Starfinder: Starting A Campaign at Dock 94
When I started writing these posts a big interest of mine was to keep a log of my first Starfinder campaign. I wanted a record of the game I could look back on and hopefully learn from as a GM. If other people also found it entertaining, that would be an awesome bonus.
My last post about Starfinder was an introduction to the system, a rather brief Session 0, and some character creation. Now, my group and I are actually getting into the meat of the story with our very first game. We are playing through Paizo’s Dead Suns adventure path (AP) with a little customization for character stories and all that jazz. This first session was, as always, an eye opener for me. It highlighted player strengths, weaknesses, and my own missteps. I learned a lot and hope to continually get better with this system.
To recap, the players created their characters and over the past month began working on background and finishing up the details on their sheet. Our team consists of:
Noxulisch aka Nox — A Shirren Solarion and Captain
Twik — A Ysoki Mechanic and Engineer
Shin Arion — A Korasha Lashunta Operative and Pilot
Kosmo Pennypacker — A Gnome Envoy and Science Officer
Cradossk — A Vesk Soldier and Gunner
While I was hoping to do some extra role-playing during this time, like some one-on-one sessions, most players were unable to get anything together until the week of the session. While this was a little frustrating, the extra play was just that, extra. It wasn’t a huge impact on the game itself.
My Prep
To prep for this first session, I once again familiarized myself with the Core Rule Book (CRB). We are not familiar enough with this system yet that I don’t need a rules refresher before play. I also checked into a couple of questions we had from our session 0. I wanted to get to a point where I felt like I could smoothly deal with various rules, questions, or at least improvise an answer that made sense. One thing I did not do is research each of the character’s classes and how they worked. I left that up to the players, which both helped and hurt me in the end. While it helped me keep the sheer amount of stuff in my head to a manageable level, there were questions I couldn’t answer and powers that I was not aware of. I will be checking into these issues for the next session for sure.
Next, I began to prepare for the adventure itself. I’ve worked with Paizo’s adventure paths before and I knew that I would have a complete adventure with all the enemies and maps I would need. That makes things easier and more straightforward. Dead Suns was the first AP that Paizo published for Starfinder, which is super helpful in a lot of ways. It was designed as an intro to Starfinder as a system, so it introduces concepts and rules as it goes; perfect for new players. Another great advantage is that many actual play podcasts and shows were using this AP as it was the only one available. One of my favorites to listen to is Androids & Aliens by the Glass Cannon Network. I love these guys and their great storytelling and team chemistry. I definitely stole some ideas for the game intro from them.
Once I had the adventure, or at least the first several encounters, under my belt all I had left to do was create the map, pick some minis, and get ready for game day.
Session 1
This first official session got off to a great start. The game began with all the characters on a shuttle, the Okimoro, to Absalom Station. Each character was on this journey for their own reasons and as the shuttle made its long trek through space towards the station we took some time to introduce each of them. With some flashbacks, I got to share the backgrounds that each player came up with. While the characters don’t have any way to know these things, it gave the players a little idea of who they were dealing with and what to expect in the upcoming game. It also was a chance to show off all the work they did on their characters.
Each of these characters was unknowingly headed in the same direction. They had each answered an ad promising free passage to Absalom Station as part of a job offer with the Starfinder Society. The Society is a prestigious organization that explores the galaxy in search of new life and knowledge. A job with them could offer a lot to these characters, and they can offer a variety of skills to The Society.
As the characters disembarked from the shuttle at Dock 94, they looked around for their contact, a dwarven man named Kreel. We started the game in a classic way, with a perception check. As they scanned the room, a few of them noticed several people moving through the crowd and finding cover behind crates and barrels on the dock. Before they could do anything, shots were fired and initiative was rolled.
It became clear rather quickly that while there were six enemies, they were more interested in firing at each other then anything else. Kreel took a laser blast and crumpled to the floor. This battle went much smoother than our previous attempt. Shin and Twik had noticed the approaching thugs and got a surprise round to get into position. Each round I would roll randomly to see if the players were caught in the crossfire of the battle.
For the most part the players did a great job, several of them had designed their characters with a combat style in mind. For instance, Nox knew that his solar sword (a Solarian’s spiritual weapon) could be dropped and would just disappear, so he also took a feat to draw weapons for free so he could cycle through different weapons easily. Others, like Kosmo, role-played their character’s unwillingness to stick their neck out and instead tried calling security and keeping low. Twik ran back and forth, first checking on Kreel and finding him dead; then trying to loot bodies, including Kreel himself! She played the hyperactive scavenger really well.
This is where we found that Twik’s character sheet was a mess. Turns out while the Envoy has a reputation of being difficult, the Mechanic is just plain complex! Lots of bits and bobs that offer a lot of use, if you can figure out where to use them. This is where not knowing a ton about the individual classes came back to bite me. In re-doing the sheet, I learned a lot about the mechanic and I hope I can help answer questions better in the future.
The only downside of the battle was our soldier Cradossk. Starfinder is pretty gear focused and has the feeling of scarce resources. This means that everyone was keen on conserving ammo. Cradossk was no different and attempted to get up close to one of the thugs and disarm them. This didn’t pan out. Almost immediately, the thug got a critical hit with a laser rifle, setting the soldier on fire. This set the tone for him for the rest of the fight. He was unconscious and dying by the end. Another mechanic of the game is that stabilizing (to stop dying) is tough, and often you have to depend on others to help you. None of these characters knew each other well enough to try and help.
One great bit of role-playing, was when Kosmo ran out at the end to appear to be helping Cradossk as the medical personnel showed up. As he hadn’t been a part of the fight, I thought this was a great way to ingratiate himself into the group while staying true to his character.
After the battle, the group decided to continue their original plans and head to the Starfinder Society headquarters. There they met with Chiskisk, a high ranking member of the society and shirren mystic. He asks the players to investigate Kreel’s death as part of their initiation and offers them a small signing bonus to find accommodations. Once they were full fledged members they would have free room and board at the headquarters when needed. This was a fun role-play. I enjoyed playing a shirren and all their bug like qualities, the others hammed it up stealing food and trying to get one over on him.
The group decided to do a little shopping after that. They had looted a couple of items they wanted to sell and noticed a few places they were lacking. They sold the loot and Cradossk bought some long range ammo. This would turn out poorly… again. After a long day, they checked into an Inn for the night. Well most of them did; many of them split the small efficiency rooms but Cradossk had spent his last credits on that ammo and couldn’t even afford half a room. He had to pitch a tent in the alley.
The rest of the session was spent gathering information. They had learned from Station Security that the thugs on the docks were part of two rival gangs, the Downside Kings and the Level 21 Crew. After a little investigation, they learned that the Downside Kings had fired the shot that killed Kreel. Unfortunately, in the battle the Downside Kings had escaped while the Level 21 Crew had been defeated. With some rolls and a little role-play with a kasatha at a bar, they were able to find the location of the Level 21 Crew meeting place. This is another place I needed to work on. This info gathering could have been more dynamic instead of just a series of rolls. We broke it up with some role-playing with the kasatha and eventually the Level 21 Crew gatekeeper Mama Fats, but it could have been more interesting.
During all this interrogation, Cradossk was drawn into yet another bad situation. While trying to intimidate someone into giving up info he failed a roll, without thinking I had the no name NPC do a little chest thumping. Cradossk took offence, so with 8 Stamina and 2 HP he started a fight. As the other players finished a role-play with Mama Fats, walking away with delicious? sandwiches. They came out onto the streets to find Cradossk being beaten up by Crackhead Charlie. A couple of bad rolls on Cradossk’s part and some good rolls for Charlie and suddenly Shin had to intervene to save the giant lizard.
This first session was a wild ride! I definitely love all the personality that the players brought to their characters. The first battle was interesting and everyone got a chance to shine. I look forward to what this crew brings to the table as we go forward into this adventure and unearth some of the bigger mysteries. The next session will lead them further into the bowels of Absalom Station and maybe out into the cold emptiness of space. No matter what, it’s bound to be exciting!
