Quidest: I have seen that, but while it addresses the first level problem well, I don't think it addresses higher level characters. If I am starting a character at level 8, it doesn't make sense for all my forms to have a limit equal to my level 8 WBL based investment. I assume you would still have to choose forms that match Item Levels similar to what you would get if playing from level 1, but the values still wouldn't make sense.
That's why it's a playtest. According to the clarification, you can invest as much of your starting wealth into your gear array as you want. Whether that makes sense or not.
The current Gear Array rules do not work well for Society (and I believe they do not really work well at all, but that's beside the point).
I made a spreadsheet do describe my level-up progression for my level 4 playtest character, and identified what my investment would be for each level to the best of my ability.
Since we get a 3rd level armor or weapon and a 4th level armor or weapon for a level 4 character, and we can get CRB items at level+1, I ruled that I got the level 3 weapon at 2nd level, and invested it to buy a 3rd level disintigrator lash as my 3rd level investment (there's no way I could have afforded a level 4 weapon with what I could buy at 2nd level).
The level limits on purchases affect the level of your investment more than the credits (since with 4,000 bonus credits for a level 4 playtest character, I could buy a higher level item, had there been no level+1 limit).
This site shows the starting credits for each level increment, 1, 4, and 8, why not use the same "starting" clarification but with these credits?
https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6shbj
Those numbers are not representative of the amounts that could be invested as a character levels up. We don't just create characters at 4th or 8th level without "virtually" leveling them up. Like, you can't take Enhanced Resistance as your 1st level feat even if your character sprung into being at 8th level, because it has prerequisites you wouldn't qualify for at 1st level. Same thing with investments; you can't just dump 6,000 credits to be your starting investment, because it's built (and theoretically balanced) around incremental level up increases.
In other words, your "starting wealth" is 1000 credits. Anything else is simulation of a career.
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Honestly what would be useful for SFS (and maybe just general higher-starting-level guidelines) would be a chart of "When picking forms at level X, assume your Investment is Y".
I kinda want that for the regular class. All this eating guns in the wild is bizarre and too much paperwork.
Starfinder Lead Designer
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Honestly what would be useful for SFS (and maybe just general higher-starting-level guidelines) would be a chart of "When picking forms at level X, assume your Investment is Y".
Here ya go—thanks for bringing this up.
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To me, SFS makes the Nanocyte really weird - is there anything preventing an SFS Nanocyte from grinding up the first high level ewapon they find during a scenario, and using that to add to their gear array? Like, for instance, a level 3 character playing high tier in a 3-6 scenario, and coming across a level 7-ish weapon? Does there need to be a correlation between the weapon ground into UPBs, and the item being used as a form?
To me, SFS makes the Nanocyte really weird - is there anything preventing an SFS Nanocyte from grinding up the first high level ewapon they find during a scenario, and using that to add to their gear array? Like, for instance, a level 3 character playing high tier in a 3-6 scenario, and coming across a level 7-ish weapon? Does there need to be a correlation between the weapon ground into UPBs, and the item being used as a form?
Yes.
First, there's no way we'll end up being able to keep stuff we absorbed into our gear array that we didn't actually buy with our SFS credits.
Second, you can't even choose forms until you level up (and sometimes not even then), so absorbing something during a scenario is essentially meaningless.
Third, and I missed this at first, too, you can only absorb a weapon at your level+1, so you can't much that level 7, anyway.
Fourth, there is no correlation between devouring an item and using it as a form. It's entirely independent; the only thing you take from absorbing is the price tag.