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So my group is making the switch in a few months from Pathfinder to Starfinder, and I'll be GM'ing it. I'm a very long time Pathfinder veteran, but will be totally new to Starfinder, but it appears the switch won't be terribly difficult since it seems like 80% of the rules carry over.
I've been reading extensively all that I can find about the system, but there is one thing I'm not fully understanding that I hope some Starfinders like yourselves could help clear up. BP.
1) How do the players get BP? Is it awarded to them for completing missions and defeating enemy starships, much like credits? Or is it just something that happens automatically whenever they level up?
2) If the players want a new ship, do they sell the old one to recover a percentage of the BP used in making it? Or do they get to just liquidate the BP completely getting back 100% of it to spend toward a new ship so that there is never any BP loss?
3) On a similar note to the previous question, can Ship components ever be salvaged from enemy ships? Or must they always be purchased with BP? Can ships and components be sold for BP?
Based on the wording in the book it sounds like a fair bit of this is up to the GM but I'm not entirely sure, and my group likes to stick pretty loyally to the rules. But if that's the case, and the above questions are intentionally left up to the GM, then I'm curious to know how all of you out there handle these questions at your tables, and if you have any recommendations for a budding Starfinder GM?
Thanks in advance guys!
First, the most basic answer:
You have the bp of a ship of yourtier to work with. Thats it. No more complicated system.
Second, the longer core answer:
You should get your party's ship up to the BP appropriate for their tier in whatever way makes sense for the campaign they're running. That could be switching ships entirely. That could be earning or salvaging components piece by piece so that their ship grows from one tier to the next instead if making a jump. In thus case, you should be holding back what's effectively salvageable to keep them in an appropriate power neighborhood, because just pulling the components you want from a defeated ship would jump them way beyond their tier quite fast.
At the end of the day, though, how bp are gained was deliberately not spelled out in the CRB, so that it could be fit to the tone if the campaign. (Just don't try to use a bp to credit conversion rate. It only works if you use an exponential function if ship tier as part of calculating the conversion ratio).
The newer, more systematic answer:
There is a system in the backmatter of the 1st Book of Fly Free or Die which uses bp as a bit more of a commodity, also used as the unit if value for cargo that needs transportation and sale, which you could look into, if it's more up your alley.
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Ok, I think I like the more natural progression concept rather than the sudden jumps each level., but wasn't clear on if the sudden jumps were how you were "supposed" to play. But to me, that would be like adhering so strictly to the WBL that everytime the players leveled up they are suddenly given a huge pile of credits to spend, which just seems silly to me.
But no I totally agree on the no BP to Credits thing. I was surprised at how many threads about BP were about that. Seems like a terribly efficient way to screw over your campaigns economy. No bueno.
I'll have to check out that book Fly Free or Die, treating BP as a commodity definitely sounds more in line with how my table would want to play. Good suggestion!
Just my little thoughts and experience.
I've been running a Starfinder game for a little while for a few friends online. I had my group rescue a prominant scientist by stealing a ship and now they do odd jobs for him as a simple way to just have a bit of fun playing really. The way I am dealing with ensuring they have reason to get their BP upgrades is by having them run a job just before leveling which would give them the benefits. For example I know they want to upgrade weapons so they broke out a weapons designer from an asteroids prison.
Personally, I don't know the new system but it does sound interesting by what little I have read.
I definitely wouldn't do it every level up, since starship combat is generally too rare for that level of effort to be worth it.
I definitely wouldn't do it every level up, since starship combat is generally too rare for that level of effort to be worth it.
That statement can be very true in one campaign and completely false in another. If the campaign is intended to be heavier on ship stuff, every level might be a great idea.