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Against the Aeon Throne, A Starfinder AP

The Job

The fixer waited in a seedy shanty bar deep in the bowels of Absalom Station with no name but plenty of atmosphere. Loud music and dark lighting punctuated by neon create a sense of privacy among the throng of laborers, addicts, criminals, and the occasional rich kid slumming it with the worst of them.

"Good to see you, old friend! I heard about that scrape you got into a few months back, but surely your ship is back in top shape now, right? Good, because I have a contract for you!" He sets his comm on the table and initiates a holo display. An android woman's face manifests, slowly rotating before everyone.

"This is Cedona, and she has requested some assistance securing something she found on a Pact World colony called Nakondis. She is waiting at the main settlement, Madelon's Landing. Now, she was a little tight with the details, but she indicated she had no reason to believe she was in danger. Personally, I think she is just paranoid, but she is offering four thousand credits for a team to meet with her and get her and her whatever back to civilization.

"You won't have any support once off the station, but I can get you out of here and to Nakondis without any legal entanglements. The colony needs a shipment of supplies delivered, and they're ready to go right now. That job also pays, so bonus! Another four grand upon receipt by the colony administrator. Cover and a pay bump, am I a great agent, or what? So what slip is your ship berthed at? We can get those supplies ready as soon as we are done here."

Vital Player Information

This AP will take the characters from a colony at the edge of Pact World space [Book 1] into the heart of the Azlanti Empire, using an independent space station as a base of operation [Books 2 and 3]. They will be operating away from cultures and languages they are familiar with and may need to occasionally attempt to pass as Azlanti themselves on occasion.

The Azlanti have superior technology and arcane knowledge, but are a cut-throat society riddled with intrigue. They frequently use drones to patrol space and are backed by significant naval power. The Empire is fascist and nationalistic. Aliens, including non-Azlanti humans, tend to be slaves or outlaws. They are aware of the species that make up the Pact Worlds and the Veskarium and consider them all enemies.

I intend to run this AP with an almost Shadowrun-like feel, which is easily accomplished with just a few minor modifications to the start of each book. This means characters must feel comfortable working in gray areas of the law without support beyond the team. I do not have any major deviation from the text planned, but may adapt some portions for individual character's stories/needs. There is a little downtime between books, but mostly just enough time to upgrade the player's ship, which they begin with and construct themselves as a Tier 1 craft.

Recommended Character Themes

The following list of character themes works well with the Against the Aeon Throne Adventure Path. Other themes are playable, but any that rely on known cultures are far less useful when the characters will be far away from those cultures.

Ace Pilot
Battle Medic
Bounty Hunter
Career Trooper
Colonist
Cyberborn
Diplomat
Guard
Mercenary
Prisoner
Quartermaster
Roboticist
Sensate
Space Pirate
Spacefarer
Starwalker
Xenoarchaeologist

Although the characters are expected to be independent operators, the Stewards play an important role in the overall plot. As a result, either the Steward Infiltrator or Steward Stalwart archetypes could be good fits for characters.