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Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Starfinder RPG Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition)

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Chapter 4: Running Starship Campaigns / Starship Campaign Arcs / Invasion!

A New Uniform

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 149
The PCs’ example leads to the creation of a war council staffed by admirals and generals from throughout the system. Some of these individuals represent planetary military forces, but others are civilian or ad-hoc groups—Free Captains and Golden League families share the table with Stewards and Hellknights. They elect a chairperson, but that individual has little authority and can’t keep meetings from breaking out into arguments or even physical violence. The war council can, however, begin to organize a coordinated defense. A small system-wide fleet is formed, and the PCs are asked to join. The tone of the campaign shifts. The PCs are no longer operating independently, striking the Veskarium wherever they can before fleeing. Instead, they’re part of a larger force; when they’re outnumbered, reinforcements appear, and when their allies are ambushed, the PCs are sent to aid them. The PCs cooperate with other captains in small groups of two or three ships, guarding supply convoys, protecting civilian settlements, and leading counterattacks on Veskarian bases and squadrons. Planetside, they assist civilian leaders, train local forces, and construct physical defenses. But the PCs have made enemies and rivals in the war council. These political enemies have their own ideas about how to stop the Veskarium, and they see the PCs as the chief obstacle to these plans. When a major Veskarium operation forces everyone to retreat towards Aballon, these political enemies assign the PCs to be rear guard. It’s a suicide mission, buying time for the allied navies to fall back and regroup. The PCs, however, are more resourceful than anyone expects, and captains they’ve befriended arrive to help. Eventually the PCs are cut off and thought dead, but if they can triumph in battle against the Veskarian flagship, they can return as heroes to the allied fleet.