I made this for my upcoming campaign and thought I'd share. Starfinder 2E's galaxy map blew me away when I first saw it, and instantly rekindled that awe and wonder I had in me when I first got into the game. However, the more I looked at it, the more I realized there was a lot going on in Desna's Path that I didn't have a clue about - planets and star systems I didn't know existed. So! I had an afternoon free and put together a compilation of all the locations on 2E's galaxy map, plus those referred to in 1E's Core Rulebook, Pact Worlds, Near Space, Ports of Call's own galactic map, and the recent Galaxy Guide. The goal was to be able to use Galaxy Guide's map in GM prep without needing to cross-reference dozens of different books. In this document are lore excerpts detailing need-to-know info about a plethora of different destinations across Desna's Path that don't have dedicated gazetteers in the Pact Worlds, Near Space, Ports of Call, and Galaxy Guide.
This isn't comprehensive and there are loads of other deserving worlds worth exploring, numerous of which can be found on Archives of Nethys. However, it's useful to be able to refer to a single source to get need-to-know info about the most front-and-center locations of Starfinder's campaign setting, particulary those pointed out in the main setting book.
I'll probably update this later with better formatting and more updates, but I'm a bit tired and I've got other things to get done now. Hopefully this will make some people's lives a little more convenient. Thanks for these amazing science fantasy worlds, Paizo!
Companion Guide! Great to see it hit the storefront at last! I wasn't sure whether I was going to buy this initially (or at least until I found the time to run Kingmaker proper), but seeing this book jam-packed with so much bonus content I can put into play now, I'm completely sold on this thing. Eager to preorder!
I just noticed in Alchemy's Discord they are partnering with Paizo to bring out 2e content. Is there anything I've missed regarding this, or anything Paizo can talk about, at this time?
Alchemy's been a platform that I've been really excited about ever since it appeared. Atmosphere is everything for my home games, and I take great delight dressing up a room for the occasion: scented candles, drooping greenery, artsy tapestries, surround music and ambience, dynamic lighting, even a projector I use to push visuals onto the walls occasionally. Along with any relevant snacks/brews for reveling in the occasion.
So the chance to combine a couple more of these distinct elements has me positively giddy. Paizo produces my favorite art and scenery in the biz, and getting the chance to watch these worlds come to life in Alchemy's immersive, cinematic fashion is going send me soaring over the moon. Seriously, I will go all out on these things.
So, a couple weeks ago, Luis Loza made a thread on Reddit asking people what they'd be interested in Lost Omens exploring more of. To my delight, there were a lot of comments about exploring elemental-themed environments, including island and aquatic-based locations. I've previously a little bit criticized how the Inner Sea doesn't have terribly much support for naval campaigns beyond abolition adventures (which are taking the bench) and piracy. Much as I really love the latter, it would be nice to get a little more diversity in backdrop.
Happily, Lost Omens has been broadening its horizons lately, hinting at more locations perfect for swashbuckling, sailing adventures: like Pacific Islands-inspired regions in Okaiyo, the Minata Isles in Tian Xia, Grecian Iblydos, the drowned cities of fallen Lirgen, Azarketi and sea elf settlements, Arcadia's "Salt Stretch" metaregion (I assume), and more – to say nothing of the Azlanti Ruins themselves, now that places like Talmandor's Bounty are recently a thing. There feels like there's lot of room here for creative expansion. So my question is...what kinds of new aquatic locations would you like to see? What sorts of places would make you want to run a seafaring campaign, and what would just generally excite your imagination for Golarion's great big blue? I'll start!
Aquatic Urban Environs:
I'd like to see more cities or villages built on top of water. Places like Venice and the floating markets in Thailand have always felt incredibly beautiful to me – human civilization thriving in a location of plentiful, even extreme elemental presence – and I'd love to see more of that. Disney'sAtlantis and Dreamwork'sSinbad have plenty on inspiration to pass on, here. Zo Piaobo in Minata seems like one such a place, being a literal floating city composed of hundreds of boats, rafts and driftwood roped together into an artificial island. Lirgen's drowned cities seem like another interesting place, many still occupied by native Lirgen still intent on living the old ways. If its architecture is anything like Jaha's, this could prove to be one of Golarion's most aesthetically interesting places, having this nearly sci-fi vibe to it.
Elemental Dungeons:
So, Inner Sea Temples low key has some of my favorite art in the Campaign Setting line, evoking interior architecture much more mystical and fantastic than usual. In places it sort of reminded me of elemental temples in video games of yore, like Zelda's manifold water temples or Ocean Force Point from Dinosaur Planet. Abzu recently had some nice places, on-brand. The atmosphere in locales like these are just incredible. It's one thing for fantasy architecture to be built for mundane purposes that grounds the whole place in some level of mundanity. But when places like these are built for truly fantastical purposes from the start – like preserving an oasis of breathable land under the sea, or for communing with a powerful ocean spirit – this is where "dungeons" and "temples" and the like really get to depict a uniquely alien story and atmosphere. More of that would be nice: places leaning into the fantasy-end of Golarion's otherwise pleasantly grounded shtick – to occasionally remind you that you are, indeed, on a different world than our own.
Haunted Waters:
Not much explanation needed here. Haunted zones in the wide ocean would be cool, bringing nightmares to life underneath the murky waves lifting your ship. Maybe play around with some interesting natural phenomena, like "milky sea," black hole-like ocean eddies, or fata morgana. Massive sea monsters would also be nice. Heck, locations inside massive sea monsters would be awesome. Some fun material for naval adventures leaning into the horror side of the genre. I'm sure the Alghollthu have some places that could give R'lyeh itself a run for its money.
Okay, so a genie grants you three wishes, and insists you use all of them on making new Pathfinder books because they are also a massive geek. What do want Pathfinder to look like a year or two out from now? What monstrosities will you waken?? I'll start.
Songs of War
What's in it?:
This book provides a wealth of options giving even more variety to combat encounters and military-themed campaigns. Fortress management would be all about creating an expansive base of operations for PCs: upgradeable defensive fortifications, weapons, supply networks, or Starfinder-style expansion bays for specialized quarters. Create the personal lair of your dreams! A couple of new subsystems would be introduced to complement these rules, including subsystems for siege preparation and skirmish encounters. These rules would contain guidelines for setting up battlefield scenarios like the kind in Ironfang Invasion, giving you easy-to-assemble objectives, complications, and other scenario building blocks to construct a siege narrative on the fly. Skirmish encounters are all about simulating PCs fighting on the front line between two large armies, and the perils of that. There might be new types of hazards exclusive to this type of encounter, including some PCs might command themselves. There could also be some guidelines for creating time-based objectives, as in "defeat this many enemies or disable that hazard before so many rounds pass" and figuring out the appropriate CR for that. Something to make battlefield fights a little more epic than your average encounter. PC options would be flavored around military adventures, and for lore, we could get a half-treatise/half-bestiary of assets, tactics and special training employed by major military powers around Golarion. Give some weaponry and abilities to NPCs that makes fighting a soldier from Mzali and a soldier from Cheliax a slightly different experience. Lastly, Warlord or Runeknight or some tanky type class comes in for players to storm the frontlines, as well as Sayre's Shaman to bring healing to the wounded and distraught after the conflict is over.
New Rules: Fortress Management
Subsystems: Siege & Skirmish (w/ lots of hazards & timed encounter system)
Classes: Warlord/Runeknight & Shaman
PC Stuff: War-Themed Themed Equipment & Options
Lore: Militaries of Golarion
Rose & Dagger
What's in it?:
Social encounters are where this book specializes! James Jacobs mention kingdom-building rules wouldn't really work for any campaign aside from Kingmaker, so it'd be nice if we could get some more agnostic rules for that. Maybe agnostic enough you could use these same rules for ruling a merchant guild, or mercenary company, or magic school. A nice expansion to the leadership subsystem in GMG for people wanting that experience with a litte more depth. For that matter, other subsystems could benefit from more options, like research (whodunnit??), infiltration, and influence. Maybe uplift Extinction Curse's performance subsystem into a formal set of rules – what's a good intrigue-heavy story without a little dramatic opera or theatre? Intrigue options for players galore (Ultimate Intrigue had a lot of great stuff I'd like to see come back). Finally, lore section would give a peek into the inner intrigues of prominent noble courts around Golarion, and the active conspiracies unfolding there players might foil or capitalize on for their own benefit. Oh, and Inquisitor would be perfect for a debut here, sniffing out heresy and infamy, as well as an Envoy/Herald type-class, for players who want to face for their party without relying on magic.
New Rules: Enterprise Management
Subsystems: Expanded Research, Infiltration, Influence & Performance
Classes: Herald & Inquisitor
PC Stuff: Intrigue-Themed Equipment & Options
Lore: Noble Courts of Golarion
Grand Voyage
What's in it?:
This book is all about the exploration aspects of Pathfinder, and a really good book to pick up if you like vehicles! New rules include expanded biome survival options and hazards, as well as crew management. Rather than modifying a vehicle specifically, this is about managing the company traveling with a vehicle(s), including systems for morale, NPCs with specialized jobs, high-demand trade goods you might transport, patrons, etc (probably borrowing a lot from Jade Regent's caravan rules). Following this woud be an expansion the the vehicle subsystem, providing a variety of options for upgrading vehicles, with an emphasis on naval vessels. Ship combat would also receive some attention, giving that system a little more depth that expands upon options introduced in G&G and GMG, with a small bestiary of pregenerated enemy vessels and hazards for PCs to face off against. Many, many vehicles would be included in the player options part of the book, emphasizing seafaring ships, but also including other things like specialized carriages, wagons, or more siege vehicles. Lore sections could include mini-gazetteers of the great wonders of Golarion: major trade and port cities on the edge of the wilderness, as well as some sites of natural wonder, which PCs might make pilgrimage to on their grand voyage. Finally, the book could introduce the Kineticist and Shifter classes, perfect for braving the elements!
New Rules: Crew Management, Expanded Biome Options & Hazards
Subsystems: Vehicles Upgrades & Ship Combat
Classes: Kineticist & Shifter
PC Stuff: Vehicles, Nautical Equipment & Treasures, Wilderness-Themed Options
Lore: Great Wonders of Golarion
Now that the pdf is out, what are peoples' thoughts? Which god has your favorite depiction, and which has your least favorite? What stories do imagine them telling? I'll start.
Abadar:
Since civilization has widely extended into the stars themselves, even on lifeless barren rocks, Abadar's made a lot of progress toward bringing order and law to every corner of the material plane. His crossbow is nowhere to be seen, nor his armor – decked out in a fancy golden suit, Abadar's crusade has transitioned from one of expansion to one of administration, looking inward upon a vast empire of accumulated wealth and trade. Somehow, this has caused him to grow older, and perhaps smaller? I've never seen Abadar smile before, or look up at someone – always eye level or below, and with a stern expression. Not sure what to make of him here. Perhaps Abadar's playing the father watching his child all grown up. Or maybe his domain is finally so large it's grown beyond even his wildest ambitions.
Besmara:
Besmara looks almost younger, flashy, cocky, and top of her form. Her hair has adopted mystical properties like a swirling nebula to suggest her increased power and standing among the gods, and she wears her pirate colors with bravado. She is loud, proud, and in charge.
Damoritosh:
Damoritosh looks like a vesk Superman, which is great. Interesting to see an evil deity with a halo, but this illustration does a good job rendering what vesk see in him, this awe and dread-inspiring champions of the Veskarium’s highest ideals.
Desna:
Desna has reverted to her moth form. Was she only an elf for Golarion, I wonder, and been a moth for the wider cosmos all this time while we were watching her from Golarion, or is she feeling more comfortable in her own skin with all the extra bugs around, or just waxing nostalgic, or…I don’t know. It’s a good look, though.
The Devourer:
This picture is creepy. Also, stop stealing Cthulhu’s thing with madness-inducing paintings, Devourer. Bad black hole! Cool image though. Makes Devourer feel a lot more terrifying, dozens of gangly hands grasping out of a massive, swirling eye-mouth thing to feast upon an entire planet. *shiver*
Eloritu:
You look like a reptoid. Almost human-looking scaly skin holding a lashunta-like mask in your hand. Really seems like shapeshifting is being suggested here. All in all, cool appearance, with silvery reflective skin like a retro mercury spacesuit and this cool, cultish looking robe oozing mystical mist. Very mysterious.
Hylax:
Hylax was said to be the first shirren, so this look makes sense. A halo-like crown gleaming over head, clad in gold-embroidered robes, she looks like a queen. No visible “mating arms” here – considering shirren often use them for ceremonial purposes, I’m almost surprised about that. Look was what I’d expect.
Ibra:
Ibra looks like Dr. Manhattan’s Super Saiyan form. Don’t know what I expected a god of the mysteries of the cosmos to look like, maybe aside from a vague impersonation of Neil deGrasse Tyson, but this looks cool. Don’t have too much more to say. Looks human enough to relate to, but there’s not one feature to focus on. This silhouette radiates the galaxy, and you’re almost compelled to see his big picture, or else get lost in what he is. Neat.
Iomedae:
So Iomedae got Skywalker'd and lost some skin off her shoulder, and got a bionic replacement, which is…really, really cool. Her demeanor, however, has really changed. Even when she’s been depicted in battle, Iomedae’s always been impeccably groomed and always very composed. Here, she screams with battle rage and her hair looks pretty uneven and wild. Armor is still shiny, with some techy upgrades. Don’t know how to feel about her. Is this pretty radical departure in character intentional, and if so, what’s going on with Iomedae? She looks really angry about something.
Lao Shu Po:
Granny rat looks like something out of Creepypasta. Robes disappearing into shadow disappearing into swarms of rats, hunched over like Igor and clawed fingers splayed and twitching above her pets as if they were attached to puppet strings. Marvelous.
Nyarlathotep:
I did not expect this look. Almost looks like Nyarlathotep could be any old undead monstrosity at first glance, if not for the creature’s gait. You can practically feel its movement, the tentacles writhing and twisting about in this suit, pushing it inexorably forward. This mundane thing, being the avatar of an impossibly vast and terrible alien divinity. I imagine if you look at the tentacles peeking out from the solar shield visor a moment too long, you’re transported inside it, where it is much, much larger than it looks on the outside.
Oras:
Favorite design, by far. Oras, more than any other god, looks actually, genuinely alien – this radiant, angelic, eldritch thing whose motivations you can’t even guess at, and probably doesn’t care or even notice you. Writhing, flapping, snapping, swishing, curling, scraping, grasping…beauty. And a dense, hot, artificial-looking core at the center of it, emblazoned with a symbol that looks like…DNA, I think? This art is inspired.
Pharasma:
Pharasma looks weak, physically, and emotionally. Always confident, leaning forward fixed upon something, hands steepled or gesturing about, and now…slumped in her chair, folded across her for protection. She looks like she’s sinking into her throne, her skin pale and deathly, her expression at once defiant and stiff. She looks like she’s bracing for something. It makes me apprehensive.
Sarenrae:
I don’t know what to make of Sarenrae’s new look. She kinda looks like she just got out of a bacta tank, what with the one-piece and tubes curling around her body. Also a bit like Gravitina from Buzz Lightyear. She seems a little less angelic now. Maybe those tubes help her concentrate and direct her power? She’s had a history of letting loose too much sun in past, so this new design might be her attempt to be less “intimidating warrior goddess” and more relatable to the average spacefarer. I don’t know.
Talavet:
So Talavet’s a kasatha that wears hieroglyphic stories across her body as elegant robes. That’s cool. The way she moves her arms reminds me of Grandmother Spider. And…do kasatha have ears? I never noticed. Cool look, nothing unexpected, I guess.
Triune:
Triune’s a steampunky Reaper from Mass Effect. I like to imagine they took Epoch’s anatomical design, Brigh’s taste in aesthetics, and Casandalee’s voice and demeanor for their physical avatar. Was expecting something cyberpunk-like with dark colors lit up in colorful neon, and…not a spider. So this look is not what I expected. I think I like it.
Urgathoa:
So, like, Urgathoa’s look was this beautiful, mirthy woman whose body has rotted and fallen apart beneath her, contrasting life and youth with death and decay. This look has gotten a faithful space adaptation, with this macabre-but-pretty looking space suit (representing life and security in the void of space) exposed(!) and opened up beneath the ribs, revealing the horrible truth about her nature. There is nothing more terrifying in space than being buried inside your own spacesuit.
Weydan:
Weydan’s the god of respecting regular ole people, literally chipping off pieces of himself to toss into the world and be a regular ole person himself to spend his time. You could stand in his presence and never know it, because he disguises himself as a regular ole person specifically so you won’t recognize him. Think it makes sense here he’d actually look like a regular ole guy. Move over Odin, you poser.
Yaraesa:
So Yaraesa’s an ancestral lashunta goddess, and she looks like one, with antlers (or maybe just two sets of three antennae?) instead of antennae. Cool. Her clothes look like they’re of indigenous Castrovellian origin, which is extra cool. She’s seen looking up into a holographic orrery-type thing, which is just perfect for a goddess of inquisitivity and science. Her look wasn’t what I was expecting, and that’s what I love about it. No labcoat that's a demiplane or high-tech gadgetry littering her body or formulas pouring out of her mouth – just a disciplined, curious woman lost at work in her new discovery.
Zon-Kuthon:
So velstracs regrow body parts they cut off or mutilate in the pursuit of pain, I think? It would be so awesome if they were regrowing cybernetic prosthetics instead these days, fusing flesh and metal in an even more disgusting physiological makeup. Zon-Kuthon is totally a cyborg now, and I love it.
I personally think that the idea that to be LG one can't ever be evil makes no sense. We all do various kinds of evil daily measured on some scales of morality. Indeed, we could go so far as to assign a label of evil to anybody not devoted solely to doing good and even those people may take actions intended to be good with tragic effects. This is to say, the question of good and evil is no simple thing and merely acting on a single evil view isn't enough to make one evil under many systems of morality.
Posting this as a follow-up to comments in another thread that were kind of derailing the main topic. This issue is interesting enough to deserve its own space. Got a busy weekend ahead of me starting this evening, but I'll try to post when I can. Cheers, everyone.
Pathfinder might benefit from a standardized methodology used to consistently differentiate between good, neutral or evil behavior, but I guess part of the fun is leaving that up to individual tables to decide. Speaking as someone who was (initially, but no longer) against the shift toward not dealing with stories involving slavery, and argued against changing the original vision behind Pathfinder's elves and dwarves too much, I think valuing consistency and verisimilitude in the world of Lost Omens is something we share in common. In fact, what's being debated here is verisimilitude. There's some competing narratives about FKM culture that are kind of incompatible. As BTC pointed out, the rules as written can, if we're playing fast and loose with them (in a manner unintended by the game's creatives), condone a champion of a lawful good deity partaking in genocide, with the consequence of "adherence to [Torag's mandate] will result in the character soul going to [Heaven]." Assuming we both agree genocide is evil, that's...jarring. Verisimilitude already seems kinda broken. So, how to go about resolving this apparent contradiction?
On the matter of "the idea that to be LG one can't ever be evil" — I don't think anyone here holds this view. Mistakes and temporarily succumbing to temptation are kind of expected out of anyone. It's when a character recognizes that something is wrong, and continues to walk that path when there are other options available to them, that their alignment has shifted. This can't be an impulsive action, but must be pre-meditated. At least, that's the sense I've gotten from the material.
On the matter of "is Golarion fundamentally objectivist or relativist in its moral foundations?" — I think the answer to that question is a little unclear, and always has been. The cosmos itself seems to, from a global perspective, operate in cycles of life and destruction, to which the Great Beyond itself is beholden to, although its fundamental dynamics of conflict between good and evil may reliably persist. "Good" and "evil" are objective forces that clearly exist — but that does not make them all-powerful. People are motivated to choose one or the other simply for the reason of pursuing what they value individually. So "good" is an objective force, but that does not mean the world itself is objectively good. Should one fail to value the worth and potential of the cosmos, one can be reasonably persuaded that evil objectives are the right course for them. So the trick with good-aligned heroes is generally in teaching people to value.
Seriously, reading this piece put me in a good mood. Good story — hope we can revisit the Shackles again soon. Thanks for the time, Mike Shel, and for Isles of the Shackles! Bloody masterpiece, that.
Anyone have much experience with this game? It's recently piqued my interest threefold, for the art (which is the most impressive I've ever seen in an RPG), the setting (which at first glance, has a few similarities to Golarion, and draws heavily on cultures and history from real world), and the rules, which seem to rewrite 5e to add a little more nuance. I missed the first two kickstarters, so I've yet to get my hands on a copy for a thorough read through, but I was curious if anyone on these forums has more experience with the Fateforge system, and any impressions they'd be willing to share?
Link to the current kickstarter, for reference:
Fateforge
About time Starfinder got one of these threads. What kind of flip-tile sets would you like to see for Starfinder?
I'd like to see a "Cosmic Temple" set, which could serve as Starfinder's dungeon crawling collection for exploring ancient alien ruins (either magical or of impossible technological sophistication), and could also double as holy sites to some of Starfinder's newer gods.
I'm picturing a set that depicts sprawling, non-euclidean passageways decorated with glowing runes and open to the starry void (something an acolyte of Eloritu, Ibra, or Nyarlathotep might build). On the flip side, a similar passageway, but depicting metallic catwalks lit with an array of circuit-like patterns, holographic consoles, and floating platforms hovering over a drop (a familiar environment for acolytes of Triune and Yaraesa, and many of Starfinder's forerunner civilizations, like the anacites' First Ones).
Starfinder seems like it could use its own dungeon-crawling set, and given the ubiquity of alien ruin type locations in the setting, it would be cool to have a set that does them justice. Especially with the magic-themed book coming out next year.
Hello, I just purchased a Deck of Many Worlds from my FLGS, and when I opened it up, card #46 was missing. Is there a way I can purchase a replacement card online, or should I just return the deck and try to get a new one? Thanks for the help!
I’ve looked for this information in other threads, but couldn’t find anything. Are Lost Omens books still going to cover individual nations, or broader swaths of territory? Like, are we more likely to see a Lost Omens book dedicated to Galt, or a Shining Kingdoms book instead?
I’m asking because I like to read books with tangible pages, and if the Lost Omens line won’t be revisiting regions previously explored in a book, I’d like to know whether I should be hunting down old copies of those books on eBay or the like, if I wanted to read more about them. Thanks for the help.
This. Should Experimental Prototype Mechanics get any alternate level 11 class abilities, since Coordinated Assault is dependant on Artificial Intelligence?
Woo! Raia! It’s nice to see how technomancy works in action. And here I figured Raia was perpetually the person on the other side of the comms. Apparently no. When Raia steps in, she solo annihilates entire warships of zealous Drow warriors. I can see it now:
Obozaya: “Damn it Raia, leave some for the rest of us, why don’t you!”
Raia: “Don’t worry Obo - all of them had a chance to surrender before I made them explode. I don’t even like killing.”
Obozaya: “You just killed a hundred people probably!”
Navasi: “Raia you’re back on comms.”
Raia: “Aww, why does this always happen to me?”
She’s also an absurdly powerful closet-level 20, but don’t tell anyone.
Well done, Sutter. Reading these has been such a time. Cheers, you.
Hello! Most of my upcoming subscription books disappeared on me. Only the Lost Omens World Guide is showing up as shipping next, while it should also include Cult of Cinders, Alien Archive 3, Assault on the Crucible, and Fate of the Fifth. Just checking to make sure all my subscription books are still set to ship out. Thanks for the help.
Hey, I had an idea! It seems like level 20 adventures are a little ways down the pipeline still, so after your characters finish an Adventure Path, you pretty much have to say goodbye to them, unless you go Metroid-style "your character just lost all their powers and start from level 1 again" each new adventure. Which can be a bit jarring. That got me thinking though.
Across media, heroes get their power levels adjusted for new stories all the time, even without the narrative specifically throwing them under the de-powering bus. Yet there's normally a nod to character progression - even if they aren't as powerful as this new villain, they at least have learned new techniques over their adventures they're able to use right off the bat. What if Starfinder introduced a system for veteran characters crossing over from other successful APs to develop horizontally as well as vertically from starting levels?
Basically this would mean access to more feats, or access to higher-level feats earlier, extra weapon proficiencies, dipping into alternate features of your class normally locked out with one path of progression (be both an Empath and a Mindbreaker Mystic, for example) - or other abilities - without going so far as to boost a character's combat ability to the point where conventional adventure paths no longer present a threat to them. Maybe think of the concept as the Prestige Mechanic, Prestige Technomancer, and so on?
This way, characters to go back to starting levels again without feeling like they've had character amnesia, and can explore level progression in different ways than before. It would also give them new ways to interact with adventure paths outside of expected power levels, while still retaining the same combat threat as before.
Would this work out? Would a level 5 Mystic with a few extra feats, weapon proficiencies and the abilities of both a Mindbreaker and an Empath break the way Adventure Paths work? Would it be an interesting option to explore?
Hello, may I please have order #7630090 canceled, please? I'm upgrading a single purchase to a subscription, and don't want to make a duplicate purchase. Thanks!
This sounds awesome! The way the mindscapes are described really sounds similar to the godmind from Iron Gods. I wonder if this borrowed from that concept at all, and whether we might get some matrix combat rules soon from all this? Regardless, what a fun concept.
Howdy folks. Wrote up a new class design. Still needs some fluff and crunch work, and I'm quite sure I've made a ruddy mess of the damage scaling system, but enough's been written up that I'd love to hear you people's thoughts and critiques on what I've built so far. The Jetrunner is a speedster class, inspired by the likes of Flash, Tracer, Star Fox, Silver Surfer, Starfire, and the likes. They are supporting, anti-melee combatants who tow a fine line between a caster and a close combat fighter, who are rewarded for risky behavior and good use of battlefield awareness and character positioning.
While most live bound by the flow of time, you soar over it. Where others barely perceive the miniscule motions of a spitting gun barrel, or the surging velocity of a high-speed enercycle race, you see reality in full, contemplating the rhythms of cause and effect as slowly progressing portraiture: an intricate world composed with simple, precise strokes. To everyone else, you are a brief glimpse, a rush of wind, or a strange flash of light. You manipulate the world around you with sudden, imperceptible movements, together flowing into a grand design. Whether you are rushing in to incapacitate your foes with perilous stunts, throwing a pursuer off your tail by disappearing into a wave of identical phantasms, or hurling your own body like a rocket to deal devastating damage, you manage to stay out of your enemy’s reach by always staying one step ahead.
Hit Points: 6
Stamina Points: 6
Base Attack Bonus: 3/4
Fortitude Save: Poor
Reflex Save: Good
Will Save: Poor
Key Ability Score: Dexterity
Your Dexterity allows you to stay nimble and hard to reach on the battlefield, while your Charisma boosts the effects of your Sonic Boom and many of your Jetrunner Dynamic abilities.
Class Skills
The Jetrunner's class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Bluff (Cha), Culture (Int), Disguise (Cha), Intimidate (Cha) Perception (Wis), Physical Science (Int), Piloting (Dex), Profession (Cha, Int, or Wis), Sleight of Hand (Wis), Stealth (Dex).
Skill Points at each Level: 6 + Int modifier
Your sonic boom is a ranged attack that counts as a magical grenade with the explode weapon special property, targets EAC, and uses your Ranged Attack Bonus instead of your Thrown Attack Bonus. For any calculation that requires the item level of your sonic boom, treat your jetrunner level as your sonic boom’s item level. Although you do not need a free hand to use your sonic boom, it counts as a one-handed weapon for other purposes. The save DC is equal to 10 + half your jetrunner level + your Dexterity modifier.
At 1st level, your sonic boom deals sonic damage equal to 1d4 + your Charisma modifier, has a radius of 5 feet, and a range of 30 feet. This damage and radius increases as you gain levels. In addition, you can spend 1 Resolve Point per any target who takes full damage from your sonic boom to apply the dazzled, deafened, or staggered condition for 1d4 rounds. Once an attacker has been affected by this ability, it can’t be affected by it again for 24 hours.
If you are 10th level or higher, your sonic boom’s radius increases to 10 feet, and you can also apply the boost, bright, penetrating, or stun weapon special property to your sonic boom. Your sonic boom's boost does an amount of extra damage equal to your Slippery Moves die.
Quick Movement (EX) - 1st Level:
As long as you are unencumbered and wearing light armor or no armor, your land speed increases by 10 feet. At 9th level, your land speed instead increases by 20 feet, and at 15th level, your land speed instead increases by 30 feet.
Runner’s Gambit (EX) - 1st Level:
As a full action, you can move up to one square short of your maximum speed, and enter a square that is threatened by an enemy. Whether or not you moved, you can then make an attack with a melee weapon with the archaic or operative special property or with any small arm. Just before making your attack, attempt an Acrobatics, Athletics, Bluff, or Stealth check with a DC equal to 20 + your target's CR. If you succeed at the check, you can make the creature flat-footed or off-target until the beginning of your next turn.
After resolving your attack, you must move out of the threatened square up to your remaining speed, provoking an attack of opportunity. You cannot leave more than one threatened square, and the target must have a free reaction when you make this attack (even if they do not make an attack of opportunity), or your attack will automatically fail. Abilities that prevent you from leaving a threatened space cancel your remaining movement after your attack.
Sonic Echo (SP) - 2nd Level:
As a standard action, you can move up to your speed. Anywhere along your path, you may place a number of doubles on any square you leave behind, up to an amount equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum of 1), and you cannot place more than one double on any one square. These doubles cannot be targeted by any ability requiring an attack roll, do not provide soft cover, do not inhibit another creature from occupying their space, and cannot otherwise affect any action or be affected by any action. Each time you place a double, your maximum Dexterity bonus to AC decreases by 2 until your next turn. Upon your next turn, all doubles you placed disappear.
Before your next turn, if your jetrunner threatens any square around them, your doubles also threaten their surrounding squares (including the squares they are occupying), and you may use a reaction to make an attack of opportunity or trip combat maneuver through them as if your jetrunner were physically adjacent to their target. You can use your doubles to take multiple reactions, but no one double can make more than one reaction in one round. If you have no free reactions and an enemy provokes an attack of opportunity in a space your doubles threaten, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to gain a free reaction to attack them.
Jetrunner Dynamic - 2nd Level:
You learn your first jetrunner dynamic at 2nd level, and you learn an additional dynamic every 2 levels thereafter.
If a jet runner dynamic allows a saving throw to resist its effects, the DC is equal to 10 + half your jetrunner level + your Charisma modifier. Unless otherwise specified, you can’t select the same dynamic more than once.
Weapon Specialization (EX) - 3rd Level:
You gain Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat for each weapon type this class grants you proficiency with.
Deadly Impact (SU) - 3rd Level:
As a full action, draw a line from your jetrunner to a grid intersection at a distance equal to your maximum jetrunner speed, that is not impeded by any obstacle. Make an attack roll targeting this intersection, as per thrown weapon rules. Whether or not you succeed, as a full action, move your maximum jetrunner speed in a straight line, ending your movement in the intersection you were targeting, or wherever else you land as per Missing with a Thrown Weapon rules (Core Rulebook 245). You cannot land in a space occupied by another combatant, and this attack does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Upon moving to the intersection, you make a sonic boom attack with your jetrunner in the center of the area of effect, and fall prone. Every combatant in this area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking damage equal to your deadly impact die, or half damage on a successful save. Your jetrunner also takes damage from this attack, equal to your sonic boom die. You may remove a number of die from your total equal to your Constitution modifier, up to no more than half of the die.
Slippery Moves (EX) - 7th Level:
As a reaction, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to roll a d4. Subtract this total from one enemy’s attack of opportunity you provoke by moving out of a threatened space this turn. At 11th, 15th level, and 19th level, you can add one additional d4 die, though you cannot apply this ability to any more than one attack of opportunity per round.
Reactive (EX) - 9th Level:
Once per day, you can take an additional reaction during one round, though you can still take only one reaction per triggering event. You can take a reaction before the first time you act in a combat, though not during a surprise round in which you are unable to act.
At 15th level and again at 19th level, you can use this ability one additional time per day, though you can never use this ability to take more than two reactions in a round or one per triggering event.
Impulse (EX) - 11th Level:
You have learned to to manipulate your momentum to perform stunning feats others might think impossible. You can add a bonus equal to double your jetrunner level to Athletics checks to climb, jump, or swim as part of the action you take to attempt the skill check. As a reaction when you are falling, you can also reduce the falling damage you take by half.
In addition, you move along vertical surfaces and even upside down along ceilings for 1 round. This functions as spider climb, but it leaves your hands free and you can also run. You must end your movement on a surface that can support you normally. If you end your movement while you are standing on a vertical surface or ceiling, you fall unless you succeed at an Athletics check to climb to remain in position. By moving at least half of your maximum jetrunner speed in a straight line, you also gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC for that round.
If you have hoverskates (Starfinder Armory 104), you still gain all the benefits of this ability while they are equipped.
Uncanny Speed (EX) - 15th Level:
When making a full attack, you can also take a separate move action to move. The movement can occur before, after, or between the attacks from the full attack. All the movement must occur at the same time. This is a haste effect.
Faster Than Time (SP) - 20th Level:
As a standard action, you can spend all of your remaining Resolve Points (minimum of 4) to become a physical portal to the Dimension of Time. You and any creature or vehicle you touch are then transported to the edge of the Material Plane where it borders the Dimension of Time. The effect is largely illusory, but the path is quasi-real. All targets must be in direct contact with one another. A Large target counts as two Medium targets, a Huge target counts as four Medium targets, and so forth. Creatures you transport this way can opt to follow you, wander off through the plane, or stumble back into the Material Plane (50% chance for either of the latter results if the creatures are lost or abandoned by you). Creatures unwilling to accompany you into the Dimension of Time can attempt a Will saving throw to negate the effect.
In the Dimension of Time, you move at a rate of 200 miles per hour. Because of the blurring of reality between the Dimension of Time and the Material Plane, you can’t make out details of the terrain or areas you pass over during transit nor can you predict perfectly where your travel will end. It’s impossible to judge distances accurately, making the spell virtually useless for scouting or spying. Furthermore, when the spell effect ends, you are shunted 1d10 × 100 feet in a random horizontal direction from your desired endpoint. If this would place you within a solid object, you (and any creatures with you) are shunted to the nearest empty space available, but the strain of this activity renders each creature fatigued (no saving throw).
Faster Than Time can also be used to travel to other planes that border on the Dimension of Time (except for the Drift), but this usage requires you to travel across the Dimension of Time to arrive at a border with another plane of reality, which takes 1d4 hours. It is also possible to use the Dimension of Time to travel back to a previous point in time in the last 10 days. When you do so, you may alter a subtle detail that happened during that time, but can not affect a significant outcome. This a Wish effect. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again for 24 hours.
Jetrunner Dynamics:
2nd Level
You must be 2nd level or higher to choose these jetrunner dynamics.
Afterburner (SU)
You gain Jet Dash as a bonus feat.
Alpinist (SU)
Gain a climb speed equal to half your land speed. If you already have a climb speed, you can now climb at a pace equal to your maximum jetrunner land speed.
Anonymous Donation (SU)
Make a Disguise skill check to grant a creature a circumstance bonus equal to your Slippery Moves die to one skill check they make, once per day. A target of this ability (or a creature attending or observing your target) can attempt an opposed Perception check to determine that you are the origin of this activity.
Blink and You Miss It (SU)
Perform Acrobatics or Athletics skill checks in half the time.
Calculated Destruction (EX)
You can exclude as many targets from your sonic boom as your Charisma modifier.
Elemental Reaction (SU)
Every long rest, you can change the elemental type for you sonic boom attack to acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic.
Spring Jump (SU)
You can now jump at a distance equal to half your land speed feet as a move action (either vertically, horizontally, or in any combination that does not exceed your maximum land speed).
Temperamental Trickster (SU)
Make a Bluff skill check to grant a creature a circumstance penalty equal to your Slippery Moves die to one skill check they make, once per day. A target of this ability (or a creature attending or observing your target) can attempt an opposed Sense Motive check to determine that you are the origin of this activity.
Trace Back (SU)
As a reaction, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to swap places with a sonic echo after an attack is rolled against you, but before the attack's outcome is known.
Wave Dash (SU)
Gain a swim speed equal to half your land speed. If you already have a swim speed, you can now swim at a pace equal to your maximum jetrunner land speed. In addition, you can move normally across the surface of liquid terrain for 1 round. You must end your movement on a surface that can support you normally. You can run across liquid terrain indefinitely.
6th Level
You must be 6th level or higher to choose these jetrunner dynamics.
Breach the Heart (SU)
Vibrate through an enemy’s body to grasp their heart (if they have one). This is a grapple effect, and you can attempt this attack with your Ranged Attack Bonus even while unarmed, though you must be adjacent to your target for the duration of this ability. While grappled like this, your target takes a -2 penalty to escape your grapple, and to grapple you. You can forego giving your target this penalty to deal an amount of damage equal to your Slippery Moves die each round, directly to their Hit Points. Once you’ve used this ability to grapple a creature, that creature is immune to your breach the heart for 24 hours.
Faster Than the Eye (SP)
Spend 1 Resolve Point to cast Dimension Door as a spell-like ability.
Kinetic Battery (SU)
You create enough kinetic energy to provide a technological item enough charge to operate for one round, and can spend 1 Resolve Point every round after to maintain this effect.
Mix Up Wires (SU)
Make a Sleight of Hand skill check against a technological device adjacent to you to cause it to malfunction. A target of this ability (or a creature attending or observing your target) can attempt an opposed Perception check to determine that you are the origin of this activity.
One of Many (SU)
You can use a reaction on your turn to swap places with any sonic echo you've placed. As part of this reaction, you can make a Disguise skill check to conceal your location.
Power of Flight (SU)
You gain a flight speed equal to half your land speed with average maneuverability.
Quick Stow (EX)
Sheathe a weapon as a swift action.
Stop Motion (SU)
Learn Deflect Projectiles as a bonus feat. You can take this action even while unarmed, using your Ranged Attack Bonus modifier for your attack roll.
Time Bomb (SU)
Give your Sonic Boom damage equal to your Deadly Impact damage by causing it to detonate one turn later.
Unlock the Mind (SU)
You access hidden potential in your brain. As the world slows around you, you process hundreds of calculations and variables in meremoments. Once per day, spend 1 RP to gain a circumstance bonus equal to your Slippery Moves die to any skill check you make, even one you aren't qualified for.
10th Level
You must be 10th level or higher to choose these jetrunner dynamics.
Battering Ram (SU)
You can choose not to fall prone after making the Deadly Impact attack.
Flying Ace (SU)
Your Power of Flight ability gains good maneuverability. You must have the Power of Flight jetrunner dynamic to learn this dynamic.
Guardian Angel (SU)
Your Sonic Echoes can also use your Stop Motion ability as a reaction. You must have the Stop Motion jetrunner dynamic to learn this dynamic.
Invisible Wall (SU)
Your Sonic Echoes can use Stand Still as a bonus feat when making an attack of opportunity. You must have the Stand Still feat to learn this dynamic.
Rebound (SU)
You can take up to ten feet of free movement before moving in a straight line for your Deadly Impact attack. For however many feet you move, you decrease the distance you travel in a straight line (which must be no less than half your jetrunner land speed).
Speeding Bullet (SU)
Your flight speed increases to your maximum jetrunner land speed. You must have the Power of Flight jetrunner dynamic to learn this dynamic.
14th Level
You must be 14th level or higher to choose these jetrunner dynamics.
Fiery Contrails (SU)
You can spend 2 Resolve Points as a standard action to move your maximum jetrunner speed in a straight line, leaving behind hazardous terrain in every square you pass through. Any target that enters these squares is treated as if they were attacked by your Sonic Boom. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
Phase Out (SU)
You can move through solid matter by taking your body’s matter out of phase for just a moment. As a full action, you can spend 2 Resolve Points to phase through up to 5 feet of solid matter. If you attempt to phase through something that is too thick, you spend the Resolve Point and take the action but the attempt fails. You cannot phase through force effects such as force fields or the barrier created by wall of force. After using Phase Out, you can’t use it again until after you’ve taken a full 8-hour rest.
Too Slow (SP)
Once per combat, you can spend 2 Resolve Points to cast Slow as a spell-like ability.
U-Turn (SU)
You can now take up to twenty feet of free movement before moving in a straight line for your Deadly Impact attack. For however many feet you move, you decrease the distance you travel in a straight line (which must be no less than half your jetrunner land speed). You must have the Rebound jetrunner dynamic to learn this dynamic.
Wake the Wind (SP)
Once per combat, you can spend 2 Resolve Points to cast Cosmic Eddy as a spell-like ability.
18th Level
You must be 18th level or higher to choose these jetrunner dynamics.
Army of Clones (SU)
At the beginning of your turn, you can spend 3 Resolve Points to make any Sonic Echoes you placed last round remain until the beginning of your next turn.
Hindsight (SU)
Once per combat, you can spend 3 Resolve Points to step back in time. You can immediately reroll any one failed attack roll, skill check, initiative roll, reaction, or saving throw you make before your next turn.
Rewind the Clock (SU)
Out of combat, you can spend 3 Resolve Points to step back in time up to one minute, rewinding events and erasing them as if they never happened. If you take the same course as you did before, you gain a circumstance bonus to one skill check equal to your Slippery Moves die. You cannot use this ability to rewind any events that occurred inside of combat. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again for 24 hours.
Spontaneous Combustion (SU)
You can now take up to thirty feet of free movement before moving in a straight line for your Deadly Impact attack. For however many feet you move, you decrease the distance you travel in a straight line (which must be no less than half your jetrunner land speed). You must have the U-Turn jetrunner dynamic to learn this dynamic.
Anyone see Merge Station yet? They've got some really awesome rules additions I'm itching to try out, including mechs, cyberspace, an A.I. race, mutations, character building options, and more. Plus more cool things like additional monsters, starships, and encounter tables. Hadn't seen anything posted about them here yet, so thought I'd share in case anyone missed them.
So, needless to say, I'm super excited about all of Starfinder's races that have been introduced so far. Being introduced to a sci-fi re-imagining of the D20 fantasy genre has proven to be every bit as exhilarating as I'd hoped. That said, if the Shirren racial spread in the Core Rulebook is any indication, we're still going to have a lot of space to interpret these various species and their cultures and make them our own. How do you plan to play out Humans, Androids, Lashuntas, Ysoki, Kasathas, Vesk and Shirrens? I'll give this a go.
HUMAN
Given that humans come from a variety of places in Starfinder's cosmos, apart from Golarion (Akiton, Azlanti Star Empire, and Androffa, to name a few), humans can't really be depicted as the last gasp of a wounded race struggling to survive, Titan A.E. style. Instead, I view the non-Akitonian humans of the Pact World system to be the remnants of Golarion's lost culture. People of various ethnic descents who may have been former rivals before the Gap (such as an Andoran and a Chellaxian), are now brothers and sisters in a shared, personal journey either to restore their lost culture, or create a new identity. I tend to view this as a central divide between humans, a conservative faction that wants things to go back to the way they were, and a more liberal faction that wants to spread throughout the stars and create a new civilition, respecting their Golarion roots as inspiration for a new human empire, rather than being defined by it. Both conservative and liberal factions tend to see Iomedae as representing their own highest ideals, the former faction often emphasizing her role as a protector, while the latter worship her qualities of ambition, sacrifice, and glory.
ANDROID
The Androids of the Pact Worlds come from a heritage of slavery, and as such tend to be cautious of others' motivations (especially humans), and are attentively self-sufficient. This is often excacurbated by being the only commonly occuring synthetic life form in the Pact Worlds system, and having to deal with many harmful stereotypes, such as "not having any emotions," "not having a soul," and even contradicting prejudices about them having a "primitive, artificial mind" while also being "cold and calculating" and "too smart for their own good." In truth, while synthetic life is functionally different from organic life, it is no less complex, capable, and spiritual. Despite having an inherent suspicion of organics, Androids also possess an innate curiosity and craving for knowledge, and are a deeply sensitive and impressionable race. Having a greater connection to technology than other races, many Androids sate their curiosity by learning about the world abstractly through infospheres and literature, never leaving Android-dominated communities for long; yet others are filled with dreams of discovery and assimilation, desiring to integrate with the greater galactic community, whether by blending in with other species, or by elevating their kin through peaceful social movements, or through forceful protests, such as those performed by the Android Abolition Front. Most Androids see Triune as their patron god, and many idealists view their gift of Drift technology to the mortal world as a sign that they are intended to travel and connect with the world at large themselves, earning others' respect through their contributions and ingenuity.
LASHUNTA
One of the most respected and prodigious races within the Pact World system, the Lashuntas are often viewed as detached and luminary beyond ability to approach - and yet there are nearly unanimously respected. Indeed, their culture is ancient, and the aptitude of the common Pact World citizen tends to pale next to the average Lashunta, thanks to a sophisticated social system that is simultaneously decentralized, yet harmonic, and endlessly beaurocratic, yet strangely efficient. Lashunta society is often viewed as idyllic by outsiders, despite sharing its own problems, such as a lingering, internal social inequality between sexes and castes. Although despite a certain reliance on tradition, Lashunta society is also quick to evolve, placing great emphasis on self-sufficiency, and valuing perfection of mind, body, and spirit over all else. Because of this, Lashuntas have become the one of the most scientifically advanced and magically fluent races across the Pact Worlds, and their natural talents for diplomacy and characteristic wanderlust make them natural politicians and diplomats. Perhaps more than is healthy, many Lashuntas perceive the wealth and respect reserved for their people as a mandate that they guide the Pact World's spiritual path into the future. Because of this, Lashuntas gravitate toward pursuits of power - not necessarily because they are powerhungry (as others suspect) - but to fulfill what is, in their minds, their grave responsibility to the world: to bring order and perfection. Viewing Yaraesa as the manifestation and proof of the perfection they venerate, this goddess is revered in Lashunta culture above all others.
I'll write the rest out later. I'm very curious to learn about everyone else's impressions and personal visions for Starfinder's races, and how you intend to interpret them in your own campaign settings - please share!
