Which candidates you back for First Seeker elections and why

[RussGreene]

I'm very curious to see how the First Seeker candidates are being received, especially outside my neck of the woods. I'll post my rankings and reasons why, and encourage you all to share yours as well.

4th: Aurora. Don't get me wrong, I do agree with her objective of boosting the public image of the Starfinder Society (especially after 1K Bites and Data Scourge), but I feel like that kind of thing should be a "sometimes food," not the main thrust of a First Seeker's mandate. And as much as I do like the media/performance SFS scenarios, again I just don't feel like that's what the Society should be doing all the time.

3rd: Nykiti. I do like her objective of exploring weird magical phenomena - I'd probably rank her a bit higher if her objective was Pharasma's Spiral instead of Kazmourg's absurdity. But as was pointed out to me, her mandate would be a bit too much like Season 4 of PFS, so it could end up a little boring.

2nd: Sevaile. I very much support his mandate, and his goals and interests 100% align with what the Starfinder Society should be doing. Not a big personality, but honestly, that's not a bad thing, given all the weirdos in the Starfinder Society already. XD

1st: Sarmak. Much like Sevaile, I very much support his mandate and think it's very good for the Starfinder Society as a whole. I put Sarmak above Sevaile for two very personal reasons. Firstly, I have wanted to know more about the First Ones since I started playing Starfinder, and secondly, I want a First Seeker that isn't local to the Pact Worlds. The story of the Izaalguns and their introduction to the greater galaxy is tied to that of the Starfinder Society, and having one of their number become a First Seeker is a fantastic story beat.

In my local group, Sevaile is considered the "safest" candidate, given his very noble goals and his mandate is already up the Society's alleyway. There is a small contingent of Aurora supporters, and usually Sarmak takes the 2nd or 3rd spots. Nykiti didn't go over too hotly.

So, what's the polls like in your districts, Starfinders?

[Kishmo]

Speaking personally, I'm having a lot of the same feelings that I did in the last election: there's a sort of 'tension' between what I, as a player who likes zany premises and over-the-top adventures want, and what my characters, as in-universe, rational, actors, would want. Sure, if I were a Starfinder living on Absalom Station, I'd vote for the person improving our image so we stop getting character-assassinated, or the person who wants better medicines, over the person who wants to explore the Space-Bermuda Triangle! One leads to universal healthcare, and one leads to getting eaten by a space-grue :D

But, as a player, not an in-universe character, what sounds like more fun? Asking Zo! (...or Datch?) to play nice for the fourth time, or discovering what's under the "Here Be Space-Dragons!" sticker on the Map of Desna's Path?

Anecdotally, having GM'd this a few times now (at GenCon, and then for local groups) I'm surprised at the support Aurora is receiving. I really thought more people would be turned off by a presumptive season 7 "Year of Social Media Management" since that doesn't sound like fun (to me, at least.) Like OP, for me it's a "sometimes food," and not something from which to hang an entire season on - and I'm surprised that more people don't feel similarly.

The other thing that I keep coming back to (...shut up, I'm not over-thinking this, you're over-thinking this :D) is - since I GM a lot, who would be more enjoyable to portray? Aurora and Nykiti both certainly have a lot of personality - contrasted with Dr. Sevaile, whose most interesting fact is "I eat some crickets," or Sarmak, who is portrayed as a little shy, and unused to leadership. It's not so much that it's a problem to be a research doctor or reticent engineer, it's just that, after four years of consummate straight-man Ehu Hadif, I'd like to see - and, when I'm GMing, roleplay - something else, you know? "Scatterbrained diviner with a sharp wit" or "silver-tongued racer who's smiling while stabbing you in the back" would be a nice change of pace.

Since Org Play is, ultimately, more about my enjoyment as a player than it is about my characters' feelings, I'll probably vote for what sounds more likely to lead to the kinds of adventures I want to play. I haven't quite figured out who that is, yet, though :D

[Cassi]

My runs, I've had a lot of "oh no, please, I do science as a job IRL, I don't want it [implied getting it not completely functional within mechanics] in my fun down time" OOC. I know that can be a problem for a lot of players who work science jobs (the face palming I've heard from one friend whenever radiation comes up makes me a little sad for them).

I have a lot of people who are excited by the possibility of magic, or megastructures, and the potential crossover that can provide. A lot of potential archaelogy either way. These are more my personal vote bias leaning. My RL profession has me rubbing my player hands together and going "Seeing new sites in the galaxy, preferably big things? Yes yes, good, good."

But yeah, Aurora has some backing too. I wouldn't say she's, from my understanding, exclusively social media. More... she's gonna go on a marketing blitz (social media is merely a part of marketing). She said she wants video games of Starfinders, and plenty more. Marketing could indeed be in person, but, that could also potentially be more like SFS 5-15 Beta Test, but for lower levels.

[Justin Norveg]

"Sign me up for the Dr. of Sevaile. We do far more public relations and fixing our reputation than an archeological society should have to. I think I've had to use my camera more than my shovel"

"People don't realize that when they sit down and read the pretty picture book about renkrodas that in order to get that information someone had to sit their butt out in the woods, getting fed on by the national bird of uklim, the mosquito, and actually record that information. Starfinders do far too much big game hunting on the way to the treasure, overlooking the value of the beings right in front of them. metaphorically. And literally. Literally literally, not literally like grandparents use it to mean nothing."

[John Mangrum]

Sounds like the election results will be announced during Paizo Live! on Twitch today (starting 7 PM Eastern/4 PM Pacific).