I have to admit to feeling underwhelmed that the answer to the big mystery of “What happened to the Bulwark” is an invasion of pretty generic monsters I’ve never heard of before. The Bulwark was captured by an army of grioths led by a sadistic general named Itharris. Grioths are winged bad guys with the usual expansionist motives common to many fantasy alien races and I just can’t think of a single memorable thing about them. Putting that to one side, there is an interesting angle with the grioths having spent their time in control of the Bulwark constructing something called the Voidglass Spire, a towering structure that channels psychic power for nefarious purposes. The scenario puts the concept of the Spire (and “voidglass” in general) to good effect in various plot points. And more, the scenario provides an interesting pre-SFS history of the structure they would discover and call the Bulwark: it’s on the planet Mazdrun, homeworld of an ancient, incredibly powerful, twelve-limbed species with deep knowledge of planar travel known as the Founders that eventually became extinct, their souls united into a single magical being named the Merged One. I can get behind big science-fiction concepts!
The Introduction to the scenario starts with the PCs aboard a fleet travelling toward Mazdrun and receiving a briefing by Ixthia the Unbreakable. Unlike many past Specials, there are no “mustering activities” here as tables get organised--just introductions to get some role-playing off the ground. That’s probably fine, in my opinion--Specials tend to be so packed with material anyway, the little skill checks and bonuses of mustering activities aren’t really needed.
In Part 1 (“Recon”), each table gets to choose one of four different missions to take on (and can move on to another mission if they finish the first one quickly). First, there’s “Establish Comms”, which has the PCs needing to set up signal boosters on Mazdrun’s surface in between storms that wreak havoc. It’s essentially a skill challenge, and like all skill challenges, it works well if the GM can add enough flavour to keep it from becoming just a dice-rolling exercise. The mission results in the PCs discovering a source of darkness underground and a signal from surviving Starfinders inside the Bulwark! Second, there’s “Downed Vessel”, in which the PCs are tasked with investigating the wreckage of Wisdom’s Grasp, a Starfinder ship that intended to rendezvous with the Bulwark just before contact was cut-off with the outside. I love the backstory element that the ship was downed by intentionally intercepting a grioth laser beam meant to destroy Struggle’s Scholar, tying in perfectly to that classic scenario. Anyway, the PCs will trigger a lot of haunt-related traps as they explore the wreckage, and success will allow them to realise that grioths were responsible for its destruction. Third, there’s “The Arsenal”, in which, as the name implies, the PCs get to return to The Arsenal (as they first did in an earlier scenario) to scout it as a potential staging area for the invasion of the Bulwark. An angel named Vigil-X has to be persuaded to allow it in what’s essentially a three-round influence-based skill check. Fourth and finally, there’s “Subterranean Tunnels”, which features the PCs exploring lava tunnels to see if there’s an underground entrance to The Bulwark that can bypass the darkness shield. After dealing with some radioactive ice, monsters called craggolks, and potentially discovering some relics of the Founders, the PCs will learn that the only potential entrance is blocked.
After the con as a whole gets enough successes from Recon missions, it’s time for Event # 1: Generator Assault! Here, the PCs participate in a mission to destroy the darkness generators that shroud the Bulwark. They get instructions and explosives from a great NPC ysoki named Betsy Blast(!) and have to fight through some grioth opposition plus a mass confusion beam to get the job done.
Part 2 (“Breaching the Bulwark”) starts with the PCs getting a choice of two “Bulwark Missions” to force entry into the fortress. One option is “Forward Observation”, in which the PCs act as forward observers for an artillery barrage. It’s a skill challenge, which is fine, but I don’t like that this one (and many of the ones in the Special) are of the “players can use any skill, describing how it contributes towards their goal”—players just look at whatever skill has the highest modifier and then come up with some random crap, whereas I’d actually like to see some rarely-taken skills get some value). Pet peeve over. The other option is “Underground Entry” which has the PCs fighting through a grioth crossfire to reach a voidglass mine.
I can’t fault the writers for not giving the players choice and the scenario replayability, because there’s then a choice of six(!) different missions: 1) Spire Inspection has the PCs investigating a deadly beam of black energy by collecting voidglass samples from three different sites (another skill challenge; here they learn that voidglass is psychically charged); 2) Survivors is my favourite of the bunch, as it’s a really original challenge: three Starfinders have been rescued from the Bulwark, but each claims the other two are double-agents mind-whammied by the grioths! How to know who can be trusted? The only shame is that it’s resolved through skill checks instead of actual role-playing and deduction; 3) Prison Break has the PCs rescuing prisoners by defeating grioths and construct guardians before a bomb goes off in five rounds; 4) Foul Laboratory has the PCs intervening to stop grioth robots from destroying a grioth laboratory (and the valuable information contained within); 5) Founders Vault has the PCs trying to access a vault that the grioths never figured out how to open—there are six tumblers that can be solved through trial and error, but a PC takes damage for every wrong guess; 6) The Cursed Blade has the PCs needing to break through a barricade and discover what’s on the other side--it turns out to be a sword haunted by the spirit of a Starfinder Society archaeologist studying the Founders—tons of great lore here!
Part 3 (“Assault on the Spire”) has everyone starting with the same “Spire Mission” called “Anvil and Hammer”: the premise is that the Starfinders need to fight their way across a bridge between the Bulwark and the top opening of the Voidglass Spire, but it’s actually all done narratively through a skills challenge rather than actual tactical combat. There’s then a choice of three Spire Missions: 1) Elemental Nexus involves the PCs attuning themselves to some elemental obelisks left by the Founders (and gaining some perks in the process); 2) Assault on the Seer has the PCs trying to stop a grioth named Eclipse Seer Remthaize from completing a ritual--it has some cool art; 4) Spire Control Center requires the PCs to bypass a trap to shut down a “psychic transducer” (the key weapon device in the Spire; as an aside, I’ve seen something similar in Chapter 5 of Dawn of Flame).
Part 4 (“Bulwark’s Heart”) has the big climax as the Starfinders descend into the core of the Bulwark for a battle against Lt Ulgaran (low subtier) or General Itharris herself (high subtier). As I mentioned above, they’re the pretty standard “bloodthirsty conquer-all-lessers” type. During the battle, the Merged One awakens and starts climbing the Voidglass Spire like freakin’ King Kong on the Empire State Building! I’m not sure it works, but I have to admit it helped with the idea of a big dramatic ending.
If a table finishes earlier than the others, they can then go on to a couple of short wrap-up skill check missions to blast energy cannons at grioths or evacuate the wounded.
And that’s Battle for the Bulwark! It’s very professional package and one in which it’s clear the writers and designers spent a lot of time on. There’s several handouts and checklists to help the players and GM keep track of everything, a clever use of repurposed flip-mats, some neat artwork (a shame the picture of the Bulwark isn’t more prominent), and some strong concepts for missions. The writing also integrated and put a lot of Starfinder Society scenario lore together. It is a bit pricey, but considering all the material a GM gets, it’s definitely worth the cost. And although I found grioths a “meh”, as a whole it’s a really impressive Special that I imagine most players will really enjoy.
