The Drift and Summoning

[Shaudius]

Got by subscriber copy of Dead Suns 4, and it has an interesting passage in the section on the Drift that I'm interesting in figuring out how Starfinder Society will handle.

The CRB discusses the Drift briefly and mentions that it is only accessible by technology, but the Drift section of Dead Suns 4 has this to say,

The Ruined Clouds, pg. 48 wrote:

LIMITED MAGIC

Most magic functions normally in the Drift, but no spells or magical abilities have yet been discovered that are capable of transporting creatures or material in or out of the Drift. This means that spells or abilities like shadow walk and plane shift simply fail to work when used in relation to the Drift, as do summoning spells and abilities. (emphasis mine).

How is background information like this treated for Starfinder Society purposes, this is a mechanical thing, you can't summon creatures to the Drift. There is at least one instance of drift combat in one of the current Starfinder Society scenarios. Does this passage need official campaign documentation to be true, or does its existence in what will soon surely be an Additional Resource (although likely not this section) mean that it is true for the campaign?

[The Masked Ferret]

((We so need a FAQ button in this forum.))

[Partizanski]

Good catch. Would be good to review the core rule book and alien archive to make sure this wasn't mentioned before.

If not, having such a strong rule in book 4 of an AP means man will miss this.

[Shaudius]

Milan Badzic wrote:

Good catch. Would be good to review the core rule book and alien archive to make sure this wasn't mentioned before.

I searched for Drift but nothing came up specifically about Summoning, its possible to read into this line from the CRB to suggest it doesn't work, "While magic still functions inside the Drift, only

technology can pierce the membrane between it and the rest of
reality, which, combined with Triune’s role as gatekeeper, keeps
any other deities or organizations from monopolizing the place." But Summoning is not specifically called out there. The part in Dead Suns 4 is much more explicit.

[Thurston Hillman]

We have some meetings coming up internally. Let me see if I can get clarification on how we want to handle this for Organized Play! :)

[Sebastian Hirsch]

Workin on my first caster and the summoning spells looked quite attractive.. well until I read this thread. Looking forward to a clarification.

[Gary Bush]

Shaudius wrote:

There is at least one instance of drift combat in one of the current Starfinder Society scenarios.

Is this the scenario you're speaking of?

Spoiler!:

1-04 Cries from the Drift?

[The Masked Ferret]

Gary Bush wrote:

Shaudius wrote:

There is at least one instance of drift combat in one of the current Starfinder Society scenarios.

Is this the scenario you're speaking of? ** spoiler omitted **

There is also:

Spoiler:

The Quest: Into The Drift

[Shaudius]

Gary Bush wrote:

Shaudius wrote:

There is at least one instance of drift combat in one of the current Starfinder Society scenarios.

Is this the scenario you're speaking of? ** spoiler omitted **

Spoiler:

It is not, it's the Quest Pack, I looked that one up when I discovered this potential issue and remembered the Kasatha ship is actually in real space not the Drift per page 9, "When the PCs use the beacon’s coordinates and instructions to drop out of the Drift, they find themselves a few hundred yards from the disabled Struggle’s Scholar." Its actually kind of confusing because the Starship battle is in the drift but the actual exploration is not.

As of right now it looks like its just the Quest Pack, but this is a potential issue moving forward as well (I doubt you'll see many people try to summon at 1st level in the Quest Pack).