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While the Starfinder CRB has several good themes. I have seen many people use the themeless theme, because none of the others fit thier character concept.
Here are a few ideas I have come up with that i'd like to see.
I know they are incomplete, these are concepts at this stage.
DOCTOR: Either thru saving life or experimenting with new prosthetics, Medicine is your life. (+1 to Int. Skill bonus to Medicine, and adds to Class list.)
NOBLE: You have grown up around the elite, and have inside information about them. (+1 Cha. Skill bonus/ class skill to Diplomacy)
FORGOTTEN: You grew up destitute. You know your way around urban, and semi-urban areas, and how to find food and shelter there. (+1 Con. Skill bonus/ class skill to survival)
I wouldn't mind seeing an Exile theme. Outlaw or themeless could do in a pinch, but a full Exile one would be cool.
I feel like the CRB was a little heavy on the opportunist themes (bounty hunter, mercenary, outlaw). I would like to see some more altruistic themes, like a PROTECTOR and like you said a HEALER.
The PROTECTOR operates on idealism either looking out for the underdog or joining an organization like the police or military to protect society and a way of life.
The HEALER is like the doctor but is a little more broad. The person could be someone who works in medical science or a shaman that works with herbs and plants.
I would also like to see maybe a TINKER who is not a professional engineer or mechanic but like a garage inventor. Maybe a HERMIT type theme to oppose the Icon. And now I'm kinda just throwing stuff out, but since it is s magical world, why not a POSSESSED theme. Someone who has to battle for control over their soul by a Devil or Great Old One, or something.
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EXPERIMENT: PC is/was a willing (or not) participant in a experimental programme or scientific research.
RENEGADE: PC is a reactionary and dissident against their cultural status quo.
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Doesn't how opportunistic/altruistic you are have more to do with how you play the character than anything else?
There's nothing about the mechanics of the 'mercenary' theme that really demands or even implies opportunism. Creating a new theme that's fundamentally similar but with a slightly different flavor feels kind of redundant to me. Especially at this stage in the game's life when there's so much new design space you could cover.
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Doesn't how opportunistic/altruistic you are have more to do with how you play the character than anything else?There's nothing about the mechanics of the 'mercenary' theme that really demands or even implies opportunism. Creating a new theme that's fundamentally similar but with a slightly different flavor feels kind of redundant to me. Especially at this stage in the game's life when there's so much new design space you could cover.
I don't really want to argue. I was just having fun brainstorming. The definition of Mercenary as "primarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics." seems to me to imply a motivation that is self-centered and opportunistic to me. It just doesn't automatically conjure the persona of a typical police officer, soldier that is part of a state sponsored military, or fit the Stewards, Exo-Guardians, etc. With that said, its collaborative story telling game, play it however you can creativity conceive it.
EXPERIMENT: PC is/was a willing (or not) participant in a experimental programme or scientific research.
I like that one! I really want to play as an Experiment now.
I feel like an "Occultist" theme would be pretty neat. This could cover PCs who delve into ancient lore of their own accord, who were members of a secretive cult of some kind, or who were taught at a magic school like the Arcanamirium.
A "Colonist" theme which represents a PC who comes from a backwater world might also be kind of neat, though that concept might already be covered by the Spacefarer theme.
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I'd like to see something Paladin-like, a theme dedicated to smiting evil and making the galaxy a better place, maybe called "Crusader" or something. I know you can KINDA do it with Priest, but I want to play something more focused on righteous battle, and the Priest theme seems practically married to the Mystic class (I find it very hard to imagine a Priest Mechanic or a Priest Operative).
I'd like to see something Paladin-like, a theme dedicated to smiting evil and making the galaxy a better place, maybe called "Crusader" or something. I know you can KINDA do it with Priest, but I want to play something more focused on righteous battle, and the Priest theme seems practically married to the Mystic class (I find it very hard to imagine a Priest Mechanic or a Priest Operative).
I find it very easy to imagine a Mechanic Priest of Triune and an Operative Priest of Weydan, Pharasma, Besmara, Damoritosh, or especially Loa Shu Po.
Archeologist, diplomat, surgeon, corporate officer, technophile, transhumanist (for lack of a general term), anachronist
Just a few ideas I have are just rough with no stats but a general premise.
ZEALOT- You stand for a cause with unwavering determination. Doesn't necessarily have to be religious in nature.
GAMBLER- In an era of space exploration you bet your life everyday. Just so happens you're either really lucky or stacking the deck.
One idea about themes I would really like to see is branching options as you progress through each theme to help better build a theme that works for each character. Some are so specific that they seem quite useless unless a specific situation occurs while the ACE PILOT's are much more useful by comparison.
Justice Seeker/Social Activist -- you are not only dedicated to the pursuit of justice, but have bent your personal training to further your activism.
I think a the themes already cover a lot (e.g. icon = noble, Mercenary = Security, Bounty Hunter = sheriff), so I hope if we get some new ones they really matters and don't be a simple "rephrase" like the Hunter oder Anti-Paladin in PF.
New Classes/Themes should always matters and have their own niche. If you can build it by simply rephrasing an already existing one, it's not worth the paper.
I'd like to see the athlete theme - my current planned character for when we start Dead Suns is a professional athlete who happens to be caught up in the beginning of the AP at the end of his season and just goes with it for fun. He's currently going to be an icon, which is OK in this circumstance.
I think it is better for the themes to be broad strokes of characterisation rather than specifics such as Noble's Child.
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I think it is better for the themes to be broad strokes of characterisation rather than specifics such as Noble's Child.
Ace Pilot is a theme available, so I think we can get pretty specific.i wouldn't be surprised if each of the deities gets their own theme at some point.
Even if a lot of them overlap, or are just one level subs of another theme, I wouldn't mind Paizo putting out a few in every supplement.
Well have to see what the upcoming planet book comes up with.
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Nobody. Whether by choice or circumstance you are functionally inconsequential.
