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I started gaming with Star Frontiers and science fiction gaming has always been my true gaming love despite most of the time being spent – unsurprisingly – on fantasy. The fantasy genre has done much over the decades to close the gap to where the affection gap between them is pretty narrow but sci-fi still wins out. However, science fiction and fantasy have always been “two great tastes” that didn’t really taste great together for me. For every Star Wars (and there are few), there are dozens of examples of poorly mashing the genres together. Planetary romance and pulp managed it before Star Wars was a thing but the only thing close to Star Wars that did it successfully IMO was Farscape.
So going into the announcement of Starfinder, I was intrigued but not thrilled. From a Paizo perspective, it made perfect sense – it gave the company the opportunity to satisfy Lisa’s love of Star Wars with Paizo intellectual property and no licensing headaches and also could satisfy Erik’s love of planetary romance/pulp as well as fully realize the science fantasy seeds planted in the PF1 era Golarion system.
I picked up Starfinder and while I was impressed with some elements, others on first glance didn’t quite satisfy my physics-degree based-desire to keep magic out of my science fiction. I’d found Savage Worlds years before and it provides the science-fiction toolbox I was looking for. (BTW, Pinnacle has a kickstarter for the Irongate expansion for their highly recommended Last Parsec setting underway right now).
Specifically, I wasn’t crazy about NPCs operating by different rules, the gear progression system, and what appeared to be the restrictive nature of the base classes. I was running multiple Pathfinder campaigns and struggling to find regular times to run those and still had my intermittent Last Parsec campaign so there was little incentive to add Starfinder to the mix of games I’d run.
But a month ago my eldest son said he wanted to purchase Starfinder with an eye towards running it. For the first time in many years, I would get to be a player rather than a GM, so I threw my Starfinder reservations aside and eagerly dove into Starfinder.
It iS GLORIOUS!!
Yes, it’s more Farscape and Guardians of the Galaxy than Aliens, Dark Matter, The Expanse, or Firefly (but it can do these also). Yes, it has a specific tone/feel just like Pathfinder is for fantasy so it can’t be molded to suit any style of science fiction. Also, yes – it’s a blast to play!
My love of Savage Worlds and free-form/magic-free science fiction caused me to forget a lesson I learned when introducing my kids and their friends to Pathfinder. For most new players, class-based games provide structure that facilitates learning the game vs. being so overwhelmed by possibilities that a player doesn’t know where to start. The same goes for the gear list and while, yes it is a concession to game balance & structure, it’s not as intrusive or problematic as my casual initial Starfinder read-through appeared. And at the end of the day, it’s a game and not a physics simulator which is true of every RPG I’ve played in the past 35 years.
Once my preconceptions and biases were thrown aside, I’ve quickly grown to appreciate the design of this game. We are 4-5 sessions into the campaign and it’s fantastic. Some of my favorite SF facets:
1. Every class is broader than I originally believed. For example an operative, envoy, and even a soldier can be a skilled engineer, not just the Mechanic.
2. Every class is distinct but can contribute to similar roles via different means. The SF classes are very flexible. Themes allow for further differentiation out of the gate. Having multiple characters of the same class in a party isn’t detrimental.
3. Stamina Points + the removal of non-lethal damage provides a smooth cinematic experience without the limitations of Ultimate Combats Wounds+Vitality system. I like it so much I wish it would be in PF2. I understand why it won’t be, but I want it all the same.
4. Starship combat is excellent! It brought back Knight Hawks nostalgia but without the rough edges. If Knight Hawks was a classic car, Starfinder is the refined, high tech model of modern engineering.
5. Ability advancement is vastly superior to PF1. It’s easier to make well-rounded characters instead of having to hyper-specialize.
6. The broader magical classes that are differentiated by themes/sources/story is superior to PF1’s specialized spellcasting classes. I like that Priest is a theme rather than hard-wired into a class. The removal of arcane/divine makes magic seem more like a universal mystical force that can be interpreted multiple ways. In this respect, magic in SF seems more mystical than magic in PF, which is so categorized & defined that it seems more scientific in comparison.
7. Bulk is much more manageable than PF1’s encumbrance system. It has its own quirks but I like the system overall.
I’m still early into the system and have much to learn. While SF may not provide the pure science fiction of say The Expanse or the new Lost in Space out of the box, it does provide an exciting system and setting for science fantasy. As most players and GMs (and Hollywood directors) are perfectly happy moving “at the speed of plot”, the SFCRB provides a new-player-friendly toolkit for expanding beyond FRPGs. It builds off of PF1, the PF Beginner Box, and current media influences and refines the whole into a fun, yet familiar, science fantasy RPG.
Kudos, Paizo! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to prep my ship. We’re heading into the Drift!
I agree, Starfinder is pretty awesome. I've tried other sci-fi games, but none of them hooked me like Starfinder does. My group hasn't played Pathfinder since the release of Starfinder, but we plan to participate in the 2e playtest and begin a new campaign when 2e officially launches. My group has already tossed around ideas on how to make time for both, whether it's bouncing back and forth every week, or alternating as we finish campaigns. It's a good problem to have, I suppose. For now we'll finish my level 1 to 20 homebrew Starfinder campaign and then start Against the Aeon Throne. After that, we'll see which 'finder' we're on.
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You should also post this as a review in the CRB page: http://paizo.com/products/btpy9qy1
I have yet to gamemaster or play a Starfinder campaign long term (although I can find players right here online multiple times). So I am unable to give it my own review.
However, it's Science Fantasy and not pure Science Fiction. So I like your review stating that.
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Yes! This resonates with so many things I enjoy about Starfinder. I've just started a game and am just scratching the surface.
First fell in the love with the system while playing with (some) people who hated it, and a GM who dumped on the system for his own unrelated failings. Even then I could see the potential and knew I wanted more. Now seven months and nearly thirty sessions into my own campaign, and I've never looked back. For most of the reasons of you've stated.
There are a few little things I'd like to punch up. There are some class abilities that tend to put people on rails of least mechanical resistance and maybe something could be done about that. The Envoy needs a broader selection of abilities. That stuff will come, though. Bottom line, it's the first system ever to persuade me to get a sci-fi / sci-fantasy game off the ground and really commit to it. Huge fun.
You should also post this as a review in the CRB page: http://paizo.com/products/btpy9qy1
Thanks!
...also...Done!
