Anyone checked this game out yet? I started playing in an adventure path last night, and was rather impressed.

It's much better than just "Pathfinder in Spaaace," though it is that too. They made some interesting choices in redesigning the system, most which tend to streamline the d20 system, a few that make it more complex, while keeping a fair amount of player options. For example, there are two types of hit points and two types of AC.

The new races are fairly intriguing, though quite a few suffer from "beast-people" condition. The classes all seem balanced and cover the gamut of what one expects from a sci-fi game. There are martial/skilled classes like the Soldier, Operative, Mechanic, and Envoy, as well as some spell slingers like Technomancer, Mystic, and Solarian (Jedi, pretty much).

The game has a lot of sci fi tropes baked-in which make it simple to run your favorite stream of science fiction. There are hacking/decking rules, there is tech levels, there are augmentations (cybertech and biotech), and the ship rules look really cool.

Probably my least favorite part of the game is the setting itself. I really don't care that Golarian is missing from the picture, or that no one seems to remember what happened before the planet went missing (including the gods). That is just a stupid assumption, but I can ignore that stuff. Also they've managed to inflate HP overall. When converting monsters from Pathfinder, you're instructed to add 25% more HP.

I think I'll be ignoring the baked-in setting and using this system for d20 post-apocalypse mashup game I want to run. Using the Starfinder class and tactical system, along with gamma world/mutant future monsters and mutations, and sprinkle-in fluff from the Deadlands: Hell on Earth setting... I think it will be awesome.

I've got the rulebook, monster book, first module, and GM screen. Haven't had a chance to play/run it though. I do like the look of it. I don't mind the Golarion setting myself.
I really like how monsters have stuff you can harvest to make items in their descriptions. Instead of handwaving it, there are specific harvestables to use for crafting skills.

How is this game doing? I don't see it in play at my LGS or the local conventions I've been to since its release. I don't see a lot of postings about it online but I'm sure I'm not going to the right forums where people talk about it.

I don't see a lot of discussion about it either. Nor do I see games of Starfinder happening at the FLGS, but they do seem to sell out of the core book fairly quickly.

The game's been out since GenCon 2017, and my group is just getting into it now. So yeah, not a lot of perceived buzz so far. That is one reason why I posted about it here.

Discuss.

The Starfinder forums over at Paizo were pretty active, last I looked.

Starfinder is popular with Pathfinder and D&D 3.x players.  We don't have many of those posting here, so it's not surprising that few people post about it here.  That said, it has a rather significant player count on Roll20, coming in at #12 on the Roll20 quarter 4 2017 report.

I'm playing in a Starfinder game right now as a Vesk mercenary soldier, and I'm having a great time. When I hit things, they go OW then they die, especially when I open up with the artillery laser.

I'm willing to roll with the setting (near Absolom Station, Golarion missing, everyone's memories before a certain point wiped out*) and it's easy to get into, though it's not super-compelling yet. We just finished the first module of the adventure path.



* Does this remind anybody else of the mystery in The Big O? It's definitely hitting that note for me. Now I want power armor that looks like a Big!

Quote from: Celestial;1028086Starfinder is popular with Pathfinder and D&D 3.x players.  We don't have many of those posting here, so it's not surprising that few people post about it here.  That said, it has a rather significant player count on Roll20, coming in at #12 on the Roll20 quarter 4 2017 report.

It's barely over 1% and is firmly in the "tail" part of the curve. Just got started, so time will tell. But I doubt this is going to be the Pathfinder replacement people were hoping it would be, at least not in terms of revenue.

AD&D is right behind Starfinder. That is cool.

Vesks are cool. You've got to have big reptilian folk in a sci fi setting. I also made a Mercenary Soldier, only human.

The Pact Worlds book is coming out soon. It will offer plant folk and some other races for players. Some more themes and archetypes in it too apparently. Hopefully the SF splat will be of reasonable output.

Quote from: fearsomepirate;1028147It's barely over 1% and is firmly in the "tail" part of the curve. Just got started, so time will tell. But I doubt this is going to be the Pathfinder replacement people were hoping it would be, at least not in terms of revenue.

Remember when Pathfinder was selling equally to 4e?

Yeah, that's over. Paizo is losing ground faster than White Wolf did when it first had to compete with a non-sucking version of D&D.

In their FAQ, Paizo says that their sales were better in 2017 than they were in 2016. So they're not losing revenue, at least, even if they're being entirely overshadowed now. One of my FLGSes has stopped carrying Pathfinder material completely. He says it just doesn't sell. Of course, his store is 90% Warhammer, so I think it draws a bit of a different crowd.

Quote from: Ulairi;1028017How is this game doing? I don't see it in play at my LGS or the local conventions I've been to since its release. I don't see a lot of postings about it online but I'm sure I'm not going to the right forums where people talk about it.

It's sci-fi. That's all you need to know why it isn't that popular.

The question is does it offer anything as a game that other sci-fi or sci-fantasy RPGs don't have?

Quote from: RPGPundit;1028663The question is does it offer anything as a game that other sci-fi or sci-fantasy RPGs don't have?

The ability to play sci-fi in the Pathfinder universe.  I guess that matters to fans.

jg

Quote from: James Gillen;1028667The ability to play sci-fi in the Pathfinder universe.  I guess that matters to fans.

jg

The ability to play Pathfinder in a sci-fi universe?