Standard Parties Are 5 PCs in Starfinder?


Starfinder Adventure Path General Discussion


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Reading through the rules for starship combat, it seems as if Starfinder parties are assumed to contain 5 PCs instead of 4: so that one PC can fill each of the captain, engineer, gunner, pilot, and science officer roles. I suppose you could dispense with the captain role, but that makes combats a bit tougher without the captain providing bonuses to the crew or Taunting the enemy to impose penalties.

Of course, how important starship combat is for a given campaign may differ between groups. The APs however, based on the first installment, will probably have it occur moderately often (possibly once or twice per installment).


The AP is specifically written for 4 PCs as per usual. Maybe they want to provide a choice as to which role you won't fill?


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

From what I've read It's assumed that someone will take over two of the roles. usually this'll probably lead to a Pilot/Gunner, or a Captain/Any combo.


There's also the Minor Crew Actions of Glide and Snapshot on pg 326. These allow you a basic level of movement or to take a shot with a ship's weapon; so you don't always need a pilot or gunner.


Think millenium falcon. WIth just han and chewie if they get in a fight there is a lot of running around to man weapons/fix damage and what not.


From what I understand, two of the roles are nice-to-have. You need a pilot to move well, a gunner to attack, and an engineer to deal with damage. Captain and science officer aren't as critical. Haven't looked into it too much.


Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

Both Pathfinder and Starfinder APs are written optimally for four people. You could play with more, but the more you have the easier it gets.

Starfinder Society scenarios are a different story. They are written for five to six really, with four players getting special adjustments to the scenarios just like in Pathfinder Society scenarios.

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