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So, while further prepping this scenario, something caught my eye that raises more questions the more I think about it. The enemy ship has a Tractor Beam on their turret. And that ability works as followed according to the core rulebook:
Tractor Beam
A weapon with this special property can generate a stable beam of gravitons, creating a tractor beam that can move other ships. In addition to dealing damage, a hit with a tractor beam prevents the target ship from moving normally. The gunner can push or pull the target ship (at a rate of 2 hexes per round, resolved at the beginning of the helm phase), or hold the target ship in place. The pilot of the targeted starship can attempt a Piloting check (DC = 15 + 1-1/2 × the tier of the firing ship) to break free of the tractor beam as her action in a round. When a tractor beam weapon is locked on to a starship, it can’t be used as a regular weapon. A tractor beam is effective only against ships of the same size as the firing ship or smaller; larger ships are unaffected by the tractor beam.
However, this raises multiple questions on how it actually works. I know that if the enemy hits with the weapon the tractor beam function activates, but in the following round it gets murky. At the beginning of the helm phase the enemy can push/pull you two hexes, or decide to hold you in place. And then? Who can move? For simplicity, let's make it numbered questions:
1. Are the players allowed to move away as part of "breaking free" of the beam? If not, they can just be hit again and again...
2. Can the enemy move around the players while maintaining the beam? It doesn't say it can't, but it doesn't say a lot about the following turn at all anyway.
3. Can the players turn in place while under the influence of the tractor beam? Or is the side that is stuck also forever the bombarded side?
I know this is technically a rules question, but I can't find any conclusive post on the starfinder threads and I am running this soon. Also, any information granted here might help future GM's understanding the fight a lot better.
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My best guess read:
1. Doesn't look like it allows you to break free AND move, just break free. It means they have to commit to firing again and tying up the weapon and the gunner again, but yeah if they can hit you easily it will be a bit tedious.
2. As firing happens after movement, 'next round' is really when this takes effect - in the Helm phase.
3. Doesn't say they can't turn in place, just that they are held there.
Venture-Captain, Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh
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Hmmm, something to keep in mind is that the fancy high-res map that's included in the .zip file is actually slightly different from the map included in the scenario itself. It looks like someone got a tile flipped around in the wrong direction and didn't notice! Shame it's the tile with the elevator on it, that might be important.
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Venture-Captain, Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh
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Much less important, but maybe helpful for consistency for those who care--it looks like Paizo grabbed the art for the CR 12 paraforan, rather than the CR 6 paraforan fragment. The fragments are these cute little crystalline bird things. (Which, I guess, is not far from what the larger paraforan is supposed to look like!)
The correct art for the fragment is on page 77 of the Alien Archive 3, hiding on the second page of the paraforan entry. (Yes, they got put in the opposite order of how they appear in text. It's no wonder someone grabbed the wrong one.)
Venture-Agent, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
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A question about potential player boons for this:
"This mission also presents an opportunity for a test flight, considering that only starships of our newest experimental model, the Azata, seems to be able to navigate toward so sporadic a signal."
As this seems to be a 'plot macguffin' aspect of the Azata being brought up here rather than an actual mechanical element of the ship (the Pegasus for example has the exact same sensors, engine, and science lab as the Azata, and has an even higher PCU), I'm assuming the PCs are prevented from using a ship granted from a Starship Boon for the mission (such as the Manticore, Gorgon, or Crypt Warden)?
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Venture-Agent, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
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Another setting-based question: do Triune priests and priestesses generally have authority over Drift Beacons?
Given the first encounter is about two parties arguing over who should be trusted to have access to examine the beacon, I'm expecting my PCs May ask if Accordant-Contemplator-16 has any sort of official jurisdiction there, and don't know enough about Triune to confidently say.
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I assumed that the PCs had to use the Azata. "because of its sensor arrays/superior computers" or some such story-reason.
Out of game, it just works out that it forces players to try a new ship rather than just work with the ones that have been on offer since the game launched. I'm guessing that is the real reason.
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Hmmm, something to keep in mind is that the fancy high-res map that's included in the .zip file is actually slightly different from the map included in the scenario itself. It looks like someone got a tile flipped around in the wrong direction and didn't notice! Shame it's the tile with the elevator on it, that might be important.
I noticed this, too. If anyone else is running online, I rotated the elevator card, to match what's displayed in the scenario PDF:
https://imgur.com/a/wD8nwQ3(I had to scale it down a bit to fit on imgur, but it's still like 1 Mb.)
Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha
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So the map listed on page 13 is not the B side of the Space Station Starter as indicated (great job editing!), it is actually the B side of City Starter Set.
Thank goodness that the maps required was listed on page 2 or I would have spent even more time cutting and pasting from the PDF.