Field Test #3 Survey Extreme!

No Skittermaner option?

Lashunta have been my most-wanted PF2 Ancestry for a while, so I voted for them and Prismeni here.

Skittermander?!

No SRO!? C'mon that's the most Sci-fi option there is. And yeah, shocked there is no skittermander

i'd like to write-in skittermander!

give us the platyparians you cowards :D
Very exciting! Absolutely locking in that borai, 'cause I'm curious if the 2E iteration of it has a more flexible approach to its "parent species," unlike the 1e version which requires a new Old Talents entry for each other ancestry (which, I think, ancestry feats should allow for?)

What to pick for second, though...hmm. In the grand tradition of Starfinder being deliciously weird, I'm leaning towards shirren, or barathu. Something uniquely "Starfinder," that you can't kinda-sorta fake-arrive at by picking some existing PF2 species and squinting (like you could reasonably 'fake' a pahtra using catfolk, or sub in iruxi for vesk. I know it's a superficial similarity at best, but shirren and barathu don't even have a PF2 species they're phylogenetically comparable to.)

Voting for what we want to see is pretty awesome, too! Thanks, Star Friends, for yet again involving us!

Skittermander don't feel like core rulebook option to me tbh

Skittermander don't feel like core rulebook option to me tbh

That’s because they won’t put Ysoki and Skittermander both in the Core Rulebook. That would doubling up on the cute, fun, small characters.

I think it was unexpected that the Skittermander would eclipse the Ysoki in popularity. Now they are in weird position.

You can’t have both in. The only other option is to replace the Ysoki with the Skittermander in the core.

I don’t think they are ready for that.

At this stage, we already had full playable constructs and undeads, even with Boris being cool, just let us have a true undead.
Also an AI.

I'm very curious about the Barathu. In particular, can a level 1 Barathu survive the standard conditions of their own homeworld unaided?

I'd have voted SRO in a heartbeat if it was on the list, though.

I am rooting for Stellifera

No Skittermanders or SROs?

Skittermander don't feel like core rulebook option to me tbh

Skittermanders are the mascots of Starfinder. It would be criminal to put goblins in PF2's CRB but not Skittermanders in SF2's CRB.

No Skittermanders or SROs?

CorvusMask wrote:

Skittermander don't feel like core rulebook option to me tbh

Skittermanders are the mascots of Starfinder. It would be criminal to put goblins in PF2's CRB but not Skittermanders in SF2's CRB.

Ysoki we’re supposed to be the mascots of SF2.

Oops, now what do you do?

I would try to start a Skittermander revolution, but they would probably lose interest.

Will all those going to be in the Core Rulebook?

Awesome!!!

I'm going for the options that feel the most different and would have the strangest design space compared to stuff we've already got in PF2E, so I'm voting for barathu and kasatha.

Borai and Kasatha please! Borai because I love the corpse-y lads and Kasatha for the additional mechanics that would necessarily reveal.

One of my picks was Kasatha just to see what options might be available for multi-armed species.

Now that I have read the descriptions I would have picked Prismeni as my other choice. A drift Versatile Heritage sounds cool. Borai sounds cool too.

I am rooting for Stellifera

Stellifera would be a good field test for how strange things can get.

Very interested about this since the 2e way of handling Ancestries is one of my concerns for SF2e.

Part of cantina feel to me is having different species being different from the start. I know Paizo has, in the large part correctly, moved away from biological determinism in recent years, but that works differently in science fiction setting where an important theme to explore is the similarities and differences brought about by being/interacting with creatures that have fundamental differences from the naked apes we are IRL. So I worry PF2e's general 'start out mostly the same (other than minor things like vision or movement speed) and earn back a few limited things that make you different from a human' might feel extremely wrong for a game like Starfinder.

On the other hand if the goal as stated before is 100% compatibility between PF2e and SF2e, it might be awkward having to tell the strix PC they have to wait until 5th level and spend an ancestry feat to be able to glide at half-speed, while the dragonkin gets to fly at 1st level. Or the kitsune can't be a true shapeshifter while the astrazoan does.

Also writing in Skittermander!

I would not be surprised if Free RPG Day 2024 will be a new Skittermander adventure. Likely crash landing on a medieval world so we can use Pathfinder 2E rules. Skittermander are a Free RPG Day staple, so it makes sense.

I hate theBarathu... since this is 2e compatible....where are dwarf, elf, orc, gnome?

Chiming in again for skittermander. The number one thing about Starfinder 2e that has my players excited is the possibility of skittermander PCs in a Pathfinder setting.

Lashunta have been my most-wanted PF2 Ancestry for a while, so I voted for them and Prismeni here.

Those were my choices, as well.

since this is 2e compatible....where are dwarf, elf, orc, gnome?

In the P2 Core book

Very interested about this since the 2e way of handling Ancestries is one of my concerns for SF2e.

Part of cantina feel to me is having different species being different from the start. I know Paizo has, in the large part correctly, moved away from biological determinism in recent years, but that works differently in science fiction setting where an important theme to explore is the similarities and differences brought about by being/interacting with creatures that have fundamental differences from the naked apes we are IRL. So I worry PF2e's general 'start out mostly the same (other than minor things like vision or movement speed) and earn back a few limited things that make you different from a human' might feel extremely wrong for a game like Starfinder.

On the other hand if the goal as stated before is 100% compatibility between PF2e and SF2e, it might be awkward having to tell the strix PC they have to wait until 5th level and spend an ancestry feat to be able to glide at half-speed, while the dragonkin gets to fly at 1st level. Or the kitsune can't be a true shapeshifter while the astrazoan does.

Paizo has already said flying will be a thing at 1st level in Starfinder 2e The core rules will be the same but not the game meta. I'm more curious to see how stat blocks will look in SF2e I think Stellifera is the gold standard for how strange a stat block can look in Starfinder +2 Wis, +2 Cha, -2 Con, -4 Str Stelliferas are also the poster child for why negative stats are not a bad thing. Contemplative is another great example +4 Int, +2 Cha, -2 Str, -2 Con

Wonder if SF 2e's human options will lean on SF's identity for humans in the setting, or be 'the average' like they are in most rpgs.

Are ysoki even popular?

Tantalized by getting an early look at barathu, and picked boroi because they sound cool.

MVulpius wrote:

Very interested about this since the 2e way of handling Ancestries is one of my concerns for SF2e.

Part of cantina feel to me is having different species being different from the start. I know Paizo has, in the large part correctly, moved away from biological determinism in recent years, but that works differently in science fiction setting where an important theme to explore is the similarities and differences brought about by being/interacting with creatures that have fundamental differences from the naked apes we are IRL. So I worry PF2e's general 'start out mostly the same (other than minor things like vision or movement speed) and earn back a few limited things that make you different from a human' might feel extremely wrong for a game like Starfinder.

On the other hand if the goal as stated before is 100% compatibility between PF2e and SF2e, it might be awkward having to tell the strix PC they have to wait until 5th level and spend an ancestry feat to be able to glide at half-speed, while the dragonkin gets to fly at 1st level. Or the kitsune can't be a true shapeshifter while the astrazoan does.

Paizo has already said flying will be a thing at 1st level in Starfinder 2e The core rules will be the same but not the game meta. I'm more curious to see how stat blocks will look in SF2e I think Stellifera is the gold standard for how strange a stat block can look in Starfinder +2 Wis, +2 Cha, -2 Con, -4 Str Stelliferas are also the poster child for why negative stats are not a bad thing. Contemplative is another great example +4 Int, +2 Cha, -2 Str, -2 Con

I wouldn't bet on +4 to a stat sticking around in the PF2E paradigm.

Skittermanders should be upgraded to core. They are widespread, iconic to starfinder, and would be a decent way to show off how four armed characters will work in SF2. They also have enough options in SF1 that would readily translate to heritages and feats in core.

I don't see any reason why Ysoki and Skittermanders can't both be in core. Ysoki and Skittermanders lend themselves to very different character types.

Pathras are an option for this. Pathras! Skittermanders seem to be far more common and wlll be needed for adventure writing far sooner than Pathras.

Seems like we all want a write in option...
SPACE GOBLINS

I choose to believe that the lack of a Skittermander option is because they're a lock for the CRB.

Picked the Kasatha to see how they handle four (and presumably more than four) armed species and Borai to see how SF2E approaches them as a versatile heritage.

Excited to see how SF2E maintains the cantina feel with the way ancestries are written. I doubt we're going to get the 100+ species we have now converted over (granted a significant number of them could use PF versions in a pinch). I'm also concerned that we'll lose some of the species unique character if they're not more front-loaded than PF ancestries.

I'm also excited to see what new heritages we get for PF Legacy species to better represent how they exist in the setting. Asteroid Dwarfs and Masked Elves, and red-skinned Hylki humans.

Picked the Kasatha to see how they handle four (and presumably more than four) armed species and Borai to see how SF2E approaches them as a versatile heritage.

I picked Prismeni instead of Borai, but with the exact same reasoning ^^. For me, this Field Test will be less about the actual ancestry/versatile heritage and more about what they do with the concepts.

Anyway, Skittermanders should be in the core!

I agree Skittermanders were probably not mentioned because they are already a lock, given they are literally the mascot for these Field tests.

I hope the same holds true for SRO's.

SRO' are a sci-fi/sci-fantasy staple. most popular sci-fan series out there, Star Wars, has it's droids, and specifically R2-D2 as a prime example. Not in anyway humanoid, but still one of the heroes of the story.

Upright Bear is super popular at my tables, anyone elses as well?

Tom

Pathras are an option for this. Pathras! Skittermanders seem to be far more common and wlll be needed for adventure writing far sooner than Pathras.

I wouldn't be so sure about that being the case in 2E. The iconic solarian is a pahtra (from the pictures we've seen, anyways) plus the StarFriends more or less said in the Keynote that Pulonis is signing the Absalom Pact and pahtra will be a Core Ancestry, so they're getting a real promotion in terms of mechanical importance.

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Pathras are an option for this. Pathras! Skittermanders seem to be far more common and wlll be needed for adventure writing far sooner than Pathras.

I wouldn't be so sure about that being the case in 2E. The iconic solarian is a pahtra (from the pictures we've seen, anyways) plus the StarFriends more or less said in the Keynote that Pulonis is signing the Absalom Pact and pahtra will be a Core Ancestry, so they're getting a real promotion in terms of mechanical importance.

That's a really good point, thank you for reminding me.

I was really confused by their inclusion. The others were mostly already core, and Barathus had really strong ties to a couple adventures and storylines, but Pahtras baffled me.

Actually they kind of still do, because at some point it was decided they would be included in core, presumably over skittermanders, and that still confuses me. It's just that the "point" was a lot earlier than I'd remembered hearing about.

Edit: Hey, who knows? Maybe we'll get an AP or a set of playtest adventures centering around either the Veskarium in general or Pahtras in particular.

Oh, what if the big change that kicks off the new Edition, is the Veskarium officially joining the Pact Worlds?

Are ysoki even popular?

Yeah, they are. They show up in a sizable chunk of the live play casts, and most artist commission portfolios I've seen in Starfinder spaces feature at least one ysoki, if not more. I can't speak as to Starfinder Society numbers, so it's just some anecdotal evidence.

That said, I wouldn't expect them to rank highly in this particular poll since they're one of three options with an existing PF2 version.

Needs Stellifera and Ramiyel options.

Btw, I would caution against thinking that this list directly reflects what will be in the SF2 Core. Just because Skittermanders aren't on there doesn't mean they aren't in. I'm pretty sure the devs realize how much we love them, they just aren't in FT3 ^^

Btw, I would caution against thinking that this list directly reflects what will be in the SF2 Core. Just because Skittermanders aren't on there doesn't mean they aren't in. I'm pretty sure the devs realize how much we love them, they just aren't in FT3 ^^

I'm not necessarily expecting them in the core book, but definitely in the first additional batch of species. Six arms is a lot to be core. But I also wouldn't be too surprised if they're in core.

Btw, I would caution against thinking that this list directly reflects what will be in the SF2 Core. Just because Skittermanders aren't on there doesn't mean they aren't in. I'm pretty sure the devs realize how much we love them, they just aren't in FT3 ^^

Oh sure. But even if they are ultimately not in core, I would want Skittermanders for this field test to show how multi arm species work (I ultimately picked Kasatha for that reason), and even if they were not on this field test, I'd still want them upgraded to core. Maybe not the playtest core, but definitely the real deal in 2025.

I would have preferred them as well, but hey, Kasatha were probably even more straightforward ^^

No Skittermaner option?

No bantrids!?

The Barathu being Core is quite interesting to me, especially in the context of Starfinder being cross-compatible with Pathfinder, cause where could I put them in Golarion... Hmm, Hmm, Hmm...

Shirren too, now that I think about it, when it comes to them possibly being on Golarion.

I'm a little disappointed, but not surprised, that android isn't a versatile heritage. It stands to reason that they're human-only on Golarion, but we know they come in all shapes and sizes elsewhere.

I'm a little disappointed, but not surprised, that android isn't a versatile heritage. It stands to reason that they're human-only on Golarion, but we know they come in all shapes and sizes elsewhere.

Have there ever been nonhuman androids in pathfinder or starfinder? I think all the ones we've ever seen have been human based, unless I'm missing something.