Starfinder Society Scenario # 3-00: "The Last Bite" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

The Last Bite is a multi-table Special that resolves the Season 2 storyline.  I played it at subtier 5-6 via play-by-post.  It is repeatable if you jump from one major divide (Tier 1-4) to the other (Tier 5-8) or vice-versa.  Although the overall thrust of the scenario and the climax would be the same if you played through it a second-time, the variety of different missions means you’ll probably enjoy some different content as well.  Gamers familiar with other Paizo multi-table Specials (whether PFS, PFS2, or SFS) will find this one very similar in structure.  There’s a mustering phase to give everyone something to do while tables are assembling, a way for tables to help other tables through the provision of aid tokens, a mission-based format where each table reports a success and the overseers transition when the collective has reached a certain number of successes (or when time limits in real time are exceeded), special conditions that go into effect at the achievement of goals (which make a fairly easy scenario even easier) and a structure and storyline that that implicitly provides absolutely no possibility of failure.  All of that being said (I know I sound jaded!), there some really good moments in the adventure and it certainly feels like an important turning point for the Starfinder Society as a whole.

SPOILERS!

Throughout Season Two, the Starfinder Society had been plagued by a mysterious nemesis named Datch who orchestrated a damaging public relations campaign against the Starfinder Society.  Datch was revealed to be a ysoki worshipper of Lao Shu Po intent on becoming Executive Archdirector of AbadarCorp and corrupting the company for her evil schemes.  (I don’t quite recall why Datch decided to come after the SFS to achieve this, but that’s okay.)  The fun thing about Datch as a villain is that she’s not a physical threat, and her schemes can’t be stopped through old-fashioned violence.  Instead, as Luwazi Elsebo explains in the briefing, her schemes have to be first foiled and made public before she can be apprehended by the authorities.  Luwazi Elsebo explains all this during the preparations to make her elected successor, Ehu Hadif, the new First Seeker of the Starfinder Society, cleverly masking a massive counterpunch to Datch behind festive ceremonies.  It’s Luwazi’s last mission, and a nice send-off for an NPC I really like.

From the players’ perspective, after a brief introduction to Luwazi’s plans, they get the opportunity to assist in the preparations for the elevation ceremony through various skill-based tasks.  These are the low-stakes mustering activities and feature the PCs resolving minor problems like catering or valet service.  They’re little but fun, and the bonuses they can provide for use later in the adventure are nothing to be sneezed at.  I think the idea of mustering activities is a good one, as it gives players a chance to introduce themselves and roleplay a little if time allows, but players who come to a table late certainly aren’t missing out on anything essential.  I like the little callbacks to previous scenarios, such as the mention of Sparklemane.

In Part 1, after the mustering has concluded, the briefing continues in a “secret meeting” where Luwazi explains her plan.  The Society needs to first stop Datch from gaining control of AbadarCorp.  To do this, the SFS must influence the corporation’s board of directors so they vote to keep the current CEO.  From a gameplay perspective, each group is given the option to undertake one of five different missions.  If they succeed, that’s reported to the overseers and the table can continue with another mission until time for this segment of the scenario runs out.  There’s a variety of missions to suit different players and groups: a role-playing/skill-based mission at a casino to befriend an AbadarCorp board member, a starship combat mission to intercept a shipment of “recycled parts” Datch is sending to Aballon, an interesting mission to disperse a vaccine at a space station infected with murkblight (Dr Monsylkis from a previous scenario reappears here), a mission to break into Datch’s office (with a nasty “cursehack” trap!), and my favourite, a mission to go undercover at an AbadarCorp employee retreat and take part in what’s essentially a game of paintball—“Suzi from Accounting” is a great NPC, and I hope she makes a return in a future scenario.  Unlike Pathfinder, one of the things that Starfinder can do is reflect modern culture in a damning or satirical way, and the idea of an uplifted bear who’s an accountant and extremely violent at corporate retreats is pretty funny.

Part 2 is another choice of five missions (tables still on a mission from Part 1 can finish it when Part 2 begins).  Each of these missions connects to a plot point from one of the missions in Part 1, which is a good way of keeping the storyline coherent.  I didn’t think the missions were as good here.  A mission to bodyguard the AbadarCorp member from the casino has a generic battle against assassins, just like a mission to visit the recycling center on Aballon has a forgettable encounter against security robots.  Another vaccine-related mission has a good premise, but (like a lot of Starfinder Society encounters) no failure condition—PCs can just retry skill checks until they eventually succeed.  A fourth mission involves drama at a jungle resort (it’s not bad), while a fifth actually brings in the vehicle chase rules—it’s nice that the PCs can use one of their own vehicles if they happen to have one.

Part 3 is *blah* starship combat, as the SFS has formed up to assault Datch’s hidden fortress but have to fight their way through wave after wave of armed drones.  The one redeeming element is that NPCs from past scenarios appear with encouraging words, and these messages are well-written and help remind the players of NPCs they’ve helped in the past.

In Part 4, the meta-premise that multiple groups of Starfinders are operating at the same time breaks down, as every table has the same mission: capture or kill Datch.  I do love the hard choice that players have to make here as to whether to simply arrest her or to essentially execute her.  In a good twist, this choice happens at the very beginning of Part 4 because Datch doesn’t put up a fight at all.  Instead, it’s the leaving afterwards that’s hard, as Datch (alive or dead) has arranged for a sort of doomsday contingency to go into effect.  Puzzle- and trap-oriented players will enjoy this section, though the effects of the traps (various curses that have no immediate effect) are underwhelming.  We meet a mysterious NPC named Iroiveth who I imagine must tie into Season Three in some way.

The Conclusion has a really nice epilogue as we see Ehu Hadif assume the role of First Speaker and promise to launch the Society in a new direction.

All in all, it’s an enjoyable Special, and a satisfying conclusion to the Season Two storyline.