The Totally Serious Guide to Prepping Starfinder (without the rulebook)

[Hmm]

The TOTALLY Serious Guide to Prepping Starfinder (without the rulebook)

Like many other GMs, I have my jetpack, shiny boots and laser gun ready!

I can't wait to GM Starfinder, but I have no rulebook yet. How do I prep for the games I am going to run in August? To help myself and other GMs, I’ve started this handy-dandy guide that we all can use while eagerly awaiting the arrival of the actual ruleset.

__

Step One. Practice making ‘pew-pew’ noises. Make enough cool sound effects, and your players might never notice that you have NO idea what you are actually doing.

If you do not have a multitable venue where music might annoy other tables, you could consider picking up the Syrinscape sci-fi pack for extra cool sound effects.

__

Step Two. Practice your ominous voice. Look in the mirror to make sure that you can maintain a straight face, and intone: "In Space, no one can hear you scream." Be sure to say this the moment combat starts.

__

Step Three. Preliminary Research:

• Read Starfinder: All the Information from Paizo to keep track of the things that Paizo has said about how Starfinder will work.

• Watch the GAMA demo on Space Ship Combat multiple times. Take notes. Note the excellent space goblin song for future reference.

• Watch the Twitch Starfinder Game Demo to see more examples of characters using skills in a dungeon crawl type adventure.

• Listen to the Know Direction Podcast on Starfinder Society. Note with sorrow the lack of Drendle Dreng, but be cheered by his glorious death, and then move on.

__

Step Four. Join the Alliance! (Or Federation or League of Non-Aligned Worlds or even the Council of Pact Planets.). Connect with other GMs who'll be GMing Starfinder. Make stuff for PFS Prep. Take stuff from PFS Prep. Connect with others in the GM forum. Join up to run play-by-posts* in Castamir's Flaxseed Station!

__

Step Five. Use the Force, Luke! Sometimes you just have to have faith and wing it. We’re all going to be in the same boat ship. We’ll all make mistakes, but so long as we have fun, our parties should have fun too.

Anyway, those are my tips. What are yours?

Pew pew!
Hmm

___
* Why yes, that was a shameless plug for Play-by-Post! So glad you noticed.

[Iammars]

Step Six. Get a hex grid map. You'll need it for space ship combat.

[Hmm]

^ Heh. The other side of my Chessex map, the side that I never get to use in PFS, is a hex grid. I'll finally get to flip my map!

Hmm

[Landon Winkler]

Hmm wrote:

^ Heh. The other side of my Chessex map, the side that I never get to use in PFS, is a hex grid. I'll finally get to flip my map!

Hmm

Just be sure to flip it with flourish. And preferably spaceship noises. FWOOOSH!

[thunderspirit]

Landon Winkler wrote:

Hmm wrote:

^ Heh. The other side of my Chessex map, the side that I never get to use in PFS, is a hex grid. I'll finally get to flip my map!

Hmm

Just be sure to flip it with flourish. And preferably spaceship noises. FWOOOSH!

And/or a proper Lucasfilm-esque wipe. :-)

[Some Yahoo]

Pew Pew!

[Magabeus]

Step Seven. Get some things you can use as spaceships with an indication which way they are travelling. You'll need it for space ship combat.

[BretI]

Well, it is in space. Shouldn't StarBurst candies be the standard miniatures?

More seriously, I plan to inventory my SFB and Bab5 Wars materials, then look at creating some paper minis using construction paper.

[Hmm]

Step Seven, Cont'd: Some Options that I've considered for Ships:

Starbursts -- I was anti-starbust for space ships until Bret pointed out to me that the little S on the wrapper provides facing. The different colors also provide options for distingushing among different fleets.

My Family's Rubber Duck Armada -- My four year old nephew and I did a mock space ship play session using my family's collection of rubber ducks on my hex map. This was pretty hilarious, though Kylar's main tactic was ramming my ships with a mournful "Qua-a-a-a-ack!"

Binder Clips -- They come in different colors and sizes! How about other office supplies? Pen caps? USB drives?

'Starship Paper Counters' from Google Images -- There are tons of counters out there that have been made by fans for different SF game systems. This is currently my leading option.

Check out the Official Minis -- The ones made by Ninja Division look really sweet, judging by this photo. I have no idea what the price will be, though.

[quibblemuch]

Step Eight: With a little prep-time and craft glue, a generic toy-store Jack In The Box can be turned into a chest-bursting alien. Be sure to hide the surprise under a shirt several sizes too large, but fray a seam on the inside so the big reveal goes off without a hitch.

[Sebastian Hirsch]

Step -2Watch:

Firefly
Star Treck (everything before the reboot)
Stargate (everything but the cartoons)
Star Wars (everything including the Christmas special)
Andromeda
Battlestar Galactica (new and old)
Babylon 5
Alien... everything, also you might want to watch a let's play of Aliens Colonial Marines if you every want to connect to your dark side^^
Neon Genesis Evangelion...with subtitles in one sitting...I did this once to a good friends... it has broken most of them.(Do I expect giant space mechas... no... but we can always hope ^^ :P)
Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood... for completely unrelated reasons

Play:
Zone of the Enders 1 and 2 (hey one can dream ^^ )
FTL: Faster than light (what I expect most players to do, indiscriminately kill ships for scrap ^^)
Star Wars knights of the old republic 1 and 2
Star Wars republic commando
Dead Space 1-3

Hear:
Will save the galaxy for food (newest audiobook by Yahtzee Croshaw, which is as far as I am concerned better than the written book)
Battlestar Galactica soundtrack (seriously good)
Alien soundtracks are a mixed bag to be honest

If you are still interested in the genre you are good to go^^, if you are not, the stuff listed above has likely broken you ^^

[dragonvan]

Sebastian Hirsch wrote:

Step -2Watch:

Neon Genesis Evangelion...with subtitles in one sitting...I did this once to a good friends... it has broken most of them.(Do I expect giant space mechas... no... but we can always hope ^^ :P)

I did an university work on this anime, and it was long to get through.

[Leg o' Lamb]

Hmm wrote:

The TOTALLY Serious Guide to Prepping Starfinder (without the rulebook)

Step One. Practice making ‘pew-pew’ noises. Make enough cool sound effects, and your players might never notice that you have NO idea what you are actually doing.

If you do not have a multitable venue where music might annoy other tables, you could consider picking up the Syrinscape sci-fi pack for extra cool sound effects.

__

Step Two. Practice your ominous voice. Look in the mirror to make sure that you can maintain a straight face, and intone: "In Space, no one can hear you scream." Be sure to say this the moment combat starts.

These are both unnecessary and offensive.

[KingOfAnything]

Sebastian Hirsch wrote:

Step -2 Watch:

Watch/Read:

The Expanse book and television series

[Silbeg]

KingOfAnything wrote:

Sebastian Hirsch wrote:

Step -2 Watch:

Watch/Read:

The Expanse book and television series

I've watched season 1, and episodes 1&2 of season 2 -- freaking amazing.

Need to find episode 3 (missed it on TiVo), and probably should read some of the books!

[Douglas MacIntyre]

Sebastian Hirsch wrote:

Step -2

Hear:
Will save the galaxy for food (newest audiobook by Yahtzee Croshaw, which is as far as I am concerned better than the written book)
Battlestar Galactica soundtrack (seriously good)
Alien soundtracks are a mixed bag to be honest

Enders Game, Armada and Redshirts audio books. The last for a whole new meta view to playing your character!

[Hmm]

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

These are both unnecessary and offensive.

I'm sorry to hear that. Both comments were meant to be light humor leading up to the real and actual tips for prepping Starfinder, a game that none of us have the rules for yet! I'm sorry that they fell flat for you.

:(

As for the 'pew pew' I enjoy silly sound effects. I use them and ridiculous voices all the time while GMing. However, I realize that others may not like that approach. I hope you found the rest of the post useful to you, Leg.

Hmm

[quibblemuch]

Hmm - I found it funny. There may possibly have been tea-spray on my monitor. :)

[Vic Wertz]

Hmm wrote:

• Watch the GAMA demo on Space Ship Combat multiple times. Take notes. Note the excellent space goblin song for future reference.

• Watch the Twitch Starfinder Game Demo to see more examples of characters using skills in a dungeon crawl type adventure.

Please also keep in mind that both of these things used non-final rules, so either A) don't get too attached to anything you see or B) be ready to house-rule!

[Kajehase]

Magabeus wrote:

Step Seven. Get some things you can use as spaceships with an indication which way they are travelling. You'll need it for space ship combat.

[quibblemuch]

Step Nine: Use the remaining months before the Core Rulebook release to come up with and rehearse as many Ysoki "cheese" jokes as you can. You don't want to rely on improv and run out after a couple dozen.

[David knott 242]

The space goblin song was perfect. There should not be an official rewrite of it.

[Thurston Hillman]

Sebastian Hirsch wrote:

Step -2Watch:

Neon Genesis Evangelion...with subtitles in one sitting...I did this once to a good friends... it has broken most of them.(Do I expect giant space mechas... no... but we can always hope ^^ :P)

Does... does that mean that halfway through Starfinder Society, I'll go off my meds, breakup with my girlfriend, and fill the later half of the season with 'clip episodes' scenarios made up of art from previous Pathfinder products? :)

[Hmm]

Thursty, if you do that, I am sure that you will find a way to still make it both awesome and terrifying.

Hmm

[Trainedchimp]

Hmm wrote:

Leg o' Lamb wrote:

These are both unnecessary and offensive.

I'm sorry to hear that. Both comments were meant to be light humor leading up to the real and actual tips for prepping Starfinder, a game that none of us have the rules for yet! I'm sorry that they fell flat for you.

:(

As for the 'pew pew' I enjoy silly sound effects. I use them and ridiculous voices all the time while GMing. However, I realize that others may not like that approach. I hope you found the rest of the post useful to you, Leg.

Hmm

Maybe some of us don't need practice since we make those noises on a dayly basis? Yes I am a 34 year old who still makes sci-fi gun sounds. Don't judge me. ;P

[Hmm]

Step Seven -- Get some ships

Look at the official minis made by Ninja Division. Those previews keep looking cooler and cooler. Love the ratfolk that is pictured here. So cute!

[Andy Brown]

Step 10: Start looking for nifty PC/NPC minis other than the official ones, because you're bound to need more options or because shipping costs are likely to be *ouch*

[BretI]

Andy Brown wrote:

Step 10: Start looking for nifty PC/NPC minis other than the official ones, because you're bound to need more options or because shipping costs are likely to be *ouch*

Can try picking up stuff for Babylon 5 Wars or StarFleet Battles. Can probably pick that stuff up used.

[Shifty]

I've got steps 1 and 2 down pat.

Working on the rest.

...REALLY hoping my Venture Crew and I can get a hold of some materials before we are expected to be running it. There's a lot of community interest over here, including from non-Pathfinder people.

[sanwah68]

For cheap ships, marry a wargamer that does space battles. It may seem a bit extreme, but you get an insant armada of all different types of ships.

More seriously, look into Silent Death...many ships types at reasonable prices.

[Shifty]

sanwah68 wrote:

For cheap ships, marry a wargamer that does space battles. It may seem a bit extreme, but you get an insant armada of all different types of ships.

It's certainly one way to do it, but I would need a lot of retconning for that to happen.

[Hmm]

I did link to printouts of paper ship counters earlier in this thread.

Otherwise, Shifty, if you did not have the foresight to marry a wargamer, are you telling us that ship has sailed? Maybe you can flirt with one a little to get hold of these ship minis.

:D

"Has anyone told you that you have the most lovely... ship miniatures?"

This puts a whole new meaning on the fan term 'shipping!'

More seriously, I do think that all of us who will be GMing Starfinder that first weekend will be in the same boat, er, ship. We're all hoping that Paizo or the SFS team will give us some handy-dandy cheat sheet with quick start rules so that we can run these adventures. As it is, I'm afraid my first few runs may be decidedly rules-lite until I have more time to read and absorb the new adventures.

Hmm

[Shifty]

Hmm wrote:

Otherwise, Shifty, if you did not have the foresight to marry a wargamer, are you telling us that ship has sailed? Maybe you can flirt with one a little to get hold of these ship minis.

But...but... my reputation! What sort of shady rogue and vagabond have you accurately taken me for? How many ships you reckon we are talking here?

[sanwah68]

We are talking hundreds, but not thousands.....and I just remembered that you know where we live !!!

[zefig]

My spaceships are likely to look like various winged letters of the alphabet and balls with varying arrays of solar panels sticking out of them.

[Michael Monn]

The lego microfighters could be useful. I mean I use a lego minifigure when I play PFS at my FLGS.

[Hmm]

Archmage Variel has made a lovely google doc with all the Collected Information on Starfinder.

Get prepping, guys!

Hmm

[Damanta]

Michael Monn wrote:

The lego microfighters could be useful. I mean I use a lego minifigure when I play PFS at my FLGS.

I'll be using the Lego Star Wars advent calendar 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 spaceships for the first few games at least.