Milo v3's page

I don't think so. It looks like SF2 will continue the "ranged combat is cool now" angle pretty heavily. It doesn't take in-depth guidance rules for a GM - even a new one - that when most of your PCs want to use their awesome new guns, then building most maps as tunnel fights or cqc urban combat will probably not go over well.

If it is just implied rather than actually giving advice and instruction, then no, most gms (especially new gms) will continue to design their dungeons the same as they do for the other D&Ds.

The idea that we need to remove species like Kalo from the game because "gas needs to matter" is ridiculous. Tfw space suits existing is considered too broken for a space opera rpg.

Are gas dangers really that crucial to people's plotlines?

I definitely find the mention of "every product will have at least one new ancestry" interesting.

The vesk feats look very focused on one very particular style of character. I worry this is going to be abit too mono-culture and restrictive.

I might have to just allow all starfinder characters to be able to take human feats or something.

Oh, can you link to where a Paizo source mentioned they would be compatible enough to use classes from PF2e in SF2e? I hadn't seen that.

The field tests themselves talk about it, as does starfinderplaytest/faq.

My understanding was that they had stated the meta-state of the games were going to be very different, which would lead to things like ancestries with flying at early levels, and classes with universal proficiency in ranged weapons that deal energy damage, and weapons that deal AOE damage. All of which would throw the power balance of a paty way out of wack from the current PF2e meta.

Things like flight isn't a math change (and PF2e technically already has flight at level 1 options). High access to ranged energy damage is also not a major shift, cantrips exist. Weapons that deal out AoE damage will exist, but from what we've seen they aim to still keep their output controlled so that it fits with the rest of the game.

On what is this certainty based? I mean, we've barely seen anything, the first 5 levels of a couple of classes, an a couple of monsters and items. While it's going to use the same "game engine" as Pathfinder 2e, that doesn't mean all the numbers will be the same.

They have said that it's going to be same game engine to the degree you can use PF2e ancestries, classes, and monsters in SF fine. The core math is going to be the same.

I don't think I'd play in a mixed level party of SF let alone PF/SF2e where level disparities are even more severe.

iirc, somewhere in those rules it mentions some rules that only apply to thrown weapons but lacks any means to make thrown weapon. So part of me wonders if the section was shortened and had wordcount cut.

That's very odd, there used to be an errata note that did state they had 4+Int but you are correct in that it is not currently present.

I can only assume it was accidentally removed.

It's worth mentioning that techno-magic doesn't seem to be tied to technomancer in 2e. It isn't a core class, instead it seems they are making it so anyone can do techno-themed magic. Like how any caster of appropriate tradition can do magic ring tone spells or the new doom scroll spell.

Not sure why you would be thinking about a 3e so early.

There isn't much to be gained by trying to intentionally make futuristic weapons overpowered, especially since this is going to be a game where people do still stab each other with swords and where there are still t-rex style aliens to punch.

I just want to know if Starfinder 2e will have shotguns, l'm a big fan of them.

There were shotguns in the first Field Test document for starfinder 2e.

Aren't universal translators dirt cheap, if not given out to people like candies?

The opposite, they basically don't exist.

Tech Revolution has a whole page dedicated to explaining the problems, limitations, and difficulties with translation tech in the starfinder setting.

Ended up making the skeleton of a dead harvest god as a 10th level exemplar. He of course wields a +1 Striking Ghost-Touch Scythe and is in +1 Gliding Armoured Cloak.

50 ft. speed and loads of athletics feats so that you cannot escape death. His scythe leaves cursed bone fragments within his enemies preventing them from healing, he can 1/day decide that a person who dies actually doesn't, can burry his enemies beneath the earth, intimidates with just a look, is resistant to most forms of damage except blundgeoning but can make himself have resistance to blundgeoning and when he focuses on making himself so invulnerable he ends up causing people to remember their dead or forces them to contemplate their own death, if you do hit his weak point to ignore his damage resistance he just collapses into bones to negate the crit, can instinctively divine omens about those around him, and can grapple & trip even the largest foes. I also gave him that jar of infinite sand magic item that I think I'll reflavour as an hourglass of infinite sand.

- A Moment Unending (Gaze Sharp as Steel ikon) doesn't really seem to be a very beneficial ability. Using an action to hope you get to use a reaction is kind of awkward, particularly because it's a Transcend ability and you have to spend an action on your NEXT turn to put your spark somewhere.

Transcend abilities automatically immedaitely put your spark somewhere, you don't need to spend an extra action on that.

They have actually said what they are willing to change and what they aren't willing to change in the FAQ.

The playtest is going to focus on what we see as being key components to Starfinder. Since we’re going to be fully compatible with Pathfinder Second Edition, the base game engine is tried and tested. This leaves us free to focus on a few critical elements: classes, an item level-based equipment system, new core skills, updated relevant rules across the game, and a general testing of the gameplay experience. All of this, along with the usual stable of new ancestries, feats, spells, and more!

My first idea for an Exemplar is actually a starfinder pc. Archeologist who specializes in the Gap comes across the tomb of a god that died during the gap and becomes empowered.

There is literally a background in this game called Chosen One.

But that isn't even what Examplar is, Oracle is closer to that at this point. Exemplars sound like they get their power from a dead god's corpse unless I've been misinformed.

Getting divine power from a god corpse isn't anymore "OMG I'm the main character" than "Personally cursed by the gods with divine power" is.

Exemplar isn't anymore main character syndrome than any of the other hundred ways your character gained special powers like oracle and sorcerer.

Looking forward to the Exemplar, magical martials that manifest their magic beyond spell slots is my favourite type of class.

The ONLY reason I'm not for the various dichotmies (which are really cool and creative by the way) is the class name "Solarion" indicating it should be about a star.

It is. It just doesn't stop being about stars just because they die.

Based on the new iconic, it looks like they're moving away from the monastic aesthetics and leaning into the charisma focus. They're a cyborg cat with sunnies & jacket, who fights via finger guns.

Is unfortunate that such things will likely be standard in Paizo products going forward. Made port of call's location art really ugly.

I don't think anyone was arguing for "maintanence" to be the only thing an engineer/mechanic style class does lol.

That silliness did unfortunately exist in 1e starfinder as well tbh.

Haan PCs could not survive on their home planet because they lost their flight abilities.

The new iconic definitely looks more Charisma-y with their jacket, sunglasses and finger-guns.

Having martial classes with identity is better than just having 1 "martial class" imo. Not really sure how the game would benefit from forcing nearly all non-magical characters into a single class.

To make GMing ship combat easier, would it help if the NPC ship were like monster stat blocks so the GM doesn't have to play the entire crew of one or more ships? Each firing arc listing as an attack. Pilot and crew actions are listed as special predefined abilities.

Definitely. I know that the default system having it be symmetrical was an aspect I loathed as a GM.

Feels immensely unfair and rude to call it lazy design.

It would make more sense to me to make bring the Mechanic forward treating it as a Tech version of the Alchemist, than to bring the Operative forward.

So... what if you want to play a highly skilled style character and your group is just playing starfinder?

Are you just out of luck if you wanted to play a martial who doesn't use AoE weapons?

I hope it's not Triaxus. I adore ryphorians and dragonkin and don't want them relegated away to homeless wanderers.

Unfortunately, every pact world planet is probably someone's favourite.

.... except maybe Liavara? Doesn't get touched on much because of the no civilizations.

Two planets already blown up, another one blowing up, one planet dead, one planet missing.

Pact Worlds sound like an awful place to live.

I'll probably ignore any metaplot so doesn't really affect my group, but blowing up a pact world mainly sounds like a good way to disappoint people.

I know my group considered character creation in PF2e pretty painful and boring. The feat options are not especially flashy, so they primarily viewed character creation as "Reading through options until you find the option you dislike the least".

Now that I think about it, even planetary feats would probably need tweaks for me.

Something just seems innately friction-y to me about things like "your ancestry is from a desert planet, so now, after spending three levels on space stations, ice-planets, and a forest-planet you are better at doing desert things".

Maybe if they make it something that innately expands from play using the rarity system? Spend a while on desert planets and you get access to the desert planet feats.

I would like if there was some way to avoid "Your pc is forcefully made more stereotypical for their ancestry" as you level up.

Would be amusing if they balanced out some extra skills by just adding an extra step to character creation that was just "people in the future are expected to have higher education than in medieval times, get 1 extra free trained skill"

I've been open about critizing aspects of the potential PF2e-ness of SF2e (though on the whole I think the product will end up pretty good), and haven't really encountered hostility so far at least.

New editions always have a need to try and get as much as they can into the early books to try and get back momentum and content asap, so I would assume it's most likely not going to be in core in favour of higher priority content that might be more common in campaigns.

Wouldn't be surprised if they put it in 2e's equivalent of Armoury/Treasure Vault though.

Rysky the Dark Solarian wrote:

… that one species that is a fungus that mutates the host, etc

Wert? Is that a PF2 player option? I need to see this…

It's starfinder character option. Entu Symbiotes.

They wouldn't work as versatile heritages though, because they bond to animals and uplift them, not already sapient species.

Themes didn't really do much from my experience, them getting replaced by equivalent backgrounds and appropriate skill feats sounds fine.

I suppose kobolds with feats that lean into starfinders framing of them, rather than the pathfinder framing of them. PF2e leaned abit too far into them being a joke.

Okay so you know how there are memes about how weird you can make your PC in Pathfinder 2e? That is like, 1/10th of how weird Starfinder PCs get and it's great.

You want to play a time-travelling dinosaur mage? You can!
You want to play a giant frog that has merged with a symbiote to become sapient and now solves crimes? You can!
You want to play a swarm of insects that works together as a colony so well they get magic friendship magic? You can!
Want to play an uplifted bear who is a mighty warrior that fights with an axe made of lightning and can magnetically yeet his enemies around while covered in sparks? You can!
Want to play a human was who isekai'd in from our world, and now has the power to rewrite existance around them like Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite? You can!

One of my PCs was an undead ex-wrestler from the sun who in death has become a priest of Sarenrae and has been blessed with a Stand that allows them to manipulate gravity and also is super good at punching that adventure path's space nazis. Was even able to play that sort of thing completely seriously without it feeling like a joke.

If that happens I'll start making skittermander characters so I can wave 6 protest signs at one time.

I think with the new limb rules you would only be able to swing two at a time.

Where are you seeing this? It appears to be the same MAP as PF2.

I wasn't commenting on MAP, but how in PF2e guns were balanced around having very low ammo capacity, while SF2e guns can fire multiple shots fine. They don't decimate your action economy by requiring constant reloading, with the reloading only seeming to be common if you're doing area attacks.

Also, the weapon ranges are decreased so badly I'm struggling to work out whether the range on firearms is 'thrown' or 'fired'...

Smaller ranges primarily just means the ranges are designed taking the actual battlemap size for PF/SF style games into account tbh.

So yeah, you are significantly better off with a shortbow than a laser pistol in a tech universe.

This makes 0 sense.

I mean, the shortbow is dealing 1d6-10 damage as a martial weapon, and a level 0 laser pistol is dealing 1d6 damage as a simple weapon so that doesn't seem accurate.

They mention straight up having clerics in your game, so I can't imagine dedications will work differently enough to be an issue.

Does this mean we will also lose the Apostae-Setting or have it replaced with Snek-People also? I really would be sad, because "evil weapontrader-mercenery-elves in space" were cool. In my opinion way cooler than the same trope with Lizard- or Snakepeople could be.

For everything else: I will wait. As long as Itemization, Starships and the unique classes will still be there, I think i will be fine with a change fo PF2E-Rules. If all these go missing because of the compatibility-issues...then big oof

The FAQ mentions something literally world-shattering. I hope Apostae isn't the world shattered, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Would also provide an angle to resolve the immense levels of slavery present on Apostae, which not all freelancers are comfortable having to write for.

*nods*

That is easily fixed by adding Withwarper spells to the Occult list.

That would mean Bards and other Occult casters would be getting access to loads of spells about altering the battlefield and elemental effects. Paizo has to consider the consequences of any additions both ways.

They're changing the classes roles in 2e so this is outdated info to a degree but in 1e:

Envoy is sort of most similar to a bard/rogue/warlock they are about being very skilled and leading your companions.

Mechanic is sorta halfway between a skill monkey and a martial and what subclasses you take take decide where you sit on that line, has things like hacking powers, robot minions, and AIs in your brains that aids you in combat.

Mystics are your clerics/druids/warlocks/classic mages, being mystical casters who draw power from being connected to something. Is worth noting that in SF1e, all casters were medium bab classes, were spontaneous casters & only had spells to 6th level.

Operatives are sorta like starfinder's rogue, being highly skilled individuals who primarily use small arms and finesse-weapons and are generally very mobile warriors.

Soldiers are your fighters.

Solarians are sort of your mystical warriors, each having powers of fire & gravity (or in later supplements electricity & resistance) and being able to summon up things like magic attacks, magic armour, etc.

Technomancers are your more wizard-y mages spell list wise, but also your maguses to a degree. They are casters who mix tech with magic, but have a pretty 'arcane' spell list to them. Is worth noting that in SF1e, all casters were medium bab classes, were spontaneous casters & only had spells to 6th level.

That is a fair point, though from taking a look at the Soldier playtest the team seems to be willing to take a look at design spaces outside of what PF2E did thus far. The introduction of new conditions also bodes well for making the system work.

I disagree. To me it seems like the compatibility is forcing the Soldier to not be the Solider anymore, because of it being too close to the Fighter and that you can theoretically just stat up a Vesk Fighter in this SF2e.

Gives off the impression that you'll always have starfinder classes be slightly nerfed to make sure they aren't as good at fighting as the Fighter, even though the Fighter presumably wont be getting any feats to better fit the equipment expectations of the game because of it not existing in the game.

I do think Paizo's decision is healthier from a company standpoint though, and as someone who likes Starfinder for the setting and the writing that has been done for it, I am glad that this opens up more resources for that.

It makes sense company wise, certainly.