Hi,
Just a quick query.
Is there any potential in Starfinder for players to create and use Pathfinder characters instead.
I know that magic works slightly differently in Starfinder, but is this idea feasible.
There are Legacy rules (well, more like guidelines) for adapting Pathfinder classes in the CRB.
Those guidelines freely admit that magic is probably the toughest to adapt, because the spellcasting engine has been rebalanced for Starfinder's needs. I've looked at adapting some of the spellcaster classses from Pathfinder and FWICT it's basically more trouble than it's worth at this point. The Starfarer's Companion people had a snap at it and depending on who you talk to the effort is either a useful resource or utterly not worth the pixels it's printed on.
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To be clear, you're talking about 100s of man hours of work to convert something like a Sorcerer and make it work, and there's a very good chance you won't make it work. Some classes are easier than others, though. But you're still talking about two very different class design systems. You're going to have to decide things like whether you want abilities to be x/day (like PF), x/resolve, x/10 minute rest, or some combination, and you're going to have to balance all the effects in light of changes to the action economy and conditions and combat mechanics in SF.
I did like the SFS conversion of Ranger. I think SFS did a pretty good job with the spells, at least the ones I remember reading. I'm basically allowing the book on an exception basis, currently. People are allowed to use individual things, but only if they ask first, and only for that one thing (and some of them, only with heavy mods). Like, if my players wanted to play a gripli, I'd totally allow that. The answer would be a hard no if someone wanted to play a cleric.
Wuwuwuwhat is this about an SFS ranger?
Sorry, that should be SFC (Star Farer's Companion) and not SFS (Star Finder Society). I've been talking about the latter a lot lately and wasn't thinking. I'd edit it, but it's too late now.
A loose notion I had was 'if you had Pathfinder era magic items, you could use the old Pathfinder magic item slots' as opposed to the modern Starfinder 2-magic items only.
I figured headcanon of "the nature of the generalist approach to magic as technology provided a great boost in the ability to mass produce items, at an expense of quality'. In essence 'modern' magic items bleed interference effects that trip each other up. Older pathfinder generation ones were more craftsman oriented (the whole masterwork thing to start/etc) and have tighter auras in comparison to Starfinder era, thus allowing more pathfinder era stuff to be worn.
This is generally less of an issue in starfinder because they don't have access to pathfinder gear anymore (Golarion bye bye) but a level 15 char transported to Starfinder wouldn't find their entire body of gear suddenly stopped working.
Although I think it might be easier to just adjust their build in transfer so it isn't dependent on having a bunch of magic items working at once. That way they would simply be in tune with the rules of the new system... and not a source of friction with party members who still have to play by the rules of the post-Gap universe. I'd think something fundamental to the nature of the universe itself shifted with the Gap.