I approve of the artwork if only because it kind of looks like the T-800 is calling in an airstrike.
Extrapolating from this picture it looks like Soldiers have a D12 hit dice.Not only do soldiers not have d12 Hit Points, but the question of "What Hit Dice do Soldiers Get?" is actually meaningless in Starfinder.
WAIT! what?
Wait sci-fi so
David Tennant: what? What! WHAT!?
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WAIT! what?Extrapolating from this picture it looks like Soldiers have a D12 hit dice.Not only do soldiers not have d12 Hit Points, but the question of "What Hit Dice do Soldiers Get?" is actually meaningless in Starfinder.
From the pictures I've been able to see. It looks like HP (or maybe just starting HP) has to do with but your race and your class. Both the shirren race page and the operative class page, have a have a large red (maybe? I'm REALLY colorblind.) box at the top of their respective pages with "6 HP" written in them. That would explain why the question of hit dice would be irrelevant. Also, and this is mostly a shot in the dark here, from the Obozaya sheet shown I'd guess that you add your constitution modifier too.
I greatly approve of the Acrobatics (DEX) and Athletics (STR) pairing of skills. I would have liked a pairing of Search (INT) and Notice (WIS) instead of just Perception (WIS), but hey, it works.
I have had Search and Notice in the exact same setup instead of perception in my own campaign setting for years . Love it.
Developer, Starfinder Team
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Hmm trying to figure out the attributes with respect to racial bonuses and point buy amount of points.
It doesn't seem to add up in a way that a Pathfinder race would.
Nope, it's a new system, and ability score advancement is a new system, and we like them both a lot.
Nope, it's a new system, and ability score advancement is a new system, and we like them both a lot.Hmm trying to figure out the attributes with respect to racial bonuses and point buy amount of points.
It doesn't seem to add up in a way that a Pathfinder race would.
So my suspicions were correct!
Cool. Looking forward to actually creating a character.
Thanks for the answer. :)
Hmm so there will be a lengthy conversion from PF to SF? but it will still be possible yes?
That would be simple, though it'd mean everything would need a level. Even though it is a science fantasy game I don't like the idea of a level 7 dragon, it feels a little too much like a video game.There already are Level 7 dragons... A Wyrmling Red Dragon is a level 7 dragon.
Well yes, however they don't go out and say "red dragon wyrmling LVL 7". It's the straight up saying it that bugs me. It's a little too 4e for me. I mean heck I'll still eat it up like the monstrophile I am, it's just not my preference.
Hmm so there will be a lengthy conversion from PF to SF? but it will still be possible yes?
yes - been confirmed multiple times - and the other way around i think
Hmm so there will be a lengthy conversion from PF to SF? but it will still be possible yes?yes - been confirmed multiple times - and the other way around i think
If I remember what I heard correctly, it's really only monsters that are supposed to be portable between Pathfinder and Starfinder.
If I remember what I heard correctly, it's really only monsters that are supposed to be portable between Pathfinder and Starfinder.Hmm so there will be a lengthy conversion from PF to SF? but it will still be possible yes?yes - been confirmed multiple times - and the other way around i think
possibly - someone will have to go find out among the pages of blog threads - Bagsy not me!
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So, the SFRPG system for creating characters is closer to/based on the PFRPG system for creating monster ?
That would be a smart way to ensure this compatibility that was sought from the beginning.
Hence no HD depending on Class.
Most interesting
I hope Mr Stephens will soon get the release from secrecy he craves and show off this point-buy system he is so obviously proud of :-)
Monsters are the most easily, most directly, most quickly converted.
Would this, I hope, include PC races? It would make a plethora of species available for players to choose from.
I have heard the Alien Archive is going to be part Bestiary and part PC species guide. So there are already going to be a plethora available pretty quickly.
I hope that weapon finesse isn't a feat anymore, but something every character has acess to.What we did isn't quite either of those things, but it's closer to the latter.
Man, every new thing I hear about Starfinder makes me more eager to see it.
Smaller feat trees? Fewer to no feat taxes? Consolidated skills? No 2 skill points/lvl classes? Every class gets two good saves? No game breaking 9th level casters? No awkward vancian spell casting? Rogues and Fighters who are actually effective?
It's like Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza all in one!
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Developer, Starfinder Team
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I thought one of the previewed classes only had 1 good save. Mystic with good will I think.
Correct.
Also where did they say no vanician spell casting? And believe they've only said no 9th level casters in core.
Both the existing spell casting classes are spontaneous casters, rather than prepared casters, which may be what Porridge is referring to.
As a related question (if you are permitted to answer it), are they like Sorcerers/Oracles where they have a limited list of chosen spells, or are they like Arcanists where they have a select group of spells they can choose each day?
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I thought one of the previewed classes only had 1 good save. Mystic with good will I think.
Yeah, good catch. I should have said "Rogues and Fighters get 2 good saves", which is really part of the "Rogues and Fighters who are actually effective" point... :P
Also where did they say no vanician spell casting? And believe they've only said no 9th level casters in core.
Yeah, these were all claims about the core classes.
As far as I know, they haven't committed themselves to not later producing things like, say, 9th level prepared casters with 2 skill points/lvl and lengthy associated feat trees... But since they're not in the core book, that suggests that these kinds of exceptions, if there are such exceptions, will be relatively rare. And that's enough to make me very happy! :)
Both the existing spell casting classes are spontaneous casters, rather than prepared casters, which may be what Porridge is referring to.
Yep!
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Developer, Starfinder Team
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As a related question (if you are permitted to answer it), are they like Sorcerers/Oracles where they have a limited list of chosen spells, or are they like Arcanists where they have a select group of spells they can choose each day?
Like bard/sorcerer/oracle.
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Developer, Starfinder Team
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As far as I know, they haven't committed themselves to not later producing things like, say, 9th level prepared casters with 2 skill points/lvl and lengthy associated feat trees...
Honestly I don't think we'll ever say "We are never doping X," though we often say "We have no current plans to do X."
But we'll want to see the first few things we've done "in the wild" before we even begin to think about what might make smart expansions, exceptions, and non-core options.
We have strong reasons why we made the design choices we did for the core classes 9and we haven;t even previewed all of those yet!), but if something we passed over this time around made the most sense in the design space we explore in the future, we'd certainly look at that.
Was there a design decision behind not giving a highly trained soldier Perception? Is it not a skill anymore?
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Honestly I don't think we'll ever say "We are never doping X," though we often say "We have no current plans to do X."
But we'll want to see the first few things we've done "in the wild" before we even begin to think about what might make smart expansions, exceptions, and non-core options.
We have strong reasons why we made the design choices we did for the core classes 9and we haven;t even previewed all of those yet!), but if something we passed over this time around made the most sense in the design space we explore in the future, we'd certainly look at that.
I wouldn't mind a "traditionist" caster (1/2 bab, 9th level spells max), since immortal elves and eoxians and what have you could still teach such powerful magics.
I wouldn't mind a "traditionist" caster (1/2 bab, 9th level spells max), since immortal elves and eoxians and what have you could still teach such powerful magics.Honestly I don't think we'll ever say "We are never doping X," though we often say "We have no current plans to do X."
But we'll want to see the first few things we've done "in the wild" before we even begin to think about what might make smart expansions, exceptions, and non-core options.
We have strong reasons why we made the design choices we did for the core classes 9and we haven;t even previewed all of those yet!), but if something we passed over this time around made the most sense in the design space we explore in the future, we'd certainly look at that.
I feel a bit hesitant about the whole 6th level caster thing, but seeing the mystic has relieved my worries about lacking the feel of a full caster a little bit. They might not have full casting, but I'm kind of excited to see the ways that a technomancer may be able to (hopefully) augment a more caster centered build.
...every class gets weapons specialization.... with some weapons. We'll discuss why that makes the soldier happy when we do the solider class preview. :)
Kinda late, but why is the soldier happy that everyone gets to horn in on it's special ability?
Not exactly a special ability if everyone gets it, is it? I think the main thing is the soldier gets proficiency and eventually specialization in everything, and specifically the soldier gets to specialize in heavy weapons, which for other classes requires more investment, since they have to first have or get proficiency with longarms, then proficiency with heavy weapons, to finally get specialization in heavy weapons. Of course, since I don't know what specialization involves (damage boost? Something like a Weapon Trick? Being able to use more of a weapon's abilities?), I don't know how nice that is, though I presume it's at least pretty handy.
That might be what Specialization is, but why would the Soldier be happy about everyone getting it when in Pathfinder it was specific to one class (or hybrids of that class like Brawler/Swashbuckler)? Does the Soldier have an ability that makes other classes do more damage with weapons that they are specialized in? Does the Soldier get more out of specialization than other classes (not just easier access)? I'm assuming it's the former.
I just hope it isn't something like the Soldier having more options compared to the Fighter. If being a one trick pony makes you less useful than the other classes, just beef up that one trick until it evens out. Leave inflicting status conditions to the other classes; the "I use weapons really well" class should only worry about inflicting one condition: death!
I think you're reading it wrong; I believe Owen was saying that the soldier was happy because they get specialization with all weapons as compared to other classes only getting specialization with some weapons, not that they should be happy that 'their' class feature (and I don't believe Owen was saying it was the soldier's class feature) was something everyone has. And I presume that heavy weapons are probably pretty damaging...
You might be right, but is it really specialization if you get it with all weapons? It's probably just going to be one of those things that I'll be disgruntled with while I buy all the stuff for the game. Like why don't Soldiers have Perception as a Class Skill? They would have it over any other class (except maybe, MAYBE, the Operative). If Perception is a skill, and the Soldier doesn't have a way to get it (hopefully themes, or maybe fighting styles can give class skills), it would feel like the Titans losing the Super Bowl by literally inches. Sooooooo close, and yet...
Something that was also said was heavier weapons get a bigger boost from specialization than smaller weaponry. For another class to get access to that, they would need to burn feats to get there. Soldiers are already there.
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You might be right, but is it really specialization if you get it with all weapons? It's probably just going to be one of those things that I'll be disgruntled with while I buy all the stuff for the game. Like why don't Soldiers have Perception as a Class Skill? They would have it over any other class (except maybe, MAYBE, the Operative). If Perception is a skill, and the Soldier doesn't have a way to get it (hopefully themes, or maybe fighting styles can give class skills), it would feel like the Titans losing the Super Bowl by literally inches. Sooooooo close, and yet...
In my head-canon, galactic civilization is in an era akin to 17th century Europe. Of the three major territorial factions we've learned about, two of them appear to be straight-up empires (Veskarium, Azlanti - which I assume is a territorial empire) with strong expansionist urges. This results in training a military that will be fighting across a wide variety of alien terrains, where sensory perceptions may often be unintuitive, which leads many soldiers to rely on implants and augmentations for this skill. As a result, it's become far more effective to train soldiers to be able to take hits and neutralize threats quickly than to spend time rooting threats out ahead of time. Sorta like line infantry logic (which, incidentally, looks very similar to what's going on in the "Five Differences" blog illustration). This has led to a lot of scientific investment and innovation in power armor, which has advanced to the point where most soldiers can take a lot of hits before finally going down.
This dependency on being a living tank would explain prioritizing mobility over perception (ensuring soldiers can get out of any situation rather than trying to prevent any endless unforeseeable happenstances from occurring on unfamiliar terrain), and training for a strong will and fortitude before reflex ability. It's gotta take some strong will to charge a dude head on what's firing rockets at your face, no matter how much you've juiced up your energy shields and titanium alloy plated suit of armor. The general strategy of firing back rather than firing first will also likely reduce a lot of instances of hostile first contact with new alien species.
That sounds rather boring and not useful past low levels. I hope Soldiers don;t have to buy stuff just to see and hear and use the other sense as well as everyone else.
That sounds rather boring and not useful past low levels. I hope Soldiers don;t have to buy stuff just to see and hear and use the other sense as well as everyone else.
Playing the Terminator is boring? Well, to each their own. :p
In my head-canon, galactic civilization is in an era akin to 17th century Europe. Of the three major territorial factions we've learned about, two of them appear to be straight-up empires (Veskarium, Azlanti - which I assume is a territorial empire) with strong expansionist urges. This results in training a military that will be fighting across a wide variety of alien terrains, where sensory perceptions may often be unintuitive, which leads many soldiers to rely on implants and augmentations for this skill. As a result, it's become far more effective to train soldiers to be able to take hits and neutralize threats quickly than to spend time rooting threats out ahead of time. Sorta like line infantry logic (which, incidentally, looks very similar to what's going on in the "Five Differences" blog illustration). This has led to a lot of scientific investment and innovation in power armor, which has advanced to the point where most soldiers can take a lot of hits before finally going down.
Does no one do guard duty in space? Even with power armor, you still need situational awareness.
I think that maybe they don't get it so you can have the classic dumb guard who doesn't notice you sneaking about. That said, skill focus still exists, and fighters get a feat every level in addition to a fighting style. I think the soldier will be just fine.
