With the acceptance that SF2 is running on PF2 engine, what mechanics are important to you?

[breithauptclan]

Given that the similar thread devolved into rather toxic edition war snarking, and given that Starfinder 2e is going to run on the PF2 engine, I think that a new thread is needed.

Also, let's try to approach this with the expectation that the game devs are telling us the truth about flight and ranged weapons and other such futuristic technology being a core part of the setting from low levels.

-----

For myself, I would love to see Stamina available as the default and have full core rule support for it.

PF2 has a Stamina optional variant, but it isn't integrated into the game core very well. The only thing that Resolve Points are used for is healing Stamina, and Stabilizing. There are no class features or abilities that use Resolve Points.

Now, I'm aware that designing this would be rather difficult. Giving class feats or features that have Resolve Point costs would mean that Pathfinder classes wouldn't have those. That would be another point of conversion that would need to be done when allowing a PF2 class as a native Starfinder setting option. Adding futuristic technology feats and Resolve Point consuming feats to PF2 classes could be another chapter in a potential Pathfinder2e <-> Starfinder2e crossover book.

Using Focus Points to heal Stamina is also questionable because Focus Points are infinitely renewable. But if that is a balance consideration that the game could go in, that would work.

[PossibleCabbage]

Would using Focus for the uses of Resolve that are unrelated to healing work instead? Most classes have the option to pick up an ability or two that let you spend resolve on something other than gaining stamina, like the Vanguard can spend a resolve point to get 3 entropy points. Obviously we're not going to have multiple metacurrencies again, but that seems like the sort of thing a Focus point could substitute for.

I know Pathfinder is pretty firm on "things you spend Focus on are Spells" but we could change that for Starfinder. Like it seems like "Scottie pushing the warp core a little bit further to eke out the necessary power" is a thing that is actually described by the Focus mechanic- it's taxing, he can only do so much of it, but he can do just as much of it all over again in the next episode.

[Perpdepog]

I hope that augmentations stay as slot-limited items and aren't changed to, say, require investiture to function outside of ones that are obviously magical in some way.

[Crouza]

Alternate class features would be nice to have. There are a lot of ways to implement that kind of system in SF 2e, such as making them into Archetypes or into the pool of class feats. I find that PF 2e class feats don't alter the way a class plays in dramatic ways. The core of how your class plays is handled via the fixed class features. Just having ways to alter your class focus would be nice, even if it just amounts to giving a class subclasses. The rogue, cleric, champion, sorcerer, summoner, kineticist, and magus((there are more but these ones jumped to my head first)) can have drastically different playstyles and sometimes even class roles depending on their subclass.

Variety is what I'm looking for basically, a way that really shakes things up so that you can have multiple different ways to play or build a class that can change fundamental functions of said class.