especially if they happen to be from castrovel?
(BTW, I'm also bothered that your detective contact doesn't have name given for them <_< )
On plus side, after alien archive I noticed this book actually has space for large sized alien pc group! First book would have a lot of tight spaces for them, but in this one you could pretty well play with large sized aliens.
Anyway, yeah, I'm hoping that paizo will do player's guide for dead suns after all six parts have been released. By time that happens, well alien archive and pact worlds book has at least been released so plenty of "I'm pretty sure hellknight doesn't fit this ap" type of stuff can come up even if you don't agree with me that all corebook things aren't fitting either.
Perhaps I missed something, but is there a reason why there isn't a print edition available?
It sold out.
However, reprints are scheduled to become available in November.
Yep-yep!
Creative Director, Starfinder
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The "smoky hand" thing the Lashunta on the cover is using (both there and in the interior artwork) looks really awesome- but I don't see what exactly it is supposed to be. None of his abilities or equipment quite match up, unless I'm missing something. Anyone have an idea what it is supposed to be, or is it just a case of something cool in the artwork but there not being an equivalent in the mechanics (either due to the new NPC/Monster generation rules or just an oversight)?
That's meant to represent a spell effect. However, since our artists are often not familiar with the rules of the game, we don't usually ask for specific spell effects. As a result, the art does not always match exactly with the rules.
The "smoky hand" thing the Lashunta on the cover is using (both there and in the interior artwork) looks really awesome- but I don't see what exactly it is supposed to be. None of his abilities or equipment quite match up, unless I'm missing something. Anyone have an idea what it is supposed to be, or is it just a case of something cool in the artwork but there not being an equivalent in the mechanics (either due to the new NPC/Monster generation rules or just an oversight)?That's meant to represent a spell effect. However, since our artists are often not familiar with the rules of the game, we don't usually ask for specific spell effects. As a result, the art does not always match exactly with the rules.
Well that is nice to know :) I kept looking through the book for some odd piece of equipment I had missed or unique spell. I was for sure it was some kind of plant creature he kept in a canister as a minion or something lol.
Organized Play Lead Developer
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The "smoky hand" thing the Lashunta on the cover is using (both there and in the interior artwork) looks really awesome- but I don't see what exactly it is supposed to be. None of his abilities or equipment quite match up, unless I'm missing something. Anyone have an idea what it is supposed to be, or is it just a case of something cool in the artwork but there not being an equivalent in the mechanics (either due to the new NPC/Monster generation rules or just an oversight)?That's meant to represent a spell effect. However, since our artists are often not familiar with the rules of the game, we don't usually ask for specific spell effects. As a result, the art does not always match exactly with the rules.
That said—and it's not unique to this cover—our artists also create some amazing images, some of which inspire future rules development.
Hey John Compsognathuson, so, this new mystic connection, it's totally gonna be made legal for SFS, right?
Oh and does a certain mysterious ring work only with bites or can I also do punchy with said ring (it says i get sharp teeth but then talks about unarmed strikes)?
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Organized Play Lead Developer
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Hey John Compsognathuson, so, this new mystic connection, it's totally gonna be made legal for SFS, right?
Oh and does a certain mysterious ring work only with bites or can I also do punchy with said ring (it says i get sharp teeth but then talks about unarmed strikes)?
At least for that first question, the organized play program has a proud tradition of asking "Does this character option mandate or strongly encourage the downfall of civilization as we know it" when assessing what options to legalize in the campaign; those that evoke a strong "yes," usually aren't available. I understand that Thursty likewise keeps this question in mind when reviewing new options.
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But our cult didn't start the fire... It was always burning since the station's been operating.
Hides the kerosene.
However, reprints are scheduled to become available in November.
Phew! Was wondering why I hadn’t seen it on sale in the UK yet.
That said—and it's not unique to this cover—our artists also create some amazing images, some of which inspire future rules development.
I hope someone is hard at work designing "Hand in a Canister" (Handister?) for future Starfinder installments, dangit! That just looks so cool!
(And thanks Rob and John for the answer. I suspected that might be the case, but still really want to see that thing statted up!)
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Oh yeah, another thing I'm bothered by that I forgot to mention before:
This book doesn't mention Ambassador's motivations for thing from first book. I was thinking this book would explain it when they would reveal how players' choices regarding that thing from first book would pan out, but this book doesn't do that. I assume they might explain it in third book, but if I had started to run this game before all parts would have been released, well, I would have to had make guesses based on Ambassador's alignment when portraying him and his reactions to PCs' questions :P
Oh yeah, another thing I'm bothered by that I forgot to mention before:
This book doesn't mention Ambassador's motivations for thing from first book. I was thinking this book would explain it when they would reveal how players' choices regarding that thing from first book would pan out, but this book doesn't do that. I assume they might explain it in third book, but if I had started to run this game before all parts would have been released, well, I would have to had make guesses based on Ambassador's alignment when portraying him and his reactions to PCs' questions :P
That pretty much applies to every AP though.
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Yeah, thats why my modus operand is that I read every part of AP before moving onward, but I can't think of any single AP part I've read with "Character does something PCs might be suspicious of, but adventure doesn't explain why at all or what is their goal" <_< Usually adventure part of AP parts is self contained enough that you don't need to know what happens later on to understand what is going on, knowing what is coming ahead is great for foreshadowing though.
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Running an AP without reading the entire AP is *always* a bad idea. An adventure might be self-contained and you decide to kill off an NPC and then discover 2 books later that they are pivotal to the adventure. Or any of the other dozen problems that might arise from not reading the whole thing before you run.
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Running an AP without reading the entire AP is *always* a bad idea. An adventure might be self-contained and you decide to kill off an NPC and then discover 2 books later that they are pivotal to the adventure. Or any of the other dozen problems that might arise from not reading the whole thing before you run.
Ye, agreed. But I still think this is one of those cases were you shouldn't need to wait/search for answer in later books.
Either way, this book is the one that convinced me to stick to my policy of reading all parts first :p I still hope devs change minds about player guides by time all books are released since pact world book and alien archive are both out by then
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Oh yeah, another thing I'm bothered by that I forgot to mention before:
This book doesn't mention Ambassador's motivations for thing from first book. I was thinking this book would explain it when they would reveal how players' choices regarding that thing from first book would pan out, but this book doesn't do that. I assume they might explain it in third book, but if I had started to run this game before all parts would have been released, well, I would have to had make guesses based on Ambassador's alignment when portraying him and his reactions to PCs' questions :P
Weren't things pretty much explained in the adventure? What questions do you still have that are relevant to the PCs?
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Its not relevant to PCs, its relevant to GM on how to portray a moment when players try to question related npcs :P
What I was left hanging was, WHY did Ambassador Nor want that package. Adventure explains what he tells to PCs, what is in package and what happens based on what players do with the package, but never what was the real deal going on. Is he smuggling the package for nefarious reasons, is package actually deserting or what?
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Yeah, thats why my modus operand is that I read every part of AP before moving onward, but I can't think of any single AP part I've read with "Character does something PCs might be suspicious of, but adventure doesn't explain why at all or what is their goal" <_< Usually adventure part of AP parts is self contained enough that you don't need to know what happens later on to understand what is going on, knowing what is coming ahead is great for foreshadowing though.
Based on the part I bolded above, I'm assuming you've never read Rise of the Runelords. Book 1 introduces an innocent seeming NPC, who becomes a major player in book 2. The GM really should know his back story and details from book 2 before running book 1, to get everything right in how to handle him.
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While i agree that waiting for part 5 or 6 to be out before beginning to read/prepare an AP makes for the best coherent roleplay experience, it's a much more difficult thing to do with this first Starfinder AP, as one has to wait 11 months instead of the usual 5 until the last part releases.
Also with 64 pages instead of 96, it feels shorter than a Pathfinder AP, which level-wise it actually is.
On the other hand, i don't think this AP is breaking down after book #4, as most Pathfinder APs i took part in did.
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Yeah, thats why my modus operand is that I read every part of AP before moving onward, but I can't think of any single AP part I've read with "Character does something PCs might be suspicious of, but adventure doesn't explain why at all or what is their goal" <_< Usually adventure part of AP parts is self contained enough that you don't need to know what happens later on to understand what is going on, knowing what is coming ahead is great for foreshadowing though.Based on the part I bolded above, I'm assuming you've never read Rise of the Runelords. Book 1 introduces an innocent seeming NPC, who becomes a major player in book 2. The GM really should know his back story and details from book 2 before running book 1, to get everything right in how to handle him.
Hmm, thats true,(and yes, I've run RotR), but though in that case at least unless player's for some reason just decide to kill the guy, you could run the guy as written without being inconsistent with revelations that come from later on. Well, to some extend <_< I could see something like players going with him when he says he goes to Magnimar because Gm doesn't know where he actually goes to, but as long player's don't do anything unexpected, you don't really need to know what happens to him as long you don't add your own scenes about the guy.
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Organized Play Lead Developer
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John it sounds to me like the title for this book was taken form the orginal Battlestar Galactica, is this the case?
Although I wrote this adventure, I was not involved in creating the title. I can see some after-the-fact similarities with the Battlestar Galactica universe, but I don't believe those were intentional. At the very least, Battlestar Galactica did not play a conscious role in how I approached, designed, and wrote this adventure.
They still have a print option for purchase of this adventure...
I would make a thread in the Customer Service forum about that then.
And despite having subscribed in August I still don't have mine...
You might want to contact Customer Service about it then, so that they can give your subscription a kick....
Lot's of people probably.
(Those aren't new to Starfinder, they're throughout 1st Edition Pathfinder as well).
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So discovered the fight(s) at the Stargazer are killer. Almost had a TPK when Event 5 happens after the Cult ambush.
Fortunately for the rest of the party, the remaining monster decided the unconscious Envoy was more useful as in incubator than killing the rest of the group.
Pretty rough end for the Envoy. But at least the group finally decided they need a tank.