Starfinder Should I pick up Starfinder if I hate Pathfinder

[gamerprinter]

Also consider that part of the reason many don't like Pathfinder is all the books, well Starfinder has the Core, 2 alien archives, an armory book, and their APs. It has a much more limited schedule and far, far fewer books produced. So that aspect of Pathfinder isn't the case for Starfinder. I like it myself, but then I kind of wanted to play a "D&D in space" that isn't Spelljammer or Shadowrun - I like starship type games - so it's good for me.

 

[Staffan]

How does Coriolos compare to Starfinder? Which is crunchier? Which has the cooler setting? Would you choose something like Frontierspace by DWD Studios instead?

Coriolis is much lighter than Starfinder. The system is a variant of the one in Mutant Year Zero: roll a bunch of d6es equal to your stat + skill (both max at 5) + gear (usually max 3), and count sixes. One is usually enough to succeed, but more of them can sometimes be useful. If you're not happy with your roll, you can reroll non-sixes for a cost (in Coriolis, the cost is that the GM gets a Darkness point which they can then use to screw with you).

The setting is sort of like Firefly, but with Middle-Eastern influences instead of Chinese. There's a lot of old-but-working tech, conflicts between haves and have-nots, independent folks just trying to get by, and so on. There are no playable alien species. One thing that is different from Firefly is the big role religion has - pretty much everyone worships a pantheon consisting of nine gods called Icons, though there are certainly differences of opinion about how to worship them and to what degree one should let them influence one's life.

By comparison, Starfinder's setting is much more WA-HOO! You have seven playable species right out of the core book (plus the Pathfinder legacy races in the back), plus what are probably already dozens more across the two Alien Archives + other sourcebooks. There are space empires and bazillions of different weapon types and space goblins and powerful magic and all sorts of weirdness. If Coriolis is Firefly, Starfinder is Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

[Retreater]

Man, I wouldn't touch Starfinder with a galaxy-class tractor beam.

 

[Graf]

Try Esper Genesis. It's basically 5e rules but has the "stuff" you want for a space game (high tech armor, weapons, etc). It's big innovation is that it doesn't try to change the rules (there are some new weapon properties).

nerdarchy did a review interview with it and I got it for christmas to play with the kids and it works well.

There is no reason to try to deal with starfinder's crunch if you don't want to. (Or to try to play savage worlds if you're not interested in switching to a whole new system / mode of play).

If you like starfinder's setting then use that with the Esper Genisis rules.

 

[Shasarak]

I wouldn't worry.

Pathfinder started off as "simpler" 3.5 and didn't even have archetypes.Then it grew and grew into the rich, complex system we know and love today.

Starfinder doesn't even have its first bestiary yet. It'll grow on a steady schedule of new releases just like Pathfinder did.

While it is true that Starfinder does not have a Bestiary yet, it does have an Alien Archive and an Alien Archive 2.

 

[Imaculata]

While it is true that Starfinder does not have a Bestiary yet, it does have an Alien Archive and an Alien Archive 2.

And those are pretty much the sci-fi equivalent of a Bestiary or Monster Manual.

 

[Shasarak]

And those are pretty much the sci-fi equivalent of a Bestiary or Monster Manual.

Kind of. The Alien Archives have Aliens to fight as well as new Alien Races to play and extra equipment that the Aliens (or PCs) can use.

So it is really a new type of book. My only complaint is that they are too thin, only 160 pages for the Alien Archive.

 

[Imaculata]

My only complaint is that they are too thin, only 160 pages for the Alien Archive.

Yeah, given the price tag I would expect more pages too. It is a bit underwhelming.