Starfinder: One Giant Leap (closed)

[HopeFox]

UPDATE: Applications are now closed. Thank you, everyone, for your interest! I will be contacting the successful applicants, and will close this thread once the intended number have accepted.

Starfinder: One Giant Leap

The kingdom of Cordovia is considered the centre of civilization, the greatest realm in all of Miren. In the three hundred and seventeen years since the Great Forgetting, Cordovia has grown from a chaotic band of confused settlers to a powerful kingdom, spreading law, safey and prosperity for hundreds of miles around. Of course, it is no paradise - bandits threaten the roads, poverty lurks in the cities, and relations with neighbouring kingdoms have not always been peaceful - but, all things considered, Cordovia can justly consider itself the greatest kingdom under the sun and the stars.

But the stars will not leave Miren alone forever.

Hello everyone! This is a recruitment post for a Starfinder game I've decided to run for LSWSjr, who asked for a newbie-friendly introduction to Starfinder over in the other Group Requests forum. I'm looking for four other players, for a total of five.

The concept of this game is that the PCs start out as on the planet Miren, a world that is in a roughly medieval level of technology, with no contact with the wider galaxy since the end of the Gap. The adventure will, of course, take them into the Pact Worlds and maybe other places, but ties to Miren will still be important. I really like the idea of a planetbound people exploring the galaxy for the first time.

I'll be working out a lot of the details of Miren based on what players bring to the table, in terms of races and backgrounds, but for now, it can be thought of as a "generic fantasy" setting for the most part. The party will start in Cordovia, a predominantly human kingdom, but there are realms or small enclaves of several other races nearby, so feel free to create characters from any race.

Of course there will be a healthy amount of smut on offer - what's the point of exploring alien worlds if you don't get to "explore" the aliens too? I can arrange for as much or as little as the characters want to get involved with, but it won't be the primary thrust of the game. The focus will be on adventure and exploration, and bridging the cultural and technological distance between home and the stars.

If you're interested, please just post a character concept with race, class and theme - no need for a detailed background or character sheet just yet. All Starfinder classes are available, just be aware that some classes (especially the mechanic) won't have access to all of their class features until the party has the technology they need. I'll endeavour to make sure that everyone is still useful in those early stages.

I'd like to have this game move at a reasonable pace - a few posts a week, so please only submit a concept if you think you can commit to that. I'll leave expressions of interest open for a few days and then choose four players from those who have applied. Feel free to ask any questions you may have about the setting and the system, if you want help with your ideas!

[Ixy]

To ensure I understand correctly, this concept for character's had no understanding or knowledge of alien planets except, perhaps, through some kind of weird sorcery background... Is that correct? I have a small idea that is a no-tech character and would be a complete savage by comparison to most of the societies in the Starfinder setting-- and that's good with me, if it works for the game, because I've never played Starfinder before. I will read up a bit, but it's best to know if I should basically make a Pathfinder character background to start, or if I should put more effort into fitting Starfinder off the bat. Thank you!

[HopeFox]

To ensure I understand correctly, this concept for character's had no understanding or knowledge of alien planets except, perhaps, through some kind of weird sorcery background... Is that correct? I have a small idea that is a no-tech character and would be a complete savage by comparison to most of the societies in the Starfinder setting-- and that's good with me, if it works for the game, because I've never played Starfinder before. I will read up a bit, but it's best to know if I should basically make a Pathfinder character background to start, or if I should put more effort into fitting Starfinder off the bat. Thank you!

The idea is that nobody on Miren knows what's going on in the rest of the galaxy, yes. There is some awareness of the other planes of existence, with celestials, fiends, elementals and so on, but they've got better things to do than gossip about the Material Plane.

Essentially, you'll be making a Pathfinder-style background, yes. Miren isn't quite the same place as Golarion, but most of the usual fantasy tropes apply, and you can be from a society with whatever culture and technology level you like, up to a late medieval equivalent. Whatever you come up with, I should be able to fit it into Miren, and from there, you'll be equally as out of place in the Starfinder setting as everybody else. :)

[Muse]

  *pounces* 

  Oh, ho ho!  This is a whole lot of fun! 

  Hmm...  What would be cool. 

  Would anyone have issues with a smol girl?  Just checking! 

[Chulanowa]

This sounds like what I need!

[LSWSjr]

I've got so many character ideas, but only one can be our winner

Cheers
Rowan/LSWSjr

[Arcanist]

Definately interested Hopefox

[TFcommando]

I have a trio of ideas that’d work for a fantasy person going to space.

Mystic domination type, in the style of the typical s&m queen evil sorceress (but not actually evil).

Mystic healer, a fertility (and sex) and healing aspected one with a fertile/bow/voluptuous/thicc build.

Dexterity Soldier, a sniper with a bow and leather bikini who picks up on sniper rifles and a space bikini when available.

All human females.

[Re Z L]

I feel like the transition from traditional medieval fantasy to full-on Sci-Fi fantasy is going to be very difficult to translate in game...  What gear are we supposed to buy?  Are we not able to be classes like the Mechanic?  One of the Technomancer's class traits involves advanced tech as well.  What themes are allowed?

If the only intent is to use the background to make people ignorant of the setting at large then I feel like it would be simpler to just have a normal society on a planet/asteroid/station that was somehow separated from the rest of the Pact Worlds prior to the Gap so that they have no record of there ever being the rest of the pact worlds.  That way we're not having to transition from something that doesn't really have an analogue in the Starfinder system.  Golarion vanished, after all, so there's certainly a precedent for it.

I think I'd be interested in doing either an Envoy or Operative, still feeling out some ideas in my head.

[Phaia]

I really do not the system for this. I did find an online site that had a lot of information.
I am interested as well but not sure if I should go with a pathfinder class then multiclass [if that is possible] once exposed to the stuff out there!

[TFcommando]

My thought was that the Mechanic is really the only one with a lot of baked-in technology trappings.  Everything else can be upgraded to high tech gear when they find it... they're all fast learners.  A level 1 Techno-Wizard has a spell cache that can be a staff or a ring or a tattoo or a computer... said wizard might seize onto the idea of a computer quickly and switch out a staff for a hand computer.  Spells and programming code have a lot in common and tech skills would be easily picked up and anyone can figure out how a gun works. 

[LSWSjr]

I've never done a dwarf... might give that a shot :)

Cheers
Rowan/LSWSjr

[TFcommando]

While short types aren't my favorite, I don't have any objections to them. 

Speaking of, does anyone have issues with large bushes or overly ample figures, like this Doomington artwork?  I was seeing this (sometimes more clothed) for the healing Mystic.

Warning - Plump, hairy

[Chulanowa]

Plump figures and body hair is fine, but if I gotta be honest, that art is terrible.

[HopeFox]

I'm definitely up for characters of any size and shape!

I have a trio of ideas that’d work for a fantasy person going to space.

Mystic domination type, in the style of the typical s&m queen evil sorceress (but not actually evil).

Mystic healer, a fertility (and sex) and healing aspected one with a fertile/bow/voluptuous/thicc build.

Dexterity Soldier, a sniper with a bow and leather bikini who picks up on sniper rifles and a space bikini when available.

All human females.

Those all sound very hot. :) All would work well!

I feel like the transition from traditional medieval fantasy to full-on Sci-Fi fantasy is going to be very difficult to translate in game...  What gear are we supposed to buy?  Are we not able to be classes like the Mechanic?  One of the Technomancer's class traits involves advanced tech as well.  What themes are allowed?

All Starfinder classes are available, as are most themes, interpreted from a medieval perspective - an Ace Pilot would be an expert charioteer, for example. Class and theme features that can't function without modern technology and/or access to galactic society will be dormant until we reach that stage of the game. Yes, this applies particularly strongly to the Mechanic, but they'll still have their useful skills, and will be the most adept at understanding alien technology. I will do my best to make sure that everyone has something to do in the early game, but this is all a bit experimental, so I can't promise it will actually work well.

Characters can pretty much start with whatever medieval gear they want, within reason - I'll look up or make up some rules for handling archaic weapons and armour. There's also reasonable latitude for being from high or low social status in Cordovia or other kingdoms.

While it isn't a huge part of the books, I feel that the interaction between galactic society and primitive worlds is an important part of a setting like this, and there could be a lot of interesting ideas to explore with it. That's what I'm trying to achieve with this game (as well as avenues for hot alien sex, obviously).

[Muse]

Name:  Isabella Rauvindale
Race:  Gnome
Class:  Technomancer
Theme:  Scholar
History:  Avalor Rauvindale was tutor to Crown Prince Viridian.  Avalor's daughter Isabella got some of her education alongside his Majesty.  Given that Viridian grew three times faster than the gnome, for a while she was a little sister too him. 

  By the time Viridian assumed the thrown, young Isabella was an apprentice to Darian Elfkin--court magician and astrologer.  Precocious, curious, and intelligent, Isabella began to challenge Darian's instruction when it didn't scan.  Usually, these challenges lead her to a deeper understanding of Darian's teachings, but sometimes Isabella became convenience that  her instructors were wrong.  All but one of these revelations had to do with small matters, but then there was the big one... 

  Isabella--using both her own astrological observations and Darian's--began to compile an alternative model of the universe.  Upon coming of age, Isabella presented her king with a gift--an orery presenting this radical alternative model--one where not Miren, but it's Sun, was the center of the universe! 

  Isabella is a petite blonde with golden eyes.  She favors snug gowns--including a leather armor one.  She wears a headdress enchanted with arcane runes to augment her arcane power and carries a pair of combat knives that look more like swords in her hands. 

*  *  *

TF, I'd love to see that sexy soldier! 

[PixelatedPixie]

An idea I have in mind is an Overlord Mystic who uses Charm Person/Command/etc to steal from people.  Not evil, but not Robin Hood either. 

Mystic

Human Outlaw Mystic (Overlord)
Gwenvielle Enmaris was the fifteenth daughter, and twenty-first legitimate child, of a particularly virile and lustful nobleman.  She rarely met her father growing up as he had no real interest in any of his children beyond the first few.  She was left to face reality at an early age, she would inherit nothing, and would be lucky to be married off to a wealthy non-noble. 

It was a chance encounter with a Bard, a woman hired to play at Gwenvielle’s older brother’s birthday, that changed the course of her life.  The Bard’s song, the Bard’s powers, all spoke to her in a way she couldn’t explain.  Gwenvielle used what small allowance she had to pay for lessons, lessons which quickly graduated from how to sing to how to control minds through magic.  Gwenvielle was an apt student and, when she left home at sixteen, she was already an accomplished ‘Bard.’

Gwenvielle does not view herself as evil even though she survives by using her magical powers to steal.  She grew up among the nobles, she knows how wealthy, and how wasteful, they truly are.  Is it truly evil to steal from those with so much?  She argues no, and even goes so far as to donate some of her wealth to various temples and charities to assuage her guilt. 

Alternatively, if you wind up with too many Magic Users or don't like that character, my other thought was an Android Mechanic (but it would be harder to fit in potentially).

I played around with the idea of her having a combat drone (in the form of an animal companion type creature, potentially that she rides), or just an exocortex to boost her skills.  I could go either way on that depending on ease/preference.

Mechanic

Xenoseeker Android Mechanic
Rose doesn’t know where she is from, who her people are, or how she came to wake in that cave.  She doesn’t even know her true name.  Instead, she goes by the first flower she was able to identify.  It was sixteen years ago that Rose woke, fully-clothed, laying on an altar surrounded in flowers and wreaths.  There were no people, no messages, nothing to tell her why she could remember so little or why her body was covered in such strange magical tattoos that only seemed to appear with exertion. 

It took her days to find the nearest village, days filled with hunger, confusion, and fear.  She was taken in by the local Temple of Iomedae, but while they could feed and train her, they could offer her little in the way of knowledge to her origins.  She left the Temple as soon as she felt prepared, driven by a desire to learn.

Rose’s quest for the last two decades has been to find her people, to find her history, and to find some purpose.  So far she has discovered little.  She doesn’t seem to age, or if she does she had yet to notice any effects.  She does not seem able to carry child, at least not with the human she tried to settle down with, despite being fully anatomically correct and functional.  She seems to have skills beyond the normal, knowledge that she doesn’t know the origin of, and an instinctive knack for certain skills. 

Last idea would be a Priest Elven Soldier, probably Guard or Blitz.  A worshiper of Calistria and potentially one of a few remaining elves in the area.

Soldier

Delsanra was born after the gap, born to a race trapped in confusion and isolation.  As many of her people fled to isolated locations to ponder and prepare, Delsanra’s parents chose to stay behind.  They remained in the land that would become Cordovia, and when no other option was available, even submitted to its rule.  Because of this Delsanra was born in a small Elvish community within Cordovia of a few dozen Elves clinging to what had once been a sacred site. 

The Pool of Calistria was said to be where the goddess had wept after taking revenge on one she loved who betrayed her.  A temple had been built around the pool and stood for centuries, only to face increasing pressure from the abandonment of the Elves and the pressure of Cordovian rule. 

The Cordovian Elves, or at least those who lived near the temple, believed that the mysteries of the gap could only be answered through the gods.  It was no time to offend them by abandoning sacred sites.  No, it was time to redouble ones efforts.  Delsanra was no different in her beliefs and took up a position as one of the protectors of the temple.  A guard, both ceremonial and real, to keep the threats at bay.  To keep out the humans who thought ‘goddess of lust’ meant the place was full of whores, to keep out the humans who thought it should be burnt to the ground, to keep out the thieves.

I am happy to change concepts/backgrounds as needed, the backgrounds are mostly to help me sort my thoughts (usually combined with playing around with a sheet to see what is possible) and certainly aren't meant to be final if they don't fit or what not.

[LSWSjr]

Name:  Haysel Skeane
Race:  Dwarf
Class:  Mechanic
Theme:  Solar Disciple or Roboticist

History:
   Born to the forge and mostly likely to be cremated within its fires, Haysel has devoted her entire life to learning the family trade, pulling her weight ever since she could walk and making sure that both the city watch and their other customers were always supplied with the very best in qualify for metal arms and armour. Yet as she grew, the young woman developed a fascination with the clockwork creations of the gnomes and would spend what little free time she had learning their mysteries, convinced that sturdier components cast with dwarven techniques would prove superior... yet it turns out that things aren't so simple and that a finer touch is required for such miraculous devices, however the fire haired smith remains stubbornly determined and now hopes to combine the techniques of both peoples to craft a mechanised metalwork marvel that would impress even the most traditional of her ancestors.

[HopeFox]

Okay, looks like we've got some great ideas! I'll leave recruitment open for two more days, and then make a decision. If you haven't put in an application yet, but are still interested, please do so! If you have more than one concept, it's okay to post two or more - I'm more interested in your general approach to character concepts than in building some kind of party balance at this stage.

[JoanieSappho]

I don't know Starfinder, but I have been meaning to get into it, and this seems like a good way to do so. Looking at what we have and this srd I found ... maybe an operative, I'l have to see what ideas pop out at me.

Hmm. I've been feeling my subby side a bit recently, so maybe an android who actually really wants a mistress and likes being ordered around. Someone who has no memory of the wider universe and was found in the ruins of what tuns out ot have been a crashed ship or something years ago.

[TFcommando]

While working on the sheets for skills and background, I was reminded of how an Operative can be an excellent sniper too, so I’m doing up a Ghost Operative as bikini-clad pirate sniper too, with Ace Pilot (for ships, at first) while the Outlaw  Soldier build is a Robin Hood forest bandit.

[HopeFox]

Hmm. I've been feeling my subby side a bit recently, so maybe an android who actually really wants a mistress and likes being ordered around. Someone who has no memory of the wider universe and was found in the ruins of what tuns out ot have been a crashed ship or something years ago.

That can certainly work! It would be awful to be a sexbot who doesn't even know she's a sexbot!

While working on the sheets for skills and background, I was reminded of how an Operative can be an excellent sniper too, so I’m doing up a Ghost Operative as bikini-clad pirate sniper too, with Ace Pilot (for ships, at first) while the Outlaw  Soldier build is a Robin Hood forest bandit.

Those are both very cool ideas. :)

[Arcanist]

Looking at a bard who performs at a circus on horses etc.

Looking at an Envoy pilot.

[Chulanowa]

Hmmm. Struggling to decide.

Aria Ynescoure, Sylph Operative (Scholar)

Aria was born to modest means, her parents running a business trading in, of all things, ceramic cookware. Neither quite knew why their daughter was special, but other members of the family quickly invented stories of genie princes in the background to explain it. it didn't really matter why, Aria was seen as 'special," and as a result, spoiled rotten. Her parents, wishing the best for her, enrolled her to study with the magi of the Yoltarian Academy.

   All that spoiling made her an exceptionally poor fit! But her parents and teachers were both firm; she must stay, to awaken her latent magical abilities! Study and train though she might, it never happened. The most she could accomplish was making herself float a little bit. However, there is no failure at the Yoltarian Academy; no student is without a purpose! To say she was trained as a thief might be a bit... blunt, but not entirely inaccurate. She's one of the agents of the Yoltarian Academy now, a pair of eyes and hands, set to accomplish what spells cannot.

Rissa of the Bittie Clan, Ysoki Envoy (Xenoseeker)

Rissa is a bartender by trade, and by birth. Well, bartender-in-training. Her mother, Dame Yitti is the actual bartender at the Fuzzy Cuttlefish Inn - and that's only because grandmother (Granddam Nyxa) has gotten a little too addled to stop her from claiming it. This is all fine by Rissa; she's never had the eye for coins and pearls her mother had, and is happy to let dame Yitti manage the business; Rissa manages the staff and the customers, after all. The way she figures it, this actually means she's the one running the bar.

   Rissa's in it for the people, mostly. The Cuddlefish might just be a hole in the wall, but it's a hole that's frequently filled by people from all over Cordovia's trade networks and beyond! Rissa's got plenty of ear to lend to sailors and traders and explorers (large ears being a notable trait of the Bittie Clan's women). The other girls and lads work under her direction, making sure every visitor feels at home, as eager to spill their stories as their coin (and some other things; the cuttlefish isn't a brothel, but after-hours some of the staff will accept gifts, let's say.)

Cenna Niesse, Halfling Operative or Envoy (Icon)

After Space

Cenna is known from the inns of Last Town to the baron's palace at Frethmond, as far east as the merchant villas of Vesthane. The small woman with enormous... blue eyes, and a voice that has silenced larks mid-song, it's said! She brought the King of Dorrnath to silent tears when his entourage stopped at the Inn of Silver Timbers, and it was his platinum that brought her to the capital of Cordovia for the duration of his visit to the kingdom. Sadly she had to turn down his offer of marriage to his daughter; Cenna Neisse can't be tied down, even by wealth and royalty!

   At least that's the story. Cenna - actually Cinnamon Halfpuddle - spread half of those herself. Not bad for the daughter of a pickpocket, right? She hasn't gone far past those roots; she hates putting in a hard day's work for a few copper. Who wouldn't? And if she can do what she genuinely enjoys - singing - and have gold rain on her from patrons, why would she complain? If this gets her in good with people who can help her out, or dalliances with princesses (that part is actually true) then all the better! She's a smooth talking, silver-tongued young lady who's always pretty certain she's two steps ahead. Pretty certain.

[LSWSjr]

Rissa of the Bittie Clan, Ysoki Envoy (Xenoseeker)

Rissa is a bartender by trade, and by birth. Well, bartender-in-training. Her mother, Dame Yitti is the actual bartender at the Fuzzy Cuttlefish Inn - and that's only because grandmother (Granddam Nyxa) has gotten a little too addled to stop her from claiming it. This is all fine by Rissa; she's never had the eye for coins and pearls her mother had, and is happy to let dame Yitti manage the business; Rissa manages the staff and the customers, after all. The way she figures it, this actually means she's the one running the bar.

   Rissa's in it for the people, mostly. The Cuddlefish might just be a hole in the wall, but it's a hole that's frequently filled by people from all over Cordovia's trade networks and beyond! Rissa's got plenty of ear to lend to sailors and traders and explorers (large ears being a notable trait of the Bittie Clan's women). The other girls and lads work under her direction, making sure every visitor feels at home, as eager to spill their stories as their coin (and some other things; the cuttlefish isn't a brothel, but after-hours some of the staff will accept gifts, let's say.)

Rissa... is... ADORABLE!!!

Cheers
Rowan/LSWSjr