So as a spinoff to my question about the population of the pact system the question of the political landscape of the pact system and how much influence each planet has came up (well, I skirted the issue and thought, why not make a thread about it?)
As with population the lore we have is pretty vague. We do know how the individual planets work, more or less, but the details about the pact world government was left out. So this is also more a "how do you envision it for your campaign" discussion as a resource for others than a definitive list.
And to be honest, I do not have a defined political system for my version of Starfinder yet, so writing things down is also a bit of a help for me to get it sorted.
For now I will ignore the fine details of how the politics work in the pact system like how many delegates each planet has etc. and look at more basic things like how much say would the individual planets have in my opinion (and feel free to disagree or bring up things I missed). After all, there is also soft power involved which might make planets more or less important than they would be based on their delegate numbers.
Sun
-- Just a protectorate without voting right
+ Religious symbol
+ Point of contact with the plane of fire
Being a protectorate without voting rights of course severely limits the political importance of the sun. It does have an increased importance when it comes to diplomatic matters and if it can leverage or even stir up Sarenrae worshippers its voice will be heard despite its status
Aballon
++ Major manufacturing capacity
++ High population count
+ Birthplace of a part of Triune
+ Planetary government
- Mostly robotic inhabitants
Aballon would be one of the most important planets, maybe even the most important one, in the system with the political power to match it. I only added robotic inhabitants as a negative as it might breed some resentment among the biological inhabitants of the system that robots are de facto deciding what happens. But that depends on how egalitarian the setting is. Also, machines likely have a very different thought process than biologicals which might also cause friction.
The question is how much do the Anacites use the power they have
Castrovel
++ Earth sized garden world
+ Manufacturing capabilities by necessity (war)
- Undeveloped
With Golarion missing Castrovel is the most hospitable, earth like planet in the system which could give it a lot of influence because of population alone. The problem is that large part of the planet is undeveloped by design which means it is far below the potential it has.
Absolom Station
++ Starstone location
+ Humanities "home"
-- Tiny population
Absolom station certainly has vastly more influence than it should have, being a single space station. Normally I do not think it would have any say at all if it were not for the starstone and the effect it has on drift travel. And with it being the adopted home of humanity (despite humans being much more numerous elsewhere) they likely lobby pretty hard that it has a say in interplanetary politics. Still at the end I think this only goes so far and Absolom is just a minor voice in the system, even when it likely thinks (and behaves) as if it is much more important
Akiton
- Small population
- Desolate
- Disjointed leadership
+ Past industrial importance
Akiton is a small, barren planet with a few city states who will likely have trouble to form a consensus on interplanetary politics. The previous thasteron rush which brought prosperity to Akiton might still have political effects in the form of old regulations and rights which favoured Akiton and were not repealed once the thasteron industry went bust.
Still in my opinion Akiton would be the cranky old man of politics which insists on ancient rights but no one is paying attention to it for longer than they have to.
Verces
++ Development
+ Global government
+ Stewards
+ Population
Verces would be another one of the power houses of the pact system much like Aballon. A earth sized planet, although with the problem of being locked, would still result in a higher population compared to places like Akiton. And it was already an spacefaring society in the times of Pathfinder. That means that the planet is very well developed with a corresponding high manufacturing capability.
And while the Stewards are supposed to be neutral, the fact that they come from Verces certainly also increases the importance of the planet even more.
Idari
-- Tiny population
- Hardly any manufacturing capability
+ Diplomatic connections to the homeworld
I am amazed that the Idari even has the status of a voting member considering that its about the size of a small city with no redeeming qualities except serving as a diplomatic channel back to their homeworld now that drift travel exists. Still in my opinion giving them voting rights was likely a political compromise and probably annoys the heck out of protectorates like the Sun or the Diaspora.
Another protectorate with not much rights. The Disapora also has the problem that it has no structured government and is known for its lawlessness and being a haven for pirates. As such it probably has next to no political influence and is the problem child of the system. The only upside it might have is its population. It might not have a big population centre, but all the small outposts over the huge area it covers might add up. The question is if the other members of the pact recognizance and acknowledge that.
Eox
+ Military power
+ Manufacturing capability
-- Distrusted
Eox imo likely has less official influence than it technically should have. It is also a ancient spacefaring race and even thought the planet is devastated it still seems to retain its manufacturing capability, mainly because they don't care much about the devastation anymore. And even with the defection of large parts of the fleet (officially?) it likely remains one of the primary military contributors to the system. The reason Eox is not more influential is that they are undead and thus mistrusted. But I guess that suits them just fine as the Sages are content to do things unofficially instead through proper political channels. A bit like Russia maybe.
Triaxus
++ Earth sized garden world
+ Manufacturing capability
+ Population
-- Disorganized leadership
If Eox would be the Russia of the system, Triaxus would be the EU. Technically they would have huge power. The planet is the only fully developed earth type planet of the system as it does not have the disadvantage of being locked like Verces nor that it purposefully leaves its nature untouched like Castrovel. So it has the potential to surpass them in population and development. The problem is that it has a very disorganized government. You have many megacorps which certainly do not cooperate for the greater good and on the other side you have many different nations and city states in the allied territory which do not seem to be able to agree on much. And then there is Ning which pretty much has adopted the stance of Switzerland and not to have an opinion on anything.
So by the time Triaxus has formed an opinion on a interplanetary issue that issue has very often already been decided on by the other members or has changed and the whole process has to start again.
Another political powerhouse of the system. Bretheda actually covers multiple planets which alone would give it a lot of clout it also has a huge population and a well developed technological base. The capabilities of the Barathus to merge into biological supercomputers also supports that. I added the nonstandard lifeform because I can imagine that because of the very different way they live the thought process of Barathus is very different from most other pact world inhabitants which would cause friction, same with the Anacites.
Apostae
- No natural resources
- Small population
- Distrusted
+ Potentially dangerous
To continue with the real world analogies, Apostae would be more like North Korea. They are distrusted and do not have much traditional power in the system both militarily because of its small size or economically as it lacks natural resources. The only reason people pay attention to it is because no one knows what slumbers beneath the surface which only they have access to. So the only influence they have would be limited to making demands while making a poker face
Aucturn
-- Protectorate
- Inhospitable
- Hard to reach
+ Dangerous
Aucturn is also just a protectorate which is understandable as no one sane would have an interest in ruling this place nor would you really trust a person who does.
The only reason the system might pay attention to this place is again because of the potential danger it might pose. But that danger is more abstract than in the case of Apostae
So with that, this would be my ranking:
Aballon
Bretheda
Verces
Triaxus = Castrovel
Eox
Absolom Station
Akiton
Apostae
Sun
Diaspora
Idari
Aucturn
When it comes to Eox, Apostae, and Aucturn it is also a matter of the Pact Worlds government wanting them onboard than out and causing trouble that the Pact Worlds' government would then have to waste resources dealing with since they are in the same system after all. It also why the government tolerates these planet's less than savory practices such slavery on Apostae.
As for Absalom Station it is not just the Star Stone that gives it clout: it is also where quite a few big corporations, including AbadarCorp, have their headquarters. So they would have a vested interest in making certain the station is powerful so these corporations can have more influence in the area where they are headquartered.
I don't believe there IS a Pact Worlds government.
The most recent printing of the core rulebook changed the lore regarding the Pact from: "(...) the independent planets of the Golarian System recognized the vast danger facing them and banded together for mutual defense, creating a single system-wide government capable of defending against the vesk." to "(...) the independent planets of the Golarian System recognized the vast danger facing them and banded together for mutual defense, creating a broad alliance capable of defending against the vesk."
My understanding based on other reading is that the Pact Worlds are willing to work together against external threats but general get along as neighbors otherwise.
Thanks for pointing out that change. I haven't seen any printing after the first. If there are any other lore changes like that, can you throw them in a thread or PM me?
As for Absalom Station it is not just the Star Stone that gives it clout: it is also where quite a few big corporations, including AbadarCorp, have their headquarters. So they would have a vested interest in making certain the station is powerful so these corporations can have more influence in the area where they are headquartered.
I'd guess that Absalom Station also has extra influence as a meeting spot and diplomatic center.
Thanks for pointing out that change. I haven't seen any printing after the first. If there are any other lore changes like that, can you throw them in a thread or PM me?
I believe this isn't actually a true change to the lore. IIRC, the devs mentioned a couple of times that they didn't intend for the Pact Worlds to be closely unified under one government, and the description in the CRB was incorrect.
If you'd like to see the CRB 3rd Printing Errata, The Hidden Truth has an unofficial changelist.
Thanks for pointing out that change. I haven't seen any printing after the first. If there are any other lore changes like that, can you throw them in a thread or PM me?
I believe this isn't actually a true change to the lore. IIRC, the devs mentioned a couple of times that they didn't intend for the Pact Worlds to be closely unified under one government, and the description in the CRB was incorrect.
If you'd like to see the CRB 3rd Printing Errata, The Hidden Truth has an unofficial changelist.
There is still the entry in Pact Worlds which describes the general layout of the government with each planet sending delegates and having the Directorate as a more influential body (and its 5 person membership probably corresponds with the upper half of my list at any given point).
The list in my original post also includes soft power, in my opinion of course. According to pact worlds the number of delegates is decided by population size alone.
That would put Aballon and Bretheda firmly on the top as one has two planets and several moons and thus a high population and the other is primarily inhabited by robotic races and thus has unlimited growth potential.
What would change is that Triaxus likely ranks higher than Verces and Absolom Station would drop down just before the Idari.
Based on my admittedly limited knowledge of the subject I think it seems fair to draw a comparison between the Pact Worlds alliance & the European Union mixed with NATO; an alliance of mutual defense & trade benefits, where the Pact Council sets high level rules & regulations & standards for trade & economic policies & the rights of sapient beings, all of which are broad, vague, and have a multitude of loopholes to allow more leeway for it's useful but unsavory members. Each of the pact worlds, even the protectorates for the most part, are going to be self governing and sovereign entities, but you're more likely to see trade negotiations with, say, the Marixah Republic being handled by the Pact Worlds as a whole than with any planet, or nation on a planet's surface, individually.
++ Earth sized garden world
+ Manufacturing capabilities by necessity (war)
- Undeveloped
I would add: scholarly center. The lashunta universities are quite famous.
There might also be a lot of latent magical power with the elves. If they ever got involved with the outside world that could be a thing.
Ixal wrote:
Idari
-- Tiny population
- Hardly any manufacturing capability
+ Diplomatic connections to the homeworld
I think it was in one of the earlier Starfinder twitch shows that they discussed the Idari and pointed out that it actually has significant production capacity. In a strategic sense, it's like an aircraft carrier that can manufacture its own fighter jets.
It's also a significant site for solarians (who, since we're talking politics, are actually a charisma-driven class).
I think you're equating lawfulness and power a bit too much - there's no real reason why for example chaotic deities would be any weaker, and the Diaspora is important to Besmara (who became important with space travel).
It's also got the dwarven star citadels, so it's not all lawlessness.
Ixal wrote:
Eox
+ Military power
+ Manufacturing capability
-- Distrusted
I'd also add: significant magical power. It's still a planet ruled by liches.
Ixal wrote:
Apostae
- No natural resources
- Small population
- Distrusted
+ Potentially dangerous
Their natural resources are basically, mysterious ancient weapons that can be quite potent. Also as shown here and there in SFS, the Drow seem to have carved out a diplomatic niche as go-betweens for the Pact Worlds with less savory governments, like the Gideron Authority. Apostae probably gets influence through being useful to other governments that want to keep their own hands clean.
The Pact Council acts as a sort of suped-up United Nations. Within the Council we also have the Directorate, which consists of five members elected by and from the larger Pact Council, plus the standing head of the Stewards in an advisory, non-voting capacity. Thanks to a couple of recent adventure paths, we even know who those people are!
Elections are every other year; the Pact Council has no term limits, but Directors are limited to three 2-year terms. With the general rule of thumb that in-game time keeps pace with real time, that means elections are held on even years. So, since the game launched, there have been elections in 316 AG, 318 AG, and just recently 320 AG.
No AP spoilers here, but placing these election results in spoiler tags anyway. And adding some slight, informed speculation about term limits.
316 AG Directorate Election:
1. Avarak Plutak, an undead representative of Eox, is reelected to a second term.
2. Balsam Dori, a ryphorian and representative of Triaxus, is elected to his first term.
3. Klendalikh, a shirren and representative of Verces, is also elected to her first term.
4. Unclear, but it's suggested that an unnamed barathu collective representing Bretheda may sit on the Directorate.
5. We don't know who the fifth Director is/was. In 318 AG they either lose reelection or run out their term limits.
6. Director-General Lin Camulan of the Stewards.
318 AG Directorate Election:
1. Avarak Plutak is reelected to his third and final term.
2. Balsam Dori is relected to his second term.
3. Erem, a popular representative of Absalom Station who runs on limiting Bretheda's influence over the Pact Council, is elected to his first term.
4. Klendalikh is reelected to her second term.
5. Outreach, a barathu collective and representative of Bretheda, is elected to their first term.
6. Director-General Lin Camulan of the Stewards.
320 AG Directorate Election:
Two Directors elected in 316 AG are no longer in office. Balsam Dori was assassinated earlier this year; Triaxus appointed another ryphorian represenative, Zia Choh, to fill his seat on the Directorate for the remainder of his term. In addition, Outreach stepped down from the Pact Council entirely mid-campaign and dissolved as a combined entity following a political scandal.
Thus, the 320 AG candidates for the Directorate are:
1. Erem (Absalom Station), current Director seeking a second term.
2. Gevalarsk Nor (undead elebrian and representative of Eox) is gunning to fill Avarak Plutak's seat. Plutak, whose term limits have run out, endorses Nor.
3. Haussill Hau (hylki human and representative of Akiton). An elderly former Director who left the Pact Council for personal reasons after the Swarm War.
4. Klenadalikh (Verces), current Director seeking a third and final term.
5. Losifaran (elf and representative of Castrovel). A mystery figure to most people beyond his constituents on Sovyrian.
6. Milgan Nivaris Katchal Andar of House Hadulan (kasatha and representative of the Idari); a conservative devotee of Talvet seeking her first term.
7. Thylas Starhammer (dwarf and representative of Osoro), a popular vidcaster who made a swerve into politics in the last election.
8. Uvali Rycast (drow and representative of Apostae), seeking her first term.
9. Vora Rinn (ryphorian and representative of Triaxus), a former athelete who went into politics several election cycles ago. She's primarily running against Zia Choh, since the law allows for only one representative of a given planet on the Directorate at a time.
10. Zia Choh (Triaxus), a former battleflower and the late Balsam Dori's appointed replacement, seeking election for their first full term. As above, they're primarily running against Vora Rinn.
Some big scandals shake up the election, but once the votes are counted, the 320-322 AG Directorate consists of*:
1. Gevalarsk Nor (Eox) in his first term.
2. Klendalikh (Verces) in her third term.
3. Losifaran (Castrovel), the dark horse candidate in his first term.
4. Milgan Nivaris Katchal Andar (Idari) in her first term.
5. Zia Choh (Triaxus) in her first full term.
6. Good ol' Director-General Lin Camulan of the Stewards.
* With a caveat; it's possible for PCs in one of the APs to play a big role in the 320 AG election and alter its results, up to and including running for office and replacing one of the five elected Directors on this list.
-- Tiny population
- Hardly any manufacturing capability
+ Diplomatic connections to the homeworld
I think it was in one of the earlier Starfinder twitch shows that they discussed the Idari and pointed out that it actually has significant production capacity. In a strategic sense, it's like an aircraft carrier that can manufacture its own fighter jets.
It's also a significant site for solarians (who, since we're talking politics, are actually a charisma-driven class).
Even if the Idari has significant production capability it is still only a small city that gets compared to entire planets. Even when you multiply its population by 100 the Idari would only be around the 50s largest city on earth right now. There is no way that its production capability would even register on a planetary scale.
When you use real world analogies, the Idari might be a literal aircraft carrier, but it has to compete with "unsinkable aircraft carriers", like Taiwan, Japan and Britan for example.
And if a single ship can outproduce planets like Akiton it would mean that they would have hyper advanced tech centuries ahead of everyone else and I would wonder why this technology has not been stolen by now or the Kasathas have not used their technological superiority by now.
The only thing they could likely outproduce would be Aucturn.
I think you're equating lawfulness and power a bit too much - there's no real reason why for example chaotic deities would be any weaker, and the Diaspora is important to Besmara (who became important with space travel).
It's also got the dwarven star citadels, so it's not all lawlessness.
Its not about power, at least not hard power. Being a pirate haven means in my opinion the other planets are even less likely to listen to what Diaspora wants. "After all they are just a band of thugs and thiefs".
John Mangrum wrote:
The Pact Council acts as a sort of suped-up United Nations. Within the Council we also have the Directorate, which consists of five members elected by and from the larger Pact Council, plus the standing head of the Stewards in an advisory, non-voting capacity. Thanks to a couple of recent adventure paths, we even know who those people are!
Elections are every other year; the Pact Council has no term limits, but Directors are limited to three 2-year terms. With the general rule of thumb that in-game time keeps pace with real time, that means elections are held on even years. So, since the game launched, there have been elections in 316 AG, 318 AG, and just recently 320 AG.
No AP spoilers here, but placing these election results in spoiler tags anyway. And adding some slight, informed speculation about term limits.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **...
The results would more or less match my impression of the political clout of planets except the last one and that Aballon is missing.
Does the election happen in any of the books or PDFs?
The actual 320 AG election happens between APs, but (for specifics):
Election Spoilers:
The "scandals" that rock the 320 AG election are central to the Three-Fold Conspiracy AP. The PCs meet the post-320 elected Directorate in Devastation Ark.
I thought the Dwarven citadels were roaming the galaxy, not stuck in the diaspora.
Some might be roaming, but the Diaspora has several too, including the first Star Citadel, Heorrhahd. And they're not "stuck", they're in asteroid miner paradise :)
Forgot to ask: how much can the PCs alter the results of the election and do we get an account of specific aftermaths?
Big AP Spoilers:
The endgame of the Threefold Conspiracy AP has the PCs preventing the reptoids from gaining a majority of seats on the Directorate. Going into the election, they already have one Director; adding two more would give them outsized control over the Pact Worlds. So the PCs have a pretty big effect, seeing as they stop the conspiracy. This also has knock-on effects, including the reptoid Directors seeking to sharply curtail the influence of Eox and Bretheda.
In the aftermath of the AP, the possibility is presented for a PC to run for a seat on the Pact Council and Directorate (replacing one of the reptoid representatives, I think) and potentially gain a seat on the Directorate. If they do this, they replace one of the canonical Directors, which unsurprisingly makes it easier to convince the Directorate to heed their advice if and when the PCs meet the Directorate during Devastation Ark.
If PCs fail in Threefold Conspiracy and the reptoids get their way, PCs in the same universe face a very different Directorate in Devastation Ark*. One that might still be somewhat cooperative, interestingly, seeing as Ark Prime is an existential threat to the reptoids' plans. Even so, the reptoids-won Directorate includes three reptoids. The remaining two elected Directors are probably different as well, and possibly weaker and/or more malevolent, and Director-General Lin Camulan, who was onto the conspiracy, has probably been eliminated or replaced.
* And woe be the Pact Worlds if it's actually the same PCs from Threefold Conspiracy negotiating with a reptoid-controlled Directorate in Devastation Ark.
I generally agree with most of these assessments, though they do remind me that, really. The size and population figures for both Absalom Station and the Idari really should have an extra zero, given their intended setting importance.
Anyway, the main thing I would add is that political importance is not just for nation-states. "Non-governmental organizations" like religions and corporations totally have political power in the Pact Worlds social system. It may not always be "votes in council", but its definitely real. Thus, I wouldn't discount the Sun's political power too much, because the overlap between "the Sun as a nation" and "the Church of Sarenrae as a religion" is extreme. This would also be a big part of why Absalom Station is so politically important. Its not just the pragmatic or symbolic effects of the Starstone, the place is effectively a central holy site for one of the most important deities in the era, Iomedae.
Basically, political influence tends to accumulate where a lot of different sources of power overlap.
I generally agree with most of these assessments, though they do remind me that, really. The size and population figures for both Absalom Station and the Idari really should have an extra zero, given their intended setting importance.
Anyway, the main thing I would add is that political importance is not just for nation-states. "Non-governmental organizations" like religions and corporations totally have political power in the Pact Worlds social system. It may not always be "votes in council", but its definitely real. Thus, I wouldn't discount the Sun's political power too much, because the overlap between "the Sun as a nation" and "the Church of Sarenrae as a religion" is extreme. This would also be a big part of why Absalom Station is so politically important. Its not just the pragmatic or symbolic effects of the Starstone, the place is effectively a central holy site for one of the most important deities in the era, Iomedae.
Basically, political influence tends to accumulate where a lot of different sources of power overlap.
As I said, even when you add two zeroes to the Idari, it is still just equal to one metropolis.
NGOs would be interesting.
You of course have the temples, especially worldly ones like AbadarCorp. The Church of Triune also deserves special mention.
Several dragoncorps and other megacorps would also count as influential NGO as do dwarven citadels (either as a group or certain wealthy and powerful ones).
You also have private militas which might count as NGO and engage in lobbying. Skyfire Legion, Hellknights and Knights of Golarion, etc.
The Starfinders, of course, and all the other factions like Xenowardens.
