Faction: The Union (starfinder/starjammer)

After a week off, we are back with a brand new faction/organization for your Starfinder or Starjammer campaign setting.

After a week off, we are back with a brand new faction/organization for your Starfinder or Starjammer campaign setting. I want to take a second and say I love Valerian, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Dark Matter, Killjoys, Space Dandy, Robotech, Cowboy Bebop, even Firefly and Star Wars. What do all of these shows and anime have in common? An interplanetary government. Let’s take a look at a solar system that has such an organization that was inspired by the above list.

The Union

United Star Systems for the Advancement Sentient Species

Leader: Secretary-General Elliot
Headquarters: Terra

When the humanoids known as Terrans first took to the stars in the Sol System, it marked an age of rapid exploration for the world of Terra. They made contact with the advanced sentient species on neighboring planets that watched as the world of Terra overcame internal struggle to reach the stars.

The two worlds of Shgourrub and Edda held a mutual co-existence until this time. In order to hide their appearances from Terrans, for fear of interfering with their development, they used portals to travel between their planets. Using optical illusions with the aid of technology and electrical fields, the two planets masked their activity on the surfaces, by projecting barren wastelands or thick cloud cover. As probes launched from Terra entered the foreign atmospheres, a non-communication stance became increasingly difficult.

Due to an unforeseen circumstance, during the middle of their space development, a starship carrying intoxicated Grey “teenagers” crashed on Terra. The incident caused multi-solar system panic as an advanced race had “accidently” made contact with underdeveloped xenos. Known as the “Rothweil Incident”, Grey technology recovered from the crash accelerated the advancement Terran development. This was followed by failed attempts by Greys to recover the lost technology and erase the minds of Terrans, who have over active imaginations. It was only a matter of time for the sentient minds of Edda and Shgourrub would need to intervene.

The two planets launched a joint effort, diplomatic and one of aggressive defense, to protect Terra from the Greys. During this period, written as the “Rocket Age of Terra”, contact was made between the three planets. After the initial difficulties of breaking down barriers of communication and racial bigotry, Terrans joined their brothers and sisters in the stars. They even established technology to interact with the network of interplanetary portals connecting the previous two planets.

The three planets: muliti-biomes of Terra, the arid planet Shgourrub, and the jungle planet Edda, formed an alliance to advance technology, explore the solar system, establish a trade economy, and vowed protect one another against external threats. The planets of the Sol System would form a council that would be the start of the United Star System.

The United Star System (USS) planets pooled resources and technology to build a space station to be the launching point for joint colonization. The USS began to expand in size and cross-pollinate cultures, grabbing the attention other solar systems with Void traveling technology. It was only a matter of time for these species to interact and join in trade routes. The exchange of histories and data information, exotic fauna and flora developed into an ambassador program of good will. First one planet joined, and then another, soon multiple star systems began interacting on the USS space station. Treaties and terms between all the planets gave way to reform and inclusion of all willing races that would form today’s collective collaboration known as the Union.

Since the inception of the current Union, each member planet seeks peace among the shared worlds by carving out territories around home worlds for each to control. Doing this allows each participant to rule and defend each individual area of the quadrant in its own way, but is regulated by common guidelines set forth by the Union. The Union guidelines and functions include: rules of engagement in foreign diplomacy, laws for settling disputes over trade between Union worlds, standardizes currency, judiciary functions, acts as mediators during confrontations and provides joint defense against common threats.

Each Union planet contributes an equal share of resources to the Union Central Command (UCC) headquarters located on Terra. Any race from the Union worlds can hold positions within the active UCC bureaucracy and space fleet. The Union Space Fleet (USF) is the largest independent joint operation of the organization and is tasked with protecting the shared space of the Void between worlds. It provides maintenance to warp portals and jump gates that connect the Union, along with the patrol and securing of trade routes. The USF also acts as reinforcements to Union planet fleets along the borders of territories on the edge of unknown space. Many ships operate hospitality and humanitarian missions to fledgling colonies outside of the quadrant, along with providing aid and recovery after worldly disasters. One of the top goals of the USF is a science mission set to explore unknown space, documenting new worlds and new life, and make first contact with civilizations on the edge of emerging space technology.

Currently overseen by an appointed android that goes by the name of Elliot, the Union is made up of a 21 member council. Consisting of seven planets from four star systems that partake in the alliance, each planet assigns three representatives to the Union Council through their own methods of selection. One member from each group sits on one of three sub councils that oversee one of the branches of the alliance: USF, UCC, and UST (Union Science and Trade). Through constant communication between organizations, the Union is able to keep the Void safe and open to travel.

Next article, we might stat-up the alternate humans from Terra. Until then, see you in space, Cowboy!

~Tentacle Out!

Symbiotes and You (Starfinder)

Adding Symbiotes to your Starfinder game.

All Hail the Tentacle!

Let’s talk Starfinder. I’m the owner of Amora Game and our focus for this blog is working on a project for an upcoming Xeno Files issue. Until Alien Archives is released we are limited to a number of speculations about how to billed races, but more importantly, how to build a monster. Specifically…..Symbiotes. I’m not talking Venom from Spider-Man fame, I speak of little creatures you cram into your ear like the “babble fish” from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Stick that guy in your ear and BAM!, you can understand all the languages while the goldfish sucks on your brain waves. So let’s make up some rules.

Symbiotes and You

The number of symbiotes that a character’s body can maintain at one time is related directly in portion to the starting racial hit points (HP) a race begins play with. For example, a Human begins play with 4 HP, allowing their body to only host 4 different types of symbiotes at once. An Abiarazi can support up to six different symbiotes, as their starting racial HP is 6. Umvee can host four symbiotes due to only have 4 HP, and so on and so forth.

Each symbiote comes with a benefit. This benefit also comes with a cost, a price to that will be paid for cohabitation of the same body. A character’s starting racial HP also acts as a number of maximum slots that can be filled to host a symbiote. Each symbiote has a minimum slot cost, as some take more space than others do, due to size or benefit.

A host cannot gain double the benefit from having more than one of the same type of symbiote at a given time. Example: a character with two Cearkif symbiotes, can only gain the benefit as though he had one Cearkif. This also applies to symbiotes that give a numerical bonus, such as a +2 bonus to Fortitude Saves, the character can only benefit from one of these bonuses from the same type of symbiote.

For symboites that give numerical bonuses to the same statistic, but are a different type of symbiote, these bonuses stack together.

Symbiote Description

Name
Description
Level:  
Price: 
Size:  
Bonding: Time it takes to form a relationship and gain the benefit
Life Span: x; breed able; HP:

Name: The name will state the name of the creature
Underneath the name will describe the creature, the benefits, and where they can be applied.
Level: This level will list the availability of the symbiote
Price: This is the price of the little bugger
Size: F-Fine; D-Diminutive; T-Tiny; S-Small
Bonding: This section will explain the time it takes to form a perfect symbiosis with the creature and gain it’s benefits.
Life Span: Will list the duration a symbiote can live.
HP: In this section, it will explain the HP slot & “cost”; also how much HP the creature has.

Now that we have that taken care of as a general layout, let’s make a Cearkif.

Cearkif
The cearkif of Epsilon-7782 is bright silver colored minnow-like creature with the capacity to help it’s host understand languages of a xeno humaniod race. These little brain-wave sucking cearkif must be inserted into the body via a cavity that will allow it to work it’s way to the host’s brain. Such as up a nose or through an ear opening. Cearkif than makes it’s home living in the cerebral brain fluid of sentient beings. It is a common companion for ambassadors and those that possess telepathy. It gives the host the ability to speak, read, and understand all languages.
Level: 1; Price: 125; Size: F
Bonding: Cearkif bond with their host as soon as it is physically able to enter the host’s brain fluid.
Life Span: Once bonded, cearkif have an accelerated life span. So long as the host is in dialogue with an unknown language it naturally doesn’t speak, the cearkif can live indefinitely. After an hour of inconsistent chatter and inactive speech, it dies causing nausea and vomiting in the host until it is expelled (1d20 minutes).
HP: 1

So that’s some of the rules and preview of the Cearkif symbiote that is being developed for a future Xeno File issue. Something to ponder and enjoy.

Tentacle Out!

Developer’s Journal 5: Drejk

Long time freelance writer: Wojciech “Drejk” Gruchała.

Drejk

Today I want to do a brief introduction of my first and long time freelance writer: Wojciech “Drejk” Gruchała.
Drejk, as is his Paizo messageboard name, has a blog over on Blogspot called
Shaper of Worlds. He first started his freelance career for me at Amora Game when I stumbled upon a class he was designing in the “Homebrew” section on the boards. This turned into our third product (that still sells regularly); Commander & Centurion for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

He did the Commander class and Kevin Bond did the Centurion prestige class. Drejk has come a long way in his writing and style of how he writes. I recently gave him a challenge to write a low level adventure scenario for our long dead Prepare for War adventure path. Of all the people to breath a bit of life into it, I think he is the one to do it. I’m excited to see him grow over the years in his development abilities. I can say of all of my freelancers, he receives the least revisions.

Now as a publisher, that doesn’t always do well for freelancing. I’m biased when it comes to his design work that he has done for me. So it is hard for me to see any flaws in design and go back to him with feedback. I commonly hand it off to someone else to review. This is my failure as a publisher and I recognize this, I just really enjoy his work. I will do better to give better feedback directly on this adventure.

So check out some of his work.
Under the name Drejk.
Under his name credits here.
His Patreon is here that helps to fund his free Pathfinder Monster Design Blog here.

Tentacle out!