Character Creation

[Maester1216]

The Fly Free or Die Player's Guide has information which should help in developing character concepts well-suited to this campaign. The Player's Guide can be downloaded here.

I'll be looking for 6 players to fill out the starting ship's compliment.

 

1. Ability Scores: These can be generated with standard point buy, rolling for stats, or by choosing one of the quick pick sets.

- If rolling for Ability Scores, use this formula: roll 4d6 and drop the lowest rolled die. Do this 8 times to create an array, dropping two of the results for a total of 6. Finally, create 6 arrays and pick your preferred.

- If none of the 6 sets rolled catch your eye you can switch to either of the two other methods.

2. Species: Core, Legacy and Uncommon Species are allowed.

3. Themes: All Themes are allowed, but if you elect to use a theme that doesn’t lend itself to being a Company worker, keep this in mind: Why are you working the shipping lanes aboard a corporate freighter with your crewmates?

4. Equipment: Characters start with 1,500 credits to spend on equipment. No Gear above Level 1.

 

Free Archetype

We'll be using the Free Archetype rule found in Starfinder Enhanced.

When a character reaches 2nd level (or the first level at which that archetype provides an alternate feature), the player should choose an archetype their character meets the prerequisites of (if any) to gain that archetype’s first alternate class feature for free, in addition to gaining any of the normal features of their class. While using this system, you treat a PC’s character level as their class level for the purposes of archetype selection and abilities. As the character levels up, they continue to gain that archetype’s alternate class features (at 4th, 6th, 9th, 12th, and/ or 18th levels) without having to alter or replace their normal class features. If the archetype offers a choice of alternate class features at a particular level, the player can make that choice freely but must still choose an alternate class feature they qualify for. If an archetype doesn’t offer an alternate class feature at a particular level, the player gains a bonus feat instead (they must still meet the prerequisites for that feat).

Unlike a normal archetype, this free archetype isn’t attached to a particular class, so a player can multiclass and continue to advance in their chosen free archetype. A player can also add different archetypes to their character as normal.

 

Other Considerations

Alignment: No Evil. This campaign does encourage a certain degree of moral flexibility, which is something to keep in mind if making a Good character.

Starship Roles: With 6 players we can fill nearly every role on a Starship, but at the very least we'll need a Captain, Pilot, Engineer, and Science Officer.

Third-Party Material: Sad to say but no.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Maester1216 (see edit history)

[Maester1216]

Backgrounds

The backgrounds provided here add elements to your character history that give you a clear connection to one of the Adventure Path’s most important or recurring NPCs. They aren’t intended to replace your character’s entire backstory, which you should develop in collaboration with your GM and fellow players. Instead, they detail one specific incident in your past that you can integrate with the story you imagine for your PC. Select only one of these backgrounds with each player choosing a different one. If none of these backgrounds seem appropriate for your character, work with the GM to create a new one.

Former Smuggler: You have a checkered past; for a time, you smuggled illegal weapons, drugs, and other contraband in and out of the Pact Worlds. After you attracted the attention of the Stewards, they briefly incarcerated you aboard the Steadfast, their flagship. There, you met Xegas Xervanas, a young Steward who’d grown disenchanted with his career path. In conversations with you, Xegas became enthralled with the idea of the smuggler life; he broke you out of the brig and became a smuggler himself, under the codename Jinx. You left that job for something with a bit less heat attached, and although you’ve heard Jinx works as a transport pilot now, you haven’t seen him since.

Golden Parachute: For a time, you lived on the other side of the law. Specifically, you worked for the Golden League a while ago, alongside a Xun assassin named Sinjin. After a particularly nasty job on Eox, you decided to walk away from the League to find a career with a longer life expectancy. The Golden League didn’t want to let you go, but Sinjin covered for you; out of gratitude for all the close calls over the years, he told his bosses in the Golden League that he pushed you out of an airlock as punishment for your betrayal. You haven’t seen Sinjin since, but you’ve heard he has risen high in the League, even forming his own crime family.

Kalistocrat Childhood: You grew up in a family that followed the Prophecies of Kalistrade. Since these prophecies insist on celibacy, you and your siblings were all adopted, and your parents filled your head with the idea that the zeros in your credit balance measured your success in life. When you became an adult, you left home and abandoned the religion, alienating your parents and your sister, Eline, who has continued to rise in the organization. Now, she works as an Executive Vice President in the Company. The two of you haven’t spoken in years, but fortunately, the executive level might as well be another star system. She almost certainly doesn’t know you’re also employed by EJ Corp.

Mine Collapse: Here’s the story of how you almost died. There you were, mining thasteron in Akiton’s Winterlands a few years ago. Akiton doesn’t even have laws, let alone safety regulations, so no one was surprised when, one day, a molecular borer ignited a thasteron explosion that collapsed the mine on hundreds of workers. Most died, but you and a ysoki named Niva Rovo managed to work together to melt your way out. You’ve never forgotten Niva, and you can bet she has never forgotten you. You heard that she has her own ship now, Wintermourn, with a whole crew to boot.

New Hire: Life is hard, and you’ve been down on your luck for a long time. However, you still have a few friends from the old days when you had credits to burn. One of those friends is a Brenneri named Tarika; you and she had a lot of good times together, but she dropped out of your social scene to raise her daughter. Things went downhill for you after that. A few weeks ago, you were squatting in Downside when you ran into Tarika and she recognized you. She put in a good word with the Company and got you this job as a result.

Old Hand: You’ve been with the Company a long time, and you know just how cynical it is. Another employee has been around as long as you have, however: Tarika, a brenneri who has endured endless employee orientation workshops alongside you. A couple of times over the years, you or Tarika have almost gotten fired—a threat that, at EJ Corp, never feels distant enough to be funny— but you’ve always covered for each other. When you were behind on your quota one month, Tarika kicked some jobs your way, and when Tarika needed some time off to take care of her daughter, you pulled a few double shifts to help out. She’s reliable and trustworthy, and maybe one of the few friends you can count on.

Terraformer: Before you started work aboard BD514, you worked for the Company on a terraforming project on the planet of Entha in the Vast. Entha is a water world with an immense ocean so deep and dark that it’s never been fully explored, earning it the name “the Shadow Sea.” While there, you worked alongside a resourceful and reliable Brenneri construction worker named Shan. Shan always looked out for others, and when shifts were just too long and hard, she sometimes covered for you. When you left Entha for less dangerous work on a cargo hauler, Shan was preoccupied with the unsafe working conditions on Entha. You haven’t heard from her since.

Union Busted: If there’s one thing that brings corporate management together, it’s the threat of an employee union. A few years ago, before you started at the Company, you worked long hours at an AbadarCorp factory when one of your coworkers—an idealistic Brenneri named Shan—started speaking to you and the others on your shift about forming a union. She insisted that unionizing posed the best way to secure better wages and working conditions, and you figured she was probably right. She must’ve made some progress, because the managers came down like a hammer soon after, and you were all out on the street. You bounced back—if you can call the Company a bounce—but you’re not really sure what happened to Shan.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Maester1216 (see edit history)