I've played quite a bit of games but my home group will soon be trying Starfinder. I saw Dragonkin and really want to play one. Not having read all the rules yet is probably making this harder but I want to make him a Solarian and crush people in melee. I could really use some help in how to build him and knowing what's good and bad about Solarian and how to mitigate the bad. I do plan to bond with the operative in the group whom has like +10 init.
I'll point you to the two Solarian guides on the forums:
Hwalsh's Melee Guide and my general Solarian guide
More specifically, Dragonkin bonded to an Operative probably would get the greatest benefit from going Solar Weapon and Heavy Armor, allowing you to min-max your AC.
For maximum melee crushing from 1st level onwards and my recommendation to you, you'll probably want:
Str 18/Dex 10/Con 10/Int 10/Wis 10/Cha 14
Depending on feats you want later, you can put the odd +1 from a theme into Dex (any Str, Dex, or Cha theme will let you do that).
Your 1st level feat is Heavy Armor proficiency. Pick your theme and skills and you are done for 1st level.
I do highly recommend talking to the other players and get a feel for who is doing what outside of combat. Solarians can made decent captains (Diplomacy + Intimidate) and so-so gunners (don't need to invest in Piloting, just use BAB). However your bad Dex means you'll likely be a secondary gunner.
If you want better AC from the start, the following would also work
Str 16/Dex 12/Con 10/Int 10/Wis 10/Cha 14
There are also Blitz Soldier 1/Solarian X builds which trade in their Charisma and effectiveness of some powers like Supernova for Strength as their resolve stat and heavy armor proficiency for free. Something like Str 18/Dex 14/Con 10/Int 10/Wis 10/Cha 10. These builds tend to just whack things.
Lastly, I sometimes advocate for Solar Armor Solarians with a stat line of:
Str 14/Dex 14/Con 10/Int 10/Wis 10/Cha 14
By not taking Heavy armor at 1st, you can take Weapon Focus and have the same odds of hitting as the 2nd option at levels 1-2.
Thanks. I skimmed through most of your guide. I really like it and appreciate the input. Part of me contemplated trying to take one of the Dragon Glaives and I think that is part of what makes this difficult. I noticed the melee build you forgo Graviton for more photon stuff. Doesn't that hinder you trying to get your abilities going.
I'll note there's nothing preventing you from using a Dragonglaive with Solar Weapon and heavy armor. Just don't buy a Solarian Weapon Crystal and just buy the Glaive instead. The Solar Weapon only comes out when you're disarmed or have to go in "unarmed". If it makes you feel better, stylize your Solar weapon as "Dragon claws" and imagine its a more effective unarmed strike like the Vesk have.
As for the my melee build example, I mostly wanted to show that its not the end of the world to go unbalanced.
Keep in mind, Stellar revelation buffs turn off when you leave the corresponding mode and thus turn off after using a Zenith revelation. If you're focused on just whacking away in melee, using a Zenith power comes at the cost of actions later on to rebuff. For example, Corona takes a standard action to activate, and Plasma sheath takes a move action. They become more efficient in terms of action economy the longer you stay in Photon, so staying in Photon mode 3 turns instead of 2 may be desirable. You might even just want to stay in them longer than that if there's no good AoE position, or are already hasted (9th level and higher). Corona is probably not worth it if you need to spend a standard action every 3 turns to keep it up.
Certainly you can also go with a more balanced approach in terms of revelations on a melee build, more like what Hwalsh proposes or what the versatile build does for powers. Essentially you'll want Stellar Rush and Plasma Sheath both by 6th level for a typical melee build. 4th if you don't mind being unbalanced levels 4 and 5.
Well my Dragonkin was shot down. What are your thoughts on the skittermander? I think it could work though I am worried about losing skills. Also he will be a space pirate because he is fierce.
One fun thing I have been wanting to try is a Skittermander with Improved Grapple; they only have a net -2 to hug someone.
You could also make 'em an Armor Storm/Blitz Soldier and pick up Improved Bull Rush, and make no-penalty Bull Rushes with SKITTERMANDER PUNCH! added on by level 13.
Get Improved Trip or Disarm and use a whip.
Just go nuts with combat maneuvers that almost nobody else bothers with.