Starfinder / Adventures / Standalone Adventures / Starfinder Bounties

Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job

Paizo Inc.

(based on 2 ratings)

Our Price: $4.99

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A Starfinder Bounty designed for 1st-level characters.

A desperate scam artist prowls the bars of Drifter’s End, fleecing the tourists and starship crews of Absalom Station out of their hard-earned credits with a chunk of fake horacalcum and the chance to invest in their newly discovered starmetal vein. It’s up to the PCs to track down this fake miner, and haul them back to pay their dues!

Written by: John Godek III

Content sanctioned for use in the Starfinder Society Organized Play program.

Scenario tags: Repeatable

[Scenario Maps spoiler - click to reveal]

The following maps used in this scenario are also available for purchase here on paizo.com:

Starfinder Flip-Mat: Casino

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Average product rating:

(based on 2 ratings)

Good Idea, Average Execution

Jhaeman — Wed, Jan 18, 2023, 05:47 pm

NO SPOILERS

The Cantina Job is the first in a new format of Starfinder adventures called "Bounties". The premise of a "Bounty" is that it's a very short adventure playable in 60-90 minutes, and with as few as three players (or as many as six). I really like the concept, as they're perfect for an introductory game or a game when folks just don't have the time to commit to a 4-5 hour session. They're sanctioned for Starfinder Society use but can be easily integrated into an ongoing campaign as a side trek or just "run for fun" as a one-shot. The artwork is mediocre compared to the Paizo standard, but the layout is clear and crisp (and I liked the summaries of how organised play worked). I do think they're fairly pricey ($4.99) compared to a regular Starfinder Society scenario that provides a lot more gameplay.

In terms of the adventure itself, I got to experience it via play-by-post with my journalist PC. You can't expect brilliant design in adventure like this, but it was certainly serviceable and a fun game. There's opportunities for role-playing, some action, and a surprisingly good moral dilemma at the end. Overall, not a bad way to spend an hour!

SPOILERS!:

The Cantina Job starts in a dive bar called the Electric Prism in the Drifter's End district of Absalom Station. The PCs are hired by the bar's owner to track down a con artist who has been bilking customers out of money and then instigating brawls to slip away undetected. The adventure doesn't explain why the PCs are together or working as, effectively, bounty hunters, so the GM may need to improvise something. Assuming the PCs take the job, a quick investigation into the Electric Prism's surveillance cameras will reveal that the con artist is actually a shapechanging astrazoan and discovery of a credstick will indicate she's headed off-station to Venture Solaris (a casino that orbits the sun).

The bulk of the adventure takes place at the casino. I wish the writer had instead incorporated the Vestrani Gaming Complex or another Burning Archipelago casino from the Dawn of Flame adventure path (continuity is fun and flavorful!). The con artist, Vanecarsys, is easy to spot in the VIP section of the casino (she doesn't switch guises as often as she should for a shapechanger). The challenge for the PCs is how to get past security and into the VIP section. Various options (and skill checks) are provided, and it looks like the PCs can keep trying different ones until they eventually succeed.

Vanecarsys gives up peacefully and agrees to return with the PCs to Absalom Station, but a trio of generic mercenaries who also have a beef with her launch an attack on the casino floor! The CR 1/2 thugs should be easy to dispatch even for Level 1 PCs, but Vanecarsys flees during the fighting. This leads to a sort of half-baked Chase with the annoying (far too common) element that whether the PCs succeed or fail, they get the same result: they catch up to her anyway. Vanecarsys explains, truthfully, that she's been running the con jobs to help pay for life-saving surgery for her dying mother. Even in the fictional Starfinder universe, there's no public healthcare! (American writers . . .) This leads the PCs to a good moral dilemma: should they let Vanecarsys spend her ill-gotten gains on the surgery (with a promise to pay restitution afterwards) or immediately turn her over to the Stewards? I love an opportunity for quality role-playing like that.

And that's The Cantina Job. A decent first effort, though I'll forward to seeing if future Bounties can make more of the format.

What I'm looking for in my Starfinder

Qualidar — May 30, 2022, 06:01 pm

This ran right in that sweet spot for me—like a blend of Cowboy Beebop and James Bond—which is just about perfect for what I'm looking for in Starfinder. I like the other tones you'll see in SFS too, but something quick and fun like this to break up the more serious story arcs is perfect. Great time.

Product Discussion (24)

Search Thread

Alex Speidel Organized Play Coordinator

Nov 9, 2021, 01:53 pm

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Announced for January! Cover and product description are not final and are subject to change.

Hilary Moon Murphy Contributor

Nov 9, 2021, 03:11 pm

5 people marked this as a favorite.

"WOOOT! Starfinder Bounties are here!"

Pa'aan Inubrix

Nov 9, 2021, 03:25 pm

1 person marked this as a favorite.

"Sounds like some miners are getting their name treated like dirt by this scab and need the Union to back 'em up. I'm on it."

GM Numbat

Nov 9, 2021, 08:39 pm

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Woot! Starfinder bounties!

Woot! John writes and adventure! Looking forward to experiencing this.

David knott 242

Nov 9, 2021, 11:02 pm

Pathfinder Companion, Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

So when will there be a non-broken image of this product?

John Godek III

Nov 10, 2021, 07:34 am

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Yay!

Aaron Shanks Marketing & Media Manager

Nov 10, 2021, 09:17 am

3 people marked this as a favorite.

David knott 242 wrote:

So when will there be a non-broken image of this product?

Please give it time. Our webstore coordinator tells me new images sometimes "seem to be having some trouble coming down the pipeline."

Aaron Shanks Marketing & Media Manager

Nov 10, 2021, 09:08 pm

3 people marked this as a favorite.

I am not sure how useful this is, but the Fly Free or Die AP has Side Jobs in volumes 2 through 5. They are small extra encounters that start at 5th level and end at 10th. They seem a lot like Bounties to me if you are looking for higher level options. Volume 1 has an article on Galactic Trade and volume 6 has some Continuing the Campaign encounters that look they they could stand alone just as well as Side Jobs. An AP is a bigger purchase than these new Bounties, but the whole AP is gold. :)

David knott 242

Nov 13, 2021, 11:41 am

Pathfinder Companion, Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Aaron Shanks wrote:

David knott 242 wrote:

So when will there be a non-broken image of this product?

Please give it time. Our webstore coordinator tells me new images sometimes "seem to be having some trouble coming down the pipeline."

Thanks -- it looks like we have it now.

Hilary Moon Murphy Contributor

Nov 13, 2021, 03:02 pm

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Aaron Shanks wrote:

I am not sure how useful this is, but the Fly Free or Die AP has Side Jobs in volumes 2 through 5. They are small extra encounters that start at 5th level and end at 10th. They seem a lot like Bounties to me if you are looking for higher level options. Volume 1 has an article on Galactic Trade and volume 6 has some Continuing the Campaign encounters that look they they could stand alone just as well as Side Jobs. An AP is a bigger purchase than these new Bounties, but the whole AP is gold. :)

All these are great ideas, but I think a lot of the enthusiasm for bounties is coming from the Org Play crowd where a bounty can provide a nice short adventure in a store's tight time slot, or at a non-gaming convention where newcomers are more likely to give you an hour of time than 4 hours of time. I'm also excited by the ability to decouple quest packs in Organized Play now.

But you are right that the Side Jobs are incredibly awesome, and Fly Free or Die as a whole looks like a ton of fun!

Hmm

Ashbourne

Nov 15, 2021, 11:26 am

Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Really happy to see Starfinder bounties, my work schedule makes it impossible to play adventures that take more than one session to play.

Aaron Shanks Marketing & Media Manager

Nov 15, 2021, 12:11 pm

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

Aaron Shanks wrote:
I am not sure how useful this is, but the Fly Free or Die AP has Side Jobs in volumes 2 through 5. They are small extra encounters that start at 5th level and end at 10th. They seem a lot like Bounties to me if you are looking for higher level options. Volume 1 has an article on Galactic Trade and volume 6 has some Continuing the Campaign encounters that look they they could stand alone just as well as Side Jobs. An AP is a bigger purchase than these new Bounties, but the whole AP is gold. :)
All these are great ideas, but I think a lot of the enthusiasm for bounties is coming from the Org Play crowd where a bounty can provide a nice short adventure in a store's tight time slot, or at a non-gaming convention where newcomers are more likely to give you an hour of time than 4 hours of time. I'm also excited by the ability to decouple quest packs in Organized Play now.
But you are right that the Side Jobs are incredibly awesome, and Fly Free or Die as a whole looks like a ton of fun!

Hmm

I'm happy the Org Play community is interested! Bounties are hybrid products designed to serve both them and non-Society players. Definitely entry level. I've just heard a lot of Pathfinder players and streamers looking for higher level experiences, so I mention them. Backstory: I've been looking for content we've already created that can be converted into "Paizo Presents" liveplays next year.

Hilary Moon Murphy Contributor

Nov 17, 2021, 01:34 pm

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Aaron --

This is a serious question. Would you ever consider a Wayfinder adventure for this? I wrote Wandering Waterbear for Wayfinder 20. It's all Paizo IP, runs in 4 hours, and has had great reviews from players.

Hmm

Aaron Shanks Marketing & Media Manager

Nov 17, 2021, 02:30 pm

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

Aaron --

This is a serious question. Would you ever consider a Wayfinder adventure for this? I wrote Wandering Waterbear for Wayfinder 20. It's all Paizo IP, runs in 4 hours, and has had great reviews from players.

Hmm

Oh! I'll look.

Hilary Moon Murphy Contributor

Nov 18, 2021, 11:44 am

4 people marked this as a favorite.

By the way, I didn't say it before, but I am beyond excited to see John Godek, a 5-nova GM, writing the first bounty!

John Godek III

Nov 22, 2021, 12:24 pm

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

By the way, I didn't say it before, but I am beyond excited to see John Godek, a 5-nova GM, writing the first bounty!

Thanks Hilary! - I hope you and your 5 Nova's will be doing one soon too!

Hilary Moon Murphy Contributor

Nov 22, 2021, 12:49 pm

It will happen eventually—there are a lot of great people who also want to write SFS adventures.

Michael Bramnik

Nov 23, 2021, 05:21 am

Congratulations on this one, John! Really looking forward to seeing it! :)

Tea4Goblins

Nov 25, 2021, 06:56 pm

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm guessing that they're going to change the SFS xp to more resemble that of PF2 in order to factor Bounties into things. Either that or you get .25 xp per each one.