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First of all, I want to say that I'm going to have some critiques. This is not me hating on the system. I love the system, and can't wait to play it. That being said, I do have a few things I noticed. I say this because I want to help the game improve, not to be mean.
Thank you Development Team, I really appreciate all the hard work you've put into this. These are just a few things I noticed. I obviously haven't played it yet.
1) The lashunta heritages, while being a creative solution to how to make them dimorphic, has a problem if you use the optional rule if you trade in your starting attribute for 2 free choices. It basically makes it so all those optional Lashunta have to be unbound. Not sure what the solution is . . . but the way you've set it up also limits you on making future heritages. I might make choosing between being Korasha and Daimiya (or unbound) a core ancestry ability.
2) A lot of stuff is broken with the Operative's 'Striker' subclass. For example, while they start off expert in unarmed attacks (so I assume they are meant to be able to unarmed strike people), none of their stuff works with unarmed strikes (it all requires weapons, and unarmed strikes are NOT weapons, you even say that later in the document). Plus a lot of the feats technically don't work, even though I suspect they are supposed to. For example, Mobile aim says you step or Stride, and then aim WITH YOUR GUN. Striker technically doesn't change that wording.
There are also not a lot of agile Starfinder weapons that are agile. And none are operative with damage above a d4. I'd like to see one or two more options for that, like some sort of short sword equivalent.
Also, while we are on the subject of the Operative. Technically, rules as written, their abilities don't work with things like Profession weapons (Like Card Slinger). If you have the prerequisite skill, your proficiency caps out at your proficiency with simple weapons. The operative only starts with trained, and gets up to master with 'simple weapons.' Also, it is an advanced weapon (your proficiency with it is simple, but TECHNICALLY, it is in the category of Advanced weapons) so, technically, so none of its stuff works with operative class abilities. Not sure if that was intentional,
Also Also about the operative, I'd like some clarification on the Operative. Their ability works with 'any ranged weapon with the analog or tech trait' That seems vague and problematic. Does it work with archaic Pathfinder ranged weapons (that presumably have the archaic and analog traits?) Does it work for weapons that are in the melee category but have the thrown trait? Trust me, while I'd love to buy some shuriken and toss them with my operative to be a straight up Ninja . . . Shuriken don't seem to be 'guns. Seems like you might want to limit it to items that have a 'Magazine' entry. That might make work a bit better, and it would allow you to bring back my favorite weapon, the 'injection Shuriken.'
3) Hair trigger is just broken. Do almost anything? Get shot. Try to move? Get shot. Try to stabalize a downed companion? Get shot. Try to shoot them? Get Shot. Try to cast a spell? Get shot. I know it's broken because it was given to enemies in the Outlaws of Alkenstar AP, and it was broken there, and that was when people had to reload in between each shot. Not having to do that is just redonkulus. It's so good, that every operative will take it. And an option that is so good everyone takes it, is no option at all. So yeah, if an enemy gets that ability, it'll make players's lives terrible. If players get that ability, it will be terrible for GMs. And its so good, it's not really even a choice.
I would reduce the number of things that trigger it.
4) Equipment. Worried about the Bone Scepter being too good. d10 one handed melee weapon that does cold or void damage seems REALLY good. I know the void thing won't work on undead, but a lot of things are susceptible to Cold.
About Equipement-some of the choices seem odd. Like Second skin is almost straight up better than Tempweave, with the exception that it doesn't have an upgrade slot. Are upgrades really worth nearly doubling the price?
Deflecting Field is . . . weird. Like I get it, you install it in a Parry weapon, and then you can shield block while parrying. But it provides a circumstance bonus to AC . . . which is weird because it also requires you to Parry to use it, and Parry provides the same bonus to AC. So the two don't stack. So . . . why have the shield bonus in there? Just include it as a tech item that basically says "When you Parry with this weapon, if you have the shield block feat, you can shield block with it. It has a hardness/hit points of X, and you can upgrade it like it was a shield."
Does limited Telepathy (from a Lashunta, Shirren, or Barathu) work with items that have the 'thought' trait? It says you need 'telepathy' to communicate with them, and limited telepathy requires you two to speak the same language so . . . Rules as written, it doesn't, and nothing in the core rulebook has that ability as far as I can tell. It's an item, not an ally, so a mystic can't include it in group chat . . .
Again, I love this book and I want to see it succeed. I appreciate all the hard work you guys have put into it already. Those are just some initial things I noticed.
Here is one I like, why do guns with the Volley trait not actually take the -2 to Attack Rolls because they don't have a Volley (range0 listed feature.
Right I forgot there is day 1 errata! Where do i find this?
Right I forgot there is day 1 errata! Where do i find this?
https://paizo.com/starfinderplaytest/faq It is also has an article linking to this on the main page of the site now.
Based on some of the narrative commentary of the Pahtra and even the Skittermander in the ancestry category, the Vesk are paper tigers.
How they're supposed to plausibly stand up to the Azlanti when they can't even control their own solar system is a leap of logic that I'm not capable of making.
In wrestling parlance, they buried the Veskarium.
At this point they should just let the Skittermanders coup the whole place since they're the pet favorite.
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The bit about skittermanders isn't even really new lore. The criticism also doesn't really follow. Sustaining a military occupation is an entirely different (and extremely challenging) skillset to waging conventional warfare against another army.
There are countless examples in real history of powerful empires having difficulty dealing with distant provincial rebellions despite their conventionally powerful militaries.
Based on some of the narrative commentary of the Pahtra and even the Skittermander in the ancestry category, the Vesk are paper tigers.
How they're supposed to plausibly stand up to the Azlanti when they can't even control their own solar system is a leap of logic that I'm not capable of making.
In wrestling parlance, they buried the Veskarium.
At this point they should just let the Skittermanders coup the whole place since they're the pet favorite.
Yes, just dump rocks from across the system (I am willing to grant that maybe the surface anti-tech storms make direct orbital bombardment by stations/ships hard) on the Pahtra until they surrender or are at least reduced to lack any means to get off planet pour encourager les autres. Vesk, what are we even doing here.
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Wrong genre, bud. Warhammer 40k is three doors down.
Also... it's entirely off topic. Make your own thread if you want to advocate for more war crimes in the setting.
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The Starfinder 2 playtest PDF states:
"All non-archaic armors, except those with the exposed trait, allow you to breathe and survive in a vacuum or in non-hazardous underwater environments."
"A suit of armor’s environmental protections last for a number of days equal to its item level."
All Commercial grade armor has an item level of 0. Does that mean armor only has environmental protections once you upgrade it to Tactical grade? That doesn't seem right.
Quantum negation a 10th-level witchwarper focus spell (on page 142), is missing an action requirement. Also, it deals more damage than cataclysm, a 10th-rank slot spell... and that's just the worst-case scenario if the target's a high enough level. Granted, it's single-target, but this wouldn't be the first instance of numbers being a little off in these new playtest rules.
EDIT: Some weapons are really off. The bone scepter is a one-handed d10 weapon, and the seeker rifle is a simple d10 weapon with 120 range and 6 projectiles, despite being listed as single-shot. My guess is that the bone scepter is meant to be a two-handed weapon and the seeker rifle is meant to have a magazine of just one projectile.
EDIT 2: Because of how area fire works, there is literally no reason to use anything except for advanced weapons if you're specifically going for area weapon. Weapon proficiency doesn't matter at all for area fire, and advanced weapons are straight-up more powerful than simple and martial weapons. Also, paragon armor has the exact same stats as ultimate armor, except it's nearly three times more expensive.
Quantum Negation isn’t really doing “damage”against those low level targets, it’s just a goofy rewriting of Power Word Kill and the bard Focus 10 that does the same thing. Instant death on one, 9999 points of damage on the other.
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Quantum Negation isn’t really doing “damage”against those low level targets, it’s just a goofy rewriting of Power Word Kill and the bard Focus 10 that does the same thing. Instant death on one, 9999 points of damage on the other.
I'm talking about the worst-case scenario for the caster, which is when the target is 17th-level or higher. At that point, the spell deals 20d10 damage. By contrast, cataclysm deals 18d10 damage.
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I’d say it made good sense. Why would there be tons of commercial grade environment suits with armor protection? In a sci-fi setting, env suits are essentially work clothes for many creatures, and very few have need for tactical capabilities.
It would seem we just need some higher level, no or low AC armors and we’re good. I foresee a boat load more gear with the core book and later materials.
The Starfinder 2 playtest PDF states:
"All non-archaic armors, except those with the exposed trait, allow you to breathe and survive in a vacuum or in non-hazardous underwater environments."
"A suit of armor’s environmental protections last for a number of days equal to its item level."
All Commercial grade armor has an item level of 0. Does that mean armor only has environmental protections once you upgrade it to Tactical grade? That doesn't seem right.
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Quantum negation
EDIT 2: Because of how area fire works, there is literally no reason to use anything except for advanced weapons if you're specifically going for area weapon. Weapon proficiency doesn't matter at all for area fire, and advanced weapons are straight-up more powerful than simple and martial weapons.
This!
In one of my field test playthroughs I changed how Area Fire works and it felt better.
Instead of straight up class DC, Area weapons used 10 + Weapon Proficiency of the weapon + Tracking + CON.
This would fix the advanced weapon issue and make it so only a Fighter with +3 Con (and maybe an Operative with +3 Con) could compete with a Soldier when using Area weapons. The Fighter/Operative would have to sacrifice their +3 Str for +3 Con and then they'd have a DC 18 whereas the Soldier would have a DC 17. This would fix the 'Int/Charisma being good for area weapons) because AS IT IS, a Human Wizard with +4 Int can fire an area weapon as good as a soldier (not including primary target).
This makes no sense that a wizard or a bard could use area weapons the same DC as a soldier.
With my change:
Simple Area Weapons:
Soldier, Level 1, +4 Con: DC 10+1(lvl)+2(Prof)+4(Con) = DC 17
Fighter, Level 1, +3 Con: DC 10+1(lvl)+4(Prof)+3(Con) = DC 18
Kineticist, Level 1, +4 Con: DC 10+1(Lvl)+2(Prof)+4(Con) = DC 17
Wizard, Level 1, +3 Con: DC 10+1(Lvl)+2(Prof)+3(Con) = DC 16
Martial Area Weapons:
Soldier, Level 1, +4 Con: DC 10+1(lvl)+2(Prof)+4(Con) = DC 17
Fighter, Level 1, +3 Con: DC 10+1(lvl)+4(Prof)+3(Con) = DC 18
Kineticist, Level 1, +4 Con: DC 10+4(Con) = DC 14
Wizard, Level 1, +3 Con: DC 10+3(Con) = DC 13
Advanced Area Weapons:
Soldier, Level 1, +4 Con: DC 10+4(Con) = DC 14
Fighter, Level 1, +3 Con: DC 10+1(lvl)+2(Prof)+3(Con) = DC 16
Kineticist, Level 1, +4 Con: DC 10+4(Con) = DC 14
Wizard, Level 1, +3 Con: DC 10+3(Con) = DC 13
Honestly, give Soldiers either Expert in Simple/Martial Area weapons, or at least trained in Advanced Area weapons.. let them be the area weapons guy.
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Minor issue: The Fabricator feat lets you 3d print items using computers instead of crafting if you have a 'creator capsule' (3d printer). Fine, except it says the usual crafting time for an item is 4 days. It's not, it's 2 days, or 1 if you have the plans (and you have to have the plans to used the creator capsule).
Hair triogger should not be triggered when you an opponent does a ranged strike. It sort if invalidates some other operative feats. As such is to remove that trigger.