Pathfinder Races in Starfinder

So, Elves are still mostly stuck up jerks.

Some things never change. :-)

How do the racial hit points work?

Are they added to the hit points from a class?

The flavor texts are really great!

I can´t wait to read more about the drow on Apostae.

Thx, James!

So, Elves are still mostly stuck up jerks.

Some things never change. :-)

I am hoping that is not our only takeaway on elves in this setting. While I was also somewhat disappointed that the culture is a bit xenophobic, there are other aspects of them culturally that I find appealing.

Besides, there are 'forlorn' elves that sound downright cheerful. I find elves a really interesting Starfinder race because they were amongst the earliest of the star-traveling races. In Canon, there is the Lirgen's Glory, a ship that explored the entire solar system pre-gap. There are also elf-gates everywhere...

Some weird elf character ideas:

1) The elven vigilante operative -- Everyone knows that elves wear masks, right? Why not be an elf who wears masks and fights crime! Na na na na na Bat Elf!

2) The elven amnesiac priest -- "The gap was the best thing for elves! It shook us up, made us less reliant on memory and tradition, and caused us to live in the now! Come, glory in the GAP!" This elf is an evangelist and possibly a Xenoseeker, going out of his way to preach the wisdome of change amongst the cosmos!

Darn it, why are all my ideas for Starfinder characters from the legacy races, which require a boon in SFS play?

____

Gnomish Thoughts

Myself, I am thrilled to have TWO sub-species of gnome. Having stable and intellectual bleachlings is very interesting to me, especially in contrast to the excitable feychildren (my favorite!).

I am so excited for my feychild gnomish envoy, Charli, that I am making her my -701. Even if she'll have to stay a GM baby until I can somehow trade for a Pathfinder Legacy boon. When I think of gnomes, the first thing I think of is travelling. They were from another plane initially, and their curiosity and penchant for new things takes them everywhere. It was no accident that in Cosmic Captive there's a stranded gnomish tourist. I want to be that gnomish explorer, out to go everywhere and see everything!

I love that gnomes have finally learned to run fast in Starfinder. Must be all that low-gravity, right?

___

General thoughts

I also loved some of the descriptions of where people's homelands were, and where you could find them. Flavor text is the best part!

How do the racial hit points work?

Are they added to the hit points from a class?

That is pretty much exactly how they work.

Hmm
(No longer under Starfinder NDA!)

That is not my only takeaway, no. :-)

Nor is it meant to be critical, just my initial observation, with an added touch of Halfling and Dwarven superiority complex. :-)

Huh, so the Drow rule Apostae?

Huh, so the Drow rule Apostae?

Well... they say so, anyway.

Rysky the Dark Solarion wrote:

Huh, so the Drow rule Apostae?

Well... they say so, anyway.

Heh, to reiterate then, the Drow live on Apostae now?

Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:

Rysky the Dark Solarion wrote:

Huh, so the Drow rule Apostae?

Well... they say so, anyway.

Heh, to reiterate then, the Drow live on Apostae now?

Yes. Yes they do.

That is not my only takeaway, no. :-)

Nor is it meant to be critical, just my initial observation, with an added touch of Halfling and Dwarven superiority complex. :-)

Fair enough. So what are your ideas for awesome halfing and dwarven characters?

Hmm

PS Owen, you rock!

Rysky the Dark Solarion wrote:

Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:

Rysky the Dark Solarion wrote:

Huh, so the Drow rule Apostae?

Well... they say so, anyway.

Heh, to reiterate then, the Drow live on Apostae now?

Yes. Yes they do.

How come?

Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:

Rysky the Dark Solarion wrote:

Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:

Rysky the Dark Solarion wrote:

Huh, so the Drow rule Apostae?

Well... they say so, anyway.

Heh, to reiterate then, the Drow live on Apostae now?

Yes. Yes they do.

How come?

MAGIC!

Drow on apostae... hmmm. That's.... interesting. Not quite sure what exactly to make of that, given Apostae's unique nature as described in Distant Worlds.

Also... I really like the bleachling gnome concept... enough that I might actually consider making a gnome character, something I never would have considered doing before. So... well done paizo.

captain yesterday wrote:

That is not my only takeaway, no. :-)

Nor is it meant to be critical, just my initial observation, with an added touch of Halfling and Dwarven superiority complex. :-)

Fair enough. So what are your ideas for awesome halfing and dwarven characters?

Hmm

PS Owen, you rock!

I won't know that until I get the book. :-)

I'm sure I won't be lacking for ideas.

It is a great blog post, super excited! :-)

I really like the "steelskin" half-orcs. I think I'm going to start with a Cyborg Half-Orc Soldier with the Bounty Hunter Theme. I'm catching all the outlaws!!!

How come Halflings only get 2 hp?

How come Halflings only get 2 hp?

Most small races only get 2 HP.

How come Halflings only get 2 hp?

They're small and have a penalty to con.

Azouth wrote:

How come Halflings only get 2 hp?

Most small races only get 2 HP.

I declare a dynastic flame war on your entire family for saying that just before I said it.

Azouth wrote:

How come Halflings only get 2 hp?

They're small and have a penalty to con.

They have penalty to str not con.

Orcs are primarily found on Apostae, but are there significant orc colonies elsewhere in the pact worlds?

...Torag went missing during the Gap...

Had it been revealed that some deities went missing rather than just losing relevance?

Torag is just gone, yes.

Thanks for the quick answer. First time I'd read anything about him going missing.

I was super excited about the bleachling gnomes but was hesitant to discuss them before street date. Now I'm free to do so!

Thanks for the quick answer. First time I'd read anything about him going missing.

Torag and Rovagug are both gone in the gap with Golarion. Every other deity from pathfinder is still active, although they are not all core.

How do the racial hit points work?

Are they added to the hit points from a class?

The flavor texts are really great!

I can´t wait to read more about the drow on Apostae.

Thx, James!

From what I understand, you will have hit points, derived from your race and class, and then you will have stamina points, which drain before not points. Stamina points advance more like HP in Pathfinder.

Interesting take on half-orcs, and nice to see sane and functional gnomes.

Can't say the others interest me much, but I like that they're consistent with the pathfinder versions.

Torag and Rovagug are both gone in the gap with Golarion. Every other deity from pathfinder is still active, although they are not all core.

Huh. This desperately makes me want to run a game in a duotheistic Golarion, wherever it's hiding.

Huh. This desperately makes me want to run a game in a duotheistic Golarion, wherever it's hiding.

Ah, Torag and Rovagug are stuck playing with building blocks on Golarion.

Huh, so the Drow rule Apostae?

NOT FOR LONG!

What the hell is Shanavan?!

Drow in Apostae? Oh my gods why and how?

Are...are the Ambassadors replacing the Mordant Spire elves or are we going full Eldar.

Halflings...still no home, still no true racial info, like what is there origin?! That's just a general comment over all.

Also I'm sorry but are the Half-Orcs really still being shat upon when we have Vesk and Shireen running around? The former wanted to conquer the entire system and the latter wanted to consume it not that long ago!

Imbicatus wrote:

Torag and Rovagug are both gone in the gap with Golarion. Every other deity from pathfinder is still active, although they are not all core.

Huh. This desperately makes me want to run a game in a duotheistic Golarion, wherever it's hiding.

You mean like a world where there's like "kind of sort of" space age technology on Golarion where all the missing people are just struggling to get a message out to the rest of the universe?

Also I'm sorry but are the Half-Orcs really still being shat upon when we have Vesk and Shireen running around? The former wanted to conquer the entire system and the latter wanted to consume it not that long ago!

The vesk have power. Shirrens have numbers, and have been out of the Swarm and chill enough for long enough that most folks don't mind them, or have even taken a liking to them.

Half-orcs have nothing. With Golarion gone, they belong to no society and lost what little history they might have had. Orcs aren't feared anymore; they barely exist as a footnote on a distant world that they don't even control.

So yeah, half-orcs, and half-elves for that matter, are still at the bottom of the pecking order because there are so few of them, and they're still odd fits for either of their progenitor races.

If anything, the Drift might be the best thing to ever happen to them -- when they were limited to Golarion, they had to carve out niches in a world that always pressed in against them from all sides, always reminding them that they don't belong. Now they can build their own homeworlds, far from the place that still refuses to acknowledge them, and even this blog's blurb suggests that half-orcs' urgent desire to get as far away from mom and dad as possible is finally paying off for them.

And hell, I think half-orcs will get on just fine with the vesk regardless of whether the vesk resume their beef with the Pact Worlds. Hell, if any of the (not undead) races native to the Pact Worlds would flip on the Pact, or at least turn a blind eye to it, I'd bet on half-orcs and half-elves.

The implication that there are now more living half-orcs than pure-blooded orcs in the Pact Worlds is interesting.

Well maybe the gap has something to do with that.

The implication that there are now more living half-orcs than pure-blooded orcs in the Pact Worlds is interesting.

Is it weird that I suddenly had a mental comparison to DBZ Saiyans?

I'm sure that there's probably physically similar races out in space, but given Orcs and Half-Orcs are probably the closest thing to the sprit of it: that being a warrior race who's planet is no longer around.

Now imagine a Half-Orc Solarion... And name them Gohan.

Ventnor wrote:

The implication that there are now more living half-orcs than pure-blooded orcs in the Pact Worlds is interesting.

Is it weird that I suddenly had a mental comparison to DBZ Saiyans?

I'm sure that there's probably physically similar races out in space, but given Orcs and Half-Orcs are probably the closest thing to the sprit of it: that being a warrior race who's planet is no longer around.

Now imagine a Half-Orc Solarion... And name them Gohan.

Now someone is making that character and his gm groan

Even if she'll have to stay a GM baby until I can somehow trade for a Pathfinder Legacy boon.

Any ideas on how to acquire said boon if you don't have a LFGS? (Something Thurston hinted at). I play almost completely online for PFS and hopefully SFS.

Very interesting, and I love the artwork in this blog!

Oh I love the take on the elves. I wanna stay away from the old core races, but the current elf lore really makes me want to play one!

I'm liking the idea of a half orc campaign with the PCs being the first wave settlers mentioned. That could be great fun.

Hmm wrote:

Even if she'll have to stay a GM baby until I can somehow trade for a Pathfinder Legacy boon.

Any ideas on how to acquire said boon if you don't have a LFGS? (Something Thurston hinted at). I play almost completely online for PFS and hopefully SFS.

I am crossing my fingers that the legacy races will open up for online at some point. Or that we can figure out a way of expanding the RSP... But that will take some finagling to come up with a solution that is equitable and acceptable to all.

Hmm

I was super excited about the bleachling gnomes but was hesitant to discuss them before street date. Now I'm free to do so!

I wasn't really a fan of bleachlings before, but I like these. Like mellow Vulcans.

Also, Yay! for no more speed penalty for gnomes and halflings.

Halflings...still no home, still no true racial info, like what is there origin?! That's just a general comment over all.

In the Beginning, the gods of Light and Goodness sought to create the perfect mortal expressions of themselves. But the gods know that perfection is difficult, if not nearly impossible. In their scouring for the planes for ideas and materials, they re-remembered the First World, and peering closer into this Cauldron of Ever-Creation, they were delighted to discover that Perfection had already birthed itself: the gremlins. Stealing away some of these perfect gremlins, the gods worked together to reweave, remold, and remake these unfortunate victims into their own humanoids, the halflings; mortal, because the gods tolerate few rivals, and imperfect, because gremlin perfection causes even the gods to doubt their own infallibility (and thus, sows the seeds of further doubt). The Failure of the Halflings was a mythic shame to many gods, who never attempted to Create again.

Yet the desire to recreate Perfection continued to act as a bit of Maelstrom grit in the minds of many gods, with many attempting to soothe this incessant irritation by turning it into their own pearl. Although many gods continued to try to create perfect humanoids, now in their own specific images, all such further creations--elves, humans, orcs--were pale imitations of the halflings, and even further deviations from the Original Perfection. Many say this is what broke the mind of Lamashtu, who forever after could not stop madly creating. Others claim this what caused Torag to turn to drink, forever attempting to briefly erase the memory of his epic failure.

To this day, when a halfling meets new humanoids throughout this wide galaxy, most of these humanoids can't help unconsciously feeling some small slivers of jealousy and envy. And all such mortals, even halflings, feel insignificant and ugly upon beholding the truly perfect magnificence of the gremlins... provoking most to react in either jealous violence or mind-shattering fear.

Good to see my favorite race Half Orcs are still in, and they essentially fit my playstyle of colonial exploration and pioneering.

Will these be Starfinder Soceity approved?

Imbicatus wrote:

I was super excited about the bleachling gnomes but was hesitant to discuss them before street date. Now I'm free to do so!

I wasn't really a fan of bleachlings before, but I like these. Like mellow Vulcans.

Also, Yay! for no more speed penalty for gnomes and halflings.

...and hopefully gremlins!

Lucas VerBeek wrote:

Halflings...still no home, still no true racial info, like what is there origin?! That's just a general comment over all.

In the Beginning, the gods of Light and Goodness sought to create the perfect mortal expressions of themselves. But the gods know that perfection is difficult, if not nearly impossible. In their scouring for the planes for ideas and materials, they re-remembered the First World, and peering closer into this Cauldron of Ever-Creation, they were delighted to discover that Perfection had already birthed itself: the gremlins. Stealing away some of these perfect gremlins, the gods worked together to reweave, remold, and remake these unfortunate victims into their own humanoids, the halflings; mortal, because the gods tolerate few rivals, and imperfect, because gremlin perfection causes even the gods to doubt their own infallibility (and thus, sows the seeds of further doubt). The Failure of the Halflings was a mythic shame to many gods, who never attempted to Create again.

Yet the desire to recreate Perfection continued to act as a bit of Maelstrom grit in the minds of many gods, with many attempting to soothe this incessant irritation by turning it into their own pearl. Although many gods continued to try to create perfect humanoids, now in their own specific images, all such further creations--elves, humans, orcs--were pale imitations of the halflings, and even further deviations from the Original Perfection. Many say this is what broke the mind of Lamashtu, who forever after could not stop madly creating. Others claim this what caused Torag to turn to drink, forever attempting to briefly erase the memory of his epic failure.

To this day, when a halfling meets new humanoids throughout this wide galaxy, most of these humanoids can't help unconsciously feeling some small slivers of jealousy and envy. And all such mortals, even halflings, feel insignificant and ugly upon beholding the truly perfect magnificence of the gremlins... provoking most to react in either jealous violence or mind-shattering fear.

You can believe these true facts. After all, RicHunt Attenwampi has been knighted!

Will these be Starfinder Soceity approved?

At the moment, the Pathfinder Legacy Races are all behind a boon wall in Starfinder Society, and the boons in question will be tied to the Regional Support Program. At the time this was announced, I wrote a gentle little protest song and gentle plea asking that online play not be left out of the loop on this one.

If you scroll up from my post, you'll find the blog about how boons will be handled in Starfinder Society.

Hmm

Joana wrote:

Imbicatus wrote:

Torag and Rovagug are both gone in the gap with Golarion. Every other deity from pathfinder is still active, although they are not all core.

Huh. This desperately makes me want to run a game in a duotheistic Golarion, wherever it's hiding.

You mean like a world where there's like "kind of sort of" space age technology on Golarion where all the missing people are just struggling to get a message out to the rest of the universe?

More in a world-building sense. Consider the implications when Aroden died and an entire religion was left godless: it led to civil war in Cheliax, the heart of Aroden's worship.

Now imagine every god, save Torag and Rovagug, is no longer granting spells (which may or may not be so, canonically -- the other gods could very well still be answering prayers of those on Golarion and just not telling anyone else about it). What's happening to those people left behind on Golarion? Have the dwarves basically taken over, due to everyone else's gods having abandoned them?

More than that, what are the implications of there being only one power of Good (and that being Lawful) and only one exemplar of Evil (that being Chaotic)? Philosophically, what does that do to the inhabitants of the planet? Is there a move to authoritarianism, as order is clearly Good and individualism clearly Evil now, as far as they know?

What happens to all the concepts left unchampioned, like Art and Sun and Redemption and Healing? Has Torag (and his family, if the rest of the dwarven pantheon stayed with Golarion too) absorbed those areas of concern? If so, how has it changed him/them? If not, have those concepts languished?

One presumes that all the stars and constellations have changed. Or are they there at all? If Golarion is in a bottle on some Nyrissa's shelf, there may be nothing in the sky. If the Gap drove the elves in Sovyrian paranoid and isolationist, how bad are those who were still in Kyonin?

There are all sorts of intriguing possibilities, and as the whereabouts of Golarion is Starfinder's unanswered question, I don't have to worry about being contradicted by emerging canon. ;)

Lucas VerBeek wrote:

Also I'm sorry but are the Half-Orcs really still being shat upon when we have Vesk and Shireen running around? The former wanted to conquer the entire system and the latter wanted to consume it not that long ago!

The vesk have power. Shirrens have numbers, and have been out of the Swarm and chill enough for long enough that most folks don't mind them, or have even taken a liking to them.

Half-orcs have nothing. With Golarion gone, they belong to no society and lost what little history they might have had. Orcs aren't feared anymore; they barely exist as a footnote on a distant world that they don't even control.
{. . .}

Not only that, but the less scrupulous Vesk probably wouldn't mind doing some subtle stoking of anti-Half-Orc prejudice to divert prejudice from themselves.

I actually really like the new direction with Half-Orcs. They have formed their own true race now. Like the Chelaxians formed by Ulfen & Azlanti crossbreeding.

I guess then the Half-Orcs might just need a new more appropriate name then.