Starfinder! (Pathfinder, IN SPACE!)

^Pffft That is awesome

Edited by SpookyMask on Jun 26th 2018 at 5:29:34 PM

I've played in one game. Trying to get the husband to run another (I'd do it myself, but I've got my reasons not to). Want to play a skittermander, because skittermanders.

I play a Ysolki envoy. She is now jokingly known as "Swiss Army Das" because she can be used for just about anything.

There are now three new classes for playtesting. I'll update when I get home and can actually look at the stuff.

• Biohacker: Int or Wisdom-based buffer/debuffer with a specialty in Injection weaponry
• Vanguard: Barrier Warrior (complete with newly-added shields) who keys off of Con and is able to employ a variant of a Charged Attack through the use of "Entropy Points", which they generate upon getting hit.
• Witchwarper: Cha-based Reality Warper style caster.

Edited by ironballs16 on Dec 4th 2018 at 3:50:16 PM

Can you give a brief description of each?

The Biohacker gets a variety of buff and debuff injections. 3 basic in each category, plus eventually 3 more in each from the 3 fields of study he picks. He can deliver an injection in melee, or load it into a injection weapon (dart gun) to shoot as part of that gun's attack. he gets a bonsu to accuracy with injection weapons. He also gets theorems that can alter his injections or let him change a creature's anatomy, and a breakthrough, (a stronger buff or debuff) from each field of study he knows. Lots of x/day abilities to track.

The Vanguard get more HP and stamina than even a soldier or solarion, and gets Con as her key ability score. She fights using entropy-themed abilities, foremost a touch that targets EAC and does Con-based damage, and can gain free special properties or fusions as she levels. Her powers work off an entropy pool that fills as she takes damage. She eventually gets 2 aspects, each of which gives a free improved combat maneuver feat, skill insight bonus, and extra ways to gain and spend entropy. Gets disciplines every even level that give new combat abilities and ways to spend entropy.

We have a trope that sums up the Witchwarper perfectly. He's a Cha-based spellcaster that focuses on shifting things in from other realities. Without using spell slots, he can pull difficult terrain or environmental hazards in from those realities. He gets paradigm shifts that further hack reality. Also gets spell slots, with a focus on utility spells, but a few blasts.

Also in the playtest are riot shields, and a few new witchwarper-exclusive spells.

Biohacker sounds like an evolution of Pathfinder and the alchemist. It also looks like it's going to be excellent functioning as The Medic (perhaps the best in Starfinder). I'm intrigued, though I kinda want to see if there's something useful to replace bombs.

Vanguard... sounds kinda like a weird combo of a tank, kineticist, and scarred witch doctor from Pathfinder. Given the increased use of projectile weapons and the "entropy"/black hole flavor it has, I could see it working much better than any of the tank options previously available. In fact, depending on how well it works, I could even see trying to reverse engineer it for PF.

Witchwarper sounds like an intriguing take on summoner - summoning objects instead of creatures (not unique even in regards to the game system, admittedly, but not one typically focused upon). I think this one might have the chance of being most broken (depending on just what can be summoned when and where - if I can start summoning open windows or fragile panels right under my opponent's feet or on an enemy's oncoming spaceship, I'm going to start winning a whole bunch of combats with save-or-die moves... hell, I might just keep it simple and summon things to jam all of my opponents' weapons). This is the one that's probably going to have the most potential for nerfs in the process.

Witchwarper and Biohacker are pretty cool concepts and have pretty clear archetypes they're filling, Vanguard hasn't quite convinced me yet. Concept-wise it sort of strikes me as a tankier version of the Black Hole Solarian.

On side note, seems like devastation arc 3 part ap will be 13-20. So yay, finally I will find out eventually what the heck high level starfinder is supposed to be like in scope

...Like seriously, its much harder to tell in scifi setting what high level adventuring is like comparable to fantasy's "world is gonna end!" level threats on highest levels.

I guess pretty much the same, except there are entire solar systems or even galaxies on the line. The sort of escalation that doesn't really mean anything to the players, since "everyone in the entire world" is already a concept so large it's impossible for the human mind to truly comprehend.

I don't even mean the "what is being threathened" scale, I mean "what are you exactly fighting" scale.

Like, are you fighting an entire civilization or just some sort of space cthulhu?

Sidenote, I'm kinda worried about whether starfinder has enough audience to stay relevant, but at least its still been enjoyable ride two years later :D

I think it fills a niche. Will try to convince my friends to give it a try.

I think we got maybe three games into Starfinder before losing our thread on it, but our group had fun with it. My weirdly lucky/unlucky bug man was a ton of fun to play.

I saw this when it first came out and thought it looked great (was already familiar with Pathfinder), but didn't end up buying the books. I wish I could corral enough people to play a proper game. I know there has to be some sort of video chat service designed for this sort of thing, but even if I get that working my friends inevitably force me to be Gamemaster because none of them will do it.

So of course I just end up wishing there was a game or show or something set in the universe, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon. Even base Pathfinder barely has a game. EDIT: I meant a single-player video game.

Edited by Discar on Jan 15th 2023 at 1:58:19 AM

I mean base pathfinder has two games, thats more than vast majority of trpgs

I ran a Starfinder game before the Covid-19 lockdowns. Tried to continue on Roll 20, but the lack of face-to-face interactions hurt it a lot and I haven't gotten to play a tabletop since then due to various life circumstances. I thought it was a fun system, though I made some adjustments to various gameplay elements. I felt that enemies could have a bit too many hit points, so I halved most minor enemy hit points to make it easier to make big firefights with lots of combatants while keeping major ones at full HP.

I also felt that spaceship combat wasn't entirely as fun as it sounded, but that was maybe only because we weren't experienced enough in the system to be as creative as it could have let us been. I certainly missed the opportunities to get the players to make their ship the type of hub they could have personalized and characterized to their wishes.

I also felt that skills were... Hard to balance. A character that was good at a skill could become almost a master at it even at low levels, with +15 and more on their rolls. Made it difficult to gauge what DC to give skill checks to make them viably challenging to one person without making it impossible for others.

That was the early release experience though, for all I know things have changed a lot since then.

I don't think you're wrong about starship combat having issues, even after errata fixed the skill DCs for it. Until broadside opens up for gunners at level 6, the optimal strategy for both sides is to turtle with shield regen and evasive maneuvers, which leads to too-long, potentially stalemated combat.

Edited by Arutema on Jan 30th 2023 at 8:32:18 AM