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Having just received a shipping notification, The All-Seeing Orb is willing to answer your questions about Starfinder. Keep in mind, only general information will be given (no actual mechanics or rules text), and this thread will most definitely contain spoilers. Not every question will necessarily be answered immediately, but hopefully most of you will walk away with an answer eventually. Ask away!
I'd love to know what Solarian ability DCs are based on!
I shall ask here instead then! Way too excited for all those books to show up at my local gaming store ... anywho:
Could a Ysoki mechanic ride their medium-sized battle drone into combat for extra awesome? Special rules for that kind of thing or such?
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First an answer to a question from the other thread.
Can you list the various threats, factions, and organizations that are around for GMs to play with? Also, how many years after the gap is the current timeframe of the setting and how long did the gap last?
Thanks.
Factions:
AbadarCorp
Android Abolitionist Front
Augmented
Free Captains
Hellknights
Knights of Golarion
Starfinder Society
Stewards
Xenowardens
Threats:
Aspis Consortium
Azlanti Star Empire
Cult of The Devourer
Dominion of The Black
The Swarm
The Unseen
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I shall ask here instead then! Way too excited for all those books to show up at my local gaming store ... anywho:
Could a Ysoki mechanic ride their medium-sized battle drone into combat for extra awesome? Special rules for that kind of thing or such?
They certainly can!
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I'd love to know what Solarian ability DCs are based on!
Charisma
I'd love to know what Solarian ability DCs are based on!Charisma
Thanks for the info! That's good news for one of my characters.
Edit: I'm going to withdraw this question: it's awfully specific and I'll just wait until I get my own PDF.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.
You said in the previous thread that each planet has 2 pages worth of information.
Does that mean that Distant Worlds has more info on each planet?
If so, how relevant is the info from Distant Worlds to the current timeline?
Also, how big is Absalom Station? Do 10,000 people live there or 10 million?
Do starships require a regular supply of fuel, (Traveller / BSG) or is running out of fuel more of a plot device (Star Trek / Star Wars) ?
If they do require a regular fuel resupply, is the fuel common (water / hydrogen) or exotic (planar distillate, antimatter)?
You answered "How long did the Gap last?"
A followup : What year (AR) was it when the Gap started?
Was Golarion an advanced technological society at that point? Or are they placing the beginning of the Gap close-ish to the current Pathfinder timeline ?
Any juicy info about the Azlanti Star Empire or the Knights of Golarion ?
Chief Technical Officer
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I don't wish to stop discussion here, but I do want to make sure people reading this thread are aware of the following, which Owen posted in a few other places:
Heya folks!
Obviously, some people are going to be getting their pdfs before the street date of August 17th, so I just wanted to pop and and discuss rules clarifications, and pasting text from the books into this thread.
The Starfinder Team won't be addressing rules clarifications until after Gen Con at the earliest. The reason for this is twofold. First, we don't want to begin to focus on details before most people have the book (we still have previews planned, even). Second, we just don't have time. Combining the release and preview info with our regular workload and con prep means we just can't realistically get to it.
Most likely, it's best to hold onto questions until a week or so after release.
Second, I'd like to remind folks that it is not okay to to copy large portions of text from the book. Doing so may result in the suspension or removal of posting privileges.
We want everyone to be excited and be involved, but we don't want to tease folks who can't get the book yet, or spoil any of their experience of cracking open a new RPG for the first time.
Thanks for your attention. :)
(I am less worried about spoilers in this particular thread, as it's pretty obvious from the original post what you're getting here.)
Carry on!
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Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.
You said in the previous thread that each planet has 2 pages worth of information.
Does that mean that Distant Worlds has more info on each planet?
If so, how relevant is the info from Distant Worlds to the current timeline?
Also, how big is Absalom Station? Do 10,000 people live there or 10 million?
The All-Seeing Orb doesn't own the Distant Worlds book, so cannot answer this question. Further, a cursory glance fails to reveal the population of the station, though it is described as 5 miles in diameter.
Are there goblins in the core book?
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Do starships require a regular supply of fuel, (Traveller / BSG) or is running out of fuel more of a plot device (Star Trek / Star Wars) ?
If they do require a regular fuel resupply, is the fuel common (water / hydrogen) or exotic (planar distillate, antimatter)?
On first glance, it doesn't appear that ships require fuel. Each ship has 1 or more "Power Cores" that provide power to its systems. Text in the section does suggest that there are means to disable power cores, however.
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Are there goblins in the core book?
Art of goblins? Plenty.
Rules for goblins? No, though adapting the rules from Pathfinder appears to be easy enough.EDIT: There is actually a single space goblin statblock in the book. No more will be said, so as to maintain the surprise.
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Any juicy info about the Azlanti Star Empire or the Knights of Golarion ?
The Knights of Golarion are very much like Pathfinder's knightly orders, but in space. Their organization even mirrors a more medieval social order.
The Azlanti Star-Empire traces its origins to an ancient Azlanti colony on a distant world. They lost contact with Golarion eons ago, and aren't too friendly to the Pact Worlds.
I'm curious about the section for "classic" Golarion races. Do they get full write-ups, or is it more like just stat blocks and a footnote about where in the System they tend to be found? Thank you.
Rules for goblins are in First Contact, available for free from the Paizo Store. Updated rules will also probably feature in Alien Archive.
How in-depth are the rules of transferring Pathfinder monsters and characters to Starfinder?
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I'm curious about the section for "classic" Golarion races. Do they get full write-ups, or is it more like just stat blocks and a footnote about where in the System they tend to be found? Thank you.
All races get 1 full page of information. The mechanics of the race are presented in a small sidebar, which takes up no more than a 6th of the page.
What the heck are the "Unseen"?
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How in-depth are the rules of transferring Pathfinder monsters and characters to Starfinder?
While the book goes to great lengths to cover as much as possible, the specifics are (necessarily) left mostly up to the GM. It does have some fairly specific suggestions for converting some class features, which could be used as a guideline for others.
Monsters can be converted to Starfinder almost effortlessly. In fact, most monsters should work in Starfinder with only a single small adjustment.
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What the heck are the "Unseen"?
Not a specific faction, but a catch-all term for "unseen" threats like shape-shifting Reptoids or interdimensional manipulators.
What kinds of new specific weapon types are there? We know of the Doshko weapon line, but what else? (No need to really give stats, at most maybe tell what kind of damage everything deals)
What is your favorite class? Favorite Race?
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Rules for goblins are in First Contact, available for free from the Paizo Store. Updated rules will also probably feature in Alien Archive.
Now for my question: What kinds of new specific weapon types are there? We know of the Doshko weapon line, but what else? (No need to really give stats, at most maybe tell what kind of damage everything deals)
The weapon table alone takes up about 6.5 pages, and there are 3 complete pages of weapon art.
As for specific weapons, fans of Overwatch's cyber ninja will enjoy sci-fi shuriken and the carbon-steel curve blade, would-be Wookies will get a kick out of crossbolters, and grenade arrows would make Oliver Queen grin.
There are far far more than this, but do you really want everything to be spoiled?
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What is your favorite class? Favorite Race?
The Solarion's mastery of the cosmic forces of the universe appeals to an All-Seeing shape such as The Orb. The Android's long lifespan and inorganic body is relatable to one composed primarily of glass-cleaner and crystal.
I meant weapon types (like doshko or sword), rather than specific weapons (like "ember flame doshko" or "carbon-steel curve blade"), yanno?
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I meant weapon types (like doshko or sword), rather than specific weapons (like "ember flame doshko" or "carbon-steel curve blade"), yanno?
There are far too many weapons to list, and not all of them have different tiers like the curveblade.
A few of the weapons that do have varying "tiers" are Hammers, Curveblades, Dueling Swords, Doshkos, Shirren-Eye Rifles, and Flamethrowers.
Weapons are more broadly grouped into categories based on how they deal damage. The categories are: cryo weapons, flame weapons, laser weapons, plasma weapons, projectile weapons, shock weapons, and sonic weapons.
Though some weapons are uncategorized, not fitting into any of the above.
Is the artwork at the level that we've come to know and love?
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Is the artwork at the level that we've come to know and love?
The artwork is (with very few exceptions) excellent. There is a distinct style difference, compared to what we're used to in Pathfinder books, but that's to be expected.
Do the Chapter Pages have quotes from the iconics like in Pathfinder?
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Do the Chapter Pages have quotes from the iconics like in Pathfinder?
The chapter pages have full 2-page spreads of artwork, no text besides the chapter number and title.
So which ability score do Kasatha have a penalty to?
A few of the weapons that do have varying "tiers" are Hammers, Curveblades, Dueling Swords, Doshkos, Shirren-Eye Rifles, and Flamethrowers.
Kinda what I meant, if there were any "groups" of weapons that are entirely new and not just variations on existing pathfinder weapons. Doshkos and shirren-eye-rifles are such groups.
Oh mighty orb reveal to us things...
What makes the Thief, Ghost, & Spy specializations different from each other? seems like they would all have very similar abilities.
What makes the Blitz and Hit & Run fighting styles different? they also seem like they would be very similar.
Can you share some details on the Mechanic's Exocortex?
what are some examples of the Operative's Exploits?
Lastly how big is your Resolve pool? and what are some of the things you can use it for?
We already know that Resolve equals 1/2 level + key ability score mod. However, the known sample characters all have 1 + key ability score mod Resolve points at 1st level. So -- should the 1/2 level part of the formula include "minimum 1" or "rounded up"?
Dot!
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So which ability score do Kasatha have a penalty to?
Intelligence. They're just a little behind the other races in terms of technological development.
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What's the difference between the Mindbreaker and Overlord Mystic?
The Mindbreaker focuses more on doing psychic damage to a target, while the Overlord is more about mind-control and manipulation.
What can you tell us of Apostae?
Could the Orb give us a few tidbits about how the magic warrior soldier specialization works?
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Could the Orb give us a few tidbits about how the magic warrior soldier specialization works?
The "Arcane Assailant" soldier gains the ability to imbue their weapon with magic special abilities, eventually gaining access to more abilities (or 'weapon infusions', as they're called in Starfinder), the ability to enhance multiple weapons, or even ignore cover and concealment through supernatural means.
How in-depth are the rules of transferring Pathfinder monsters and characters to Starfinder?While the book goes to great lengths to cover as much as possible, the specifics are (necessarily) left mostly up to the GM. It does have some fairly specific suggestions for converting some class features, which could be used as a guideline for others.
Monsters can be converted to Starfinder almost effortlessly. In fact, most monsters should work in Starfinder with only a single small adjustment.
Simple follow up question: does it say anything about transferring races, such as the bulk of the pathfinder advanced race guide?
Only really need a yes or no; I'm really hoping to port Kitsune.
What's your favorite planet so far?
What could you tell us about Triaxus' weather/current season and wars against the true dragons?
Did the Wanderer remain as a planet with a big population of true dragons?
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Only really need a yes or no; I'm really hoping to port Kitsune.
If you don't want to do the work to convert it yourself, a third party publisher has got you covered.