Help me figure out what to do after "Into the Unknown"

[LeperKing]

First time posting, ill try to keep this simple.

I am GMing starfinder for some friends soon, and it will be the first time for all of us with this system. I've decided to run "Into the Unknown" because it seems like the PERFECT way to introduce myself and the players to the setting and the rules (And because I have heard some negative things about dead suns having a plot too vague for some players to grasp)

It seems like the quest will only take 1-2 sessions to complete (Which is great to introduce the players), but I have no idea how I should follow it up. I have never homebrewed anything due to my lack of experience being a new GM, so I could really use some guidance on where I can take my players after we finish this story. If you think homebrewing a campaign to follow up into the unknown is the best course of action, any tips for someone who has never tried anything like that before?? Or if there is already an AP or some other premade story (3rd party or official) I can find that would be just as good.

Thank you for your help, and I'm sorry if this is too complicated a post

[jayyyc]

My advice is to run one or two additional, level-appropriate Starfinder Society adventures after you finish 'Into the Unknown'. My main group played 'Yesteryear's Truth' after that one, and then 'Star Sugar Heartlove'. The three adventures gave you a good look at different types of content, and you can decide at that point if you want to continue using prepared content or branch off into a home-brewed universe.

I also recommend the Aeon Throne adventure path. It's short (3 books), so you aren't committing to a long slog when you start it, and the stories and encounters are really interesting and fun to play. The only downside is that when you finish the AP, you will have players with characters they love with Signal of Screams as the only level-appropriate content available from Paizo.

If you're up for a 6-book adventure path, all of Dawn of Flames and Attack of the Swarm is available, so you've got some good options there.

To answer your question about the home-brew: creating a game environment that's compelling and cohesive is a massive amount of work, and the amount of preparation you need to devote to that process is hard to quantify. Decide if content creation is how you want to spend your time, because your party can't play unless you're ready to GM for them, and it's far quicker to bring a published adventure to the table than it is to write your own.

Having said that, you can test the waters by creating your own encounters that you insert into the prepared content. Draw up a wrecked spaceship for them to salvage. Insert a space goblin mugger into an alleyway of Absalom Station. The possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!

[John Mangrum]

I used Into the Unknown to kick off a whole Scoured Stars home campaign (I followed ItU with The Commencement), but for your specific purposes, know that scenarios #S1-03: Yesteryear's Truth (levels 1-4), #S1-21: Yesteryear's Sorrow (levels 3-6), and #S2-13: Storm of the End Times (levels 1-4) are direct follow-ups on the Unbounded Wayfarer's recovered data. Y's Sorrow is in turn a sequel to Y's Truth.

[BigNorseWolf]

Moon scenarios

Into the unknown, Optional: the first mandate (emphasize Zo!) , Live exploration EXTREME!, Duskmire accords, Future's fall.

[Garretmander]

Sporks wrote:

First time posting, ill try to keep this simple.

I am GMing starfinder for some friends soon, and it will be the first time for all of us with this system. I've decided to run "Into the Unknown" because it seems like the PERFECT way to introduce myself and the players to the setting and the rules (And because I have heard some negative things about dead suns having a plot too vague for some players to grasp)

It seems like the quest will only take 1-2 sessions to complete (Which is great to introduce the players), but I have no idea how I should follow it up. I have never homebrewed anything due to my lack of experience being a new GM, so I could really use some guidance on where I can take my players after we finish this story. If you think homebrewing a campaign to follow up into the unknown is the best course of action, any tips for someone who has never tried anything like that before?? Or if there is already an AP or some other premade story (3rd party or official) I can find that would be just as good.

There are also two three part campaigns and three six part prewritten campaigns out for starfinder.

You can find them here

[Dracomicron]

Absolom Station Adventures:

Into the Unknown
The Commencement
The First Mandate (level to 2)
Acts of Association
The Half-Alive Streets
Survivor's Salvation (level to 3)
Bluerise Breakout

This will take them to 3rd level without ever needing to leave the Absolom Station vicinity after Into the Unknown. After Bluerise Breakout, though, they'll probably want to leave for awhile. I know I did.

Follow it with leads gained from the previous adventures:

Yesteryear's Truth
Yesteryear's Sorrow (level to 4)
Live Exploration Extreme!
Duskmire Accord 9
Pact World Warriors (level to 5)
Star Sugar Heartlove!

Then they can put on their big kid pants and do the big stuff.

Save the Renkrodas
Waking the Past (level to 6)
Sanctuary of Drowned Delight
Sangoro's Lament
Sangoro's Gifts (level to 7)
To Conquer the Dragon
Future's Fall

At this point they are almost level 8 and you could theoretically transition them into Signal of Screams.

[Nyerkh]

Because I'm also interested in this idea : is there anything, anywhere, summarizing which scenarios are part of which story arc ? (official or community made)

Like, if I want to run the Scoured Stars are, which scenarios are those? Etc.
There's a lot of them, and I'd enjoy being able to quickly see which are part of which storyline, which would a good breakaway one off, that kind of info.

[pithica42]

Season 1 and Season 2

There is a way to hit all the Scoured Stars, Salvation's End, Ziggy/Historia, and Wayfinders/Ghibrani stuff from Season 1 on a single character, but it's pretty tight.

[Nyerkh]

Beautiful, thank you.
Didn't even think of the wiki.
This would be for home games, so it'd be a selection and ordinary Society rules don't matter as much - I'm fine with not being able to touch on every plot. It's not the goal.

[pithica42]

Well, I think the following 'order' works really well as a semi-coherent plot with a lot of crossover and the bulk of the better storylines. If I were using SFS scenarios to build a coherent home game, this is probably the track I'd run them through.

1st Level
1-00 - Claim to Salvation (save XP til 3, begin Salvation storyline)
1-01 - The Commencement (beginning of several storylines)
QP1 - Into the Unknown (Begin Elytrio storyline)
1-05 - The First Mandate (begin Scoured stars storyline)

2nd Level
1-03 - Yesteryear's Truth (Elytrio)
1-04 - Cries from the Drift (Ziggy/Historia and Arniselle)
1-07 - The Solar Sortie (Ziggy/Historia)

3rd Level
1-00 - Just credits
1-09 - Live Exploration Extreme!!! (Salvation)
1-20 - Duskmire Accords 9 (Salvation)

4th Level
1-08 - Sanctuary of Drowned Delight (Arniselle)
1-11 - In Pursuit of the Scoured Past (Scoured Stars)
1-13 - On the Trail of History (Scoured Stars)

5th Level
1-14 - Star Sugar Heartlove!!! (Ziggy/Historia)
1-21 - Yesteryear's Sorrow (Elytrio)
1-17 - Reclaiming the Time Lost Tear (Scoured Stars)

6th Level
1-99 - Scoured Stars Invasion (Scoured Stars)
1-31 - Treading History's Folly (Scoured Stars)
1-34 - Heart of the Foe (Scoured Stars)

7th Level
1-23 - Return to Sender (Scoured Stars, Ziggy/Historia)
1-29 - Honorbound Emissaries (Scoured Stars)
1-38 - The Many Minds of Historia (Ziggy/Historia)

8th Level
1-39 - The Herald's War (Scoured Stars)
2-00 - Fate of the Scoured God (Conclusion of Scoured Stars)
2-16 - A Scoured Home (Scoured Stars Epilogue)

9th Level
2-04 - Future's Fall (Salvation's End)

[John Mangrum]

I'm having my home game players create two separate teams to catch all the story threads (and so we can run the multi-table crossover events).

What's interesting is that one faction's subplot includes a late scenario that the main group will have leveled out of by the time it comes around -- but once you read the adventure it makes perfect sense that the team who's been chasing that thread all campaign wouldn't be assigned to the mission.

[John Mangrum]

Here's the planned series of events for my 2-team campaign. These cater to specific PCs (Team A has a heavy mass media focus), but also maximizes the payoff of story-based ("your GM will tell you if this is important later") boons.

Phase I
Introduce Team A

Quest: Into the Unknown
1-01: The Commencement
1-02: Fugitive on the Red Planet

1-03: Yesteryear's Truth (Team A 2nd level)

(here we inserted 1-00: Claim to Salvation as a "clip show episode" featuring the Iconics)

1-04: Cries from the Drift
1-05: The First Mandate

1-10: The Half-Alive Streets (Team A 3rd level)
1-07: The Solar Sortie
1-09: Live Exploration Extreme!

Quest: Dreaming of the Future (Team A 4th level)
1-11: In Pursuit of the Scoured Past
1-20: Duskmire Accord 9

1-06: A Night in Nightarch (Team A 5th level)
1-25: The Beacon Code Dilemma

Phase II
Introduce Team B, who focus on two factions mostly untouched by team A. Intriguingly, since the players are running both teams, team B adventures cast a slight shade of suspicion on team A. We alternate between the two teams from here on out, running parallel missions.

1-12: Ashes of Discovery (Team B 1st level)
1-14: Star Sugar Heartlove!!! (Team A)
1-18: The Blackmoon Survey (Team B)

1-13: On the Trail of History (Team A 6th level)
1-22: The Protectorate Petition (Team B)
1-15: Save the Renkrodas (Team A)

1-28: It Rests Beneath (Team B 2nd level)
1-21: Yesteryear's Sorrow (Team A)
1-32: Acts of Association (Team B)

1-17: Reclaiming the Time-Lost Tear (Team A 7th level)
1-36: Enter the Ashen Asteroid (Team B)
1-19: To Conquer the Dragon (Team A)

1-08: Sanctuary of Drowned Delight (Team B 3rd level)

1-99: Invasion of the Scoured Stars (big crossover mid-season finale)

More later!

[John Mangrum]

Phase III

1-24: Siege of Enlightenment (Team B)
1-23: Return to Sender (Team A 8th level)

1-30: Survivor's Salvation (Team B)
1-29: Honorbound Emissaries (Team A)
1-26: Truth of the Seeker (Team B 4th level)

1-35: Rasheen's Riches (Team A)
1-33: Data Breach (Team B)
1-37: Siege of Civility (Team A 9th level)

1-27: King Xeros of Star Azlant (Team B)
1-38: The Many Minds of Historia (Team A)
1-31: Treading History's Folly (Team B 5th level)

2-04: Future's Fall (Team A)
1-34: Heart of the Foe (Team B)
1-39: The Herald's War (Team A 10th level)

2-00: Fate of the Scoured God (big crossover finale)

That's the main blueprint; currently we're about to wrap up Dreaming of the Future, so the players are in the process of creating their Team B PCs.

Depending on where our lives are at in the future, we plan to continue through Year of the Thousand Bites. So far, Team A would only return once for a old-favorites episode, with Team B stepping into the forefront, and maybe even a Team C to take on the low-level, scene-setting scenarios. Still some of Thousand Bites yet to come, but by the end Team A should be in the right position to make the jump from "tv" to "movies" by entering into the Devastation Ark adventure path.

[John Mangrum]

(I suppose I should mention that I have to cheat once to fit everything in: I'll be scaling 1-38 up one level past its maximum tier.)