Get a Glimpse of The Stars The All-Seeing Orb

[Torbyne]

How customizable are starships? sort of, is it closer to "pick one of three base hulls and customize with points as you level" or maybe a bit more "choose a size/role of ship and as a group decide what it looks like and what its layout is?"

Also, are single player fighters an option?

[Reef]

Torbyne wrote:

How customizable are starships? sort of, is it closer to "pick one of three base hulls and customize with points as you level" or maybe a bit more "choose a size/role of ship and as a group decide what it looks like and what its layout is?"

Also, are single player fighters an option?

Ooh, I'd like to hear about fighter options as well. I know a larger shop per group is standard, but the last time we played Star Wars (Saga edition) the group had one ship with a docked Z-95 that the Ace Pilot would jump into when the situation warranted. Sort of like they do on Rebels with the Ghost and the Phantom. It would be nice if such a thing was viable. It would open up some more interesting tactical combinations, to keep starship combat from going stale.

[shadowhntr7]

Does a Mechanic get anything to pilot or empower a ship?

[QuidEst]

shadowhntr7 wrote:

Does a Mechanic get anything to pilot or empower a ship?

No classes get any features related to ship roles, I believe. That would defeat the purpose of having ship roles based solely on skills so that any class can handle any role they focus on. Mechanic gets skill bonuses that help with the engineer role, I believe.

That's all based on what we've heard from the devs, though.

[Calth]

wolaberry wrote:

Are the starship rules less complicated than GURPS? I saw people talking about cube roots above and started thinking about GURPS Vehicles again. <shudder>

If the system flows well I can live with handwaving away parts of physics. This is still a fantasy game at its heart.

Starship combats pretty straight forward, though there appear to be a few wonky things with larger crew sizes.

[Distant Scholar]

IonutRO wrote:

What are some 7-9th level spells that casters can get limited access to? Other than Wish.

20th-level mystic can cast miracle 1/week.

20th-level technomancer can spend 2 resolve and 2 sixth-level spells to cast wish.

Both miracle and wish, and only those spells, are listed as Level: -

[David knott 242]

Distant Scholar wrote:

Both miracle and wish, and only those spells, are listed as Level: -

So would I be correct in assuming that spell save DCs are no longer based on spell level? Or are these spells set up so that they cannot be used offensively?

[Calth]

Steven "Troll" O'Neal wrote:

Please, tell me of Apostae. Is it now inhabited by smurfs? Has anyone managed to get inside?

Its inhabited by Drow now, but they haven't had much luck exploring the interior.

[Distant Scholar]

David knott 242 wrote:

Distant Scholar wrote:

Both miracle and wish, and only those spells, are listed as Level: -

So would I be correct in assuming that spell save DCs are no longer based on spell level? Or are these spells set up so that they cannot be used offensively?

Core Rulebook wrote:

A duplicated spell allows saving throws and spell resistance as normal, but the save DCs are the same as for a 7th-level spell. For the purpose of other effects that depend on spell level, wish counts as a 9th-level spell.

Miracle has similar wording.

I hope that's not too big of a direct quote.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Neat, thank you Calth.

[Calth]

Torbyne wrote:

How customizable are starships? sort of, is it closer to "pick one of three base hulls and customize with points as you level" or maybe a bit more "choose a size/role of ship and as a group decide what it looks like and what its layout is?"

Also, are single player fighters an option?

Fighter's exist, but don't really fit in with how the standard system works for players. The system gives you a number of build points for a starship based by tier (=CR/APL). You could technically build a number of fighters out of your build pool I guess, but that's pretty inefficient and probably wont work out well with the combat portion of the system (Degree of challenge for starship combat scales differently than PC combat, CR=APL is easy for PCs but hard for starship, CR+1 is epic for starship and likely to result in a TPK. This is because your party is a single ship of CR=APL instead of 4 characters of CR=APL. I'm guessing theres going to be lot of ooops moments because of this shift.) The system is definitely designed for the PCs to be a single ship in the core book, but the existence of carriers probably indicates that later books will address this.

As for customizable, its a fairly robust setup. Start by choosing a frame, with a couple for each size category. Frame gives some base stats (maneuverability, hp, damage thresholds, crew, and number of expansion bays, base weapon mounts). Each as a build cost. You then buy power cores, thrusters, armor, computer upgrades, drift engines, countermeasures, crew quarters, security systems, sensors, shields, weapons. Most have at least a couple options, and many have power costs, so you either have to more or more expensive power cores, or choose systems with less power cost.

Expansion bays are where more uniqueness comes in, where you have different options rather than variations of the same system. You can buy rooms to help with skills/crafting, shuttle bays, escape pods (probably a good idea), cargo capacity, extra power cores, fighter hangars, extra quarters, and shout outs to both Star Trek and Star Wars, holodecks and the Millenenium Falcons smuggler compartment.

Finally you can buy more weapon mounts and increase the size of mounts (3 classes of weapons for starships.) Someone asked about converting starship weapon damage to PC damage in an interview. To give an idea on that, the middle class, known as heavy weapons, have heavy nuclear missles. They do 10d8. Tactical nukes do 5d8. So 1 point of starship damage is fairly catastrophic on PC scales. (The most damaging starship weapon does 4d10 x10 damage. That's like destroying a continent)

[Jimbles the Mediocre]

Distant Scholar wrote:

20th-level mystic can cast miracle 1/week.

20th-level technomancer can spend 2 resolve and 2 sixth-level spells to cast wish.

Both miracle and wish, and only those spells, are listed as Level: -

Okay, I really dig this. It allows super-powerful, iconic spells to be in the game, but by locking them to 20th level (and making them expensive even then) it also allows spellcasting to be balanced around more manageable 6th-level casters. After all, what fraction of games even get to 20th level, and of those games, what fraction of total gameplay is spent at 20th level?

[Torbyne]

Calth wrote:

Torbyne wrote:

How customizable are starships? sort of, is it closer to "pick one of three base hulls and customize with points as you level" or maybe a bit more "choose a size/role of ship and as a group decide what it looks like and what its layout is?"

Also, are single player fighters an option?

Fighter's exist, but don't really fit in with how the standard system works for players. The system gives you a number of build points for a starship based by tier (=CR/APL). You could technically build a number of fighters out of your build pool I guess, but that's pretty inefficient and probably wont work out well with the combat portion of the system (Degree of challenge for starship combat scales differently than PC combat, CR=APL is easy for PCs but hard for starship, CR+1 is epic for starship and likely to result in a TPK. This is because your party is a single ship of CR=APL instead of 4 characters of CR=APL. I'm guessing theres going to be lot of ooops moments because of this shift.) The system is definitely designed for the PCs to be a single ship in the core book, but the existence of carriers probably indicates that later books will address this.

As for customizable, its a fairly robust setup. Start by choosing a frame, with a couple for each size category. Frame gives some base stats (maneuverability, hp, damage thresholds, crew, and number of expansion bays, base weapon mounts). Each as a build cost. You then buy power cores, thrusters, armor, computer upgrades, drift engines, countermeasures, crew quarters, security systems, sensors, shields, weapons. Most have at least a couple options, and many have power costs, so you either have to more or more expensive power cores, or choose systems with less power cost.

Expansion bays are where more uniqueness comes in, where you have different options rather than variations of the same system. You can buy rooms to help with skills/crafting, shuttle bays, escape pods (probably a good idea), cargo capacity, extra power cores,...

Sounds like a lot of fun already. its weird that PCs can buy fighter hangers but fighters arent really an option though. Can you get drones or something instead? Hope to see an expansion on that soon!

Is it possible for PCs to run a large ship, such as a cruiser/destroyer? Or would they need a large NPC crew for something like that?

[Calth]

Torbyne wrote:

Sounds like a lot of fun already. its weird that PCs can buy fighter hangers but fighters arent really an option though. Can you get drones or something instead? Hope to see an expansion on that soon!

Is it possible for PCs to run a large ship, such as a cruiser/destroyer? Or would they need a large NPC crew for something like that?

Actually I may be wrong on that, it looks like there is an adjustment in the encounter design to account for PCs having multiple ships. It doesn't really tell you how to buy multiple ships in the rules. Maybe its to account for scenarios where the PCs steal a group of ships (the rules mention that sometimes the PCs may have starship combat not in their starship and CR needs to adjust for this).

And as I said earlier, large crew sizes are kinda wonky. The system seems to assume you can have NPC crew members, but doesn't really say how to recruit them, how many of them get roles, etc... There definitely seemed to be a couple holes here in my initial read through.

The NPC ship statblocks have the crews fleshed out, but where some of those numbers come from is a mystery.

[Wikrin]

To what degree are microgravity situations addressed? Is it like Star Wars (where everywhere has Earth-like gravity), Eclipse Phase (where Earth-like gravity is pretty rare), or somewhere in-between? Do any of the skills directly reflect one's ability to maneuver in 0g? Curious as to whether or not "monkey foot" cybernetics exist. Sorry for asking so many questions.

[Calth]

Wikrin wrote:

To what degree are microgravity situations addressed? Is it like Star Wars (where everywhere has Earth-like gravity), Eclipse Phase (where Earth-like gravity is pretty rare), or somewhere in-between? Do any of the skills directly reflect one's ability to maneuver in 0g? Curious as to whether or not "monkey foot" cybernetics exist. Sorry for asking so many questions.

Most inhabited worlds are standard gravity or "close enough" but theres a decent variety of gravities and a page or so on how to handle them. I don't recall any items targeted on addressing gravity besides some limited effects from environmental suits and things like clips. Acrobatics and Athletics are used for zero-g maneuvering.

[Bigguyinblack]

I saw mention of Haste still being around. What does it do in Starfinder? Also is there a level 1 spell that provides a group accuracy buff?

[The All-Seeing Orb]

Wikrin wrote:

To what degree are microgravity situations addressed? Is it like Star Wars (where everywhere has Earth-like gravity), Eclipse Phase (where Earth-like gravity is pretty rare), or somewhere in-between? Do any of the skills directly reflect one's ability to maneuver in 0g? Curious as to whether or not "monkey foot" cybernetics exist. Sorry for asking so many questions.

There are rules for dealing with a range of different gravities. Setting-wise, there's a good mix of earth-like and alien gravity. Acrobatics and Athletics can help out in zero-G. There are abilities and items that help you stay anchored to a surface.

[QuidEst]

Bigguyinblack wrote:

I saw mention of Haste still being around. What does it do in Starfinder? Also is there a level 1 spell that provides a group accuracy buff?

I think there was mention of there not being numeric AC/accuracy bonus spells.

[Calth]

Bigguyinblack wrote:

I saw mention of Haste still being around. What does it do in Starfinder? Also is there a level 1 spell that provides a group accuracy buff?

Haste gives you a move action when you full-attack (kinda like a superpounce mitigated by full-attacks being weaker) and faster movement. There is no level 1 group accuracy buff.

[The All-Seeing Orb]

Bigguyinblack wrote:

I saw mention of Haste still being around. What does it do in Starfinder? Also is there a level 1 spell that provides a group accuracy buff?

Haste now allows moving before or after a full attack, and still increases your speed (though not your accuracy or Reflex saves).

There do not appear to be any level 1 spells that provide a group accuracy buff, though the Envoy has abilities that do that.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Just thought of something. Is there a feat similar to Leadership?

[Calth]

QuidEst wrote:

Bigguyinblack wrote:

I saw mention of Haste still being around. What does it do in Starfinder? Also is there a level 1 spell that provides a group accuracy buff?

I think there was mention of there not being numeric AC/accuracy bonus spells.

There aren't really. Buff spells period are pretty few and far between period. I mean, theres probably around 100 or so, no more than 150, spells total in the book, theres options at each level but theres not a ton of room for choice paralysis. The huge accumulation of 8 years worth of splat spells hasn't happened.

[Torbyne]

Calth wrote:

Torbyne wrote:

Sounds like a lot of fun already. its weird that PCs can buy fighter hangers but fighters arent really an option though. Can you get drones or something instead? Hope to see an expansion on that soon!

Is it possible for PCs to run a large ship, such as a cruiser/destroyer? Or would they need a large NPC crew for something like that?

Actually I may be wrong on that, it looks like there is an adjustment in the encounter design to account for PCs having multiple ships. It doesn't really tell you how to buy multiple ships in the rules. Maybe its to account for scenarios where the PCs steal a group of ships (the rules mention that sometimes the PCs may have starship combat not in their starship and CR needs to adjust for this).

And as I said earlier, large crew sizes are kinda wonky. The system seems to assume you can have NPC crew members, but doesn't really say how to recruit them, how many of them get roles, etc... There definitely seemed to be a couple holes here in my initial read through.

The NPC ship statblocks have the crews fleshed out, but where some of those numbers come from is a mystery.

Thank you for the insights, i could probably entertain myself for a long time with those core ship building rules. I appreciate it!

[Calth]

Steven "Troll" O'Neal wrote:

Just thought of something. Is there a feat similar to Leadership?

Nope. Most feats are pretty decent, a couple seem a little trappy, but not bad. Largest feat chain is 3 deep, most are two, and the second or third one is usually improved or great whatever the first feat was. A lot of the basic combat standard action attack feats show up, but the shift in action economy makes those viable options. Like going down Mobility line to pick up parting shot to be able to withdraw and attack seems like a good idea to me, which would be crazy in Pathfinder.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Thank you again Calth. Slightly disappointing, but in fairness I can probably just port it over.

[Sir Malt 241]

If I wanted to make a space Knight or paladin. What class or multi class combination would be best?

[Calth]

Sir Malt 241 wrote:

If I wanted to make a space Knight or paladin. What class or multi class combination would be best?

That's definitely the solarion's hat.

[The All-Seeing Orb]

Sir Malt 241 wrote:

If I wanted to make a space Knight or paladin. What class or multi class combination would be best?

Lots of different ways to do that. Arcane Assailant specialization Soldier might be your best bet for a Pathfinder paladin (as it lets you make your weapons holy), or perhaps Exocortex Mechanic with the Priest theme to be a "paladin" of Triune.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Time for another obscure question. What are the special materials like/used for?

[The All-Seeing Orb]

Steven "Troll" O'Neal wrote:

Time for another obscure question. What are the special materials like/used for?

Very similar to Pathfinder. They're used for overcoming hardness/DR.

[Lanitril]

What's the Priest theme like? Besides Priest-y.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Are there plasma weapons of a sword-like variety?

[DrSwordopolis]

Thanks again Calth and All-Seeing Orb; you guys/gals make waiting for the PDF much easier.

How detailed is the hacking section? Similar to the Disable Device section in the CRB (a page), or more in-depth?

[Imbicatus]

Lanitril wrote:

What's the Priest theme like? Besides Priest-y.

It gives some extra mystic spells known if you're a mystic, or the ability to cast them once a day as a sla if you're not.

[DrSwordopolis]

Oh. Any powered armor - meaning armor with integrated muscles/weapon loadout/sensors/etc, requiring some sort of limited fuel source?

[Freedom Snake]

Steelfiredragon wrote:

what is the fifth word on page 26

challenges

[Remy P Gilbeau]

It's been mentioned that Weapon Focus helps out 3/4 BaB more than it used to. Can you tell us how it's changed since PF?

[The All-Seeing Orb]

Remy P Gilbeau wrote:

It's been mentioned that Weapon Focus helps out 3/4 BaB more than it used to. Can you tell us how it's changed since PF?

If your BAB is a certain amount lower than your character level, it grants double the normal benefit.

[The All-Seeing Orb]

DrSwordopolis wrote:

Oh. Any powered armor - meaning armor with integrated muscles/weapon loadout/sensors/etc, requiring some sort of limited fuel source?

There's an entire class of armor called "Powered Armor" that works exactly as you describe.

[rando1000]

how much information, if any, is available on systems in Near-space, and are there general maps or is it up to the GM to flesh that out?

[Calth]

DrSwordopolis wrote:

Thanks again Calth and All-Seeing Orb; you guys/gals make waiting for the PDF much easier.

How detailed is the hacking section? Similar to the Disable Device section in the CRB (a page), or more in-depth?

Hacking is kinda both. It's got a fairly typical subskill write-up under the computer skills but interacts with Computers (item) own full subsystem.

[Calth]

rando1000 wrote:

how much information, if any, is available on systems in Near-space, and are there general maps or is it up to the GM to flesh that out?

No maps, fairly basic write ups, two page spread on each pact world but half or more of the spread is an illustration.

[Ventnor]

What is the weirdest thing (in your opinion) that a Mystic can form a connection with?

[Calth]

Ventnor wrote:

What is the weirdest thing (in your opinion) that a Mystic can form a connection with?

I haven't even looked at the mystic as I had no interest in it from the preview.

[Mark Seifter]

Jimbles the Mediocre wrote:

The All-Seeing Orb wrote:

Monsters can be converted to Starfinder almost effortlessly. In fact, most monsters should work in Starfinder with only a single small adjustment.

Would that single small adjustment be the conversion of AC to KAC and EAC? If that's the case, then the barrier to conversion is extremely low and whoever at Paizo managed to balance that should be proud and just a touch smug.

That would be Logan and myself. It was...not easy. In fact, at first I wasn't sure if it was possible given the other constraints. It was a little like sudoku, but fortunately I taught how to solve constraint propagation problems like this in Intro AI before this job. Probably one of the most satisfying things was getting it to just math out with legacy monsters and provide a fun encounter.

I think/hope people will enjoy the NPCs and monsters with Starfinder rules too. The class grafts aren't a random assortment of class features; much like the class templates KoA mentioned from Monster Codex, they give the NPC roughly appropriate abilities for its level (so an operative graft faceless stalker or half-elf, to use two examples I built in the playtest, had the same amount of trick attack damage as the PC operative when they were equal level).

[Imbicatus]

Ventnor wrote:

What is the weirdest thing (in your opinion) that a Mystic can form a connection with?

Star Shaman connects with the cosmos, and can survive in vaccum with no environment suit indefinitely at level 1.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Imbicatus wrote:

Ventnor wrote:

What is the weirdest thing (in your opinion) that a Mystic can form a connection with?

Star Shaman connects with the cosmos, and can survive in vaccum with no environment suit indefinitely at level 1.

That is weird.

[Mark Seifter]

Chemlak wrote:

wolaberry wrote:

Are the starship rules less complicated than GURPS? I saw people talking about cube roots above and started thinking about GURPS Vehicles again. <shudder>

If the system flows well I can live with handwaving away parts of physics. This is still a fantasy game at its heart.

Do not fear. That's just me being over-nerdy. It's a technical discussion on verisimilitude, not how the rules work.

I'm not sure what went on with the starship weight scale (that was from when I was back on Pathfinder I think), but I can tell you that Sutter pulled me over to the planets to run F=G*m1*m2/r^2 for all of the planets that didn't either have artificial gravity or a really weird shape or substance that altered gravity. And space now correctly doesn't conduct heat so you don't take cold damage even though it's cold out there! So a little more of the science is right when it didn't interfere with gameplay and such. Oddly because of the composition of my playtest group, we had three physics PhDs playing it, so I got to take some really nitty gritty physics comments back to the main Star Council like "The solarian's black hole ability should...<insert some sort of catastrophic event> whenever he used it."

[Calth]

I would say I'm a little disappointed at first glance at how core fightery the soldier seems to be. It may be mitigated in practice through themes and such, but the class itself is 100% combat zero out of combat utility.