Starfinder Roleplaying Game

The Starfinder Roleplaying Game by Paizo is a tabletop science-fantasy roleplaying game system. Its first edition was designed to be compatible with Pathfinder First Edition  under the Open Gaming License. At Gen Con 2023, Paizo announced a second edition of the game that was publicly playtested before a release scheduled for Gen Con 2025. Starfinder Second Edition will be compatible with Pathfinder Second Edition  and use the Open RPG Creative License, which Paizo helped to develop and which Pathfinder Second Edition also uses.

Second Edition

Starfinder Second Edition will be published under the Open RPG Creative License (ORC) and share its mechanical framework with the rules system of Pathfinder Second Edition , making the games compatible for cross-system porting of classes, creatures, and more—provided your GM allows it.

Announcement

Paizo announced Starfinder Second Edition at Gen Con 2023 on August 3, 2023.

Playtest

The Starfinder Second Edition Playtest was a public playtest of the second edition of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game that began at Gen Con 2024. The playtest was announced on August 3, 2023, and received a number of previews throughout the following months, most notably the five Starfinder Field Test documents that were released via the Paizo blog from August 3, 2023, to May 8, 2024. The Starfinder Playtest launched at Gen Gon on August 1, 2024, with the release of the Second Edition Playtest Rulebook, available as a free PDF and sold as a physical softcover. At launch, three playtest adventures were available for purchase, with three additional adventures set to release over the months of September and October. Players were asked to provide gameplay reports and respond to surveys and polls throughout the playtest. The Field Test previews and the Starfinder Playtest itself were both published under the ORC License.

First Edition

Starfinder First Edition, whose main product line was referred to as Starfinder Roleplaying Game, was designed to be compatible with Pathfinder First Edition  (which was in turn a revised version of the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 ruleset). Both games were published under the Open Gaming License (OGL).

Announcement

Paizo announced the game on May 28, 2016, during the PaizoCon 2016  Preview Banquet, with the first products to be released at Gen Con 50 on August 17, 2017.

Design

In blog posts and interviews before its release, Paizo staff announced several planned features for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game:

• "Conceptual compatibility" with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, allowing for gamers to convert Pathfinder assets with "a minimum of fuss at the table."
• A slower release schedule compared to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game line, and a greater reliance on the Starfinder Adventure Path line to introduce new rules and concepts.
• Seven core classes:
  • Technomancer ("magical hacker blending technology and magic")
  • Mechanic ("engineer with a robot buddy")
  • Solarian ("mystical melee combatant harnessing the cycles of the stars")
  • Soldier ("heavy weapons specialist")
  • Envoy ("diplomat and ally-booster")
  • Mystic ("caster channeling strange energies to manipulate biological systems")
  • Operative ("stealthy skill specialist")
• A feel similar to Star Wars, but with "more magic and moral ambiguity".
• Starships, including:
  • A greater focus on exploration than in Pathfinder, with a galactic scale, many alien worlds and races, and the assumption that player characters comprise the crew of a starship.
  • Starship battles with a distinct miniatures-based combat system on a hexagonal grid with facing and distinct roles for party members similar to Star Trek bridge officers.
  • A system to design, build, and upgrade custom starships.
• Plans for a compatibility license, reference document, and organized play program all similar to Pathfinder's.

While the system is designed to be largely compatible with Pathfinder, there are also some significant differences:

• Magic items work differently, and Pathfinder's magic item creation system will be omitted or radically changed.
• Some skills are consolidated, while other skills are added.
• Cybertechnology, such as body modifications and implants, are integrated into the core system.

Unlike the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, which had a massive open playtest  before its release, the Starfinder Roleplaying Game would have a closed playtest, a decision made due to the limited timeframe to release the core rules. The closed playtest "will feature other RPG designers and third-party publishers, Pathfinder Society  members, and various key members of the industry and community".

Release

The Starfinder Core Rulebook was released at Gen Con 50 on August 17, 2017.

External links

• Starfinder Roleplaying Game landing page on Paizo.com
• Paizo Blog posts tagged "Starfinder"

References

Cover	Title	Release Date	Author
	First Contact	170617 June 17, 2017	John Compton, Jason Keeley, Robert G. McCreary, and James L. Sutter
	Core Rulebook	170817 August 17, 2017	Paizo Staff
	GM Screen	170817 August 17, 2017	Paizo Staff
	Player Character Folio	170817 August 17, 2017	Paizo Staff
	Alien Archive	171025 October 25, 2017	Paizo Staff
	Pact Worlds	180328 March 28, 2018	Paizo Staff
	Armory	180727 July 27, 2018	Paizo Staff
	Alien Archive 2	181017 October 17, 2018	Paizo Staff
	Beginner Box	190424 April 24, 2019	Paizo Staff
	Alien Archive 3	190828 August 28, 2019	Paizo Staff
	Character Operations Manual	190828 November 13, 2019	Paizo Staff
	Near Space	200325 March 25, 2020	Paizo Staff
	Starship Operations Manual	200730 July 30, 2020	Paizo Staff
	Alien Archive 4	201209 December 9, 2020	Paizo Staff
	Galaxy Exploration Manual	210602 June 2, 2021	Paizo Staff
	Tech Revolution	210922 September 22, 2021	Paizo Staff
	Galactic Magic	220126 January 26, 2022	Paizo Staff
	Drift Crisis	220525 May 25, 2022	Paizo Staff
	Interstellar Species	221116 November 16, 2022	Paizo Staff
	Ports of Call	230524 May 24, 2023	Paizo Staff