Starfinder Society Scenario # 2-21: 'Illegal Shipment' [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

 

I allegedly played Illegal Shipment with my obnoxious journalist PC, Vitellius Kapopolis, in a live tabletop game.  I say “allegedly” because I genuinely have no recollection of it, even after reading the scenario for the purposes of this review.  But the documentary evidence is firm, so I’ll plead guilty!  Illegal Shipment has a very straightforward story and linear plot sequence, with little in the way of complex character or setting lore.  The way I’ve phrased it may make it sound like a bad thing, but the scenario could be a good one for players new to Starfinder.  They can jump in immediately and get their bearings on what they’re doing and why, trusting to general SF tropes to fill in any blanks.  The scenario is also at the right tier range to allow for brand-new Level 1 PCs or Level 4 Iconics (the latter’s not a bad idea, as I find Starfinder combats can be surprisingly deadly at low level, especially if the PCs aren’t optimised and are firing d4 pistols every round).  All of this is to say that although Illegal Shipment won’t win any awards (or a part in my heart or memory), it’s not a bad scenario for filler or to get new players into the game.

 

SPOILERS!

 

The set up for Illegal Shipment is a classic: someone tries to import wild monsters, they get loose in civilization, and all heck breaks loose.  It’s King Kong, one of the Jurassic Park movies, many of the Alien movies, and more.  In this particular instance, a ferran (a sort of dense, squat humanoid) named Zelrai Impressium runs an inter-system menagerie, collecting exotic creatures for viewing and sale throughout the Pact Worlds.  She’s just made the (very predictable!) mistake of bringing some cryogenically-frozen members of the insect-like and savage Swarm aboard Absalom Station.  I don’t know much about the Attack of the Swarm! Adventure path, but this scenario is, according to a sidebar, intentionally written as a handy prequel or tie-in for GMs so minded.  Anyway, a street gang called the Six Tip Gang hear about the ship’s arrival and decide the creatures would be a handy asset.  When they try to violently board the ship, a crewman deactivates the cryogenic systems hoping the Swarm creatures will drive them off.  The plan works in the sense that it does indeed drive off the gang members, but has the unintentional side effect of also killing most of the crew.  Now, the Swarm creatures have escaped into the station’s maintenance tunnels and are surely building a nest to reproduce unless someone can find them and incinerate the place pronto!  Enter the PCs.

 

The briefing is held aboard the Master of Stars, the flagship of the Starfinder Society.  Fitch and Zigvigix are there along with Zelrai.  Zelrai and Fitch are old comrades due to Wayfinder-related expeditions, while Ziggy has been called in as the leader of the Exo-Guardians.  What I really liked about this is that Fitch and Ziggy do not see eye-to-eye.  They both want the Swarm creatures located and exterminated (with the PCs called in on the classic “we don’t want to cause a panic by alerting station security” idea), but Fitch wants her old friend let off with a stern warning, while Ziggy wants her arrested for endangering innocent lives.  A solid, plausible moral question that the PCs are asked to weigh in on at the end of the scenario.  During the briefing, the PCs get a lead to get them started on tracking down the Swarm: a member of the Six Tip Gang was reported to have escaped the ship and probably went to hide in the gang’s hangout, a cantina in Little Absalom called Nurkops’s Rich Pick.

 

In the cantina, the PCs encounter a gang member named Del Shara (featured with pretty cool artwork).  Del is very protective of the injured gang member (a halfling named Toressa) who fled the Swarm, and this encounter can easily tip into combat unless the PCs are very diplomatic.  I like that both possibilities are available and contemplated by the scenario.  Through violence or verbosity, the PCs will learn that Toressa’s drone has footage of the Swarm creatures escaping through a numbered maintenance hatch leading to an area of Absalom Station called Fogtown.

 

The scenario does a nice job giving the GM some tips on how to make the multicolored gases and mists of  Fogtown more atmospheric (pun!).  Fans of Babylon 5 will know part of a space station customised for non-oxygen breathers can be pretty creepy and disorienting.  There are a few generic skill checks PCs can make to get information, but while they’re gathering it, they’ll be attacked by a flying Swarm creature that swoops down out of the mists in hit-and-run attacks.  It’s a good encounter, and something different than the standard “stand up and fight” foes.

 

The PCs will quickly find the Swarm’s nest in a warehouse.  Again, some effort has been given to help the GM set up the “creep/ick” factor here, in the sense of dripping slime and so forth.  There’s understandably a lot of combat in this area, and although the PCs will be aided in one encounter by either gang members or security guards, this could be a pretty deadly series of fights for the reasons I mentioned above.  For a group that’s just ill-equipped for such heavy and sustained combat, retreat might be sensible even if it results in mission failure.

 

The conclusion has the PCs asked their opinion on what should be done about Zelrai, and this is one of the reporting conditions.  I’m not sure if later scenario writers made use of the NPC again or not, but it’d be interesting to find out.  Anyway, in sum, this is a good introductory scenario for a tough group with lots of Obozayas or the equivalent; a group with too many non-combat PCs will really struggle.  As it turns out, there’s only one way to deal with the Swarm!

Starfinder Society Scenario # 6-15: "Extraction from Azlanti Space" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

 

Man, I’m really getting behind on these reviews!  It’s not from lack of interest, just from lack of time.  Anyway, I got to play Extraction from Azlanti Space via play-by-post with my drug-addicted solarian, Troivayan.  It was nice to see a scenario designed for such high-level PCs (Tier 11-14!), and since Troivayan is my first and highest level character, he was a natural choice.  Moreso, the mission was one that genuinely warranted the (in-game) Society sending elite operatives to accomplish.  My take on the scenario was that it was an enjoyable experience: the story was solid, the setting was great, and the encounters were fine.  I do think there could have been more risk in a non-combat vein, but I’ll explain that more in the Spoilers! section below.  I found the artwork a mixed bag, as I think the more cartoony style adopted over the past couple of years is a detriment compared to the original, more “realistic” vein.

 

SPOILERS!

 

I’m not being sarcastic when I say one of the most interesting parts of Extraction from Azlanti Space is the “Adventure Background” section.  It tells the story of how the Starfinder Society first discovered the Azlanti Star Empire fifty years ago in-game, and the isolation it has tried to keep from the Pact Worlds since (not always successfully).  I’m not sure if this material has been presented before elsewhere, but I found it a fascinating bit of setting lore.  As for the current mission, the background is that despite explorers, diplomats, and colonists being forbidden to enter or exit Azlanti space, the Starfinder Society has managed to slip in some spies.  One of the undercover operatives, a man named Felthaum Pixiulu, transmitted an emergency extraction call that got temporarily lost and delayed because it took place during the Drift Crisis trouble.  So, as Venture-Captain Naiaj explains, the PCs are being sent to the Azlanti throne world of New Thespera to find Felthaum and bring him home!  It’s a great set up for a story, a bit like the Federation sending a team to extract Spock from an undercover mission in Romulan space.  I’m here for it!  Now, why exactly the SFS would enlist disgruntled, aggro, pill-popping Troivayan in the mission is another question; though, to be fair, he proved his worth.

 

The SFS arranges for an unmarked vessel to carry the PCs to the border planet of Khetaria, a world caught in a longterm stand-off between the Azlanti and the Vesk for complicated reasons I won’t get into.  Here, the PCs can meet with a Society contact named Mohaul (of the “screedeep” species first introduced in the Against the Aeon Throne AP) to obtain forged credentials to get them into Azlanti space proper.  In an area of a city that gives off some Mos Eisley vibes, the PCs encounter a shouting match between Vesk soldiers and Aeon Guard soldiers.  The scenario lets the PCs try to intervene to prevent violence, but if they fail the Diplomacy check (and I like the big penalty for non-humans attempting it) they provoke an attack in turn!  Even if they succeed in the check, they still get challenged by the Aeon Guard leader to a fight.  I have no idea why Starfinder agents on an undercover mission would want to intervene in the mess at all (and neither did Troivayan), but the rest of the group dutifully stepped in and started a fight.  I think too many players have the idea that they have to swallow every encounter hook that a scenario dangles.  There’s a little bit at the end of this sequence I really liked: when the PCs are just about to board their new “clean” ship to leave Khetaria, a pair of armed Aeon Guards approach and ask rudely “Where do you think you’re going?”  It’s easy (and natural) for the PCs to react/overreact dramatically here, but it turns out the guards have a sort of joking banter with the local and were just having a bit of fun—they’re not suspicious at all!  I liked the misdirect that plays with adventure tropes (“Bluff the Guards”) like this.

 

The group reach the Azlanti capital of New Thespera a few days later, and their forged credentials check out, allowing them free movement around the city of Eronesse.  I thought this part could have been handled a bit better to bring out more setting flavour, as I imagine the usual Starfinder Society group of motley aliens from all over the Pact Worlds, Near Space, and beyond would attract a *lot* of attention in the rigid and xenophobic Azlanti society.  At the very least, any non-human members of the group would be scrutinised more carefully in social interactions, or perhaps the PCs would have to give some not-so-subtle trackers the slip.  I prefer the approach that a long-ago Pathfinder adventure took when the PCs have to slip into a city of (mythical, non-existent) drow: they have to *look* like drow in order to avoid suspicion and have freedom of movement.  I do get it’s hard to accomplish everything in one single scenario, however, so maybe this would have been better as a two-parter.

 

The PCs arrive armed with three potential leads to finding their spy-in-distress. 

 

The first lead is a café and lounge called Conquerer’s Rest, which was the original designated extraction point before the communication got delayed.  Here, the PCs can bribe a gosclaw (another species introduced in Against the Aeon Throne; glad I’m playing it!) bartender to reveal she hasn’t seen Felthaum in months, and that he was spending a lot of time hanging around a shatori female. 

 

The second lead is the workplace where Felthaum found employment: ironically, it was the Ministry of Citizenship!  (actually a really clever place for a spy to gather intel about comings and goings in Azlanti space, and to be able to bolster their own credentials).  The scenario leaves it fairly open ended here when it comes to skill checks to get inside and find relevant information, which is fine with me—the only tricky part is that players could spend a *lot* of time planning a super-careful infiltration when really they just each need to make one skill check to discover a piece of info, and there are no consequences for failure.  Again, probably a problem due to the scenario’s lack of space and gameplay time.  Anyway, the PCs may discover that Felthaum was fired after a week’s unexplained absences and never turned up to gather his desk belongings.  One of the items in Lost & Found is a book marked with a Starfinder cypher that reveals a partial address to an apartment complex in an affluent area of the city.

 

The third lead is Felthaum’s home.  Neighbours say they haven’t seen him in months, but inside the PCs can discover more ciphers that reveal he was investigating a Lissalan cult called the Seven Stars that was aggressively pushing for the Azlanti Star Empire to attack the Pact Worlds!  A clever twist is that some maintenance bots working on the property are actually Aeon Guard surveillance robots (Felthaum aroused suspicions), and they activate to try to capture the PCs.  The map tiles used for this are a bit weird, and I didn’t like that that the PCs are expected to spend *fifteen minutes* after a very public battle against robots, while undercover on the Azlanti homeworld, to hack into the robots’ memory banks to find the address to the Seven Stars compound.  I don’t know about you, but years of Starfinder have taught me that bad-guy robots are there to be blasted, and there’s no point in trying to dredge up useful information from their memory banks.  I guess a GM would have to drop a heavy hint here, because finding that address is crucial for the rest of the scenario.

 

There’s an essentially optional side trek the PCs can take if they go to the address they found hidden in Felthaum’s books at this workplace.  The address belongs to Ghwenti Ghanti, a former co-worker, who was fond of Felthaum and eager to assist in locating him.  She’s an interesting character, and it was cool that she was (slightly ret-conned) into being one of the shatori present during # 2-13: Storm of the End Times and so friendly with the Society.  She can fill the PCs in a bit more on what Felthaum was doing investigating the Seven Stars, but there’s nothing crucial here.  It’s a solid role-playing scene, but I probably would have cut it for space and replaced it with more setting-related stress for the PCs to really hammer home how isolated and exposed they are if they get discovered on this mission well-behind enemy lines.

 

The last act of the adventure has the PCs arrive at the Seven Stars compound.  Although the map makes this look like a standard room-by-room “space dungeon” sequence, there’s actually only one encounter and so it should go fairly quickly.  The battle is against the fanatic leader of the Seven Stars, a soldier named Xyam, and her two mystic acolytes.  The fight was forgettable (at least, I don’t recall anything about it) apart from that I loved the irony that Troivayan’s lazy-stubborn refusal to learn Azlanti from an offered spell gem earlier in the scenario made him automatically immune to a greater command spell cast by one of the mystics! 

 

Felthaum and several other prisoners can be freed from the compound here, and the rest of the escape from Azlanti space is pretty much hand-waved.  The closing line from Venture-Captain Naiaj was a fitting one: “The most important thing for you to know at this moment? This mission never happened.”  All in all, although I would have liked the scenario to lean more into the “undercover behind enemy lines” angle and perhaps offer some new mechanical twists for high-level play, I thought Extraction from Azlanti Space was a solid experience.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 92 [RPG]

[Moonday, 10 Arodus 4708 A.R. continued]

After the rebel war council is interrupted by news of trouble along the Avenue of Arms, the Harrowed Heroes decide to rush to the scene.  Flying from the Grand Cathedral all the way to the Narrows takes time, however, and by the time they arrive, all Hell has broken loose!  Standing near the bizarre assemblage of sculpted arms is a robed figure watching her work joyfully: a rippling hole in the air, through which the infernal landscape of another plane can be seen!  And clearly, at least one denizen from Hell has already spotted the opening and come through, as a barbed devil is rampaging up and down the street, murdering civilians so terrorised they can’t even think to flee!

Goldcape drops her companions off a few dozen yards from the chaotic scene and then urges Rocky into action!  Levelling a magical lance for the first time, the vanara catches the diabolist by surprise, though, oddly, chips of stone are mixed in with the blood from the resulting wound.  Goldcape and Rocky fly past and begin circling around, but instead of giving chase, their foe selects their tightly-bunched allies for a rain of hellfire!  Lorien and The Reckoner dodge the worst of the blast, but Yraelzin is lucky to still be standing.

 

At the same time, at a raucous tavern nearby, Protosilaus sees, through a grimy window, the column of hellfire erupt.  Having previously dismissed talk of an irate applicant to the Order of the Nail as involving a bland carpentry dispute, the half-orc realises something exciting is happening!  He teleports himself to a rooftop overlooking the scene, but slips off and tumbles to the ground below.  The cause of the disturbance shouts “All will rue the day Janeska Hount mastered the infernal legions!” and begins casting a spell to disintegrate Protosilaus, but the diabolist doesn’t realise that The Reckoner has snuck up to her under the cover of an invisibility spell!  A massive blow from his battle-maul leaves Hount reeling and her magic dissipated.  Anger alights in Protosilaus’ eyes at his near-death experience, and he responds with a spell impossible to counter, encasing Hount in an icy tomb!  The Reckoner promptly shatters it, however, to continue his attacks, giving the diabolist the opportunity to teleport away.

 

Nearby, Goldcape has wheeled Rocky around for a charge on the barbed devil, only to find herself yanked off her winged steed by the cunning foe.  The devil wraps Goldcape in a spiny bearhug of pain, shaking the vanara about like a ragdoll!  Lorien and Rocky try to rescue her, but the former’s arrows and the latter’s talons barely penetrate the devil’s skin.  Fortunately, just as Goldcape, nearly dead from the experience, manages to slip free, Yraelzin arrives and successfully banishes the devil back to Hell.  

 

Yet, the hazy portal that originally allowed it to enter remains.  Protosilaus examines it and concludes that it’s deeply unstable—indeed, an attempt to close it might even make matters worse!  But Yraelzin insists it can’t be left in the middle of Korvosa.  After much discussion and several precautions, Protosilaus casts a spell to negate the portal’s magic, and it works!  The portal folds in on itself and disappears completely.  Not long after, a contingent of guards from House Arkona arrive, explaining that they were delayed on the way.  Goldcape, annoyed at their obvious cowardice, shoos them away.

With the immediate danger passed, the time has come to plan an infiltration into Castle Korvosa.  Goldcape flies back to the Grand Cathedral to pick up the maps that Sabina promised.  Meanwhile, The Reckoner checks to see if his informant in House Arkona, the dandasuka named Xoza, has responded to his signal—but there’s no sign of the pint-size spy.  Everyone assembles at The Reckoner’s safehouse for a planning session sure to go long into the night.  Many ideas are proposed and rejected: using the secret passage into the armory, teleporting straight to the throne room, using magic to pass in cloud-like form through an arrow slit, and more.  Yraelzin even raises the idea of capturing Ileosa alive so she can stand trial, but that notion is quickly shot down by the others.  Eventually, a consensus begins to coalesce around a plan: flying slowly and invisibly with gaseous form onto the balcony of the fourth floor, sneaking into the salon, using a powerful spell called passwall to tunnel through the stone floor, and dropping down right into the wicked queen’s boudoir!  But preparations are also made for several night’s magical surveillance to learn Ileosa’s schedule to ensure she’ll be in that room when the assassination attempt is made.

The Harrowed Heroes have embarked on what may be the final and most dangerous of all their efforts to save Korvosa to date, and the hopes of thousands rest on their shoulders.

-----------------------

GM Commentary

The encounter this session was "Speak of the Devil", the bonus encounter for Chapter Six of Curse of the Crimson Throne from the Pathfinder Runescars comics.  Reading this recap, I did better than I remembered at delivering the exposition as to why the devil conjurer was so angry.  I'm glad I got a chance to integrate the Avenue of Arms, one of those weird but memorable features of Korvosa that stretch back to Thassilonian times.  

Goldcape managed the classic double-damage by using a lance in a mounted charge, which was very cool.  The PC was built to do lots of different things instead of being ultra-specialised, and didn't always get an opportunity to showcase some of these aspects of her build.  My "stony flakes mixed with blood" is of course how I would subtly/not-so-subtly reveal a stoneskin was in place.

The Reckoner landing an (invisible) attack of opportunity to disrupt the conjurer's disintegrate was pretty awesome.  

Protosilaus responded with an ice tomb witch hex; I don't remember the details of exactly why, but it's one of those abilities that can be pretty OP when combined with something else.  

Yraelzin got a moment of awesomeness as well, saving Goldcape at the last minute with a very handy dismissal.

I've mentioned before that I always like sessions where the PCs have an extended in-character discussion about planning and tactics.  Here, they came up with a pretty good plan for getting quickly into Castle Korvosa.

Starfinder Society Scenario # 6-13: "The Beginning of the End" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Yes, the title of this scenario is The Beginning of the End, and yes it's the next to last scenario for next to last season of the first edition of Starfinder Society.  But I'm sure everything will be fine!  I got to play this via play-by-post with my embri Mystic of Pharasma, Speaker for the Dead.  I had a fun time.  There's not a lot of amazing story, NPC, or encounter creativity on display, but it's a solid meat-and-potatoes adventure that should leave players satisfied.  There's also some good artwork and the return of an old enemy that everyone loves to hate, which is a plus in my book.

SPOILERS!

I haven't played any of the other Season Six ("Year of Fortune's Fall") scenarios, so reading the Adventure Background to this scenario was a bit overwhelming.  I'll try to boil it down: there once was a party of Starfinders that turned bad.  Led by a powerful seer named Zaheni, they schemed to get access to a rare starmetal named finitrium which would give her even more powerful precognitive powers.  The Starfinder Society eventually learned what was going on and launched an operation to stop the group, which had taken the moniker The Order of Dawning Fate.  Previous scenarios have had the SFS taking down some members of the group, but now the Order has a not-so-secret scheme called Project Dawn, which involves using a doomsday device to cause earthquakes in a particular metropolis to scare away the residents so the Order can get full access to the rare finitrium deposit that lays underneath it. (the exact sort of thing a James Bond villain would do!) The Starfinder Society has narrowed the possibilities of where the doomsday device is hidden to one of about a dozen planets across the galaxy and is preparing to send teams to each of them.

The PCs come into the picture with a briefing by Celita in the Lorespire Complex.  They're being sent to check out one of the possibilities, a city called Izdris on the planet Relthune in the Vast.  I'm not familiar with either the city or the planet, though the scenario gives some backstory indicating it hosts extensive pre-Gap ruins that have been well-preserved, making it quite the tourist destination.  One intriguing thing that Celita mentions is that she received an encrypted message from an unknown sender a few days ago stating that Izdris was the Order's target.  The message was "signed" with an apple emoji, which a veteran player will suspect means the message is from Datch, the villain of Season Two, who was apparently freed from prison by the Order in a previous scenario.  However, whether Datch has turned against the Order or this is all bait for a big trap remains to be scene.

The weeks-long journey to Relthune proceeds without incident.  When the PCs' ship lands on Izdris, they see the population is in panic: a series of escalating earthquakes have hit the city, and misinformation is making the situation even worse.  The GM is instructed to choose three "vignettes" from a list to get the PCs involved in trying to address the panic.  These vignettes are simple one-line problems where the players get a choice of two different skill checks to try to solve them--a lot like an obstacle Chase card in Pathfinder.  I think it worked well, though I could imagine some groups not realising these little vignettes aren't major plot threads to follow.

The PCs will trace the source of the encrypted message to a building owned by a news network called RelWIN.  Unbeknownst to the Izdrian populace, RelWIN was bought out by the Order and is being used to spread misinformation to aggravate the panic and get people to evacuate.  The PCs burst into a studio so see Datch handcuffed to a computer console, and three Order agents maintaining security.  The Order agents open fire on the PCs, of course, but Datch tries to help the PCs by using technology in the studio.  The battle is forgettable, but there's an excellent role-playing opportunity with Datch, especially if PCs (unlike Speaker for the Dead) had encountered her in previous scenarios.  Datch explains that she was held prisoner by the Order and forced to participate in their misinformation scheme (she is an expert at it, after all).  She tells the PCs that the doomsday device isn't far away under an old university building, but that time is of the essence as the strikes are going to continue intensifying.  She offers the PCs a deal: she'll stick around after they leave to prepare a full synopsis of the Order's activities and membership for Celita, if they agree to let her go afterwards.  It's a good, interesting decision for the PCs, with multiple plausible views, exactly the sort of thing I like to see in RPGs.  Our group agreed to the deal.

The PCs are expected to take a news enercopter on the building's roof to get to the university building, and they'll find themselves chased by another news enercopter piloted by Order agents.  We get a proper Chase with customised zones and tricks.  Our group's enercopter took a *lot* of damage, but we managed to get enough speed to simply escape the pursuit.  There were some fun obstacles in the Chase, such as avoiding cranes from construction zones, oncoming air traffic, etc.  It was notable that each enercopter was outfitted with a corona artillery laser, leading my GM to quip "It really tells you what the media situation is like on this planet if their news copters come armed with laser cannons!"

Two encounters await the PCs when they get to the university building.  The first is against some Order robots; robots be robots, and the encounter will be pretty forgettable even though the artwork is interesting.  The second one is the big climax, as the PCs take on Kebzec, a drow mechanic (and a founding member of the Order) with some cool unique augmentations.  He's accompanied by a pair of goons, one of whom I memorably caught with a critical hit using my soul surge spell for 12d8 damage!  After the battle, there are some additional (possibly painful) complications to shut down the doomsday device and stop the earthquakes.

Although the overall plot is a bit cheesy (with the idea of trying to force the evacuation of an entire metropolis to "secretly" mine a rare metal underneath by using an earthquake-generating device), the scenario had some good, straightforward action and some quality role-playing with Datch.  I do wonder though, if it wouldn't have better to have had a more dramatic or foreboding ending to really set the stakes high for the last scenario of the season.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 91 [RPG]

[Moonday, 10 Arodus 4708 A.R. continued]

 

Secure in The Reckoner’s safehouse, the Harrowed Heroes plan long into the night.

 

[Toilday, 11 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

 

The ringing of handbells in the street outside wakens everyone at dawn.  Goldcape sneaks out, invisibly, to see what all the clanging is about and learns it’s a horse-drawn cart to collect the bodies of those killed overnight by the terrible blood magic curse still striking down victims across the city!  Sadly, Mifeg—the homeless woman the group had some contact with months ago—is one of the deceased.  Goldcape returns to fill the others in on what she’s seen.  But although bodies may continue to accumulate as long as Ileosa lives, the group agree to plan their strike on Castle Korvosa carefully instead of acting rashly.

 

Goldcape decides to walk to Old Korvosa to check on Sergeant Clenkins and the other members of the rebel cell she organised there.  The vanara is recognised by friendly House Arkona soldiers at the bridge and waved across.  Although the perpetual gloom of the nearby Black Tower puts a damper on things, she’s surprised to see how much the city’s most notorious slums have improved in recent weeks!  Rubbish has been hauled away, no gangs roam the street, and there’s even early signs of new construction.  But curiously, her rebel cell is nowhere to be found.  There’s no sign of violence or disorder in the abandoned building, but it looks like everything other than Goldcape’s personal gear has been packed up and moved out. 

 

She decides to learn the rebels’ fate by directly asking the most important man in Old Korvosa: Glorio Arkona himself!  In Arkona Palace, after having her identity confirmed through a quiz from Glorio’s majordomo (apparently shapechanging assassins are a risk), Goldcape is immediately brought to meet the artistocrat in a well-appointed salon.  Glorio is welcoming and flattering, and explains that Sergeant Clenkins and his troops found it “unnecessary” to maintain their protection of the Black Tower after the forces of House Arkona arrived.  Instead, Glorio explains, they’ve joined the siege of Castle Korvosa.  Along with refreshments and a gift of platinum coins, Glorio hints that, should he become leader of post-war Korvosa, he would offer her a major position of responsibility: Commandant of the Sable Company Marines!

 

After leaving the palace, Goldcape realises she’s near Vencarlo Orisini’s old fencing academy and decides to pay a visit to her mentor.  The two speak carefully in case spies for the Queen are listening in, but Goldcape subtly confirms that the mission to Scarwall was a success while Vencarlo talks about rebuilding the academy with the aid of a wealthy student.  He welcomes Goldcape to stop by for lessons anytime.  Goldcape says her farewells and makes it back to The Reckoner’s safehouse in the early afternoon.

 

Meanwhile, Protosilaus and The Reckoner haven’t been sitting idle!  Leaving Lorien and Yraelzin behind, the two walk to a particular alleyway not far from the safehouse to meet with one of The Reckoner’s informants.  In this case, that informant is Xoza, a dandasuka in the employ of House Arkona who is magically-bound to spy for The Reckoner!  Xoza reports progress on the three tasks assigned to him by The Reckoner before the Harrowed Heroes left the city for Scarwall.  First, Xoza reports a (not-so-stunning) revelation: the vigilante Trifaccia was an efreeti agent of The Queen!  Given that Grau Soldado took care of that problem some time ago, the information is now of little value.  Second, Xoza was charged with learning what House Arkona was planning, and again the little spy has information that may be too late to be of much value: the aristocratic family has entered into an alliance with the queen of the xill from the Black Tower.  In exchange for military support, House Arkona lets the xill implant their spawn in the bodies of captured Ileosan loyalists!  Third, Xoza says his third task (to find out Glorio Arkona’s weaknesses) faltered due to  the man’s security and that, as far as he knows, Glorio is just a human.  But The Reckoner gets a hunch that Xoza has doubts about that, and presses him to reveal not just what he knows, but what he suspects: that Glorio is a rakshasa!  Xoza doesn’t seem able to articulate exactly what that means or what the differences are between different kinds of rakshasa, but insists the only weakness of a “true rakshasa” is a blessed crossbow bolt. The Reckoner asks Xoza to next look into finding information about the Queen and her new seneschal, the bloodmage Togomor.

But as Protosilaus and The Reckoner leave the alleyway, they hear angry shouting nearby to the south.  It seems that the rebel forces loyal to Kroft (the “New Korvosan Guard”) and the forces loyal to Glorio Arkona (his enlarged “Palace Guards”) are pushing, shoving, and yelling.  And watching ominously, just behind the Arkonan side, are a contingent of the four-armed, flame-red insect-like xill, surely ready to intervene with lethal force at the least invitation!  The Reckoner pulls the leaders of the two sides away from each other and learns that they’re arguing about a boundary dispute stemming from an ambiguously-drawn map.  He’s able to calm the situation enough that the leader of the Arkonan forces agrees to return to the palace and verify the map with the majordomo.  On the walk back to the safehouse, The Reckoner says that immediately after taking out Ileosa, they should go after Glorio Arkona!  Protosilaus grins disturbingly at the notion, and The Reckoner continues by explaining that they can’t give the man any chance to seize power, and that allowing the xill to implant their eggs in captured loyalists is surely a sign he’s evil.  Protosilaus shrugs and replies, “or just pragmatic."

Once everyone is back together, they plan their next steps: Yraelzin and Goldcape will visit Jeggare Library to check the castle blueprints (stashed there long ago by Goldcape) against the maps provided by Sabina to see if the latter are indeed accurate; meanwhile, Protosilaus and The Reckoner will do some long-range reconnaissance on the castle to determine if their current plan for entry is viable.

The research part of the plan goes off without a hitch, as the blueprints are exactly where Goldcape left them (in the “Fungi of the Mwangi Expanse” shelf) and, after an afternoon’s comparison, seem to support Sabina’s veracity.  On the way back from the library, Yraelzin and Goldcape run into a strike organised by the city’s dockworkers.  Seizing on a rare opportunity provided by the rebellion (trade unionism is illegal in Korvosa), the dockworkers are threatening to stop unloading grain shipments for the rebels unless they’re guaranteed bargaining rights in whatever regime follows Ileosa’s!  Goldcape tries to explain to the strike’s apparent leader just how important the grain shipments are, but has no luck, even when she name-drops The Reckoner (it seems like Blackjack is the “people’s champion” to this particular dockworker).  Eventually, Goldcape sends a message to the rebels camped around Castle Korvosa about the situation, and their commander, Sir Gyrad Tolgrith, comes himself!  Tolgrith’s reputation precedes him, and, after Goldcape explains the situation, he’s able to give the needed assurances to get the ships unloaded.  Interestingly, the well-respected leader pointedly refused to answer Goldcape’s question about which of the three rebel faction leaders he supports.

 

The surveillance part of the plan also provides valuable intelligence.  Protosilaus conjures a magical invisible flying eye that he can somehow see through, and sends it on multiple journeys in and around the castle.  The witch-doctor learns that the group’s originally-planned incursion site (a salon on the fourth floor) is the barracks for a contingent of Red Mantis assassins—one of whom spots the eye and sounds the alarm so another can dispel it!  But Protosilaus always has another spell, and is able to conjure more eyes to continue the reconnaissance.  He’s unable to see into the throne room or the queen’s bedroom due to the stained-glass windows, but is able to discern the shape of  . . . something . . . in the latter.  A look into the armory and Sabina’s room doesn’t provide confirmation that there really are secret doors as Sabina said, but the sight of a corpulent imp raiding the kitchen and barbed monsters in the mess hall support her story about Ileosa consorting with devils. 

 

Still, the crucial question remains: has Sabina provided the group with everything they need for a surgical assault or instead simply set the bait for an irresistible trap?

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GM Commentary

One of the areas that a GM in a campaign like this really has to exercise judgement on is the control of information.  I like it when PCs are smart and plan ahead with things like reconnaisaince, the recruitment of spies, divination magic, and so forth.  But it can be challenging to decide what their efforts should yield.  There's a balance between not giving them enough (leading to discouragement--"that was a waste of time, I guess we're supposed to just attack") and giving them too much ("hey guys, here's the adventure with room key and encounters, just read it yourselves").  A couple examples where I had to exercise that judgment came in this session, with Xoza (a player-favourite NPC) who had been spying on Arkona for weeks and the magical floating eyes used by Protosilaus to check out Castle Korvosa.

Sir Tolgrith is an NPC from the 3.5-era module Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale.  Bloodsworn Vale is an important aspect of Korvosa's history, and although Tolgrith isn't mentioned in Curse of the Crimson Throne, I thought it would make sense (and be fun) to include him in a cameo role since the module had been completed by a group of PCs in my Magic Mirror/Roots of Golarion campaign.

Starfinder: Alien Archive 3 [RPG]

 Paizo released its third Alien Archive for Starfinder (first edition) in 2019, continuing the initial annual release schedule.  I rated the first two as excellent, if pricey.  Now, (too many) years later, what do I think of the third one?  I’ll make up my mind as I write the review!

 

Let’s start with the cover: a shining valkyrie, an insect-like jinsul, and a little plant-creature raxilite (I think?) stand on rampart, firing outward.  It’s okay, but doesn’t wow me.  The inside front-cover and inside back-cover have the standard decorative map of the Pact Worlds system.  There’s then a two-page table of contents and a two-page overview that has the usual (but useful) “How to Read a Creature Stat Block”.

 

The core of the book is, of course, pages and pages of new species: each of the 66 gets two pages of coverage.  I’ve talked before how Starfinder has concise stat blocks, so there’s always lot of room for lore development.  I think the artwork is okay, but a step below what appeared in the first two books.  I obviously can’t go through each new species one by one, but I’m going to call out a few that I found especially interesting.

 

·       There are twenty new playable races.  The animals-as-humanoids trend is strong, with brenneri (otters), dromada (kangaroos), expraksa (birds), hanakan (velociraptors), ijtikri (squids; these were everywhere for a while!), morlamaws (walruses; a great import from SFS), and telia (turtles).  Having played the game for a decade, I tend to think that most of the choice of race is cosmetic because the special racial abilities are few and fairly minor.  My preference would have been fewer playable races but more depth and meaningful differences between them.

 

·       Along with morlamaws (above), I was really happy to see some of the creatures introduced in Starfinder Society make it to the big time!  Jinsuls and izalguun are other imports.

 

·       Similarly, some of the creatures from Free RPG Day materials make an appearance, like animated armor and stridermanders.

 

·       A few entries that really stuck out to me: Drift natives (time-eaters that are great for GM plots), ferrofluid oozes and living holograms (I’ve fought these a million times in scenarios now!), quantum slimes (love the doubling effect), shakalta (playable race; twin-souls in one body, so must multiclass!), thorgothrel (intelligent oozes that believe in de-evolving all humanoid life—fun motivation!), rendalairn (a CR 25 colossal death orb!)

 

After the entries, there’s a substantive ten-page feature that introduces Creature Companions to the game.  How this works is that each PC is allowed to purchase one Creature Companion.  At base, a Creature Companion can only take one move action each round.  A PC can take a feat to trade their standard action in a given round to their Creature Companion (or, at Level 4, take another feat to give up just a move action so their Creature Companion can have a standard action).  I *really* like this, as it intelligently alters the action economy to keep “pets” from overshadowing other PCs—while still making them situationally useful.  Several example Creature Companions are given, as well as some new gear (I think the environmental field collar would be a must-have).

 

There’s not a lot that’s worth discussing in regards to the nine appendices (20 pages), with “Creatures by Terrain” and “Creatures by Pact World” the only ones I would consult other than the Universal Creature Rules.

 

That’s Alien Archive 3.  I don’t think it’s a must-have.  But now that the prices have come down, it’s a much better deal for 160 pages of material than before.

What I Read (2025)

 BOOK LOG 2025

1 January 2025: Avatar by John Passarella.  “Angel novel.  Solid, could pass as an ep.”

6 January 2025: Worlds Without End by Caroline Spector.  “Shadowrun novel.  Ancient elf tries to stop return of mysterious evil.  Very different than one would expect of the setting, but not bad.”

9 January 2025: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.  “Norton Critical Edition.  Interesting how much early interpretation differed from later.”

11 January 2025: The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins. “Ok murder-thriller, but predictable.”

15 January 2025: The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith.  “Strike novel.  Very enjoyable.”

28 January 2025: Two Faces of Liberalism by John Gray. « Excellent defense of minimal ‘modus vivendi’ liberalism. »

18 February 2025: Collapse by Jared Diamond. “Workmanlike writing, but impressive coverage.”

22 February 2025: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff.  “Genuine surprises with a hard edge, a real page turner.”

15 March 2025: Initiation by Carla Jablonski.  “First book in Timothy Hunter series.  Liked Trench-Coat Brigade.”

8 April 2025: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith.  “Strike book about a cult.  A bit over-complicated but still good.”

9 April 2025: Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger Macbride Allen.  “Last in the Corellian Trilogy.  Average.”

18 April 2025: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. « Features the most insipid protagonist ever. »

9 May 2025: In Good Company by Gary McKay.  “Story of an Aussie platoon commander during Vietnam.  Interesting how little has changed tactically in many ways.”

9 May 2025: The Outsider by Albert Camus. “I need to think about this one.”

15 May 2025: The Walrus & The Warwolf by Hugh Cook. “Ridiculous but fun and different style of fantasy.”

18 May 2025: Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell.  “Infuriating fan fiction that tries to ‘fix’ everything ‘wrong’ with Jessica by making her a bland #mumlife carbon copy vision of ‘stable’ and ‘happy’”

22 May 2025: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.  « Starts off amazing, but then gets really silly. »

1 June 2025: If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe by Jason Pargin.  “Hilarious and awesome; have to get the others.”

1 June 2025: Gerald’s Game by Stephen King.  “Overlong epilogue, but good.”

23 June 2025: Newton by I Bernard Cohen and Richard S Westfall (eds).  “Norton edition.  Good coverage of many topics.”

30 June 2025: X-Men: Watcher on the Walls by Christopher L Bennett.  « Post 9-11 security state theme, handled well. »

30 June 2025: No Bikinis on the Front Yard: My Lighthearted Stories in the Army by Larry Patrick.  « Very funny and I learned a lot.  Proud of my dad! »

9 July 2025: Silver Linings by Katrina Nannestad.  « Well-written. »

20 July 2025: Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa’aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker.  “Great YA book about Torres Strait islanders.”

29 July 2025: Delores Claiborne by Stephen Kingston.  « Draws you in immediately! »

10 August 2025: The Surface Trials by HM Waugh. « Surprisingly good. »

23 August 2025: Middle English Lyrics edited by Maxwell S Luria and Richard L Hoffman. “Hard to read—literally!”

4 September 2025: Westfallen, Book 1 by Ann and Ben Brashares.  “Solid YA time slip novel.”

14 September 2025: The Hall-Marked Man by Richard Galbraith. « Latest Strike novel.  Excellent. »

15 September 2025: Oak-Leaf Bearers by John Flanagan. « Fourth Ranger’s Apprentice book.  Exciting large scale battle scenes! »

27 September 2025: A Slowly Dying Cause by Elizabeth George. « New Lynley novel.  Disappointing flat mystery, though some good Havers bits. »

5 October 2025.  Muhammad: Biography of a Prophet by Karen Armstrong. « Hagiographic and relentlessly apologetic. »

6 October 2025: The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan.  « Elliptical story about cycle of terrorist bombings in India.  Ok. »

8 October 2025: They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran.  « Interesting spin on Black Lagoon-type horror tales. »

9 October 2025: Frog: The Secret Diary of a Paramedic by Sally Gould.  “Readable and heartfelt.”

12 October 2025: The Koran trans. by N.J. Dawood.  “Boring and repetitive.”

18 October 2025: Stop Screaming, I’m Scared Too by Rod Henderson.  « Well-written and heartfelt account of an Army aviator’s time in and after service. »

14 November 2025: Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress.  “Re-read of one of my all-time favourites.  Remains thought-provoking and resonant, now more than ever.”

24 November 2025: Inversions by Iain M Banks.  “Clever tale told in two different settings with subtle links between them.”

3 December 2025: Descent of Angels by Mitchel Scanlon. “Tells origins of Luther, Zahariel, and Lion, but doesn’t appreciably tie into Horus Heresy.”

11 December 2025: A Study in Ashes by Emma Jane Holloway.  “Third book in The Basketville Affair.   Good but overlong.”

14 December 2025: Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by Jason Pargin.  “Fun and clever.”

17 December 2025: Dark Mirror by Craig Shaw Gardner.  “Angel novel.  Good characters, but pedestrian plot.”

20 December 2025: House of Secrets by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini.  “Enjoyable, fast-paced kids’ adventure book.”

22 December 2025: The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove.  « Firefly novel.  Ok, but afraid to push storytelling beyond established boundaries. »

25 December 2025: The Christmas Market Murder by Peter Boland.  « Really satisfying classic locked-room mystery. »

27 December 2025: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  « Fantastic story and love poem to the 1980s geek culture. »

29 December 2025: Lair of the Crystal Fang by S.A. Sidor.  “Really strong Arkham Horror novel.  Makes we want to check out more.”