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Hi all,
Note that this is intended for GM reading and advice. Minor spoilers ahead, so if you intend to be a player you are hereby warned.
TLDR: What are your suggestions for good news bulletins to present to the players?
I'll be kicking off a campaign in a while and thought it would be a good idea to post ASN24: ABSOLAM STATION NEWSFEED 24 bulletin updates between sessions.
Building on the excellent start by Black Dow in this thread I thought it would be fun to expand. It's just a brilliant mechanic to drip feed the setting, locations, organisations etc to the players.
The way it's presented to the players is that among the massive flux of media and thousands of news cases these are a few of the tidbits that the characters for some reason picked up on, perhaps 3-5 of these bulletins will be presented for each session.
These can be real news events, gossip, unsubstantiated rumors, fake news etc etc. Some of these will be completely untrue. In between some foreshadowing of future events will also be available for the observant player. Timing is naturally essential when it comes to the foreshadowing bullets. Also, bullets will be made for when the players have done something that will become public knowledge (E.g. resolving the Drift Rock situation)
So far what I've come up with is:
ASN24: YOUR STATION. YOUR NEWS
Foreshadowing:
• Starfinder society confirm ongoing recruitment drive in wake of scoured stars incident, which saw 80% of personnel numbers lost.
• Acting First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo enlists mercenaries to assist Starfinder operations. Critics claim Starfinder integrity jeopardized by dubious sponsors. (The first mandate)
• Quarantined Derelict tug - the Acreon claimed by both astral extractions & hardscrabble collective. Ship’s Missing crew still unaccounted for. (AP#1)
• Streetgang shootout in Drifter’s end. Level 21 Crew and the Downside Kings implicated. One innocent bystander killed, three more wounded. (AP#1)
• Exploration rights for Salvations End awarded the Starfinder Society. (Claim to Salvation)
• Thasteron prices continue to plummet, Maro economists fear worst recession since the Gap. (Red fugitive)
• Tune in to the ever popular Scrap Battle contest tonight. Proudly sponsored by the Salvage Union. (The commencement)
• Sugar-pop sensation Strawberry Machine Cake set to release latest album StarSugarHeartlove!!!
• Master of Stars still undergoing repairs. Foreman quoted saying working conditions appalling.
• Spike deaths suspected Xill infestation. ABSEC requests any citizen with information step forward.
• Qubarat University professor defends genocide on formians in public lecture. Formains in uproar, professor suspended.
Locations:
• Investigation into series of gruesome murders in the Eye halted by red-tape. Foul play by Palisaders claimed by official.
• Cornucopia building in Parkside under pressure – real-estate investors is allegedly willing to invest several tens of million credits to develop luxury accommodation.
• Star player Fidera Nook of the Absalom Assailants found guilty in cheating. He is fined and quarantined for the next five games. The talented Brutaris player will miss the finals. Fans in uproar, demand Fidera be spaced.
• Swordlight Cathredal to host the Veskarium contigent of faithful pilgrims. Knigh-General Halaina Lymikin appointed chief-host, representing the Church and the Knights of Golarion simultaneously.
• Castrovel’s lashuntas and formians celebrate 30 years since the landmark peace deal, ending millennia of conflict.
• No progess has been made in cleansing The Bureaucratic Subroutine from Station 01 orbiting Aballon. Persisten rumors that the Aballon government hinders efforts in finding a cure.
• Misguided Atheist attack on the Gathering of Vessels. Perpetrator yelled “There are no gods, the gods are delusions!” repeatedly while shooting a laser pistol wildly. Security footage shows his head suddenly caving in on itself, incapacitating the shooter. He was declared dead on the scene.
• Speculation are ripe that a security breach has been found in the Golden Vault. AdbarCorp officials deny this claim, though the corporation has been hiring an increased number of security experts.
• A particularly dense outing of the Six Tip Gang decided to pick a fight in the SecRes Pavillion. All 13 gang members hospitalized. Turns out hyperleaf laced with a hallucinogen does not enhance combat capabilities.
• New bill proposed to the Syndicsguild to fund a cleansing of the Ghost Levels. Noted experts at the Arcanium argue against, noting that the ecosystem may contain the key to the stations function or destiny.
• Station Brown-out due to Starstone attemptee. Starstone Defenders regretfully admits security breach as infamous cat-burglar Jua Heistu was killed when attempting to reach the Starstone. Defender spokesperson dissuades anyone from attempting – “No-one has successfully reached the Starstone since the end of the Gap, it is suicide”.
• Technomancers for the Astral Extractions mining company have discovered new magical uses for corpsicum, vast influx of credits for Candares
• Life Innovations sign deal with Lausill civ for body augmentation tech.
• Castrovelian Xenowardens foil megafauna poachers. Rumors that the poachers were sentenced to hard labor in formian factories have as yet not been confirmed.
• Fullbright sun-farm sacked in raid on Verces. Stewards reportedly tracked down the perps in the Outlaw Kingdoms.
• Scientists alarmed as Nisis, the largest asteroid in the Diaspora, seems to grow. Measurements confirm growth by several centimeters annually since 314 AG. Sufficient data collected to discount statistical variance. Scientific community baffled.
• The River Between turned dark, attackes reported by sailors plying the special waterway. Traffic declined since the coming of the ‘Diaspora Wyrms’.
• Recent Dreamer prophetic song does not predict degeneration of stars. Barathu famed interpreter claims meaning is: terrible calamity avoided.
• Shipment of thaumogen from Liavara intercepted by ABSEC. Sophomore Arcanamirium student implicated, faces expulsion and harsh sentence, claims personal use only.
• Tens of Thousands of Shirren today participated in a tribute to the Mortal Incarnation of Hylax on Nchak. Tourist businesses thrive and report massive earnings.
• Maraquoi mass exodus continues as throngs of natives seek opportunities throughout the Pact Worlds. Traditionalists and activits warn that the Maraquoi are endangering their culture and fundamental right to advance at their own pace.
• Pact Worlds colony ship “Eternal Bliss” Bound for Arquand set for departure within the month of Gozran. Organizers defy warnings from previous settlers about colonizing the planet thought to be self-aware.
• Refugee Neskinti report brutal quelling of rebellion on Gjor III. The Azlanti Star Empire has not issued an official statement, but denies that a rebellion has taken place at all.
• Most secure prison in the galaxy not so secure after all? Rumor has it that a prisoner known only as the Wren has successfully escaped Daegox 4. A Deagox Corporation spokesperson vehemently denies this and claims wishful thinking conjured up by the criminal mind.
• Recent attacks by Colossi on Volkaian and Ykarthan settlements on Daimalko spur Daimalkans to cut any outsider contact. Claims a second Awakening sparked by outsider influence.
• New Horizons Luxury Retreats efforts on terraforming Jedarat progresses according to plan. Recently discovered ancient ruins increase interest in the planet as perfect resort world. New Horisons stock goes north.
• Scientists predict that Orikolai will collapse inward onto itself within centuries. The toroid shaped worlds artificial stabilization processes experience gradual decay. Urgency is required to discover secrets of the Creators.
• A powerful solar flare has yet again caused planet wide disaster on Kasath. The Great Families oversee salvage operations. Pact World offers of assistance rejected.
Organisations:
• New creedence to the conspiracy theory that rogue elements within the Xenowardens were responsible for the Stardust Plauge as data cache is retrieved from derelict Greenguard bio-fighter.
• Omenbringer battlegroup suspected part of the Corpse Fleet observed near Bretheda. Caution is advised.
• Refugist faction have begun construction of ‘Homeworld’ in the Diaspora. Already several asteroids have been pulled together by tractor beam and gravity gun. AAF encourages androids and sympathizers from across the Pact Worlds to contribute.
• Strong Absalom spokesperson Silek Odegard spouts claims that Aballonian-produced euphonics is a ploy to wage a cultural war. Denied by the Aballonian ambassodor.
• Reports that yet another NatuReal Compounds Ltd junglebox has gone silent are as yet unconfirmed.
• Sarenraite scholars hypothesis: the energy is so great at the center of the sun that time itself begins to warp, making the civilizations in the sun’s depths not representatives of the past but of the future
• Launch of the colony ship ”Unexpected Joy” sponsored by the Those Who Become faction on Aballon. Mineral rich planet in the Vast quoted as destination.
• Alleged AAF terrorist Green-23 resurfaces seeking arbitration by the Machine Court. Green-23 is wanted by the Stewards for the murder of 246 sentients in the Nisis incident. The Stewards have officially requested extradition of Green-23, however no reply has been forthcoming on this issue from the Aballonian government.
Commercials:
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• Zo! Presents the ultimate re-run marathon of the Necromancer. All 200 critically acclaimed seasons to be aired on enhanced tri-vid. Commentary available by Zo! Himself.
• Head on down to the Click-Clack Club for a good time. Fully licensed and sporting the latest VR games, C3 is your place to be for the evening!
• Is your spouse cheating on you? Is the competition getting the better you? Or is a loved one missing? The Eyeswide Agency can help you. The finest holistic investigation service on Absalom station is only a call away.
• Now showing in trivid theaters: ”Against the Swarm: Based on a true story! ”The hottest action movie out there about Vesk & Pact World combat teams who encounter the Swarm on an abandoned planetoid. Can they set aside their differences long enough to survive and warn the galaxy of the coming threat?
This could also be a fun way of inserting various theories of how/why Golarion disappeared - perhaps the bad-gus won in many of the Pathfinder adventure paths and the Gods eventually decided that a Golarion where the Worldwound was spreading, ruled by Thassalonian rune lords etc etc was just too much. Thoughts?
I think a Golarion where the good guys (well, PCs) won all the AP's would be worse than one where the bad guys won. PC's have a tendency to break the story much worse than NPC's, even evil ones. One high level wizard decides they're going to destroy the economy and all hell breaks loose.
I really like the list you have. I'm dotting this for my own campaign.
If you're looking for more ideas for commercials, there's a thread in homebrew about SF Pop culture that might give you some ideas.
Haha, that's actually true - the PCs are often assumed to be the 'good guys' but surprisingly often the gist of it is: "Can we somehow legitimize killing this person/monster/organization and claim loot?" -
AKA 'MurderHoboing'. Maybe Golarion would be worse off if the PCs won the day in all APs :)
Just clocked this - wow Glade you've outstripped what I came up with (and then some)! :)
Awesome stuff - will drip a bunch of this into my own game.