Starfinder Character Themes

Interesting... I wonder how the Mercenary theme (which suggests a collaboration-angle) will compare to the Envoy's ally-boosting abilities...

I like the idea of themes, but 9 is probably not enough, I hope we get more in the coming months

I may have missed it since information is scattered here and there about the net but does anyone know how healing is going to work in starfinder? I'm very interested in playing a medic type of character.

A lot of these have distinctly "outsider" flavor. I was hoping for something that might play into characters who were once a part of the system before being thrown "outside" of it. Would a Bounty Hunter theme work well for an ex-cop?

Would love to see this list expand by a couple more themes every AP volume. I like the way it is implemented though in comparison to traits and archetypes.

Interesting and I like the idea. I definitely see room for expanding this with subsequent books, but I'm also thinking I might ban the "themeless" theme for our group's dive into the first AP.

i am really interested in the theme system. it looks to be a good way to provide continous updates to old classes as new products come out. could they be a venue to explore cultural backrgounds or group affiliations, like a Starfinder Society or Akiton Rust Belt theme?

Yay! I've been looking forward to this post ever since the Q&A a few months ago when themes were first mentioned. These are all really cool. I feel like there's a niche missing here, though, where negotiator type characters are concerned, such as activists, emissaries, merchants and the like. Something like Xenoseekers, but with talents more suited for colonized space. The Icon might fill this niche, although I feel this theme is geared more toward people of wealth and fame, and not necessarily a budding entrepreneur or charlatan or face without a big reputation to lean on. Come to think of it, something with mechanical flavor like an Envoy. Maybe this class already filled that niche?

At any rate, these Themes are awesome, and I can't wait to experiment with them. I have a feeling I'm going to particularly enjoy the Scholar and Xenoseeker themes.

I'm really excited about themes. Which ones get a bonus to Strength?

A lot of these have distinctly "outsider" flavor. I was hoping for something that might play into characters who were once a part of the system before being thrown "outside" of it. Would a Bounty Hunter theme work well for an ex-cop?

Yes, yes it would, for evidence see Jet Black of Cowboy Bebop.

A lot of these have distinctly "outsider" flavor. I was hoping for something that might play into characters who were once a part of the system before being thrown "outside" of it. Would a Bounty Hunter theme work well for an ex-cop?

I think Bounty Hunter or Mercenary works well with former Law Enforcement

A lot of these have distinctly "outsider" flavor. I was hoping for something that might play into characters who were once a part of the system before being thrown "outside" of it. Would a Bounty Hunter theme work well for an ex-cop?

Yup! We specifically designed it with "cop" as one of the examples, we just figured "Bounty Hunter" sounded a bit more... Mandalorian. :P

Hmmm... If one wanted to play an entertainer who WASN'T famous and well-known (Icon), but rather playing dive bars for beer money... which theme would one go with?

MOAR!

Character idea: Bounty Hunter Mystic. Hunting down criminals and capturing them are acts of religious devotion.

When will the headshots from the themes be available for forum avatars? That's the most important question. I know there's a certain someone who wants the Icon as forum avatar.

Ah like... I'm an Android Technomancer that Ace Pilots, eh eh?

I like the approach.

So... since these replace Traits, does that mean that APs will use "campaign Themes" instead of "campaign traits?"

Character idea: Bounty Hunter Mystic. Hunting down criminals and capturing them are acts of religious devotion.

Sounds like a Force Sensitive Trandoshan.

Shisumo wrote:

A lot of these have distinctly "outsider" flavor. I was hoping for something that might play into characters who were once a part of the system before being thrown "outside" of it. Would a Bounty Hunter theme work well for an ex-cop?

Yup! We specifically designed it with "cop" as one of the examples, we just figured "Bounty Hunter" sounded a bit more... Mandalorian. :P

"Bounty Hunters don't make threats. We make promises."

I may have missed it since information is scattered here and there about the net but does anyone know how healing is going to work in starfinder? I'm very interested in playing a medic type of character.

From what I have seen mystics can get spells to heal hp, envoys get abilities to heal stamina, and you can use a resolve point to spend 10 minutes recovering stamina to full.

So... since these replace Traits, does that mean that APs will use "campaign Themes" instead of "campaign traits?"

Ooh, that's a good question! I hope so!

It sounds like there's room to provide "Theme Archetypes" later down the line, if that's what Paizo wants to do.

For example, a "Mech Pilot" theme archetype could modify some of the aspects of the Ace Pilot theme to make them a better fit for those PCs who exclusively pilot giant mechs.

Stratagemini wrote:

So... since these replace Traits, does that mean that APs will use "campaign Themes" instead of "campaign traits?"

Ooh, that's a good question! I hope so!

Maybe later ones, but the first one does not. Gonna have to dig a bit for the quote, so be patient :)

Edit: quicker than I thought:

From the Department of Expectation Management:

Dead Suns will not have campaign traits (as stated, themes are replacing traits in Starfinder), campaign-specific themes, or a player's guide.

Hmmmm, human operative priest, name of Darryl.

Twitchontv wrote:

I may have missed it since information is scattered here and there about the net but does anyone know how healing is going to work in starfinder? I'm very interested in playing a medic type of character.

From what I have seen mystics can get spells to heal hp, envoys get abilities to heal stamina, and you can use a resolve point to spend 10 minutes recovering stamina to full.

The only thing I'd add, from playing the Starfinder iconics at PaizoCon, is there's a Mk 1 Serum of Healing, which is analogous to a potion of CLW, and presumably Mk 2 would be CMW, etc. Also, a Medpatch, which allows you to "attempt an untrained Medicine check with a +10 bonus to attempt first aid, long-term stability, treat disease or treat poison task."

I played the Mystic at one point, but I didn't end up doing any healing, so I don't recall the mechanic. I mostly was using a mental thrust sort of power to do 2d10 damage! That was fun.

Will there be advice for creating new themes, or will the process be fairly intuitive? I was thinking I wanted to make a homebrew theme for merchant/charlatan/emissary/face type characters. Maybe something like:

1st Level: +1 to CHA, bonus to diplomacy checks

6th Level: You spend an hour attempting to converse with a stranger (if they are willing), after which you attempt a DC 25 Diplomacy check. If you succeed, your target's disposition changes by two steps, such as from hostile to indifferent, or from indifferent to helpful.

I'm not sure how the usefulness of these abilities would scale, but perhaps later on you get a special knack for teasing out personal or valuable information from unwitting targets who are otherwise uninclined to share their mind (even when their disposition is hostile), giving you a diplomatic hook or a useful lead to pursue. Or other abilities giving leverage to intrigue/negotiating character useful for profiling, prospecting and investigating activities.

It sounds like there's room to provide "Theme Archetypes" later down the line, if that's what Paizo wants to do.

For example, a "Mech Pilot" theme archetype could modify some of the aspects of the Ace Pilot theme to make them a better fit for those PCs who exclusively pilot giant mechs.

I feel like that would be either it's own theme or an actual archetype.

Potestas wrote:

Twitchontv wrote:

I may have missed it since information is scattered here and there about the net but does anyone know how healing is going to work in starfinder? I'm very interested in playing a medic type of character.

From what I have seen mystics can get spells to heal hp, envoys get abilities to heal stamina, and you can use a resolve point to spend 10 minutes recovering stamina to full.

The only thing I'd add, from playing the Starfinder iconics at PaizoCon, is there's a Mk 1 Serum of Healing, which is analogous to a potion of CLW, and presumably Mk 2 would be CMW, etc. Also, a Medpatch, which allows you to "attempt an untrained Medicine check with a +10 bonus to attempt first aid, long-term stability, treat disease or treat poison task."

I played the Mystic at one point, but I didn't end up doing any healing, so I don't recall the mechanic. I mostly was using a mental thrust sort of power to do 2d10 damage! That was fun.

The mystic's cure spells are an extremely effective choice in combat when things go south, and using them wisely can be crucial to success when a foe is savaging another party member.

The mystic's cure spells are an extremely effective choice in combat when things go south, and using them wisely can be crucial to success when a foe is savaging another party member.

That sounds very promising! :) I gotta say I really liked the way 4E handled in-combat healing, it was never a bad choice and didn't block the healer from doing interesting things as well. Are Starfinder cures also easier on the action economy than PF ones, or are they just more potent?

I remember hearing that a level 1 Keskodai could heal you for 1d8+4 with a spell. Theoretically half your hit points at minimum health. All of them at most. Would I doubt that will continue to be that strong going forward, that extra 3 compared to normal is a big deal that I hope will stay potent

I like! I like! I like! This reminds me of 5E backgrounds, but with more meat on its bones and more potential for character builds.

P.S. - Please kill character traits with fire and do this for regular Pathfinder too.

I remember hearing that a level 1 Keskodai could heal you for 1d8+4 with a spell. Theoretically half your hit points at minimum health. All of them at most. Would I doubt that will continue to be that strong going forward, that extra 3 compared to normal is a big deal that I hope will stay potent

Oh Keskodai could heal you for quite a bit more than 1d8+4 with one spell at level 1 if he was desperate enough. It only happened once in all my delves though, and it might not have been on the shortened version of the spell on the pregen sheet. A fully ready mystic who is serious enough about healing you can pretty much always get you to full hit points wherever you were...at least the first time you need it, and not without cost. This is very powerful but less powerful than it might seem thinking about it only on the PF side because you will still be missing the stamina so you don't go from 0 to total full.

Anyway, healing isn't really on topic for themes beyond the idea of medic-y themed characters, so perhaps a new thread if people want to discuss healing?

Wonder how fluid themes are? Can you be one and then another over a campaign? Switching to meet story requirements?

Interesting idea, now if we could get a pathfinder version. I would love to turn things like commoner, aristocrat, warrior, etc. into simple templates. Though the expert would have to be broken into additional categories like artist, merchant, dancer, blacksmith, etc.

This game is turning out to be a dream come true for me. With 13 races to start with and more coming just 2 months after launch, 7 highly variable classes, and themes I can build almost any character I could want.

+1 to a stat of your choice. Does that mean we won't be getting a stat bump every 4 levels? How will the Outlaw theme work with SFS?

This game is turning out to be a dream come true for me. With 13 races to start with and more coming just 2 months after launch, 7 highly variable classes, and themes I can build almost any character I could want.

Even more when you take into account that there are 4 playable races in First Contact.

My Stellar Aligned Human Solarion Priest in power armor is about save all of your souls for the Sun Goddess Sarenrae....and then burn the foul unbelievers. Blessed is the Sunlight!

Nice, i like the concept to the themes a lot.

Themes sound cool. I'm curious if Starfinder will also include the concept of archetypes, either out of the gate, or perhaps a later add-on?

Themes sound cool. I'm curious if Starfinder will also include the concept of archetypes, either out of the gate, or perhaps a later add-on?

Two archetypes have been confirmed, and they are universal(can apply to all classes)

Steven "Troll" O'Neal wrote:

This game is turning out to be a dream come true for me. With 13 races to start with and more coming just 2 months after launch, 7 highly variable classes, and themes I can build almost any character I could want.

Even more when you take into account that there are 4 playable races in First Contact.

I did not count them because they're almost certainly also going to be printed in the alien archive as well. But yes, I'm ridiculously excited.

Of the themes, icon and bounty hunter sound the most like something I'd be into, though xenoseeker/spacefarer would work interestingly for a Shirren Mechanic I was working on.

Wondering which themes boost which stats. Any guesses?

Of the themes, icon and bounty hunter sound the most like something I'd be into, though xenoseeker/spacefarer would work interestingly for a Shirren Mechanic I was working on.

Wondering which themes boost which stats. Any guesses?

Ace Pilot boosts Dex, it was previewed at the Paizocon banquet.

Of the themes, icon and bounty hunter sound the most like something I'd be into, though xenoseeker/spacefarer would work interestingly for a Shirren Mechanic I was working on.

Wondering which themes boost which stats. Any guesses?

Bounty Hunter: Str.

Icon: Cha.

Mercenary: Str or Con.

Outlaw: Cha or Dex.

Priest: Wis.

Scholar: Int.

Spacefarer: Con or Wis.

Xenoseeker: Int.

So Ace Pilot is Dex and themeless let's you choose. My speculation for the rest:

Bounty Hunter- Str. Needed to collar their targets.
Icon- Charisma. Bring popular and all.
Mercenary - Con. Need to be able to take a bunch of hits
Outlaw- not sure on this one. Maybe Dex, as part of escapes?
Priest - probably will. Power of faith and all that.
Scholar- intelligence. I would hope.
Spacefarer- no clue. Nope. None. Maybe Dex? Seems to be my go to.
Xenoseeker - Charisma, to communicate with people whose language you don't know. Or is that intelligence?

Few shots on the dark there

Hmmm... If one wanted to play an entertainer who WASN'T famous and well-known (Icon), but rather playing dive bars for beer money... which theme would one go with?

Sounds like Starfarer is the perfect fit for that. :)

So my phrenic adept Vesk Soldier will likely be taking the bounty hunter theme to start I think.

Love how this works. Starfinder keeps getting better