You are immune to the harmful environmental effects of outer space and vacuum. You also gain a fly speed of 20 feet while in space. In addition, whenever you can see the stars, you can determine your precise location. Finally, add Piloting to your list of class skills.
In a planetary context speeds are just that, speeds. But in space it seems like this should be an acceleration of 20' per move action. If so, given that we've established you can walk into orbit it should be possible for a Mystic star shaman who reached zero-g to begin accelerating (assume an aeon stone so you don't have to eat) towards various in system objects and reach them in a few days to weeks.
Acceleration at 20/ft per 6 seconds (walking pace) is 1.106 m/s. You can "walk" for 8 hours without tiring yourself, reaching a velocity at the end of the day of 29,260.8 m/s. You cruise at that speed while resting, and can increase your velocity an additional 29,260.8 m/s per day.
If you did just one day you'd reach a cruising speed that would let you coast to the sun in just under 60 days. But of course you'd accelerate every day until you were halfway there, and then decelerate the other half of the way, so your actual travel would be much faster.
Starfinder physics don't work that way.
You don't accelerate, mostly because the rules don't say you do. You fly at a speed of 20ft per action, that's it.
The ultimate answer is: You starve to death trying to traverse the vast distance of space or spend an incredibly boring amount of time to travel.
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Starfinder physics don't work that way.
You don't accelerate, mostly because the rules don't say you do. You fly at a speed of 20ft per action, that's it.
The ultimate answer is: You starve to death trying to traverse the vast distance of space or spend an incredibly boring amount of time to travel.
So make sure you bring snacks! :)
They said that they would bring a clear spindle aeon stone for food and water.
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I mean, real physics indicate that without an opposing force to push back against an object...if an object continues to exert force to move forward in space (i.e. an empty void), it'll keep accelerating until it runs out of energy...at which point it'll maintain that speed until it hits something.
The implication of the star shaman ability, however, is that they accelerate *up to* X number of feet, and that's it. You don't get faster or slower until pushed, or until you presumably use the same magic to exert a force in the opposite direction to "stop."
Starfinder physics don't work that way.
You don't accelerate, mostly because the rules don't say you do. You fly at a speed of 20ft per action, that's it.
20ft per action relative to what? What frame of reference are you using. What exactly is that battle map doing relative to all the other objects in the system? Is it relative to the spaceship you just left that is moving 10 km/s relative to a nearby planet, which in turn is moving at 30 km/s relative to the star its orbiting. Which is in turn orbiting the center of the galaxy.
You can't be moving only 20 feet per move action relative to all of them.
Starfinder physics don't work that way.
You don't accelerate, mostly because the rules don't say you do. You fly at a speed of 20ft per action, that's it.
20ft per action relative to what? What frame of reference are you using. What exactly is that battle map doing relative to all the other objects in the system? Is it relative to the spaceship you just left that is moving 10 km/s relative to a nearby planet, which in turn is moving at 30 km/s relative to the star its orbiting. Which is in turn orbiting the center of the galaxy.
You can't be moving only 20 feet per move action relative to all of them.
Yeah, Starfinder's rules are written around basic combat, and they naturally don't bother to explain all this stuff. But the clear implication of the Star Shaman ability (and other flight in zero g options) is that you increase your speed every round you take a move action. Just like you would in reality if you had an EVA pack that let you "fly" 20' over 6 seconds with each puff of air released. Walk the Void is that with infinite reaction mass.
A creature that moves in a given direction continues to move in that direction at the same speed at the beginning of its turn each round (without taking any action).
For what they were envisioning (pushing off things in zero-g combat) this works well enough, and it clearly matches real world physics being adapted to the game needs; it's a game speed converted into real world acceleration which becomes real world (constant) velocity in zero-g after applied as a single move action.
This particular application of Walk the Void is consistent with that, it just lies outside the game needs so it isn't explicitly covered. And of course the situations where you want to (or are capable of) precisely calculating how many rounds of Forcepack, Walk the Void, or Fly (3rd) you need to use to accelerate and decelerate to travel an arbitrary distance between your ship and the hulk, station, or asteroid you're assaulting don't call for detailed rules.
Walk the Void is the tactical version of the Pathfinder Starflight ability, which let creatures move between planets in days.
My wife plays a Star Shaman Mystic. I explained the main points of this thread. She gave me a strange look and said, 'Um... No.'
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there is support in PF cannon for the continues to accelerate argument; the Starflight ability(on elder things, and a few other creatures) there is also a starship in a PF module that canonically uses this method of propulsion via a bound Vrock's Telekinesis
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Pen & Paper Rule Nr. 1:
"NEVER EVER try to apply real world logic/physic to the game!"
My wife plays a Star Shaman Mystic. I explained the main points of this thread. She gave me a strange look and said, 'Um... No.'
"Excuse me, ma'am, are you a physicist?"
"No, but I did play a Star Shaman Mystic at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
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They said that they would bring a clear spindle aeon stone for food and water.Yeah, but that would be boring! Snacks could help break up the monotony! Who doesn't like snacks?!
SROs?
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They said that they would bring a clear spindle aeon stone for food and water.Yeah, but that would be boring! Snacks could help break up the monotony! Who doesn't like snacks?!
Snacks! Even if I don't need to eat, I'm still bringing snacks. Twinkies don't care how long you're in space.
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Well, this is an interesting question.
Alien Archive 1 doesn't have any creatures below "living starship" level that can really travel the void at any real speed. There's some creatures that may haunt the wrecks of starships, but they're basically marooned there. Not that they care, since they tend to be sad undead or (crazy) fey.
Alien Archive 2 introduces the Starflight universal monster ability:
The creature can fly through space at standard navigation and astrogation speeds (Core Rulebook 290) using Piloting to navigate. If it uses a skill other than Piloting for skill checks to astrogate, that skill is listed in parentheses.
Format: Other Abilities spaceflight (Mysticism).
Guidelines: Most creatures with spaceflight also have void adaptation (see page 154).
So, you really need a special ability to move at astronomical speeds.
With regards to Star Shamans and acceleration: that's not a "clear implication" at all, it's projecting real-world physics assumptions onto a sci-fantasy game. I've seen no evidence that acceleration as we know it in the real world exists in Starfinder; there are no rules about it being harder to make a turn if you ran/flew in a straight line last turn for example.
If I remember right a Star Shaman can only fly within a planetary system.
If only someone had quoted the rule so you didn’t have to post inaccurate recollections.
Well, this is an interesting question.
Alien Archive 1 doesn't have any creatures below "living starship" level that can really travel the void at any real speed. There's some creatures that may haunt the wrecks of starships, but they're basically marooned there. Not that they care, since they tend to be sad undead or (crazy) fey.
Alien Archive 2 introduces the Starflight universal monster ability:
The creature can fly through space at standard navigation and astrogation speeds (Core Rulebook 290) using Piloting to navigate. If it uses a skill other than Piloting for skill checks to astrogate, that skill is listed in parentheses.
Format: Other Abilities spaceflight (Mysticism).
Guidelines: Most creatures with spaceflight also have void adaptation (see page 154).So, you really need a special ability to move at astronomical speeds.
With regards to Star Shamans and acceleration: that's not a "clear implication" at all, it's projecting real-world physics assumptions onto a sci-fantasy game. I've seen no evidence that acceleration as we know it in the real world exists in Starfinder; there are no rules about it being harder to make a turn if you ran/flew in a straight line last turn for example.
I’m not writing this from a perspective of trying to convince a GM that he should allows it in his particular game, but on the assumption that Starfinder is a “real” world that the game rules imperfectly model for gaming purposes. (The starship rules are clearly written in this abstract way to avoid having to deal with acceleration and explicitly endorsing dumb Star Wats style ship physics.)
Under that assumption this is how a fly speed that functions in space works. If you’re unable to accept or understand that assumption then this discussion has little to offer you.
My wife plays a Star Shaman Mystic. I explained the main points of this thread. She gave me a strange look and said, 'Um... No.'"Excuse me, ma'am, are you a physicist?"
"No, but I did play a Star Shaman Mystic at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
Do we need to be a physicist to play a game?
This is obviously not the intent of the game rule.
If you want to use a level 1 free ability to travel from one planet to another without using a starship, go for it.
In your own games.
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Given the zero-G movement rule, as noted above, and quoted again here:
A creature that moves in a given direction continues to move in that direction at the same speed at the beginning of its turn each round (without taking any action);
How do people run tactical zero-G combat?
The way I interpret that rule is at the beginning of your turn, you move the a number of squares you moved in total last turn, measured from where you started. And then you get to take your actions. Which might increase or decrease the net number of squares covered that turn.
I mean, when doing zero-G combat, I highly recommend markers for your last turn's position so you can plot out the free movement each round, as if people are making turns it is going to get complicated.
If I use a move action on round 1 to move in direction X for 30 feet (say I've got a jet pack), on round 2 I automatically move 30 feet in direction X (without taking any action) at the beginning of my turn. That I think everyone will agree with.
So what happens if I double move, and move 60 feet in direction X on round 1? Do I move 60 feet on round 2? Or do I only move 30 feet, because that is my single move action fly speed?
What if I run, as fly doesn't prohibit running, and move 120 feet on round 1? Do I automatically move 120 feet in direction X at the beginning of round 2 with no need to take the run action?
Now here's the really big question. What happens if I spread move actions over multiple turns?
Say I moved 30 feet in direction X on round 1, and then move 30 feet automatically at the beginning of round 2. What happens when I use a move action on round 2 to move in that same direction? Do I still only move 30 feet with my move action wasted, or do I move 60 feet in total? In the later case I covered 60 feet worth of squares in round two, so presumably I'm now moving 60 feet for free on round 3.
I argue the zero-G rules are in fact vector based because of that line on page 402.
My wife plays a Star Shaman Mystic. I explained the main points of this thread. She gave me a strange look and said, 'Um... No.'"Excuse me, ma'am, are you a physicist?"
"No, but I did play a Star Shaman Mystic at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
Do we need to be a physicist to play a game?
This is obviously not the intent of the game rule.
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You need some knowledge of physics to understand arguments about physics.
And of course it’s not the intent of the game to cover situations it’s authors didn’t consider and may not understand. But ones desire for what reality be has nothing to do with what it is.
That would be WAY more extrapolation than paizo normally intends.
Its far more likely that once you have already taken an action that maximizes your movement (in this case, run) that spending more actions to run again would only move you 120 feet again and no further. Once you're up to speed you can full attack , or draw a weapon and shoot or what have you
That would be WAY more extrapolation than paizo normally intends.
Its far more likely that once you have already taken an action that maximizes your movement (in this case, run) that spending more actions to run again would only move you 120 feet again and no further. Once you're up to speed you can full attack , or draw a weapon and shoot or what have you
Just to clarify, would you let multiple move actions speed you up to run speed, or would you require an actual run action to get to 120 feet for free?
I'd be also interested in how you (or anyone else interested) would handle the following scenario:
Party is on a transport shuttle in zero-G traveling between a station and a starship parked in orbit nearby. The GM has ruled its about a 2 minute trip, and they are separated by 1 mile, and thus the shuttle is moving at 240 feet per round to its destination.
Unfortunately, bad guys are on board, so after the shuttle leaves the station, they immediately open the loading bay door on the back of the shuttle, and bull rush one of our PCs 10 feet out the back and into space.
Fortunately, the PC has a jetpack. The shuttle's turn comes up before the PC however. No one is at the helm (they came back to the fight), and so the shuttle continues on according to the moving in the same direction as last turn rule.
What happens if the PC tries to fly back to the shuttle?
At the beginning of the PC's turn, after free zero-G movement, is he 20 feet from the shuttle (bullrush + zero-G free movement in same direction) or 260 feet from the shuttle? Is it possible for him to catch back up to the shuttle?
In other words, is he still on the shuttle flip map rather than on the flip map between the station and the starship.
What happens if he throws the GM a curve ball and decides to turn around and fly back to the station to get help?
He takes a move action to fly 30 feet towards the station while using his standard to take a ranged attack at the bad guy standing by the loading bay door. Is he now moving at 30 feet per round towards the station? Or is he moving 200 feet per round away from the station (i.e. -240+10+30=-200)? Does he instantly slow down relative to the station to only 90 feet per round from the station because that is his run speed, less 30 feet for the move action?
I know how I would run it, but I'm curious how other people would handle it.
The way I see Starfinder's physics regarding space travel is that it follows more of the Anime physics of constant velocity requires constant thrust. Not the Newtonian physics or Einsteinian physics of our own reality.
That is why a starship always has a movement speed of X hex grid spaces even when they are moving in a straight line every turn.
For an in-game rationale of why it works that way, I use a modification of the Ether (an old philosopher's hypothesis of why light could travel through vacuum):
Since the Etherial plane bounds the Material plane, it causes an Etherial field. This field will have a localized velocity equal to any mass in motion near it. The range of the velocity is proportional to the mass of the object in motion. Starship engines and Mystic Void Walking abilities 'push' against the Etherial field and that can cause a relative change in speed.
So in close proximity to a fast moving starship, a Star Shaman could Void Walk at the starship's speed +/- 20 ft (which works great for a combat encounter on the outside surface of the starship). In open space, the Star Shaman could move at a fixed 20 ft. Near a planet the ability does not work because the gravitational pull is too great.
Just to clarify, would you let multiple move actions speed you up to run speed, or would you require an actual run action to get to 120 feet for free?
Require an actual run. 1 move could get you up to move speed, 2 moves up to double speed , full round to run to get up to run speed and they don't stack. i think thats the sanest way to handle it.
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You need some knowledge of physics to understand arguments about physics.
I think this is where our communication is breaking down. I am not trying to argue physics. I am trying to debate the rules of the game.
From a physics standpoint:
If a starship is going to be flying in a serpentine path using the main thrusters pointed off the aft, then it must be rotating around its axis rather dramatically in order to do so. So if the pilot can change the ships heading that quickly under normal flying circumstances, why must the ship always end its movement pointing its nose in the direction it most recently travelled in? Why couldn't I change the ships heading to any arbitrary direction at any time?
Also, why is space represented in a 2-d field. Why do we not have a top and bottom arc for weapons, shields, and movement directions?
Trying to make Starfinder follow the rules of physics doesn't work so well. Physics is too complicated for a tabletop game. It wouldn't be fun any more.
Just to clarify, would you let multiple move actions speed you up to run speed, or would you require an actual run action to get to 120 feet for free?Require an actual run. 1 move could get you up to move speed, 2 moves up to double speed , full round to run to get up to run speed and they don't stack. i think thats the sanest way to handle it.
Fair enough. Its certainly one way to simplify the situation down to something that runs quickly in game. There's a number of corner cases that come to my mind, but I've probably asked for enough clarifications of you in this forum thread. Thanks.
I'm thinking how zero-G movement works is probably worth a FAQ request thread, given its a fundamental rules question that will apply to everyone in a zero-G environment, as opposed to say, a particular class ability interaction which affects a much smaller subset of the player base.
Given whats written in the rules on page 402, its clearly possible to interpret developer intent in different ways.
Anyone know if there are SFS scenarios yet that include zero-G combat and seen someone from Paizo run it?
Having played vector based table top games, I have experience doing so with a positional markers in addition to the main miniatures, and its fairly intuitive when you see it in action. I would have no problems running an SFS scenario that way, bringing along the necessary markers myself as GM, for example.
Even with your method, its a nice way to remember what the last move action was visually on the table (especially if its not an exact diagonal, vertical or horizontal), and a way to get a feel for where you're going to be at the beginning of the next turn.
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The only zero-G scene in Starfinder written in canon that I'm aware of is in book 1 of Dead Suns. It takes place inside an asteroid, with no rooms bigger than about 60ft across. It's not big enough to say anything conclusive about cumulative velocity due to acceleration over multiple rounds, because you'll hit a wall every other round anyway. I think the most useful lesson from it is: the frame of reference is the grid map. Asteroids come and go, but when you're using a speed measured in tens of feet, you're acting on a gridmap scale.
The rules on page 402 are telling in their vagueness. They spend most of their word count on how to handle bumping into objects and catching handholds. They're written more for zero-G combat inside a spaceship or asteroid without artificial gravity, than for actual "void" activity. Once you leave the safety of enclosed spaces, you run into questions such as:
* You can accelerate up to your speed, but can you accelerate to more than that?
* What happens if you move in an orthagonal direction?
* How do you plot a course from one moving celestial body to another?
* How do you brake with shamanic flight into pseudo-Newtonian acceleration?
* How does deceleration work, how do you not overshoot or miss your faraway destination entirely? Are course corrections even possible?
* Is there an upper limit to how much shamanic spaceflight (or other supernatural flight) can accelerate? Is it FTL-capable?
* How does a shaman moving at FTL speeds perceive the universe in order to navigate? (Can you "see the stars" properly? And even if you know where you are, do you know where everything else is going to be when you've flow for a couple of hours?)
* What happens when a shaman moving at FTL speeds collides with a micrometeor? Or a space station?
* How much of real-world physics holds up given that our grid system is already non-Euclidean geometry when computing diagonal distances?
The rules answer none of those questions. There's just not enough detail there. Any "implications" or "extrapolations" are house rules. And that's fine, pick any house rules you like to have an enjoyable home game.
If it becomes an issue for Starfinder Society, the answer is going to be "that's way too complicated, contentious and vague to standardize across Organized Play, so no you can't do that".
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OK, this wouldn't matter for SFS play or with a GM who prefers not to think about it.
Imagine that there's a hard limit of 20' per move, 80' per run action. You're in geostationary orbit. You take a 20' move relative to Earth and all is well, nothing much else happens. Then the next round you take a 20' move relative to the Moon overhead. The Moon of course is moving really fast relative to the Earth, about twenty thousand feet per round. This means you move 20' relative to the Moon and about 20000' relative to the Earth. Is this necessarily simpler than acceleration or some sort interplanetary flight speed?
OK, this wouldn't matter for SFS play or with a GM who prefers not to think about it.
Imagine that there's a hard limit of 20' per move, 80' per run action. You're in geostationary orbit. You take a 20' move relative to Earth and all is well, nothing much else happens. Then the next round you take a 20' move relative to the Moon overhead. The Moon of course is moving really fast relative to the Earth, about twenty thousand feet per round. This means you move 20' relative to the Moon and about 20000' relative to the Earth. Is this necessarily simpler than acceleration or some sort interplanetary flight speed?
Yes. Because the battlemat on my table (which is what the game is written for) is only relevant to the ship/asteroid.
I'm pretty sure the Zero-G rules say something to the effect of "once you get going, you don't typically stop."
EDIT:
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OMG.
Just had a great (very rough) idea for a campaign seed -
Android Star Shaman arrives at X. He's carrying a RING OF SUSTENANCE and thus was sustained physically.
He's been born and reborn multiple times on a journey of indeterminate length. He no longer knows why he was sent or where he was going. He doesn't know if he was supposed to arrive at X or not.
He carries a message with him - a claw of some indeterminate, but perhaps... insectile? creature? (or something else).
OMG.
Just had a great (very rough) idea for a campaign seed -
Android Star Shaman arrives at X. He's carrying a RING OF SUSTENANCE and thus was sustained physically.
He's been born and reborn multiple times on a journey of indeterminate length. He no longer knows why he was sent or where he was going. He doesn't know if he was supposed to arrive at X or not.
He carries a message with him - a claw of some indeterminate, but perhaps... insectile? creature? (or something else).
According to wikipedia, 1 g (9.8m/s^2) acceleration can take you across the diameter of the galaxy in 113,000 years, but the traveler will only experience 12 years. The Star Shaman only accelerates at about 1/9 that rate, but I don't think it's a linear relation if you change the acceleration. In any case, I don't think any reasonable intragalaxy travel would require many android rebirths (maybe 0-1), so maybe make him an intergalactic traveler who is a nonstandard android.
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According to wikipedia, 1 g (9.8m/s^2) acceleration can take you across the diameter of the galaxy in 113,000 years, but the traveler will only experience 12 years. The Star Shaman only accelerates at about 1/9 that rate, but I don't think it's a linear relation if you change the acceleration. In any case, I don't think any reasonable intragalaxy travel would require many android rebirths (maybe 0-1), so maybe make him an intergalactic traveler who is a nonstandard android.OMG.
Just had a great (very rough) idea for a campaign seed -
Android Star Shaman arrives at X. He's carrying a RING OF SUSTENANCE and thus was sustained physically.
He's been born and reborn multiple times on a journey of indeterminate length. He no longer knows why he was sent or where he was going. He doesn't know if he was supposed to arrive at X or not.
He carries a message with him - a claw of some indeterminate, but perhaps... insectile? creature? (or something else).
hmm... he might just have a case of SPACE MADNESS?
Correction, 1/27 that rate - approximately 1/9, but only 8 hours a day if you're following the walking rules. You can add a bit of hustling and/or walking longer than 8 hours, but that doesn't adjust it that much.
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Correction, 1/27 that rate - approximately 1/9, but only 8 hours a day if you're following the walking rules. You can add a bit of hustling and/or walking longer than 8 hours, but that doesn't adjust it that much.
that's why i was thinking the ring of sustenance - you don't have to eat, and you only need to sleep for 2 hours of every 24.
then again, being in space, there'd be no sense of day/night/time. people might (if affected by SPACE MADNESS) stay awake for YEARS...
Well, this is an interesting question.
Alien Archive 1 doesn't have any creatures below "living starship" level that can really travel the void at any real speed. There's some creatures that may haunt the wrecks of starships, but they're basically marooned there. Not that they care, since they tend to be sad undead or (crazy) fey.
Alien Archive 2 introduces the Starflight universal monster ability:
The creature can fly through space at standard navigation and astrogation speeds (Core Rulebook 290) using Piloting to navigate. If it uses a skill other than Piloting for skill checks to astrogate, that skill is listed in parentheses.
Format: Other Abilities spaceflight (Mysticism).
Guidelines: Most creatures with spaceflight also have void adaptation (see page 154).So, you really need a special ability to move at astronomical speeds.
With regards to Star Shamans and acceleration: that's not a "clear implication" at all, it's projecting real-world physics assumptions onto a sci-fantasy game. I've seen no evidence that acceleration as we know it in the real world exists in Starfinder; there are no rules about it being harder to make a turn if you ran/flew in a straight line last turn for example.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was saying.
The Star Shaman ability doesn't say you continue you to accelerate, so you don't. You move 20ft per move action. Relative to...something, because it's never stated. Personally I'd go with your previous physical location because it's the only one that doesn't have weird complications.
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Well, this is an interesting question.
Alien Archive 1 doesn't have any creatures below "living starship" level that can really travel the void at any real speed. There's some creatures that may haunt the wrecks of starships, but they're basically marooned there. Not that they care, since they tend to be sad undead or (crazy) fey.
Alien Archive 2 introduces the Starflight universal monster ability:
The creature can fly through space at standard navigation and astrogation speeds (Core Rulebook 290) using Piloting to navigate. If it uses a skill other than Piloting for skill checks to astrogate, that skill is listed in parentheses.
Format: Other Abilities spaceflight (Mysticism).
Guidelines: Most creatures with spaceflight also have void adaptation (see page 154).So, you really need a special ability to move at astronomical speeds.
With regards to Star Shamans and acceleration: that's not a "clear implication" at all, it's projecting real-world physics assumptions onto a sci-fantasy game. I've seen no evidence that acceleration as we know it in the real world exists in Starfinder; there are no rules about it being harder to make a turn if you ran/flew in a straight line last turn for example.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was saying.
The Star Shaman ability doesn't say you continue you to accelerate, so you don't. You move 20ft per move action. Relative to...something, because it's never stated. Personally I'd go with your previous physical location because it's the only one that doesn't have weird complications.
yup. that would get real awkward, real quick.
Well, this is an interesting question.
Alien Archive 1 doesn't have any creatures below "living starship" level that can really travel the void at any real speed. There's some creatures that may haunt the wrecks of starships, but they're basically marooned there. Not that they care, since they tend to be sad undead or (crazy) fey.
Alien Archive 2 introduces the Starflight universal monster ability:
The creature can fly through space at standard navigation and astrogation speeds (Core Rulebook 290) using Piloting to navigate. If it uses a skill other than Piloting for skill checks to astrogate, that skill is listed in parentheses.
Format: Other Abilities spaceflight (Mysticism).
Guidelines: Most creatures with spaceflight also have void adaptation (see page 154).So, you really need a special ability to move at astronomical speeds.
With regards to Star Shamans and acceleration: that's not a "clear implication" at all, it's projecting real-world physics assumptions onto a sci-fantasy game. I've seen no evidence that acceleration as we know it in the real world exists in Starfinder; there are no rules about it being harder to make a turn if you ran/flew in a straight line last turn for example.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was saying.
The Star Shaman ability doesn't say you continue you to accelerate, so you don't. You move 20ft per move action. Relative to...something, because it's never stated. Personally I'd go with your previous physical location because it's the only one that doesn't have weird complications.
In zero g if you move 20' per move action, relative to your previous physical location you are accelerating. Because your previous physical location is moving at your previous speed.
Let's say you an only move in two directions, Left or Right along a line. If you move 20' right, you are forever moving 20' to the right until you hit something or take a new move action. In my interpretation, every time you move 20' to the right you move 20' further to the right, which means you're building speed. If your second move is 20' to the left, you cancel out your velocity and are at rest relative to your original starting point.
You appear to want it so that if you move 20' to the right you forever move in that direction, but can never take an additional move action in that direction, because...reasons. And if you take a move action to the left, not only do you cancel out your free rightward movement, but you move 20' to the left.
This is what the rules seem to contemplate, but that's because they were written with regard to shoving off stuff in close quarters in space stations, ships, and Drift Rocks, not flying in open space.
Let me respond in this fasion:
Starfinder isn't a simulation of the real world. It doesn't operate on the same physics our universe does. You move 20' because you spent a move action. No "acceleration" happens because if you don't spend a move action you just continue to move at 20' in that same direction (per Zero G rules). But your speed doesn't build up, because physics doesn't apply.
Moving 20' two turns in a row means you only move 40' from your original position, not more.
Let me respond in this fasion:
Starfinder isn't a simulation of the real world. It doesn't operate on the same physics our universe does. You move 20' because you spent a move action. No "acceleration" happens because if you don't spend a move action you just continue to move at 20' in that same direction (per Zero G rules). But your speed doesn't build up, because physics doesn't apply.
Moving 20' two turns in a row means you only move 40' from your original position, not more.
Moving 20' a single turn also means you move 40' from your original position in two rounds. So some force prevents you from effectively using as second move action in that direction with a second move action, but not others?
Starfinder is a limited simulation that provides rules for limited situations. This thread is about adapting those limited rules to situations they have not yet contemplated, and noting where their simulation breaks down.
Imagine, if you will, an Android alone in the void. They want to move, but need a Grid with which to move in. There is nothing else here, so the Grid is made with respect to where they are at the moment. They move, maybe they remember the point they used to set their Grid for the rest of their life, maybe they don't. At some point, because space is boring, they renew.
A new soul awakens surrounded by nothing. Are they moving? They can't tell. But they want to. So they set a Grid based on the only thing around (i.e. themselves) and set off. But the point they used might not have been stationary. It might have been moving with the same velocity this android's precursor was. The new soul can't tell, and can move however they want with respect to that point, because the Grid is based on that point, and they can move with set speed throughout the Grid.
Centuries later, that body encounters someone. That someone has their own Grid that they move in. They don't see anything exceptional, to them the android moves at the speed relative to the Grid that their mode of locomotion always does. 20' in a round is always 20' in a round. So what gives, to allow two different Grids to show the exact same speed? Well, the shape and tick speed of the Grid itself. The squares are smaller, so there's less distance, and it also takes more time to get there.
But wouldn't this let our intrepid Android determine if they are moving, allowing some inference into the centuries past that the Gods themselves have decided to leave unknown? No, because there Grid is completely normal. It's the passerby that has a broken watch and ruler.
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The actual rules I quoted seem to indicate that speed is maintained in zero-g unless an outside force acts upon the object/creature in question.
Count me in for saying that you can continue accelerating round after round.
In any case, it is of limited use, doesn't break the game, and better simulates what we know of reality more accurately, so I don't see the big deal in following this interpretation. It's all ultimately academic.
hmm... he might just have a case of SPACE MADNESS?According to wikipedia, 1 g (9.8m/s^2) acceleration can take you across the diameter of the galaxy in 113,000 years, but the traveler will only experience 12 years. The Star Shaman only accelerates at about 1/9 that rate, but I don't think it's a linear relation if you change the acceleration. In any case, I don't think any reasonable intragalaxy travel would require many android rebirths (maybe 0-1), so maybe make him an intergalactic traveler who is a nonstandard android.OMG.
Just had a great (very rough) idea for a campaign seed -
Android Star Shaman arrives at X. He's carrying a RING OF SUSTENANCE and thus was sustained physically.
He's been born and reborn multiple times on a journey of indeterminate length. He no longer knows why he was sent or where he was going. He doesn't know if he was supposed to arrive at X or not.
He carries a message with him - a claw of some indeterminate, but perhaps... insectile? creature? (or something else).
Or maybe he (she/ze) got lost. If you're accelerating up to some noticeable fraction of c then you have to deal with blue shifting making your destination star possibly invisible, the apparent length changes distorting constellations and the fact that distant stars really do look a lot alike to the naked eye. Once they slow down and find themselves at the wrong star they'd likely have difficulty guessing where to go from there, and of course they'd have lost the speed they had spent so long packing on earlier.
Or maybe he (she/ze) got lost. If you're accelerating up to some noticeable fraction of c then you have to deal with blue shifting making your destination star possibly invisible, the apparent length changes distorting constellations and the fact that distant stars really do look a lot alike to the naked eye. Once they slow down and find themselves at the wrong star they'd likely have difficulty guessing where to go from there, and of course they'd have lost the speed they had spent so long packing on earlier.
Except
You are immune to the harmful environmental effects of outer space and vacuum. You also gain a fly speed of 20 feet while in space. In addition, whenever you can see the stars, you can determine your precise location. Finally, add Piloting to your list of class skills.
Star Shamans can never be lost unless they're inside, the sun is washing out the stars, or it's overcast or some other environmental condition (underwater, smoke, etc.) prevents them from seeing the sky.
Ah right, never mind that thought then.
Star shamans can't get lost while in space
Let me respond in this fasion:
Starfinder isn't a simulation of the real world. It doesn't operate on the same physics our universe does. You move 20' because you spent a move action. No "acceleration" happens because if you don't spend a move action you just continue to move at 20' in that same direction (per Zero G rules). But your speed doesn't build up, because physics doesn't apply.
Moving 20' two turns in a row means you only move 40' from your original position, not more.
Moving 20' a single turn also means you move 40' from your original position in two rounds. So some force prevents you from effectively using as second move action in that direction with a second move action, but not others?
Starfinder is a limited simulation that provides rules for limited situations. This thread is about adapting those limited rules to situations they have not yet contemplated, and noting where their simulation breaks down.
No, effectively you could take your 20ft fly speed when in space to run (because as far as I know there isn't anything that would prevent it) at up 80ft per round. I'm not sure Zero G rules really apply, so you might actually just stop after your movement since your using your space flight speed.