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What mix of characters would you take on the incident at "Absalom Station"?? The introduction says "an adventure for four 1st level characters", this is my 1st RPG game and I was just trying to get ahead of the curve and find out what would make this adventure more interesting with a mix of characters.....
Thanks..
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You have roles that need to be filled, and any mix to get those roles would work, no matter the classes used to get there. So even if you have multiples in one class, you're fine.
Starship:
At least one Engineer (Max Engineering), one Pilot (Max Piloting + good Dex + hopefully a skill bonus), & one Gunner (Max BAB or Max Piloting + good Dex).
Having more (even less optimal) Gunners and Engineers is fine, as of course is filling in the other starship roles left over.
Combat:
-One+ Melee (as well as having best damage, they block out enemy melee from closing easily with your shooters).
-Two+ Ranged (because as nice as melee is, sometimes your enemy is hard to reach, or you just need to be able to get to that certain enemy.)
Note: With a throwing weapon, a high Str melee PC can hit well ranged and Operatives switch easily between the two roles.
That's it really, as long as everybody's contributing. One important difference from most RPGs is it's kinda easy to hit enemies, so even PCs with mediocre scores can contribute. (Recommend longarm proficiency!) Those central to combat should be using Full Attack. Just make sure the PCs have a mix of damage types (usually one physical weapon + one laser (fire), but other energy can be better). They might have to acquire those in play.
Optional (and recommended for new players):
-One In-Combat Healer: Envoy with 16+ Cha & Inspiring Boost or Mystic
-One Spellcaster (w/ a good offensive spell): Mystic or Technomancer
-One Area Affect PC: Bombardier Soldier, Solarian (supernova), Technomancer, or somebody who tosses grenades well (and is willing to pay the hefty price to get them!).
-High Mysticism and Life Science, so nice for IDing monsters!
Noncombat:
-Face: The most important role outside of combat (or to prevent combat!). Max Diplomacy + good Cha + (optional, but recommended) some skill bonus. Also useful to max out Bluff, Intimidate (could be other people), and have PCs with good Sense Motive. Try to have high Culture (for languages) or magic/tech to bypass language barriers. This also fills an important role for gathering information.
-Hacker: Max Computer + good Int + some type of skill bonus. Some classes have neat tricks too, but a high roll will get you by.
-Engineer: Max Engineering is enough, but higher is better (especially since they're so important on a starship too).
-Searcher: Max Perception + good Wis and/or other bonuses. As many PCs as possible should have max Perception, but one who is excellent is minimum to find hidden clues, secret doors, etc.
Optional (but recommended)
-Magic crafter: Max Mysticism is enough, but higher is better.
-Culture: Even if the face uses magic to get past languages, it's nice to use this for knowledge.
-Any other skill that comes with a knowledge.
-Spellcasting: If only for Detect cantrips, but the utility is helpful.
-Guide: Max Survival
-Medic: Even if you have a Mystic, they might be the one injured. Max medicine, and remember to pick up the equipment they need.
So a typical party might have a Mystic, Operative, Soldier, & Technomancer. (Based on fantasy RPG tropes.)
This can fill all the roles easily. A few areas may not be perfect, but the utility of so much magic should make up for it.
But you could have an atypical party too, with people filling unusual roles by using feats or unusual builds to make up the difference. Operatives have their universal skill bonus and a Resolve stat that frees up stat points by also being their combat stat. This means they can fill most any niche. So can Soldiers (surprisingly) with so many feats to take Skill Synergy and/or Skill Focus, and Dex Soldiers can spare some stat points too. I can think of a few classes where it could be interesting to have an "All-X" party without the uncompromising drawbacks that would usually have in an RPG.
I might actually be missing something, but that seems about right.
Cheers.
Starfinder and its rest system make it very friendly to four random mixed nuts being able to accomplish or at least survive a mission. You don't need a dedicated tank and healer as long as everyone can do reasonable damage (IE, non operatives should no have a pistol as their primary damage mechanism)