The Starfinder Tech Revolution Playtest begins now!

Art by Sergio Cosmai

This playtest presents two new options: the nanocyte class and the mech combat subsystem. The nanocyte is a cunning combatant who houses a host of nanites in their body. Using their nanite array, they can confound foes, spontaneously create equipment, and reinforce their own bodies, and specialized nanocytes can even stitch wounds, dissolve into nanite swarms, and shred foes with a cloud of microscopic assailants!

If bigger is better in your playtest, then strap into a mech! Mechs are specialized vehicles operated by one or more pilots, each of which contributes to the giant robot’s actions. Much like building a starship, you create your own mech (or mechs), allowing you to customize your frame, limbs, armaments, and more! Mechs operate on the familiar square grid maps, so although they’re bigger and more powerful than PCs usually are, many of the rules for using them are familiar, and many of the same foes are appropriate challenges.

This playtest is your chance to get a look at early versions of these new options and have a hand in their development before they hit shelves next year!

Playtesting the Class and Mechs

The Starfinder Tech Revolution Playtest launches today, July 27, 2020, and runs through September 18, 2020. So how can you help playtest this new class and new mechs? First, download the free PDF of the Starfinder Tech Revolution Playtest from starfinderplaytest.com. Then make up some characters or mechs using the new rules. We're most interested in feedback from actual play, so it's best if you can get some friends together and play a few sessions using these new options. If possible, make up characters at different levels and mechs at different tiers to get a sense of how they work at different points in their careers. There's no accompanying playtest adventure—you can use the new class in existing adventures like Starfinder Society scenarios or Starfinder Adventure Paths, and both the new class and mechs are a great fit for adventures or mock combats that you create yourself. It might be helpful to take some notes during play, so you can remember your thoughts on the experience after the game session. To gather the most useful data for this playtest, we ask that you avoid using house rules and play these characters using only published rules from the Starfinder RPG.

Playtesting in the Starfinder Society

Players participating in Starfinder Society Organized Play can also join in the worldwide playtest to test the nanocyte class. From now until the playtest's completion, players can create custom nanocyte characters of levels 1, 4 and 8. These custom characters use many of the same rules as pregenerated characters, though the Organized Play team has slightly relaxed the rules in order to encourage playtesting these new classes. For more information, check out this blog about using the nanocyte in Starfinder Society.

Surveys

Our primary means of collecting feedback for the playtest is through surveys that we would like everyone participating in the playtest to complete. There is one survey for the nanocyte class and a separate survey for mechs, so please fill out the survey for the new option you play. If you get the chance to try out both, that's great! But it's okay if you can only play one or the other—just fill out the relevant survey or surveys. Links to the surveys can be found on the playtest page. Please make sure you've filled out your surveys by September 18, 2020.

In addition to responding via the surveys, you can engage with other players and designers on the Playtest forums, discussing the new classes and possibilities for the future. While we want to focus on actual play feedback, we're interested in hearing all of your ideas about the classes. What are your thoughts about the playtest? Do you have any questions about the playtest process? Let us know in the comments below!

The Starfinder Team

With the release of the Starfinder Tech Revolution Playtest, the Starfinder Society Organized Play Program is also opening its doors to a limited form of playtest, specifically for the nanocyte class. Since this class won't be released until 2021, we're looking at allowing players the chance to test out this new during the playtest period.

Art by Sebastian Rodriguez

Playtest Period: The availability for these rules runs from the publishing of this post until the end of the playtest period (September 18th, 2020.) Once this period has expired, players can no longer use the Starfinder Tech Revolution Playtest class until the publication of the book in 2021.

How It Works: We're opening up Society play for the playtest class via the use of custom-created characters that operate much like our pregenerated characters. We believe this should encourage players to test the waters with custom builds, be it with current scenarios or through our growing stable of repeatable options.

Creating a Playtest Character: Prior to playing a scenario in the playtest period, a player can determine if they want to playtest the new class. Depending on the tier of the scenario, the player can then use a 1st-, 4th- or 8th-level character using the nanocyte class presented in the Starfinder Tech Revolution Playtest and created using the following guidelines:

• Class: The character must have all levels in the nanocyte class. Although multiclassing ramifications are important for the playtest as a whole, we're keeping to single classes in the organized play portion of the playtest for simplicity.
• 1st Level: The character can be created using the character creation rules presented in the Starfinder Core Rulebook and Guide to Organized Play: Starfinder Society.
• 4th Level: This character follows the same rules as above, except it can select one 4th-level armor or weapon and one 3rd-level armor or weapon. In addition, the player can spend up to 4,000 credits on other available equipment.
• 8th Level: This character follows the same rules as above, except it can select one 8th-level armor or weapon and one 7th-level armor or weapon. In addition, the player can spend up to 18,000 credits on other available equipment.

Credit: The credit earned for playing a playtest character follows the same rules and guidelines as presented on page 7 of the Guide to Organized Play: Starfinder Society. This means that you must choose which of your characters will receive the credit at the beginning of the adventure. Credit must be assigned to characters of lower level than the playtest character.

Resolving Conditions: We recognize that players taking the opportunity to playtest these characters are performing a service for the game and campaign. As a result, whenever a player playtests a 4th- or 8th-level version of these characters, the cost to purchase a raise dead is reduced to 6 Fame and subsequent restorations to remove the negative levels are only 1 Fame each. This means that there's still some risk to your established characters, but the penalty for dying as a playtest character is far less onerous than it would be for a normal character or pregenerated character.

Applying Credit: As we want to encourage extra play of the higher-level versions of the nanocyte, we're also going to open up the rules for applying credit when playing a playtest character. A player using a non-1st-level playtest character may choose to apply the earned Chronicle Sheet to an existing Organized Play character. To do so, simply replace the credits earned on the Chronicle Sheet with credits from the list below that match the level range of the existing player character.

• Levels 1-2: 720 credits (2,160 credits for Adventure Path module)
• Levels 3-4: 1,460 credits (4,380 credits for Adventure Path module)
• Levels 5-6: 4,085 credits (12,255 credits for Adventure Path module)
• Levels 7-8: 5,835 credits (17,505 credits for Adventure Path module)

Mechs: Organized Play does not have a direct connection with the mech playtest that is occurring simultaneously with the nanocyte playtest. However, we strongly recommend that members of the Paizo Organized Play community get involved with testing the new mech system and providing feedback. We’ve made sure that the mech survey captures Organized Play member involvement, so we can further analyze the impact our community has on these various playtests.

With all this in mind, we encourage our players to take an active part in the playtest, both by sharing your opinions online in the Playtest forums and by completing the playtest surveys. We hope that by opening up the means in which players can create and customize characters for the playtest, that we can see some unique and fun builds using this new class and that such tests will provide the design team with priceless "field agent" feedback!

I look forward to hearing from each of you about your experiences with the Starfinder Tech Revolution nanocyte class and am even more excited to see this class join the roster of Starfinder classes officially in 2021.

Thurston Hillman
Starfinder Society Developer

The Starfinder Character Operations Manual Playtest is just about to wrap up—but if you haven't yet made a character with these playtest classes and given us your feedback, there’s still time!

The open playtest period for the biohacker, the vanguard, and the witchwarper classes ends on Wednesday, January 16. So if you'd like to help us provide the best new classes possible for this late 2019 release, grab the free playtest PDF, make a character or two, and run them through their paces.

Then, share your thoughts via our surveys or playtest forums. More information about participating in the Character Operations Manual playtest is available here! And if you'd like to read our thoughts about some of the feedback we've already received, including a few design aspects we already know we’ll address, check out this previous blog.

With your help, the stars are the limits for these new classes. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

—The Starfinder Team

The year might be brand new, but the Starfinder Roleplaying Game's Character Operations Manual playtest is still rolling full steam as we work on providing you with the best new classes possible for this late 2019 release!

There are 13 days left in the open playtest period for the biohacker, vanguard, and witchwarper classes. If you haven't already downloaded the free playtest PDF, made some characters, and run them through their paces, you still have time! The playtest ends January 16, and we need your feedback to make these classes the best they can be.

Test out a character in a home game or in Starfinder Society, and then share your thoughts via our surveys or playtest forums. Links to both of those options, plus more information about the Character Operations Manual playtest are available here!

Meanwhile, here at Starfinder HQ, we're already sifting through the feedback you've sent us so far and discussing the ways we might improve the classes as a result. Based on what you've told us, there are a few design aspects we already know we'll address (though these are far from the only community-driven changes we're making!).

For the biohacker, we've heard that the mechanical balance between the classes' two key ability score options—that is, whether you choose to play an Intelligence-based instinctive biohacker or a Wisdom-based studious biohacker—is uneven. As we sculpt the class's design toward its final version, we'll endeavor to make both options equally viable.

For the vanguard, you've let us know that the class lacks a way to spend Entropy Points—the pillar of the class's core entropic pool ability—at 1st level. Designing key ways to do so will be a top goal as we polish that class.

For the witchwarper, we've heard your requests for a robust array of new spells specific to this class's flavor about pulling from infinite alternate realities to affect the surrounding world. We're already hard at work writing new witchwarper-only spells of all levels, from damage-dealing spells to battlefield control spells to buffs for the witchwarper and his allies and more.

These design concerns just scratch the surface of the possibilities for the classes' final versions—and there's still plenty of time to make your voice heard.

For those who have already participated in the playtest, we thank you, and to those who plan to still send us feedback: we eagerly await your thoughts!

—The Starfinder Team

With the release of the Starfinder Character Operations Manual Playtest, the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild is also opening its doors to a limited form of playtest. Since these classes won't be released until late 2019, we're looking at allowing players the chance to try these classes out during the playtest period.

Playtest Period: The availability for these rules runs from the publishing of this post until the end of the playtest period (January 16th, 2019.) Once this period has expired, players can no longer use the Starfinder Character Operations Manual Playtest classes until the publication of the book in late 2019.

How It Works: Given the smaller volume of scenarios that Starfinder Society has compared to Pathfinder Society, we've elected not to force players to choose between playtesting new classes on new characters or ignoring the playtest to continue with existing characters. As a happy medium between these options, we're opening up Society play for the playtest classes via the use of custom created characters that operate much like our pregenerated characters. We believe this should encourage players to test the waters with custom builds, be it with current scenarios or through our growing stable of repeatable options.

Creating a Playtest Character: Prior to playing a scenario in the playtest period, a player can determine if they want to playtest one of the new classes. Depending on the tier of the scenario, the player can then use a 1st-, 4th- or 8th-level character using one of the classes in the Starfinder Character Operations Manual Playtest and created using the following guidelines:

• Classes: The character must have all levels in a single playtest class. Although multiclassing ramifications are important for the playtest as a whole, we're keeping to single classes in the organized play portion of the playtest for simplicity.
• 1st Level: The character can be created using the character creation rules presented in the Starfinder Core Rulebook and Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide.
• 4th Level: This character follows the same rules as above, except it can select one 4th level armor or weapon and one 3rd level armor or weapon. In addition, the player can spend up to 4,000 credits on other available equipment.
• 8th Level: This character follows the same rules as above, except it can select one 8th level armor or weapon and one 7th level armor or weapon. In addition, the player can spend up to 18,000 credits on other available equipment.

Credit: The credit earned for playing a playtest character follows the same rules and guidelines as presented on page 7 of the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide. This means that you must choose which of your characters will receive the credit at the beginning of the adventure. Credit must be assigned to characters of lower level than the playtest character.

Resolving Conditions: We recognize that players taking the opportunity to playtest these characters are performing a service for the game and campaign. As a result, whenever a player playtests a 4th- or 8th-level version of these characters, the cost to purchase a raise dead is reduced to 6 Fame and subsequent restorations to remove the negative levels are only 1 Fame each. This means that there's still some risk to your established characters, but the penalty for dying as a playtest character is far less onerous than it would be for a normal character or pregenerated character.

Applying Credit: As we want to encourage extra play of the higher-level versions of these classes, we're also going to open up the rules for applying credit when playing a playtest character. A player using a non-1st-level playtest character may choose to apply the earned Chronicle sheet to an existing Organized Play character. To do so, simply replace the credits earned on the Chronicle sheet with credits from the list below that match the level range of the existing player character.

• Levels 1-2: 720 credits (2,160 credits for Adventure Path module)
• Levels 3-4: 1,460 credits (4,380 credits for Adventure Path module)
• Levels 5-6: 4,085 credits (12,255 credits for Adventure Path module)
• Levels 7-8: 5,835 credits (17,505 credits for Adventure Path module)

Shields: As a special note, the availability of shields, as presented with the vanguard class, are available for all playtest characters (biohacker, vanguard and witchwarper) to try out. However, shields cannot be purchased for other organized play characters.

With all this in mind, we encourage our players to take an active part in the playtest, both by sharing your opinions online in the Playtest forums and by completing the playtest surveys. We hope that by opening up the means in which players can create and customize characters for the playtest, that we can see some unique and fun builds using these new classes and that such tests will provide the design team with priceless "field agent" feedback!

I look forward to hearing from each of you about your experiences with the Starfinder Character Operations Manual classes and am even more excited to see these classes join the roster of Starfinder classes officially in late 2019.

Thurston Hillman
Starfinder Society Developer

The Starfinder Character Operations Manual Playtest begins now!

This playtest focuses on three new classes for the upcoming Starfinder Character Operations Manual, a sourcebook full of new character options that is scheduled to release in late 2019. First up is the biohacker, a brilliant super-scientist who analyzes their enemies and creates injections that can help allies or hinder foes. Biohackers specialize in scientific fields of study and utilize a scientific method that is either studious and methodical, or instinctive and improvisational—the hallmarks of any good mad scientist! Next is the vanguard, a martial character who excels in melee fighting and channels the entropic forces of the universe to manipulate their surroundings, bolster themselves and their allies, and power their devastating unarmed strikes. Finally, we present the witchwarper. This Charisma-based spellcaster pulls from alternate realities to power their magic and alter the environment and even nearby creatures to the witchwarper's advantage. This playtest is your chance to get a look at early versions of these classes and have a hand in their development before they hit shelves next year!

Playtesting the Classes

The Character Operations Manual Playtest launches today, December 3, 2018, and runs through January 16, 2019. So how can you help playtest these new classes? First, download the free PDF of the Character Operations Manual Playtest from starfinderplaytest.com. Then make up some characters using the new rules. We're most interested in feedback from actual play, so it's best if you can get some friends together and play a few sessions using the new classes. If possible, make up characters at different levels to get a sense of how they work at different points in their careers. There's no playtest adventure to go along with these classes—you can use them in existing adventures like Starfinder Society scenarios or Starfinder Adventure Paths, or in adventures or mock combats that you create yourself. It might be helpful to take some notes during play, so you can remember your thoughts on the experience after the game session. To gather the most useful data for this playtest, we ask that you avoid using house rules and play these characters using only published rules from the Starfinder RPG.

Playtesting in the Starfinder Society

Players participating in the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild can also join in the worldwide playtest. From now until the playtest's completion, players can create unique custom characters of levels 1, 4 and 8 to test the new classes with. These custom characters use many of the same rules as pregenerated characters, though the Organized Play team has slightly relaxed the rules in order to encourage playtesting these new classes. Look for more information on the specifics in a follow-up Organized Play blog post later today.

Surveys

Our primary means of collecting feedback for the playtest is through surveys that we would like everyone participating in the playtest to complete. There is one survey for each class, so please fill out the survey for each class you play. If you get the chance to try out all three classes, that's great! But it's okay if you can only play one or two of the classes—just fill out the survey or surveys for those classes. Links to the surveys can be found on the playtest page. Please make sure you've filled out your surveys by January 16, 2019.

In addition to responding via the surveys, you can engage with other players and designers on the Playtest forums, discussing the new classes and possibilities for the future. While we want to focus on actual play feedback, we're interested in hearing all of your ideas about the classes. You can also join us on Paizo's Twitch channel. We host a live Starfinder stream every Wednesday, where we talk about all things Starfinder—including the Character Operations Manual Playtest.

What are your thoughts about the playtest? Do you have any questions about the playtest process? Let us know in the comments below!

—The Starfinder Team