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If they don't come out before then: playable undead. Skeletons and ghouls as race options at the minimum.
I have to say, I'm not at all pleased by locking down some of the choices behind specific ancestries like this. Before, my Dwarf barbarian was innately unburdened, and I could choose Hardy and Ancient's Blood as options if I wanted them (Hardy was my L1 feat pick; and before these rules dropped, Ancient's Blood was the ancestry feat I'd chosen as I leveled in prep for chapter 4.) While I'm happy with Unburdened being dropped as innate, since it benefits characters that don't need it, which is a good thing, I think a better choice would have been to make Unburdened into an ancestry feat, and just let people pick two -- greater flexibility, very little impact on existing characters, and no annoying 'Pick X, but then you can NEVER have Y, no matter how much you want it.' An alternative idea would be to follow the example of the Druid class features: A druid can take an ability of any specialization, but they get a small bonus for taking one within their chosen one instead of being penalized for making one decision (you've got an animal companion! No wildshape for you). So maybe a Strongheart Dwarf gets Hardy automatically, but gets a small bonus for it. They can then still unburdened or hardy normally, but don't get any extras.
Well, his own efforts haven't been very successful thusfar, so might as well follow the example of those who _are_ having better luck, right? Picking a toad to sneak up on it is, and then he'll make his move. Gorkle may not be a ninja, but he is pretty decent at moving quietly when he needs to, after all. And the sneaking goes well enough, all things considered. When he dives for the toad, on the other hand... "Gorkle gots it! HA HA HA HA HA! Silly toad think it could escape from him, but Gorkle too smart and fast!" If the rest of them look closely, they'll see that what Gorkle is actually clinging to in victory is nothing more than a slick, mud-covered mushroom, quite incapable of dodging when leaped at. The toad, meanwhile, sits on the ground about a foot away, slightly nonplussed about the large (relative to it) thing nearby, but otherwise untouched.
They haven't announced any plans to change the pagecount of the APs, no. While that doesn't mean the format will never change, I think we're more likely to see further experimentation with AP length than a change in the content and pagecount of the individual volumes.
Well, to be fair, Flat Affect does mean your Android is at a -2 penalty on its Sense Motive checks to interpret the meaning of your typing. That's bound to lead to a few errors.
And that's exactly the approach they're trying to move AWAY from in Starfinder -- even as someone who does think there's more room for classes than the core that we have now, I very much _don't_ want to see the same kind of class bloat that Pathfinder suffers from.
Don't forget a book on the Planes. I know one just came out for Pathfinder, so this probably isn't coming any time soon, but I still want to see Starfinder's take on them, plus the assortment of beings that call them home.
Molly's Magnificently Mirrored, Majorly Mental Motorcar!
I don't notice it being any more common among gamers now than it was a decade or two ago, personally. There have always been people that don't care that much about learning the rules (or who don't care about reading the setting material beyond the minimum they need to play.) As far as the health of the hobby, I think we're actually doing better now than ever before in terms of both the quality and quantity of games available to choose from, whether we want to go with industry leaders or indie publishing and whether we prefer our games with lots of crunch or rules light.
Also worth nothing that Life Bubble can be dispelled, and that there are places in the drift where magic (and technology) simply fail. It's rare, granted, but you do come across them. Really, though, what it boils down to is comfort. There's life support on a typical ship because people like to be comfortable, and are usually willing to make extra effort to achieve that. Sure, I could survive in a cave or tent, but I'd much rather live in a house, and in fact I'm willing to pay extra to be able to do so. We know there are ships in Starfinder that don't have life support -- generally Eoxian/Corpse Fleet vessels -- since undead don't need the systems and from a military perspective, it puts living attackers or prisoners at a disadvantage. I could easily see Android operated ships doing the same thing as a matter of efficiency if they didn't have any passengers or crew that required life support. There's nothing stopping a group of PCs from doing the same thing, if they really wanted to -- most people just wouldn't see the need.
Name: Zeni
It was not the life she had expected, growing up on Castrovel. No, even to the beginnings of her adulthood, Zeni had expected to be an academic – she had been accepted to the prestigious Qabarat University of Xenoarchaeology and Xenoanthropology, and with her thirst for knowledge combined with her natural gift – and finely honed skill – at teaching, felt certain she was on a fine track for a tenure track position. If anything, she had counted herself as, if not an enemy, at least an opponent of the corporate influences that found the divisions among the city-state of her people so easily exploitable for their own ends. And then, toward the end of her graduate studies, came her expedition to Varix IV. The expedition itself was largely unremarkable as such things go – but it was there she met the human Jarrod Meers, then still a junior manager in AbadarCorp, and the representative of the organization funding the expedition. Their relationship was initially antagonistic, as the two argued constantly over the merits of everything from corporate sponsorship of science to the best ways to use scientific knowledge for the public good. Antagonism turned to mutual respect over time, and after the expedition, a brief, if tumultuous, romantic relationship that eventually transmuted into one of the most enduring friendships of her life. Indeed, it was in no small part because of Jarrod – and because her trip to Varix IV had made her realize how much she wanted to get off world, to learn more of other societies and cultures firsthand – that she turned down an opportunity to teach in Qabarat after she graduated and instead accepted a position with AbadarCorp. It was a role similar to the one Jerrod had been in when they first met, assessing the importance of scientific research projects and the need for continued funding by visiting the site or lab and getting to know the researchers and their work. While she was very good at what she did, she truly drew corporate notice – and found herself acknowledged as one of Abadar’s chosen, even if she was slow to accept the designation – when one of the expeditions turned into a first contact situation with a sentient gaseous species that the initial expedition hadn’t even been able to recognize as life. As a result of her negotiation of not only rights to continue the research mission, but also of a limited trade agreement, AbadarCorp was able to make several advances in the field of chemical engineering. Today, Zeni has over a decade of loyal service to AbadarCorp, and holds the title of Director in the company. She does her utmost, both as company woman and as one of Abadar’s priesthood, to spread the benefits of law, civilization, and trade as far as possible, while also seeking to protect the people from the excesses of capitalism that she feels can undermine the very system the company and church seeks to enshrine. She has been instrumental in several first or early contacts with alien races, but as she’s risen in the company, she’s by necessity grown less involved in personal adventure, which doesn’t sit well with her, something her longtime friend Jerrod knew when he heard the early plans for a joint expedition into the unknown and made her aware of them. Zeni immediately saw the potential for both scientific gain and expansion of trade to new markets, and not only did she see to it that AbadarCorp provided substantial backing for the mission, she invested a considerable portion of her own not-insignificant personal wealth. Success in this mission could potentially even be enough to propel her to Archdirector and a seat on the board of directors, where she’ll be able to do all the more to see to it that AbadarCorp continues to serve the public good. Notable NPCS: * Jerrod Meers, Human Mystic (Empath) and Priest of Abadar: Although they're still just as prone to arguing as they ever were, which can lead those who don't know them to thinking they don't get along, the two share a deep mutual respect and affection. Jarrod would (and has) gone to great lengths to help Zeni, and there is very little that she would not do for him. Today, Jerrod works at the AbadarCorp corporate headquarters on Absalom Station, and regularly meets with the ambassadors of the Pact Worlds as well as trade delegations from throughout the galaxy. * B4D-G35 (Badger): While not a member of AbadarCorp despite Zeni making several offers of employment over the years, Badger has consulted for the company on numerous occasions. The android is a brilliant data analyst and someone Zeni counts as a friend, and he was among her first choices when she was selecting her crew.
For the most part, that's exactly what blindsense/blindsight does -- though as you can see here, the lack of specificity in the core may mean a pretty wide range of interpretations on specific senses. For myself, I'd assume that blindsight (life) would show undead as a negative image, essentially; the equivalent of a really cold spot on a thermographic image, so they'd still be visible. A (non-sentient) robot, on the other hand, would just be so much scenery -- they'd know there was something there by virtue of blindsense (vibration), but there would literally be no perceivable difference between it and a statue until the robot moved (or unless the khizar was close enough to use equipment or other senses like touch.) One of the posters above suggested that undead wouldn't be visible at all to blindsight (life), and their interpretation is every bit as justifiable, if not moreso, than mine is.
They could still interact with most machines as well as a blind person could, so I don't see that part being too horrible a deal. Considering that computers in _our_ world can do a decent job of reading the text aloud to you, I've no doubt the ones in Starfinder are even better at interacting with you despite not being able to see, and if it was that important, they could get a datajack (or biotech equivalent) to interface directly with a computer and not have to worry about it. I hadn't thought about them being flat-footed against all attacks from farther than 30 feet away, though, just about them being unable to make attacks _against_ anyone farther than that, so that part is a rather harsh penalty, yes. I don't even necessarily want visual senses when I play one (different senses are part of the fun), but being able to take a feat or magic item that would allow them to double the range of their blindsense/sight out to 60 ft or more would help a lot -- small arms can still extend beyond that, and longarms/sniper weapons well beyond, but at least they wouldn't be quite so crippled in most Starfinder ranged combat. Additionally, they're a race that just begs to be played as Xenodruids, and they can't even accurately perceive a full 1/3 the range of Grasping Vines, so they're much more limited in their ability to effectively use one of the more thematic and useful powers that the connection grants.
We Be Space Goblins is _going_ to happen eventually. It's just a matter of time. And I, for one, very much look forward to the day of its release. |