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
Starfinder Playtest Launches
Monday, July 27, 2020
