Howdy folks, and welcome to the PAIZO NEWS ROUNDUP! My name is Ben, and I’m going to use this space to fill you in on some of the ins and outs what’s happening in the Paizo world. There’s more juicy details out for those of you out there waiting for every scrap of Starfinder, as well as news on Pathfinder-related products and exclusives. Let’s get started!
First and foremost: Owen KC Stephens shed some light on the upcoming Starfinder. The system has been designed to feel distinct from Pathfinder, but material from either system will be easy to adapt or simply import into the other game. Monsters and associated combat information are generally cross-compatible, and Starfinder will provide any information a GM might need to convert specific rules like CMB, CMD, Energy Armor Class (EAC) and Kinetic Armor Class (KAC).
That being said, the Starfinder book will cover the differences in scale and kind when adapting Starfinder material to Pathfinder, or vice versa. Notably, Starfinder characters can start with armor that is essentially a space suit—that kind of protection would be quite pricey in Pathfinder, if you found it at all! Starfinder also eschews the race for higher and higher bonuses, so magic items that give increasing numerical bonuses are not as prevalent. In addition, Pathfinder classes will require some work with your GM to find similar abilities and powers in Starfinder; since there’s no paladin class in Starfinder, you might have to make do with a soldier using a priest theme, a special archetype, and some psychic power feats, to get the same feel.
Starfinder also introduces a new level of customization for characters that allows for a wide variety of characters and playstyles: character themes and archetypes. Think of themes as trait and favored class bonuses rolled into one easy, fast choice, that can give your characters new, more powerful abilities. Different themes can make the same class feel and act unique, and even characters with the same class and theme might not look anything alike. Each theme gives characters a benefit to a specific ability score, as well as major improvements as the character gains levels. Archetypes act very much like they do in Pathfinder, except now they are a core part of making a character and are not tied to any class or background.
In Pathfinder news, Paizo just released a new campaign setting for those adventurers wishing to explore the briny deep! Dive into the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Aquatic Adventures, which provides expanded rules for underwater combat, new feats, archetypes and magic items, and an in-depth exploration of the civilizations and monstrosities that hide beneath the waves of Golarion.
