Adventures

Megacorporations with rampant technological competing to outdo advances. Corrupt prison planets thrown into chaos. Forces attempting to mechanize all lifeforms across the galaxy. Desert planets strewn with junk heaps and outlaws. An asteroid belt that hides as many pirates as it does ancient mysteries. From corporate espionage, hypercapitalism, and cybercrimes to back alley augmentations, mercenary skirmishes, and interstellar smuggling operations, the galaxy offers a plethora of hooks and locations for dystopian adventures.

These types of adventures often tell stories of heroes struggling against oppression, whether they're working within the system to dismantle it, making overt efforts to attack it from outside, or just trying to get by. Villains tend to be cruel or greedy, and the protagonists are often better described as anti- heroes who are motivated by debt, revenge, or survival. These stories frequently have dark and gritty themes, and they might take place in settlements run by corrupt authorities, planets with rigid social hierarchies, or on remote worlds that operate on uncodified rules rather than official laws.

Characters in dystopian campaigns tend to be morally gray— regardless of their personal values, they might be criminals, whether bandits, hackers, pirates, thieves, or even killers for hire. Whether they're in it for the money or just doing whatever they can to make their way in an uncaring system, they're better off in places where their activities fly under the radar or don't disrupt the status quo. A dystopian adventure might start with the characters down on their luck and end with them in riches, or it might see them ride a constant cycle of highs and lows, blowing all their hard-earned credits shortly after earning them (or having them stolen). The characters might have to lie low, especially in stricter settlements, where they might create a hideout or safe house to act as their base.

Technological ruis scattered across the Pact Worlds by ancient starfarers; massive starship of unknown origin and ancient architecture crashing in the desolate wastelands of a red planet; an entire world populated by machines locked in an eternal debate on whether to await the return of their progenitors or seek their own destiny; mysterious codes that underlie the universe, waiting to be deciphered by tech priests and reality-hacking spellcasters; divine beings who oversee technology, computers, infospheres, and machines. In a galaxy filled with gadgets, holo ads, starships, and laser pistols, countless technological wonders still inspire awe, greed, mystery, and adventure.

High-tech Starfinder adventures often take place in cities filled with technology, or even entire planets—like Aballon— practically covered in machinery. They might also explore ruined tech relics created by ancient industrial societies, whether abandoned technological megastructures, crashed starships of unknown origin, or battlefields strewn with wrecked magitech machines. Technology is sometimes more important than magic in these adventures, though most adventuring locations in Starfinder are associated with cultures that integrate magic and science in the development of many of their technologies.

Characters and antagonists might be androids or machines, or have cybernetic augmentations. They could get involved in highly philosophical discussions about the nature and fate of people who happen to be machines, or ignore spirituality. You might downplay magic. Characters might have limited ability to cast spells, instead emphasizing the usage of tech and cybernetics. Gods might be fonts for power, acting less as personifications of concepts than as raw cosmic energy channeled through a connection. Religion might be symbolic, with explanations for cosmic phenomena relying more on logic and the sciences than myth and theology—for highly connected, multicultural societies like the Pact Worlds, these concepts coexist.

Even as sapient robots and artificial intelligences soar across the galaxy in starships, and societies cover entire planets with machines, other parts of the galaxy are filled with wondrous magic. On Castrovel, a planet of coastal cities, crumbling elf ruins, and deep jungles, ancient nations unite against a horrible new threat that descends from the planet's moon. On Triaxus, a world whose populace coexists with dragons and their kin, cosmic disaster has thrown the years- long seasons out of balance. On Tabrid Minor, the government has buried its society's dark past and continues a trend of rapid industrialization that tilts the planet ever closer to ecological collapse. Meanwhile, brave adventurers make last-ditch efforts to explore the ancient sky cities in the hope of preserving their ancient magical traditions. Increasing interest in the mysterious resource known as shimmerstone, mined on a frozen penal colony of the Veskarium, threatens to throw the desolate world into the galactic spotlight.

Future fantasy adventures often have a high level of magic, whether that's characters who can cast spells, an abundance of magic treasure, or foes that tend to be more magical than technological in nature. Gods tend to be active participants in the universe, intervening on behalf of their followers or making cosmic power plays that shake the fiber of mortal reality. Pantheons are accessible to their worshippers and grant powerful magic through prayer and obedience.

Other fantasy elements might be common, such as characters who are dwarves, elves, goblins, or gnomes. Planets can emphasize magic or religion over technology, or are ruled by magical entities like dragons or liches. Technology is just as common as anywhere else in the galaxy, but many ancient and magical mysteries remain to be discovered in a space fantasy campaign.

Classic fantasy tropes—heroes' quests, magical beasts, wizards, and mystical artifacts—also abound. You might incorporate the ancient history of a place or culture into the storyline, with character actions unlocking secrets of the past or breaking old curses. Or perhaps the heroes are reincarnations of legendary heroes from another time.

Two interstellar powers, the Veskarium and the Azlanti Star Empire, clash in the remote space of the Vast, but their conflict spills over into everyday life across the galaxy. Tensions escalate as planets declare open rebellion, rulers scheme, and mechs and magitech collide. Meanwhile, skirmishes between militaristic Gideron Authority and freethinking Marixah Republic grow increasingly violent, and the warmongering arms dealers of Apostae are more than happy to reap record profits as statecraft is steadily replaced by military retaliation. The discovery of a Swarm husk world on a lost planet of the peaceful Szandite Collective has thrown Collective space into chaos, its member worlds rushing to secure support and protection against the violent, all-consuming threat of the Swarm.

Interstellar war adventures revolve around a major violent conflict, whether between interplanetary empires, warring nations, or alien threats. Some interstellar war adventures use dramatic roleplay to explore personal tragedies, while others are played as tactical simulations. They tend to explore grim, heavy themes and may not always have happy endings. The power fantasy of fighting for a righteous cause and winning is another type of interstellar war adventure. Other kinds of adventures, such as fantasy or horror, might be set against a backdrop of interstellar war.

Characters in interstellar war adventures might be mercenaries, troopers, refugees, or politicians. If they're on the front, they tend to be motivated by some combination of survival, camaraderie, duty, hope, and victory over their enemies. They might also have personal motivations, such as participating in a conflict to protect or support a specific person, to get home, or to escape to a different life. Characters on the fringes of an interstellar war might be motivated by survival, profit, or even greed—they may have nothing to do with the fighting, but a major conflict might still define many aspects of their lives, for better or worse.

The mysterious gast giant Liavara g rants psychic sensitivity to the enigmatic Dreamers; what happens when the Newborn's cries reverberate across space, changing their songs and awakening them to new dreams? A cosmic horror attacks Absalom Station, infiltrating the otherworldly Ghost Levels to draw power from the Starstone. Even after this threat is defeated, bizarre dimension-hopping creatures linger in the station's liminal underbelly. Beyond the Pact Worlds, even stranger things await those who dare to discover them, such as the false moon Salvation's End, filled with orderly chambers programmed to conduct experiments and simulations in a futile effort to discern the cause of the Gap.

Weird adventures have bizarre, occult, or mysterious themes or simply defy genre classification. Characters might explore another dimension or rock out as a spacefaring band. Alternate realities might be in reach. Weird adventures might feel chaotic or serendipitous, involving concepts like destiny, fate, reincarnation, or parallel universes.

Characters in weird adventures might be otherwise ordinary individuals who find themselves thrown into strange places, whether because they followed up on a mysterious lead, crossed paths with an enigmatic individual, or docked at the wrong space port. Alternatively, they might be the sort of characters who intentionally pursue weird adventures: anomaly hunters, occult investigators, or explorers of remote alien ruins. Characters in weird adventures might be motivated by curiosity, magical rewards, or the desire to solve a mystery, such as interpreting their strange dreams or locating a loved one who's disappeared without a trace. They might also be motivated by a desire to protect their companions, avoid the attention of strange beings, or learn occult secrets.