The spice must flow...
And
I think the first AP would be a bit of a grand tour of the Core Worlds, what is being called the Pact Worlds, if I heard that bit right from the Gen Con panel. Since a lot of the setting information is going to be communicated through the backmatter of APs, giving the players a quest that lets them land on all the Pact Worlds at one point or another might be a good option?
Maybe a combination of the two would be a good opener? Perhaps the first AP could be taking down a powerful spice-like drug cartel one bit at a time? This would involve the PCs travelling between the core worlds and dealing with the shady underworld in each location.
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The spice must flow...
And
I think the first AP would be a bit of a grand tour of the Core Worlds, what is being called the Pact Worlds, if I heard that bit right from the Gen Con panel. Since a lot of the setting information is going to be communicated through the backmatter of APs, giving the players a quest that lets them land on all the Pact Worlds at one point or another might be a good option?Maybe a combination of the two would be a good opener? Perhaps the first AP could be taking down a powerful spice-like drug cartel one bit at a time? This would involve the PCs travelling between the core worlds and dealing with the shady underworld in each location.
Nothing like good ol space cartels! I remember hearing in the Gen Con talks that surgically installed tech will be available, which made me think of a company controlling it's customers through their digital perspectives. Feels more cyberpunk than space opera though...
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A grand tour of the setting is probably the best way to set up Starfinder, although such a tour could cover a very large range of stories.
Beyond that, I would love an AP about preventing an invasion by the Dominion of the Black, which I kind of hope are one of the major "big bads" of Starfinder.
What is Dominion of the Black?
I fully anticipate a tour of Golarion's system being involved. I'm gonna point out for anyone calling for a visit to Earth though, as of 4713 AR it's 1918 on Earth, which means that even if we assume it's only been like 400 years it'll be 23XX on Earth during the Starfinder setting. Unless of course time moves differently between Earth and Golarion... which would be interesting actually.
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What is Dominion of the Black?
An ancient alien threat that lies in the dark reaches between stars and harvest worlds for their biological material, and whose technology is entirely organic.
They were responsible for the crash of the Starmount into Golarion as were also involved in ancient Osirion, within the current Pathfinder setting.
I fully anticipate a tour of Golarion's system being involved. I'm gonna point out for anyone calling for a visit to Earth though, as of 4713 AR it's 1918 on Earth, which means that even if we assume it's only been like 400 years it'll be 23XX on Earth during the Starfinder setting. Unless of course time moves differently between Earth and Golarion... which would be interesting actually.
I thought that the Gap was 1,000 years. Wouldn't that make the first Starfinder AP start in the equivalent of Earth year 2922?
jack Vance demon princes
How about the PCs are space miners/space explorers/space cops/etc.. who come across a crashed ship/abandoned dig site/band of space pirates/etc.. and in the process of dealing with it/them they discover a Black Box A.I. that claims to know what happened during the Gap/contain vital knowledge of the Dominion of the Black/can tell the PCs where to find Vecna's head/etc.. Hilarity ensues.
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Moby Dick
The planet Epsilon 9 contains a rich deposit of exotic dark matter, ideal for refining into spacecraft fuel. The trouble is that a gigantic white space leviathan is attacking ships that try to enter the planet's orbit. The PCs are sent to investigate, but what they discover is the leviathan is not trying to destroy the ships it is trying to save them...
Some ideas:
As there are no clerics or gods in the system, perhaps a universe wide romp based on the birth of a god, and the different factions that would like to kill/worship/kidnap the child.
A galactic government conspiracy around a secret organisation which is trying to train children that have been taken from their parents under false pretence (that they have gained place at a gifted programme school) only to be altered to become the Starfinder version of Sorcerers.
A race of creatures has been found on the edges of space that appears to be stripping planets. The PCs are sent to investigate, but it turns out they need the resources to combat an even greater threat.
The PCs wake up with no knowledge of their past but with (psionic) powers. Each is given cards with symbols which denote the powers they have, but until they use them they have no control, they can choose to develop these powers or develop in completely different ways. How did they get the powers? and why do the (badguy group) want to capture them?
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Some ideas:
As there are no clerics or gods in the system, perhaps a universe wide romp based on the birth of a god, and the different factions that would like to kill/worship/kidnap the child.
A galactic government conspiracy around a secret organisation which is trying to train children that have been taken from their parents under false pretence (that they have gained place at a gifted programme school) only to be altered to become the Starfinder version of Sorcerers.
A race of creatures has been found on the edges of space that appears to be stripping planets. The PCs are sent to investigate, but it turns out they need the resources to combat an even greater threat.
The PCs wake up with no knowledge of their past but with (psionic) powers. Each is given cards with symbols which denote the powers they have, but until they use them they have no control, they can choose to develop these powers or develop in completely different ways. How did they get the powers? and why do the (badguy group) want to capture them?
There are gods in the setting its a pretty key conceit.
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Sargasso Space
There is a large roughly spherical portion of space with a volume of many thousands of cubic light years that appears to spin slowly in the opposite direction to the rest of the Galaxy. This region is called the Sargasso Space named after the Sargasso Sea on Earth. Most ships avoid the area preferring to spend a few extra weeks skirting around Sargasso Space to avoid the hazards within. Only a small number of ships have ventured inside and returned to normal space and in all cases they stuck close to the border with normal space in a region that has become known as the shallows. Those ships who have returned from the shallows have reported that the contrary spin plays havoc with navigation computers and becomes worse further in as it appears the centre spins more quickly than the circumference.
What is residing at the centre of Sargasso Space is a deep mystery. Some speculate that there is a supermassive black hole or a ring of giant dark matter stars circling in the opposite direction to the rest of the Galaxy. Surveys by telescope have not revealed anything and those ships who have entered the depths of Sargasso Space have never returned. Legend has it that many a merchant vessel has attempted to cross Sargasso Space as a short cut between civilised systems never to return. What riches might remain hidden and unclaimed within its depths?
when will we get our first informations about that AP?
a title at least? the title won't spoil much since we still don't know allmost anything about the Setting.
I was thinking a lot about 'Alien' lately and I guess an AP where the group is the crew of a Nostromo like ship would be a nice way to start Starfinder
If anyone out there remembers Star Frontiers, the first set of adventures that set up the Slitthar as enemies was a really good traditional Sci-Fi trope style adventure.
In the whole HISTORY of SF games, the only thing that comes CLOSE to a series of good interlinked adventures on which to build a lengthy SF campaign was a 3rd party product for Traveller, FASA's Sky Raiders campaign. (Legend of the Sky Raiders, Trail of the Sky Raiders and Fate of the Sky Raiders by the Keith brothers).
Written for Traveller in the early 80s, Sky Raiders tried to do for Traveller what GDQ1-7 did for AD&D. A valiant attempt, but Sky Raiders was still modest in scope and size and it lacked nearly all of the details that we would think essential for a "real" AP by today's standards. Still, it was a worthy attempt. Raiders of the Lost Ark in space, essentially.
That's IT. In forty YEARS -- that is IT.
Not a Traveller Digest fan, then. 21 issues, one adventure series through the whole lot.
That's bigger than the Milky Way (100,000ly across). IC 1101 is the largest known galaxy, and it's only 5.5Mly across. I don't think you're getting a nebula millions of light years across.Dark Nebula.
A hyperspace jump goes wrong depositing the PCs somewhere inside a huge nebula millions of light years across.
The largest structure we know of that is classed as a nebula is about 200 million light years in diameter.
^That large a structure may be no longer classified as a nebula . . . BUT . . . Who says the PCs can't get deposited inside a nebula that is larger on the inside than on the outside?
You may be right. I can't find any definitive information either way. Nebulas are for lack of a better word: nebulous, so probably difficult to measure accurately.
I wasn't imagining anything that large. I meant more the 4-6 million light year range with potentially a small Galaxy hidden inside.
It Looks like the first AP revolves around Absalom Station. Time to binge watch Babylon 5 again to get in the mood...
In the whole HISTORY of SF games, the only thing that comes CLOSE to a series of good interlinked adventures on which to build a lengthy SF campaign was a 3rd party product for Traveller, FASA's Sky Raiders campaign. (Legend of the Sky Raiders, Trail of the Sky Raiders and Fate of the Sky Raiders by the Keith brothers).
Just a quick update: The Rose of Death is the first adventure in the Prelude to War adventure path. The second adventure comes out soon.
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Really, all I want is something that establishes the setting & the tone that they are going for.
It Looks like the first AP revolves around Absalom Station. Time to binge watch Babylon 5 again to get in the mood...It does? I haven't seen any news about the subject of the first AP. Where did you see that?
I honestly don't remember. Some interview or blog about SF I guess. I also might've misread it.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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I got the impression that the first AP would start on Absalom station, and possibly use it as a home base throughout. But I suspect they'll want to showcase the initial setting as much as possible so there will be plenty of running out to various planets and possible derelict bases/ships.
On a backwater planet, the Hells has opened up. Demons and undead spill forth from fissures and portals. All of known civilization had retreated to the last defensible city. Now the shield generators are destroyed and the demonic forces have breached the city walls. The PCs must find a way to get back behind friendly lines and stop the last days of the planet before it becomes a prime dimension Hell.
Nothing too complicated for the first AP, topping out at 14th level, or even lower.
The first volume at Absalom Station with each additional volume on mainly one new planet each, with a detailed gazetteer on each location which can be used for home-brew games. (Not the planets in the Golarian system.) A mixture of wilderness and urban settlings. At least one or two space battles. An epic villain for volume six.
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On a backwater planet, the Hells has opened up. Demons and undead spill forth from fissures and portals. All of known civilization had retreated to the last defensible city. Now the shield generators are destroyed and the demonic forces have breached the city walls. The PCs must find a way to get back behind friendly lines and stop the last days of the planet before it becomes a prime dimension Hell.
They're probably not going to do Wrath of the Righteous twice.
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Is that what that was? I thought it was DOOM the RPG.
Is that what that was? I thought it was DOOM the RPG.
Give me a bit. Working on a Predator style hunter.
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Hmmmm...DoomGuy and Predator team-up against the demons of Hell?
Classes first, then scenario.
Not sure if this is an AP that everyone (majority?) would want first, but I am already starting to revisit the Skull and Shackles AP and looking at the changes (only a few) needed to make it run-able in space instead of on the oceans.
Major ports -> Planets/Space stations
Islands -> backwater planets
Ship to ship combat on water -> Starfinders new ship to ship combat
Great Maelstrom -> black hole
Oh yeah, this one will play in space really well ;)
Space pirates and smugglers would be awesome to have.
Kingmaker/Skull & Shackles with a planet and solar-system builder and mass space-combat rules (if the core doesn't include them). PCs lead an expedition to a new system, colonize an empty world, bump up against another planet's race as well as competing colonists, and start building an empire of their own.
This is probably the one thing I want more than anything else. I loved Kingmaker and it's inspired me to continue using that Domain Management style play in other games. I absolutely love it.
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Not sure if this is an AP that everyone (majority?) would want first, but I am already starting to revisit the Skull and Shackles AP and looking at the changes (only a few) needed to make it run-able in space instead of on the oceans.
Major ports -> Planets/Space stations
Islands -> backwater planets
Ship to ship combat on water -> Starfinders new ship to ship combat
Great Maelstrom -> black holeOh yeah, this one will play in space really well ;)
Whatever else might be said about Microsoft, the amount of detail and awesome they wrote into the backstory and setting of Freelancer was extraordinary. Even if the missions got repetitive after awhile, it was great fun exploring all the dusty corners and badlands of the Sirius Sector. Some places were very much off the beaten path and dangerous to visit even with the best ship and weapons you could find, but it was all beautiful.
I thought that the Gap was 1,000 years. Wouldn't that make the first Starfinder AP start in the equivalent of Earth year 2922?I fully anticipate a tour of Golarion's system being involved. I'm gonna point out for anyone calling for a visit to Earth though, as of 4713 AR it's 1918 on Earth, which means that even if we assume it's only been like 400 years it'll be 23XX on Earth during the Starfinder setting. Unless of course time moves differently between Earth and Golarion... which would be interesting actually.
1,000 years past the current year in August 2017 which is the release date :)
This would be a good introduction plan for an adventure path and you could encompass starflight twice in each book (which is part of Starfinder). A tour of Starfinder and a terrific opportunity to highlight some of the areas as well as introduce space combat would be ideal as it will bring out more of the flavor. The goal could be to establish a trade agreement, meanwhile the Dominion of the Black is trying to harness the powers of the sun, which is why they in book 6 have a confrontation near Aballon where they must deal with a Dominion of the Black Ship and ultimately board it where they face a strange alien entity.
Golarion Station - Book 1 Part 1
==Space Travel==
Akiton Book 1 Part 2
==Space Travel==
Verces Book 2 Part 1
==Space Travel==
Eox Book 2 Part 2 (Thousand Moons, add a Mystic of Groetus), Eox itself is a very high level zone, but thousand moons would be safe)
==Space Travel==
Triaxus Book 3 Part 1
==Space Travel==
Liavara Book 3 Part 2
==Space Travel==
Bretheda Book 4 Part 1
==Space Travel==
Apostae Book 4 Part 2
==Space Travel==
Aucturn Book 5 Part 1
==Space Travel==
Castrovel Book 5 Part 2
==Space Travel==
Aballon Book 6 Part 1
==Space Travel==
Dominion of the Black Ship Book 6 Part 2
1,000 years past the current year in August 2017 which is the release date :)I thought that the Gap was 1,000 years. Wouldn't that make the first Starfinder AP start in the equivalent of Earth year 2922?I fully anticipate a tour of Golarion's system being involved. I'm gonna point out for anyone calling for a visit to Earth though, as of 4713 AR it's 1918 on Earth, which means that even if we assume it's only been like 400 years it'll be 23XX on Earth during the Starfinder setting. Unless of course time moves differently between Earth and Golarion... which would be interesting actually.
No, that wouldn't be right. You see, in Reign of Winter
Wait a second,
That means we will be in 2,918 AD Earth year and 5,713 AR Golarion Year.
Wait a second,
That means we will be in 2,918 AD Earth year and 5,713 AR Golarion Year.
No, it has (or will have, at any rate) been several in-game years since RoW (4, to be precise) so 2922 AD & 5717 AR would be accurate.
I'm not sure about 1st AP, but I think something along the lines of Hell's Rebels "in space" might be interesting; not that I've played Hell's rebels yet.
So, say that in one corrupt area of a planet, the players go full phantom thieves on some rather corrupt people. And all the while they keep themselves a discreet hideout in orbit hidden in a chunk of asteroid.
Then again, I could just as easily describe this as "Gundam 00, meets Hell's Rebels and Persona 5".
... Probably not the best idea, but I've had Phantom Thieves on my mind for a while.
No, it has (or will have, at any rate) been several in-game years since RoW (4, to be precise) so 2922 AD & 5717 AR would be accurate.Wait a second,
That means we will be in 2,918 AD Earth year and 5,713 AR Golarion Year.
It would be more interesting if they aged at different rates due to relativistic effects and or magic.
Well we do have this little tidbit from A December interview from Sutter
[spoiler="Sutter: Well, the first solar system was based in large part on the solar system I actually wrote up for Pathfinder in a book called Distant Worlds. That was really kind of a test run for this game, just to see if people even liked science fantasy, and it turns out they really did.
There’s a lot of the planets in there that I really enjoy, like there’s one called Eox which is going to figure pretty prominently in the first adventure pack we do.
That’s a world where you find something like the Empire in Star Wars; they built a super weapon to blow up another planet and succeeded, but the backlash of doing so basically nuked their own planet as well. Have you ever heard about when they were doing the Manhattan Project and they were testing the nuclear bombs and there was this thought of “We don’t know if it will set this atmosphere on fire or not?” In this case, it did destroy the atmosphere. And so the only survivors were the people who turned to undeath, reanimating themselves as living corpses through magic, in order to survive."[/spoiler]