Starfinder Preorders and Compatibility License Announced!

Can we preorder PDFs of the Rulebook?

Hmm

That said, I'm sure that's not the final cover. No need to be worried.

Correct. That is 100% not the actual cover.

Plan for part of GenCon:

1. Pick up stuff at Paizo boost (brings friends to help carry stuff, shh! don't tell them)

2. Drool over shiny new Starfinder book! (try to keep it clean, we are civilized after all)

3. See if members of the Starfinder team are around to sign book! (Now I'll need to buy a new book, since that book will be too awesome to use regularly)

3. See if members of the Starfinder team are around to sign book! (Now I'll need to buy a new book, since that book will be too awesome to use regularly)

A lot of us will be around, and I am guessing we'll all be happy to sign. If there's enough interest, they might even have formal signing hours at the booth sometime, though that's certainly not my call.

I'm fairly excited.
Having robots and ray guns and cybernetics in Pathfinder was ridiculously dumb.
"I'm an elf, but I have a ray gun, and cyber-lock picks, but it's still totally a fantasy game."

However, having robots and ray guns and cybernetics in Space-Pathfinder setting might be cool.

"I'm an elf, and I have a ray gun and cyber-lock picks in my space ship"

There was spaceships in Pathfinder.

And Starfinder is still a fantasy game.

Does the existing Community Use Policy cover Starfinder as well as Pathfinder?

Yep—there's a reason it's called the "Paizo Inc. Community Use Policy" and not the "Pathfinder Community Use Policy!"

Can we preorder PDFs of the Rulebook?

We don't offer PDF preorders.

A lot of us will be around, and I am guessing we'll all be happy to sign. If there's enough interest, they might even have formal signing hours at the booth sometime, though that's certainly not my call.

Well, if it is like last year, I'll be there on Saturday sometime before noon, so I'll have plenty of time to track people down. I'll make sure to bring snacks bribes. Those will probably help.

Best part, I live close enough so I could bring homemade stuff and it would still be fresh!

Looked through the Starfinder Compatibility license, and it does not appear to be possible to reference Pathfinder products, since Exhibit B only lists Starfinder products. And, as far as I can tell, use of the Pathfinder Compatibility License would also prohibit referencing Starfinder. Hence, if I wanted to design a product which uses both, say, content from Ultimate Campaign and the Starfinder Core Rulebook, it wouldn't be permitted under either license (or rather, I couldn't refer to the fact that I was using material from either product). Do you have plans to make it possible for other publishers to refer to both Pathfinder and Starfinder products in the same product?

Looked through the Starfinder Compatibility license, and it does not appear to be possible to reference Pathfinder products, since Exhibit B only lists Starfinder products. And, as far as I can tell, use of the Pathfinder Compatibility License would also prohibit referencing Starfinder. Hence, if I wanted to design a product which uses both, say, content from Ultimate Campaign and the Starfinder Core Rulebook, it wouldn't be permitted under either license (or rather, I couldn't refer to the fact that I was using material from either product). Do you have plans to make it possible for other publishers to refer to both Pathfinder and Starfinder products in the same product?

Alternatively, are the PCL and SCL exclusive of each other?

You can only reference what the specific compatibility license you use lets you reference, but that doesn't prevent you from using that material without pointing back to the book it is from. Just stick to open game content and keep your section 15 clean and accurate.

Since the two game systems are standalone entries and only "kinda compatible", Paizo might be trying to avoid the problem of a 3PP producing and marketing something as "Compatible with Pathfinder" which really isn't since it's actually designed to work with Starfinder (or vice versa).

It's hard to know without seeing the final product, of course. But given the compatibility is not intended to be as close as it was in the transition from 3.5 -> PF, one could imagine a certain virtue in keeping the two licenses discrete and requiring licensees to make the call as to which product they are going to be compatible with.

As Owen says, you don't need the PF Compatibility License to use a lot of the PF material anyhow (provided you comply with the OGL) - you just can't reference the books directly without it.

Alternatively, are the PCL and SCL exclusive of each other?

They are not. (Nor are they exclusive of any other game system.) They just each require that the product that you're using it with is "fully compatible" with the system that you are advertising it as compatible with.

Oh well - there goes that theory. :p

PRE-ORDER. That way you know it will be waiting there for you.

Also - would it be better to pre-order items individually now, or wait for subscriptions?

Edit: Never mind. Answered here.

This will be my first GenCon so I'm confused. How do you pre-order the items and then pick them up at GenCon? Is that an option in the shipping section of your order or something?

Charles Scholz wrote:

PRE-ORDER. That way you know it will be waiting there for you.

Also - would it be better to pre-order items individually now, or wait for subscriptions?

Edit: Never mind. Answered here.

This will be my first GenCon so I'm confused. How do you pre-order the items and then pick them up at GenCon? Is that an option in the shipping section of your order or something?

Assuming they continue the policy for this year, it will be added as an option to your order when we get closer to the date.

Steven Simmons wrote:

Charles Scholz wrote:

PRE-ORDER. That way you know it will be waiting there for you.

Also - would it be better to pre-order items individually now, or wait for subscriptions?

Edit: Never mind. Answered here.

This will be my first GenCon so I'm confused. How do you pre-order the items and then pick them up at GenCon? Is that an option in the shipping section of your order or something?

Assuming they continue the policy for this year, it will be added as an option to your order when we get closer to the date.

Awesome, I might have to do that.

Hmm wrote:

Can we preorder PDFs of the Rulebook?

We don't offer PDF preorders.

How soon til pdf will be available?

Also, any plans for expanding this into organized play?

Murderhobos in spaaaaaaaace!

To the extent community input on the pre-order/subscription model issue is being considered, I'd just like to offer the following:

- the print and PDF combo for APs is huge to me
- with Pathfinder, I haven't worried too much about the subscription combo on the hardcover books, but given the different publishing strategy for Starfinder, I'll likely subscribe to the hardcover (core) books, too (at least during the initial few books)
- if you combined the AP and hardcover/core books in the same subscription, that'd be fine with me
- the gaming accessories are not something I would subscribe to and if those were forced into a subscription bundle with the APs and/or core books, I'd have to reconsider a subscription (or adopt a strategy of frequently canceling and resubscribing)

Unrelated to subscriptions, add me to the chorus hoping for vibrant support of HeroLab and a VTT program (I don't care which one though I saw something about official support of some Pathfinder APs with d20pro).

Finally, very happy to see the support of 3PP. I used to be leery of 3PP products (a bit ironic, given Paizo's history), but have come to see the light as I look for ways to customize the Skull and Shackles campaign for our group. Loving the stuff I've seen there and am eager to find other plugins for a Starfinder campaign.

Vic Wertz wrote:

Hmm wrote:

Can we preorder PDFs of the Rulebook?

We don't offer PDF preorders.

How soon til pdf will be available?

Also, any plans for expanding this into organized play?

Murderhobos in spaaaaaaaace!

The PDf will be available on the release date, which should be ther first day of Gencon.

There will potentially be a subscription, of which potentially a free pdf will be a benefit. This may involve you getting the PDF early, although I believe that when the pathfinder core book came out the PDF weasn't available until release date.

Vic Wertz wrote:

Hmm wrote:

Can we preorder PDFs of the Rulebook?

We don't offer PDF preorders.

How soon til pdf will be available?

Also, any plans for expanding this into organized play?

Murderhobos in spaaaaaaaace!

I hope not. Pathfinder isnt a game for murderhobos and thus I doubt Starfinder will be.

So who's the sexy stranger on the right of the cover?

Hmm wrote:

Can we preorder PDFs of the Rulebook?

We don't offer PDF preorders.

Is there a formal date and finalized price for the pdf?

I hope not. Pathfinder isnt a game for murderhobos and thus I doubt Starfinder will be.

Didn't watch the twitch playtest? That was murderhoboing 101, complete with thinly veiled taunting the enemies to attack the hobos before the 1st and 3rd combat. And 'ugly therefor it gets exploded' as rationale for the 2nd

Is there a formal date and finalized price for the pdf?

$9.99, available August 17 (the same day that the print edition is released, which is also the first day of Gen Con).