Starfinder Society Developer
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In preparation for updating the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide for 2018, I've compiled a list of all clarifications/errata/changes that I intend to include in the new iteration of the guide. There will be some additional changes beyond these, but for now I want to share the major clarifications in order to open the floor. Consider this thread an open forum to post clarifications / changes you think should make it into the new iteration of the guide.
Please note, due to scheduling and a whole slew of other ongoing projects, this is not the year to "Do a full re-write on section X" or "Add in 100 new boons." What we're looking to do with this iteration of the guide is tighten up any confusing information, and look at fixing up things that have a major impact in the current game environment. Also, please note that this only applies to the guide. Let's avoid talking about adventure errata, additional resources, or non-Organized Play FAQ-related questions.
General Adjustments
•Review "Filling out a Chronicle Sheet" and ensure that the Reputation/Fame section are more clearly spelled out.
•Update Deities section with: The minor deities on listed on page 493 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook are open for play.
•Apply this clarification: If you've applied a permanent personal boon slot to a character (such as a race boon), you can choose to swap out or remove the race boon as part of a character rebuild. If you remove a race boon in this manner, then you must pick another appropriate race (such as a core race, or a race made available by another race boon you possess).
•Mention Arc Weapons and PvP: An arc critical attack does not constitute as a Player Versus Player action. If an arc occurs and a fellow PC and foe are legal targets, then the foe must be selected. Otherwise, the arc bounce hits the PC. If the only valid target for an arc is an unconscious PC, then disregard the critical effect.
Equipment
•UPBs are purcahsed in lots of 1,000 for 1,000 credits.
•Review Fusion Seals and how they interact with the purchasing scaling in Starfinder Society. (Namely that you need to continually re-purchase seals since you're restricted on what level of seal you can purchase.)
•Apply recent blog rulings on how batteries work in Starfinder Society into the guide. Also append with the additional clarification: "You do not add the sale price of a battery that comes with the purchase of weapon or other piece of equipment when selling that piece of equipment. The only time you can sell a battery for extra credits is when it is called out as a standalone battery that you purchased on its own."
Starship
•Review the Tier 2 Drake build and adjust to make it less dependent on limited fire weapons.
GMing
•Clarify that GMs applying a Chronicle Sheet from a scenario they GMed can earn the benefits of boons their receiving character could have slotted. Also applying this to meta boons.
•GMs should receive the additional reputation associated with faction-specific scenarios.
Boons
•Include a note about boons: Reputation Tier 0 does NOT count as a valid Reputation Tier to collect the rewards from boons.
•Updating Digital Presence/Worldwide Explorer to represent that Online is now a region and games set there only qualify for the former.
•Update Society Shepherd Boon: "You should receive the Society Shepherd boon rewards as long as you bring a new player to a regular game night / game day / other suitable event, and that player ends up playing a full session worth of material (such as a scenario or Quest pack). This new player does NOT have to be sitting at the same table as you, but they must confirm that you were responsible for them coming to try out Starfinder. You should get the GM of your game to confirm this, and they can make the notation on your Chronicle."
•Update Theoretical Historian Boon: "If you run a scenario as a GM that you have already run as a GM, you can take a Chronicle sheet from that scenario and apply it to this character. Cross out all information on the Chronicle sheet and mark it as "Theoretical Historian Reward". This Chronicle sheet provides no rewards (such as XP, credits, or boons), except you can mark the Chronicle sheet as being completed as part of this boon and earn 1 additional Fame and 1 additional Reputation with the Exo-Guardians Faction for your associated character. The marked Chronicle sheet is strictly meant as a record to track the additional Fame and Reputation. It does not prevent the associated character from playing in that scenario, assuming the character is applicable to play that scenario as per the rules on replaying adventures."
Hirelings
•Clarify that Hirelings cannot take 10/20
•Clarify that Hirelings can use tools and expend them as normal
•Clarify that Sleight of Hand is not valid for Day Jobs
•Clarify: Higher levels of Hireling Access require the previous versions be purchased. You cannot sell back the previously purchased, lower level, version of this boon, as those boons are prerequisites to use this boon. If you do so, then the higher level boon cannot be used.
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I've had a list of potential clarifications hanging around for a while now. Most of them deal with the boons.
- Improved Faction Champion boons:
Can you sell back the Tier 0 Faction Champion boon once you have the Improved version? If not, this needs to be clarified. The Improved versions do not list the base boon as a prerequisite.
- Basic Hireling:
Can a hireling craft for you if you have no ranks in the skill required?
- Data Concierge:
Is this boon only good inside the Pact Worlds? (See Unlimited Communication times on page 430 of the CRB.)
- Fusion Guild Contact:
Should this be "an item level UP TO 2 x your Exo-Guardians Reputation Tier?
- Starship Schematic:
This should probably be a Starship Boon, since that's where the character receiving it has to slot it.
- WARNING! Annoying grammar corrector incoming!
Appendix 5 page 45: "Remove any temporary conditions such as ability score damage and time-limited conditions which simply haven’t run their full duration (though more tenuous conditions must be resolved; see Conditions, Death, and Expendables in Chapter 4 for information).":
Pretty sure this should be "more tenacious conditions must be resolved..." (tenuous means weak and temporary)
- Page 45 step 2: Fame and Reputation:
Remove the third sentence: "In most cases, a scenario offers an amount of Fame equal to the total Reputation earned through the course of the scenario." This sentence doesn't add anything and so far hasn't been anything but confusing since several scenarios offer bonus reputation with no corresponding increase in Fame.
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Fusion Guild Contact
I did some more thinking (and math) and this really needs to be 3x or 4x your Exo-Guardians reputation Tier.
The reason is that you are very unlikely to hit reputation Tier 3 before character level 5, and Tier 4 before character level 8 or 9. If the boon grants you a fusion seal at item level 2x your Tier, that means at Tier 4 you can only put it on a weapon of Item Level 8 or less. Even though most characters will have access to weapons at least 1 or 2 item levels above 8 by that point. This boon is useful only in a very narrow level range as written.
(I also think changing the language to “item level up to” instead of “item level equal to” is beneficial so that if someone WANTS to get a seal lower level than max they can.)
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Clarify some of the rules for how pregen credit can be applied. In particular, 1-0 is played with level 4 pregens, but is tier 3-4. Can it be applied when a character reaches level 3, or level 4?
Perhaps this is a clarification for this particular scenario (though similar things have been done in PFS) so could appear in the scenario or its chronicle? I don't think it establishes a general change to pre-gen credit, so it should be described with care, in order not to introduce doubts to the more general situation.
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•Review "Filling out a Chronicle Sheet" and ensure that the Reputation/Fame section are more clearly spelled out.
The current guide has an unreasonably complicated process for filling out chronicle sheets. Literally no GM with the local PFS/SFS does this and I'm not sure players could even do their part if we tried.
After running the scenario, I fill out and initial the XP, Fame, Credits, Day Job on the right. Then I fill in the reputation with, eg, "Wayfinders +2, Dataphiles +1" on the lines at the bottom, explaining to new players that their old total goes on the left and new total on the right.
With pressure from venue staff wanting to close up, we leave players with sheets in this state and expect them to fill the rest out at home. The only issues I've seen have been due to GM error, and in those cases we've kept good enough records to be able to correct it.
Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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In Pathfinder, if a scenario requires pregens, the rules are different than if someone chooses to use a pregen. There have been debates as to whether this was intended to also be true in Starfinder or not.
Indeed. In PFS there's a real difference between scenarios in which you MUST play specific pregens, and scenarios where you happened to play a regular one. But only the case of regular pregens is fully described, which leads to the same confusion each time a pregen-only scenario comes out.
Venture-Lieutenant, Online—PbP
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•Review "Filling out a Chronicle Sheet" and ensure that the Reputation/Fame section are more clearly spelled out.
The current guide has an unreasonably complicated process for filling out chronicle sheets. Literally no GM with the local PFS/SFS does this and I'm not sure players could even do their part if we tried.
After running the scenario, I fill out and initial the XP, Fame, Credits, Day Job on the right. Then I fill in the reputation with, eg, "Wayfinders +2, Dataphiles +1" on the lines at the bottom, explaining to new players that their old total goes on the left and new total on the right.
With pressure from venue staff wanting to close up, we leave players with sheets in this state and expect them to fill the rest out at home. The only issues I've seen have been due to GM error, and in those cases we've kept good enough records to be able to correct it.
There has been a debate about this issue in Pathfinder for years now. Without taking sides in that debate, if you are going to not fill out the entire sheet, PLEASE make sure that a PFS # and character number are at least filled out before the sheet is signed, so that it can only be applied to the character who played (and who it was reported for)
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Venture-Agent, Online—VTT
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Is there any plan to add slow progression into SFS? I know that there really isn't that much content released yet, but I also know there are some players already trying to budget scenarios to avoid outleveling things on their first characters.
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Starfinder Society Developer
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Department of Expectation Management:As a heads up, there's no plan on adding in slow progression yet. Emphasis on the "yet" part of that. I would probably wait for us to get a solid year of two scenarios/month under our belt before we start even considering that.
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Venture-Agent, Georgia—Atlanta
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What about the Starfinder Core campaign? Can we have that? Alien Archive added so many things that broke the system! The Power level is creeping up too high! ;)
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I'll toss my hat in for clarifications on Known Quality. Does it replace the existing multiplier for Profession checks, or does it stack with it? If it does stack, how? More discussion in this thread.
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• Apply this clarification: If you've applied a permanent personal boon slot to a character (such as a race boon), you can choose to swap out or remove the race boon as part of a character rebuild. If you remove a race boon in this manner, then you must pick another appropriate race (such as a core race, or a race made available by another race boon you possess).
• Apply recent blog rulings on how batteries work in Starfinder Society into the guide. Also append with the additional clarification: "You do not add the sale price of a battery that comes with the purchase of weapon or other piece of equipment when selling that piece of equipment. The only time you can sell a battery for extra credits is when it is called out as a standalone battery that you purchased on its own."
^ these should be added to the FAQ instead of the Guide, IMO. Let's try to keep the Guide slim.
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On a separate note, but similar vein, I must be entirely misunderstanding crafting items. Can someone please link me to a thorough thread explaining it?
Recently, my 5th Level Android Soldier augmented himself with Climbing Suckers and Chameleon Skin. In order to benefit from those augmentations, you need custom clothing. I research the crafting rules and see that crafting costs the exact same as purchasing (but you cannot purchase custom clothing, you must craft it). You can receive a 10% discount by scavenging parts from similar items (tearing up my old sport coat to make a new one), but costwise this again amounts to no difference in the final price, since I could sell my old sport coat for 10% anyways.
So, it seems to me that the crafting rules shouldn't be overly complicated in SFS. I didn't know there was a purchasing requirement for UPBs until I read this thread, for example. Why would I purchase 1000 UPBs when my custom clothing only cost 40 credits? What am I going to do with the remaining 960 UPBs? That's an expensive suit!
Just issue a statement that there is no cost difference between crafting and purchasing; you simply expend X amount of credits and/or UPBs and the item is crafted.
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And, yes, 100% we either need a clear step-by-step process for filling out Chronicles explained in the Guide, or the Chronicle needs to be redone.
If Chronicles are kept the way they are now, then we need another several lines at the bottom for tracking Fame. My same soldier has Reputation for more Factions than there are currently lines to represent.
Why isn't there a line for each Faction?
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On a similar note, I still vote to return to the Prestige/Fame system PFS had. It seems overly complicated again to not only change it to Fame/Reputation, but to have Fame not mean the same thing as it did before.
EDIT: in case you can't tell, I'm generally in favor of simplicity and streamlining core rules of the campaign; make it easier for people to jump in and experience Starfinder.
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On a separate note, but similar vein, I must be entirely misunderstanding crafting items. Can someone please link me to a thorough thread explaining it?
Recently, my 5th Level Android Soldier augmented himself with Climbing Suckers and Chameleon Skin. In order to benefit from those augmentations, you need custom clothing. I research the crafting rules and see that crafting costs the exact same as purchasing (but you cannot purchase custom clothing, you must craft it). You can receive a 10% discount by scavenging parts from similar items (tearing up my old sport coat to make a new one), but costwise this again amounts to no difference in the final price, since I could sell my old sport coat for 10% anyways.
So, it seems to me that the crafting rules shouldn't be overly complicated in SFS. I didn't know there was a purchasing requirement for UPBs until I read this thread, for example. Why would I purchase 1000 UPBs when my custom clothing only cost 40 credits? What am I going to do with the remaining 960 UPBs? That's an expensive suit!
Just issue a statement that there is no cost difference between crafting and purchasing; you simply expend X amount of credits and/or UPBs and the item is crafted.
1. There are a couple of oblique references to custom clothing but no threads dedicated to it. Pricing/gaining this probably needs to be a CRB FAQ, not SFS.
2. Page 45 of the SFS Guide (crafting) states that you buy UPBs at 1000 per 1000 credits, but that isn’t spelled out as the lot size - hence the clarification.3. Page 45 (again) explicitly states that you can’t salvage UPBs in SFS.
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If Chronicles are kept the way they are now, then we need another several lines at the bottom for tracking Fame. My same soldier has Reputation for more Factions than there are currently lines to represent.
Why isn't there a line for each Faction?
The current answer to the first issue is that you do not have to enter reputation for any factions for which you did not earn reputation in that scenario for. Currently, no scenario has the possibility to earn reputation for more than three factions (2 factions with the faction tag and your own slotted faction, if different than those two.)
As for the second, the answer to this question is likely that there is a rotating faction and as such it would be impossible to have a line for each faction unless this rotating faction only said Second Seeker instead of all the different Second Seeker factions. This also has the problem of what happens when they add other factions besides Second Seeker which the guide hints they will likely do. So the short answer is future proofing.
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There are a couple of oblique references to custom clothing but no threads dedicated to it. Pricing/gaining this probably needs to be a CRB FAQ, not SFS.
Well, it doesn't need an FAQ, IMO. I don't have the page handy as I type this, but rules for crafting custom clothing were clearly spelled out when I looked for them. I immediately wrote them up on my ITS.
What I think SFS could do is clarify/houserule that purchasing UPBs is a 1-for-1 basis; that the example in the CRB of 1000-for-1000 is just that - an example.
Otherwise, inexpensive crafted items become unreasonably expensive.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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What I think SFS could do is clarify/houserule that purchasing UPBs is a 1-for-1 basis; that the example in the CRB of 1000-for-1000 is just that - an example.
Otherwise, inexpensive crafted items become unreasonably expensive.
Read the Equipment section of the original post. Currently you are supposed to purchase UPBs in lots of 1000.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Florida—Melbourne
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Guess my character will be naked for his next scenario =|
EDIT: or, actually, for every scenario going forward? I'm not going to spend 1000 credits on clothing.
I never plan on crafting with this character.
Let us hope you don't LARP.
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Is that a tactical baton in your pocket or... Oh. You don't have pockets...
But to answer BNW, I initially searched the Rules Forum for Custom Clothing and didn't see anything, either. Then I searched the CRB for "custom" and found it (admittedly after 398 references to Kasathas and their "customs").
If I remember when I have my book handy I'll look again for you.
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I'd like to see the corrected starship combat DC's added to the guide. Players and GMs are more likely to find it there than the Starfinder FAQ page. At least it gives people another chance to see it.
A Drake rebuild sounds good. Had a group use that in the drone fight and run out of ammo pretty fast.
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Currently the campaign clarifications and faq links given in the Guild Guide don't direct you to what they're supposed to. In fact, every time I want to find the Starfinder FAQ or SFS FAQ/campaign clarifications, I just do a google search.
The link given in the guild guide for the Guild FAQ is "paizo.com/organizedplay/faq". It takes you to the campaign clarifications for Starfinder (though you have to know to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page).
The link given for campaign clarifications is "paizo.com/starfindersociety/clarifications", which takes you to the default Starfinder Society page.
The most critical FAQs for players to be aware of are on the Starfinder FAQ, but there's no link to that anywhere in the guide.
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Circling back to the problem of custom clothing earlier, I brought it up with a few GMs at the Con I've been at this weekend and have an added dilemma.
Most GMs have told me to basically pay the 1000 credits for custom clothing. I've now been naked for all but one scenario (although my last GM pointed out that light armor doesn't interfere with augmentations, so right now his armor is his clothing). But another GM made me realize that if you don't have ranks in Engineering, you can't even acquire custom clothing, since you have to craft it.
So, while getting a 1-for-1 UPB-to-credit ratio clarified in the Guide would be great, it might be easier to just "houserule" that crafted equipment is instead always available for purchase. You can't expect every character to max out Engineering.
Otherwise there are going to be a lot more naked PCs running around.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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I would like to request two changes relating to hirelings.
It would be nice if those in Set 3 could do the medicine check to stabilize the character or treat the character when they are unconscious. As it stands, someone who brings a hireling with this can treat anyone else who is unconscious, but the hireling wouldn't save the life of the one who hired them!
It would also be nice if we could get an upgrade to hirelings that allowed them to assist (via Aid Another) on checks in their skill set.
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Basic Puchasing Plan:
The cost of regeneration seems slightly out of scale. 5th level spells are only 2 Fame, but this 6th level spell (without material components) costs 6. (Could be 4?)
- Raise dead - should the Fame cost be the same for a PC that has been turned into an undead?
- Add remove radiation as an option for Fame purchase. (2 Fame?)
Information Sharing:
- Clarify that the new character does not need to meet the prerequisites to use the boon being shared.
And of course add the Starship and Race options for PCs with the the Exo-Guardians and Wayfinders capstones.