Starfinder Society Scenario # 2-17: "Cost of Living" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran Cost of Living at high subtier (5-6) via play-by-post.  It's a solid part of the Season Two "Year of a Thousand Bites" metaplot.  I thought the setting was well-conceived (and suitable for return adventures), the writer made full use of the Starfinder rules around non-combat dangers, and the social/political commentary on real-world events was done subtly but well.  I liked seeing the return of an NPC from a memorable Season One scenario.  I did think the combats were a bit vanilla, but on the whole, this was a satisfying experience.

SPOILERS!

Venture-Captain Naiaj delivers the news: a pandemic has broken out on Zeyther-3!  A remote arctic planet in the Vast, Zeyther-3 is inhabited by only a single small mining colony named Glimmershield.  A disease called Gutmelt has caused severe stomach distress and led to those infected being quarantined.  The Starfinder Society has quickly assembled medicinal supplies to send (thanks to Fitch's connections with the Izalguuns from # 2-16), and the PCs' task is to get them there safely and assist with anything else the colony needs.  AbadarCorp also reacted with surprising speed, and sent a batch of supplies--though the PCs will later learn they had an ulterior motive.  It all sounds pretty straightforward, and time is of the essence, so the PCs hop a chartered freighter called the Tale of Sustenance and, apart from noticing blackouts of some Drift beacons (which adds to their travel time and foreshadows a future storyline), the journey is uneventful.

I've often said I wish there was more artwork of locations in PFS/SFS, and Cost of Living obliges with a great shot of Glimmershield from the outside.  Upon arrival, the PCs meet with an epraksa (a sort of birdlike species) named Firstsight Taksta, the colony administrator.  Taksta understandably has a *lot* going on at the moment, so in addition to unloading the supplies, she asks the Starfinders to see if they can repair some external generators that have gone down and try to calm down some of the residents that have gotten unruly due to the quarantine.  The two latter tasks can be done in any order. Getting the generators going involves some skill checks and a battle with some ice elementals.  I remember running this encounter and thinking it was maybe a bit *overwritten*, taking up a lot more word count than was really necessary.  Dealing with the civil unrest (from boredom, bad food, frustration, etc.) is a good role-playing opportunity, with success depending on various skill checks.  Successfully dealing with both tasks makes attaining the scenario's Secondary Success Condition a little easier.

Afterwards, Taksta introduces the PCs to Dr Monsylkis, a redeemed scientist who had been working on the wrong side of the law when the Starfinder Society first encountered her in # 1-13.  Monsylkis has come to Glimmershield to try to develop a vaccine and cure for Gutmelt, and tells the PCs she has a real chance: she just needs to obtain a specimen sample from the wild creature native to Zeyther-3, an "estri", that first bit a resident of the colony to infect them and kick off the pandemic.  However, a couple parts of this plan promise to be tricky.  First, Monsylkis says her best chance of success is with a sample obtained from a living estri.  Second, estris are only known to live around First Bore, an abandoned mine almost fifty miles from Glimmershield.  Because of the arctic conditions and a transitory weather phenomenon called Coilstorms, transport is unavailable: the PCs will have to go via skis!

I really like that the scenario doesn't handwave or nerf the challenges of journeying multiple days through arctic conditions; it applies the rules for cold, for forced marching (the PCs have to choose between being fatigued and getting there quickly, or being in top shape but risking infected patients dying from the delay), rations (yay!), and more.  I know some of my players were surprised and grudging about these things, but I really believe that if GMs and adventures don't require them, it only further encourages players to focus on combat, combat, combat over other importance choices (like being good at Survival, or stocking up on rations, or taking wilderness-related feats and class features).  Additional complications ensue when the PCs arrive at the base of the rock formation that First Bore is on and have to figure out the best way to get to the top (climbing the treacherous rock face, following meandering trails where it's easy to get lost, trying to repair a broken elevator, etc.).  It's all handled very well.

Once inside the mine tunnels, the PCs will notice a couple of vital things.  First, they'll come across a recent-looking campsite that investigation may reveal was from the AbadarCorp relief team!  In short, the Starfinders aren't the first to come looking for estris.  Second, they'll come across the estris themselves: interesting, multi-legged burrowing creatures with corrosive bodily fluids.  I remember my PCs struggled trying to take one alive to get the sample that Dr Monsylkis requested.  There's also a chance a PC will contract Gutmelt.

Fortunately, the PCs may be able to repair an old tram terminal so they don't have to repeat the laborious journey back to Glimmershield on foot (or skis).  When they return with the specimens and news of AbadarCorp's presence, Dr Monsylkis confirms their shuttle left just a day before the PCs arrived.  As she gets to work developing a cure and vaccine, news breaks on the infosphere: "AbadarCorp develops miracle drug for gutmelt!"  But corporations don't do anything out of goodwill, and they're selling it for thousands of credits for a single dose!  It's a nice commentary on "Big Potion" (what we call Big Pharma in the real world), and ties in really well to the more modern problems a writer can insert into SFS compared to PFS.  Oh, and I have to mention the Chronicle boon is pretty sweet--allowing for discounted pharmaceuticals--I know a certain Solarian who was very happy.

Cost of Living is a solid adventure.  And if any of your players whinge about having to keep track of rations, make sure you impose the starvation rules! :)