Starfinder Society Scenario # 2-01: "Pact World Warriors" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I played Pact World Warriors at subtier 3-4 with my skittermander Steward, Officer Swizzers.  I thought it was a really enjoyable, original scenario that was challenging in a good way.  There's one encounter I thought was problematic from a moral perspective, but on the whole I had a blast.  This is a fun scenario, and good for players brand-new to Starfinder Society or experienced with the game.

SPOILERS

The scenario begins in an underground complex on Eox (the planet of undead), where the Starfinders are briefed by Radaszam.  The system-famous media mogul Zo! is present, and players who played the classic scenario Live Exploration Extreme! can probably guess that they're in for an unorthodox mission.  This time around, instead of reality TV, the PCs are told that they'll be contestants in a game show called "Pact World Warriors" where they compete against another team to accumulate the most points and emerge victorious.  The briefing is done well, however, as the reason the Starfinder Society is participating is made clear: the mysterious smear campaign against the Society is burning up the infosphere, and something needs to be done to get some positive publicity.  I liked the description of examples of the anti-SFS ads, and I like that the GM could customise some additional ones for their specific group of players.

Before the show starts, two things occur.  First, PCs with the right boons are allowed to choose from an array of additional equipment to take into the competition.  This was a reasonable way to pay off the boons, but I find this sort of thing slows the game down as every piece of equipment is looked up, compared, and the choice is made.  Second, the Starfinders meet their competition.  There's some good trash-talking written into the scenario here, which is always fun.

There are four events in the game show.

The first event an obstacle course full of traps, hazards, and challenging terrain.  It was a cleverly difficult course, and I liked the array of surprises that came out.  Our group didn't do very well in the competition, and I think one of the PCs didn't even finish in time.  But it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The second event is a "Combat Cooking Challenge."  Essentially, the contestants have to kill a variety of animals, slaughter their carcasses, and then cook particular meals while the rival team tries to sabotage their efforts.  I thought the whole idea of slaughtering animals just for a game show pretty gross (with the food going to waste since the undead judges can't eat it), but even worse is that at least one of the creatures (tashtaris) are endangered, intelligent magical beasts!  I think a little more awareness by the scenario writer that plenty of eco-minded PCs could balk at the task would have been good--perhaps a sidebar of story developments that could then eventuate, for example.

After the first two events, there's a brief interlude for the PCs to relax.  They'll meet an NPC named Datch, who has a major role play in later Season Two scenarios.  I won't spoil anything here, and only say that I thought her introduction (and a call back at the end) was handled well.

The third event was mindless fun--it's a battle against wave after wave of skeletons to see which team could accumulate the most kills.  The little twist that some of the undead would explode while others were worth bonus points (accompanied by fireworks) was great.  Sometimes it's nice to have a completely risk-free combat encounter to just go wild and show off a bit.

The fourth event is an interesting "capture the flag" challenge set in zero-G aboard a derelict spaceship. Each of the two teams has their own flag to protect, and there's also a third flag somewhere aboard the ship that can be recovered for extra points.  It was a good challenge, and I have to say the NPC team put their plan to effect much better than the PCs did!  We got our butts kicked--but in a perfectly fair way.

 There's a great, ominous epilogue.  After the competition, when the PCs have returned to Absalom Station, a news report indicates there was a shuttle explosion over Eox--and the rival NPC team was killed!  Early evidence may point to the Starfinder Society's involvement.  I'm excited to see how the smear campaign storyline evolves throughout Season Two--it's more intriguing than I initially thought it'd be.

Overall, apart from the morally-backwards cooking challenge, I thought this was a fun, fast-paced scenario that's sure to please.