AUTHOR: PATRICK BRENNAN / PUBLISHER: PAIZO INC / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Starfinder is a space fantasy table top roleplaying game. It’s basically a sci-fi version of the fantasy game Pathfinder, which in itself is heavily inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. So essentially it’s all the fun of D&D, but set in space. But with a crunchier and more detailed rules-set. Fate of the Fifth is a low-level adventure that kicks off the cheekily named Attack of The Swarm campaign, and it delivers on the promise of pulpy sci-fi fun.
The story begins with your party of adventurers joining in the Suskillon Defense Force (SDF) to defend that whole solar system from an invading hive-like alien race called the Swarm. The players join the struggling Fifth Battalion and have the opportunity to be big god-damned heroes, saving civilian and soldiers alike whilst struggling against impossible odds. Epic stuff for low-level heroes. The book contains rules for creating characters that are career troopers and battlefield medics. It also warns that starship combat isn’t going to be the main focus at in this leg of the campaign, but players should design characters that at least know which bit is the engine.
This Adventure Path has a strong ‘Starship Troopers versus Lord of The Rings’ vibe to it and yes, because this is a Paizo game, the story breaks off at one point so the characters can run off and investigate the actual plot, finding themselves in the heart of the story.
The book contains plenty of details on the Swarm itself and a history of sorts. They are exactly what they sound like; big monstrous bugs with all sorts of different types and abilities. This is a Starfinder game so of course there’s a blend of high-tech weirdness and high-fantasy magic, making these monsters all the strangers and more terrifying.
Fate of the Fifth is a very well laid out and easy to navigate. The artwork is brilliant, especially the maps and layouts. This is brilliant way of getting new people into one of the oddest and yet most compelling RPGs out there.
