Ladrius |
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I kinda wonder if the new Archetypes are meant to fill the role that prestige classes previously did. The Starfinder Forerunner certainly seems that way.
It's my hope they'd do them alongside each other, much like Pathfinder. I'm not tremendously impressed with the current archetypes, as it feels uneven in what they lose. Soldier shrugs it off with losing the bonus feats while Envoy and Solarian seem very hurt with what they lose. Archetypes are also all-or-nothing - once picked, every feature is changed. With a prestige class, you can just have 3,5,7,10, however many levels invested in a new skill or specialized skill. It feels like they streamlined away some more player choices.
I'm actually hoping there are not more base classes, but expanded options for the base classes both the individual level option and the "big ticket" choices (like drone vs exocortex). I think the sheer number of classes in Pathfinder is overwhelming.
Interesting opinion! Is this your first D20 game? The number of core classes is around two-thirds less than the core for Pathfinder, and both it and D&D have ooldes more in the bases classes. I would be happy with more big ticket base class choices, as customization is king. I think the small amount of base classes is more of an incentive for PrCs though.
Star Wars Saga, for example, only had five base classes if I recall correctly, so it felt like the abundance of prestige classes was there as a way to find your niche once you'd advanced in the general classes.