Starfinder Starfinder 2e playtest officially begins

[Velderan]

Starfinder Playtest | Paizo

Starfinder playtests give you the opportunity to participate in finalizing rules and new materials, including new classes, spells, technology, and more!

paizo.com

The playtest rulebook contains the ancestries, backgrounds, classes, equipment, spells, and other Starfinder specific material. If you don't own the Pathfinder 2e Player Core and GM Core books for the rest of the rules needed to play, just a reminder those rules are all available for free on Archives of Nethys.

Anyone else planning to give this a try?

 

[payn]

Im curious, but only lightly. If its a complete clone of PF2 I probably wont want to dive in (if im doing sci-fi Traveller is top of list for me). Though, if its different enough, it could draw me in. I'd need a GM looking for a player though im not going to run it.

 

[Retreater]

I wish it were ... different. I know the point is to make it compatible with Pathfinder 2e, but I'd like a different feel. Like if blasters were more than space crossbows. If psionics and techniques weren't just Arcane and Divine spells.
It feels like a homogenized, corporate product. Like we're just paying for an avatar skin to lay over a game we've already played.

 

[payn]

I wish it were ... different. I know the point is to make it compatible with Pathfinder 2e, but I'd like a different feel. Like if blasters were more than space crossbows. If psionics and techniques weren't just Arcane and Divine spells.
It feels like a homogenized, corporate product. Like we're just paying for an avatar skin to lay over a game we've already played.

I thought that was what SF1 would be, but I found it different enough on an admittedly single play. Im worried about SF2 being as you describe here.

 

[Velderan]

I thought that was what SF1 would be, but I found it different enough on an admittedly single play. Im worried about SF2 being as you describe here.

I think the thing is if the classes feel different enough, it will stand on it's own even if it shares the same basic core mechanics as PF2e. I'll probably have some time tomorrow to dig into the classes so for now I don't really have an opinion one way or the other.

There is a risk for sure for Paizo. If you bounced off PF2e, you'll probably pass on this as well so the target market could end up being a fraction of their existing PF2e audience which might not be enough. I don't know though, I have no idea what the sales numbers look like for SF1e so maybe that's not a concern for them.

 

[payn]

I think the thing is if the classes feel different enough, it will stand on it's own even if it shares the same basic core mechanics as PF2e. I'll probably have some time tomorrow to dig into the classes so for now I don't really have an opinion one way or the other.

There is a risk for sure for Paizo. If you bounced off PF2e, you'll probably pass on this as well so the target market could end up being a fraction of their existing PF2e audience which might not be enough. I don't know though, I have no idea what the sales numbers look like for SF1e so maybe that's not a concern for them.

Despite old Paizo fans such as myself passing on PF2, I hear its doing very well. I dont think they need to worry too much about SF2 being all that different and/or unique.

 

[The-Magic-Sword]

I wish it were ... different. I know the point is to make it compatible with Pathfinder 2e, but I'd like a different feel. Like if blasters were more than space crossbows. If psionics and techniques weren't just Arcane and Divine spells.
It feels like a homogenized, corporate product. Like we're just paying for an avatar skin to lay over a game we've already played.

I don't think it's super different overall in a way that people who really dislike pf2e would like sf2e, but blasters are more than space crossbows-- area fire, automatic, unwieldy are all pretty different conceptually. Some guns are straight up analogous to line spells, have an option to inflict a reflex save on a cone in exchange for consuming more ammo, or what have you and some can only be fired once in a round.

 

[Velderan]

I don't think it's super different overall in a way that people who really dislike pf2e would like sf2e, but blasters are more than space crossbows-- area fire, automatic, unwieldy are all pretty different conceptually. Some guns are straight up analogous to line spells, have an option to inflict a reflex save on a cone in exchange for consuming more ammo, or what have you and some can only be fired once in a round.

I just finished reading through the SFS playtest scenario 1 (Shards of the Glass Planet) and it’s basically what I would expect for a science fantasy TTRPG adventure. If this is generally the tone of a Starfinder adventure, I have little worry about it not feeling like it’s own thing. The classes seem designed to support that type of play from what I have read so far.

Worth mentioning there is a Starfinder Humble Bundle currently running that at the $5 tier gives you both currently available SFS 2e scenarios which are otherwise $6 each from Paizo.

 

[payn]

I just finished reading through the SFS playtest scenario 1 (Shards of the Glass Planet) and it’s basically what I would expect for a science fantasy TTRPG adventure. If this is generally the tone of a Starfinder adventure, I have little worry about it not feeling like it’s own thing. The classes seem designed to support that type of play from what I have read so far.

Worth mentioning there is a Starfinder Humble Bundle currently running that at the $5 tier gives you both currently available SFS 2e scenarios which are otherwise $6 each from Paizo.

Nice, appreciate the note. If y'all got an open seat at your play test let me know.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I've been waiting for this! I like the confidence in releasing an almost-complete book, so people can actually playtest everything properly.

Now, I don't expect my gaming group to be enthusiastic about DnD-adjacent rules in space + combat grid and minis + all the ways in which it's just reskinned fantasy + weird lack of the archetypical mechanic class... But we'll see if I can get them on board for a short 2-3 session set with pregen characters, and see if that convinces them.

I do wish the world had less fantasy gods and less 'oh no goblins are at it again', and more wacky stuff like...