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Any one had been interested to make a Conversion of Dragonstar to Pathfinder RPG?
after a long discusion yesterday we couldn't agree what to play... neither what I was interested in DMstering nor what they would agree to play...
but there was the interest to try Dragonstar... still one of the players think the evolker would become a techno monster with his power over electricity and other domains...
Maybe, yet, what do you think?
Well, let's briefly map out what such a conversion would require:
Races
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Most of the standard races merely have extra abilities added that aren't powerful enough to worry about balance. Some get bonuses in skills that aren't in the Pathfinder RPG (or even D&D 3.5) or have been changed, but you can almost eyeball most of that. You can pretty much just append the new abilities to the ones granted by PFRPG.
Classes
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Standard Classes - Although most of the classes have been significantly altered for Pathfinder RPG, I don't see any problem arising from just playing the Pathfinder RPG version of the core classes. If all characters are from space you can assume everyone except Barbarians and Monks do not get the Technical Proficiency. A cleric's deity must be chosen from the Unified or Dualist pantheons. Just use Survival as the basis for the Ranger's Pathfinding ability, or ignore it even.
New Classes - Pilot and Mechanist lack the nifty optional features of the Pathfinder RPG, so they would take some work to convert over using Pathfinder base classes as a guide.
Prestige Classes - The modifications of the usual DMG prestige classes should be a cinch as an adjunct to the PFRPG version of them. The new ones will require some work to give them the feel and utility of the Pathfinder ones.
NPC Classes - The PFRPG version should simply replace the ones listed, with the modifications to the skills taken into account.
Skills
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Big changes here, both from the 3.0 rules the original was based on and to the consolidated skill list of Pathfinder RPG. A conversion should create a skill table that codifies decisions about what to keep and what to change. I won't go into all the changes I would make, since this is an outline of a conversion project, but an important consideration, in the spirit of PFRPG, is not to add new skills whose functions could be folded into another skill.
Feats
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Obviously, the feats need to be re-adjusted for the different skills available. The list needs to be combed through and the ones that are made redundant by PFRPG rules need to dropped. I question the value of feats like Aircraft Piloting and Starship Piloting. Do we need feats whose function is to enable characters to use the skills they've spent points on?
Equipment
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Most of this can be used as is, or mutatis mutandis.
Combat
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PFRPG doesn't have rules for Autofire or Suppressive Fire, but the ones in Dragonstar seem usable enough and don't contradict the PFRPG way of handling things.
Magic
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PFRPG changes mostly deal with polymorphing-type spells and instant-death spells. Looks like you can just add the new spells from Dragonstar to your list and viola.
Vehicles
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There are no real vehicle rules in Pathfinder RPG, so you won't run into trouble there just using whatever you decide the equivalent skill checks would be.
Summary
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Convert? What convert? Most of this stuff is ready-to-play with the exception of some changes that are easily spotted and worked around. Write up a succinct list for your players of what changes apply between the Starfarer's Handbook and PFRPG, with an emphasis on the skill list and feats list changes.
I use a spreadsheets for character generation, and the Pathfinder RPG sheet I make can be found here:
http://chargen.motime.com/
If I were running a Dragonstar game in the PFRPG system, I would edit the data in Pathfinder-sCoreGen and adVance for Dragonstar specifications. That way, you can just send a copy to your players and it will help them negotiate the alternate ruleset in character creation without having to juggle two books and your explanatory note. Most of the changes that would be necessary can be put into the all-text data tables in sCoreGen and thus easily transferred from one version to the next as the spreadsheet gets updated.
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good input Jonny,
3 races still need to be converted: Orcs, Drows, and soulmech... specially the soulmech, still i suppose most of it would stay, just add a few other things
but yes Pilot, and Mechanic would suffer sever changes... and agree vehicules should be used with skill points not feats.
actually i don't like how Pathfinder deal with polymorh and SoD spells... so that part surely would stay with 3.0 rules adding spells from both Pathfinder and Dragonstar.
These people seem to have done some work to get Dragonstar up to 3.5 at least. Among the things that they've taken into account are the fact that by 3.5 weapons need to be divided into light/one-handed/two-handed. They've also converted magic items to 3.5 specs.
http://hastur.net/dragonstar/wiki/Version3.5
Someone has started a Yahoo group on a PfRPG conversion of Dragonstar:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dragonstar_reloaded/summary
As far as the setting, the Sorcerer aristocracy would all become Draconic bloodline, meaning that it is even more obvious that they are related to dragons. Non-draconic bloodlines would be treated much the same as wizards.
Teleport as a basis for interstellar transport would have to become Greater Teleport, or even Interstellar Teleport (from PF #14), which means certain NPCs would have to be higher-level, spaceships more necessary, and the existing Teleportation Circles would have to become artifacts.
What else?
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These people seem to have done some work to get Dragonstar up to 3.5 at least. Among the things that they've taken into account are the fact that by 3.5 weapons need to be divided into light/one-handed/two-handed. They've also converted magic items to 3.5 specs.
Someone has started a Yahoo group on a PfRPG conversion of Dragonstar:
thanks... both are quite usefull... i will skip the magic ;), but everything else sound useful, thanks.
Thanks Ross that is an itneresting commentary, now i need that one :S i am missing the last 3 of CotCT and the first 3 of SD
note: fixed links