Starfinder Society Scenario # 2-15: "The Infernal Gallery" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I got to play The Infernal Gallery via play-by-post at subtier 3-4 using the Iconic witchwarper, Zemir.  It's one of those scenarios that, in the right GM hands, could really be something memorable (in a spooky vein that we don't see in Starfinder very often).  The plot has a basic premise, but it's executed really well and with plenty of flavour to engage with.  Little details are handled nicely.  I didn't think much of it while playing it, but on reading it for the purposes of this review I can see it has real potential.

SPOILERS!

One of the virtues of Starfinder's concept of the Drift is the natural story engine of having chunks of the multiverse torn free with each use.  In The Infernal Gallery, it's a chunk of Stygia, the fifth layer of Hell!  More specifically, it's an art gallery named the Palace of Delusion, owned by the "nightmare collector" Duke Crocell.  With his precious building now floating somewhere in the Drift, Duke Crocell has hired a team of mercenaries named the Devil's Talon to secure it.  What he doesn't know, however, is that a salvage ship named the Clutter Collector (a ship appearing in some previous scenarios) has already been there, and that its crew looted a painting before starting to succumb to hallucinations and fleeing back to Absalom Station.  The painting was sold to the (recurring NPC) pawn broker Julzakama before making its way to the Starfinder Society.  And that's where the PCs come into the picture.

After a briefing by the walking snooze-fest Venture-Captain Arvin, the Starfinders make their way to the Downlow district to speak with Julzakama.  The scenario does a great job making Julzakama really pop with the perfect mix of bluster and humor.  There's a lot of really funny little bits here, like him trying to extort more money from the PCs (when's he's already been paid for his cooperation by Arvin), giving people mildly offensive nicknames, giving PCs he's met before in previous scenarios a discount on energy drinks, or praising that nice Datch lady on the holo-vids.  Julzakama explains that the painting (of a Veskarium war hero named Major Sifkali, done by a famous verthani artist named Aelon Vimariss) was found by the Clutter Collector on a piece of floating Drift real estate that the crew dubbed the Drift Bog.  The Drift Bog, of course, is where the PCs need to go next.  It's a solid set-up to the adventure.  (oddly, there really isn't any special significance to the subject matter of the portrait or information on why an infernal duke of all people would want to collect it)

When the PCs arrive at the Drift Bog, they're confronted by the Devil's Talons starship, Malice.  There can be some role-playing to start out with, as the ship's captain wants to know if the Starfinders have reinforcements on the way, but a battle is inevitable.  I tend to zone out during Starfinder starship combat, and I don't remember anything about it.  There are some Drift hazards to complicate things, and interestingly the PCs take a point of Infamy if they destroy the Malice rather than just disable it (an unusual feature of starship combats).

The Drift Bog is, as the name indicates, a chunk of floating swamp--with a structure visible in the distance.  I really like how the scenario rewards PCs who do the sorts of sensible things space explorers should do, like take Tricorder-style environmental and biological samples (testing the water, insect-life, air, etc.).  This wasn't explicitly asked for by Arvin, but doing so provides some small mechanical bonuses and contributes to the secondary success conditions.  Starfinder's decision to make environmental protections available to everyone all the time takes away some of the fun of exploring a naturally hazardous environment, unfortunately.  While travelling through the swamp, PCs will find the dead bodies of several Devil's Talons mercenaries, fight an encounter against leech-like parasites called "slithermaws", and potentially rescue a trapped soul that has been bound in Hell for eons.  It's all done well and flavourfully, though it has my pet peeve of allowing Perception to substitute for Survival which only continues to elevate Perception into the uber-skill.

The Palace of Delusions itself constitutes only a few chambers, but they're full of traps, loads of objets d'art (Arvin apparently wants it all!), and a memorably weird encounter against a collection of various creepy animated toys.  One of the chambers contains a poor bird from Elysium who has been caged and begs for rescue.  In a clever twist, the bird is actually an imp who wants to hitchhike a ride back to the Material Plane--there's a fair chance the PCs won't notice until it's too late and accrue a negative boon because of it.   Once the PCs have thoroughly looted the place, they can return to Absalom Station without further incident.

There are a lot of little creepy things suggested by the scenario (delusions, phantom touches, etc.) to help build the right amount of creepy tension, but it's really up to the GM to make it work.  All in all, it's a solid scenario.