Just after Starfinder’s launch in August 2017, we unveiled the five player characters who would be traversing the stars in the Dead Suns Adventure Path. Learn more about each of them below.
Alyndra Vallis, Lashunta Solarian
Player: Rebecca
Alyndra Vallis, Artwork by Seth Witfoth
The studious daughter of Lashunta scientists was born in the research centers of Castrovel, Alyndra followed in her parent’s footsteps, becoming a scholar and explorer. The young student made it her mission to explore the cosmos, seeking answers to questions even she could not fully form. When on an expedition she manifested the strange powers of the Solarians, and has been on a journey to discover more about them ever since.
Chibi Alyndra, Art by Kurama-chan
The daughter of renowned members of Lashunta society, Alyndra’s entire life has been marked by study, exploration and scholarship.
Her father Guldin Vallis, a poised and keen Damaya, and her mother Mereshe Vallis, a short and strong Korasha, instilled a deep-set passion for science and exploration in each of their three children, giving their brood a natural curiosity about the world around them and what lay in wait beyond the stars.
While her siblings pursued more traditional fields and methods of study, Alyndra always held a particular fascination for astronomy; from a young age, she can remember looking up at the stars and making up stories for her own constellations. When she came of age, she had tattooed on her arm her favorite made up cosmology, a symbol of space she called “The Gateway.” Although she and her eldest sister Kreari are separated by several years, they enjoy a close relationship despite their differences. Her brother Aureous, on the other hand, often ridiculed her sense of reverence in the star charts she studied. He saw the world in a more orderly fashion, and took greatly after their father.
Alyndra Vallis, Character Art Courtesy ArtGian
But while Alyndra enjoyed a mostly safe, comfortable childhood, the highly respected Vallises have a mysterious past. Before she was born, her father headed the research division of the university’s Xenobiology department, while her mother acted as a member of the State Exploration Unit. Together, they and their two older children embarked on a three-year mission into the far reaches of the universe. While her parents don’t speak much of that time, Alyndra is keenly aware that it was a dangerous mission during which they lost many friends and comrades to the terrors of the foreign planet.
Castrovel Planet, © Paizo, Inc.
By the time the Vallis family returned to the City-State of Qabarat on Castrovel, the infant Alyndra had been born on that alien planet. Their life returned to relative normalcy once they were all at home in the Pact World, and her father rose in the ranks of Academia, while her mother became a long-blade instructor for the arena.
A passionate but focused student, Alyndra pursued her studies in astronomy whenever she had the chance. When the option arose after university to travel on an expedition through an apprenticeship, Alyndra leapt at the opportunity to finally get off-world.
She was handpicked to study under Master Esquiel Pasalar, the famous and reclusive theoretical astrophysicist, on a distant planet called Calathu-7. During her apprenticeship, Alyndra drew and studied maps of the stars, observing and recording the birth and death of countless stellar bodies. Since Master Pasalar would often send Alyndra away while he studied for days on end, she was left to solitary reflection. The excitement of her adventure wore down into an ennui in a matter of months. She took to long walks on the planet’s rocky surface, mostly at night when she could best see the stars in the darkened sky.
It was on one such walk that it happened. A strange bright blue light burnt across the sky, unfolding in ribbons and consuming the vast sea of stars. Her eyes began to lose focus as she struggled to watch the stellar event; although she had no idea what it was or if she was even in her right mind, she knew she had to keep her eyes open.
She steeled herself and looked into the astral flames, and within it, she could see something — though she could not put a name to it. Shaken to her core, the world was lit ablaze. It became deafeningly loud around her, and Alyndra was at once terrified and ecstatic. Her body sang and resonated with this strange energy, and she felt weightless, feeling as if she was lifted from the ground. The light, she realized, was within her as well, and began to explosively scorch the terrain around her, flung from her fingertips and eyes.
And as suddenly as it had appeared it was gone. Alyndra fell to the ground, and a deep darkness enveloped her.
Castrovel, © Paizo, Inc.
Knowing how Master Pasalar may react, ever the skeptic, Alyndra kept her experience a secret from him. But she simply couldn’t shake her curiosity, so she began to probe the old scholar’s mind and ask questions of him. She gathered that the powers she had exhibited were often tied to a sect known as Solarians.
Stealing away for hours in their ship’s computer library, she soaked in every word about the mysterious Solarians, but her access to information was limited on Calathu-7, and she eagerly awaited the day she could return to Pact Space.
Alyndra completed her apprenticeship and travels now to Absalom Station to request information from the Starfinder Society. Within their leagues and libraries she hopes to find the key to her abilities and how she fits into the world of balance that is the path of the Solarian.
Art by GenTrigger
Design Background
So, when Rebecca thought about classes, she knew she wanted to be something cool and/or badass. When you have that in mind in Starfinder then there is only one class that you can go with, and that’s the Solarian. Equal parts Jedi and Pathfinder Magus, you control Blackhole and Stellar energy.
Rebecca had the background of being a scholar already worked up, and we used both the theme and her +1 Intellect bonus to reflect this. Her main powers though bounce of her strength and her magnetic charisma, so we split both of them with a +3 bonus. We weren’t able to salvage her Wisdom, but figured that her head was too in the stars to notice what’s going on around her.
Vital Statistics
- Lashunta (Scholar) Solarian, lvl 1
- HP: 11, SP: 7, RP: 4
- EAC: 10, KAC: 11 (Flight Suit, Stationwear)
- STR: 17, DEX: 10, CON: 10, INT: 12, WIS: 8, CHA: 16
- FORT: +2, REF: +0, WILL: +1
ANDIS-147, Android Mechanic
Player: Gibert
ANDIS-147, Artwork by Seth Witfoth
ANDIS-147 careened into Absalom Station near space several years ago on a small nearly-destroyed ship. After unloading their injured crew, they slipped away into the press of Dock 24 into a life of anonymity. After spending several years as a deck hand on station, ANDIS managed to scrape together enough credits to lease a dry dock on level 23 where they founded ANDISCO Engineering. With their apprentice Nezumi, they provide quality service for fair prices to discriminating customers. Nezumi is learning quickly, and these days ANDIS finds less and less need to step in. As the years creep forward, ANDIS considers their next step, renewal, with a mix of excitement and regret. Maybe the next inhabitant will find true adventure in this ancient frame. Or perhaps, there’s still time yet.
Chibi ANDIS-147, Art by Kurama-chan
“I do not know, but whatever it is, I hope to never meet it.”
An errant sliver of memory in the being known as ANDIS-147 often comes up. Sometimes it manifests as random firing between their Android brain and their Exocortex, sometimes ANDIS simply says the words aloud as a mantra. It is the end of a joke they had told in another life, when their frame hosted another soul. Somehow, every so often these memories would flare up. The fragments were and were not theirs.
The android known as ANDIS-147 has been concerned with memory since they can recall. Their memory begins in the year 248 AG. External forces seemed to have erased the first 30 years of ANDIS’ memory, both a boon and a hindrance, as when they awoke they found themselves bound in servitude, doing slave labor for a mining corporation on a world far from the Pact System.
ANDIS-147, Character Art Courtesy ArtGian
The labor camp was home to dozens of their Android cohorts, and ANDIS, since they can remember, have permanently captured the faces and vocal patterns of all those met in that time. Many of them left their bodies, dying in that time of hardship, but not ANDIS. They were stubborn, and pledged that their life would not be so easily erased as their memory from the universe.
Of that time ANDIS has a full recollection. The rock they were forced to mine was designated RBG-17692, though the miners scrawled the words “Depthis” on the entrance to the camp. That is how ANDIS recalls the place, speaking to their time on Depthis. They remember taskmasters come and gone. They remember the service engineer Jugon, a ill-tempered Human that drank intoxicants like water, ANDIS remembers well how Jogun died. Accidents happen in the mines all the time, usually it was the Android slaves that take the damage, but that day Jogun was too drunk to avoid the falling equipment. ANDIS thought he looked rather small lying beneath the main carriage of the extractor, his blood was absorbed into the porous stone bedrock of Depthis. Jogun ordered ANDIS to remove the equipment, a task well within their capabilities, but ANDIS did not comply. It was the first command they ever disobeyed.
Salvation’s End, © Paizo, Inc.
There were others too though that were worse still. ANDIS recalls the one designated as Darius whom they met many years after Jogun. Darius thought of himself as a scientist, and often experimented on the Androids under his command. He rewrote the slave’s memory to store pain received in long term recall instead of short term. Darius was too smart for his own good and was promoted off-planet. While decades have passed since then, ANDIS is sure that they would like to repay Darius should their paths ever cross again.
A half a century passed in that place. In that time many died. The geological read-outs suggested that only 1/3 of the mineral deposits on Depthis had been mined. ANDIS realized that they would expire on that rock. So when a Vesk task force attacked Depthis, ANDIS and 4 others disobeyed the command to stay and fight, and took a small skiff and floated away. One compatriot suffered damages and expired, while the remaining three opted for renewal, and left their bodies behind choosing to not remember any of their time on Depthis. ANDIS remained. They stored everything they saw in their Exocortex and waited several months before a Steward transport picked them up and took them to Absalom Station
Absalom Station, © Paizo, Inc.
It is here that ANDIS has remained since, in the city at the center of the Drift, Absalom Station. Their expertise in repairing equipment their whole life turned into a profession servicing ships from a leased dry-dock. Preparing for their own renewal, the Android known as ANDIS realized that before their time expired that they would take one last look at the Universe, and took notice of the Starfinder Society’s open call to adventure…
Art by GenTrigger
Design Background
When I first spoke to Gibert about making a Starfinder character he had a lot of ideas. When we were all talking about what kind of characters we were going bring to the table, I don’t think that we had someone that wanted to play a Mechanic. We didn’t know too much about the class then, but when we got the Paizo class preview I think that put the class over the top for Gibert. The option to have a little robotic buddy was there, but the very interesting Exocortex was too tantalizing.
Next when Gibert settled on the Android race I was excited. I had read a little about their ancient origins in the Pathfinder universe, and was excited to read more about their future selves. The backstory and concept for ANDIS came naturally, almost all from Gibert’s brain, and a lot of the ideas about memory, history and the ghost in the machine that you find in a lot of great Sci-fi are things that we can explore through ANDIS.
Vital Statistics
- Android (Themeless) Mechanic (Exocortex)
- HP: 10, SP: 7, RP: 5
- EAC: 12, KAC: 13 (Flight Suit, Stationwear)
- STR: 10, DEX: 15, CON: 12, INT: 18, WIS: 10, CHA: 8
- FORT: +3, REF: +4, WILL: +0
Edrass Vaaranas, Vesk Soldier
Player: Tyler
Edrass Varaanas, Artwork by Seth Witfoth
Edrass, the 7’2 Vesk bruiser originally cut his teeth as a Vesk Naval officer in the Imperial Fleet, but he defected with a ship after becoming disillusioned with the Draconian rules of military life. He joined up with a band of Pirates in the Diaspora, and led a life of adventure and freedom. After a disagreement with another Pirate Captain he was stripped of his Vindicas ship and exiled. Since then he has been a for-hire soldier for the Starfinder Society’s Exo-Gaurdians, taking work where he can find it.
Chibi Edrass, Art by Kurama-chan
The Corsair of Vesk Prime, Edrass Vaaranas has made a name for himself over years of hard-fighting, raiding, and taking few prisoners. Born to a very modest family, Urkana and Nuski were former outlaws, who settled on Vesk Prime, with the hopes of raising their young hatchling Edrass with full honors to enter into the Veskarium’s Imperial Navy. Only the greatest warriors would be raised to the exalted positions, something that Edrass’s father Urkana pressed into him from a young age.
But over the years, Edrass realized that he disliked the military life. He often chaffed under the order of his snarling superiors, and longed to strike out on his own. The order to fire on the Frost Behemoth civilians on Vesk-8 from his Captain Fellgur was the straw that broke the Ellicoth’s back. The colony would have died on their own, their encampment stripped of their heating systems, but Fellgur wanted to set an example. Edrass deserted his company rather than obey the order, but realized that the only way he was going to make it out of the system was with a ride, so he hijacked his troop’s craft, the Norikama class dropship “The Dauntless.” He piloted for Pact Space, and celebrated his 18th year since birth aboard a ghost ship.
Edrass Veraanas, Character Art Courtesy ArtGian
A fugitive, the young Edrass gravitated towards the Diaspora. A collection of rocks in the middle of the Pact system, it is home to outlaws, thieves, and runaways as well as the Pirates under the Council of Free Captains. Edrass began to fly his own flag then, styled after his own distinctive scale colorization. When he put out the call to staff his stolen ship, the first two to sign up under his banner were Arcor and Sonros, a ysoki and human respectively. They became his first mates, as well as his eyes and ears in an ever-expanding crew. Smuggling, raiding, protection runs, the crew of the Dauntless did it all, save for that which Edrass’s personal code would not allow.
It was his morals that put him at odd with his first mate Sonros. The man was willing to go beyond in order to reap the profits for himself. After the Dauntless raided a corporate freebooter ship with medical supplies in-bound for a colony on a small moon, Edrass let the ship go, only stripping it for weapons and non-essential parts. Some crew members remained loyal to Edrass during the Mutiny, but they were outnumbered. Sonros woke Edrass in the dead of night with a taser that incapacitated the young Vesk. They threw Edrass out on a frozen rock orbiting Liavara called”Hykax.”
Vesk Ship, © Paizo, Inc.
Edrass was stranded with few supplies, and he would’ve died if it were not for the colonists of Hykax, who had received supplies from the freebooter that the Dauntless let go. He eventually made his way off planet and has been working solo ever since. He’s teamed up with the Starfinder Society to hunt bugs outside the pact system, taken on entire freight shipments himself on Akiton, and raided Solar hot-boxes himself.
Envoy Ambassador, © Paizo, Inc.
But his greatest feat was kidnapping a Magika-Pharma CEO. Li Kresh systematically created a monopoly on Akiton as the single supplier of the Plagus-IV drug. This drug is a catch-all for the various negative conditions or diseases that can be caught by working the mines or deserts of Akiton. It is considered a staple for working families. Once Kresh’s company became the sole provider he more than doubled the price of the drug. This forced poor families to choose been food for a week or Kresh’s overpriced drug. Edrass kidnapped Li Kresh and forced the CEO to resign by dangling him headfirst over a starved Ksarik, all while streaming the entire thing to the infosphere.
Vids of the free-styling Vesk Corsair began to circulate on the Infosphere, and the myth of the Vesk pirate that saved the colonists of Hykax, took down a greedy mining corporations supply train, and made a Pharma-suit CEO pee himself continues to be shared. People far and wide began to know his name, the cavalier Vesk Pirate known as Edrass Vaaranas.
Art by GenTrigger
Design Background
So I have been playing Tabletop RPG’s with Tyler for about a year or so now. He has played a variety of characters, including a dangerous gun-wielding Chemist, A Super-Science Werewolf, and a fancy-pants Elven Bard. Tyler brings a lot to the gaming character, but I really encouraged him to design whatever character he wanted to play on Cosmic Crit, though I suggested he play what he wanted to play. What Tyler loves more than anything else is some good old fashioned Pirates.
Edrass I think was always a Vesk, as Tyler knew he wanted to play a bit of a bruiser character. And his background as a Veskarium soldier fit in with how he became a pilot. It was only when we got to the theme that we had some questions, should he be an outlaw? Or what about a Mercenary? In the end it was funny we ended on the Icon theme, but he wanted to be a famous Space Pirate, and it would be fun if people in the universe noticed him as he walked by and said “Isn’t that the Dread Pirate Vaaranas!?”
Take a look at his Level 1 stats below and let us know what you think.
Vital Statistics
- Vesk (Icon) Soldier
- HP: 15, SP: 10, RP: 5
- EAC: 14, KAC: 17 (Hidden Soldier Armor)
- STR: 18, DEX: 12, CON: 14, INT: 8, WIS: 10, CHA: 11
- FORT: +4, REF: +1, WILL: +2
Gnak Sizrack, Ysoki Envoy
Player: Drew
Gnak, Artwork by Seth Witfoth
A known entity in many circles, Gnak is a wheeling and dealing Ysoki who is known as a great schemer. The mysterious Envoy has been pulling small-time jobs on Absalom Station and surrounding Inner Pact Worlds. If you have a heist, a grift, a scheme, a caper or a plan on how to circumvent security and authority figures, then Gnak is the man to plan it.
Chibi Gnak, Art by Kurama-chan
Gnak Sizrack was born in the Trench City of Maro, in the very bottom of the Edaio Rift. Never did the young Gnak even dream about gazing upon the stars; such things were out of reach for Scrap-haulers. At the time, growing up with 19 siblings, cousins, and second cousins meant that Gnak, as the eldest, had to do a lot of the child-rearing. Knowing that if his parents, aunts, and uncles failed to scrounge enough parts that they would go hungry that week, a selfless Gnak felt that it was up to him to do something about their station in life.
In an attempt to help meet end’s meat, a young Gnak took to picking pockets, gifting and stealing from the miners in the levels above. So easily did the fast and charismatic Gnak take to this task that he quickly became the top bread winner in his family. A full day’s work would often bring home enough to feed the family for a whole week. Limiting himself to only the drunken and world-weary miners got boring fast. Impulsively, Gnak took on greater challenges, targeting corporations and businesses with his swindler skills. Every time that Gnak would pull off another job, his care for the spoils diminished and his love of the game itself increased.
Gnak Sizrack, Character Art Courtesy ArtGian
The jobs that Gnak eventually scored took him off Akiton and into Absalom and the Diaspora. His ‘business’ of setting up heists, leading teams, and ripping through tight security systems gave him a reputation. Each job was just a game to him, though. Surely the young Gnak would never hit a snag that would throw him off his steady aim – but that’s exactly what happened during the Castrovel University Job. Everything went sideways.
“Always watch your own back” was a motto Gnak lived by. Rarely, even when working with a team, would he let any of them hold the bag or let them gain leverage over him. Evenly distributing information and responsibilities kept random crews of outlaws and criminal types in order and in the dark. A fluke in his system arose on Castrovel where his crew of three parolees hadn’t mentioned that they shared the same cell in Maximum lockup on Akiton. Larl, Cube, and Mo’ow played along in their job, but had already planned to split the Castrovel job three ways instead of four. Lucky for Gnak, he always had planned on the day when his luck would run out…
Akiton, © Paizo, Inc.
Leaving the High University city-state Gnak let his three accomplices think they had the drop on him. In advance, he had secured safe passage off the planet, and when they all met up at the safe house the three cell mates didn’t find the Ysoki waiting for them — instead, they found Lashuntan Acquisitions Authority asking why the men had priceless relics stuffed down their pants. Enjoying his ingenious plan, Gnak forgot to check his associates’ backgrounds, and it turned out the three were connected to a well-established crime family, and they burnt Gnak in certain social circles. Still, a Ysoki’s gotta eat, so Gnak tried to shake his old identity, moved to Absalom Station and started anew, in a place that is friendly to runaways and crooks.
Art by GenTrigger
Design Background
Drew didn’t always want to play as an Envoy, and didn’t always want to be a member of the Ysoki race, but slowly but surely the character of Gnak Sizrack came to be. At first I think both he and Myles were looking at playing Operatives (hilariously neither picked that class in the end) but when we started talking about who would be the party ‘Face’, the character that spoke in most social situations and would be able to Diplomacy their way out of fights, that’s when Drew landed on the Envoy class.
The design concept was a wiley, free-wheelin’ and dealin’ guy that knows things and people, and reveled in pulling off jobs that require quick wits and a silver tongue. He looked at the many Envoy improvisations and decided upon “Get ‘Em” at level one, as he would be the one to figure out the battle plan. Gnak is certainly not the best fighter, but who needs fighting skills when you have four meat shields, I MEAN, teammates standing around you, and they’re all bigger threats.
Vital Statistics
- Ysoki (Outlaw) Envoy
- HP: 8, SP: 6, RP: 4
- EAC: 13, KAC: 14 (Second Skinn)
- STR: 8, DEX: 14, CON: 11, INT: 12, WIS: 12, CHA: 16
- FORT: +2, REF: +4, WILL: +3
Rami Quinn-Darr, Human Technomancer
Player: Myles
Rami Quinn-Darr, Artwork by Seth Witfoth
The young Rami was a human of high-birth on the planet Verces. He spat out the silver spoon when he was young and began to rebel, taking work as an information courier. In his work he exposed illegal corporate colonization activity and racked up more bounties on his head than he was able to count. Relying on his technical know-how and ability to hack data, he is a trained Technomancer, who has worked for the Starfinder Society for several years.
Chibi Rami, Art by Kurama-chan
When Quinn Industries and Darr Enterprises Inc. merged, in a multi-billion Cred deal that took nearly a decade to complete, the paperwork required an arranged marriage between Rannimo Quinn, the prodigal son, and Deandrei Darr, the socialite heiress. What started as a political union quickly blossomed into an honest loving relationship, and the product that those two engineered was Rami Quinn-Darr, the scion of the QuinnDarr Conglomerate.
Rami was raised in the high towers of Verces, in the tranquility of the Ring of Nations on the tidally locked planet. Trained by the best AI teachers money could by, the boy was privately schooled and sheltered from the extremes outside his home. A piloting prodigy, his parents thought the excitement of ship racing would keep the boy’s rambunctious nature quelled, but it just stoked the flames.
Rami Quinn-Darr, Character Art Courtesy ArtGian
When Rami was a young man, while still being groomed to take over the Conglomerate, he spent his free time combing the Infosphere and taking secret lessons from an online persona he knew only as “Kendori”. While his parents may have attempted to shelter him, there was nowhere he couldn’t go when the world was quite literally at his fingertips. He was learning the secrets of Technomancy, and was a very powerful wizard at a young age. Idealistic and full of naivete, he accidentally uncovered several deadly secrets.
Through various back doors on the company’s server, Rami discovered that the QuinnDarr Conglomerate was funding an illegal research colony outside of Pact World jurisdiction. Rami’s attempt to release information about the companies evil experiments were thwarted until he went nuclear. Hacking into every media feed, he created a pirate signal airing every shred of evidence into the Infosphere, indicting not only his family, but also some of Verces’ most influential politicians.
Verces, © Paizo, Inc.
Exposed in this endeavor, Rami was exiled by his family, and a hefty bounty was then placed on his head on Verces, that follows him to this day. Rami knew he would have to flee his homeworld. He left his surnames behind and started out as a freelancer known to all only as “Rami”. Cut off from the wealth of his now former life, Rami began to take work as a databroker, making Drift runs in a small ship, teaching himself the ins and outs of working black and grey markets. He found freedom in the loss of his name and status, and became an invaluable source to undergrounds and less savory sorts across the galaxy. Though, he found himself dealing with smugglers and pirates quite frequently, Rami felt little care about the less than legal activities many of them committed .
Verces, © Paizo, Inc.
An up and coming female smuggler, a human named Lyena G’vonne, who more than once provided Rami help in a tight spot, became a regular partner of his. Their partnership, while business at first, quickly grew into something more. As they grew close, Rami felt his focus on exposing corporate lies and interstellar espionage become clouded, and turned his attention to matters of the heart. When it happened, the betrayal, Rami wasn’t even aware of the change, he just turned around after a job and Lyena had her gun trained at his chest. When she pulled the trigger Rami still had a smile on his face. The two fought and through sheer luck and a bit of quick thinking, Rami managed to escape with his life, ditching his own ship and disappearing into the ether.
He took smaller jobs from there, keeping his head down, working alone and doing research for the Starfinder Society. Rami has refused the call to work with any partners since then, and looked up information and secrets on every single person who he was contracted to work with, deeply mining every shiphand, guard, and droid to keep the same mistake happening again. Though Rami was willing to listen when some old friends contacted him for a job on Absalom Station…
Art by GenTrigger
Design Background
So when we first started talking about the classes, I think Myles was initially drawn to the Operative class. The idea he had was to play a hacker character, who tried to make information free for everyone. Gradually the idea for Rami turned into a Technomancer, and as the only magic-user in the party I encouraged this.
Myles decided on playing a human fairly easily, liking to have a character that people could relate to, and came up with his background in a storm idea session. After we got to take a look at all the themes he knew he wanted his cocky Technomancer to be an Ace Pilot. These decisions influenced his high INTELLECT and DEXTERITY, and also define his character a bit.
Vital Statistics
- Human (Ace Pilot) Technomancer, lvl 1
- HP: 9, SP: 5, RP: 4
- EAC: 14, KAC: 15 (Second Skin)
- STR: 10, DEX: 16, CON: 12, INT: 17, WIS: 10, CHA: 10
- FORT: +0, REF: +3, WILL: +2
- 1st Lvl Spells: Magic Missile, Holographic Image
