Is Starfinder the red-headed stepchild of Paizo?

Lynn · July 14, 2019, 02:04:19 PM

A friend started running a Starfinder campaign and, against my general dislike of too many types of candy in the candy bowl, I ended up really enjoying it.

You can see that it borrowed heavily from Pathfinder, but changed enough to make it its own system. Taking damage and healing are really different.

But from what I am reading, Pathfinder 2.0 sort of goes in a different direction. Am I missing something in which anything good is coming from Starfinder to Pathfinder 2?

jeff37923 · July 14, 2019, 02:08:17 PM

Remember how WotC used their various d20 Star Wars versions to test the waters for new rules in D&D? That is what it looks like Paizo is doing with Starfinder and Pathfinder.

S'mon · July 14, 2019, 03:50:04 PM

Quote from: Lynn;1095756A friend started running a Starfinder campaign and, against my general dislike of too many types of candy in the candy bowl, I ended up really enjoying it.

You can see that it borrowed heavily from Pathfinder, but changed enough to make it its own system. Taking damage and healing are really different.

But from what I am reading, Pathfinder 2.0 sort of goes in a different direction. Am I missing something in which anything good is coming from Starfinder to Pathfinder 2?

I really like the Starfinder Beginner Box. But I understand it is very different from the main system. Not like 5e where the starter set is fully compatible with the core rules.

Shasarak · July 14, 2019, 04:55:48 PM

Quote from: Lynn;1095756But from what I am reading, Pathfinder 2.0 sort of goes in a different direction. Am I missing something in which anything good is coming from Starfinder to Pathfinder 2?

I believe that it was a different design team working on Starfinder then on Pathfinder 2e so yes I imagine that they probably go in different directions.

finarvyn · July 14, 2019, 06:16:46 PM

Interesting thread. Put me in the camp of folks who enjoy Starfinder a lot more than Pathfinder, and what I'm hearing about PF2 makes me think I will probably like Starfinder better than that one as well. I'm not sure why they didn't use Starfinder as their PF2 design model.

Spinachcat · July 14, 2019, 06:20:02 PM

It's Paizo's Gamma World!

HappyDaze · July 14, 2019, 07:19:36 PM

Quote from: Spinachcat;1095799It's Paizo's Gamma World!

I was thinking more along the line of Alternity.

Razor 007 · July 14, 2019, 07:29:46 PM

Paizo needs to support Starfinder, and keep it going. It's a good leg for them to stand on. PF2E is a roll of the dice.

Shasarak · July 14, 2019, 08:12:28 PM

Quote from: Razor 007;1095815Paizo needs to support Starfinder, and keep it going. It's a good leg for them to stand on. PF2E is a roll of the dice.

Remember to add proficiency and level to the roll.

BronzeDragon · July 14, 2019, 08:14:49 PM

Quote from: HappyDaze;1095812I was thinking more along the line of Alternity.

This is the vibe I got from it as well. As I was looking at the images, it felt very Star*Drive to me.

P.S.: Although I think Starfinder leans more to the fantasy aspect, while Alternity's Star*Drive leaned more towards the Sci-Fi aspect.

HappyDaze · July 15, 2019, 01:11:28 AM

Quote from: BronzeDragon;1095824This is the vibe I got from it as well. As I was looking at the images, it felt very Star*Drive to me.

P.S.: Although I think Starfinder leans more to the fantasy aspect, while Alternity's Star*Drive leaned more towards the Sci-Fi aspect.

I was thinking Alternity for the "Let's make a new D&D. OK, we have this new system that's fairly well-received we can go from. No, we're going to do something different...and let's kill that system you were talking about too."

trechriron · July 15, 2019, 01:18:01 AM

Quote from: Razor 007;1095815Paizo needs to support Starfinder, and keep it going. It's a good leg for them to stand on. PF2E is a roll of the dice.

Quote from: Shasarak;1095823Remember to add proficiency and level to the roll.

Paizo is a level 10 publisher. They have basic proficiency in Internet Memes and have 6 ranks in Persuasion.

Paizo rolls a d20....

14! Plus 10, plus proficiency, plus 6 = 32! Easily overcoming the rumors of imminent failure.

Why is it a red-headed step-child? I thought that was a snark saying "this person is the fiery rebel of the family, not well regarded, not well behaved...". I would say then that no, SF is not. It's more like the straight-B unassuming younger sibling who weathers every family blow-up by sitting at the table and coloring quietly.

JeremyR · July 15, 2019, 02:03:26 AM

I think if anything, Starfinder is what will keep Paizo afloat. I would not be surprised if it ends up being more popular than PF2

Scrivener of Doom · July 15, 2019, 02:56:44 AM

Quote from: finarvyn;1095797Interesting thread. Put me in the camp of folks who enjoy Starfinder a lot more than Pathfinder, and what I'm hearing about PF2 makes me think I will probably like Starfinder better than that one as well. I'm not sure why they didn't use Starfinder as their PF2 design model.

In the same context, I cannot help but think of Star Wars Saga, D&D 4E, and the number of people who thought Saga should have inspired the 4E design.

Spinachcat · July 15, 2019, 03:52:55 AM

Quote from: HappyDaze;1095812I was thinking more along the line of Alternity.

Agreed.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1095799It's Paizo's Gamma World!

I should have explained that. I know Starfinder is a space fantasy, not post-apoc. What I meant was the comparison with how TSR and WotC did GW editions with a load of initial hoopla, but then fizzle fizzle and the fans of GW were left adrift. Of course, this might not happen with StarFinder as there's 3PP support for the game on DriveThruRPG so the fanbase alone could keep the fanbase engaged.