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Nah man, the 'foreign saviors' trope kind of sucks and, frankly, the Veskarium does not deserve that kind of grace. I get that it's a 'devil we know' situation with their sort of imperialist evil but they still conquer planets and then have the utmost gall to rename them 'Vesk-n'. I get that they haven't been as overtly genocidal as real world imperialists (at least on screen as far as I know) but they still deserve to have their noses bloodied by rebellion and lose the majority of their holdings. Return all their stolen land and then we can talk about diplomatically pressured reforms.
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The way I see it is the original Pact Worlds Veskarium alliance was to fight the swarm. Now with the drift lanes connecting the Veskarium with the Azlanti Star Empire. Veskarium didn't want to give up Pulonis, but Pulonis joining the Pact Worlds, makes sure the Pact Worlds have a more direct reason to help defend the Veskarium. I'm sure not all in the Veskarium agree with this, but for now, it's the justification for Veskarium not having to fight 2 wars at the same time.
This was a really dark direction to go with the setting, showing that the Pact World citizens are ruled by people who can commit them to defense pacts that serve zero purpose and risk them being invaded for no benefit. Imagine reading your morning e-paper about accepting Pularis and wondering if your kids and everyone you know are going to be vaporized from orbit over this.
Presumably the next metaplot will be people's rebellion in the Pact Worlds justly executing everyone involved in this.
It's almost like there are other motives than just appeasing a handful of libertarian isolationists.
-A) This is not a hard sci-fi setting so a governing body making an ethical decision for the sake of those ethics may very well be one of the driving factors.
-B) Degrading the industrial and population base of a rival polity while they are too busy dealing with another peer-level polity to respond is a very sound gamble.
Only a handful of Pact Worlds citizens don't want to make total, open ended defense committments to a planet 3d6 days away inhabited by rando aliens that the overwhelming majority of them have never met, and that is hours away from the highly militarized forces of 7 planets? This seems unlikely.
This is like the the USA deciding to annex Czechoslovakia in 1968 because the USSR had a simultaneous border dispute with China. Madness. Only an insane expansionary dictatorship desperate for blood or frighteningly indifferent to the desires of its citizens would pursue such a policy. Apparently the Pact Worlds is such a government now, and I'm interested to learn what new secret conspiracy is driving such bizarre behavior and letting them get away with. The Threefold Conspiracy already used up some obvious suspects, so they'll need new ones.
(The Czech Spring was 1968 and the Sino-Soviet border war 1969, but close enough.)
Yes because, once again, this is not a hard sci-fi or grimdark setting. It's allowed to be hopeful and heroic every now and then.
And your example is hyperbolic and not fit for purpose. This is a lot more like NATO supporting Ukraine in the current conflict with Russia. They're all but guaranteed membership or at least something approaching client status once (or if) the conflict draws to a close. NATO and the EU pump weapons and other materials into Ukraine to degrade Russia's military capacity without actually going to war. Russia's nose gets bloodied, Ukraine remains independent for another day, and Ukraine's backers don't end up committing troops.
I'd ask if you think pretty much all of Europe are 'insane expansionary dictatorships desperate for blood or frighteningly indifferent to the desires of their citizens' but I've seen some of your other takes.
I'd like to see some serious development of how this affects the Vesk's other colonial holdings, particularly with the skittermanders. What with how they are the mascots for Starfinder and how, in setting, they've got a bit of the 'model colonial subject' thing going on at first glance, I think they're due for a bit of character development.
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I'd like to see some serious development of how this affects the Vesk's other colonial holdings, particularly with the skittermanders. What with how they are the mascots for Starfinder and how, in setting, they've got a bit of the 'model colonial subject' thing going on at first glance, I think they're due for a bit of character development.
I don't think of skittermanders as the 'model colonial subject' when the Vesk reaction to them is "Since vesk’s code of honor forbade them from shooting the cheerfully acquiescent skittermanders in the back, the invaders were confused and infuriated by the situation." To me, the skittermanders are a model of how effective disruptive compliance.
That's the reason I said 'at first glance'. An even slightly closer reading definitely puts the lie to the idea of vesk actually being in control of the skittermanders but, as we've well and truly seen, media literacy is a dying art. However, their malicious compliance with their occupiers does not really stop their planet from being exploited by a hostile colonial power.
All that said, given how quickly they integrate into systems and societies, I think they are pretty hilariously well positioned for something like a wide-spread work stoppage to exert political power they otherwise lack. What happens when the imperative to help suddenly switches from the immediate to the overarching?
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It's worth keeping in mind we don't know how pahtra independence comes about. It will presumably have happened in universe by the time 2e launches formally at GenCon, but we haven't seen the specifics, on or offscreen, yet, right? The closest we've seen is a coded message in It Came From the Vast!
We know what the end point will be, but not how we get there, similar to how we knew Aucturn was asploding and Zon-Shelyn a-mergin' but didn't know the full story until 7-03. There's still unannounced Season 7 scenarios, and presumably more Playtest material in 2025, to go with the Technomancer and Mechanic playtest. I'm guessing we'll learn more before GenCon. Were I a betting sapient, I'd put money on seeing something Pulonis (..and possibly Miiyu?) related for 7-99.
It's worth keeping in mind we don't know how pahtra independence comes about. ......I'd put money on seeing something Pulonis (..and possibly Miiyu?) related for 7-99.
I think that's a really good point. In my home game, I've been running it as more "Pulonis has announced that it had reached an agreement with the Pact Worlds", but the actual process of leaving the Veskarium is hanging over everyone like a collective held breath.
I really like the idea that it's a slow and difficult process that leaves Pulonis both vulnerable to the Vesk, but not yet fully protected by the Pact Worlds. I think this adds a lot of narrative tension - it's not "hurray, we're free!", it's declaring "we're free" and hoping that the other guy doesn't chase you as you move out.
I think we'll see Miiyu again, because she has had two call outs in the playtest ALONE- she's both a recommended default Pahtra name, and the iconic Dae was one of her backup dancers. I hope to see her again, and it seems like she's on the minds of the Starfriends.
I think Miiyu is such a great character archetype to have in the setting! I really like the way she represents big themes of Starfinder, like "colonialism discussions", "scifi fantasy pop culture", and "awesome furry women"
I'm betting we'll definitely get some more answers in the Starfinder Galaxy Guide that was announced for April 2025. It's going to include 'Exciting new lore introducing new gods, current events, and important hotspots in the Starfinder setting!'
Also, I know we got Band on the Run but at this point with this many pop stars and musicians kicking about, we really need a bigger band-based adventure.