Starfinder Drift Crisis

GEAR 50 THE DRIFT CRISIS WEAPONS Any spacefaring adventurer worth their credits is constantly on the lookout for weapons that neutralize familiar foes in new ways or new foes in familiar ways, and there’s nothing like a galactic crisis to fuel innovation. The weapons here use the rules presented starting on page 168 of the Core Rulebook and page 27 of the Starfinder Armory. Thasteron Weapons: While Sanjaval Spaceflight mostly abandoned its thasteron mines and related manufacturing when Drift travel superseded its industry, it continued to produce sublight starship engines using the dirty fuel. It now enjoys a resurgence in popularity as more people steer away from a reliance on the Drift for intersystem travel. Some of the technological cottage industries that sprung up around thasteron during the collapse of its market have likewise gained popularity. Beyond the propulsive properties of thasteron, tactical uses for its nuisance emission, thasteronic asphalt (or thasphalt), have been developed by ysoki engineers. Thasphalt produces force energy and steam when bombarded with strong electromagnetic fields. These fields are too much for internal electronics, so most thasteron weapons are bulky copper, brass, and even leather-and-wood contraptions utilizing clockwork. Antimagic Grenade (Hybrid) An antimagic grenade creates a temporary field that inhibits magic in its radius. Upon detonation, everything in the grenade’s radius is affected by an area dispel as greater dispel magic, using the grenade’s item level as the caster level. Second, each creature in the explosion radius must make a Will save each time they attempt to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability for a number of rounds equal to the grenade’s model number, or lose the spell or spell-like ability. A creature, object, or area can be affected by only one antimagic grenade every 24 hours. Flare Pistol A more compact version of the flare rifle series, these pistols are especially useful for forays into the Shadow Plane.  Mood Goo Emitter Immediately after the Crash, deep in the warrens of Absalom Station, space goblins discovered a tiny rupture to the Drift emitting a strange, purplish slime. Physical contact with this slime was found to cause a pleasant, calming euphoria. While this “mood goo” dries after a minute, it can be stored under pressure. The goblins immediately packed this self-replicating substance into insulation foam sprayers and started selling them as riot control gear. These mood goo emitters can fire the mood goo in a line up to 30 feet, allowing their user to select up to 4 squares in that line to become difficult terrain for 1 minute. Any creature hit by the goo gains the fascinated condition for 1d6 rounds, (DC 14 Will save negates). Being sprayed with additional goo doesn’t count as a threat for the fascinated condition and adds to the duration of the original effect, up to 10 rounds maximum. A creature that succeeds at this save is immune to the effects of mood goo for 24 hours. Thasphalt Blaster The thasphalt blaster’s small canister reactor attaches to a belt, arm strap, or similar configuration. Thasphalt Carronade This heavy, cannon-like device differs from most thasphalt weaponry. Instead of firing force energy created from the electromagnetic reaction, it starts the reaction and then launches the reacting thasphalt directly. An abundance of reinforcement and safety devices results in a particularly bulky, if devastating, weapon. NEW WEAPON PROPERTY Propel: These weapons move affected targets the listed distance away from the origin point of the effect. A target that succeeds at a Reflex save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the weapon’s item level + the wielder’s Dexterity modifier) isn’t moved. If the movement would cause the target to move through a wall, object, or another barrier, the target creature stops moving and falls prone. When Triune broadcast the instructions that led to Drift travel, it changed the technological landscape profoundly. Then the Drift Crisis came and shook this new normal to its core. Outdated or obscure technologies have found renewed interest, and new materials and phenomena have become much more relevant in this strange new era. These innovations aren’t limited to pure tech, as new magical and hybrid equipment propagates across the galaxy.

51 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS THEMES DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 1 INDEX GEAR CLASS OPTIONS GEAR TABLE 1–3: SMALL ARMS ONE-HANDED WEAPONS LEVEL PRICE DAMAGE RANGE CRITICAL CAPACITY USAGE BULK SPECIAL FLAME Flare pistol, dazzler 5 3,300 1d6 F 40 ft. Burn 1d6 6 flares 1 L Analog, bright Flare pistol, vivifier 9 13,000 2d6 F 50 ft. Burn 1d6 6 flares 1 L Analog, bright Flare pistol, coruscator 13 46,000 3d6 F 50 ft. Burn 2d6 8 flares 1 L Analog, bright, harrying Flare pistol, scorcher 16 180,000 5d6 F 60 ft. Burn 3d6 12 flares 1 L Analog, bright, harrying Flare pistol, nova 19 485,000 7d6 F 60 ft. Burn 4d6 12 flares 1 L Analog, bright, harrying UNCATEGORIZED Thasphalt blaster, light 1 350 1d8 B 20 ft. — 40 thasphalt 1 1 Analog, force Mood goo emitter 4 2,500 — 30 ft. Knockdown 10 mood goo 1 1 Analog, line, unwieldy Thasteron blunderbuss 4 1,350 2d4 P 20 ft. Knockdown 50 thasteron pellets 10 1 Blast, propel Thasphalt blaster, tactical 6 4,200 2d8 B 30 ft. — 40 thasphalt 2 1 Analog, force Thasphalt blaster, advanced 10 17,300 3d8 B 40 ft. — 40 thasphalt 4 1 Analog, force Thasphalt blaster, elite 14 69,000 4d8 B 50 ft. — 40 thasphalt 4 1 Analog, force TABLE 1–4: LONGARMS TWO-HANDED WEAPONS LEVEL PRICE DAMAGE RANGE CRITICAL CAPACITY USAGE BULK SPECIAL UNCATEGORIZED Thasphalt rifle, light 2 880 1d10 B 40 ft. Push (5 ft.) 80 thasphalt 1 2 Analog, force Thasphalt rifle, tactical 8 8,500 2d10 B 60 ft. Push (5 ft.) 80 thasphalt 4 2 Analog, force Thasphalt rifle, advanced 12 35,100 3d10 B 80 ft. Push (10 ft.) 80 thasphalt 8 2 Analog, force Thasphalt rifle, elite 16 175,000 4d10 B 100 ft. Push (10 ft.) 80 thasphalt 10 2 Analog, force TABLE 1–5: HEAVY WEAPONS TWO-HANDED WEAPONS LEVEL PRICE DAMAGE RANGE CRITICAL CAPACITY USAGE BULK SPECIAL UNCATEGORIZED Thasphalt deck sweeper 14 81,000 4d12 B 50 ft. Push (5 ft.) 100 thasphalt 2 2 Analog, automatic, force Thasphalt carronade 18 375,000 8d12 B 80 ft. Knockdown 100 thasphalt 50 3 Analog, explode (10 ft.), force, unwieldy TABLE 1–6: AMMUNITION STANDARD AMMUNITION LEVEL PRICE CHARGES/CARTRIDGES BULK SPECIAL Mood goo tank 1 250 10 mood goo 1 — Thasphalt canister 1 75 20 thasphalt L — Thasteron pellets 3 200 50 thasteron pellets L — TABLE 1–7: GRENADES ITEM LEVEL PRICE RANGE CAPACITY BULK SPECIAL Thasphalt grenade I 1 110 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (1d8 B, 15 ft.), force Thasteron grenade I 3 310 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (staggered, 10 ft.), propel Thasphalt grenade II 5 820 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (2d8 B, 15 ft.), force Thasteron grenade II 6 1,350 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (staggered, 15 ft.), propel Thasphalt grenade III 9 4,200 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (4d8 B, 15 ft.), force Thasteron grenade III 10 5,500 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (staggered, 20 ft.), propel Thasphalt grenade IV 11 8,250 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (6d8 B, 15 ft.), force Thasteron grenade IV 14 20,500 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (staggered, 25 ft.), propel Antimagic grenade I 15 27,500 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (20 ft.; see text) Thasphalt grenade V 15 37,000 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (10d8 B, 15 ft.), force Thasteron grenade V 18 110,000 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (staggered, 30 ft.), propel Antimagic grenade II 19 172,000 20 ft. Drawn L Explode (20 ft.; see text) Thasphalt Deck Sweeper A crank mechanism spins the barrels of the thasphalt deck sweeper to allow continuous sustained fire from a heavy reactor pack. Thasphalt Grenade Invented by accident when an engineer didn’t open a steam valve on a reactor, the thasphalt grenade’s invention coincided with new emergency pressure release valves being introduced onto other thasphalt products. Thasphalt Rifle A briefcase-sized reactor tethers the two-handed thasphalt rifle. The reactor can be worn slung across your body or bound to a backpack.

52 THE DRIFT CRISIS Thasteron Blunderbuss This scattergun-style weapon relies on the propulsion properties of raw thasteron to push targets away from the user. Thasteron Grenade Nicknamed the “hole-maker,” this raw thasteron-packed explosive is a favored room-clearing device for special forces. ARMOR This armor follow the rules for armor found on pages 196–198 of the Core Rulebook. Abyssal Plate Normally crafted by demonic smiths, abyssal plate tends to be rare, but sets of this armor reverse-engineered from those taken from vanquished fiends are slowly gaining a presence in the galactic market. Abyssal plate sacrifices adaptability for speed, giving it less room for armor upgrades than its competitors. Demon-made sets are rumored to be forged with sinners’ souls, but that ingredient is something most mortal corporations don’t attempt to emulate. Feyguard This armor gets its name from denizens of the First World, where the first sets were originally crafted. It’s said that no two sets of feyguard armor are the same, either due to the First World’s rapid fluctuations or the frequent alterations its mercurial fey manufacturers make on the production line. Feyguard is most commonly composed of materials that appear organically formed, and minor details seem to subtly shift in appearance during wear. POWERED ARMOR These powered armor suits follow the rules for powered armor found on pages 203–204 of the Core Rulebook and page 74 of Armory. OBLIVION CHASSIS LEVEL 13 PRICE 57,150 EAC Bonus +18; KAC Bonus +23 Max Dex Bonus +3; Armor Check Penalty –4; Speed 30 ft. Strength 25 (+7); Damage 2d6 S Weapon Slots 2; Upgrade Slots 2 Capacity 100; Usage 1/minute Size Large; Bulk 36 DESCRIPTION This powered, magical armor was originally constructed in the forges of Abaddon. While primarily battery-powered, it also converts soul energy into auxiliary power. Whenever a significant enemy dies within 30 feet of an operating oblivion chassis, the armor gains a number of soul charges equal to the dead creature’s CR. As a standard action, you can spend 10 soul charges to cast the spell supercharge weapon on the armor’s unarmed strikes or a weapon in one of the armor’s weapon slots. EFREET NOBLE REGALIA LEVEL 18 PRICE 417,000 EAC Bonus +25; KAC Bonus +28 Max Dex Bonus +2; Armor Check Penalty –4; Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (average) Strength 30 (+10); Damage 4d6 S Weapon Slots 4; Upgrade Slots 2 Capacity 20; Usage 1/hour Size Huge (10-ft. reach); Bulk 62 DESCRIPTION As its name implies, sets of efreet noble regalia were originally crafted for powerful efreet on the Plane of Fire. Traditionally, the armor is decorated in shining red and gold, and has elaborate horned helms. While wearing this armor and while it still has charges remaining, you have fire resistance 20 and are immune to environmental effects related to heat. Additionally, when attacking with the armor’s unarmed strikes or with any weapon slotted into the armor, you can make half the weapon’s damage fire damage. ARMOR UPGRADE This armor upgrade follows the rules for armor upgrades presented on pages 204–205 of the Core Rulebook. TABLE 1–8: ARMOR NAME LEVEL PRICE EAC BONUS KAC BONUS MAXIMUM DEX BONUS ARMOR CHECK PENALTY SPEED ADJUSTMENT UPGRADE SLOTS BULK LIGHT ARMOR Feyguard, sprite 7 6,600 +7 +8 6 — — 2 L Feyguard, dryad 11 24,000 +12 +13 7 — — 2 L Feyguard, nymph 15 97,500 +17 +18 8 — — 3 L Feyguard, erlking 19 555,000 +20 +21 9 — — 4 L HEAVY ARMOR Abyssal plate, vrock 8 11,150 +14 +16 2 –3 –5 ft. 1 3 Abyssal plate, glabrezu 11 24,000 +17 +19 2 –4 –5 ft. 2 3 Abyssal plate, marilith 15 116,500 +21 +23 4 –4 –5 ft. 3 4 Abyssal plate, balor 20 944,000 +26 +28 4 –4 –5 ft. 4 4

53 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS THEMES DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 1 INDEX GEAR CLASS OPTIONS GEAR BURROWING ARMS LEVELS 7-13 PRICE VARIES ARMOR SLOTS 1 ARMOR TYPE HEAVY, POWERED BULK 1 This armor upgrade became popular for adventurers who needed to traverse the Plane of Earth, which can frequently require excavation. It consists of modifications to the arms that allow you to quickly move dirt and other loose material, granting a burrow speed. Unless otherwise stated, burrowing arms can’t be used to burrow through solid rock or metal. This upgrade can be installed only in heavy or powered armor. D Mk 1 (Level 7; 7,350 credits): 5-foot burrow speed D Mk 2 (Level 11; 25,000 credits): 10-foot burrow speed D Mk 3 (Level 13; 51,500 credits): 15-foot burrow speed; you can burrow through solid rock at a speed of 5 feet TECHNOLOGICAL ITEMS The Drift Crisis brought increased attention to media networks and scientific circles on the transitive planes, other inner sphere planes, and the possibility of travel through them. New technologies have emerged to interact with these planes or to deal more safely with their denizens. DRIFT GLASS GOGGLES LEVEL 8 Drift glass is a pinkish-brown crystalline substance harvested from areas where Drift architects have worked. They crumble to dust with any attempt to shape them, so they’re awkwardly mounted whole in bulky goggles. While wearing Drift glass goggles, you have a –4 penalty to any vision-based skill or attack roll, but can see as if under the effects of a see invisibility spell. They also allow you to determine whether a creature normally visible to you is incorporeal. DRIFT HARNESS LEVEL 14 Extreme miniaturization of Drift engine technology has resulted in this backpack with an extensive web of flexible plastic field emitters. Multiple tape-like extensions wrap along every limb, even fingers, antennae, tails, or similar appendages. Due to the complexity, a Drift harness takes 1 minute to put on. You can’t wear a Drift harness while wearing any armor or any other item that prevents wearing armor. As a full action, you can activate the Drift harness, permanently consuming a fully charged ultra-capacity battery. You enter the Drift until the beginning of your next turn, at which point you reappear in the same location. If that space is occupied when you return, you appear in the next closest unoccupied space at random. You can’t bring any other creatures with you into the Drift this way, and multiple people using Drift harnesses simultaneously won’t be anywhere near each other in the Drift during this time. You can’t enter the Drift encumbered or overburdened, and the Drift harness will leave behind items you’re carrying or wearing (besides itself) from bulkiest to lightest until you’re no longer encumbered or overburdened. Until the beginning of your next turn, you’re alone, floating freely in the Drift. ENVIRO MASK LEVEL 1 This single-use clear mask, configurable to a wide range of species, can be found in safety kits throughout the galaxy. Whether it burns specialized salts or employs canisters of compressed gas, an enviro mask protects you from suffocation and inhaled hazards for 1 hour. It doesn’t protect from other effects of vacuum or decompression, and it grants no benefit after 1 hour. METAPHYSICAL DETECTOR LEVEL 5-8 This one-handed device can be held in front of you and activated as a swift action. The MPD indicates the distance to the closest entity with the trait determined by its style below. The MPD has a range of 100 feet and doesn’t indicate a direction, so you must move around to triangulate a specific location. Since it detects only the closest creature, it can be confused by multiple entities. D Mk I (Level 5): Detects incorporeal beings. D Mk II (Level 8): Detects incorporeal, invisible beings, or beings with both traits, your choice. NANO GADGET LOADOUT LEVEL 5-12 Nano gadget loadouts incorporate technological or personal items into their shape while appearing otherwise ordinary. You can’t integrate weapons, armor, hybrid items, or magical items into the loadout. Pulling out one of the gadgets requires a swift action. Nano gadget loadouts can hold only items purchased at the same time as the loadout or items configured to be used with it (at a cost of UPBs equal to 10% of the item’s price). The loadout type indicates the number of items that fit, and the total levels of all items can’t exceed the level of the loadout. TABLE 1–9: TECHNOLOGICAL ITEMS ITEM LEVEL PRICE HANDS BULK CAPACITY USAGE Enviro mask 1 75 — L — — Metaphysical detector I 5 2,950 1 L — — Nano gadget loadout (wristband) 5 3,100 — — — — Planar spacesuit 5 2,750 — 1 — — Drift glass goggles 8 9,100 — 1 20 1/minute Metaphysical detector II 8 8,500 1 L — — Nano gadget loadout (belt) 8 9,650 — L — — Quantogram 9 15,800 1 L 40 1/hour Nano gadget loadout (duster) 12 35,400 — 1 — — Quantum tunneling coverall 13 47,800 — 1 20 4/use Drift harness 14 85,000 — 2 100 50/use

54 THE DRIFT CRISIS D Wristband (Level 5): Can contain up to 3 items of negligible bulk. D Belt (Level 8): Can contain up to 5 items with light or negligible bulk. D Duster (Level 12): Can contain items totaling up to 2 bulk (maximum of 4 items with light bulk and 4 items with negligible bulk). PLANAR SPACESUIT LEVEL 5 When you purchase a planar suit, choose one plane: astral, elemental (air, earth, fire, or water), ethereal, negative energy, positive energy, or shadow. This spacesuit (Core Rulebook 231), designed for surviving and traveling in its designated plane, grants you a +4 circumstance bonus to skill checks and saving throws related to surviving that plane’s environmental dangers. QUANTOGRAM LEVEL 9 Predominantly used by criminal enterprises, the quantogram has seen more mainstream use since Drift beacon transponder relays became less reliable for communication during the Drift Crisis. Sold as a matching set of two devices, these appear as small comm unit–sized keyboards with simple liquid crystal text displays. Thanks to the entangled quantum particles contained within, typing a 25-character message into one device instantly displays that message on all other paired devices up to a system-wide distance. Messaging in this way can’t be intercepted or traced. Multiple sets of quantograms can be linked together in a process taking 1 hour. QUANTUM TUNNELLING COVERALL LEVEL 13 This heavy, form-fitting jumpsuit has battery nodes embedded across its surface. As a move action, you can activate the quantum tunneling coverall and become incorporeal until the end of your next turn. MAGIC ITEMS New developments have been made in the creation of magic items, specifically to deal with interplanar travel and threats. BANISHING BLADE LEVEL 8-20 Banishing blades are magic weapons capable of forcing extraplanar foes back to their native plane. These weapons were once used primarily by the Church of Iomedae in its crusades against fiendish incursions, but the Drift Crisis brought growing concerns that other extraplanar creatures might threaten the Material Plane, and production of these weapons accelerated. All banishing blades function as if they had the holy fusion in addition to the rest of their abilities. This counts against how many total fusions a banishing blade can have. If you score a critical hit against a creature with the extraplanar subtype, that creature must succeed at Will save (DC = 10 + item level + your key ability score modifier) or be sent back to its home plane, as the spell dismissal, with the following exceptions: if the creature also has the evil subtype, the banishing blade counts as an object the subject opposes, granting a +2 to the save DC and a +1 on caster-level checks to overcome the subject’s spell resistance, if any. If you must make a caster-level check to overcome a target’s spell resistance to use this effect, use the banishing blade’s item level as your caster level. For mk 1 and mk 2 banishing blades, the banished creature automatically returns in the same spot from where it was banished after 1 minute has elapsed. D Mk 1 (Level 8): Functions as a sintered longsword. D Mk 2 (Level 12): Functions as an ultrathin longsword. D Mk 3 (Level 17): Functions as a molecular rift longsword. D Mk 4 (Level 20): Functions as a dimensional slice longsword. PLANAR ACCLIMATION SERUM LEVEL 10 This single-use serum is designed to acclimate you to any non-Drift plane besides the Material Plane. For 1 hour, you lose the extraplanar subtype and count as a native of the plane you’re currently on for the purpose of divination magic and how planar traits affect you. This has no effect in the Drift. RING OF GENIE CALLING LEVEL 9-17 In ages past, it was common for genies to punish their own by binding them to an object such as a lamp or ring, allowing that object’s possessor to force the genie to do their bidding. Such a punishment is rarely used anymore, but the tradition has continued in other forms. Sometimes, as part of a contract or to pay off a debt, a genie will agree to a period of servitude, binding themselves to a ring or other item and presenting it to the holder of the contract. Once per week, you can use the ring to beseech the ring’s bonded genie for help in one of two ways. First, you may ask it a question, as the contact other plane spell, except the genie always gives a truthful answer if it knows the answer, and no answer if it doesn’t. Alternatively, you can request that the genie make an object for you, as the creation spell. After you make your request, the object appears in an adjacent square. Bonded djinn and shaitan are capable of casting creation as a 4th-level spell in this manner, while bonded efreet and marids are capable of casting creation as a 5th-level spell. Additionally, each ring gives the wearer energy resistance, shown below. D Ring of Genie Calling, Djinn (Level 9): Electricity resistance 5 D Ring of Genie Calling, Shaitan (Level 12): Acid resistance 10 D Ring of Genie Calling, Efreeti (Level 15): Fire resistance 15 D Ring of Genie Calling, Marid (Level 17): Cold resistance 20

55 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS THEMES DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 1 INDEX GEAR CLASS OPTIONS GEAR HYBRID ITEMS Several new hybrid items have materialized in the face of the uniquely technomagical nature of the Drift Crisis. ALLUVION THEODOLITE LEVEL 3 This clockwork precision instrument, often mounted on the bridge of a starship, allows you to glean the distance and direction of Alluvion, the itinerant city in the Drift. While you’re in the Drift, the theodolite gives you a +4 insight bonus to astrogate to Alluvion (though you must still have received coordinates from some other source). INTERPLANAR COMM UNIT LEVEL 16-20 Comm units capable of piercing the barriers between planes are rare. Such marvels of hybrid technology are typically controlled by powerful organizations, and their use is closely monitored. An interplanar comm unit can communicate only with other interplanar comm units that are on a single specific plane, and it can send or receive only two messages per day. D Inner Sphere (Level 16): These can send and receive transmissions between two of the following: the Material Plane, Elemental Planes, Ethereal Plane, First World, Negative Energy Plane, Positive Energy Plane, and Shadow Plane. D Outer Sphere (Level 20): These units are rarer still. These can send and receive transmissions between two of the following: the Material Plane, Abaddon, the Abyss, the Astral Plane, Axis, the Boneyard, Elysium, Heaven, Hell, the Maelstrom, and Nirvana. PROTON SNARE LEVEL 2-20 This disc-shaped device has multidirectional rollers on five points and a stiff cable with a large button on its end for activation. As a standard action, you may deploy the proton snare on solid ground up to 20 feet away. As a move action, you can activate the snare by stomping on or pressing the switch. The snare emits a 20-foot cone of high-intensity muon lasers upward. Incorporeal creatures within the cone must make a Reflex save (DC = 10 + the snare’s level) or be drawn into the trap, closing them inside, regardless of size. Trapped creatures are suspended, and don’t need to breathe, eat, or drink. The snare emits a loud alarm for one round if a trapped creature loses its incorporeal state, and then automatically opens and releases all contained creatures randomly into the spaces around it. Each version of the trap can affect only a certain CR of incorporeal creatures and trap up to a certain number of Hit Points. If multiple incorporeal creatures are in the trap cone, start with those closest to the trap when it’s activated, trapping those creatures and deducting their current Hit Points from the Hit Point capacity until the device reaches maximum. All remaining creatures are unaffected. A proton snare can’t be activated again until emptied (even if it’s not at capacity). Emptying a proton snare requires a full TABLE 1–11: MAGIC ITEMS NAME LEVEL PRICE BULK Banishing blade, mk 1 8 10,500 1 Ring of genie calling, djinn 9 15,900 — Planar acclimation serum 10 3,400 — Banishing blade, mk 2 12 39,000 1 Ring of genie calling, shaitan 12 39,000 — Ring of genie calling, efreeti 15 112,000 — Banishing blade, mk 3 17 289,000 1 Ring of genie calling, marid 17 270,000 — Banishing blade, mk 4 20 967,000 1 action, and releases its contents randomly into either the spaces around it or another snare with available capacity. D Mk I (Level 2): Affects up to CR 3; 50 HP capacity. D Mk II (Level 5): Affects up to CR 7; 125 HP capacity. D Mk III (Level 9): Affects up to CR 11; 200 HP capacity. D Mk IV (Level 11): Affects up to CR 15; 300 HP capacity. D Mk V (Level 16): Affects up to CR 20; 500 HP capacity. D Mk VI (Level 20): Affects up to CR 25; unlimited HP capacity. TRANSPLANAR GLUON BLADE LEVEL 15-20 Occasionally, abductees manage to escape from grays with a transplanar gluon blade. It resembles a standard box cutter consisting of a plump, hard plastic handle with a short blade that extends out the top while depressing a button, retracted rapidly by a simple spring. Once per day, you can spend 1 minute concentrating with the blade to subtly work it between the seams of reality and cut open a portal to its linked transitive plane. A transplanar gluon blade doesn’t function if not on the Material Plane or its linked transitive plane. Portals created with the blade close after 1d4 rounds. D Ethereal (Level 15): You cut open a portal between the Material Plane and the Ethereal Plane. D Astral (Level 18): You cut open a portal between the Material Plane and the Astral Plane. D Shadow (Level 20): You cut open a portal between the Material Plane and the Shadow Plane. TABLE 1-10: HYBRID ITEMS NAME LEVEL PRICE BULK Proton snare I 2 500 1 Alluvion theodolite 3 1,750 2 Proton snare II 5 2,200 1 Proton snare III 9 8,200 1 Proton snare IV 11 18,100 1 Transplanar gluon blade, ethereal 15 135,000 L Interplanar comm unit, inner sphere 16 160,000 60 Proton snare V 16 141,000 1 Transplanar gluon blade, astral 18 450,000 L Interplanar comm unit, outer sphere 20 880,000 100 Proton snare VI 20 890,000 1 Transplanar gluon blade, shadow 20 1,100,000 L

OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW ADVENTURES 2

58 ADVENTURES The Drift Crisis has myriad consequences, ranging from the expected to the surprising, and each presents opportunities for adventure. Whether your group is looking to solve or simply endure the galaxy-spanning event, this chapter provides compelling adventure seeds that provide a framework and tools for running anything from a one-off session to an entire campaign set during the Drift Crisis. ADVENTURE SEEDS Each of the 20 adventure seeds in this chapter has a roughly similar structure, though the variety of adventures on offer mean that some present more linear throughlines, while others are more open-ended. Regardless of the adventure’s structure, each adventure seed has the following elements. Background: Most adventure seeds build on existing people, places, and events in the Starfinder galaxy, exploring what happens to them when the Drift Crisis occurs. The focus is on getting into the adventure as quickly as possible. Some are more spoiler-filled than others, so you’ll want to read the information before choosing what to share with your players. Factions and Locations: This is a list of factions—those from pages 30–37 as well as others—and locations that are especially prominent in each adventure hook. This is not an exhaustive list, and you can include any others you find interesting or relevant. Level Range: This is a suggestion for appropriate party level, based on the adventure seed’s themes and likely encounters. GM Resources: This handy sidebar points out useful tools for running that particular adventure and provides a list of relevant and thematic creatures, including a new one featured in Chapter 3. As with any element of an adventure seed, you aren’t limited to the creatures listed. Player Options: These cover a wide range of equipment, feats, spells, and so on. These options are available to any qualifying character; they need not participate in the corresponding adventure seed to gain access to them. A complete index of player options is available on page 188. FINE-TUNE YOUR FUN In each of these adventure seeds, NPCs, locations, and plot hooks are merely suggestions; the PCs need not experience them all, and GMs should feel free to modify the flow or details of any of these elements to suit their group’s needs. The GM Resources provide example creatures listed by their Challenge Rating, but those of other CRs can be easily created using the monster creation rules in Starfinder Alien Archive. CHAINING ADVENTURES Nothing limits you to exploring only one of the 20 adventure seeds in this chapter! In fact, many of them naturally flow together, and your group might find unique and interesting ways to link those that seem otherwise unrelated. Below are a few examples of how your group might move from seed to seed to make your Drift Crisis unique. Absalom Station and Beyond Both Chaos on Absalom Station (page 80) and Absalom Station Refugees (page 74) serve as excellent starting points for the Drift Crisis, with the station’s central location in the Pact Worlds and prominent figuring into the galactic event. The former adventure seed focuses more on conflicts taking place in the station’s more established locations, while the latter focuses on exploring changes to the Armada (a vast raft of starships in the station’s orbit) and the station’s dangerous and relatively unexplored Ghost Levels. These adventures can also be combined with relative ease, whether in sequence or even in an intertwining way. Absalom Station is a perfect launching point; it’s a perfectly reasonable place for PCs to hear about, or be actively recruited to help with, a number of other adventures, including Corpse Fleet Opportunists (page 70), Lost in the Void (page 126), and Trifold Response (page 86). Absalom Station Refugees in particular has PCs uncover weird goings on within the station, including potential exposure SPOILER: THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE DRIFT CRISIS While the Causes of the Drift Crisis section starting on page 16 presents several plausible possibilities (and less plausible rumors) for what set this event in motion, the official Starfinder setting (and several of this chapter’s adventures) assume that one in particular is the true cause: the actions of Triune’s Architects, explained beginning on page 17. The adventure seeds in this chapter are of use regardless of which cause(s) are true in your own campaign. ADVENTURE SEEDS BY LEVEL LEVEL RANGE ADVENTURE SEED PAGE 1–10 Lost in the Void 126 1–10 Swarm Salvation 104 1–12 Absalom Station Refugees 74 1–13 Beacons of War 64 1–14 Drift Crash 88 1–15 Alluvion Fractures 60 1–15 Decoding the Storm 118 1–20 Blazing Speeds 98 1–20 Chaos on Absalom Station 80 3–12 Pahtra Independence 62 3–15 Spectra, Corrupted 108 4–15 Drift in Reverse 110 4–15 When One Becomes Three 114 5–9 Broken Beacons 124 5–15 Stabilization Protocol 130 5–15 Trifold Response 86 5–20 The Apocalypse Pod 134 8–20 Cracks in the Cosmos 136 10–15 Interlocking Circles 94 10–20 Corpse Fleet Opportunists 70 OVERVIEW

59 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES OVERVIEW to dangerous fringe elements and weird prophecies that could supply the PCs with rumors that draw them elsewhere to neutralize a dangerous doomsday cult. This flows quite well into, for example, The Apocalypse Pod (page 134). Chaos on Absalom Station, meanwhile, has overlapping themes with Interlocking Circles (page 94), which revolves around renewed distrust of technology and the Drift. All Roads Lead to Alluvion Two adventures in particular can naturally lead players to Alluvion, the de facto capital of the Drift, in Alluvion Fractures (page 60): Spectra, Corrupted (page 108) and When One Becomes Three (page 114). Both bring the PCs into contact with dangerous Drift-connected threats that could draw the PCs to Alluvion. Lost and Found Lost in the Void (page 126) ends with the PCs likely in control of (or at least aboard) a stranded starship that was ejected from the Drift. This starship could easily stumble across other locations featured in these adventure seeds, possibly even going from the frying pan into the fire. Candidates rich with opportunity include Swarm Salvation (page 104) and Broken Beacons (page 124). Planar Perils The Drift in Reverse (page 110) details many possible events and encounters that could influence events in virtually any other adventure, as pieces of planar material ejected from the Drift sow chaos all across the galaxy. Cracks in the Cosmos (page 136) can serve as a concurrent or follow-up adventure, as both explore themes of extraplanar activity and can interlock well. Trials of Triune Perhaps unsurprisingly, many Drift Crisis adventure seeds deal with the Drift’s tripartite deity, Triune, and various sects of its church. Each focuses on a different aspect of the crisis and the responses to it, making the suite of Triune-related adventures apt for intersection. Decoding the Storm (page 118) details a race between Triunite and Eloritu cultists for a fragment of Triune’s spellcode. When One Becomes Three (page 114) focuses on the fracturing of Triune’s church, and Spectra, Corrupted (page 108) explores what happens to the Drift’s planar natives—and those who interact with them. Trifold Response (page 86) sees Triune’s Trifold Legionaries scramble to reclaim stolen secrets about Drift beacons, while Broken Beacons (page 124) deals with malfunctioning beacons, raising the stakes of the Legionaries’ mission even more. Alluvion Fractures (page 60) can serve as a natural conclusion to most Triune-related campaigns OTHER ADVENTURES Several other products present new ways to explore the adventures and themes presented in this chapter, as well as novel Drift Crisis–related adventures; see Additional Drift Crisis Content on page 9 for more information.

ALLUVION FRACTURES FACTIONS: Church of Triune, the Created, the Precursors, the Transcendent LOCATIONS: Alluvion, The Drift MAIA WHISPERWORKS 60 ADVENTURES Alluvion is the divine realm of Triune and the center of their church. Access is tightly controlled, requiring ever-changing beacon codes granted by Triune and its high-ranking clergy. During the Drift Crash, powerful storms wracked the city, tearing away a portion of Alluvion and numerous ships docked at the Tethers. The city shifted positions constantly, picking up planar flotsam with each relocation. During this chaos, Triune fell silent. Despite their fear, Alluvion’s citizens turned their analytical minds to solving the Drift Crisis and reconnecting with Triune. Followers among each of Triune’s three component aspects— Brigh the Precursor, Casandalee the Created, and Epoch the Transcendent—posited different theories of the Drift Crisis and how to resolve it, leading the church to split into factions. As the dangers of the Drift multiply, ships began arriving in Alluvion without the use of beacon codes. Some sought the city, but most arrived accidentally, and many lack any connection to Triune’s faith. The PCs might be residents of Alluvion—either a neutral party or tied to a faction—or newcomers. Whatever their origins, the party will interact with these three factions, perhaps siding with one or trying to mend the rifts between Triune’s three faiths. In a high-level campaign, the PCs could even bring the Drift Crisis to a conclusion. ALLUVION IN PERIL Alluvion shifts position often, staying only long enough to collect new planar debris in its gravitational pull. Of late, the void beneath the city digests this debris slower than it arrives. In time, this accumulation could cause debris to strike the city and ships in the Tethers. As the debris mixes, it forms dangerous planar energy storms and causes gravity fluctuations, temporarily increasing Alluvion’s gravity to high, even crushing the city’s outer edges. As living on the edge becomes a death sentence, nearby residents fight to access the city’s center. This could be a catalyst for unity or for factions to further entrench themselves. Rather than repairing Alluvion, the city’s anacite population mysteriously turn their attention to constructing a massive, featureless spire. The spire’s purpose is unknown, though some suspect the anacites are malfunctioning. Regardless, the anacites refuse to follow orders or perform other tasks. Other threats to Alluvion include creatures attacking the city, power failures, and the inexplicable expansion of the technological dead zone called the Dark. These citywide calamities function as a backdrop for Alluvion’s political war, increasing in frequency and severity as the campaign progresses, and imposing a sense of impending doom. At times, they could become impossible to ignore, forcing politics to take a back seat to survival. Alternatively, saving Alluvion could be the focus of a campaign, with Alluvion’s politics a complication the PCs must navigate. FRACTURED FAITH In Alluvion, Triune’s faith has broken into three warring factions, each associated with one of Triune’s component identities. The Precursors The Precursors are followers of Brigh who believe that whatever struggle Triune is enduring, the All-Code must go through it alone. Its followers, then, should do what they can to lighten the load by maintaining Alluvion through the Drift Crisis. This emphasis on small-scale tasks that keep the city and its residents safe makes them popular among newcomers and Alluvion’s less devout citizenry. The Precursors operate from Brigh’s Bend, a tavern and clockwork museum, and are led by the tavern’s owner, Maia Whisperworks (N female bleachling gnome mechanic) and Ebon (CN male ysoki operative), leader of the ysoki scrappers who live within the Dark. As the Drift falters and Triune falls silent, the All-Code’s realm of Alluvion descends to chaos. The citizenry and Triune’s church fracture into factions as adherents devoted to each of the god’s three component aspects believe they have the best explanations for—and solutions to—the Drift Crisis and their god’s silence. Amid this political turmoil, the city endures mounting catastrophes that threaten to destroy all of Alluvion. LEVELS 1–15

Sanctum, the Created aim to repair the Drift’s underlying code and commune with Triune through the temple’s data jacks. In that virtual reality, they’ll look for clues and anomalies that can give them insight into Triune’s fate. Low-level PCs can perform reconnaissance for the raid on the Array and keep intruders out of the Created’s territory. Mid-level PCs can fight for control of the Array (using cunning, might, or diplomacy) or scour its archives for information. High-level PCs may face off against the Transcendent within the Nexus or gain access to the Inner Sanctum. They might connect to temple servers via datajack, and explore mental constructs and virtual temples—each unique—looking for bugs that must be defeated and repaired within the program, or for clues about Triune’s disappearance and the Drift Crisis. TECHNOLOGICAL ITEM This item can be used by any character. MACHIMIND LEVEL 4 TECHNOLOGICAL ITEM PRICE 2,000 BULK — CAPACITY 20 USAGE 2/MINUTE This lattice of wires and sensors is worn atop the head. You can activate or deactivate a machimind as a swift action. While worn and active, a machimind lets you telepathically communicate with creatures within 60 feet that have machine telepathy or the technological subtype. You can also communicate through unprotected technological devices (or those to which you already have access), such as a datapad or comm unit, at a range of 30 feet. GM RESOURCES 61 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ALLUVION FRACTURES Ebon and his crew gather accumulating debris outside the city in daring acrobatic sky raids, using it to repair damaged sections of Alluvion. They pass this material off to Maia’s clockwork bouncers, who’ve been repurposed as mechanics and do the work once done by axiomites, repairing and bolstering the city. Both activities lead the Precursors into conflict with the axiomites and the Transcendent faction (see below). At low levels, Precursor PCs might collect scrap from the Dark, perform repairs, protect clockwork bouncers, fight monsters that lurk in the Dark, or battle malfunctioning axiomites. Mid-level PCs might help the ysoki collect orbiting debris, sneak into off-limits areas to perform secret repairs, save people from Alluvion’s dangers, or battle planar invaders. High-level PCs can tackle larger challenges, such as freeing the people trapped in the Tethers by the Transcendent (see below), investigating the spread of the Dark, slowing Alluvion’s teleportation, or stopping the gravity well beneath the city from malfunctioning. The Transcendent The Transcendent believe in the infallibility of Epoch and Triune, trusting that everything is progressing as Triune wills it. They suspect Triune is breaking down the Drift and Alluvion to upgrade or recode it. Whatever must happen for this to occur, they’re certain the end result will be glorious—even if they don’t live to see it. Thus, the Transcendent work to maintain the status quo. They ensure factories and laboratories remain in operation, tightly regulate access to the Nexus to keep meddlers out, and allow the axiomites to build their spire without interference. They’re led by a coalition of anacites with no single leader. Low-level PCs might defend the axiomites, factories, and labs, stop Precursor mechanics and clockworks from repairing areas Triune deemed in need of destruction, and prevent Ebon’s scrappers from pilfering debris from Alluvion’s accretion disk. Mid-level PCs might take control of the Tethers to keep away outsiders, and secure the Array and Nexus. High-level PCs might be drawn into battle against powerful members of the Created and the Precursors. The Created The Created are worshippers of Casandalee who believe Triune is in trouble, perhaps under attack, and needs the aid of their faithful to end the Drift Crisis and defeat their enemies. The Created are led by Icode-11 (CG pangender android technomancer) and count many androids and verthani among their ranks, as well as newcomers to Alluvion who believe their skills could be useful in resolving the Drift Crisis. To help Triune, the Created must first gain access to the Array, a data storage facility containing the knowledge of the multiverse. The Array was recently sealed by Monitor (N agender android technomancer), its primary guardian, who wishes to keep the fractured faiths from controlling or damaging the Array’s servers. Once claimed, the Created intend to scour the archives for data about Triune’s current predicament and the Drift Crisis. Knowledge in hand, the Created intend to gain access to the Nexus’s inner sanctum, which is currently locked down by the temple’s defenses and the Transcendent. Within the Inner More information about Alluvion, including a map, can be found in Starfinder Adventure Path #4: The Ruined Clouds. A variety of statistics can be used to represent members of the Triunite factions, including new Triunite stats on page 168. Anacites, robots, constructs, and other humanoids are commonplace in Alluvion. External threats can include creatures originating from the Drift or other planes of existence. As the campaign progresses, undead become common due to the lives lost in recent catastrophes. Drift storms and environments for planar debris can be created using the weather and environmental rules beginning on page 398 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook. CREATURE CR ElementalsAA 1/3–11 Anacite wingbotAA 1/2 Undead minionAA 1/2–3 Robot, securityAA 1–4 DriftdeadAA3 2 GaraggakalAA2 5 Archon, powerAP9 5 Anacite ambassadorAA2 6 Vorclash (page 167) 8 ParaforanAA3 12 Driftdead amalgamAA3 13 Aspecna spectraAA3 18

Vesk-6’s absurd level of magnetic activity renders most technology useless, which originally helped local pahtras to fight the Veskarium almost to a standstill. As a result, the vesk rule only lightly, and pahtra revolutionaries and guerrillas still yearn for the restoration of Pulonis. With the Drift Crisis throwing the Veskarium into chaos, some pahtras are seizing their chance, hoping to overthrow local vesk while the Veskarium’s forces are scattered and distracted. Player characters might be revolutionaries, Veskarium military operatives, or simply unlucky bystanders. They might even be agents of the high despot of Vesk-3, Teret Kahan (LN male pahtra soldier). Kahan is a pahtra patriot, but he’s clear-eyed about the fact that the pahtras can’t beat a full-fledged stellar empire—and even if they did, many would not wish to return to their pre-invasion way of life. As Kahan’s agents, the player characters must finesse the situation, keep both sides from doing anything unforgivable, and arrange for the pahtras to join the Veskarium not as subjects, but as partners. ADVENTURES An adventure revolving around pahtran independence might best be structured as a series of vignettes, small episodes in the revolution that can be played out in a session or two. Most likely, the player characters will be hooked into either the Veskarium or the revolutionary’s intelligence network, and can be directed to each vignette in turn. Storming Citadel-P6: Citadel-P6 is a military prison just inside the borders of Command-6, used to store what the vesk consider Pulonis’s most dangerous criminals. The inmates are a motley collection of political dissidents, guerillas, terrorists, murderers, and gangsters. Now, a large crowd of pahtras is gathering at the gates, demanding their release. The PCs must defuse the situation Lost in the Jungle: A vesk military unit has learned of a pahtra guerilla encampment deep in the jungle and has dispatched an infantry battalion to render it to dust. PCs on the side of the revolutionaries might be called to evacuate the guerillas, while PCs working with the vesk might have to extract the soldiers after their transport fails due to Vesk-6’s magnetic storms. The Shriek’s Approach: A cell of Krreyvash—mutated pahtra guerillas with a very relaxed attitude toward collateral damage— has come up with a gruesome plan. By sacrificing captured vesk soldiers in a bloody fashion, they plan to lure the Shriek, a ghost-ridden magnetic storm of starship-sized shrapnel, to Command-6, with each sacrifice bringing the storm closer. The result would annihilate the vesk authority on Vesk-6 while killing hundreds of thousands of innocents. For any chance of even a halfway-peaceful resolution to the crisis, the PCs must stop the terrorists. The Krreyvash are well-armed and have zero qualms about killing fellow revolutionaries in the name of the cause. Snatch and Replace: Pahtras are not the only inhabitants of Vesk-6 unhappy with their imperial overlords. Hymothoas (page 154) are a species of parasitic oozes capable of puppeteering a body. Security checks keep the oozes at bay, but a cabal of hymothoas has hatched a scheme to infest High Despot Kavadroz (NE male vesk envoy) and several members of his staff, stage a riot and terrorist attack, and then take advantage of the chaos. If they succeed, the revolution will make major headway as the marionetted Kavadroz sabotages vesk defenses from within. THE GRAND FINALE How exactly the revolution ends will depend on the PCs’ actions over the course of prior engagements, but the conclusion should be dramatic. A revolutionary party might have to lead a final Of all the Veskarium’s worlds, Vesk-6 (formerly Pulonis) is the most restive planet, as the more militant pahtras have never entirely reconciled themselves to vesk rule. Now that the Drift Crisis has cut off the small local garrison from easy support, many pahtras see a chance to take their planet back. But revolutions are rarely clean and simple things, and events may go awry in any number of ways. FACTIONS: Veskarium, Pahtra Revolutionaries LOCATIONS: Vesk-6 PAHTRA INDEPENDENCE 62 ADVENTURES LEVELS 3-12 GMs running this adventure should have plenty of vesk and pahtra NPCs on hand, along with some heavy military hardware for the vesk and a plentiful supply of giant monsters to represent Vesk-6’s deadly wildlife. More information about Vesk-6 can be found starting on page 50 of Starfinder Near Space, and the Leadership system (Starfinder Galaxy Exploration Manual 100) also might be useful for running large-scale revolutionary activities or military operations. CREATURE CR PredatorAA2 1/3–13 Herd animalAA2 1/3–8 PahtraAA2 2–6 Hymothoa (page 154) 9 AHAVAA 12 Siege robotAA2 15 GM RESOURCES

assault on Command-6, while a group of Veskarium enforcers might have to penetrate a rebel hideout deep in the hostile jungles of the planet. If the PCs aim for a negotiated solution, the finale might consist of a dramatic diplomatic summit, attended by High Despot Kavadroz, pahtra spiritual leader Councilor Esketi (NG female pahtra mystic) of Rafemii, and visiting pahtra High Despot Teret Kahan. The summit presents an irresistible target for vesk hardliners, pahtra terrorists, and another cabal of hymothoas, so the PCs are going to have their hands full if they want to keep it from turning into a disaster. WEAPONS These weapons are available to all characters. Trenarii Singing Coil The pahtras of Trenarez consider themselves the bleeding edge of pahtra musical innovation, and their latest hit is using carefully modulated electrical coils to emit lightning bolts that replicate musical tones. It wasn’t long before someone created a portable version, allowing the user to spread destruction to jaunty musical accompaniment. Singing Star An ancient and traditional pahtra weapon, the singing star consists of a long chain or rope with each end attached to a fist-sized metal slug covered in complex ridges and spikes. The wielder swings the chain, either tangling targets or using the metal sphere like a long flail, while the ridges cause the weapon to make an eerie and discomfiting whistle. Traditional versions are made from materials taken from the greatest of Vesk-6’s predators, while more modern versions are typically made of polyceramic or carbonsteel. TABLE 2–1: PAHTRA MUSICAL WEAPONRY NAME CATEGORY LEVEL PRICE DAMAGE RANGE CRITICAL CAPACITY USAGE BULK SPECIAL LONGARM Trenarii singing coil, solo Shock 4 2,200 1d4 E 60 ft. – 20 charges 5 2 Line, unwieldy, Profession (Musician)AR Trenarii singing coil, duet Shock 8 9,700 2d4 E 90 ft. – 40 charges 8 2 Line, unwieldy, Profession (Musician)AR Trenarii singing coil, quartet Shock 13 50,000 4d4 E 120 ft. Deafen 80 charges 10 2 Line, unwieldy, Profession (Musician)AR Trenarii singing coil, orchestra Shock 18 380,000 7d4 E 200 ft. Deafen 100 charges 10 2 Line, unwieldy, Profession (Musician)AR ADVANCED MELEE (TWO-HANDED) Singing star, apprentice – 2 850 1d4 B – Knockdown – – 2 Analog, disarm, reach, trip, Profession (Musician)AR Singing star, adept – 7 7,900 3d4 B – Knockdown – – 2 Analog, disarm, reach, trip, Profession (Musician)AR Singing star, master – 12 36,400 6d4 B – Knockdown – – 2 Analog, disarm, reach, trip, Profession (Musician)AR Singing star, sage – 17 245,000 8d6 B – Knockdown – – 2 Analog, disarm, reach, trip, Profession (Musician)AR 63 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX PAHTRA INDEPENDENCE

64 ADVENTURES This campaign presents an extensive sandbox-style adventure in which PCs must navigate competing factions’ ambitions just as readily as they explore the barely charted wildernesses that lie beyond the planet’s primary settlement. This overview of Kehtaria contains its overnight transformation into a strategic travel hub, its major powers, and ways the PCs can become involved with each as they either maintain uneasy peace or help tip the scales toward a particular faction’s ambitions. Once the PCs establish themselves as local legends, additional military forces arrive and threaten all that the PCs have built during the Imperial Repercussions event (page 69). Thanks to Kehtaria’s newfound accessibility and diverse inhabitants, there are myriad reasons a varied party of PCs might live on or arrive at Kehtaria. PCs might be displaced refugees hoping to reunite with lost family or factions after the Crash, or fortune seekers and traders trying to invest early in this new hub world’s expansion and prosperity. PCs might represent the strategic ambitions of their patron as members of the Veskarium, corporate agents, or even impressionable Azlanti arrivals unaccustomed to life beyond their empire’s oversight. If the PCs grew up on Kehtaria—as Azlanti largely removed from the empire’s politics and racism, or as non-human settlers seeking relief from Azlanti oppression—they must now act decisively to preserve their unique home and determine its future. Under the right circumstances, the PCs might represent a mix of these backgrounds, granting them a unique position to not only influence but also understand the various factions’ desires. KEHTARIA The Azlanti Star Empire’s territorial ambitions occasionally exceed the practical limits of personnel and other resources. The small world of Kehtaria and its main settlement, Atuity, are a prime example of imperial triage, having been among the empire’s earliest acquisitions after the Gap and among the first abandoned for not providing a suitable return on investment. For at least two centuries, Kehtaria has been divided into two spaces: a vast imperial preserve where settlement and development are forbidden except by the Aeon Throne’s direct decree, and the settlement of Atuity, a part of the largest continent where even non-human citizens might claim and own lands. Atuity traditionally hosts three distinct demographics: non-human settlers enjoying atypically generous rights, a small military detachment maintaining order, and several nobles with their retinues hoping to prove their worth. The reigning Ixomander dynasty has long hinted that Kehtaria might one day be awarded to an Azlanti aristocrat of remarkable worth, and what better test could there be than taming this planet? Kehtaria is an exceptionally fertile world driven by rapid cycles of growth, decay, and destruction. Massive purple, tree-like lichens create vast forests that grow to full maturity within a few years, only to collapse under the weight of other lichens within a decade, creating layers of decaying biomass threaded with countless fungi and mulch-munching creatures. Vibrantly green seas teem with life of all sizes. Ravenous predators live fast and die young, preying upon an array of herbivores and ambulatory plant creatures. Immolsivixes (page 155) burrow through the deep debris, creating subterranean habitats, inadvertently sowing key fungi that perpetuate decomposition and occasionally cause wildfires that leave countless acres of fertile ash. Though an ecologist’s dream, Kehtaria swiftly overwhelms, degrades, and eats all but the most carefully maintained settlements. Imperial records note three previous Azlanti attempts to colonize Kehtaria since the Gap. None of these attempts created settlements large enough or successful enough to warrant acknowledgment, and only two of these expeditions had survivors who managed to escape and declare the planet a trap. The fourth settlement project founded the current version of Atuity about 30 years ago and reestablished the imperial preserve to keep colonists from leading doomed expeditions into the wilds. Those past Azlanti settlements might yet lie buried beneath the detritus. The Azlanti might not be the first society to populate Kehtaria. The world’s rare, exposed rocks and caves occasionally preserve incised pictographs attributed to an unknown people. Native creatures that have greater than animal intelligence speak or at least understand bits of a fragmented language designated Kehtaran, but thus far, linguists haven’t dared the planet’s dangers to decipher it. This widespread language might be a remnant of whatever culture inhabited these lands in forgotten times. Perhaps its ruins lie buried beneath so many tons of debris. While the Drift Crash devastated many worlds, it brought unexpected prosperity and attention to Kehtaria. Overnight, Once a backwater Azlanti territory, the verdant world Kehtaria has boomed with construction, prosperity, and strategic value during the Drift Crisis, thanks to the unexplained appearance of numerous Drift beacons. However, tensions are rising between Azlanti loyalists, a Veskarium occupying force, the merchants union, and diehard separatists seeking independence from all of the above. As more people arrive and valuable resources are discovered, Kehtaria could erupt into all-out war. FACTIONS: Azlanti Star Empire, Veskarium LOCATIONS: Kehtaria BEACONS OF WAR LEVELS 1–13

65 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX BEACONS OF WAR seven Drift beacons appeared in the star system that includes only Kehtaria, its red giant star, and a host of asteroids. The first few arrivals after the Crash were starships hurled into the system as if lured by the many beacons. Within a few weeks, word spread that Kehtaria is relatively easy to reach, even during the Drift Crisis. Enterprising entities intuit that once the crisis has ended, Kehtaria will represent a priceless Near Space hub for galactic travel, in much the same way Absalom Station functions. Thus, there are numerous factions anxiously maneuvering for control over this strategic resource. Once a modest town of several thousand residents, Atuity has experienced a riotous population boom. Within weeks, Atuity’s grown into a small city of homes and workshops rapidly constructed from local organic materials; many of these buildings remain habitable for only a few months before the planet’s fungi take root and disintegrate whole city blocks. This newer construction surrounds an older core built from concrete, steel, and other more durable materials, with the Azlant Spire administrative buildings looming over the other edifices. Along Atuity’s outskirts, the populace has cleared long runways, built hangars, and expanded docks to host a growing horde of smaller starships. Many crews have found an empty lot, landed, and converted their vessels into makeshift residences. Opportunists, military patrols, and local landowners all try to exact docking fees and other taxes from newcomers, some of whom are accosted and charged by half a dozen parties that can’t agree on each other’s jurisdictions. INTERESTED PARTIES There are four primary groups with immediate interests in Kehtaria. The Azlanti Star Empire wants to reassert control over its neglected, newly valuable territory. The Veskarium arrives accidentally, yet swiftly sees the strategic value in claiming Kehtaria. The Atuity Triad clings to its hard-won autonomy as a loose guild of civilian powerbrokers. An independence movement is little more than a leaderless dream for most citizens, at least for now. That said, any organization might appear without warning and make its own claim, so add to these any factions that might further motivate or challenge the PCs. PCs can work with multiple factions, but while these groups might be willing to collaborate early on to recover from the Crash’s chaos, their objectives ultimately conflict. The PCs might be able to usher in uneasy peace, yet the most likely path involves siding with at least one faction to neutralize another. Azlanti Star Empire Ideologically, the Azlanti Star Empire teaches that its authority is absolute and backed by the Azlantis’ military might, technological brilliance, and dedication to its unforgiving deity, Lissala. Losing Kehtaria would tarnish that perfectionist narrative, yet the empire stationed only a few hundred soldiers here and lacks the overwhelming force to assert dominance. Until reinforcements arrive—aid that’s unlikely to come, given the empire’s other woes (page 28)—the Azlanti hope to maintain the loyalty of their colonists and not lose further authority.

66 ADVENTURES Previously, being stationed on Kehtaria was a calm assignment limited to basic policing duties, and ranking officer Commander Eiran (LN male Azlanti soldier) is out of his depth dealing with his rapidly expanding responsibilities and pressures. As a loyal Azlanti citizen, he’s supposed to assert superiority over all arrivals. However, his squadrons are stretched thin and evenly matched with the Veskarium’s forces. Eiran is a practical—but not especially charismatic or ruthless—leader, which benefits him now; showing more spine would have provoked vesk invaders into open warfare. Eiran relies on his decade-long relationship with the Atuity Triad to keep the peace while he frantically scrapes together resources and personnel. Working with the Azlanti Star Empire involves reinforcing the recent status quo, securing supplies, and shoring up the empire’s defenses. Eiran readily deputizes PCs to police the streets, scatter con artists who illegally collect docking fees from visitors, and generally keep the peace while letting bystanders know that this civility is thanks to the Azlanti Star Empire. The commander might also rely on the PCs to patrol Atuity’s expanded perimeter, not only keeping out dangerous beasts and rescuing lost citizens, but also maintaining the imperial preserve by apprehending unsanctioned attempts to settle deeper in the wilderness. Eiran might send PCs to scout the surrounding area for crucial resources and places where the Azlanti could build surface-to-air defenses. Should fighting begin in earnest with the Veskarium, they’ll need these batteries to challenge vesk air superiority. Veskarium Flung into Atuity’s orbit by the Drift Crash, the Vindicas Tyrant (Core Rulebook 315) Red Clarion and its crew quickly took stock of their surroundings, found their Drift engines malfunctioning, and sent a landing party to Atuity. Unwilling to start a war with the Azlanti Star Empire, yet uncertain about being able to reach the Veskarium, Captain Vasoya (LN female vesk soldier) established a base of operations in Atuity, where her marines help to keep the peace in these difficult times. Both she and Commander Eiran know that this assistance is a dangerous game for influence and control. Like her counterpart, Vasoya is far more comfortable with pitched battles than she is with political machinations. What’s more, she has thus far been unable to establish reliable communications with the Veskarium itself, so she’s loath to make sudden moves and potentially drag both empires into an unwanted war over some misunderstanding. Nonetheless, she knows the Veskarium would benefit immensely from controlling Kehtaria, granting it a foothold in Azlanti space while profiting from a promising trading hub. Without hope of reinforcements, her goals are straightforward: secure strategic sites in case of a firefight, win the populace’s approval, and convince Azlanti citizens to abandon their cruel empire and defect to the Veskarium. Vasoya’s familiar enough with outsider perspectives to recognize that the Veskarium might appear the lesser of two tyrannies, though, so she takes pains for her forces not to seem overbearing and brutish—all while her Vindicus Tyrant looms in the sky like a moon in high orbit. Initially, Veskarium goals overlap with those of the Azlanti. Vasoya needs help keeping peace, delivering supplies, building infrastructure, and subduing wildlife—all brought to Atuity’s people by friendly Veskarium representatives. Once she knows she can trust the PCs, the captain relies on their diplomatic nuance to help her understand Azlanti culture, navigate the political scene, and project soft power in winning over locals. She considers the imperial preserve highly suspect, believing it to conceal some important Azlanti secret, so she hires the PCs to chart the wilderness, its creatures, and its resources. As the vesk become more confident—or more desperate—they might also recruit PCs to sabotage Azlanti authority, pushing more citizens away from the Aeon Throne and toward their new protectors. Vasoya needs the Atuity Triad to accept the Veskarium as protectors, and the vesk are willing to respect the triad’s industry as long as this hierarchy is clear. Atuity Triad With little Azlanti oversight, Atuity’s foremost landowners created an informal council to resolve disputes, coordinate construction, and handle daily governance. This Atuity Triad takes its name from the three eminent citizens who run it, each of whom used their mercenaries, allies, and technologies to establish their claims to large swaths of land in and around Atuity. Their informal oligarchical roles are reinforced by both wealth and respect from Atuity’s longtime residents, and their territorial holdings are backed by Atuity’s charter, granting land to those who can turn it to productive purposes. That said, all three know that they could lose everything to a high-ranking Azlanti noble’s whim or the new standard imposed by Veskarium invaders. Their strength lies not in military force, but in economic and social cunning. People trust them, no doubt because the triad cares about Atuity as a community, not just as an asset. However, the Triad is now conflicted, with each leader thinking it best to support a different faction. Ultimately, they believe in each other more than any potential ally, and once there’s a strategy the majority supports, the third leader will fall in line. Collectively, the Atuity Triad wants stability, prosperity, and validation. The Drift beacons could bring vast amounts of trade, and the triad wants its cut. It also wants to avert major bloodshed as factions squabble over Kehtaria’s fate. Finally, it wants formal political power that some emperor can’t just take away, plus greater authority to explore and develop nearby lands. Each of the leaders has additional objectives that they believe will secure peace and prosperity for their home. Born to the lowest yet nevertheless privileged illustri class, Xiomon (LN nonbinary Azlanti envoy) is fully cognizant of Atuity’s unique, fairly equitable dynamic where non-Azlanti enjoy nearly equal rights and opportunities. Their decades on Kehtaria have untrained many of their old prejudices. They worry that it’s only a matter of time before the Aeon Throne reasserts its control here, at which point the Aeon Guard will obliterate any hint of rebellion, destroying everything they’ve built. To Xiomon, it’s far better to support the Azlanti, preserve the freedoms they’ve already won, and benefit from Atuity’s relevance as a Drift hub.

67 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES BEACONS OF WAR Ekentas (NG male neskintiAP8 mystic) feels deep loyalty to Kehtaria, not just due to the freedoms he enjoys here, but also because he’s nurtured a supernatural bond to the planet over the past decade. He recognizes that no matter which political behemoth controls Kehtaria, the newly accessible planet will suffer, stripped of its natural resources and beauty by ravenous empires. As a result, Ekentas support true independence for Kehtaria. There’s little of Atuity’s infrastructure that Sarca (N female gosclawAP8 mechanic) didn’t personally install or inspect, and she’s established a tiny dominion of workshops, factories, and repair bays since moving here. Sarca views her wealth and status as just rewards for her tireless work and dedication, especially given the Azlanti Star Empire’s neglect. Her fear is that without dedicated protection, Atuity will crumble or become a den of scoundrels, destroying all she’s created. Thus, Sarca welcomes the capable Veskarium, which she believes will provide evenhanded support and rights. Through service and respect, the PCs can steer the Atuity Triad’s preferences and strategy. Early on, assisting any of the factions to maintain peace and help Atuity expand pleases the triad. However, each passing day makes the triad more nervous, and the leaders would prefer some peaceful resolution to who controls Kehtaria—that is, assisting one of the other factions and ensuring the triad has a powerful role in whatever government results. All three want to better understand what lies in the imperial preserve for different reasons. Xiomon worries about Kehtaria’s hidden dangers; after all, the ancient pictograms speak to some slumbering society that might yet threaten Atuity, and reports of nearby immolsivixes become more dire every week. The more the PCs can document and learn how to neutralize these prospective threats, the better. Ekentas is a passionate naturalist with magical ties to Kehtaria, yet there are limits to what he can understand through mysticism alone. He wants the PCs to recover samples, provide reports of unique life forms, and analyze the local ecology, helping him understand how to best channel his powers and protect the town. He hopes detailed studies might attract Xenowardens to help defend much of the planet from exploitation. Sarca is an entrepreneur who needs to know what other resources Kehtaria has to offer, and she commissions the PCs to obtain mineral samples, track down old Azlanti settlements, and find economical uses for the planet’s abundant life-forms. Kehtarian Independence Independence is exactly that: no direct control by the Veskarium, Azlanti Star Empire, the Acuity Triad, or other outside power, but rather self-rule with a newly created government. The prospect of true independence has barely registered in most citizens’ minds, stymied further by nobody being brave enough to lead this difficult, dangerous endeavor. This outcome represents a freeform objective designed for the PCs to take the lead, playing various sides off one another while building up resources to defend Kehtaria’s sovereignty against all comers. NEW THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES Just as the PCs catch their breath and admire their handiwork, Kehtaria provides new dangers that engage each of the factions. Palace of Mold When a rumble shakes Atuity, both the Azlanti and vesk initially assume that the other side has opened fire with artillery. However, longtime residents know that this effect comes from immolsivixes, gigantic beasts that burrow through the layers of organic litter. The factions calm down, yet the city experiences violent quakes daily that the ramshackle architecture can’t withstand. One immolsivix quake is nothing to worry about, but this many this close to Atuity is unprecedented. Neither the vesk nor the Azlanti are willing to weaken their respective positions by dispatching scouts to investigate, so it falls to the PCs to track, study, and ideally divert the immolsivixes. EIRAN

GM RESOURCES 68 ADVENTURES As they burrow, immolsivixes leave behind large tunnels that collapse gradually over several years, creating habitats for other creatures. The PCs’ investigations eventually lead into tunnel systems around and under Atuity. Not only does navigating these passages test the PCs’ skills (including Acrobatics, Athletics, and Survival), but it also brings the explorers face to face with Kehtaria’s dangerous subterranean flora and fauna. The PCs want to identify what’s attracting the immolsivixes. Is Atuity built atop the forgotten ruins of whatever society once inhabited Kehtaria? If so, has something activated within those ruins that calls to the creatures? Is this a site that immolsivixes travel toward once a century to perform some important part of their life cycle or fulfill some important element of their culture? Perhaps there’s something in the wilderness that has scared the immolsivixes, pushing them toward Atuity. Has the heavy construction and traffic of Atuity created tremors that attracted the creatures? Will the immolsivixes remain a problem as long as this expansion continues? It’s unlikely that the PCs are sufficiently powerful enough to defeat an immolsivix. In fact, the more they explore, the more likely the PCs will become an immolsivix’s quarry. Encountering an immolsivix could easily turn into a chase, where the PCs attempt a series of skill checks to vault obstructions, climb slopes, create distractions, and remember which way leads to an exit, all while the angry creature barrels after them, occasionally slowed by having to clear a partially collapsed tunnel to accommodate its body. There’s a good chance the PCs will need to fight off an immolsivix in earnest, though, and they’ll need backup. The PCs can devise an ambush or other advantageous confrontation once they know the tunnels; at which point, they’ll need firepower. That’s where the PCs’ growing alliances come into play. With a clear objective, can they unite the vesk and Azlanti long enough to fight off one of these creatures? Can they convince either side to deploy heavy artillery (like the Red Clarion’s arsenal) once the PCs lure an immolsivix to an exposed area? Can the PCs convince a force to team up with them to seek glory in battle and earn the praise of Atuity’s citizens? Assuming the PCs do succeed, what is the cost? Can Atuity afford to repeat this strategy each time another beast lumbers by? Threat of Immolation As the PCs bring some much-needed stability to Atuity, various powers feel secure enough to risk exploring further afield. Finding the lost Azlanti colonies could prove especially intriguing. What caused these earlier operations to fail, and what had they found? Might these vanished operations contain clues to the planet’s riches, helping Kehtaria fund its own defenses and reinforce Atuity? Scouting forays eventually uncover one of the missing sites, an expansive mining operation buried beneath a century of fungal growth. Only the tips of taller buildings peek from accumulated biomass along a tall hill’s slopes. Building interiors not entirely reclaimed by the local flora reveal an eerily industrial habitat that occasionally intersects with excavated tunnels through the surrounding decay. Some records survive, indicating not only mineral wealth, but also possible uses for a wide variety of the fungi growing here. Most noteworthy are the immolsivixes’ mutualistic fungi, whose flammable properties are key to igniting, clearing, and renewing large stretches of landscape. It becomes increasingly clear that the Azlanti mining operation might not have found just minerals; it found an extinct caldera and major nesting site where immolsivixes reproduce, using the vantage point as a chimney to spread burning spores for miles. Scorched sections of the mine’s infrastructure suggest this area burned fiercely since construction, and signs of immolsivix traffic suggest another wildfire event might be imminent. The mine represents both an opportunity and a threat. Who owns the mine and the wealth it might extract, especially given the imperial preserve forbids Azlanti development of that region? Might the mine spark new fighting in Atuity? Is it worth antagonizing the immolsivixes further to develop this resource? If so, how can Atuity coax the creatures away from the area? If the PCs push for preserving the immolsivixes’ nesting site, how can the PCs protect Atuity from burning down in the eventual fires? This campaign involves extensive exploration of a planet where aquatic, forest, and subterranean biomes are most prevalent. Rules for environments begin on page 394 in the Core Rulebook, with settlement guidelines on page 405. Systems for exploring an open map appear in the Galaxy Exploration Manual, along with tools for bringing these biomes to life during gameplay and creating compelling side quests. As a sandbox adventure, this campaign thrives on not only action and exploration, but also what the PCs do between adventures. The downtime system in the Character Operations Manual helps to frame what the PCs might accomplish each day; don’t be shy about creating additional downtime actions to represent their ongoing work around Atuity. Especially if they push for Kehtaria’s independence and become local leaders, the PCs might take a more direct hand in Atuity’s governance and expansion, in which case, the charter development system in Starfinder Adventure Path #40: Planetfall could guide that process and its benefits. The Azlanti Star Empire and Veskarium feature heavily in this adventure. You can learn more about the Azlanti Star Empire’s culture and inhabitants in Starfinder Adventure Path #8: Escape from the Prison Moon, and you can read about Veskarium cultures and worlds in Near Space. Finally, Kehtaria is home to myriad plants and animals, providing a wealth of ferocious threats in addition to many soldiers with frayed nerves. Due to the role fire plays in maintaining the primary ecosystems, consider adding a small amount of fire resistance to creatures that don’t have it already. CREATURE CR Aeon GuardAA 3 Azlanti AdjutantAP7 3 KsarikAA 4 Azlanti Battle RobotAP9 6 MoonflowerAA2 8 Ignurso, MasonAA4 11 Immolsivix (page 155) 13

69 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES BEACONS OF WAR Imperial Repercussions Whether the PCs decide that Atuity should remain under the control of the Azlanti Empire, place itself under the protection of the Veskarium, or operate as an independent port, matters become complicated when a Sovereign Vindicator (a tier 18 Colossal starship from page 53 of Starfinder Adventure Path #7: The Reach of Empire) arrives, boldly affirming the Azlanti Star Empire’s claim to and control over Kehtaria. Uneasiness grips residents on the ground as the Vindicus Tyrant and Sovereign Vindicator loom above them in the daytime sky. Even the tides yield to the gravitational pull of the ships. They parallel each other, as though locked in a still-life of war, coldly taunting their opposite number. By now, the Red Clarion has repaired its damage and further upgraded its systems, making it a fair match for the Vindicator. The Veskarium forces that arrived here accidentally now feel a major stake in Kehtaria’s fate—ideally under their control, but at least as a neutral port welcoming vesk traffic. Captain Vasoya has no interest in backing down. Assuming the PCs haven’t undermined Commander Eiran’s faction, even he is wary of the Vindicator, knowing that not only might his failure to maintain control here be considered a capital offense, but also that sustained combat in high orbit could rain collateral destruction on Atuity. Street skirmishes between factions break out anew. By now, the PCs are a major influence in Atuity and can tip the balance. They might leverage their political capital to mediate a truce between the two powers, finding some solution that preserves each side’s pride. Keeping both starships near Kehtaria might be key to maintaining a balance of power on the planet, buying Atuity an opportunity to achieve a shadow of real independence. After all, if neither empire’s willing to risk fighting the other for control, Kehtaria can enjoy cautious freedom. Alternatively, the PCs might exploit the stand-off to sabotage one of the starships. Scans show that neither ship is fully staffed, and with each being thousands of feet long, there’s a lot of potential for the PCs to sneak aboard and inflict damage, buying the other starship an opening to attack and prevail. Especially savvy PCs might even infiltrate and sabotage both ships and then provoke some conflict that results in the starships’ mutual destruction. Whatever their approach, the PCs can shape Kehtaria’s future. This is but the first step, though. Even if they secure a win today, the Veskarium and Azlanti Star Empire are immense. Should either restabilize properly from the Drift Crisis’s damage, they will no doubt seek out Kehtaria to sweep into their sphere of influence. AEON STONES Aeon stones (Core Rulebook 222) are enchanted gems that grant a magical effect while orbiting the user’s head, though Azlanti armor and other technologies often implant aeon stones directly into armor or even flesh. TABLE 2–2: AEON STONES ITEM LEVEL PRICE BULK Banded malachite cabochon 4 2,100 — Kehtarite oval 5 3,000 — Lusinite rose 8 9,500 — BANDED MALACHITE CABOCHON LEVEL 4 This aeon stone functions as a specialized scrying sensor that’s constantly alert for a specific trigger. Once per hour as a move action, you can task the aeon stone with watching for a specific simple stimulus such as “any Medium or larger creature,” “the sound of an approaching creature,” or “smoke.” The aeon stone constantly perceives your surroundings in a 30-foot radius with human-like senses and darkvision; the stone cannot detect anything beyond that range. The stone has a +15 modifier to Life Science, Perception, or Physical Science checks to identify that assigned stimulus. If the stone senses the stimulus, it telepathically signals you, imparting information about the stimulus’s direction and distance for 1 round. The stone can provide up to three such signals per hour and no more than one per minute. The stone watches for its assigned stimulus until you deactivate the aeon stone or task it with detecting a new stimulus. KEHTARITE OVAL LEVEL 5 Although found on other worlds, the brittle blue mineral kehtarite is named after and is especially prevalent on Kehtaria, where it’s often incorporated into fire-suppressing insulation. While this aeon stone orbits you, it inhibits nearby combustion. You gain a +4 circumstance bonus to saving throws against the burning condition, and you automatically extinguish any nonmagical fires in your space or any squares you enter, to a maximum of 20 5-foot cubes per minute. When any burst or emanation that deals fire damage or has the fire descriptor (such as an incendiary grenade or explosive blast) is centered on a space or intersection within your reach, as a reaction, you can drain the aeon stone’s magic and attempt a Reflex save against the effect’s save DC (or DC 13 plus half the effect’s item level or CR if it doesn’t have a saving throw) to suppress the effect. If you succeed, you delay the effect for 1 round, after which it takes effect as normal. When drained in this way, the aeon stone provides no further benefits for 24 hours. LUSINITE ROSE LEVEL 8 Renowned for its iridescence, the gemstone lusinite has a dazzling quality that often sees the mineral hoarded by birds and other animals as treasures. As an aeon stone, it captivate creatures in three ways. As part of the action used to cast a spell with the charm descriptor, you can activate this aeon stone to negate any bonus to the saving throw one target might receive for being threatened or attacked by you or your allies. Second, you can activate the aeon stone as a reaction when you attempt a Charisma check to convince a charmed creature to follow your suggestions. Third, you can activate the aeon stone as a reaction when a threatening behavior by you or your allies would end the effects of your spell with the charm descriptor. The charmed creature attempts a Will save against the spell with a +5 enhancement bonus; if it succeeds, it ends the spell as normal, but if it fails, that threatening action does not break the spell (though subsequent actions might do so). You can activate the lusinite rose twice per day, using any combination of these three effects. A creature is immune to the aeon stone’s effects if it cannot see the item.

70 ADVENTURES Disrupted communications left the Corpse Fleet’s far-flung starships on their own to assess the situation and react. Roughly half the fleet laid low and awaited instructions, while the other half opportunistically raided equally confused and isolated worlds. When communications resumed, the fleet’s admirals were incommunicado, having sequestered themselves to formulate a grander plan. When they emerged, they reorganized the Corpse Fleet into six armadas, which they dispatch toward the Pact Worlds with dreams of conquest. Coordination is spotty among these armadas, thanks to unpredictable Drift-based communiques, and each group is following broad orders in relative isolation, reinterpreting directives independently with each new development. Communication officers resend messages to missing starships, hoping to rally scattered forces and exploit this vital opportunity. The more of these missives they broadcast, the more likely it is that one of the Corpse Fleet’s enemies will intercept them. This adventure hook assumes that the Pact Worlds obtain just such a missive, likely from an error in the Drift transmission delivering the message to the wrong device. Alternatively, the PCs might be exploring a derelict Corpse Fleet starship—or even repairing the ship after becoming lost during the Drift Crash— when the ship’s computer receives the message, giving the PCs crucial intelligence about the mounting attack. OPENING PLAYS The PCs can either become involved accidentally by recovering a message from the Corpse Fleet, get asked to help because they’re already highly capable adventurers with connections in the Pact Worlds, or both. Even in calmer times, credible news of the Corpse Fleet’s return would trigger uproar in the Pact Worlds. With the chaos of the Drift Crisis, it could inspire absolute panic. The first priority for Pact Worlds leaders is keeping this information secret, sharing it only with key governments and agencies to begin coordinating a response. Behinds the scenes, leaders of the Stewards, Starfinder Society, and more receive briefings soliciting covert assistance. The PCs might be specialists from these organizations tasked with sensitive missions for the Pact Worlds’ government. Slowly, the system prepares for impact. Everyone except Eox. Ever since the Corpse Fleet’s departure centuries ago, Eox’s leaders have disowned the undead rebels, outwardly contributing in good faith to the Pact Worlds’ livelihood. However, there are Corpse Fleet sympathizers throughout Eoxian society, and top politicians and military experts worry that Eox’s glacial response to this invasion signals that their longtime ally is planning betrayal, fighting off dissidents from within, or both. While Pact Council negotiators work openly to encourage Eox’s participation, they needs covert professionals—the PCs—to investigate what’s really going on. This sets up an intrigue-heavy campaign where the Corpse Fleet has major schemes in play that the PCs might thwart in any order, saving the Shock and Awe (page 72) objective for last. Even learning about these objectives requires connections and trust earned through favors and quelling lesser threats. For example, Eoxian elites might be developing Corpse Fleet sympathies, and the PCs must identify and politically neutralize ringleaders while navigating high-society functions. The PCs might investigate sleeper cells of undead agents who are only now activating to sabotage pro-Pact Eoxian resources, requiring careful sleuthing to track and thwart the masterminds before they destroy a crucial objective. Corpse Fleet agents might have already taken over military assets discreetly, pushing the PCs to infiltrate military compounds to disable those weapons and rescue hostages without being seen violating Eox’s sovereignty. Perhaps stopping Corpse After the Pact Worlds’ unification centuries ago, a large portion of Eox’s armada sneered and departed, refusing to demean themselves by allying with the living. Known as the Corpse Fleet, this group of dissidents has bided their time, watching from afar and waiting for the right moment to strike out against the Pact Worlds and anyone allied with them. The Drift Crisis offers just that, leaving several protectorates isolated and vulnerable to a Corpse Fleet invasion. CORPSE FLEET OPPORTUNISTS FACTIONS: Corpse Fleet and the Stewards LOCATIONS: Eox, Verces, Corpse Fleet bases in remote parts of the galaxy LEVELS 10-20 CALLING IN SUPPORT Wrangling the support of bone sages, uncovering Pharasmin accusations against an entire planet, and more can be a heavier load than the PCs bargained for, and even high-level agents might need help. Campaigns like this are a terrific opportunity to let elite PCs develop teams of spies and operatives who can help them achieve global goals. The PCs’ Pact Council contacts might supply them with their starting team, only for the PCs to expand and direct the professionals from there. This might strictly be a flavorful perk to keep the narrative moving, or you could use the leadership system (Galaxy Exploration Manual 100) to provide more specific tracking and benefits.

71 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX CORPSE FLEET OPPORTUNISTS Fleet agents isn’t the PCs’ goal. Instead, the PCs need to attract media attention to an upcoming attack, intervening to save innocents from the collateral damage but ensuring the explosive display occurs, pressuring Eoxian officials to acknowledge the threat posed from within. The PCs might also act as supplemental emissaries, tasked with securing a meeting with the Eternal Convocation—an elite council overseeing Eoxian affairs—that other ambassadors haven’t managed during these crucial days. Sympathetic Eoxian elites like bone sages might sponsor the PCs, but only if the PCs prove themselves useful and trustworthy. Devastating as the Drift Crisis is, the chaos provides opportunities for power, profit, and outwitting colleagues, so earning such an elite’s trust might involve sabotaging their rivals, helping claim once-forbidden territories, or stealing a relic dating back to the pre-Gap era. Perhaps the most crucial and recalcitrant supporter the PCs can impress is the Festrog Queen of Karus, a bone sage who has long protested the Pact and refuses to allow the living onto her lands, yet even she seems wary of the Corpse Fleet’s return. After centuries of grudging compliance with Eox’s government, she might fear being treated as a traitor by the Corpse Fleet, being punished for assumed Corpse Fleet sympathies, or both. The Festrog Queen also controls Eox’s militarized satellite, the Sentinel; however, her apparent silence concerns the Eternal Convocation. Anyone who could win her favor and assurances that she’ll defend Eox would earn the convocation’s appreciation and attention. As the PCs secure favor and respect, their powerful associates increasingly share theories and concerns about probable, greater threats that aren’t safe to voice around just anyone. After all, any undead being might be a Corpse Fleet spy, whereas the PCs having Corpse Fleet sympathies is extremely unlikely. Under the right circumstances, the PCs might meet with the Eternal Convocation itself. The convocation is infamous for its lengthy deliberation, so even if the PCs make a convincing case, they’ll need to thwart other schemes while Eox’s leaders plot their course. Even then, bone sages remain targets for Corpse Fleet assassins hoping to tip the balance, and the PCs might find themselves thwarting surgical strikes as often as performing them themselves. CONDEMNATION OF GRAVES Corpse Fleet scout ships arrive, their images spreading across the infospheres and corroborating longtime conspiracies that Eox has always aided the Corpse Fleet. The PCs might have cajoled the Eternal Convocation into aiding the Pact Worlds, but is the public willing to accept Eox’s help? Among the harshest critics are Pharasma’s faithful, especially those based on Eox at the Spiral Basilica like the outspoken priest Sister Morraine (NE female lashunta mystic). Not only does she speak defiantly of decades of depravities she witnessed directly in her service on the planet, but the charismatic priest also possesses various damning documents that she doles out to public infospheres and news agencies to build a case

72 ADVENTURES against Eox. Sister Morraine is living proof of Eoxians’ fear that the Pact Worlds at large never truly accepted them, instead viewing the undead as monsters to be sacrificed on the altar of public opinion at the first sign of trouble. Whatever aid the PCs secured seems poised to fail before it even started! Most of her colleagues cautiously accept Sister Morraine’s accusations, yet inconsistencies lead some journalists and Pact Worlds officials to question the narrative. Going into damage control, the PCs’ Pact Council contacts task the PCs with investigating Sister Morraine’s claims. When remote research turns up more flags about the priest, the PCs need to visit the Spiral Basilica to question its staff, check its archives, fact-check the Eoxian atrocities blamed on undead, and even confront Sister Morraine—and none of these parties appreciate the PCs’ snooping about. The more the PCs find, the closer they get to the truth: the incendiary priest is an undead Corpse Fleet spy masquerading as an influential Pharasmin, using her disguise to convince Eox to abandon the Pact Worlds altogether. No matter if the real Sister Morraine is held hostage elsewhere, killed so that the spy could wear her skin and assume her form, or never actually existed at all, unveiling her true nature undercuts the whole Pharasmin critique of Eox in this difficult time. The news swiftly earns Eox sympathy and support, and no doubt earns the PCs retaliation from the Corpse Fleet spy and her minions. SCORCHED EOX While Sister Morraine weakens Eox’s alliances, her incendiary speeches and agents’ sabotage distract from a greater heist: usurping the Sentinel, the massive, militarized satellite orbiting Eox. Not only would controlling this neutralize one of the Pact Worlds’ greatest defenses, but these saboteurs intend to direct the Sentinel’s weaponry at the Eternal Convocation, destroying those undead leaders who sympathize with the living. Before the Drift Crisis, the Corpse Fleet installed spies within the Sentinel’s personnel, including both familiar undead as well as insidious parasites called ossiworm agents (page 158) that have been implanted in the Sleepless Watch, the Sentinel’s guards. For years, these spies have assessed the Sentinel’s weaknesses and studied its operation, and upon receiving the Corpse Fleet’s signal, they initiate a slow takeover by planting explosive charges throughout the satellite, forcing pro-Pact colleagues to defect, and abducting those who won’t. Their plan is destructively simple: usurp the Sentinel, use its armaments to destroy key targets on and near Eox, and then (if needed) destroy the Sentinel to ensure it can’t be recaptured. For now, the infiltrators act cautiously, preferring to launch their attack shortly before the Corpse Fleet’s arrival. Not everything goes according to plan, though. As Eoxian sympathies (especially those of the Festrog Queen, who oversees the Sentinel) turn against the Corpse Fleet, the saboteurs accelerate their plans and prepare to go out in a blaze of glory. But though the Corpse Fleet believes its sleeper agents to be absolutely loyal, some of them aren’t keen to sacrifice their immortality for this mission. Stricken by self-preservation or patriotism, a few agents defect. Among these is Lockik (NE female ghoulAA2 operative), who’s experiencing cold feet about committing treason. She’s an unlikely ally, and while her motivations are suspect, even her incomplete knowledge of the Sentinel scheme indicates a credible threat. If the PCs have secured the Festrog Queen’s grudging support, she grows furious that her most powerful weapon is compromised. She realizes that any direct attack would only spook the infiltrators, who would destroy the Sentinel altogether. Thus, she gathers two small teams of trustworthy agents: those few elite undead she has available as well as the PCs (possibly with Lockik as a guide). Her plan is to embed both teams on the Sentinel to disarm the explosives, identify the traitors, and neutralize them. In the event the PCs aren’t on good terms with the Festrog Queen, their bone sage patrons might secure safe passage through her to execute this plan, or they might arrange for the PCs to be smuggled aboard, but either case likely involves the PCs having fewer allies on the satellite. For a longer adventure, this could be a multi-day operation with the PCs performing extensive reconnaissance, chatting with unsuspecting colleagues, and covert operations adjudicated well with downtime (Starfinder Character Operations Manual 150). The longer the PCs can maintain their ruse and quietly eliminate the infiltrators, the easier it becomes to reclaim control of the Sentinel. On the other hand, this might be an ideal time to set subtlety aside and present this as an intense dungeon crawl where, once the PCs disarm the immediate threat of demolitions, they can charge ahead with guns blazing! SHOCK AND AWE Even with Eox’s renewed support, the Pact Worlds are juggling too many crises to direct their full firepower against a looming threat. Fortunately, a more aggressive, smaller force might accomplish what a larger defensive investment couldn’t. Recognizing that the Corpse Fleet continues to muster outside the Pact Worlds, the Eternal Convocation and the Stewards decide to send a coalition fleet to launch a surprise attack against the renegade armada. The goal is to shatter their forces far from innocent bystanders, spoiling the invasion before it begins and sparing the Pact Worlds from collateral damage. This showdown could easily play out in two ways, depending on the group’s preferences. First, this is an excellent opportunity for the PCs to lead a diverse array of starships using armada combat (Starfinder Starship Operations Manual 58). The combination of Stewards vessels and Eoxian starships make for an eclectically memorable armada that readily includes contributions from any of the allies the PCs made earlier in the campaign, providing them a narrative payoff for their efforts. Enemy Admiral Blue-25 (NE agender lacunal collectorAA4) has mustered an armada geared toward surface bombardment and troop transportation. Although vast, their fleets are vulnerable to sudden attack by ship-to-ship specialists, granting the PCs early successes. That said, the armada’s core has many fearsome vessels, ensuring the battle becomes far more dire after several rounds when the Corpse Fleet regains its bearings. This battle is flashy and fun, a departure from the subtle action earlier in the campaign. Second, the coalition fleet might strike out against a second armada whose location the Pact Worlds has identified. The PCs

73 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES CORPSE FLEET OPPORTUNISTS are sent after the first fleet, not with an armada of their own, but with a midsized Corpse Fleet starship captured and reoutfitted years ago. With a loyal crew of Eoxian starfarers, the PCs must infiltrate the armada while posing as a Corpse Fleet vessel that only recently received the admiral’s call. Once near the flagship, the PCs and several allied boarding crews must scan the ship, identify key objectives, and split up to sabotage the flagship and assassinate Admiral Blue-25. Afterward, the PCs make their perilous exfiltration, no doubt with the countdown timer of their planted explosive charges urging them to hurry. As a third option, combine these two strategies. Perhaps the PCs lead their armada in combat before boarding their own elite vessel and breaking off to raid the flagship. Maybe the PCs infiltrate the flagship, knowing that they have only a limited time to neutralize—or better yet usurp—it before their armada shows up. After all, if the flagship remains in enemy control, then its overwhelming firepower would no doubt devastate the PCs’ allies. If the PCs succeed, their attacks break the Corpse Fleet’s coordination and confidence. Although several smaller armadas raid the Pact Worlds—either hoping to recoup loses or carrying out their earlier plans before realizing their allies aren’t joining them—the system’s forces repel these attacks with minimal losses. If the PCs fail, the Corpse Fleet becomes emboldened and invades. Though ultimately stymied, the attacks devastate several planets, inflicting damage that could take decades to repair. Although both outcomes batter the Corpse Fleet, the undead antagonists retreat to the Vast to rebuild, confident that they’ll one day converge on the Pact Worlds once more. NECROGRAFTS Necrografts are augmentations created through a combination of necromancy and undead components, following the rules and pricing for necrografts on page 94 of Starfinder Armory. HOLLOWED DRUMS SYSTEM Ears Hollowed drums are inserted into your ears and replace the standard eardrums of your species. This necrograft can be activated or deactivated as a swift action. When activated, it deadens sounds you hear, reducing their volume and emotional impact to grant you sonic resistance, a –2 penalty to sound-based Perception checks, and a bonus to saving throws against mind-affecting effects with an auditory component (such as suggestion) that vary based on the model. Mk 1 hollowed drums grant a +1 enhancement save bonus and sonic resistance 2. Mk 2 hollowed drums grant a +1 enhancement save bonus and sonic resistance 5. Mk 3 hollowed drums grant a +2 enhancement save bonus and sonic resistance 8. Mk 4 hollowed drums grant a +3 enhancement save bonus and sonic resistance 15. Mk 5 hollowed drums grant a +3 enhancement save bonus, sonic resistance 20, and grant no penalty to Perception checks while active. SHUFFLING FEET SYSTEM All Feet By replacing your feet with those of a zombie or other slow-moving undead creature, you can move at a deliberate and unpredictable pace that confuses combatants and dampens your footfalls to a lulling susurrus. You can activate shuffling feet when you move while hiding to gain a circumstance bonus to your Stealth checks to remain hidden until the end of your turn. This bonus equals the necrograft’s mark. Alternatively, you can activate shuffling feet when you take a guarded step to increase the distance you move. You can move 10 feet with a guarded step with mk 1 or mk 2 shuffling feet, 15 feet with mk 3 shuffling feet, 20 feet with mk shuffling feet, or up to your speed with mk 5 shuffling feet. After you activate either use of your shuffling feet, you cannot activate them again until you rest for 10 minutes to recover Stamina Points. WITHERED LUNGS SYSTEM Lungs These scarred, shriveled lungs allow you to breathe normally, yet they especially thrive when exposed to harmful airborne effect, such as smoke or an inhaled affliction. As a move action while in the area of an airborne hazard, you can inhale deeply, eliminating the airborne hazard from your space as well as from a number of contiguous 5-foot cubes equal to twice the augmentation’s model. Doing so exposes you to the hazard, though you gain a +4 enhancement bonus to any saving throw to resist initial exposure to the hazard. Upon absorbing a hazard in this way, the lungs process the material into vital energy, and you regain a number of Stamina Points equal to twice the hazard’s CR, twice the level of the item that created the hazard, or twice the CR of the creature that created the effect. Once you inhale a hazard in this way, you cannot do so again until you have rested for 10 minutes to regain Stamina Points. This campaign involves finesse and infiltration on the PCs’ part, so be prepared to provide them equipment such as holoskins to better blend in among Eox’s unliving populace. Undead comprise the majority of foes featured in the adventure, ranging from sentient undead acting as officers and spies to mindless undead used more as juggernauts and shock troops for the Corpse Fleet. Remember that the Corpse Fleet animates corpses from myriad species, so consider alien forms when presenting undead. Creatures and species can be converted to undead agents using the undead creature graft on page 133 of Alien Archive. This campaign involves not only difficult topics but also difficult imagery, so be mindful in your presentation of both. Undead, warfare, and espionage can quickly veer from suspenseful entertainment to gratuitous violence. Likewise, events might threaten civilians regularly, and the ethical lens through which players and PCs view the well-being of undead citizens could become contentious and upsetting. Use narrative safety tools throughout your gameplay and be mindful of your table to ensure player and GM safety and enjoyment. CREATURE CR Lacunal CollectorAA4 1–11 Corpsefolk MarineAA2 7 Bone Trooper CaptainAA2 8 KurobozuAP6 9 Ossiworm Agent (page 158) 10 Ghoul Shock TrooperAA2 11 NecroviteAA 13 GM RESOURCES

74 ADVENTURES As the silence and distance between worlds increased, and as empires and alliances shifted from the galaxy’s collective gaze, the most vulnerable and endangered turned to Absalom Station for guidance and protection. Whether due to the continued influence of the Starstone or some equally extraordinary anomaly, the station remains one of the most predictable destinations in the galaxy, a beacon of hope and stability through the chaos. However, the station’s governing body, the Syndicsguild, is wholly unprepared for a catastrophe on this scale. As Absalom Station’s streets and skies become increasingly crowded, leaders argue about what can realistically be done to assist these refugees given available resources. To manage its unexpected population boom, not only have Absalom Station’s leaders initiated emergency protocols, but they’ve also begun screening and deputizing community leaders to help maintain order and distribute resources. The PCs might be longtime station residents who are answering the call in serving one of these new neighborhoods. It’s also possible the PCs were among the new arrivals, their starship having been shunted near Absalom Station during the Drift Crash. Effectively stranded and surrounded by displaced peers, the PCs are recruited by the Syndicsguild to represent and serve their neighbors’ needs. This campaign focuses on exploration and community building, with the PCs serving as leaders of, troubleshooters for, and liaisons between this growing community of displaced people and Absalom Station’s government. At first, the PCs complete seemingly mundane tasks, but their initiative and kindnesses earn them a growing network of fast friends ready to support them—even in dangerous endeavors like settling part of the haunted Ghost Levels. The adventures include plenty of dungeon crawl action, yet it also has room for extensive roleplaying, downtime activity, and resolving conflicts with soft power. ARMADA ADVOCATES Absalom Station has always boasted a constellation of visiting starships, each orbiting while awaiting an opening to dock and conduct business. Each day of the Drift Crisis expands the Armada, and within a few weeks, a veritable field of spacecraft surrounds the entire station. Near misses between passing vessels spur some starships to anchor themselves to one another to create rafts of interconnected vessels that form extemporaneous communities, to the point that Absalom Station now seems to boast a wide set of orbiting rings like those of Liavara. Meanwhile, the station provides what food, water, and other assistance it can. Most of these distributions take the form of small supply ships that flit from one starship to another, doling out resources with each trip. For some of the composite communities, the station instead sets up more permanent aid stations and medical facilities. However, the influx of travelers and vast numbers mean even Absalom Station’s finest logisticians can’t adequately ensure everyone’s getting a fair share. Tensions run high as supplies regularly go missing, whether due to error, corruption, or theft. Travelers briefly united by their mutual misfortune begin fighting with each other as stress builds and old grudges resurface. Even as station authorities try to meet demand, their failures feed rumors that Absalom Station resents the Armada and hopes to sabotage it. Absalom Station needs help, and it recruits or empowers assistants like the PCs to organize aid, handle disputes, and disarm anyone making trouble for trouble’s sake. Here are a few challenges the PCs might have to resolve. Break-out Beasts: A starship was transporting dangerous creatures to a destination the crew now has no hope of reaching. While the facilities onboard were sufficient for a few weeks of Drift travel, these accommodations aren’t designed for long-term captivity. Whether due to the creatures breaking free of their own accord, a loss of power disabling the security, the crew releasing the creatures to call attention to their starship’s plight, a collision with another starship, intentional sabotage, or something else, the creatures escape, breaking into adjacent starships to which the first vessel is linked. The PCs have to subdue the creatures while preserving life and property as the beasts rampage. Orbiting Extortion: A heavily armed starship crew has established a protection racket over its community. Not only does it steal incoming supplies using neighbors’ stolen identification, but it’s also driven many desperate neighbors to commit petty crimes just to survive—crimes the crew violently suppresses to prove how essential its services are. Fearing retaliation, the community clams up whenever Absalom Station ABSALOM STATION REFUGEES Although the Drift Crisis upset travel across most of the galaxy, passage to Absalom Station has remained relatively stable and secure. Many inhabitants from worlds that have become isolated or endangered have sought refuge at the station, leading to rising population numbers that far exceed its standard capacity. These circumstances finally push Absalom Station’s leaders to break one of their oldest taboos: formally opening the Ghost Levels for exploration, renovation, and settlement. FACTIONS: Starfinder Society LOCATIONS: Absalom Station LEVELS 1–12

75 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ABSALOM STATION REFUGEES investigates, so the PCs need to infiltrate the settlement and stop these bandits from the inside. Despair Made Manifest: The Drift Crisis upended lives, and now tens of thousands of traumatized people orbit the space station. Like an electromagnetic coil, these spiraling emotions have begun manifesting ghosts and poltergeists. The spectral beings aren’t intrinsically malicious, but they feed off the local anxieties and the fearful responses they provoke, creating a cycle of panic. While the PCs can defeat the ghosts by force, the spirits rejuvenate days later as long as the negative emotional conditions persist. Achieving victory means helping the inhabitants more directly: providing them the physical supplies they need, but also connecting on a more personal level to help them navigate this devastating time. Ill-founded Invasion: Clearly, Absalom Station is holding back supplies—or so thinks a charismatic cohort of starship captains. By their reckoning, if the station won’t share what it has, it’s up to them to seize those supplies directly. This can only end in disaster. Absalom Station houses immensely powerful, largely autonomous defenses; launching an attack on the station might bring the full arsenal online, at which point, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the weapons will be able to distinguish bystanders from belligerents. Ideally, the PCs need to avert this attack before it begins. Failing that, they might have to take to the skies to disarm these attackers before they attack the station itself. Lost Relics: Not all of the starships bound for Absalom Station arrive intact. One transport broke apart on exiting the Drift, and while most of its passengers and crew escaped safely and now live in one of the outskirt communities, the starship had been carrying priceless religious relics. Eyewitnesses saw various parties salvaging the wreckage, and now the pious travelers are furious that scavengers might have stolen (and sold) their most sacred possessions. Someone needs to recover these relics, ideally before the travelers decide to take matters into their own hands. CHAOS IN THE COMMUNITY As the days pass and the PCs’ efforts (and those of many others like them) bear fruit, the Armada gradually evolves into more permanent outer districts. Some of these are whole towns from elsewhere in the galaxy that have relocated, forming larger neighborhoods with a distinct cultural identity. Others develop into specialized regions that develop reputations for particular industries, attract large congregations of particular faiths, or both. The following are several newer districts that spring up, as well as the threats they attract. Importantly, the more the PCs help out residents, the more they should feel like hometown heroes whom residents recognize, respect, and reward. Redirected merchant ships struggling to offload their unsolicited cargoes on Absalom Station increasingly congregate into a bustling, shifting trade archipelago dubbed Absalom Alley. Some of the PCs’ new friends set up shop here, providing the PCs not only reliable fences for goods, but also fixers who can track down rare equipment for the PCs at a slight discount. This accumulation of wealth also attracts its share of thieves. As a result, the PCs might be called upon to fend off bandits and protection rackets, track down stolen goods, or deliver sensitive shipments in the chaotic bustle. Faith’s Ring is the largest of the new districts, having formed a contiguous crescent of newly welded-together hulls that form a hodgepodge of temples, plazas, and religious outbuildings. Faiths that were already very popular on Absalom Station (such as those of Abadar, Hylax, Iomedae, and Sarenrae) have set up shop here, providing aid and opportunities for congregants. However, dozens of other religions and subsects are also present. Pharasmin priests and Kuthite prophets preach within earshot of one another, each lecturing passersby on how to weather the Drift Crisis. Chroniclers of Talavet work overtime to reunite shattered families and record broken communities’ histories before they’re lost forever. Deeper within these starships reside even grislier faiths: Laoites run several criminal operations from here, Urgathoan body snatchers launch nighttime raids to scour the outer communities for untended corpses, and a few Devourer gatherings revel in the Crash’s destructive glory. Any or all of these could be allies or antagonists as, with a few exceptions, these faiths are all adjusting to a new normal. One key exception is a small cult of Nyarlathotep, who at first celebrated the Drift Crash’s aftermath, thinking this the beginning of a treacherous new age. However, as Absalom Station’s outskirt communities attain some measure of stability, Nyarlathotep’s followers commit themselves to fomenting chaos in the streets as well as plundering Absalom Station’s most dangerous secrets. These goals manifest in three initiatives. First, the cult recruits heavily, preying upon desperate and bitter newcomers who are willing to do anything to survive. The cultists act as guides, cautioning arrivals about Absalom Station’s callous disregard for refugees. In the same breath, these charlatans lead their marks to safer places where they won’t be preyed upon by common thieves. There, the disoriented travelers receive the supplies they need, all while being fed more tales of Absalom Station’s loathsome decadence. The more a recruit buys into the narrative, the more the cult rewards them with approval, credits, food, and power. Given how readily the Crash ruins lives, and how clueless (or tightlipped) states and faiths are about the cause, Nyarlathotep’s faith finds no trouble enlisting hundreds of avid disciples. Clearly, the Pact Worlds are protecting some terrible secret! Second, the cult sabotages outskirt communities, causing property damage, promoting theft, and sowing distrust among residents. The PCs and their friends likely fall afoul of the cult’s mischief, though investigating the perpetrators initially involves many dead ends and false positives. The greater the chaos, the more Absalom Station’s security staff question whether community leaders like the PCs can help oversee these ramshackle districts. If things go too far, rumors begin to spread that Absalom Station has lost its patience entirely and is preparing to blast apart the outskirt islands, whether they’re occupied or not. This speculation drives more panic, playing into the Nyarlathotep cult’s plot. All this suffering is just a cover for a more profound endeavor: raiding Absalom Station’s Ghost Levels. With most entry points restricted and exploration officially prohibited, it’s

76 ADVENTURES always been clear to the cult that something truly phenomenal and forbidden lies within. As the surface and outskirts are in turmoil, a large cultist expedition takes up residence just inside the Ghost Levels and begins delving. By now, the PCs have discerned who’s behind the ongoing trouble. After first neutralizing the cult leaders in their community and bringing their schemes to light, the PCs track the cultists to the outer Ghost Levels. There, they corner and confront most of the members, recovering enough evidence to help de-escalate the social unrest. A GHOST LEVEL FOOTHOLD Discovered virtually abandoned at the end of the Gap, the Ghost Levels occupy a large portion of Absalom Station’s Spike district. The brave few who first explored those levels soon ran afoul of bizarre creatures, reporting no end to the phantoms, screeching killers, dinosaurs, and more that lived in the station’s heart. Although many advocated purging the Ghost Levels and opening them for settlement, academic interests prevailed. After all, Absalom Station had plenty of available space at that time, and the Ghost Levels housed a rich collection of ecosystems and treasures, possibly even some clues to the Gap or Absalom Station’s origins. Ever since, the Ghost Levels have been cordoned off, with only occasional spelunkers slipping past the barricades, and even fewer returning. With Absalom Station’s population ballooning beyond what it’s everyday infrastructure can support, the outskirt settlements struggling to support this growth, and the logistical costs of constantly ferrying supplies, station leadership has at last suspended one of the oldest taboos: it partially lifts restrictions on the Ghost Levels. This isn’t an unregulated land rush. The PCs—in large part due to their proven competence in thwarting Nyarlathotep’s cultists and surviving a short foray into the Ghost Levels already—are one of a handful of groups given exploration permits, for which they’re expected to document their findings, map the area, and identify relatively safe sections for settlement. Even then, there are large areas that Absalom Station intendeds to leave pristine, ensuring that there will be plenty left to explore for future generations (and allowing the GM to better calibrate this campaign’s scope). In return, the PCs receive a stipend to help cover expenses. They also have a generous looting limit that helps supplement their income. Any excess is sold, with some going to support the new settlement (see An Unlikely Community on page 77) while the rest goes to the station to use as it sees fit. Excessively stripping the Ghost Levels for valuables risks the PCs losing their permit and possibly receiving sanctions. In short, the PCs can enjoy and profit from a dungeon crawl experience as long as they show some restraint. Why restraint? The Ghost Levels are a trove of potential historic discoveries, and recklessness might irrevocably destroy a priceless relic. Many believe that Absalom Station has strong, poorly understood ties to the Drift, and Absalom Station seems connected to the city of Absalom that existed on the lost world of Golarion. The Ghost Levels might hide clues to these mysteries, or divulge secrets associated with the station’s origins or even the Gap itself. Given these hypothesized finds, the Ghost Levels might contain lore that helps understand or undo the Drift Crisis. PCs who care more about lining their pockets than the shelves of libraries or museums can look to turn a profit off the discoveries made in Absalom Station’s partially explored depths. Corporations would pay handsomely to have first access to detailed maps, while some local officials or religious orders may wish to purge gangs or cells of cultists that use the Ghost Levels as a hideout. Relics and artifacts that the PCs choose not to keep can sell for a high price, particularly if they’re presumed to have historical significance. There are numerous likely patrons. The Starfinder Society takes a strong interest, believing itself the foremost authority on archaeological studies. Alternatively, the Society might hold one of the other permits, with its team acting as rivals to the PCs—possibly even exploring part of the PCs’ assigned territory first to ensure that amateurs don’t ruin any evidence. The Society might try to recruit the PCs to join the organization or offer bounties for particular types of relics. The Arcanamirium relishes strange magic, and the Ghost Levels seem replete with odd enchantments. The PCs might secure and serve Arcanamirium patrons by recovering magical trinkets or delivering reports of supernatural phenomena. The Church of Iomedae considers Absalom Station its sacred charge to defend, and the station’s haunted underbelly has perturbed the leaders for generations. Iomedaean patrons might reward the PCs for identifying possible threats to the station or vanquishing known cryptids thought to have emerged from below. Finally, opportunists like the Aspis Consortium are eager to exploit the Ghost Levels’ uncertain riches, and they’re happy to help the PCs smuggle more than the explorers’ fair share of wealth out of these tunnels—for a price. Understanding the Ghost Levels Before setting off, the PCs would do well to learn what they can about the Ghost Levels, which aren’t unexplored so much as underexplored and underreported. Very few official documents exist. Instead, KIRAHI

77 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES ABSALOM STATION REFUGEES the best intelligence comes from a variety of local shop owners, salvagers, thrill seekers, gang members, and residents of the Spike who live unsettlingly close to the forbidden tunnels. The Ghost Levels are primarily a source of mystery and fear, so playing up the strange dangers here will better prepare the PCs for what lurks below. In particular, those who have ventured past the first few levels might recount hearing high-pitched, raspy screams penetrating through the ambient hum of machinery and echoing down tunnels. Some walls are riddled with holes as if scarred by long-forgotten gunfire. Some chambers are empty, whereas others teem with creatures native to distant worlds or otherwise unknown to science. Eyewitnesses have survived largely by not picking fights, noting that head-on confrontations often attract swarms of nearby creatures. The PCs are met with mixed expressions of incredulity and pity if they share that they’ve been hired to systematically chart and clear out the Ghost Levels. The most frequent stomping ground for these tale tellers is the Laughing Lady, a tavern in the Downside neighborhood of the Spike. Run by proprietor Kirahi (N female half-elf), the drinking hole stands near the most easily accessible entrance to the Ghost Levels. It’s often the last stop for bounty hunters, treasure seekers, and other secretive travelers before they venture deeper into the Spike. The place’s name comes from a simple, hand-stuffed doll that often sits on a corner table. The doll contains a simple device, designed for friends and loved ones to record a message that plays when the doll is squeezed. However, instead of an endearing message, this doll plays a different laugh with each squeeze, and some swear the voices on the recordings sound eerily similar to explorers who never returned from the Ghost Levels. No one remembers where the doll came from and, despite efforts to have it destroyed, it always reappears mere days later. Anyone who regales the PCs with a story of someone who emerged from the Ghost Levels alive emphasizes that the survivor is lucky. While occasional excursions have turned up strange and wondrous artifacts, many more were cut short by deadly encounters with horrifying creatures. There’s good reason why the place has been closed off for so long and why exploration had been strictly prohibited until now. An Unlikely Community Just because the PCs open up space along the Ghost Levels’ periphery doesn’t mean residents flood in. The region’s dangerous reputation has quickly spread even among newer arrivals to the Pact Worlds. However, a small subset of newcomers are willing to take the risk: the outskirts residents whom the PCs have helped in the adventures leading up to now. This community provides the PCs friendly faces to return to, a regular break from adventuring, and a chance for the PCs to reinforce relationships and help their extended found family set up shop. This also creates a point of vulnerability where the PCs’ allies might periodically come under threat. Living near the Ghost Levels is dangerous, and creatures the PCs inadvertently rile might torment the community. As the PCs defeat, dispel, and displace mysterious forces from the Ghost Levels, phenomena might take root in the settlement: residents begin to sleepwalk, start aging (or reverse aging) rapidly, experience shared dreams, sneeze lightning, or spontaneously develop new senses. While the occurrences aren’t typically deadly, any particularly harmful or detrimental effects might discourage the settlement’s growth. Tales of the PCs’ successes might attract opportunists hoping to swindle or rob the settlement, thinking it an easy target. Absalom Station authorities might start muscling in, hoping to claim credit for (and subsequently tax proceeds from) the community, driving the PCs back to Absalom’s upper levels to secure political protections. Unofficially, residents of the upper levels view Spike residents with some disdain, so the PCs might have to fight rumors that their new home is a haven for criminals, lowlifes, and the unwanted, impeding the community’s welfare. Above all, this community’s a living testament to the PCs’ efforts, and they should be able to steer its development. THE DESCENT The Ghost Levels represent a tangled network of tunnels and caverns housing a vast array of ecosystems and dozens of floors. Some of the inhabitants seem unique to the station, whereas others apparently arrived by some now-forgotten combination of portals, crash landings, or purposeful introduction likely lost to the Gap. Unlikely environments might neighbor one another. Overall, the Ghost Levels are designed to let a GM showcase whatever microclimates and self-contained stories they like. Outer regions near the Ghost Levels’ entrances are relatively benign, even mundane, but the deeper the PCs travel, the stranger the wildlife, magic, and topography becomes; this allows a GM to scale up difficulty more naturally as the PCs become increasingly capable explorers. Keep in mind that the Ghost Levels are a living system. Clearing an area might be only a temporary measure, as other creatures tend to occupy areas left vacant for too long. Creatures from nearby habitats might wander into the PCs’ current area, investigating the sounds of combat, especially if lured by undershrikes (page 165). To an extent, even the infrastructure seems alive. Many walls blend industrial components with stone or organic material. The whole area exudes a strange, ambient magic that can trigger rapid temperature shifts, localized gravitational realignment, scrambled communications, or shared hallucinations. Murals and wall carvings depicting lost worlds come to life, and light sources blink off without warning. Throughout it all, there’s an ineffable sense of being observed. Undershrikes patrol the tunnels. These beings occupy a strange niche, acting like wardens and living alarms for the Ghost Levels. They’re commonly the reason most surviving explorers flee, chased by the aberrations’ keening wails and the rumble of countless creatures stampeding through the tunnels to answer their call. The undershrikes’ motivations are yours to explore. Are they tirelessly territorial, protecting lands they consider their own? Are they cursed in some way, and can the PCs uncover and neutralize the source? Might the undershrikes eventually recognize the PCs as part of the Ghost Levels, and either ignore or befriend them? What of those areas even the undershrikes dare not tread, areas that happen to overlap with sections Absalom Station has forbidden the PCs to explore?

78 ADVENTURES The following present a non-exhaustive array of Ghost Level regions the PCs might explore. Absalom Below: This domed cavern houses an orange-leafed jungle through which runs a wide, placid river fed by a waterfall with no apparent source. The peaceful ambiance is regularly shattered by the vibrant tree fruits that resemble humanoid heads and periodically scream in agony. Apocalypse Wastes: A series of rocky caverns surround one larger cave with a grim altar. Periodically, cults dedicated to a host of fiendish demigods bud from the living stone to battle one another to determine their respective patrons’ supremacy. All the while, localized quakes cause rockfalls, spill magma, and inflict other tiny catastrophes. This place might be left alone forever, if not for a given cult sometimes winning so decisively that its survivors delve into other areas in search of sacrifices. Council of Phantoms: This multistory palace’s architectural style comes from some forgotten time and place. Ghosts traverse its halls, and while they enthusiastically chat with strangers, they struggle to remember life details, and they cite unknown historical events. Are these survivors of the Gap, Absalom Station’s builders, or some other ancient society? Intruders had best beware, though, for the palace has a jealous intelligence that clings to anyone who lingers too long, endeavoring to trap visitors to become part of this spectral diorama. The Flumes: Like an immense digestive tract or living sewer, this subterranean fen bristles with pipe-like tubeworms that feed on detritus washed in from other areas. A black dragon rules this squamous fiefdom, exacting punishing tribute from any who trespass and mercilessly stalking those who escape without appeasing the dragon’s sadistic demands. The Null-Space Grotto: Amid a forest of stalagmites stand nine stone columns polished to a mirror-bright shine, each pillar apparently connected to one of the nine Outer Planes. Every column’s surface displays a shifting landscape from that plane, and viewers see themselves reflected as outsiders from that realm. Supposedly, each column acts as a gateway to the reflected plane, though nobody agrees on how the stones activate or how long the portals remain open. Supposedly a tenth column appears periodically, whisking away curious souls. Parallel Forests: A vast cavern contains a forest of towering trees whose canopies barely brush against a second forest of uninhabited skyscrapers that stretch from the ceiling like stalactites. A network of vines spiderwebs between the two landscapes and supports dozens of brachiating species. Massive dinosaurs rule the forest floor below. The Techropolis: Purple-skinned goblins mine this cavern, whose walls aren’t comprised of rock but instead of compressed technological debris. The goblins have built a sophisticated junk kingdom, including a high-walled sacred platform where they have nearly finished building an oxidized god. If given suitable technology as tribute, might these goblins become allies? Just how divine is the god they’re building? Will it be powered by the goblins’ ingenuity and faith, or is it actually an extraplanar trap designed to capture and draw energy from a powerful outsider?

79 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES ABSALOM STATION REFUGEES CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE Where the adventure ends is up to you. This could readily conclude once the PCs have explored the Ghost Levels nearest their settlement, leaving the rest to future generations. What’s important is that there’s a new home for the PCs’ friends. The campaign could also extend indefinitely. After all, the Ghost Levels are functionally limitless, with the strange geometry of Absalom Station’s interior potentially adding even more space. The PCs’ discoveries might eventually introduce friction, though. Absalom Station authorities intervene, telling the PCs they’ve gone far enough, but what’s triggered this response? Does the Syndicsguild know what lies below and want it protected? Are the station leaders unsure of what the PCs will find, yet have cause to worry? Were the Ghost Levels created to seal something away, protect it for future generations, or enlighten future travelers with the wisdom to overcome any crisis (like a prophesied Drift Crisis)? Perhaps traveling too deep brings the PCs too close to a way to reach the fabled Starstone, and tampering with those forbidden caverns might unleash unspeakable horrors that have bathed in the divine energies for centuries. Or might the PCs be too close to discovering a backdoor that could empower them to become demigods? Absurd as some of these might seem, Absalom Station is a miraculous location, and the Ghost Levels represent the heart of its mysteries. TECHNOLOGICAL ITEMS The following technological gear can help explorers delve the Ghost Levels and survive to tell the tale. ITEM LEVEL PRICE Snapshot sphere 2 825 Cartographer boots 4 2,100 Echo gloves 4 2,000 CARTOGRAPHER BOOTS LEVEL 4 PRICE 2,100 CAPACITY 40 USAGE 4/HOUR HANDS — BULK L These practical boots have integrated sensors that, when activated, track your footsteps and use that data to create a crude, three-dimensional map of where you move while using your land speed. This data is automatically uploaded to a designated comm unit within 30 feet. Periodically reviewing this map provides you a +1 circumstance bonus to checks to find hidden doors, passages, and other concealed architecture in the traversed area, as well as a +2 circumstance bonus to Survival checks to avoid getting lost. Variants of these boots exist for other movement types, such as wing-mounted sensors for flight or a lightweight tail harness for swim speeds. ECHO GLOVES LEVEL 4 PRICE 2,000 CAPACITY 20 USAGE 10 HANDS — BULK L These rugged gloves have thick, sensor-laden pads along the palms. When placed against a 10-foot surface (such as a floor or section of wall) and activated as a standard action, the gloves emit a sharp, seismic pulse, analyzes the rebounding waves, and publishes its analysis to a designated comm unit within 30 feet. The readout conveys the thickness of the analyzed 10-footsquare surface (to a maximum thickness of 5 feet), which might help identify weak points or hidden passages. It also grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to Engineering to assess stability and Perception checks to find hidden features in the surface. The pulse created is virtually imperceptible, though it’s easily sensed by creatures that can sense the affected surface with blindsense (vibration) or blindsight (vibration). SNAPSHOT SPHERE LEVEL 2 PRICE 825 CAPACITY 20 USAGE 5 HANDS 1 BULK L Activated by clicking an inset button and tossing the sphere up to 30 feet, a snapshot sphere performs an instantaneous, 30-foot radius, 360-degree scan of its surroundings a second later. This image is uploaded to a designated comm unit as well as to a set of glasses included with the sphere (both of which must be within 30 feet of the sphere to receive the signal). While wearing the glasses, a creature gains telemetric insights that grant a +1 circumstance bonus to Perception checks and reduce the wearer’s miss chance due to concealment by 5% for any creatures or features in the area. The telemetry’s relevance fades quickly, and these benefits cease at the end of your next turn. A snapshot sphere is carefully weighted to not roll far on a level surface, and it doubles its hardness when resisting falling damage. GM RESOURCES The Ghost Levels are extensive and varied enough to be a GM’s design playground, combining whatever themes and ecosystems you like. Consider a wide range of challenges and threats, especially curses or afflictions found on pages 418–419 of the Core Rulebook. In addition, check the myriad biomes and adventure hooks detailed in Chapter 2 of the Galaxy Exploration Manual for inspiration. Overall, remember to provide variety—not just in adventure locations, but also in the types of adventures you’re presenting—to limit fatigue from dungeon exploration. Operating the PCs’ settlement can be done freeform. That said, you might incorporate several subsystems to provide it more structure. The downtime system from the Character Operations Manual helps players consider how they’re spending time between adventures, potentially using that to build new features, train, or recharge. The charter development system from Starfinder #40: Planetfall could also be adapted to running a larger settlement, with the PCs taking a very active hand in steering its development. CREATURE CR DragonAA varies GriothAA4 1 Space Goblin HonchoheadAA 2 DinosaurAA2 3–10 TrollAA3 5 Undershrike (page 165) 5 Hound of TindalosAA3 7 PlasmaliskAA4 14

80 ADVENTURES Absalom Station has long been composed of disparate factions. Each sector has its own history of power struggles and political maneuvering, but the station had generally settled into a deep stalemate. Now, with the Drift Crisis upending everything, factions are scrambling to turn a profit, gain a foothold, secure long-term interests, and, above all, keep their plans secret until they come to fruition. As the Drift Crisis deepens and demand for living space and supplies spikes, the pressure to maintain control grows, increasing the desperation of those grasping for power. With each new development, questions linger: Who is behind this? Who profits and who loses? What is overlooked, and what will come out next? When even old alliances can’t be trusted, how long can the daily life of Absalom Station be sustained? Plots move simultaneously. While attention focuses on one emergency, another faction mobilizes a plan to take power. The only certainty is that tomorrow will be different as Absalom Station continues its free fall into chaos. FIRST MOVES As daily life on Absalom Station radically transforms, the scramble for control begins. In the immediate days following the Drift Crash, opportunities abound for adventurers looking for quick riches or a new purpose in life. Many organizations look to bolster their ranks as they scrap long-term strategic plans for emergency contingencies, providing myriad ways for the PCs to respond to the crisis unfolding around them. A campaign based on the fractionating Absalom Station can mix the factions and plots in this section to suit the interests of the PCs for a variety of different campaign lengths and levels. The PCs may begin the campaign as lifelong citizens of the station’s lower levels just discovering their abilities; as wellestablished, high-level adventurers who are stranded on the station after being forced out of the Drift; or as a group of opportunistic mercenaries looking to sell their services to the highest bidder. The station hosts several active factions, some which the PCs may be interested in allying with and others that might serve as long-term antagonists. Decisions are made quickly, and it’s likely that PCs must commit to organizations with limited insight into their full operations. Knowing that the competition for loyalties is fierce, the factions start with simple tasks and attempt to appeal to the PCs’ desires. They may promise that the work is perfect for a particular PC’s interests or try to convince the PCs that their goals align, the veracity of which is nearly impossible to determine in these early days. Early Days As news of the Drift Crash hits Absalom Station, the Moored (page 35) spring into action. Through infosphere posts and word of mouth, they advertise community support groups with the ulterior motive of recruiting for the anti-Drift group. Initial meetings feature the Moored philosophy and provide a series of small volunteer opportunities that seem like genuine attempts at providing humanitarian aid or organizing scattered groups. The Moored may ask attendees to post to the local infosphere to recruit new members, organize old newsletters, or to help stranded off-station vacationers find more permanent places to stay. At the same time, hiring begins to spike for hackers and discreet engineers. No one quite knows who’s hiring—just that the pay is good and the work isn’t hard. Answering a help wanted ad connects the PCs with an unnamed contact who provides work and information as needed. The first tasks are simple tests designed to evaluate whether the PCs are competent and willing to overlook ethical gray areas, such as installing adware on digital billboards or setting up monitoring cameras in public corridors without permits. If the PCs manage to sift through the tangled web of shell companies providing their pay, they might discover their new employers are none other than the governing board of Bluerise Tower. AbadarCorp (page 30) also seeks new talent that can help it understand the attitude on the ground and stabilize the station’s local economy. Typically, AbadarCorp is the last organization to close and the first to reopen during a crisis. The pressure is on to ensure that the Golden Vault’s doors stay open and fully functional. Newly contracted PCs have more independence than usual to create marketing schemes, check in with manufacturers, and ensure AbadarCorp merchandise fills the shelves. However, disruptions in Drift travel and to the supply chain severely affect AbadarCorp, forcing the PCs into CHAOS ON ABSALOM STATION The already divisive Absalom Station is perpetually on the brink of chaos, and this crisis may push it over the edge. Just hours after news of the Drift Crash reached the station, the Moored called for a reckoning, the boardrooms of Bluerise Tower filled with executives discussing potential profits, and the neighborhood gangs reinforced their defenses. With every faction out for themselves, an early alliance may be wise or turn into a disaster when pressures rise and political sands shift. FACTIONS: AbadarCorp, Eyeswide Agency, The Moored, Starfinder Society, Stewards, The Unseen LOCATIONS: Absalom Station LEVELS 1–20

STRUCTURING THE CHAOS This adventure seed details plots occurring on Absalom Station during the Drift Crisis. While each plot is detailed separately, they occur simultaneously. PCs may be working to defuse one crisis when another emergency demands attention. Having the various plots move forward without the PCs’ actions, typically emerging after ignored warnings, drives home that the station is a living setting. A campaign set in the chaos allows PCs room to have an impact on the station according to their motivations and alliances 81 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES CHAOS ON ABSALOM STATION direct roles to meet demands and help the corporation maintain a public image of unruffled operation. For PCs interested in the trade of information, both the Eyeswide Agency (page 33) and the Starfinder Society (page 36) are recruiting new members. The Eyeswide Agency has historically been closed to outsiders. Staff were picked after long periods of surveillance, ensuring that every investigator was unparalleled in their ability to gather information. With new demands on their services, the agency has relaxed its rules on hiring and is looking for contractors. The Starfinder Society, accustomed to the shifting interests of free agents, opens its doors to anyone seeking to sign up. However, access to the choice missions and the Society’s legendary archive of information remains tightly restricted until the PCs have proven themselves. Other factions are active as well and welcome potential allies in their schemes. They often woo newcomers by offering small, meaningful tasks with disproportionate rewards. If the PCs pass these tests of skill, they’re able to ally with that faction. The PCs might form a tight relationship with one of the factions early on, though playing multiple sides is not uncommon in the current chaos. However, the relationships made in this early stage connect the PCs to later schemes. Likewise, if the PCs reject any alliance, these factions can all be powerful enemies. After the PCs establish themselves within their factions or as free agents, they start unearthing any of the following plots. A TANGLE OF CONSPIRACIES Whenever there is uncertainty, misinformation and conspiracy theories take root. Wild theories, tall tales, and urban legends provide a way for the otherwise uninformed public to feel like they understand the chaos around them. However, conspiracies mix enough partial truths and falsehoods that sorting out accurate information from unfounded rumor can take significant investigation. The PCs might be tasked with determining if there’s any truth to a certain theory or clearing the name of an allied faction. A popular theory shared through infosphere posts claims that the entire crisis was planned. According to the posts, container numbers from missing shipments from the Little Akiton dock,

82 ADVENTURES when added together, create the date of the Drift Crash. The theory holds that the companies responsible for the shipments are profiting from the crisis and plan to use it to corner the market. The information is attributed to the anonymous poster’s uncle, who they claim is a member of the Stewards. Hints of a cover-up by the Stewards make for juicy gossip. The Unseen Happenings infosphere forum existed prior to the Drift Crisis, long dedicated to sightings of the Unseen and their suspected role in station events. These “sightings” of malevolent grays, parasitic dycepskians, and shapeshifting reptoids tended to be the target of posters’ long-standing grudges or least-favorite public figures. Unseen Happenings fostered a small, close-knit community that nonmembers generally ignored. Recently, all conversation on the forum has been subsumed by frantic amateur investigations into the causes of the Drift Crisis. Unseen Happenings forum members have been tracking gray sightings as part of their mission for years and have accepted as common knowledge that grays began appearing more regularly after the proliferation of Drift travel and were more likely to appear in areas with significant Drift use. With the current unreliability of Drift travel, grays (like many others in the galaxy) struggle to maintain intergalactic connections vital to their plots. Stranded grays taking extra risks to communicate may provide a way to finally uncover long-running schemes, potentially exposing mysteriarch grays in seats of power. During an investigation into the Unseen Happenings forums, the PCs might uncover clues about other plots on Absalom Station. Since these are inevitably mixed with outlandish claims, sorting through false information and accidentally discovering secrets will take considerable effort and likely will ruffle the feathers of some powerful hidden agents. Rumors of interest include claims that the price of datapads is rising due to intentional price-fixing schemes, that the Primex has been replaced by an identical clone, and that dycepskians founded the Click-Clack Club to learn how to infiltrate SROs’ mechanical systems. THE RETURN OF ALEKSANA GURYARI Aleksana Guryari (N female android technomancer; page 170), the first Drift pilot in 3 ag, reappeared in Jatembe Park on the day of the Drift Crash. Her reappearance interrupted news reports and prompted a pop history special about her disappearance and supposed death. In the time since she and her crew sailed into the Vast centuries prior, many conspiracy theories arose surrounding her. Multiple imposters claimed to be her in recent years, so her very identity is in question. Guryari serves as one of the spokespeople for the Moored. She is a common guest on news reports about metaphysical affects of the Drift on living creatures and how the crisis could have started. As a celebrity among an often-maligned faction, she is vigilant against slander or potential assassination attempts. Getting close to her, or even looking too closely into her current actions, spurs counter-investigations by Moored members, who delete potentially damaging information about her from the infosphere. If the PCs wish to meet with her as a potential ally, they will need to lure her away from her security team. If the PCs ally with the Moored, they might become more responsible for implementing Guryari’s security measures as they rise within the ranks. They might be the ones tasked with hacking into databases to erase information or providing physical security to Guryari at public events. However, other members of the Moored disagree with her ascendance to power and the special treatment she’s received. Leaks about her planned appearances and security might lead to the PCs facing foes. These members might also request that the PCs overlook breaches in the organization’s cybersecurity or even contribute to attempts to oust her. Guryari’s knowledge and history with the Drift makes her a valuable ally, as she can provide deeper information on the Drift Crisis. As a new return to Absalom Station, she can lean on the PCs for their opinions on the political situation, or she can help guide the PCs around tricky conflicts. As a campaign-long ally, she might also be able to provide insight into current conspiracy theories. As an enemy, she can mobilize the strength of an expanding faction against them. LOCKDOWN Wealthy families of the Kemanis neighborhood have decided the safest course of action is to lock down their territory, creating an impassible barrier that allows no one to enter or leave. While this isn’t a problem for the families who opted to lock themselves inside, they’re also preventing various support staff, students, neighbors, and unsuspecting visitors from coming and going. The families claim they provided ample warning for other people in the neighborhood to leave, but no one has been able to confirm this due to the lockdown. Outside the neighborhood, the question of “what lies behind Kemanis’s doors?” spurs tales of stockpiled supplies and comfort denied to the rest of the station. Impromptu but hefty physical barriers block the neighborhood’s connecting corridors to the rest of the station, along with ad hoc, highly paid security patrols for reinforcement. Infiltrating Kemanis takes a skilled crew of combatants, engineers, and operatives, as the lockdown pooled the resources of many of Absalom Station’s wealthiest families. Those attempting to enter the neighborhood must first overcome blast doors sealing the neighborhood off, either through brute force or an alternate route. After PCs gain access to the neighborhood, they face ever-present patrols of security robots and monitoring drones, all of which are set to notify the lead of Kemanis’s private security force, the former Steward Fenlen Hart (LN female nuar soldier), of any breaches. Stealth may prevent the PCs from having to fight their way through the neighborhood, but leaving may be a more complicated task. The return journey is even more difficult if they’re transporting people or goods. There are several reasons the PCs may want to compromise the neighborhood’s lockdown. They may be asked to obtain accurate information about the current situation in the neighborhood, answer a distress call to extract someone trying to escape, or secure political secrets now at risk. With

83 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES CHAOS ON ABSALOM STATION the lockdown, individual families have relaxed their personal estate security. This provides a window of opportunity for less upstanding types to breach family estates and take off with their riches. SABOTAGE Absalom Station’s ruling Syndicsguild is pinning its hopes on finding a way to restore the Drift to its pre-crisis function, and it has directed many of the station’s immense resources to that end. While some expected the Church of Triune to be placed in charge of coordinating repair efforts, the Syndicsguild instead issued contracts to starship companies, corporations headquartered in Bluerise Tower, and independent engineers. Its first mandate is to examine starships that survived the Drift Crash for any hints about what might have happened. As one of the starship consortiums prepares to announce its initial findings in a prerecorded press release, an explosion destroys the broadcast studio. Major executives sustain injuries from the blast. As the Stewards begin their investigation, rumors begin to swirl that the Moored took matters into their own hands to permanently stymie Drift travel. While Guryari releases a statement that the Moored denounce the violence and had no part in the attack, the Moored become easy targets. As the investigation fails to find evidence, and various Drift repair endeavors face further sabotage, these accusations start to stick. No faction wants to solve this mystery as much as the Moored. Despite popular belief, the mainstream Moored are not involved in actively disrupting the repairs. However, splinter groups within the faction boast that they’re taking more direct action. The official leadership of the Moored would like to solve the mystery of who is behind the attacks, both to clear the organization’s name and to remove violent actors from their ranks if necessary. On the other hand, PCs working within the Moored may find themselves surreptitiously invited to participate in sabotage, such as damaging needed tools or supplies. Several other organizations are also invested in uncovering the truth about ongoing sabotage. Companies interested in joining the project want to judge their level of risk. The Eyeswide Agency’s reputation is on the line as the Stewards publicly contract with it to prevent further damage to Drift repair research and projects. The PCs may be brought in as additional investigators working undercover to find the truth. They may be hired specifically to handle sensitive aspects of the case, such as infiltrating the saboteurs as undercover investigators. These saboteurs may be lone actors, but it’s far more likely that this is corporate sabotage. TROUBLE IN ORBIT The Armada around Absalom Station is a de facto neighborhood, where long-term residential starships host a variety of characters with common—and competing—interests. With Drift travel curtailed, the Armada is growing rapidly. Starships that managed to limp to the Starstone’s beacon or who made months-long journeys are stranded at the station as typical resupply stations for the return journey run out of goods. The docks below fill with starships owned by Absalom Station citizens, causing backups to enter the station. While half a dozen ships each day initially seemed controllable, few starships have left since the crisis started. The Armada’s steady growth poses grave danger, including increased risk of collision of orbiting bodies. The station below bursts at the seams. The official request is that crews stay on their starships if possible and limit trips below to short, essential visits. What started as an emergency request extends into a permanent order, and the captains of the Armada’s starships face increased dissatisfaction among their crews. Captains send request updates hourly, hoping that soon their crews can leave the tight quarters of their starship. For more ideas about what’s happening in the Armada, see Absalom Station Refugees on page 74. PRIMEX ASSASSINATION PLOT Hated by white-collar criminals and those attempting to skirt corporate regulation, Prime Executive Kumara Melacruz (LG female human envoy), commonly called the Primex, has already survived a known assassination attempt. With the attention and resources of the station focused on the Drift Crisis, her close allies fear new attempts on her life. However, Primex Melacruz requests that her security detail remains as before and that the resources of the station focus on aiding the population. Her head of security, Ratanoro Shieldarm (LN female vesk vanguardCOM), disagrees with this decision but won’t independently override the Primex. Indeed, the Primex’s enemies are many, and there is great potential for subterfuge and assassination in all the chaos. Multiple organizations currently plot her demise, including both the Six Tip Gang and the governing board of the Bluerise GM RESOURCES Absalom Station serves as a hub for Pact Worlds activity, attracting species from across the galaxy. More information about Absalom Station’s residents, neighborhoods, and conflicts can be found starting on page 38 of Starfinder Pact Worlds. Every Pact World has at least one delegation living on the station. Those not in the Pact Worlds also visit and live there, making any sentient alien a good match for this campaign. Absalom Station also houses manufacturers of cutting-edge technology, including security robots and drones. These constructs can serve to slow the PCs down in their investigations, particularly as they investigate wealthy targets. CREATURE CR Security robotAA 1–4 Robot, infiltrationAA4 2–7 Weaponized toyAA3 3–6 RobotAA2 3–18 Drift saboteur (page 151) 4 GrayAA 4 NuarAA 4–8 GolemAA2 8–14

84 ADVENTURES Tower. The plots range from elaborate poisoning to bombing her quarters during the traditional evening hours in her neighborhood’s day-night cycle. Her security team has noted a marked increase in attempts to bug her, hack into her personal datapad, and follow her since the Drift Crash. Information about her habits and typical whereabouts fetch a high price for the right buyer, particularly if that information includes security weaknesses. Likewise, a tip-off to her security team about any ill-intended plots includes both monetary rewards and potential contract work. PCs interested in maintaining the stability of Absalom Station’s government may answer a request to assist with security after the Primex’s press conference receives credible threats. Following the trail of threats uncovers enemies she’s made throughout her career, including several gangs or families whose original grudges are long forgotten. Alternatively, potential profits may make defending the Primex an enticing deal for more corporate-minded PCs. Political connections may also spur factions to provide an initial tip to the security detail, pulling the PCs into an unexpected web. There may even be subsidiary conflicts in which the PCs become embroiled as competing assassination attempts interfere with one another. BOILING OVER As the crisis continues past weeks and into months, infighting between factions sometimes erupts into open combat in the station’s streets. Conflicts that existed prior to the crisis become even more entrenched. At first, most direct confrontations took place in remote areas of the station and de-escalated quickly. However, with new strains on the station’s resources, changes in the political landscape, and only more uncertainty on the horizon, organizations are ready to make bigger moves. This plot functions best as a capstone to the campaign as tenuous peace dissolves. One of the first signs that things have become untenable is the increase in local gangs outside their typical territories. While skirmishes are common between neighboring gangs, a shootout in the Freemarkets between the Trashcots gang and the Shredded Ring gang bring the festering conflict into public view. Ask anyone involved, and they’ll say the shootout was over a minor slight, but other gangs quickly begin taking sides. While initial allies stem from long-standing relationships between gangs, the size of the conflict snowballs as more groups jump aboard to get a share of the eventual spoils—or just to curry favor with who they hope is the winning side. With large portions of the station inaccessible, either due to physical barricades or fear of violence, safe zones begin to crop up. Swordlight Cathedral provides space for those pushed from their homes, allowing those fleeing the conflict to sleep under Iomedae’s gaze. The Starfinder Society maintains a border around the Lorespire Complex, carefully vetting those asking to join. The Syndicsguild retreats into Bastion, looking to withstand the siege of the station by its own citizens. The same actors looking to profit and point fingers find fertile ground. Demand for bodyguards and security staff spikes, emptying the Security Resources Pavilion of its freelance soldiers and allowing protection rackets to thrive. What were once black-market deals for stolen goods and information are advertised publicly. Markets and households reinforce their walls and doors with steel. The disgraced former syndic of Botscrap, Iacturn-8 (LN male android mechanic), makes a dramatic play, demanding that the entire Syndicsguild step down due to its failure to restore order. With Drift travel in a dire state, Absalom Station is a tumultuous place, as if the overwhelming turmoil of the Drift Crisis has found its focus here, where the galaxy meets. The PCs’ faction may ask them to engage in open grabs for power, either by leading negotiations, contributing to the fighting, or attempting to win over the loyalty of scared citizens with security patrols. As the PCs untangle the political circumstances around them, they can enact real change and achieve goals that would take years of careful maneuvering in calmer times. What

85 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX ADVENTURES CHAOS ON ABSALOM STATION Absalom Station looks like after the tensions ease depends on which factions emerge on top. A station with the Syndicsguild still in charge and that status quo upheld looks vastly different from an Absalom Station run by capitalists of the Bluerise Tower. The future of the station lies in the PCs’ hands, for better or worse. ARMOR The following armor is available to all characters. Autoencoded Veil This sleek armor integrates extensive wiring and recycled material directly into the fabric, reinforcing key areas with advanced plating. You can spend 10 minutes programming your armor with either an alternate appearance or a stealth routine. Your armor then disguises your features to technological sensors (including cameras and creatures with the technological subtype). For an alternate appearance, this functions as if you used Disguise to change your appearance, with a Perception check DC to pierce the disguise equal to 15 + 1-1/2 × the armor’s item level. For a stealth routine, the armor disrupts how technological scanners perceive you, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks against technological sensors and 10% miss chance against attacks made by technological sources. The armor’s sensor-disrupting effect is imperceptible to non-technological sources, which can perceive you normally. FEATS The feats below are available to any character who meets their prerequisites. Conspiratorial Ally You’ve learned how to make friends by telling people what they want to hear. Benefit: After a creature discusses their beliefs or guiding philosophy with you, or if they’re displaying a prominent symbol that would indicate their beliefs (such as a holy symbol), you can attempt a Culture check to recall knowledge (DC = 15 + 1-1/2 × the creature’s CR). On a success, you know what the creature cares deeply about and how to use that to your advantage. For the next minute, while you are using this knowledge, you can treat the creature’s attitude toward you as one step higher. Contrive You distract a target, allowing an ally to slip their hand into the mark’s pocket. Prerequisites: Diversion. Benefit: When you successfully use Bluff to create a diversion, you can allow an ally that’s adjacent to a creature that you diverted to attempt a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check to pick that creature’s pocket. You can allow your ally to place an object of negligible or light bulk on that creature instead of stealing an object, but the ally takes a –5 penalty to their Sleight of Hand check. Normal: Using Bluff to create a diversion does not allow an ally to attempt a Sleight of Hand check to pick a pocket. Grab and Go You’re an expert at picking a pocket and running. Benefit: When attempting a Sleight of Hand check to pick a pocket, you can immediately attempt a Stealth check to hide with a –5 penalty. You must have appropriate cover or concealment. Your target’s opposed Perception check to notice the pick-pocket attempt is against your Stealth check result. Normal: Your target’s opposed Perception check to notice the pick-pocket attempt is against your Sleight of Hand result. Hide Sabotage You’re able to hide the evidence of your sabotage with ease. Prerequisites: Engineering 3 ranks. Benefit: After years of experience in sabotage, you cover any signs you would leave behind with ease. When you attempt an Engineering check to disable a device, the DC does not increase when you attempt to leave no trace of your tampering. Normal: Hiding evidence of tampering increases the DC of checks to disable device by 5. Reliable Connections You can call in favors owed by various connections to get you the equipment you need in a pinch. Prerequisites: Character level 5th. Benefit: While in a large settlement in which equipment is available, you can attempt to call in a favor from one of your more reliable connections. Once per week, you can spend 10 minutes to attempt a Diplomacy check to request that your contact send you a single piece of equipment with an item level no greater than your level; the DC of this check is 10 + 1-1/2 ×  the item’s level. On a success, the item arrives in approximately one hour by drone, courier, or other means. You must spend the appropriate credits to receive the item. The price of the item is reduced by a percentage equal to the amount by which your Diplomacy check exceeds the DC, up to a maximum of 10%. For example, a result of 24 on a DC of 19 would result in a 5% discount. TABLE 2–3: LIGHT ARMOR ARMOR MODEL LEVEL PRICE EAC KAC MAX DEX ARMOR CHECK PENALTY SPEED ADJUSTMENT UPGRADE SLOTS BULK Autoencoded veil I 4 2,100 +4 +4 +4 — — 1 1 Autoencoded veil II 8 9,500 +9 +10 +5 — — 2 1 Autoencoded veil III 12 36,500 +13 +15 +5 — — 2 1 Autoencoded veil IV 16 175,000 +19 +20 +6 — — 3 1 Autoencoded veil V 20 850,000 +22 +22 +7 — — 4 1

86 ADVENTURES DISTANT VOYAGE TECHNOLOGIES As the Trifold Legionaries scramble to recapture the defectors scattering across the Pact Worlds, a third party catches wind of the opportunity presented and wants a piece of the action. This might be one of the factions featured in pages 30–37 of this book or an entirely different entity. Knowing that Severed Link agents carry caches of data related to the creation and maintenance of Drift beacon technology, they’re eager to recover as much of the data as possible, and they’re willing to pay a hefty bounty to anyone who can deliver. This bounty might be attractive enough to catch the attention of a crew of lowto-mid level PCs in need of extra credits. The search for Severed Link members won’t be easy, as the former Trifold Legionaries are well-trained and ferocious warriors. Competing bounty hunters complicate matters, often posing as big a threat as the Severed Link warriors themselves. There’s also the matter of the third party’s motives. Once they get their hands on Drift beacon technology, they have every incentive to keep it as firmly guarded as the Trifold Legionaries before them. Anyone else with the data becomes a loose end, and the PCs might find themselves under threat from their own former employers. Whether or not the third party turns on the PCs, the Trifold Legionaries aren’t far behind. This zealous group of holy warriors considers it a sacred duty to retrieve members of the Severed Link and recover the data stolen from Triune’s vaults. They intend to take back what they consider theirs and are more than willing to destroy anyone who gets in their way. PCs caught in the conflict will have to decide whether to try to force their employers to give up the stolen data before everyone is killed, or try to fend off legionaries who will stop at nothing to complete their mission. ULTIMATUMS The unyielding determination of the Trifold Legionaries and Severed Link provide an opportunity for tense standoffs and high-stakes social encounters. The Trifold Legionaries are willing to employ whatever methods are required to recapture Severed Link members. Where recovery is impossible, destruction is an acceptable alternative, regardless of who might be in the crossfire. Wherever Severed Link agents flee Trifold Legionaries soon follow, often with warships ready to level space stations, cities, or asteroid colonies if their wayward flock aren’t rooted out and returned to them. Locals are often given a timetable to turn over Severed Link agents and any stolen data, after which, they’ll be annihilated. These situations are excellent opportunities for PCs to engage in tense, race against the clock missions to recover Severed Link agents across the Pact Worlds before the overzealous Trifold Legionaries destroy everything in their quest to stop their sacred secrets from getting out. TENSION ON ABALLON The political intricacies on Aballon made it all but certain the Machine Court would TRIFOLD RESPONSE On Aballon, the secrets of the Drift have long been kept by an elite sect of cybernetically enhanced Triunite warriors: the Trifold Legionaries. Amid the Drift Crisis, a rogue faction called the Severed Link launched a surprise uprising, stealing secrets about the construction and maintenance of Drift beacons. As corporations, governments, and researchers race to retrieve the stolen data, they only begin to see how far the Trifold Legionaries are willing to go to keep those secrets safe. FACTIONS: Trifold Legionaries, Church of Triune, The Machine Court LOCATIONS: Aballon LEVELS 5–15

87 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX TRIFOLD RESPONSE become involved, as the conflict originated on the machine planet. The Unification Cathedral is a legally autonomous zone separate from the jurisdiction from the Insight Array governing much of Aballon. As the race to recover the stolen data unfolds, the PCs might find themselves making difficult choices about whom they serve. Everyone wants to get hold of the agents of the Severed Link for one reason or another, and there are incredibly powerful forces that will align with or against the PCs depending on their decisions over the course of a longer campaign. The Machine Court of Aballon is likely to summon members of the Trifold Legionaries who become destructively zealous in their quest to recover Severed Link agents. Likewise, cornered members of the Severed Link might surrender themselves to the Machine Court’s judgment to avoid capture from the Trifold Legionaries, causing tension between the Insight Array and the Trifold Legionaries who demand custody. PCs might be asked to act as third-party mediators between the two, the fate of thousands hinging on their ability to keep the Trifold Legionaries from leveling cities to enforce their mandate. PCs might find themselves tasked with accompanying condemned Severed Link members into the Fields of Judgment. When a member of the Severed Link is convicted of terrorism and sent into the fields, the Trifold Legionaries are willing to allow the sentence only on the assurance that the data carried in the doomed machine’s memory banks is retrieved or destroyed. As no machine can enter the fields unscathed, non-construct PCs could be the only available companions, accompanying the doomed Severed Link member until it eventually succumbs to the energy suffusing the fields. In other instances, members of the Severed Link flee into the forbidden cities of the First Ones, making pursuit a politically tricky endeavor. The PCs might be asked to delve into these ancient places to recapture Severed Link agents—places where machines of Aballon are forbidden to tread and even Trifold Legionaries are banned from entry. THE BEACON HERESY As more agents of the Severed Link are lost or captured, the conflict between the Trifold Legionaries and the rogue faction comes to a head. Knowing their original mission has failed, the Severed Link takes over a functioning Drift beacon and begins modification to its structure to transmit every remaining bit of stolen data it possesses across the Pact Worlds. This act provokes a ferocious response from the Trifold Legionaries. As the legionaries prepare to assault the structure, and destroy it if necessary, factions across the Pact Worlds race to intervene. With the network of Drift beacons already damaged in the wake of the crisis, the destruction of one of the few remaining reliable beacons would be a catastrophe. Forces align themselves on either side, some sympathetic to the Severed Link while others join with the Trifold Legionaries to stop them. The conflict is likely to involve large-scale starship combat around the Drift beacon between pro-Legionary and pro-Link forces, while landing teams seek to infiltrate the space-station-sized Drift beacon or repel such invaders. On which side of the conflict PCs find themselves is largely up to how they’ve dealt with forces on all sides to that point. The PCs sympathetic to the Severed Link would fight to defend the modified beacon until the Severed Link can finish compiling and transmitting the stolen data. Those who tied their allegiances to the Trifold Legionaries (or who are at least coerced into doing their dirty work) would assault that same structure, hoping to stop the data from getting out once and for all. CYBERNETIC AUGMENTATION On Aballon organic minds often find themselves in stiff competition with advanced AI that have greater processing capabilities than they could hope to achieve naturally. Enhancing the capabilities of the living brain has thus become a holy grail for bioengineers and cybernetic development labs. The Partitioned Personality Module is one of their better-known success stories. PARTITIONED PERSONALITY MODULE SYSTEM Eyes PRICE 6,800 LEVEL 7 Initially developed as a device to closely monitor organic cerebral activity, these neural implants study the brain activity of the host and then design an artificial copy of their thought patterns, decision trees, and emotional profile. This artificial personality serves as a backup for the host that bolsters their mental faculties and can be activated when psychic attacks disrupt their free will. You gain a +2 enhancement bonus to saves against charm, compulsion, or mind-affecting effects. Once per day when you fail a save against a charm, compulsion, or mind-affecting effect, you can activate your backup personality by spending a Resolve Point to immediately reroll the save and take the new result. GM RESOURCES Machines such as anacites, androids, and drones of all types make excellent creatures to challenge the PCs on Aballon. The Severed Link is a network of agents that extends beyond members of the Church of Triune and members can come from a number of backgrounds to add variety. More about the people and places of the machine world of Aballon can be found starting on page 18 of Starfinder Pact Worlds. While the Trifold Legionaries pose a cold and calculating presence, they aren't wantonly malicious. Their threats to employ destruction where collateral damage is likely are always a last resort, though they should be taken seriously, as the group is zealous and fully committed to its purpose. These threats are well used as a device to build tension and add a ticking clock to missions that ultimately allow the PCs to succeed in the nick of time to avoid catastrophe. CREATURE CR Patrol-class security robotAA 4 Guardian robotAA3 5 MercenariesPW 6–10 Exterminator-class infiltration robotAA4 7 Anacite predator droneAA2 10 Rogue combat droneAA3 14

88 ADVENTURES It’s hard to estimate how many people are affected by the Drift Crash. Considering the galaxy’s immense size and the many interstellar civilizations both known and unknown that have been using the Drift since first receiving the Signal three centuries ago, it’s not unreasonable to assume many thousands of starships are caught in the disaster and millions of people are missing. All those Crashers leave behind friends, family, loved ones, business contacts, employers, and more who wonder where they are. They leave behind empty homes and abandoned jobs—and they’ve taken some very expensive starships with them. These issues offer plenty of roleplaying and story potential, but a Drift Crash adventure probably isn’t about the world the Crashers have left behind. Instead, the societal ripple effects of thousands of souls missing in the Drift Crash happens offstage, while heroic travelers—and ordinary people thrown into heroic situations—struggle to survive in strange and often hostile environments, try to figure out what’s going on, devise a plan to get home, and (hopefully) live long enough to implement it. The adventures discussed here vary; some are open-ended and custom-tailored by you and your players, while others spotlight specific antagonists with their own agendas. All these stories are united in their origin in the Drift Crash. CRASHING THE PARTY A Drift Crash adventure—or entire campaign—is premised on survival and confusion. That is, the PCs struggle to stay alive in their new environment, figure out what happened, and get home. These challenges are best suited to low-level heroes; higher-level characters have more resources to draw upon and might solve these problems too easily. Surviving on a dangerous planet with a hazardous environment, for example, is much easier when your armor’s environmental protections last for a week or more, or when you have access to powerful technomagical solutions to otherwise insurmountable problems. The Drift Crash is a perfect story for groups willing to start at 1st level with heroes who feel overwhelmed and underprepared. These PCs might not consider themselves heroes at all, but instead be simple travelers who were trying to get from one planet to another on a routine voyage. Now, they’re stranded on a remote planet or hurled to another plane, forced to rise to the occasion and find their inner heroism, or die forever lost. In particular, consider the Drift Crashed theme (page 39). While a typical group of Starfinder PCs often has representatives from diverse backgrounds and home worlds, the Drift Crash is uniquely positioned to bring disparate Crashers together from anywhere in the galaxy—individuals who must learn to work together despite their differences if they hope to return home. Your group might include a character from the Azlanti Star Empire alongside an android PC who resents the way androids are treated in Azlanti society. Perhaps a hobgoblin PC from the Gideon Authority must learn to work alongside a hero from the Marixah Republic. This is also an opportunity for players, working with the GM, to create new alien species never before encountered and who have no knowledge of the Pact Worlds. Alternatively, your player characters might want a shared origin. Perhaps they’re a family who were traveling to a new home on a world in the Vast when the crash happened. See pages 12–13 of the Starfinder Galaxy Exploration Manual for more suggestions on shared origins for a group of player characters. CRASHING THE PLANET The archetypal Drift Crash adventure finds a group of travelers suddenly cast from the Drift to a random world. While the characters might be the crew of a starship, and thus bring their starship with them, they might be drawn from different vessels all caught in the Crash and deposited on a planet’s surface with nothing but the clothes on their back (and, hopefully, environmental protections). As GM, base the premise for your Drift Crash adventure on scale: is this a one-session story, the premise for an entire campaign, or somewhere in the middle— perhaps a 4- or 8-part story that resembles one season of a television show? A single-session Drift Crash adventure focuses on the essential obstacle: surviving a strange environment, determining where you are, and figuring out how to get home. In this adventure, the heroes—with their starship—end up on a random world somewhere in the Vast. The Starfinder Deck of Many Worlds and Galaxy Exploration Manual have great tools The Drift Crisis begins with an interstellar disaster: most starships in the Drift are simultaneously cast out of it, hurled to random destinations— perhaps somewhere in the galaxy, but potentially to other planes. A few starships remain in the Drift, where they’re hopelessly stranded. Your player characters are Crashers—victims of the Drift Crash, wandering the galaxy, Drift, and other planes with one goal: to get home. DRIFT CRASH FACTIONS: Church of Eloritu, Dominion of Flame, Eyeswide Agency, the Tetrad LOCATIONS: The Drift, the Negative Energy Plane, the Plane of Fire, the Shadow Plane, and random planets in the Vast LEVELS 1–14

89 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX DRIFT CRASH and advice for creating such a world, its people, their society, and the challenges they face. Although the PCs still have their ship, they face a rough landing on this new world, and their Drift engine might have been damaged in the Crash, requiring repairs. The PCs have clear goals: they’ll need parts to fix the ship, and to get those parts they’ll have to interact with the society (or societies) that live on this world. If such civilizations have never before heard of the Pact Worlds, the heroes are also thrust into a first-contact situation: do they conceal their true natures as interstellar travelers and try to get the information and resources they need through stealth? Or do they reveal themselves and try to trade services for the parts they need? Regardless, once the PCs get their ship working again—or get a replacement ship from the local population—they should be able to return home. Travel through the Drift is dangerous and slow, but the heroes are no longer lost. A longer version of this story separates the PCs from their starship; it might crash and be lost beyond hope of repair, or perhaps the heroes are simply whisked from their starships when the Drift Crash occurs. Either way, the challenge increases. Not only do the Crashers need to find transportation off whatever world they’re stuck on, they’ve lost all the supplies and resources a starship brings them. Indeed, they might have nothing at all, except for whatever they were wearing when the Drift Crash occurred. Invite all the players to help in the creation of this world, with everyone contributing secrets, mysteries, and unique challenges for the player characters to solve. Flesh out the cast with NPCs that provide key abilities the PCs don’t have. If the group doesn’t have a healer, perhaps a mystic or a medic has been stranded with them. If they have no way to craft equipment, they might meet a mechanic similarly displaced by the Drift Crash. You can give these NPCs conflicting motivations and secret agendas that create more stories and complicate the lives of the PCs. For example, the mechanic might be on the run from the Stewards—they’re happy to repair the PCs’ equipment, but they pretend to be incapable of fixing the Drift engine because they don’t actually want to go home. The NPC healer hanging out with the heroes might be obsessed with a long-dead alien species, leading the heroes to explore ancient ruins in the hope of learning more about them. This kind of Drift Crash adventure explores what’s important to individuals. In a world where you’ve lost everything, what do you really miss and how do you get along without it? When you have the chance to re-create society however you want, what does it look like, and is it really any better than the world you left behind? There are no simple answers to these questions, but asking them generates conflicts and challenges that become the spine of your Drift Crisis story. Starfinder doesn’t have rules for building Drift engines—or other competing sources of interstellar travel for that matter— from scratch, so if the PCs try to build a starship from scrap metal and local flora, you’ll have to improvise. Encourage the PCs to build a secure home on their new world; they can map

90 ADVENTURES it, detail it, and bring it to life over many sessions of play. Give them plenty of creatures to interact with and mysteries to explore. Be wary of introducing sapient species on the world where the heroes are trapped—every sapient species received the Signal, so it might have Drift technology of its own, quickly ending your story once the PCs get their hands on a starship. If the world seems abandoned by sapient species, or inhabited only by strange animals and plants, that’s a recipe for exploration, danger, and adventure. Sapient species might, however, have visited the planet in centuries past and left ruins or relics behind that the heroes can find and use to figure out a way home. The PCs might not need to build a Drift engine at all; if other worlds in their new star system are inhabited, they can signal for help with nothing more complicated than a radio. The heroes might find a crashed spaceship that allows them to reach the next planet or a starship with some other form of interstellar travel, like chaos sails or a constellation orrery (see the Starfinder Starship Operations Manual for details on these and other forms of interstellar travel). A constellation orrery is a particularly good choice for a campaign because it limits the worlds to which the heroes can travel; the starship must visit particular stars in sequence, and you—as GM—get to draw the constellation and determine that sequence. This allows you to move the heroes from world to world and adventure to adventure, until they finally meet a civilization that understood the Signal and built the Drift engines the heroes need to get home. CRASHING THE PLANES Most individuals caught in the Drift Crash are cast out to random locations in the Material Plane. The especially unlucky ones are hurled into the multiverse and find themselves on another plane entirely. Planar adventure is usually considered something for high-level parties, making this an excellent adventure for PCs of levels 7–12; once the PCs can cast plane shift or similar spells, they have little to fear from this perilous situation. The Drift’s relationship to other planes is complex and mysterious. On one hand, Drift engines don’t function on planes other than the Material Plane. On the other hand, the Drift absorbs small amounts of other planes whenever a Drift engine is activated. So, the Drift does touch other planes—just not in a way that allows for Drift travel. This poses interesting challenges for characters stranded on another plane. They might have a starship, and that starship probably has a Drift engine, but they can’t use the engine to get home. Instead, they’ll need to find a way to escape their current plane and get to either the Material Plane or the Drift itself—the only two places where their Drift engine works. Once they get to one of those locations, they should be able to engage their Drift engine and get home. But adventures seldom go according to plan. Most of the information we know about other planes in Starfinder comes from pages 470–471 of the Core Rulebook. The Shadow Plane, the Plane of Fire, and the Negative Energy Plane all have connections to each other via portals, so the PCs might be able to travel among them without a Drift engine or even a starship. The adventure begins with the PCs arriving on the Negative Energy Plane, a dimension inimical to all life. The initial challenge here is environmental; even with a starship and the environmental protections provided by their armor, the heroes need to escape the Negative Energy Plane as quickly as possible. When the heroes complete a long-range scan with their starship sensors, they detect a flare of magical energy that’s foreign to the plane. They probably can’t tell what kind of energy it is, but it’s not negative energy, so it’s a promising lead. On their way to this energy source, the PCs might come into conflict with various denizens of the Negative Energy Plane. The energy source is a large portal, and if the PCs maneuver their starship through it, they find themselves on the Shadow Plane inside the Depository of Truths, a secure library maintained by the Church of Eloritu. Since the whole design of the Depository of Truths intends to keep intruders out, the scholars and crew who maintain it won’t be too happy with the sudden arrival of the PCs. This part of the adventure depends on the approach the PCs take—if they negotiate and surrender to Eloritu’s church peacefully, they might be welcomed or even asked to assist the Depository in recapturing some lost knowledge. If the PCs open fire, they might be in for a tense chase sequence as they attempt to escape. Regardless, once they’re on the Shadow Plane, the heroes will need a way to the Material Plane or the Drift (from which they can use their Drift engines to get home). Survival and travel on the Shadow Plane are comparatively easy to the Outer Planes, and the heroes might have many adventures here, battling velstracs, shadow giants, or other horrors native to the Shadow Plane. Inevitably, the heroes will visit one of the more peaceful settlements on the plane such as Shadow Absalom Station, a relatively safe hub for commerce and diplomacy. The PCs might be drawn to the station due to the Glare, a strange, portal-like effect that usually sends travelers back to wherever they were before they entered the Shadow Plane. Eventually, natives of the Shadow Plane reveal to the heroes the existence of Glacial Star, a bizarre frozen sun floating in the Shadow Plane and now used as an interdimensional prison. Overseen by an efreet warden named Jhezzala (LE female efreeti soldier), the prison houses a portal to the Plane of Fire. Jhezzala charges exorbitant prices for the use of this portal, but the Plane of Fire has a famous connection to the Pact Worlds: the Far Portal, which orbits the sun. (The Far Portal is discussed briefly on page 15 of Pact Worlds but is a critical element of the efreet invasion that runs throughout the Dawn of Flame Adventure Path.) If the heroes can satisfy Jhezzala’s demands— or infiltrate the prison—they could take the portal within Glacial Star to the Plane of Fire, and then take the Far Portal home. The Plane of Fire also has many dangers, and this final leg of the heroes’ journey is most difficult of all. The plane is home to azers, efreet, salamanders, deadly elementals, and more, most of whom will consider the PCs trespassers best captured or destroyed. The Plane of Fire is dominated by the Dominion of Flame, a militaristic empire ruled by a council of efreet and equipped with a vast fleet of warships. The hub of the empire

91 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS OVERVIEW 2 INDEX THE DRIFT CRISIS DRIFT CRASH is the legendary City of Brass, governed by Grand Sultana Ayasellah Mihelar Khalidah VI (LE female efreeti soldier); the City of Brass is famous for markets and bazaars catering to planar travelers, so it makes a logical destination for heroes eager for information on the Far Portal. The final act of this story depends on your campaign. If the Dawn of Flame Adventure Path hasn’t occurred in your campaign, you can use it as a backdrop to the PCs’ struggle to return home. See page 180 for suggestions on how to incorporate this and other Adventure Paths into the Drift Crisis. Dominion of Flame forces, led by General Khaim, moving toward the Far Portal for the final invasion of the Pact Worlds give the heroes an opportunity. If the PCs can steal an efreet starship, they could blend in with the invasion forces and slip through the Far Portal as part of the fleet. EYESWIDE OPEN FOR BUSINESS The Eyeswide Agency (page 33), based on Absalom Station, is the self-appointed solution to the Drift Crash, positioning itself as the go-to response for family and friends eager to find their missing loved ones. But the agency is neither altruistic in its motives nor unimpeachable in its conduct. The PCs might be part of the agency (or freelancers hired by it) and engaged by families who are out of options and desperate to find their loved ones. Eaze Adda (CN male korasha lashunta) is a seasoned veteran at Eyeswide, and he’s got ambition—Eaze wants to transform Eyeswide into an interstellar organization that serves governments and mega corporations, not individual clients. “Working for a grieving family pays chump change,” Eaze insists. “The government dole, that’s where the real credits are.” Scaling up the agency will require tremendous resources, and getting the attention of governmental figures won’t be easy. Eaze has a plan to accomplish both these things; he wants to find and rescue the most famous individual caught in the Drift Crash, a celebrity entertainer named Zed-01 (CG agender android). Everyone in the Pact Worlds has heard about π’s disappearance, and if the agency can bring them back to the spotlight it’ll have all the money and attention it needs to scale up its activities, become a real mover in Pact World politics, and make Eaze rich beyond his wildest dreams. The trouble comes when Eaze starts sacrificing everything for his goal. Although countless individuals have hired the Eyeswide Agency to find their friends and loved ones, he puts all those contracts on hold and mobilizes the entire agency to find Zed-01. Every headscanner is reassigned to this case and ordered to do whatever it takes to succeed. Countless families who hired the agency are abandoned by Eaze’s quest for fame, and some of them turn to the PCs. This adventure works best when the heroes have a personal stake in the Drift Crisis. Each PC might have a friend, relative, or loved one who vanished in the Drift Crash— perhaps even the same person for some or all of the PCs. Each of them hired the Eyeswide Agency to find someone, but no progress has been made and the agency’s priorities are clearly elsewhere. The adventure begins with the player characters—who haven’t previously met but who are united by their shared loss—meeting with Eaze to ask him for an update on the search. He brushes off their concerns, assuring them “we’re doing everything that can be done” even as he forgets their names and the names of their missing relatives. It quickly becomes clear that if the heroes want to find their loved ones, they’re going to have to take matters into their own hands; when they do, other families come to them with their own requests. Soon, the PCs have a list of missing Crashers that includes dozens of names. Drift Crashers have been scattered throughout the Material Plane, the Drift, and other planes, and travel in the Drift has become incredibly dangerous. Fortunately for the heroes, there’s one group that has the ability to travel every plane—including the Drift—without using a Drift engine: the Tetrad. Equipped with their proprietary planar aperture drives, the witchwyrds of the Tetrad can still go anywhere they want without risking the hazards of the Drift. But the Tetrad isn’t about to let the PCs have a planar aperture drive and the PCs probably couldn’t operate it even if they had one. No, they’ll have to work with the Tetrad to pursue their rescue mission, traveling from plane to plane and world to world, doing favors for the Tetrad to pay their way while they track down and rescue those lost to the Drift. Of course, just when they least expect him, Eaze and his fellow agents appear, getting in the way and commandeering resources in the fruitless search for Zed-01. The celebrity’s final fate is the great mystery of the campaign, and it should be anything other than what the players expect. Maybe Zed-01 doesn’t want to be found and is enjoying a relaxing retirement in Elysium or perhaps they never existed at all and was just a hologram managed by a virtual intelligence. DERELICT SHIPS While many of the individuals caught in the Drift Crash are still aboard their starships when they’re thrown from the Drift, others are separated and find themselves walking the surface of random worlds. But if individuals are Crashing out of their starships, what happens to those starships? They’re still floating around—some in the galaxy, some in the Drift, some scattered among the other planes—and an enterprising ysoki is ready to make a fortune off them, whatever it takes. This adventure begins with PCs at 3rd level. Nije Gladhand (CN male ysoki mechanic) is the sole proprietor of AAA Drift Salvage, a company he founded the day after the Drift Crash. Nije (his real name is Nigel, but only his mother calls him that) knows there’s hundreds, maybe thousands, of abandoned starships in the Drift and elsewhere. All of them are worth money—maybe to the original owners, maybe to banks, maybe as salvage or sold at deep discount to new owners. Nije has a vision but he’s only one ysoki; he needs employees willing to travel to remote locales, break into starships, and repossess them. That’s where the PCs come in. Nije can outfit them with a barely functional starship (consider using the Rust Bug from Starfinder Adventure Path #38: Crash and Burn) to get them going but the PCs will need to successfully salvage other starships if they want to improve their own vessel or get a new one.

92 ADVENTURES The easiest starships to salvage are those abandoned in the Material Plane, maybe even within the Pact Worlds system. You can use any one of many starship Flip-Mats for the PCs’ first salvage, though the Pegasus and Drake models work especially well. In this first mission, the primary challenge is beating rival salvage crews to the score; a salvage team flying a Multifold G7 Autohauler or Ulrikka RC-HPR (Starship Operations Manual 89, 91) should provide a suitable challenge. Other salvage crews are already aboard the ship and will stubbornly defend their claim when the PCs try to board (you can use the street gang members detailed on pages 178–179 of Pact Worlds for these salvagers). The real plot twist comes when a survivor from the Drift Crash is found aboard the ship—do the PCs give the salvage to them, take it for themselves, or cut a deal? As the PCs increase in level, Nije sends them on tougher jobs. Once all the low-hanging fruit in the Pact Worlds system has been picked, it’s time to salvage in Near Space and the Vast. Each type of job brings new adversaries: Vesk mercenaries might be using an abandoned starship as a training ground, unleashing deadly animals in the ship’s corridors, and then hunting the animals down for practice. Salvage operations in the Vast might take the PCs to Outpost Zed (Starfinder Adventure Path #8: Escape from the Prison Moon), a remote space station on the edge of Azlanti space that caters to shady scavengers like the PCs. You can use a couple of Starfinder Flip-Mats for these adventures, especially the Starship and Ghost Ship maps. Each time the PCs explore a new wreck however, there should be a surprising twist: the alien species the Vesk are using as target practice turns out to be far more lethal (and sapient) than anyone knew and now the hunted has become the hunter. Perhaps a starship found on the edge of Azlanti space deep in the Vast has become home to androids fleeing persecution in the Star Empire and they plead with the PCs to help them get to safety in the Pact Worlds. Every time the PCs use the Drift to reach one of these remote salvage sites, they must face all the challenges of the Drift Crisis. There are also abandoned vessels floating in the Drift, and the PCs are bound to stumble across one. Starships lost in the Drift could be from any civilization anywhere in the galaxy, even from species no one in the Pact Worlds has met before. This is a great opportunity for you to let your creativity and imagination go wild, imagining a new kind of starship of unusual and fantastic design. Perhaps the PCs find an organic starship that was grown in a lab, or the starship is built on the corpse of a once-living creature, like an oma (Alien Archive 88–89). Creatures native to the Drift, like spectra, or creatures trapped there might have moved into the abandoned starship and made it their new home. The strangeness of exploring an alien starship caught in the Drift is a great opportunity to use horror-themed antagonists like mi-go or shantaks (Alien Archive 2 82, 110). If this strange starship still functions and no one else has a claim to it the PCs might be able to take it for themselves, upgrading from their old junker to something really special. HYBRID GEAR This equipment is available to all characters. MATTER CONVERTER LEVELS 7-17 HYBRID ITEM BULK 1 MODEL LEVEL PRICE MK 1 7 7,000 MK 2 12 38,000 MK 3 17 270,000 This empty box is 1-foot square and lined with glass panels and steel plates. As a full action, you can seal a consumable item (such as a grenade or serum) into the box and activate it. Once activated, the matter converter destroys the object sealed inside the box, consuming it in a black void, and then

93 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS OVERVIEW 2 INDEX THE DRIFT CRISIS DRIFT CRASH creates a new consumable item in its place. This new item must have an item level up to one level lower than the item consumed by the matter converter, with a maximum level based on its type. A mk 1 matter converter can create an item with a level no higher than level 5. A mk 2 matter converter can create an item with a level no higher than 10. A mk 3 matter converter can create an item with a level no higher than 15. A matter converter takes 1 round per level of the created item to generate the replacement item. An item created in this way is of average quality and has the statistics for an ordinary item of its type. PLANAR FLARE LEVEL 1 HYBRID ITEM PRICE 75 BULK L These single-use emergency signaling devices have been developed since the Drift Crash and issued to starship crews who might find themselves stranded. Individuals lost in the Drift might attempt to craft a planar flare to signal for help. A planar flare is a pistol-shaped device that can store a single visual image such as a night sky, landmark, or map. The flare can be used to take this image, functioning as a digital camera, or the image can be uploaded from a personal comm. Once an image has been stored in the flare, the device can be set to transmit that image to one location anywhere in the galaxy. When used as a standard action, a planar flare emits a burst of planar energy and is reduced to dust, as magic sends the image through the Plane of Fire (or another plane) to its programmed destination. The stored image travels to its destination in 1d6+6 days. When it reaches the destination, the image appears, filling an area 30 feet in diameter for 1 minute before vanishing. A planar flare can be used as a small arm, dealing 1d6 fire damage. When used in this way, a planar flare has a range increment of 15 feet and the critical hit effect burn 1d4. A planar flare is consumed upon use. VOID PROJECTOR LEVEL 8 HYBRID ITEM PRICE 8,500 BULK L As a standard action, you can activate a void projector to transform a 20-foot-radius area into a zero-g environment. The area has no gravity. A void projector can operate for up to 10 minutes per day. This duration need not be continuous, but it must be used in 1-minute increments. The device has a timer, which you can set as a move action, that enables the void projector to operate for a set number of minutes. You can deactivate a void projector as a swift action. SPELL Magic can’t be used to enter the Drift but it can be used to attract the attention of individuals who can enter the Drift on your behalf. DRIFT MESSENGER MYSTIC 5 TECHNOMANCER 5 School conjuration (summoning) Casting Time 1 round Range close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels) Effect one summoned iridia Duration 1 minute Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no You briefly summon an iridia, a spectra native to the Drift (Alien Archive 3 102), to deliver a message for you. The iridia is indifferent to you and will take no other action on your behalf; it remains within range of you for 1 minute, during which time you can communicate your message to it, transmit a data file to it by means of a comm, or give it a physical object no larger than 2 bulk. You must identify the recipient of your message by name and provide that recipient’s location. Once it has your message, is targeted by any hostile effect, or the duration of the spell expires (whichever comes first), the iridia vanishes and moves through the Drift to the named location, traveling at the speed of a starship with a Drift engine rating of 1. When it arrives at the location you’ve provided, it attempts to deliver whatever you told or gave it to the individual you named. If it fails to find that individual, it abandons your message. No information regarding the success or failure to deliver your message is provided by this spell. GM RESOURCES The Drift Crash is also the subject of the Starfinder Free RPG Day Adventure: Skitter Warp, which is short enough to be run in a single session; the Drift Crashers Starfinder Adventure Path is a 3-volume story for characters of levels 1–6 that begins with the PCs caught in the Drift Crash and hurled across space and time. If you’re creating a world on which the PCs arrive during the Drift Crash, you’ll find the Deck of Many Worlds and/or the Galaxy Exploration Manual to be invaluable. The three planes discussed in Crashing the Planes are detailed in Adventure Path volumes: Starfinder Adventure Path #12: Heart of Night discusses the Shadow Plane (pages 44–53), Starfinder Adventure Path #18: Assault on the Crucible details the Plane of Fire (pages 46–53), and Starfinder Adventure Path #45: The Culling Shadow provides information on travel and adventure in the Negative Energy Plane (pages 46–53). You can find details on the inhabitants of these planes in many sources, including the following. CREATURE CR AzerAP13 2 Velstrac, anchoriteAA2 4 Eyeswide headscanner (page 152) 4 Velstrac corvetteAA2 5* SalamanderAP14 6 SceaduinarAP42 7 EfreetAP13 8 *Tier 5 starship For a Derelict Ships campaign, begin with Starfinder Flip-Mat: Starfinder Society Starships, which details the Pegasus and Drake. Subsequent adventures can use the Ghost Ship, Giant Starship, Starliner, Starship, Sunrise Maiden, and Warship maps.

94 ADVENTURES Most followers of Eloritu don’t speculate much about the Drift, considering it Triune’s personal domain rather than a realm of any interest to their own secretive god. To other members of the faith the Drift and spaceflight are endlessly compelling mysteries. Most infamously, this compulsion destroyed the faith’s greatest Drift scholars decades ago during the Failed Gate incident (page 118); their magical attempt to overcome the Drift’s planar boundaries resulted in a terrible arcane disaster. Others have taken up Drift studies in the years since, fracturing and factionalizing as they feud over key data and hoard research that might prove their respective theories. In general, other Elorituans view these factions as eccentric outliers but the Drift Crisis has provided these groups an unprecedented platform for experimentation, recruitment, and mischief. This campaign puts PCs among three religious circles with conflicting goals in the catastrophe’s aftermath. All three circles realize they must fight for public attention and support to achieve their immediate post-Drift Crisis goals and they can only do so at the expense of the other two circles. This struggle becomes an internal war with the PCs engaging in a morally gray campaign of magic and espionage. Uncovering a circle’s plans should require skillful hacking into magically trapped archives, overcoming arcane misdirection such as enchanted agents or magically concealed missives, or planting preprogrammed illusions to throw enemies off the trail. As Eloritu promotes both secrecy and preserving knowledge, the PCs also can uncover many answers if they’re clever enough to expose, decode, or decipher the widely available clues (likely a great use of the downtime system from pages 150–155 of the Character Operations Manual). Like any good espionage campaign, there are also unexpected betrayals and opportunities to change allegiances, described in more detail below. The PCs should start as close allies of one of the three circles; the specific circle is up to you, based on your players’ tastes and the themes presented below. They might be friends or relatives of the archmage leading a circle, agents whose loyalty was bought with good pay and fair treatment, or members of a circle. This last option is especially fitting for spellcaster PCs but the church of Eloritu welcomes historians, hackers, and secret-seekers of any class. This quick overview of the circles and their goals includes tasks the PCs might perform to support or oppose these groups. DOORWAYS WITHIN DOORWAYS Doorways within Doorways specializes in teleportation and planar exploration; it has existed for generations and is the oldest and most highly regarded of the three key circles in this campaign. It’s headquartered on Castrovel in the waterfall-bedecked city of Candares. The courtyard of its main research complex contains an aiudara (or magical “elf-gate”) that’s widely believed to be broken, but which Doorways within Doorways has stuttered into occasional operation. The archmage is the venerable Heyopo (N male damaya lashunta technomancer), whose body and mind are so addled from past teleportation mishaps he can barely remember his closest friends and often slips into paranoia. The circle’s chief curator, or public-facing agent, is Djaranti (CN female human mystic) who proudly publicizes that Doorways within Doorways has discovered a magical hack to plane shift directly from one part of the Material Plane to another. This allows for incredibly distant travel without the exhausting consequence of interplanetary teleport and the double danger of plane shifting to another plane and back again. Circle members at the headquarters have almost concluded designing a more potent ritual that could transport entire starships, mitigating the need for Drift travel entirely. Support Tasks: The PCs might be asked to help perfect this starship-transporting ritual, whether as spellcasters or bodyguards protecting on-site consultants. The seemingly miraculous revelation relies on some dangerous and imperfectly understood exploit though, such as using plane shift to travel through some plane of strange geometry and irregular time. The PCs might need to explore this realm through the circle’s aiudara or combat the realm’s utterly alien inhabitants. Opposition Tasks: The faction’s enemies suspect there’s some dangerous catch behind Doorways within Doorways’ breakthrough and they want this secret uncovered and exposed. Sabotaging the faction’s aiudara could deal a terrible blow. However, the gate is so well-defended on the Material Plane that the only way to reach it might be to sneak in through the strange plane where it leads and emerge unexpectedly in the headquarters with explosive charges. Any number of strange creatures might be encountered within the realm and perhaps some are unexpected allies who hate the planar meddling the faction is pursuing. INTERLOCKING CIRCLES The church of Eloritu, god of secrets and magic, has long considered the magic-barred Drift to be either the galaxy’s greatest mystery or an affront to its faith. In either case, the Drift Crisis presents an exclusive opportunity to demonstrate the true utility of magic where technology has failed. The individual circles within the church fight over whether magic is best used at this time to help the displaced and doomed, to push forth magical opportunities for interstellar travel, or to stoke growing technophobia. FACTIONS: Circles within the church of Eloritu, including Doorways within Doorways, Dust of Shadows, and Open Corners LOCATIONS: Castrovel, Verces, and a planetoid called Lure of Open Corners LEVELS 10–15

95 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX INTERLOCKING CIRCLES DUST OF SHADOWS Dust of Shadows was once a populous but poorly regarded circle on the Idari—its strong personalities often clashed, promoting pet theories in games of one-upmanship rather than applying appropriate intellectual rigor. Shortly after the Drift Crisis the circle relocated to Verces, using the chaos to take control of the microstate of Verimikar along the Darkside edge. With control over both local government and media, Dust of Shadows began broadcasting slick, upbeat programs about the omnipotence of magic and its ability to provide comfort and answers in this time of technological failure. These popular messages have become increasingly nasty and anti-technological, particularly regarding Drift travel. Dust of Shadows calls out specific verthani Drift pilots and Drift engine manufacturers as secret instigators of the Drift Crash and “proponents of pushing bad technological solutions after a catastrophic technological failure.” The message is boosted by conspiracy theorists, verthani Pure Ones, and others who eschew technology on the tech-obsessed planet, insisting that “Dust of Shadows tells you what they don’t want you to hear.” The sudden rise and reorganization of Dust of Shadows was engineered by its newest archmage, Mafupkal (LN agender verthani witchwarper), a haughty Pure One descended from Verimikar’s nobility. In a single masterstroke, Mafupkal claimed their ancestral birthright, bought off or blackmailed the circle’s other leaders, and moved the entire circle to Verces. Although Mafupkal has tight control, they defer messaging to a retired intelligence officer named Shankuru Rynn (LE male human operative), who always intended to spark anti-Drift terrorism. Support Tasks: Mafupkal has many enemies and frequently needs bodyguards when traveling. Trusted PCs might learn that those the Dust of Shadows targets aren’t actually engineers of the Drift Crisis; instead, they’re people who otherwise stand in the way of the circle’s anti-technology aims and whom it would be convenient to remove or silence. Shankuru might ask them to gather intelligence on various perceived enemies, including members of Doorways within Doorways and Open Corners. Opposition Tasks: Exposing Mafupkal’s blackmail among their own circle could return Dust of Shadows to the fractious infighting that reigned before they seized power. Shankuru has several skeletons in his closet and finding a former ally in the intelligence community willing to explain Shankuru’s disinformation techniques should have a cloak-and-dagger feel. PCs might attack the messaging directly, sabotaging Verimikar’s broadcast towers or infosphere uplinks. OPEN CORNERS This far-ranging circle specializes in magical or magically assisted spaceflight, including teleportation to and from planetary surfaces, supernatural stasis to facilitate long journeys, and magical means to make starship engines more efficient. As Open Corners has good working relationships

96 ADVENTURES with several spaceflight companies, it was ideally positioned to rescue stranded travelers after the Crash. Open Corners has established a base of operations on a planetoid in the Vast it calls Lure of Open Corners. Lure of Open Corners has a magical beacon that makes teleportation to it much easier and more accurate when combined with the circle’s secret, far-reaching rituals. The charismatic archmage Theospa Baldo (N female human mystic) orchestrates all transit to Lure of Open Corners, and the twin priests Dorva (LN female ysoki mystic) and Horva (CN male ysoki mystic) oversee its makeshift hospitals and temporary housing. Eminent circle members know this crucial teleportation beacon is a bio-magical effect augmented by the planetoid’s glum inhabitants, the omduvengs (page 157). Support Tasks: Theospa knows Open Corners’ good reputation stems from its aggressive rescue efforts, and allied PCs are sent on these missions. They’re given necessary support to bring survivors to Lure of Open Corners and clear instructions to push Open Corners as saviors and heroes. Theospa makes no secret to allied PCs that she intends for Open Corners to come out of this crisis with a sterling reputation for magical support that the circle can barter for future services. Because Doorways within Doorways and Dust of Shadows are tarnishing the faith’s reputation, they need to be dealt with decisively and harshly. Opposition Tasks: People rehabilitated on Lure of Open Corners come away with suspiciously consistent praise for the circle and getting to the bottom of the magical enchantment and memory alteration going on there makes a good mission for enemy PCs. Anyone skulking on the planetoid might learn that while Open Corners at first secured the omduvengs’ help peacefully, the circle resorts to increasingly exploitative tactics to ensure cooperation and has performed risky and painful rituals to enhance the omduvengs’ supernatural abilities. Aiding the omduvengs in defying the circle or securing their freedom through rebellion would deal a terrible blow. CIRCLE OF ONE Standing apart from the three vying circles is the sole remaining member of the Ineffable Utterance circle, Hamdrian Fellock (page 172). This influential demagogue preaches that technology should be subservient to magic. He initially has followers among Doorways within Doorways and Dust of Shadows, but he and Open Corners view each other with mutual suspicion. When plane-warping travel becomes increasingly unstable with Doorways within Doorways and Dust of Shadow making its overtly technophobic aims more public, Hamdrian and Open Corners become much stronger allies. Hamdrian acts as a useful wild card in this campaign. The PCs should have the opportunity to meet him early on—perhaps they’re asked to guard him on his way to a highly publicized speaking engagement or maybe they want something once held by Hamdrian’s circle and which only he can access (such as nyblantine on page 97). Hamdrian is polite but distant at first, and the PCs should learn his chief worry is that agitators and anarchists will pervert his nuanced message of magical reliance. He might make a helpful ally in inter-circle politics, providing perspective on how each circle’s mission might enhance or discredit Eloritu’s faith. He might even need the PCs’ help; as more Dust of Shadows members engage in anti-tech terrorism in Hamdrian’s name, he could need cover or an alibi to prove he isn’t responsible for promoting their violence. That said, Hamdrian might play the PCs for fools, secretly stoking violence and counting on them to help him escape trouble so he can continue his activities. He might publicly disavow the actions of Dust of Shadows but feed it useful information about high-profile targets. SWITCHING ALLEGIANCES There are no right sides to this conflict. Each of the circles is morally flawed and this campaign thrives on the PCs gradually uncovering and becoming uncomfortable that their chosen circle has corrupt motivations, goals, or methodologies—which, ideally, leads them to change allegiances. The more you present opposing circles as selfish and cruel, the more likely the PCs are to accept their own faction’s imperfections. Instead, you can lure the PCs to another circle by hinting that their enemies are actually far more sympathetic and even upstanding. Simultaneously, the somewhat underhanded missions from the PCs’ circle take on an increasingly sinister character, potentially even setting up situations where they might be sacrificed or betrayed by their patrons. As the PCs’ loyalties evolve, all it takes is the right opportunity or offer from an NPC from a different faction for the PCs to sabotage their old patrons or become double agents, signing on with someone new. Later in the campaign, the PCs should have lots of inside knowledge about each of the three circles. They can then be well-positioned to sabotage the two opposing circles and defend their allied circle, and with their intervention, the PCs ultimately control who prevails in this conflict. The victor is likely to shape how the church of Eloritu is seen by the galaxy for years to come. You can expand this allegiance-switching theme still further. An extended twist would be to structure the adventure so the PCs switch their allegiances twice, finding out their new choice is just as opportunistic and cruel as the one they left, thus landing them with the third and final circle. The grimmest campaign structure of all convinces the PCs that all three are bad, requiring them to make a choice to ensure that the least of three evils prevails. For a more upbeat conclusion, the PCs might acquire enough influence and personal power during the campaign that they can take over a circle or found their own on more upstanding principles and in so doing help mitigate the Drift Crisis and salvage the church of Eloritu’s reputation. As the GM, here are a few levers you can pull with each circle to make the PCs question their loyalties and switch their allegiance to another circle. You should start small with these, and build up the discomfort over time. Doorways within Doorways: At first, the influential members of the circle keep the truth of the plane-skipping innovation to themselves; passing through a dangerous and unknown plane, even for an instant, poses dangers almost no one wants to expose themselves to regularly. Given Heyopo’s addled mental state, he might let this truth slip at an inopportune moment. Djaranti is desperate to keep this truth under wraps, as the proceeds from this new method of travel are likely to make the circle—and her—fabulously wealthy. She might be willing to murder to keep the secret and turn on Heyopo if she deems

97 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS OVERVIEW 2 INDEX THE DRIFT CRISIS INTERLOCKING CIRCLES it necessary. She might attempt to eliminate PCs who get too close to the truth, perhaps by arranging an accident to strand them in the strange plane beyond the aiudara. Perhaps the denizens of that plane are injured by the magic of Doorways within Doorways but the circle just doesn’t care. Dust of Shadows: The initially benign messaging about magic’s superiority is subverted into an anti-Drift screed, but this course has always been the plan. Shankuru and his former intelligence cronies created the benign message expressly as a trojan horse for hateful rhetoric to incite violence and it’s only a matter of time before agitators who have bought into Shankuru’s warped message attempt to assassinate a prominent pilot, Triune priest, or Drift engine manufacturer’s executive. The PCs might uncover that Shankuru is more than a mere instigator, having funneled nyblantine to these agitators. If the PCs find out too much, he might target them next, either by naming them in his hateful broadcast or sending unhinged conspiracy theorists after them. Mafupkal is no help, as nothing is more important to the arrogant verthani than their role as an archmage and noble, and they consider the PCs expendable. Open Corners: The circle’s activities on Lure of Open Corners are suspect. Apart from the mistreatment of the omduvengs, the PCs might learn about extensive magical brainwashing that rescued survivors and refugees undergo while being rehabilitated on the planetoid. The native lichens are easily enchanted to enhance their mind-altering properties, and Open Corners uses them not only to cultivate a false reputation as rescuers and heroes, but also to scour survivors’ minds for useful intelligence, and then erasing that knowledge from the survivors so the circle has exclusive access to that information. Dorva and Horva intervene if anyone gets too close to uncovering the truth, isolating them or performing mind-wiping procedures equivalent to a magical lobotomy. PCs might be forced to fight or flee to keep their minds intact. SPECIAL MATERIAL: NYBLANTINE MATERIAL PRICE Nyblantine round (1 piece) +30 credits Nyblantine armor +6,000 credits Raw nyblantine, untreated (1 bulk) 6 credits Raw nyblantine, treated (1 bulk) 600 credits Raw nyblantine, or magesilver, is a reflective metal that’s liquid at room temperatures in its natural form, much like mercury. When solid at –100º F it’s far too brittle to be anything more than a metallurgical curiosity—until 20 years ago, when Eloritu’s faithful uncovered ancient records of a magical process for treating and stabilizing nyblantine. When treated with these rare—and, in many systems, proprietary—magical techniques, nyblantine becomes a malleable, gleaming blue metal that degrades technological items it touches. Nyblantine magically causes electronic impulses to fluctuate erratically and molecular bonds to loosen and distend in unpredictable ways. Nyblantine’s effects are strongest against technological items, and although the metal can affect hybrid items (including weapons with weapon fusions), the metal always drains the minimum possible number of charges. Raw and treated nyblantine is treated as a hybrid item. Nyblantine melee weapons are too soft to be practical. However, nyblantine ammunition works well. A technological item with charges loses 1d4 charges when struck by nyblantine ammo, in addition to the usual effects of being shot. A construct with the technological subtype that takes damage from nyblantine ammo becomes flat-footed and off-target for 1 round. Armor incorporating thin nyblantine plates bleeds energy from technological items that strike the wearer. A powered melee weapon that strikes the wearer loses 1d4 charges with each successful attack and if the weapon is reduced to 0 charges, the weapon deactivates automatically after resolving the attack. Armor made with nyblantine is a hybrid item, and armor upgrades that aren’t magical or hybrid items don’t function when installed in the armor. Nyblantine can’t be used in many high-tech devices, as its presence renders the device ineffective, but it can be used for certain destructive purposes. For example, you can connect 1 bulk of nyblantine to explosives you set and trigger via a detonator (Core Rulebook 218). The nyblantine disrupts complicated detonation signals, so you can trigger it only with a button press, but the resulting explosion ignores three-quarters of a technological object’s hardness instead of one-half. A battery in contact with at least 1 bulk of nyblantine loses 1 charge per round and an empty battery in contact with that much nyblantine can’t be charged for 24 hours afterward. At the GM’s discretion, other uses of nyblantine might disrupt or even degrade nearby technology, such as nyblantine-coated walls interfering with comm unit signals. Treated nyblantine only recently became widely available, even though the techniques are decades old. Rumors abound that the church of Eloritu brought the material to market only after it amassed vast stockpiles of it and that factions within the church vie over control of these stores. GM RESOURCES Most opponents in this campaign will be rival followers of Eloritu; technomancers and mystics are great opponents, regardless of the PCs’ allegiance. Dangerous magical creatures summoned by rituals gone wrong are also appropriately thematic foes. Esoteric creatures with an interest in plane shifting or time are likely drawn to oppose (or, more rarely, defend) the errant research of Doorways within Doorways. Security forces are most likely to oppose Dust of Shadows, particularly once that circle embraces overt destruction, but it has verthani Pure Ones aligned to its cause. Monsters who prey upon the lost or desperate are likely to attack Open Corners, and the omduvengs are numerous on Lure of Open Corners. This campaign likely includes plenty of magical or hybrid traps to protect knowledge as well as magical curses to afflict spies, using rules on pages 410–413 and 418–419 of the Core Rulebook. CREATURE CR DetectivePW 5 Hound of TindalosAA3 7 Verthani Pure OneAA 9 Omduveng (page 157) 10 Aeon, tekhoinosAA2 10 Time dimensionalAA3 14 Thing from Beyond TimeAA3 17

98 ADVENTURES The Drift Crisis makes an immediate and devastating economic impact across nearly every galactic industry, but few businesses were as profoundly impacted as starship manufacturers. With Drift travel suddenly unreliable, the market for Drift-capable vessels has all but dried up. Contracts were voided as governments quickly turned their attention home. Businesses closed their doors, often unwilling or unable to take delivery of commissioned vessels as they came off the assembly line. Interstellar tourism and leisure travel ceased almost entirely. Starship manufacturers suddenly found themselves scrambling to survive, with many significantly paring back their operations and others shuttering their doors for good. Not every manufacturer viewed the Drift Crisis as a problem, however. Some instead saw it as an opportunity to increase market share for those willing to take a chance. Foremost among these is the Norikama Syndicate. Previously known for low-cost knockoffs (and infamous for its shoddy working conditions), the former salvage company shocked Near Space when it announced an ambitious plan to deliver ships with an alternative interstellar drive, one unaffected by the Drift Crisis, within six months. It relentlessly hypes its mystery drive, claiming that it will alter the destiny of both the Pact Worlds and the Veskarium. Though not forthcoming with any details, its bold claims remain the talk of the industry, and rumors of clandestine test flights and a secret manufacturing facility swirl. THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS The details of Norikama Syndicate’s mystery drive are a closely guarded secret, unknown to all but the company’s founders and their most trusted lieutenants. As far as most of the company knows, drives are delivered to the Norikama Syndicate shipyard on Akiton from a secret facility as sealed, black-boxed devices. The reason for this procedure is more sinister than merely the protection of trade secrets, however. Norikama’s leadership has signed a deal with a powerful devil to acquire a quantity of Helldrives it can sell as its own invention, provided it doesn’t reveal the true nature of the devices. These drives circumvent vast distances on the material plain by taking shortcuts through Hell. Company leadership hopes that the modest quantity of drives they secured will last until either Drift travel is once again reliable, or someone else creates a viable faster-than-light alternative that they can copy. Some people consider using a Helldrive as tantamount to making a deal with a devil. Were the truth about these devices to get out, Norikama Syndicate would doubtless face immense backlash from a duped public as well as from powerful organizations, such as the Knights of Golarion, and from its own employees, who might resent being an unwitting party to a pact with Hell. Norikama Syndicate’s scheme is only one side of the transaction. Its partner is a powerful and ambitious devil known to Norikama only as Mallex, who has their own hidden agenda. The Helldrives Mallex supplied are calibrated such that any creatures within a few hundred meters of the ship are carried along when the ship jumps to the Material Plane. Norikama Syndicate has been making regular test flights along a fixed route that, combined with careful positioning and timing, allowed a small number of devils riding in starshipscale volocoths to be carried back to the Material Plane, completely unbeknownst to the flight crew. These fiends amassed in the Diaspora, awaiting their opportunity to carry out Mallex’s bidding. The devil plans to use these forces to locate the Ascendant Shard, a supernatural stone rumored to exist somewhere in the Diaspora and said to grant those who discover it their heart’s desire. Mallex believes that by siphoning the power of the Ascendant Shard, they can gain power enough to rival the very lords of Hell. Such a potentially powerful artifact in fiendish hands could spell doom for the Pact Worlds as well, should Mallex choose to claim the system as their own, perhaps in an effort to reach the Starstone at the heart of Absalom station. A FAILED TEST Norikama Syndicate’s announcement generated massive buzz throughout Near Space, so its every move is subject to intense scrutiny. Journalists scramble for scraps of information they can package as exclusives. Eager customers line up to order the hyped vessels, some going to great lengths to move to the front of the line. Worried competitors wage campaigns of industrial espionage and sabotage, hoping to steal the secret to Norikama’s hyped drive or to derail it if they can’t. Add these BLAZING SPEEDS The failure of Drift travel has thrown the starship manufacturing industry into chaos. While manufacturers scramble to do whatever they can to survive, finding a feasible alternative means of interstellar travel would put any company at a massive advantage. One business, willing to do whatever it takes to seize the opportunity, has made a deal with an evil power to get a leg up on its competition. This power comes with a cost, however, and it might be the whole system that pays the price. FACTIONS: ChiwaTech, Free Captains, Hellknights, Norikama Syndicate, Stewards LOCATIONS: Akiton, the Diaspora, Pact Worlds LEVELS 1–20

99 DRIFT CRISIS PRE-CRISIS DRIFT ADVENTURES DRIFT IN CRISIS TOOLBOX NPCS FACTIONS CREATURES SECRET TREASURES ADVENTURE PATHS IN CRISIS CLASS OPTIONS THEMES GEAR DRIFT ARCHITECTS THE DRIFT CRISIS INTRODUCTION 2 INDEX BLAZING SPEEDS pressures to existing hostility from decades of scavenging and copycat designs, and Norikama is beset on all sides as it tests and develops its drive. Supposed sightings of mysterious ships spread throughout the infosphere, and interested people flock to rumored destinations to catch a glimpse of Norikama’s proclaimed future of space travel. For its part, the company has gone to great lengths to protect its secrets. It deploys decoy craft to throw people off, spreads false rumors through intermediaries, and hires security specialists to keep its work secret. Despite the security challenges involved, Norikama Syndicate must conduct clandestine test flights to calibrate each Helldrive once it has been installed in a vessel, all before sending it to a storage area in a remote section of the Diaspora to await launch day. The destinations of these tests are a closely guarded secret and vary from vessel to vessel. Like all developing technology, these experimental craft aren’t without problems, and they occasionally break down or fail, sometimes in spectacular fashion. Unfortunately for Norikama, any test flight long enough to evaluate and calibrate a faster-than-light drive must take the craft a significant distance from its launch point, and recovering a disabled test vehicle must depend on the slower, unreliable Drift technology it’s meant to replace. To this end, Norikama disguises its test ships to hide their true nature, allowing it to make use of regional rescue and recovery services without the true nature of the vessel being discovered. When a poorly installed Helldrive failed to activate on the return leg of a test flight from the Norikama shipyard on Akiton to the orbit of Verces, the company used an intermediary to contract a nearby ChiwaTech Assistance Center to tow the ship to its service yard, where the ship could await pickup from a larger transport vessel. When the towing and rescue team arrived, however, they found the ship disabled, the crew dead, and the engine hastily removed. Though the story has been kept quiet, Norikama Syndicate now searches desperately for the missing drive and information about the attack. Hellknights of the Order of the Eclipse have been seen in the area as well, conducting their own investigation into the crime. Neither has, so far, discovered the true culprits, an opportunistic crew of pirates aboard the Deep Blue Shift. The crew, captained by an android woman named Factor-9, happened to be in the right place at the right time to take advantage of what appeared to be a disabled freighter full of cargo. Upon boarding the vessel, they discovered the true nature of the craft. The savvy captain ordered her crew to cut out the drive so the pirates could later ransom it to Norikama or auction it off to the highest bidder. The Deep Blue Shift retreated to a hideout in the Free Captains-controlled section of the Diaspora. The PCs might play the part of the ChiwaTech crew that discovers the crime, perhaps becoming suspects themselves. Alternatively, they could be hired by Norikama Syndicate to find and retrieve the drive or by a rival business to investigate