Starfinder Module: "Skitter Home" [RPG]

 

NO SPOILERS

Skitter Home was Paizo's Free RPG Day release for Starfinder in 2020.  It continues the adventures of the all-skittermander salvage team from Skitter Crash and Skitter Shot, with players running Level 4 pre-gens.  The characters are as fun and lovable as ever, and I like that for this installment, their character sheets have little blurbs about their background and where they grew up.  I've run Skitter Home twice now, once "just for fun" and once for a PBP Starfinder Society table.  It's been an enjoyable experience each time, though I do note that the first of the two unlinked adventures is more original and interesting than the second.  Nonetheless, for the price of $ 0, this 16-page, full-colour module is a pretty solid product.

SPOILERS!

Skitter Home packs two short adventures into its compact frame.  Both adventures are set on the skittermander homeworld (colonised by the Veskarium as "Vesk-3"), and it's a nice touch to see Dakoyo, Gazigaz, Quonx, and Nako in their natural environment.  The module adds a little to the setting lore, which is always appreciated.

The first adventure is "Festival of the Eclipse".  As the name implies, it's set at a festival ("Reetamander") celebrating the celestial event when Vesk-3's two moons ("Big Mother" and "Firstborn") go into an eclipse known as the Great Birthing.  The festival takes place in the city of Morandomandrana (I love skittermander nomenclature!) and features carnival games, food stalls, fireworks, etc.  The PCs get a chance to play some games before the adventure proper begins, and these are a good chance for some fun role-playing (the GM can even invent their own!).  The action starts when strings of lights start strangling people and suits of armor animate and go crazy!  Although it sounds a bit silly (and is), there are lives at stake and the PCs need to work together quickly or they'll have casualties on their hands.  The cause of the attacks are nanobots programmed to wreak havoc by a skittermander named Zerastorfen.  Zerastorfen has a well-thought-out background and presents a compelling figure, as he's rebelled against the skittermander ethos of "helping" because no one helped his brother when he perished in a starship accident.   Zerastorfen can be dealt with violently or nonviolently as suits the players.  Essentially, the whole adventure is some games and three quick encounters, but it has a fun setting and memorable antagonist.  I enjoyed running it.

The second adventure is "Hunters Hunted".  Starting in the city of Ewagadravona, the skittermander crew and their patron, Nakonechkin, investigate after a group of tourists get lost in some nearby caves.  This one very quickly becomes a very traditional dungeon crawl, with a trap, a couple of oozes, and a final battle against some stridermanders.  It's fine, but not something any average GM couldn't put together on their own in an hour.

So all in all, I'd say one strong adventure and one mediocre one.  But hey . . . free!