STARFINDER SECOND EDITIONGuilt of the
Grave World

The crew of the Nova Rush came together for what seemed like a straightforward job. Their skittermander agent, Emmozie, had landed them a contract with Ulrikka Clanholdings to investigate a mysterious Eoxian distress signal originating somewhere in the Diaspora. With Zharek already aboard, they recruited Exodus-29 as their pilot and Sinthrex as their gunner, then set out from Absalom Station in search of the signal’s source.

After surviving a dangerous technomagical anomaly, they discovered an ancient station suspended between two asteroids. Its transmission contained only two decipherable words: “Distress, shift.” Inside, they found a place that had been abandoned for an impossibly long time. Scrap Rats and cybernetic undead wandered its halls, burned bodies remained at their stations, malfunctioning hardlight projections attacked the crew, and even the station’s automated systems had become dangerous. Whatever had happened here, it hadn’t ended well.

As they pushed deeper, the mystery only grew. Parts of the station appeared to have been deliberately struck by asteroids, and within an Arcane Laboratory they discovered more burned bodies and strange creatures they couldn’t communicate with. Eventually, they gained access to the station’s surviving computer network—and uncovered information that shouldn’t have existed.

Long ago, Eox had warned the station of an impending attack on the planet Iovo. Other recovered files contained calculations concerning whether the station could survive massively destructive energy rays. The crew even picked up an unusual survivor along the way: a data-eating Botnib named Bob, spared largely thanks to Exodus.

Eventually they reached the Command Center, where opening a sealed chamber caused the station commander’s ancient remains to crumble into dust. Among what remained, however, was an encrypted data device. The crew recovered it, shut down the distress signal, gathered their salvage, and returned to the Nova Rush.

They didn’t make it home.

Shortly after leaving the station, the Nova Rush was intercepted by the Amaranth, a vastly superior Corpse Fleet vessel commanded by Sanimus Slayn. The crew was badly outmatched and facing destruction when Ulrikka Outriders arrived, driving the Amaranth away and towing the damaged Nova Rush to Star Citadel Theodrane.

There, the crew reported what they had discovered. The evidence surrounding Iovo—and particularly the material recovered from it—raised serious questions about what really happened to the ancient world. More immediately, Ulrikka discovered that the encrypted device could apparently be unlocked using Elebrian genetic material.

That meant their next destination was Eox.

After some much-needed downtime at Theodrane and repairs to the Nova Rush, Ulrikka offered the crew another contract: travel to Eox, locate an Elebrian willing to accompany them back to Theodrane, and use their genetic information to unlock the device. Escorted to the dead world by the heavily armed Cinnabar Crusher, the crew arrived at Pact Port and were introduced to their very slow undead guide, Harry, and Administrator Sadrat Thane. Sadrat pointed them toward the Halls of the Living, where Elebrians could be found under the ever-present eye of Zo! Media.

After spending the night in their penthouse at Deadhand Towers—and acquiring some questionably reliable holographic outfits along the way—the crew boarded a shuttle for the Halls of the Living.

They never made it there peacefully.

Explosions rocked the shuttle as the same skeleton-themed vessel that had attacked them in the Diaspora closed in. Heavily armored corpses breached the hull, seized the pilot’s seat, and planted a device on the console that disabled the ship. Exodus did everything possible to soften the impact, but the shuttle still tore across the surface of Eox and came to a violent stop in the wastes.

The Corpse Fleet had found them again—and this time, the crew was stranded.

They barely had time to pull themselves from the wreckage before a roaming horde of undead charged across the wastes. Forced to flee toward the nearby jagged hills, the crew found a dangerous necromantic crystal blocking their path. Rather than face it head-on, they turned its deadly energy to their advantage, repurposing the crystal into a lure that drew the pursuing undead away and bought them a desperately needed head start.

The escape carried them across open plains and toward the remains of an enormous dead creature. With one final bit of trickery, they lost the horde and took shelter within the creature’s massive ribcage. Only then did they discover how far the crash had carried them: they were stranded somewhere along the southern Atraskien Shelf, nearly two days from the Halls of the Living—and from the Elebrians they had come to find.

Even there, Eox refused to let them rest.

A huge serpentine creature formed from razor-sharp glass erupted from the wasteland and ambushed the exhausted crew. Before they could bring it down, the creature swallowed Zharek whole. While the others attacked it from outside, Zharek climbed his way back out of the serpent’s stomach. Together, the crew shattered the creature and finally earned a moment to recover.

But they were not alone. A small, gleaming metal object had begun hovering at the edge of their journey, following them across the wastes without ever coming close enough to be identified. Whatever it was—and whoever might be watching through it—the crew had more immediate problems. Eox’s atmosphere was rapidly draining their suits’ environmental protections, leaving them with little time to find shelter.

When a dried lake bed carpeted in radioactive moss blocked the way, the crew made a dangerous choice. Going around would cost precious time, so they crossed directly through it. The shortcut saved distance, but not without a price: before long, members of the crew began showing signs of radiation sickness.

Beyond the lake bed they discovered an abandoned farmstead dating back to the days before Eox became a world of undeath. Inside were sealed rations that might still be usable, while an old road and weathered signs outside appeared to point toward Deminas Hollow and the Halls of the Living.

The road led them in a circle.

After following the useless signs, the crew found themselves back where they had started—more fatigued, increasingly sick, and with even less protection remaining in their suits. As they chose a new direction and pushed onward, a second gleaming object appeared in the distance. It joined the first in silently trailing them, both remaining just far enough away to defy identification.

Then, as darkness closed over the wastes, they saw white smoke.

Following it led the crew to a well-maintained cabin with its supplies locked safely inside. They picked the lock and discovered a rare refuge: breathable air supplied by an external generator, bunks, and food. The shelter gave them the rest they desperately needed, but it offered no way to replenish their suits. Even under a solid roof, the clock was still running.

The next morning, the road beneath their feet grew clearer and more heavily traveled—a hopeful sign interrupted by their suits announcing that only five hours of environmental protection remained. Hurrying onward, the crew came across another farmstead, this one still tended and surrounded by fenced pastures filled with horned undead livestock.

Their arrival startled the creatures. In the confusion, one unfortunate animal was re-killed before the farmer could be summoned, while the rest scattered beyond their fences. The farm’s owner, Eterena, emerged dressed like a frontier cowgirl and entirely untroubled by the toxic atmosphere. Unlike her visitors, she had no need to breathe.

Eterena was wary of the strangers at first, but the crew managed to earn her trust. She granted them access to her personal power station, finally allowing them to recharge their failing suits and recover the protection that had nearly run out.

For the first time since the crash, the clock stopped.

Eterena told them that Deminas Hollow was still roughly a day’s travel away. With their suits restored and a genuine road finally stretching before them, the crew left the farm behind and began what they hoped would be their final journey across the Eoxian wastes.

The air is holding. The road is clear. But two silent watchers still follow from the horizon.