TiTS Starfinder Campaign Guide Progress update 2

[MeepTheChangeling]

You probably know the drill by now, I'm working on a tabletop RPG campaign guide for TiTS.

Not much progress has been made these last few weeks. Bestiaries take time. Especially when many entries have more than one creature and you want to theme them. I would appreciate feedback on what has been finished so far. If you would like to take a look, here's the page.

The main page of the whole project is here, for those intrested in seeing what else exists so far. Oh, I also did Gold Myr because a friend wanted to play one in her non-TiTS game.

 

[MeepTheChangeling]

I've been informed by a friend of some odd page-breaks on the Gdoc. These do not appear on my screen. I would appreciate corroboration of this error so I can see if it's his device or the Gdoc.

 

[TheShepard256]

I've been informed by a friend of some odd page-breaks on the Gdoc. These do not appear on my screen. I would appreciate corroboration of this error so I can see if it's his device or the Gdoc.

I can see one unusual page break: the Mechanus League statblocks start on the next page after their introductory blurb even though they could definitely start on the same page like all the other factions. This may have something to do with the footnote on the same page.

As for errors (all from the Bestiary):

• Korgonne are not, in-universe, noted to have any psionic inclinations; at the very least, none of the korgonne met in-game have, or mention other korgs having, any psionic abilities. Kiona actually says they're somewhat resistant to the effects of savicite (a psionically-active material), though Ula also thinks most korgonne wouldn't have sex if it weren't for savicite (so it definitely affects them to some degree), so... *shrug*
• Not all milodan are uplifted; some are (e.g. Zaalt, a space freighter captain who explicitly wasn't born on Uveto), but there are still plenty of primitive ones out there (including Eitan's tribe).
• "The Gold Myr have been in a war against the Red Myr for years, with only the Gilden Republic surviving to the present day." This implies one of two things: the first is that the golds won, but that can be ruled out by the next sentence, which would lead the reader to believe the second, which is that there were multiple gold myr nations aside from the Gilden Republic. AFAIK, this isn't true; while there are multiple Queens, each with their own territories, they're all aligned under the Republic's banner.

It's also never explicitly stated that the JAF military sees a lot of action against the Black Void, but it's quite believable that they could so I don't consider that an error.

Also, there's a point I'd like some clarity on: are the "rean" species, like AynaCorp, something of your own creation, like some sort of author signature?

 

[MeepTheChangeling]

Korgonne are not, in-universe, noted to have any psionic inclinations

I know, but they need... something. Got any better ideas? I mean they apparently get close enough to Frostwyarms to gather scales, and also you know, exist on the same planet near one's territory. Their homeworld has pisonicly active minerals of enough abundance for them to like, have veins of the stuff that can be mined... I don't see how they can *not* be psionic. Hence why I gave them a passive PSI power that's subconsciously used, and then gave them some SHamen. If you have a better idea for something to fill their statblocks out with so they're not just "Very strong primitive tribalists" I'll change it.

Not all milodan are uplifted

Fixed.

AFAIK, this isn't true

Whoops! Fixed.

It's also never explicitly stated that the JAF military sees a lot of action against the Black Void, but it's quite believable that they could so I don't consider that an error.

There's simply no way they do not see a lot of action against them. The JAF is one of the more active millitarires and is supposedly like, the people who are setting modern tactics to be what they are. There's simply no way they are not comparable to the Black Void, as the Black Void, by its very nature, has to work as a large military force using conventional tactics. Sure they can still pirate but they just have to have so much stuff that they will also have to hold territory to house all that stuff and... yeah.

Also, there's a point I'd like some clarity on

Since there's no indication that the 15th planet rush added a mere... 5? planets, but likely has many more, GMs may wish to make their own planets and their own alien races. I'm going to include some stuff like tips on how to GM more effectively, how to create planets, and how to create races. The Rean and their homeworld are the samples for those WIP sections.

 

[TheShepard256]

Their homeworld has pisonicly active minerals of enough abundance for them to like, have veins of the stuff that can be mined... I don't see how they can *not* be psionic.

The essyra are also from Uveto, and it's explicitly stated they're not psionic (and are, in fact, quite vulnerable to psionic powers). So it is, indeed, possible for a race from a world rich in psionic materials to have no real psionic potential.

As an aside, even if a race does have high psionic potential, it does not follow that all members are naturally capable of using their psionics (e.g. most milodan non-priestesses show absolutely no indication of being psykers).

If you have a better idea for something to fill their statblocks out with so they're not just "Very strong primitive tribalists" I'll change it.

Both generic korgonne enemies use scavenged offworlder technology* as part of their movesets, and Korg'ii Hold had stockpiles of offworlder weapons even before the Siege. Maybe you could base something around that? They also have rather high resistances to drug, tease and especially freezing damage, but are quite weak against burning and pheromone damage.
*Not always weapons; the Korgonne Female Barbarian uses a high-powered flashbulb to inflict Blind on opponents (with a handful of snow thrown in to amplify the flash).

Since there's no indication that the 15th planet rush added a mere... 5? planets, but likely has many more, GMs may wish to make their own planets and their own alien races. I'm going to include some stuff like tips on how to GM more effectively, how to create planets, and how to create races. The Rean and their homeworld are the samples for those WIP sections.

Ah. Got it. Yeah, there are dozens if not hundreds of new worlds to explore in each Planet Rush, so there's always potential for new planets and species to be added (so long as they're not violently OP; save those races for violence-focused 'verses like Star Wars or WH40K where they'd fit in better).

 

[MeepTheChangeling]

The essyra are also from Uveto, and it's explicitly stated they're not psionic

Wiiiieeerrrrd! You'd think evolution would result in psionicly resistant species given Frostwyrms alone... But okay!

Both generic korgonne enemies use scavenged offworlder technology*

I absolutely can do something with that. I still like the idea of them having a tribal shaman, but I can make them an Envoy (IE no magic other than diplomacy), and give them a third unit that's a tinkerer sort of thing. Thank you!

save those races for violence-focused 'verses like Star Wars or WH40K where they'd fit in better

You know, given the 2 40k refrences in TiTS, and the fact that Deamon QUeen Syri is... Like... that's the most Slaneshi thing I've seen outside of a Games Workshop Property, I wouldn't be supprised to learn that this is one of the many univerces linked by the Warp. One where Slanesh alone rules, at least, one of her two aspects XD

ALso the TLDR on the Rean, if you're interested, is a hybridized species created from a local alien species and a lost human colony. It's a one-system starfaring species that does its best to work in a post-scarsity fashion, refused to join the UGC as they despise change, but did agree to several treaties and trade agreements. They mostly sell weapons and home appliances. Physically, they're a human-reptilian hybrids think Deathclaws but if they came from an anime.

 

[TheShepard256]

You know, given the 2 40k refrences in TiTS, and the fact that Deamon QUeen Syri is... Like... that's the most Slaneshi thing I've seen outside of a Games Workshop Property, I wouldn't be supprised to learn that this is one of the many univerces linked by the Warp. One where Slanesh alone rules, at least, one of her two aspects XD

I wouldn't know anything about those; the only things I know about WH40K are that the main human faction is a bunch of religious zealots and OP AF compared to other franchises, and that the setting as a whole is the most violently dystopian crapsack world ever.

If the references are visual things from busts, note that Adjatha sometimes throws those references in simply as shout-outs; for instance, Vahn's bust shows him having a sonic screwdriver in his belt, despite the fact that Doctor Who could never be in TiTS due to the hard ban on backwards time travel.

 

[MeepTheChangeling]

the setting as a whole is the most violently dystopian crapsack world ever

Right. Because it's a satire of grimdark settings that were EVERYWHERE In the 80s. In fact it invented the word grimdark for it's own marketing "In the Grim Darkness of the far future, there is only war!" It's also not too crapsack these days. Lots of good ahs happened and there's been some hope injected.

As for sonic screwdrivers... Sure the Doctor couldn't be in TiTS, but the Sonic Probe (aka Screwdriver) sure could. That's just a fantastical bend on real life tech. Soundwaves can do a lot of cool things if properly focused and set up :3