so as the title suggests im new to the starfinder system. I've DM'd in the past "mostly 3.5 dnd" and really have no problem thinking on the fly to adjust to what players do "or don't do". That being said i started looking at Starfinder and thought it would be a great change of pace " just ended a two+ year 3.5 game as a player" due to a different setting and it being more how should i say, High Sci-Fi than High fantasy. so basically all im looking for here is advice on simple does and don'ts when it comes to this system or game. what should i be on the look out for? are there character builds i should ask my players to try and not do "aka a punpun if you know what that is and have faced it im sorry."
side note: i ran them in the beginners box and it was fun but i quickly noticed some differences in game mechanics between the box and the actual game. i have gone over that with the players and my self.
i plan to run them in Junkers delight adventure path. as it seem like a great place to start them.
any advice is very much appreciated and thank you for your time.
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1) learn the new action economy. it's much simpler, but the terminology is very similar to 3.5/pathfinder and the differences can be confusing
2) there's no real way to pun pun, and you don't "need" any particular class in a party
3) healing only heals HP, not SP. you can only restore SP is w/ a 10 minute rest (and using an RP) or an envoy
4) The operative's trick attack is VERY CONFUSING. Essentially, they can as a full action, move their speed (so walk, not run) and do their trick attack. They can't guarded step and trick attack (which is what players want to do). Similarly, the drone rules can be confusing.
5) it's a pretty forgiving system. You'll do great. Welcome!
1) learn the new action economy. it's much simpler, but the terminology is very similar to 3.5/pathfinder and the differences can be confusing
2) there's no real way to pun pun, and you don't "need" any particular class in a party
3) healing only heals HP, not SP. you can only restore SP is w/ a 10 minute rest (and using an RP) or an envoy
4) The operative's trick attack is VERY CONFUSING. Essentially, they can as a full action, move their speed (so walk, not run) and do their trick attack. They can't guarded step and trick attack (which is what players want to do). Similarly, the drone rules can be confusing.
5) it's a pretty forgiving system. You'll do great. Welcome!
That's some good advice thanks. Yeah normally it's the little things that sneak by like that's guarded step+trick would probably slipped past me as I see it as move action so yeah. Thanks for that one.
Is there anything I should be aware of not to do as the DM as the loot system in this one is a bit different so I don't want to end up giving to little or to much loot. "I tend to be a generous loot goblin" like I get I should be careful not to hand say a level 10 weapon to a group of level 5s because they somehow took out something they should have ran from. But overall what's a good line I. That one here. In terms of gear like 1-3 levels ahead of the party range.
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1) learn the new action economy. it's much simpler, but the terminology is very similar to 3.5/pathfinder and the differences can be confusing
2) there's no real way to pun pun, and you don't "need" any particular class in a party
3) healing only heals HP, not SP. you can only restore SP is w/ a 10 minute rest (and using an RP) or an envoy
4) The operative's trick attack is VERY CONFUSING. Essentially, they can as a full action, move their speed (so walk, not run) and do their trick attack. They can't guarded step and trick attack (which is what players want to do). Similarly, the drone rules can be confusing.
5) it's a pretty forgiving system. You'll do great. Welcome!
That's some good advice thanks. Yeah normally it's the little things that sneak by like that's guarded step+trick would probably slipped past me as I see it as move action so yeah. Thanks for that one.
Is there anything I should be aware of not to do as the DM as the loot system in this one is a bit different so I don't want to end up giving to little or to much loot. "I tend to be a generous loot goblin" like I get I should be careful not to hand say a level 10 weapon to a group of level 5s because they somehow took out something they should have ran from. But overall what's a good line I. That one here. In terms of gear like 1-3 levels ahead of the party range.
Personally, I tell players to reset their total wealth every few levels to what's suggested for total character wealth in the book.
Gear all has levels, so that's the easiest way to manage loot - just give them stuff that's at most their own level (or one higher, if they are going through a stretch w/ no shopping.
Don't give out gear that's 3 levels higher. Your PCs will just stomp everything. At most, 2 levels, but really, I'd suggest giving them stuff at their own level.
1) learn the new action economy. it's much simpler, but the terminology is very similar to 3.5/pathfinder and the differences can be confusing
2) there's no real way to pun pun, and you don't "need" any particular class in a party
3) healing only heals HP, not SP. you can only restore SP is w/ a 10 minute rest (and using an RP) or an envoy
4) The operative's trick attack is VERY CONFUSING. Essentially, they can as a full action, move their speed (so walk, not run) and do their trick attack. They can't guarded step and trick attack (which is what players want to do). Similarly, the drone rules can be confusing.
5) it's a pretty forgiving system. You'll do great. Welcome!
That's some good advice thanks. Yeah normally it's the little things that sneak by like that's guarded step+trick would probably slipped past me as I see it as move action so yeah. Thanks for that one.
Is there anything I should be aware of not to do as the DM as the loot system in this one is a bit different so I don't want to end up giving to little or to much loot. "I tend to be a generous loot goblin" like I get I should be careful not to hand say a level 10 weapon to a group of level 5s because they somehow took out something they should have ran from. But overall what's a good line I. That one here. In terms of gear like 1-3 levels ahead of the party range.
Personally, I tell players to reset their total wealth every few levels to what's suggested for total character wealth in the book.
Gear all has levels, so that's the easiest way to manage loot - just give them stuff that's at most their own level (or one higher, if they are going through a stretch w/ no shopping.
Don't give out gear that's 3 levels higher. Your PCs will just stomp everything. At most, 2 levels, but really, I'd suggest giving them stuff at their own level.
Yeah that sounds about right. I did set a ground rule "which I think was suggested in the book" that they can't buy any gear more than 1 level above their own. I told them think of it like a intergalactic Merit system set by some sort of trading Guild. No one is gonna sell a level 10 gun to a new guy they never heard of just for him to be ganked and now a small band of trash goblins are wreaking havoc on people with an overpowered weapon they stole.
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Yeah that sounds about right. I did set a ground rule "which I think was suggested in the book" that they...1) learn the new action economy. it's much simpler, but the terminology is very similar to 3.5/pathfinder and the differences can be confusing
2) there's no real way to pun pun, and you don't "need" any particular class in a party
3) healing only heals HP, not SP. you can only restore SP is w/ a 10 minute rest (and using an RP) or an envoy
4) The operative's trick attack is VERY CONFUSING. Essentially, they can as a full action, move their speed (so walk, not run) and do their trick attack. They can't guarded step and trick attack (which is what players want to do). Similarly, the drone rules can be confusing.
5) it's a pretty forgiving system. You'll do great. Welcome!
That's some good advice thanks. Yeah normally it's the little things that sneak by like that's guarded step+trick would probably slipped past me as I see it as move action so yeah. Thanks for that one.
Is there anything I should be aware of not to do as the DM as the loot system in this one is a bit different so I don't want to end up giving to little or to much loot. "I tend to be a generous loot goblin" like I get I should be careful not to hand say a level 10 weapon to a group of level 5s because they somehow took out something they should have ran from. But overall what's a good line I. That one here. In terms of gear like 1-3 levels ahead of the party range.
Personally, I tell players to reset their total wealth every few levels to what's suggested for total character wealth in the book.
Gear all has levels, so that's the easiest way to manage loot - just give them stuff that's at most their own level (or one higher, if they are going through a stretch w/ no shopping.
Don't give out gear that's 3 levels higher. Your PCs will just stomp everything. At most, 2 levels, but really, I'd suggest giving them stuff at their own level.
Yup that's a good way to run it. And they should remember that the fusions are really important.
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Guide to guides Some handy links
How to build a character has a mile high look at the rules.
The five foot step is a move action, anyone can full attack as a full attack
Some things to look out for.
Some of the classes that are supposed to be good at something (the mechanic at..well... mechanics or the biohacker at medicine) don't have a whole lot of mechanical backing for that flavor. An operative with int as a secondary stat (so.. an operative) can easily be better at whats supposed to be other classes schtick without really trying.
healing is a secondary role at best. I'm very glad a dedicated healer isn't necessary but if its what a player wants to do they need a backup plan
Most concepts work ok. The only a few that I don't think work are a two gun kid playing Yosemite sam, a dex melee soldier , a stand in the back bard, and a non magical dr. McCoy.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Guide to guides Some handy links
How to build a character has a mile high look at the rules.
The five foot step is a move action, anyone can full attack as a full attack
Some things to look out for.
Some of the classes that are supposed to be good at something (the mechanic at..well... mechanics or the biohacker at medicine) don't have a whole lot of mechanical backing for that flavor. An operative with int as a secondary stat (so.. an operative) can easily be better at whats supposed to be other classes schtick without really trying.
healing is a secondary role at best. I'm very glad a dedicated healer isn't necessary but if its what a player wants to do they need a backup plan
Most concepts work ok. The only a few that I don't think work are a two gun kid playing Yosemite sam, a dex melee soldier , a stand in the back bard, and a non magical dr. McCoy.
thanks for the link and info pal.
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as Yakman said
3) healing only heals HP, not SP. you can only restore SP is w/ a 10 minute rest (and using an RP) or an envoy
As a new Starfinder player coming from DnD 3.5 I found playing a mystic healer took sometime to adjust to how healing works. You can't heal too soon so need something else to doing the beginning of combat. At the end of combat, it was a bit confusing at first too, as you need to know who needs what type of healing. So there needs to be really good tracking of health and stamina that everyone is aware of or everyone needs to communicate their needs to the healers.
The mystic medic healer (a mystic with the medic archetype and healing connection or secondary connection) is almost the healing build. As soon as someone hits Hit points at all, you channel heal them back into staminia. If they're not hitting staminia off of your channels, you use mystic cure to give them some of your HP, then channel both of your HP pools back the next round.
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The mystic medic healer (a mystic with the medic archetype and healing connection or secondary connection) is almost the healing build. As soon as someone hits Hit points at all, you channel heal them back into staminia. If they're not hitting staminia off of your channels, you use mystic cure to give them some of your HP, then channel both of your HP pools back the next round.
There are some great healing options in Starfinder, Mystic cure then channel that's a great combo I had not thought of. One of my favorite combos is a stick bomb grenade then channel heal while the opponents slowed down.
@Goblin dad, if both you and your players are new to Starfinder it's worth it to take a little extra time learning the ins and outs of healing.
all good advice guys. and yeah looking over how healing is done i figured the group and i would be discussing the ins and outs of that.