SFS # 1-03 "Yesteryear's Truth" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

If other scenarios have drawn inspiration from influential SF like Firefly and Aliens, Starfinder Society scenario # 1-03 "Yesteryear's Truth" might be best described as influenced by classic Star Trek.  This is the type of scenario I was hoping we'd get: one with big ideas, first contacts, and hard choices with no easy answer.  It's the best of the scenarios released so far, and was a treat to both read and to run.  I loved it, and only players who hate social encounters should skip it.

SPOILERS

"Yesteryear's Truth" assigns the Starfinders to journey to a newly-discovered planet in the Vast called Elytrio.  A previous SFS expedition had tried to approach Elytrio but was driven away by an orbital defense platform (in a nice tie-in, that ship was the one the PCs are sent to recover in Into the Unknown--a fact I played up since my players had also played that one).  The mission briefing with Venture-Captain Arvin is a bit bland--I wish the writers had given him a personality with some "pop" to role-play.  (There's a nice little cameo from Fitch, the faction leader for the Wayfinders.)  The main choice the PCs need to make early on, and it's an important once for this scenario, is whether to take a lightly-armed but fast vessel or a slower but heavily-armed starship.

The reason the choice of starship matters is that, on approach to Elytrio, the PCs have to engage in starship combat with the orbital defense platform.  The trick with the platform is that it doesn't attack directly but instead releases, every round, an armed drone.  It comes loaded with twelve of the buggers! (though it'll only dispatch four onto the battlefield at any one time)  My players quickly figured out the right approach and focussed all of their missiles on the platform itself.  I have heard horror stories of other groups thinking they should focus on the drones or bringing the lightly-armed ship that doesn't have missiles, which has led to a *long* slog that lasts hours.  That certainly wasn't my experience, but I think there are still some wrinkles that need to be ironed out with starship combat being too easy and/or too long.  Still, I thought the encounter was a solid and original one that forced the players to do some strategic thinking.

After defeating the platform, scans of Elytrio shows a large city protected by a force field in the midst of a post-apocalyptic wasteland.  When the PCs land nearby and set off on foot for the city, they're attacked by a scaled, lion-sized lizard creature called a sand brute.  This is very much a "random encounter" type of combat, but it's the last taste of battle the players will get for a while in the scenario so I thought it was okay.  And, the battle against the sand brute is the premise for the PCs encountering a hunting party of the residents of Elytrio: sentient human-sized cockroach-like creatures called the Ghibrani!

This is the point where the scenario really starts to come into its own.  The PCs have their work cut out for them in making first contact, as they have to overcome barriers with language (some options are embedded into the scenario) and customs in order to make their peaceful intentions known.  If things with the hunting party go awry, there are instructions given to the GM on how to jump ahead.  But if things go well, the PCs will be invited back to a nearby series of cliffside caves where the ghibrani live.  In order to impress the tribe, the PCs need to take part in (and perform well in) a ritual dance--a fun but important scene, as failure means they've already lost out on the secondary success condition!  Conversation with the ghibrani will allow the PCs to start to piece together some of Elytrio's history.  The ghibranis they're talking too are called "husk" ghibranis and, generations ago, decided to live in the wastelands following the precepts of their god, Mother Touloo.

After the dance (or after a failed encounter with the hunting party), the PCs will meet a ghibrani named Klarima.  Klarima, however, is not a husk ghibrani but a member of one of the winged, city-dwelling ghibranis known as the "membranes."  Klarima, like most of the ghibranis, is happy to meet outsiders from another world and will offer to take the PCs back with her through the force field to the city where she lives, Arkeost.

Arkeost is described well as a city built for those who can fly where most of the mundane tasks are done by little robot drones.  However, as the PCs will soon witness firsthand, the drones frequently suffer from glitches and malfunctions, and the infrastructure of the city has been decaying for years.  Klarima takes the PCs to meet with the leaders of Arkeost, the Most Elevated.  This is another important and delicate social encounter, with the crux being the ability of the PCs to eat (or feign eating) some disgusting ghibrani food to avoid offending the Most Elevated!  As with the dance for the husk ghibranis, there are various options presented on how to accomplish the task, but failure means failing the secondary success condition.  These social encounters are done well, with lots of opportunity for conversation and role-playing, but also with real importance (and consequences) attached to them.

Conversation with the Most Elevated fills in more of the details about Elytrio.  Generations ago, there was a nuclear war between nation-states that devastated the planet.  Some of the ghibrani sought refuge in force-field protected cities like Arkeost, while others followed the revelations of Mother Touloo and endured the hardships and radiation of the wastelands (and thus, lost the use of their wings).  The membrane ghibranis of Arkeost do not understand the technology of their ancestors and have established a taboo keeping them from entering the mainframe building where the city's computer systems and thousands of drones are controlled.  But, they're happy for outsiders to investigate and see if they can figure out why the city's automated services are suffering so many problems of late.

The last section of the scenario has the PCs enter the mainframe area.  There's a couple of ancient security robots that have to be destroyed (hardly any challenge in the session I ran) before the malfunctioning computer can be found and repaired.  But the players will soon realize that that was the easy part.  The hard part isn't something that can be overcome with lasers or skill checks.  Records found in the mainframe reveal that ghibrani society is built on a pack of lies!  Generations ago, concerned that Arkeost could not support so many refugees, the city's leaders secretly concocted an elaborate fraud on its people by inventing "Mother Touloo" and her "revelation" that her followers should leave the city in order to find enlightenment in the wastelands.  Those who went became the husk ghibranis, while those who stayed became the membranes.  The PCs are then faced with the terrible choice of what to do with the information: keep it to themselves, tell only the membranes, tell only the husks, or tell both sides.  Their choice could lead to reunion or civil war, and the entire burden falls on them.  I thought it was a fantastic situation to put the PCs in, as it came about naturally through the story and wasn't a contrived last-minute add-on.  A good GM will give the players a full opportunity to debate what should be done, and their choice is one of the reporting conditions that could affect future scenarios involving Elytrio.  If I had a complaint about the scenario, it would be that the wrap-up (after their choice) is done in summary form and the PCs don't get to see the full result of their choice yet.  But it leaves a fascinating hook for a future scenario, one that I really hope writers follow up on in a future season.

As I said at the beginning, Yesteryear's Truth is a scenario with some big ideas behind it.  It's a substantive scenario and a memorable one.  Making first contact with an alien race and discovering the secrets of their civilization is classic Star Trek, and I'm really recognizing the range of stories that Starfinder can tell.  This is a more role-play heavy scenario than some previous ones, but I didn't mind it one bit.  Overall, I hope we see more scenarios like this one that have depth and intelligence behind them.