Starfinder announced
 

Starfinder RPG announced. Seeing as this will be a stand-alone RPG, will Hero Lab end up making a separate setting rules set for it?

I almost posted yesterday when this came out.

I see no value in a separate game system. It uses ALL pathfinder rules meaning I can have a normal Half-Orc Wizard in Starfinder. All the same races exist and are usable. Making a separate game system in HL would defeat half the benefit of Starfinder actually as its 100% backwards compatible to Pathfinder rules.

I am pretty excited for this actually especially that the first Starfinder AP will launch next GenCon with the core rule book. :D :)

We're intending to support Starfinder, although we weren't at PaizoCon, so we know less than the people there at this point. :)

Nice!

I just get these strange ideas of Demons with Lazer Guns! :D

And currently playing Doom....

Are you saying your currently playing Doom or I am? The last time I played doom it was installed on 3.5inch floppies and computers still had Math-Co-processors. :)

Hey, I remember them! They were the ducks nuts back in the day!

According to the developer posting on the blog discussion today, that's not the case. From that description, the Pathfinder -> Starfinder compatibility is going to be more like the "you can convert 3.5 stuff to Pathfinder pretty easily" situation; there are going to be explicit differences (AC has been mentioned).

This is the understanding we got out of a short briefing from Paizo. Our expectation is that there will be a lot of similarities, but there will also be some stark differences to better tailor the game to the needs of the SciFi setting. For a sense of the adaptations we're anticipating (we don't know any details at this point), look at some of the changes Wizards and Fantasy Flight made when adapting existing systems to Star Wars. So we are currently expecting that there will be an independent game system within Hero Lab to allow us to optimally support the deviations introduced in StarFinder.

This is what I was thinking would have to happen. Personally, I would rather it would be this way. Less hacking of the system to shoe-horn a mechanic into it.

I defy anything to be stranger than Raven McCracken's Synnibarr, where winged grizzlies with laser beams coming out of their eyes were just the opening round.

It's possible, I guess, that the changes to Starfinder would be on the order of, say, Pathfinder Unchained in difficulty to add to the existing Pathfinder system, but realistically it's going to be months before Lone Wolf knows for sure.

I have to totally disagree and hope this is NOT the case at all. I don't see many if any mechanical changes required for Starfinder to work. Its already said to be 100% backwards compatible and Paizo wants to be able to use existing Bestiary books. Paizo is not WotC so I don't see them requiring people to rebuy all new books to support this which is what WotC always did. Paizo had previously said that creating such a rift in the player base is a bad business design that they where not interested in supporting.

Paizo wants to make sure that all the books I have on my shelf are usable out the door. So new skills, new feats, some new class ideas. But the mention of AC as a change could be a total re-write like they did for Ultimate Combat to something as small as a new bonus type that adds to all three AC values. Just because people "want" a rewrite of Pathfinder does not mean that is what they are getting.

We will know more in the future but I honestly see the changes the same as Unchained and Ultimate Combat's "Optional" rules. Those have different AC designs and small tweaks like that can be rolled into HL easily.

Big issues with two different game systems is what happens when I want to use a B1 Monster in Starfinder? Is LW going to require everyone rebuy every Pathfinder book in Starfinder again? I can't see people liking that idea at all even myself. =( So for those that are asking LW to make a new game system it means that your existing .user files and Bestiary Monsters are not usable. All those Encounter Builder tools would no longer have that HUGE list of monsters to pull from. Please keep this in mind when asking LW to make a new game system.

I have to say if I am wrong and this is Pathfinder 2.0 and Starfinder requires a whole new version of HL I mostly likely will never switch to it. My players are too busy and too stuck now to want to learn a new system that is close but has lots of little changes. Oh well... :( :(

*NONE* of us have actually seen anything concrete at this point. Based on our understanding, Paizo has a number of conflicting priorities here. Yes, they want to reuse all the existing monsters. But does that mean that the monsters have to be left untouched? Or can there be a formalized set of transforms applied to convert them? Probably including some GM-ruled fuzziness in various places. Paizo also wants to tailor the rules better to the setting. Somehow, I'm guessing that the concept of Armor Class is probably going to translate poorly in a world of laser guns, so some things will have to change. That's why I pointed out the previous adaptations of major fantasy game systems to Star Wars as examples of changes that have come before.

Nobody knows what will/won't be changing at this point. My understanding is that even Paizo has some big questions to officially resolve, since there is still a YEAR of further development of the game to complete. So we don't know yet. It's pointless to weigh in with lobbying and opinions this point, except as an exercise in tilting at windmills. :)

At the end of the day, we're going to do this in a way that allows us to best support the game. Whatever way that ends up being won't be known for a long time still. :)

I guess we agree to disagree here is all. Which is totally fine as I can still respect you without agreeing with you. :) I say that based on your above showing examples of other systems with huge changes from normal d20 rules for SyFy. Maybe it will be a massive system change.

I think everyone is too use to how WotC does games and are expecting Pathfinder 2.0. Paizo has been very clear over the years for rules like Epic & psionics of how they will get implemented. But people still only heard what they wanted to hear and where upset when Mythic and Occult came out. I think the same is happening here with everyone reading into things and not listening to what Paizo has been saying for years.

Time will tell I guess....

That's exactly what I'm trying to counsel here.

All we have right now is pure conjecture. Your arguments are sound. So are mine. Yet they are conflicting, because Paizo has to resolve some major differences between the settings.

Let's wait until we have concrete information to debate this further. Once we have that information, Lone Wolf will choose a path forward (or is that "star" now?) for the data files that makes the most sense based on how Paizo has chosen to actually do things.

Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of a internet forum? :p :)

I assume you mean Star Wolf as Lone Star is a restaurant. Personally I like "Space Wolf" better! Especially Space Wolves with fracking plasma cannons! :eek:

Don't mention them around Magnus, unless you want him seeing red.

Sitting in SFO on my way back fro PaizoCon. Just thought I would throw in my $0.02.

From what the folks at Paizo said things are very preliminary at this point. They did say if it is a choice between making Starfinder 100% backwards compatible to Pathfinder but making Starfinder less of the game they want they are willing to sacrifice compatibility. However, they want to keep things as compatible as possible. This is mainly going to be focused on the monsters, but if you want to play an elven paladin in power armor with a laser gattling gun, you can do that as well. There will be new classes specifically for the SciFi genre including one called the Solarian which is tied to the lifestages of stars and can manipulate plasma and gravity. They claim it will be unlike any other class we have seen.

Again, it is very early so things may (and probably will) change.

Nailed it!
 

SPACE WOLVES! (alot of screaming and rage insues)

THE WOLVES SEND NUDE MEN AFTER ME?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C3O...ID5WA&index=26

A) I lost brain cells watching even a minute of that.

B) Its not safe to watch at work!!!! :eek:

The chuckles I have gained on this thread this day! :D

[triumphant arousal]

Paizo posted a link to a good & extensive interview with Starfinder's Creative Director, James Sutter:

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featur...interview.aspx

It still looks to me like Starfinder's going to be different enough in detail that Hero Lab will need to treat it as a new system, much like the 2nd & 3rd editions of M&M and the 4th & 5th editions of Shadowrun are separate systems (and for that matter, d20 and Pathfinder). The only specific point of compatibility that is ever mentioned is the ability to use Pathfinder Monsters as Starfinder Monsters, and it wouldn't surprise me if that ends up getting done in Hero Lab by an explicit "Import Monster from Pathfinder" function, if it's supported in HL at all. Even the list of Core Classes is different in Starfinder, even if several of them have obvious parallels in Pathfinder.

So I read that the day it came out pretty much. It has no "exact" details on the rule changes. It mentions some "ideas and thoughts" but no hard details.

As I told Colen I understand from a software point of view of why Starfinder as its own game makes sense. So far from the point of view of the Game it does not. Especially if you add in how little support the game system is going to have for DMs. Few to no monsters means Pathfinder monsters are going to get used. What about Unchained Rules for Action Economy or making Mythic Starfinder characters.

I am not one for wanting to 're-invent' software mechanics just because.

My plan as it does seem Starfinder will be its own game system is to start with putting in logic for converting a Pathfinder monster into a Starfinder character. I have several ways to accomplish this goal but don't know the best one until I see the Starfinder rules.

I also plan to input equipment and feats into Pathfinder from Starfinder. Allowing a NPC to be changed over to Starfinder pretty easily. This is going to be important for all those DM's out there to make use of the NPC Codex and all those .stock files in Pathfinder.

Classes for now is last in my list as I am thinking you need the new classes you need ALL New and can just build the NPC in Starfinder.

But this is all theory as no one has still seen the rules that are still in flux and being created. :)

Transcript from Starfinder Q&A
 

Starfinder Q&A Transcript

https://quip.com/yFhBANDAGDYb

This may help clear things up and give some direction.

So, it's been about 9 months since the Pathfinder announcement. Can the folks from Wolf Lair Give us an idea of the current state of plans for Starfinder support and when it will be available?

Looking to budget for this come release day. Can Wolf Lair confirm if they are working with Paizo to have Hero Lab Starfinder release when the books release at GenCon?

Here are are my guesses...

1) Starfinder will be a separate game system from Pathfinder.

2) LW is most likely trying very hard to have Starfinder out for GenCon. But they are a small shop with lots of moving parts. So it "could" be after but it makes sense for them to really try for a GenCon release.

3) Hopefully "maybe" the monster conversion rules from Pathfinder to Starfinder will appear in HL Pathfinder game system. Most likely not at GenCon time but soon after. If this is a paid package or free or linked to your Starfinder license is pretty open.

I would also like to know if ship design would be included on the initial release and the tactical console available to run ship to ship combat?

Saw the Core Rulebook at uk games expo and they, paizo, confirmed there would be support in Hero Lab, hopefully from launch date. no indication on how it would work.

The most code elegant way to do this would be to run Starfinder as it's own game systems but have license purchases made in Pathfinder activate equivalent resources on the Starfinder side and vice versa. And then provide some form of portfolio import feature.

To say that this would be a non-trivial undertaking, however, would be a severe understatement.

I can confirm/deny absolutely/not-at-all that everything you do/don't wish to be in Starfinder will be supported immediately/never.

;)

Late to the show and not caught up yet on this thread, but here goes anyway:

I hope that it does get its own rules block. There are enough differences, just from what I read in the 'The First Contact' primer. Of course, nothing in that first look is guaranteed to be official, but there were enough changes that seemed more like hacks to me.

I feel that it makes sense to make a rules setting specifically for Starfinder that allows Pathfinder content to be imported easily rather than the other way around.

I came to check the forums specifically hoping that Lone Wolf was looking at Starfinder and I'm glad to hear that they are!

It consumes my every waking thought.

Exalted kind of beat them to the punch on this. Shards of the Exalted Dream did a damn good job taking white wolf's games into space. Scarlett Empress as the head of the Galactic Senate with Darth Vader at her side. I couldn't ask for a better sci fi ruleset.

Starfinder from Scratch
 

I have a complete set of the game those far; Core book, AP #1, GM Screen, Pawns etc. Hero Lab will need a whole new system for Starfinder.

Yea, I started putting First Contact stuff into my Realm Works campaign already. Really looking forward to some actual Lone Wolf structure files tailored just for Starfinder.

So now with Starfinder in hand, it is not 100% backwards compatible. There are many similar mechanics, and the base is still Pathfinder, but there are big differences. HPs are now 3 different tracks (HP, Resolve, and Stamina all of which are derived stats), and AC is now 2 different AC stats (EAC and KAC for energy vs. kinetic attacks). There are other changes more basic to the setting like races, and classes that in no way match to existing race/classes that make me wonder if it is possible to put this under the Pathfinder umbrella as just another supplement.

Hurry up and take my money. :D