The Daily Character Option

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Another chapter of the blog has begun today, for it marks the very first time we’ve covered a Starfinder Second Edition archetype on the blog! And what a fun one it is!

Just as pirates hunted ships across the briney seas of old, so too do space pirates ply the spacelanes, targeting shipping freighters and poorly-defended vessels before slipping back into the cover of asteroid belts and other dangerous cosmic phenomena.

In the Starfinder setting, the most common pirates are the Free Captains, a conglomerate organization of crews and their vessels that are beholden to their own code, but certainly other unaffiliated crews also exist.

Regardless of allegiance, space pirates share both the danger of their occupation but also the romanticism with the pirates of yore. After all, when someone abandons civilization to become a pirate, the only law that they recognize are the ones that they impose of themselves, and there is a sort of honor in that. Of course, this also means that encounters with a pirate can vary between a sort of wild nobility that is as good as their word, and unscrupulous captains that will betray any deal or promise if it means a profit, and freighter crews and the like hope that particular gamble goes in their favor. That being said, such a backbiting scallywag can expect to find themselves targeted if their travels find themselves in more honorable pirate crew territory.

In any case, today’s archetype promises to grant some thematic abilities to those that play the starry sea. Be warned though, some of these abilities definitely reflect a moral compass that might unnerve some, but like all feats, they are optional.

The base dedication for this archetype includes pilot training and familiarity with some traditional weapons of piracy. Additionally, they equip their gear with a holographic projector programmed to project the image of their own ship’s Jolly Roger, aiding in their ability to intimidate others.

Adding insult to injury in a very literal way, many pirates send a verbal jab in the direction of a foe that one of their allies damaged, shaking up their confidence in the process.

Others that prefer heavier weapons instead strike fear with their menancing laughter that remains audible even over the roar of their guns, terrifying even as they suppress their foes.

Rushing into battle, many pirates wield a gun in one hand and a light melee weapon in the other, and often use the pistol to soften up a foe as they approach and follow up with their other weapon.

Indeed, this propensity for wielding two weapons means they typically practice to draw and aim with their weapons together in one fluid motion.

Their two-weapon fighting style also lets them block with their melee weapon and fire their pistol at close range into their foe.

Even when not blocking, they can fire and swing in quick unison at close range to keep the pressure up.

A fearsome ability only used by especially ruthless pirates, some that wield phase cutlasses learn an occult trick to trap the souls of their foes inside the blade, releasing them only when forcing them to serve as a wisp ally in combat as a magical form of press-ganging beyond the grave. Such an imprisonment is temporary, but certainly does not sit well with many folks.

Intimidation and two-weapon fighting are the name of the game with this archetype, so playing a space pirate can make a mixed range and melee character even better, or can lend a bit of that to casters and other non-frontline classes. No matter what class you choose, you’ll likely be relying on opening with intimidation debuffs and following up as a whirlwind of attacks on the battlefield.

As far as archetypes go, I’m pretty glad we started our coverage of Starfinder Second Edition with this one. You can’t have interstellar adventures without space pirates, after all! Now if only we could see some space combat rules…

After void oozes were discovered in the derelict ship that came to be called Shadowed Persistence, the craft was given a wide berth by any would-be salvagers. However, that avoidance also means the wreck is a perfect meeting place for space pirates seeking to touch base with other crews parked near the derelict.

There are a lot of rumors abound about Captain Boneforest. Some believe that the copaxi was a former ecologist that left her homeworld when it became clear that her people were driving their planet’s ecology to ruin, other that she left after being ousted from a political position. The only thing that is known for certain is that she is very old indeed.

(art by BriMerry on DeviantArt)

I would like to preface tonight’s entry by saying that using words that have their own meaning for rpg things can be an exercise in frustration. Sure, I get it. Nobody is using the word “seneschal” in the modern parlance, but people would use the term in the context of… oh I don’t know, a quasi-medieval roleplaying game. But what are the odds of such a crossing of wires happening with today’s subject?

Now, to be fair, the word “seneschal” does include being a steward for a noble, as well as one that ministers to lower-ranking servants in the definition, so I SUPPOSE it works.

In the wake of the Godsrain and the War of Immortals in the Pathfinder core setting, a lot of powers have been duking it out or going missing in this cosmic shakeup/editorial pruning. The list of deities that are either dead, gone missing, or just quietly nixed or revised from the setting are plenty, but less overtly covered are other minor powers, the sort of beings that serve as patrons to witches.

Whether their patron was a god or a servant of a god for divine-tradition witches, or their patron got caught in the crossfire of all this ruckus for everyone else… Something has made many patrons go silent. The power of the connections they once offered still exist, but they themselves no longer seem present to give advice or issue demands anymore.

Some may see their patron as lost and give up witchcraft, but not the ones that come to be known as seneschals. Such mystics instead hold on tight to the frayed end of that connection, retaining their power. Such individuals practice much the same as any other witch, but now their new spells and hexes and lessons are self-taught by tapping into what remains of their former patron’s body of knowledge, like a scholar piecing together understanding from their late teacher’s study.

In time, the open-ended bond they have becomes more a part of them, and the greatest of them all might fully transcend, becoming patrons in their own right. Perhaps this is how Baba Yaga and other patrons that are otherwise moral (or immortal) spellcasters achieve such a state?

To be clear, of course, the Godsrain, while the framing device here, is not the direct cause of becoming a seneschal. As such, this flavor of witchcraft can show up in any setting or time period as long as one thing remains true: the witch’s patron has gone silent.

Naturally, this is a class archetype, only available to witches. However, unlike many class archetypes we’ve covered in the past few months, this one actually feels like it deserves to be an archetype rather than just being a normal class option with extra steps. So let’s get into it!

Like all class archetypes, this one alters something at first level before you take the dedication. In this case, because the patron is not present for the witch to learn from directly, they lose out on the first lesson, instead gaining a spell of their choice as they experiment on their own, and also the ability to tap into the frayed connection, manifesting their will in a raw surge of power that conceals  them from those outside the radius, but has various effects on those that enter it based on the tradition the witch draws upon. Foes become vulnerable to damaging spells when under the influence of arcane witches, while those that tap into the divine infuse living or undead allies with vital energy. Occult seneschals ward their allies with protective sigils, and primal casters are surrounded by constantly surging waves of plant growth as vegetation blooms, withers, and is replaced.

The base dedication for this archetype allows the mage to use the severed end of their patron bond to metaphysically bond to another ally (though not a minion), allowing them to keep taps on them and cast beneficial spells from a distance on them. They can even use the bond to invoke their aura of will through their charge instead as long as they are close enough.

While they are not their patron, some seneschals learn magic to alter their appearance to match their patron, or at least a facsimile if they didn’t have a humanoid form. While not useful for laying low, this disguise might come in handy for demonstrating an otherworldly nature, working in the same circles as their patron once did, or even simply just hiding their own identity when something flashy and otherworldly is still better than their own face.

Some of these mystics enhance the connection so much that they can use their current ward as the conduit for their own spellcasting, originating spells through them.

Skilled mystics might learn to diversify and expand the power they manifest when creating their aura of will, able to gain and shift between the benefits available to other traditions, while also helping ward against hostile magic of the same tradition.

While the true nature of patrons is varied, their mystical abilities do in part make them spiritual beings. Some of these witches can leverage that to change the damage of their spells to raw spiritual energy if that would be more effective.

It is said that some powers are able to see and hear anything witnessed by one of their symbols. By claiming the symbol of their lost patron, some seneschals can do the same, creating a subtle spying tool onto any surface they can carve or draw on, though only the most recent symbol holds any power.

Some witches with healing magic can give just a bit more of themselves when casting, weakening themselves to enhance the healing magic.

Patrons are known for speaking to their witches remotely, and some seneschals mimic that, able to pass short magical messages to anyone they’ve ever bonded with.

As they begin to take up the mantle of a patron, some of these mystics learn how to grant knowledge of a single spell to their charge (or one of their charges if they took the Witch’s Communion feat).

With uncanny foresight, either granted by some echo of their patron or their own developing prescience, these mages can steel themselves against an incoming mental effect to better resist it.

Others begin exuding the raw power and authority of a patron, punishing any foe that dares harm them with spiritual backlash.

Finally, the most powerful witches can choose to fully embrace the mantle of seneschal and become a patron in their own right. With it, they gain sight beyond sight that pierces the dark and illusions. Additionally, they can act as a patron for other witches, treating witches of a patron theme of their choosing as their wards even if they themselves did not make a pact with them specifically. Additionally, they learn the secrets of the wish ritual, and can influence and bolster the wishes of witches they patronize should they choose to.

This archetype is a fascinating take on becoming the very source of power that you and others might draw upon, almost like a non-mythic decaf version of the Godling mythic destiny. As far as it goes, this archetype offers you the ability to create a useful magical aura and select one or more allies to buff and protect in various ways, as well as some useful utility and combat powers. If it appeals to your play style and character, I say go for it.

The entire metaphysical premise of this archetype is fascinating. Even though the patron is missing or even dead, the connection with them still exists, which is actually kinda heartfelt no matter what the relationship between the patron and the witch actually was, and it perfectly illustrates the real difference between patrons, even divine ones, and deities, and how they grant power to witches as opposed to clerics or oracles.

For centuries, the Wall of Laws has been a touchstone of dwarven tradition, a semi-sentient artifact of the rules and truths that dwarves must live by. Occasionally, it even granted knowledge to practitioners that served as it’s agents. Now, however, the monolith has been shattered, casting dwarven culture adrift with uncertainty. Dangroth the Last Word, however, keeps the faith, and his devotion seems to be paying off.

Like scavengers stalking a beast near death, fiends have long preyed upon the broken xulgath civilization, offering tainted power in exchange for prayer and pushing them towards greater acts of cruelty and savagery. Seeking a better life for her people, Ulbraxix has sought a different power, one she approached on her own terms… However, when that spirit was slain, she opened her heart to that remaining connection rather than fall into despair. Now, she is on the verge of becoming something else, a beacon of hope.

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Before there were style feats, there was a series of feats for monks and unarmed builds that didn’t have a name or special rules, but still evoked the idea of special martial techniques. Some of them even had “style” in the name. It’s pretty clear from the fact that some of these were in the core rulebook that A. The writers liked the idea of martial artists having more special techniques than just stunning fist and quivering palm, and B. They really wanted to express martial arts styles somehow, but hadn’t fully figured it out yet. Heck, give it a few more years, and we wouldn’t have had to wait for Starfinder 1e and later Pathfinder 2e to get martial artists using their ki to do their best Dragonball Z/fighting game impression with flight and energy blasts and such.

But it is those early technique feats that we’ll be focusing on today and the sort of tricks and debuffs that they could deliver with them, among other things. If you pay attention, you might even see in them the precursors of a few other things that bore fruit in Second Edition too, such as martial art styles including special strikes with their own damage type when one enters the stance for one.

Obviously, most of these require Improved Unarmed Strike to even take in the first place, either by way of the feat or by being a monk or brawler. A few others require Stunning Fist as well.

The first set of these are Scorpion Strike, which lets the warrior target the limbs to hamper speed, followed by Gorgon’s Fist to stagger them. Next up is Medusa’s Wrath, which if a follow-up granting extra attacks to a hindered foe. Finally, there is Cockatrice Strike, that can actually turn a foe to stone on a lucky strike against a hindered foe, dipping into actual supernatural territory.

Next up is Adder’s Strike, which allows them to effectively use poison on their unarmed strikes without poisoning themselves, as well as Pinpoint Poisoner, that adds darts to the mix.

Inspired by the devils of hell, there are also several techniques named after them. Belier’s Bite gives them training on dealing bleeding wounds. Next is Hamatulatsu, which lets them deal stabbing wounds with stiffened fingers, followed by Hamatula Strike, which lets them grapple and hold foes they’ve stabbed, and Hamatula Grasp, that improves the harm they do.

Other techniques are more mundane, like the Ki Throw line, Punishing Kick, Perfect Strike, and so on.

Others are blatantly supernatural, such as Nightmare Fist, Nightmare Weaver, and Nightmare Striker, which improve the ability to fight in darkness, intimidate foes while creating magical darkness, and punish foes marked by faerie fire, all of which makes sense as a martial art created for and by the drow.

Stepping aside from those requiring knowledge of punching, Spider Step and Cloud Step are both monk only feats that are clearly special techniques, allowing the monk to run on walls and even air briefly.

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Next on the docket, we have a set of feats that I’m kinda surprised I haven’t talked about before on the blog: Meditation feats!

In the real world, meditation is a practice where a person tries to relieve stress by emptying their mind. A lot of people mistakenly assume this means “don’t think anything for hours”, but that’s not entirely true. What it really means is to let go of the thoughts that are lingering in your head and just experience the world around you, observing every sight, sound, and feeling, to be present in the moment, to just take a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet. Sure, you may have thoughts during that time, but you let them come and go rather than focus on them. There are obviously variations and goals, but that’s the general idea, and it’s not for everyone.

In fantasy media, meditation comes with the trappings of sometimes superhuman displays of power that can colloquially be referred to as “monk bullshit.”

However, meditation is not solely the purview of monks, and many other characters might gain benefit from the practice and find uses for a cinematic and fanciful take on stillness of the mind.

Which is why these meditation feats exist. While certainly having a monk vibe, they are open to pretty much any class, requiring only a decent wisdom score and character level.

This set of feats begins with one that serves as the prerequisite for everything else. Meditation Master, as it is called, lets you meditate during your daily prep, and by doing so, you get a little bonus you can use once in the day for any d20 roll. It’s not much, but it’s basically a free guidance casting that lasts all day. However, from there we get feats that let you add even more effects thanks to that morning meditation.

Basically progression in this feat tree has three branches (and one straggler). The first alphabetically is Body Control. With it, the character uses their meditation to become more and more aware of their own body. Have you ever just taken a moment to ignore everything around you and feel your blood pumping through your body? It’s basically that, but more so. With it, the character gets a flat bonus to Fort saves, and can go longer without food, water and rest as they subtly control their own body consciously. With Bend with the Wind, this expands to temperature regulation, giving them some resistance to heat and cold, and with Body Mastery, their flesh becomes tougher and more resistant to injury. Also, as a small aside, while not needing Body Control, the Sensory Control reflects the meditating character sharpening their own senses by just paying attention to them more, enhancing their sense of smell and night vision.

Next up is the Mindful Meditation line. While real mindful meditation is about actively working to examine thoughts and let them go, this feat does harden the mind against mental subversion with a Will save buff, and makes it harder to trick or intimidate them as well. From there we have Perfect Awareness granting a once per day sudden burst of perceptiveness, picking up on things that might slip by them. Mindfulness Mastery meanwhile gives them a resolve that can help them try and overcome a mental effect a few moments after they would otherwise succumb. Finally, those who have a Perfect Center can resist all distraction, taking a normal amount of effort even in stressful situations.

And finally, we have the Combat Meditation, which in addition to granting focus to be able to succeed even when defeat seems assured in various rolls, but it also lets them briefly focus to gain the benefits of all their meditation feats for a short time if they were unable to properly meditate earlier. Spellcasters often learn Meditative Concentration, which naturally let’s them maintain focus more easily even when casting spells in hazardous conditions or when attacked by swarming creatures. Some become so focused they seem to Slow Time, or more accurately, boost their own speed and processing power to move and attack faster for a short time when they focus in combat. Additionally, that combat focus can be trained to last longer with Extended Combat Meditation. Finally, those with Greater Combat Meditation perfect it further, able to use more focus on a task to split a smaller amount of focus between two tasks.

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A funny thing about magic in both mythology and fiction is that is pretty much does anything that the writer feels it should. Sure, there are plenty of magic systems in fiction with their own rules for how they work, but all of that can fly out the window the moment the author had a neat idea to solve a problem in the story (or start one), they want to shake things up a bit, or they just forgot.

A result we sometimes see with this is magical items that seem pretty flexible in what they can do. Sometimes a magic item just does whatever the writer wants it to be able to do at the time, and sometimes it has established powers, but then the writer comes up with a clever application for that power or just pull a new power for it out of their patoot with varying degrees of justification.

And that’s all fine and good for storytelling (much to the disagreement of an army of internet armchair writers that think that internal consistency is somehow the point of writing stories), but this gets a little tricky in gaming, where the magical properties of the various doodads the party picks up not only obey the rules of whatever magical system is associated with the world, but with the rules of the game itself. A magic weapon only provides the benefits listed in it’s stats.

However, as we’ve established, a magic item that can do a lot of things isn’t necessarily bad writing, and there is an appeal in a character that can do a lot of things with their signature magic sword or staff or whatever.

Which is where we get the Item Mastery feats. Heavily associated with the Relic Master archetype for fighter, these feats are available to anyone who can meet the prerequisites, and are meant to emulate the vibe of a character being able to do a lot more things with a magic item that on paper has limited usage.

The reasons for why and how are deliberately left vague. Maybe they have a special quality that unlocks the items potential. Maybe the item could always do that and the character is innovative enough to exploit that. Or maybe it’s like the magical equipment of jury rigging a machine to perform a very different function. No matter the reason, these wielders can unlock various other exploits and tricks based on the schools of magic in the items they wield and wear.

So, the feats in this category can be subdivided into two major subsets. The first and most numerous of them are the feats that allow the wielder to replicate the effects of several classic spells that are indicative of a school of magic by fiddling with the workings of a magic item that includes that school among it’s aura. Energy Mastery lets you blast foes with cones and lines of elemental energy based on the elements associated with the item, Concealment and Illusion Master grant invisibility and minor image from illusion items, Teleportation Mastery let’s the user cast dimension door with a conjuration item, and so on.

The other set is pretty much “everything else” but includes the likes of Implement Mastery allowing an occultist to use their implements for the other item mastery feats even if they themselves aren’t technically magic items, or firing beams of various flavors of divine wrath from a holy symbol with the Symbolic Mastery feats.

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Something that I don’t think people give asura a lot of credit for is how some seek their own form of enlightenment separate from what the gods offer. It’s a bit tainted due to coming from a place of spite and vindictiveness, but it is a form of asceticism in its own way… and for some it even works, creating lawful good asura bearing the wisdom of the cosmos.

Today’s subject is a martial art style that emulates the asura and their rage against the gods. It might have been inspired by their hatred of the gods, or it might have actually been invented by the fiends as a weapon for themselves and their followers against the gods and their servants. Either way, the result is a martial artist that seems purpose-built to hinder and slay divine casters.

Like yesterday’s style, this one too is open to both hand to hand and weapon-based maneuvers, albeit limited to monk weapons in this case.

Overall, this style incorporates the graceful poses and stances some asura are known for striking with the incorporation of a multitude of gestures and statements that are considered blasphemous in many religions, either by decrying the deity of onlookers specifically, or by mocking the ritualistic gestures of a religion’s prayers and spellcasting. All of this making for a style that flows from grace and balance to crass disruption and back again fluidly.

This, I imagine gives rise to monks, brawlers, and other hand to hand specialists that have a deep knowledge base of religious lore, since one must know a faith to blaspheme against it.

The basic Style teaches the user to incorporate blasphemous actions into the swing and follow-up of their strike, a pose parodying the target’s faith, a casual blasphemous phrase, and other such hurtful acts that leave the religious reeling, hampering divine casters so struck.

Less aggressive is the Sight technique, which focuses on emulating how some powerful asura have multiple faces and eyes. With it, they unfocus but remain attentive with all their senses, letting them notice hidden dangers more easily.

Finally, they can learn the Spellrend strike, which lets them use their inner energies, blasphemous handsigns, and the like to dispel divine magic on a foe as they strike them, robbing them of bluffs.

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If there is anything that the armies of Heaven can be praised for, it is for their willingness to risk their own safety to protect others. That may be innocents, or it may be their direct allies in the conflict, forming a cohesive unit that watches the backs of each other.

That dedication to duty is appealing to many would-be guardians, be they monks, paladins, or otherwise. And so it gave rise to the Archon Style of martial arts.

As the name suggests, the style is meant to emulate the defensive fighting forms used by the servants of law and good, and can be done with both unarmed combat and with a one-handed weapon, the other hand left open not to guard themselves, but to guard others. Indeed, this style is unusual in that the wielder is meant to draw attacks towards themselves rather than deflect them away, the better to protect those they fight alongside.

That does, however, make the style ineffective when fighting alone, but no warrior banks on one move, so it is often supplemented with other fighting techniques and styles to suit the situation.

The base form of the Style allows the warrior to designate a foe within their reach, which they proceed to hinder with blocking motions to give allies a measure of protection at the cost of opening up their own defenses.

With mastery, they learn a Diversion maneuver as the gaps created by the base forms close. With this technique, they can redirect their designated foe’s attack against their own defenses rather than allies, grabbing weapon hafts and sword arms and whatnot. In doing so, regardless of whether the attack succeeds against them, they pull their foe so far out of alignment that this opens up the attacked ally to make a strike of their own.

Finally, with true mastery, their protective maneuvers no longer leave a gap in their defenses and letting them set up the technique faster. Additionally, when they themselves are successfully by any foe, not just a designated one, they can use the Justice technique to grab and hold the weapon that struck them for an extended period, opening up their foe for all nearby allies to punish.

(art by LeoDragonsWorks on DeviantArt)

Music is a fascinating concept. A pattern of sounds elicits a powerful emotional response because it is just that: a pattern. Such a pattern can be simple or incredibly complex, and all parts of the whole create something enjoyable or at least cathartic to experience.

But when you think about it, it is a curiosity. We only feel this way from listening to music because the human brain is built for finding patterns. Certainly most animals don’t pay music much attention any more than other sounds.

And yet… nature sings.

Birds have their various songs and calls that serve as territory signaling or attracting mates, crickets chirp, wolves howl, and so on, all different ways that the animal kingdom expresses itself. Certainly some of it seems pretty to us, but it is also often atonal and lacking harmony from our perspective. But can we deny that such sounds might be scratching the same itch for other animals as our songs do for us?

Tonight, we are looking at the zoophonia muse for bards, for those with a naturalist bent that learn to appreciate and draw inspiration from the natural sounds of the wild, mostly animal sounds, but certainly from other natural phenomena in part.

If this muse is an entity, it might be an awakened animal or even a nature spirit that takes an animal form. Otherwise, it might be any sort of nature deity, or it might even be just a personal appreciation held by the bard for the natural world and it’s sounds.

Their performances might use instruments that echo the sounds of animal cries, or their acting might include characters that have affectations based on animals, or anything similar. Either way, with their skills they bring a little natural power to the normally occult class.

At the base level, this muse allows the bard to communicate requests and commands to animals through their performances (emulating animal calls and transcending language), giving them a gift for communicating their intent to the animal world. However, without other magic it does not allow them to understand the animal in kind, limiting it’s applications. Additionally, they learn magic for summoning animals to aid them in battle.

Of course, there are feats associated with this muse, such as Bestial Snarling to strike fear into others by emulating threat displays or encouraging an animal companion to do the same. With Zoophonic Composition, they can weave messages and magic into a composition spell to sustain a summoned animal or command other animals. Tapping into their connection to animal life, Ears of the Forest allows a bard to use the senses of nearby animals to remotely view, listen, or use other senses to search. With Songbird’s Call, they can summon forth a swarm of singing, pecking songbirds to conceal themselves and strike foes. With mastery they can use Musical Summons to summon animals and perform a composition with the same fluid performance. Finally, true mastery allows them to use Pack Performance, which allows an allied animal or summon to intercept and attack a creature trying to disrupt their spells, shutting down the counteraction.

Of course, other feats might appeal to you as well, such as Martial Performance, Lingering Composition, Reliable Squire, Inspiring Resilience, Rallying Anthem, Triple Time, Allegro, Soothing Ballad, Vigorous Anthem, and Pied Piping, among any others that might suit your build.

With an animal summon, this muse is certainly begging for the bard to take summon animal as a signature spell and be able to summon, buff, and heal summoned beasts is a solid idea. However, consider also the utility of being able to convince animals to aid you. It’s not quite the same as being able to ask questions of them, but they certainly can come in handy.

Looking back on it, it’s pretty clear this muse is inspired at least in part by the Animal Speaker for First Edition Bard, which does mean a lot of my old advice about essentially living as a Disney Princess does apply here as well, or well, it can if you find it valuable. Consider what sort of relationship your character has with the animals they sing and perform for. Are they friends? Pawns?

While not as home as one of her feyblooded kin might be in the wild, Himmerbalg the pearl dragonet still adores animals, and turned her talent for mimicking bird calls into a career in naturalistic song. In the pursuit of furthering that career, she is putting together funds for an expedition to find the Geographer’s Dream, a region where every biome can be found within it’s borders, along with all manner of animals native to each. Of course, not many know that such a place does not exist on the material plane fully.

Normally more concerned with what happens after, Shoanagix is unusual among requiem dragons in that they are very fond of creatures that live, especially songbirds. Someone with a special connection to such fowl might go a long way in their favor.

(art by JaqenArt on DeviantArt)

And now we have the third and final Rivethun archetype this week, a more spell-focused form of mystic in the form of the involutionist!

Now, the word “involution” means “intricate or complex, including in the mathematical context, where it can refer to an operation that, when applied to itself, results in the original number”.

Given what we know about the beliefs, methods, and goals of the Rivethun philosophy, we can infer that this name imples that these mages not only leverage their connection to the spirit world, but use their own capacity for self-examination in order to develop their spellcasting abilities.

Why this results in having a spiritually-empowered companion is not entirely clear, but let’s be honest, everyone needs an emotional support critter.

The base dedication for this archetype comes with training in nature and religion, as well as a handful of cantrips.

They also can learn the basic, expert, and master spellcasting benefits, gaining a handful of spell slots and divine spells to use with them.

Involutionists often attract a companion to their side that acts as a conduit and vessel for the spiritual power they invoke. This also gives them the benefit of being able to become partially spiritual alongside their companion, striking at the very soul of their foes. If they already have a companion, it gains these blessings instead.

Naturally, they also have feats for improving their animal companion, maturing them and granting them other benefits.

Where things get interesting is when they choose to specialize the companion. They gain access to a unique specialization, causing the companion to be able to reach into the spirit world, able to strike incorporeal beings. They can still take other specializations with more investment of training, but the first must be this blessing.

This archetype is arguably the most simple of the Rivethun archetypes. It grants divine spellcasting on the one end and a companion creature on the other. In theory you could use the archetype for just the spellcasting, but at that point you might as well do a divine caster multiclass like cleric or oracle. Indeed, what sets this archetype apart is the companion options, with the ability to shift to spirit damage and the long-term reward of being a ghost hunter. Definitely invest in the companion feats at least somewhat, but you can go as deep or shallow into the spellcasting as you wish. A class and build that is at least somewhat competent in a fight is preferable if plan to stay close to your companion and fight alongside them.

Much like the other Rivethun archetypes, it can be fun to come up with personalities for the spirits you invoke. Of course, one must also answer the question of whether their animal companion has a separate persona from the spirit, or whether it itself is a spirit given corporeal form, if it even is an animal at all.

As a place where the dead are laid to rest, the Catacombs of Kortress have had their share of hauntings over the years. As such, expeditions are sometimes mounted to the deepest parts to try and put to rest. The leader of one such expedition, Dralthar, is looking to recruit adventurers to join him and his elk companion in the depths.

A longtime practitioner of spirit magic, the kholo Emjati sees to the needs of her clan, but will also provide spellcasting and advice to outsiders in need as long as they can pay. In a pinch they also will fight as well, standing alongside her lion companion Little Sun.

(art by Nezart on DeviantArt)

The Rivethun train keeps rolling tonight, because we’ve got out second archetype associated with the practice here today!

While yesterday’s subject focused on befriending spirits and calling upon their aid externally, today we have the Rivethun Invoker, a mystical warrior that invites spirits to dwell within their own body, enhancing them body and mind as needed.

The bond that these warriors share with their spirits is very close, allowing them to move their body as one. However, it is still distinct enough that the spirits can find ways to empower and protect the invoker while they fight.

The result, as we’ll soon see is a figure that is capable of some uncanny feats even though they likely carry a weapon into combat, if that. That being said, you might notice some parallels with the vibe of the champion and guardian spirits for Mediums from First Edition, and I’m pretty sure that’s on purpose.

In any case, let’s see what they’ve got for us!

The base dedication of this archetype toughens up the character to start things off, causing them to cling to life more tenaciously thanks to their control over their own spirits. However, they an also enter a battle trance that surrounds them in spirits, which gives them greater reserves of vitality, wards their mind and body, and empowers their strikes with a bit of spiritual wrath as well.

By bringing forth the might of one or more spirits, these warriors can manifest a ghostly echo of one of their spirit’s combatative limbs to help them fight their enemies, which only grows in might with the invoker’s own power.

Some can rush into the fray, barreling through enemies to strike at the target of their choice. This might be because the spirits empower them with great might, or perhaps they briefly manifest the aspect of a spirit with a bulky, unstoppable form. With another feat, this daring charge is so frightening and overwhelming that foes struggle to defend against it.

The Rivethun leverage their own complex emotions in a lot of ways, but few do so as literally as an invoker that can leverage the anguish of being afflicted by a hostile effect to heal themselves, the potency of this healing growing with their own mastery of their physical form.

Those of a more combatative bent can summon the might of the spirits to potentially floor a foe with a single blow. With another feat, this becomes even easier to pull off.

With a different manifestation, these warriors can gain protection from blows, invoking the durability of their spirit’s physical manifestation.

Despair often threatens to overtake the spirit of many a Rivethun practitioner, but they defy it in their own way, some able to get a burst of speed and mobility out of that defiance.

Many spirits have animal forms or are otherwise agile, and by invoking that aspect, these warriors can briefly benefit from flight, burrowing, swimming, or all manner of forms of movement.

The greatest among these invokers can become as much spirit as flesh with their invocations, able to heal rapidly, touch ghostly foes, and even rely on their spirit allies to keep them in the fight should they be downed.

This archetype is quite interesting, basically manifesting a sort of spiritual pseudo-rage akin to the exciter and id rager archetypes from First Edition, which is fun. The trance only lasts one minute though, and while there are several feats that can improve the trance with offense, defense, and mobility, the fact that they take actions to activate is a little vexing. A single activation of a trance lasts a minute, which is 29 actions after taking out the one required to enter the trance in the first place. Assuming you have all three invocation feats, that’s only 26 actions once you take out the actions to activate all three, even if you spread it out throughout the combat, many of which will not last long enough, further cutting into the value there. That isn’t to say that this archetype is worthless, far from it, but it is something to keep in mind.

As for what class you should take with it, the archetype is certainly geared towards up close and personal fighting, particularly with a big two-hander. As such, fighter, barbarian, or guardian are all good picks, but the fact that the archetype includes a pinch of feats from fighter and barbarian means that you could apply it to other classes as well, such as a self-buffing caster, as well.

Having an indeterminant number of spirits surrounding you does have some lovely roleplaying opportunities in that you get to name and even give voice to some of the more prominent ones. Consider what the personality and priorities of a serene deer spirit would be compared to the antics of a mischievous wind spirit, for example.

Easily the most charming dancer and bard in Nessaly, few understand that Ulrica does not actually dance alone, for her muses are in fact spirits of revelry and the arts, which guide her steps both on the dance floor, and when needed, in combat as well.

Though their people long ago left the realms of the fey, many gnomes remain on good terms with the spirits of nature and whimsy. It is said that some can call upon their might to fight with the might of giants despite their stature remaining the same.

(art by Talicor on DeviantArt)

Well, I hope you enjoyed the entry on the Razmiran Priest, because most of this week is going to be devoted to a very different R-named order!

I speak, of course, of the Rivethun, the spirit-devoted religious and mystical group that started as a dwarven tradition, but has expanded far beyond them.

For those not aware, the Rivethun believe strongly in the importance of respecting and revering spirits, even minor ones well beneath the level of the gods. Furthermore, they believe that having inner conflict is a perfect catalyst for reaching out to said spirits. After all, spirits are often many things, and so are people, which creates common ground.

As such, the Rivethun actively embraces those who are a little bit different in ways that the individual must develop themselves to understand. Many among their number include transgender and nonbinary members, as well as those suffering from mental illness, demonstrate neurodivergence, plurality, or have some social stigma associated with them that they struggle with.

The rivethun had lots of archetypes associated with them in First Edition, fitting for one of the favorite groups in the setting, and that continues into Second Edition with a total of three archetypes that mention the group in their name.

Which brings us to our first subject, the Rivethun Emissary. Like the name suggests, these individuals are characterized by their goal of reaching out to otherworldly and magical beings and extending a hand of friendship, forming strong bonds with such entities to the point they can draw upon some of their power.

There is a bit of the vibes of the old shaman class here, but much more personal. That being said, this archetype likely pairs well with the new animist class, though it’s hardly limited to that.

The base dedication of this archetype grants the mystic to bond themselves with a creature or terrain, effectively befriending the spirits of the land, or the spirit of a magical being or spirits that watch over other types of creatures. At their base level, the emissary can bank upon that bond to gain protection from the spirits.

Drawn either from the world around them or a fragment of their own spirit, some of these mystics can bring forth a familiar, one with an impressive array of extra abilities. By synchronizing with the familiar, the creature can shed it’s physical form to empower the mage to turn their various damaging spells into spiritual attack.

Spirits come in all shapes and forms, and when bonded, they bring a little bit of their uniqueness to the mystic. Effectively, this grants a single domain and the resulting basic spell based on the nature of the spirit bonded (subject to GM approval). Naturally this only lasts as long as the bond does. Later on, they can take another feat to gain the advanced spell from their current bond’s domain as well.

There are also techniques for further improving their familiar as well, adding even more abilities.

Rather than call upon their bondmates subtly, some emissaries learn to manifest a vision of their bonded spirit when they call upon them, overwhelming the senses of their foes with a flash of light and color.

Those with an interest in spiritual magic often develop such things, starting with the ability to sense the unseen and establish healing spiritual links with others.

Some learn to enter communion with the spirits, either giving them information, or prophetic guidance, including knowledge the spirits believe will be useful.

Though individual bonds may fade or be replaced, these mystics retain a strong friendship with all the spirits they have bonded with other the years. With it, they can briefly call upon them all at once to manifest in a cyclone of spiritual power to smite their nearby foes.

As they grow in insight, the magically-inclined can speak to the spirits of physical objects and ask questions of them, as well as summon up a mighty spiritual guardian which might be a manifestation of their current bond-mate.

Finally, those that can call upon the spirits for advice find themselves mystically emboldened by the counsel they gained, giving them resistance to mental assault and a useful form of foresight in their endeavors and in defending themselves.

This is a fun archetype indeed. Gaining a variable domain that can change over time as your character travels and finds themselves needing different abilities in their arsenal. Additionally, getting an especially powerful and flexible familiar can be fun, as can their various info-gathering abilities and more. If you want to add a mystical edge to a non-caster, or more spiritual aspects to a caster, this archetype can certainly offer that.

Spirits may embody the various aspects of nature and the world that we wish we could talk to, but that doesn’t mean they think and act like human beings. It takes a patient heart and mind to interact with and befriend such entities. Perhaps it is that patience that is the real reason why the Rivethun accept those that are different than the norm so readily, both in their own acceptance, but also in cultivating important traits they want to see in their initiates.

The spirits of the Daj Najan mountain range are fearful, and when the spirit-talker Jugra asks what is wrong, the only answer they give is that “One who is Two” has come. Investigating further with the party, they discover the truth: an adhukait asura has begun using the range as a hideout and hunting ground, preying upon travelers.

Though he is a sarangay, Potwon does not fear that greedy people of other ancestries will try to steal his forehead gem, for he trusts that the spirits he communes with will watch his back. This is why he acts as a diplomat and envoy for his people, where his great wit and supernatural gifts come in handy outmaneuvering his opposition.

(art by kirpii on DeviantArt)

Ah yes, Razmir, the masked god, the latest in the short list of mortals that have taken the test of the Starstone and prevailed, arising as a new deity, with his priests administering over his chosen nation that bears his name: Razmiran. Though mysterious and couching his doctrine in layers of worthiness, Razmir is a benevolent god…

…At least, that’s the official tagline. If you ask anyone in Absalom, they’ll tell you that nobody remembers anyone by that name attempting the test. Furthermore, for being the supposed benevolent guardian of Razmiran, it certainly is strange that the majority of citizens suffer in squalor, bilked for every last coin the priesthood can wring from them, while the only ones that seem to enjoy the luxuries and public works that said taxes and fines fund are the priesthood themselves, as well as foreign investors seeking a little divine favor that can be so readily bought with coin. Oh, and it’s a little odd that skilled mages able to sense magic seem to register the powers wielded by his priests as occult magic rather than divine.

Yeah, let’s stop beating around the bush here. Razmir and his entire cult are a sham, a group of magical con artists playing at being priests doling out miracles for a price while the powerful mage that proclaims himself a god reaps the benefits as the petty tyrant while true godhood and indeed immortality elude him, the latter of which vexes him in particular as he gets on in years.

And so this archetype helps represent the deceivers that mighty Razmir calls his priesthood. Hilariously, the archetype does not require any spellcasting training at all, with such nonmagical cultists acting as enforcers of actual casters or politely (or not so politely) declining to offer services when they can’t replicate them with concealed magic items.

In the previous edition, this was a sorcerer archetype primarily using arcane magic and concealed magic items to replicate the divine, but with the restructuring of magic, pretty much anyone can be a priest of Razmir… anyone but a divine caster that actually draws power from him specifically, anyway. Sorcerers and witches with their bloodlines and patrons don’t quite count.

The base dedication for the archetype requires some basic training in deception and crafting, and allows the would-be charlatan priest to craft a basic iron mask that can be used to invoke Razmir’s “power”. Whether it is simply a magical effect of the mask or the masks provide a relay to siphon some of Razmir’s own magical power is unclear, but it does allow the user to infuse others with positive energy, giving the appearance of healing them though their wounds in truth remain. Additionally, this dedication allows one to take the cleric multiclass dedication to become a true cleric of Razmir… or at least, a facsimile of one, all of their abilities being occult replications of true divine power.

The mask also makes for a useful barrier between the priest and those that would scruitinize their words, and they become so adept at framing individual statements as half-truths and technical truths that they can fool even magic that detects lies a lot of the time, even when the entirely of their statements together create a bald-faced lie.

As they climb the rains of their organization, many of these priests graduate to being able to wear a silver version of their mask, which grants a new ability to heal afflictions… Or at least appear to. In truth is merely suppresses the afflictions, making the victim appear healed, while the affliction remains and continues to progress as their body fights it, meaning that a lucky or durable individual might fight off an infection while the symptoms are repressed and be fully healed, appearing to all as if the magic had truly worked… or, the victim could suddenly find their symptoms returning elevenfold as they are suddenly several stages further in the disease progression.

Even higher-ranked priests wear gold masks, which grant the additional ability to call down Razmir’s wrath in what appears to be a blazing burst of fire and light, the kind which normally eradicates undead in addition to harming the living… But like all gifts of the false god, this power proves weak and somewhat ineffectual against the undead it is supposed to smite, still slaying most outright, but powerful ones might end up being relatively or entirely untouched.

The most powerful of his priests, who certainly approach and rival Razmir’s true power in scope, wear precious metal-inlaid porcelain masks, and are able to invoke truly miraculous power as a manifestation of their will and that of Razmir… However, like all his “divine gifts”, this one proves hollow, for no matter what spell they emulate, the power withers in the face of those strong enough to be their peers or their superiors.

While I miss the gimmick of passing off magic item usage as your own spellcasting, I do love the way they’ve done this archetype, which offers all sorts of neat “divine” power at the cost of being ineffectual against the stronger opponents one could expect to face. Against masses of weaker foes they can excel, but no matter their build, these purported mystics will have to pass of their own power as Razmir’s to actually make a serious effort against stronger foes.

Like Hellknights, this archetype… is not for a traditional hero. Heck, in most games these guys are pretty cut and dry antagonists. I personally can’t see the appeal of playing one, but I suppose there is merit to exploring a morally twisted individual, either to watch their villainy or perhaps to find redemption and potentially retraining away from the archetype eventually.

Seeking answers for a woman who they found dying, after fleeing mysterious masked assailants, Emberbloom, an extremely rare leshy cultivated from a dragonflower, effectively making him dragonblooded, began tracing back her path, where they found a nation ruled by the same masked group, one promising eternal life and prosperity in exchange for total devotion. The mask the woman had on her, however, tells a different story.

Tremendously powerful and wise, it is said that the ancient sage dragon Sobrengahanax knows nearly everything, and can share it with those who would seek him out. Eager to achieve true godhood, The Everlasting One has seen his cult out to make contact with the dragon, convincing him to visit the powerful false god’s palace… or barring that, dragging the wyrm there in chains if necessary.

(art by SamTheConceptArtist on DeviantArt)

To end off the special this week, I figured I’d take a break from focusing on the usual topics of Pathfinder and Starfinder, and instead talk about some other RPG systems that I play in or are excited to play and run in.

Yes! I play things other than those two! Crazy, I know.

So let’s get right into it.

Veterans of the hobby will probably roll their eyes at me starting off by mentioning some of the big names first, but I couldn’t not mention World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness. Whether you prefer the original or the reboot, both settings have some fascinating if sometimes convoluted lore, and most of the sub-systems (with perhaps the exception of Werewolf) focus on roleplay and creative solutions over combat (though you’ll still be doing plenty of fighting). So if you like urban fantasy gothic horror, you’ve got a lot of options to choose from with this one system alone, whether you want to play a vampire, werewolf, modern mage, ghost, demon, hunter, or something weirder like a Frankenstein monster, fey, or even the embodiment of a monster of ancient or modern myth.

Standing for General Universal Roleplaying System, GURPS is the universal RPG that 5e wishes it was, being completely system neutral and the core rules devoted entirely to just building characters and campaigns, with other books in the system being devoted to advice for using those rules to run games in different genres using it, be it classic sword and sorcery, post-apocalypse, sci fi, and so on. The big knock against it, however, is that if 5e notoriously puts all the work on the shoulder of the GM, GURPS does even more so.

Getting a bit more out in the weeds here, I present Mutants and Masterminds, a superhero RPG that takes a lot of the framework of D&D and strips it down, creating a modular system where pretty much any superpower can be replicated, complete with the weird quirks and exceptions that often accompany the genre. Additionally, the system has a fascinating system where the players take a surprising amount of control of the story by agreeing to let the GM take liberties with the story in order to make it more interesting (such as a villain miraculously avoiding a crit that would have ended the story too early) in exchange for a resource that will come in handy for some truly heroic acts during the later scenes of a storyline.

This next one I have more mixed opinions on, but I do love the world of Rifts by Palladium Games. It’s a blend of post-apocalyptic with science fantasy, where mech pilots can fight alongside renegade scientists and powerful mages, a true grab bag where anything is possible, from serious action to goofy parody. That being said, there are some bugbears in the writing that need to be ironed out for palatability, and the rules are not the best in some places. Honestly if you wanted to forgo the rules entirely and use another system with the world I would not blame you.

Finally, and perhaps the one I’m most excited about is Orbital Blues by SoulMuppet Publishing. It’s a rules-light rpg centered around a group of space outlaws and bounty hunters in a retrotech galaxy going through an economic slump where the rich get richer and the poor get by however they can. Proudly citing Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, and similar settings, this game, by it’s own tagline, is the game of sad space cowboys, where the traumas and troubles of your character are just as important as their skill with a gun. And the rulebooks themselves are gorgeous! If you can snag physical copies, do so.

(art taken from the War of Immortals sourcebook. Credit goes to the original artist)

Since we brought up the current state of the game and the lore in Starfinder 2e a couple of days ago (and I didn’t even touch on everything, like how the game still doesn’t have starship rules, but that’s something for another time), I figured why not talk about one of the more significant lore events in Pathfinder recently: the Godsrain and subsequent War of Immortals.

A lot happened in this event, and the setting is currently undergoing the fallout and the opportunities that have arisen.

So, for those uninformed, the Godsrain is a recent event in the setting in which the god of war, Gorum, was seized by an existential crisis in which he questioned whether he was a true deity or merely the concept of war for war’s sake given form, a hollow concept with no greater meaning. Conspiring with Calistria, he managed to have her convince Achaekek, the Mantis God and slayer of would-be immortals and gods, that Gorum was in truth a pretender, and needed to be destroyed.

And so the Mantis god did in a visceral display visible from the surface of Golarion, the mantid deity rending the hollow armor that made up Gorum’s body asunder in a spray of deific blood and metal shards.

Honestly? Taking the fight to Golarion was probably the worse move Gorum could have made in this elaborate assisted suicide, as the blood rained down in two colors, red and silver. Where the droplets of red fell, warlike and aggressive impulses overtook those affected, causing many nations to be at each other’s throats. (kinda a dick move for a guy who was tired of being the god of meaningless bloodshed).

Meanwhile, the silver droplets of blood brought with them mythic power, infusing mortals, monsters, and natural phenomena alike, causing the biggest influx of mythically-powered beings since the Wrath of the Righteous AP.

And that doesn’t even account for all the various warshards, bits of Gorum’s armor that contain shreds of his divinity, making them potent resources for creating weapons of war that various nations, factions, and individuals are striving to acquire and utilize.

In the wake of this, a lot of other gods took advantage of the chaos or were just caught up in it. Smiad the Pitiless Dragonslayer, an empyreal lord, took advantage of the chaos to go on a road trip of slaying evil dragons with the herald Saint Fang, only for them to be tortured and killed by Dahak (not out of any compassion for evil dragons, but because they are HIS toys to tear apart). The hag/witch goddesses Gyronna, Mestama, and Alzhra, formed a coven to enact a sinister spell, only to be stopped by the old Osirian gods, all parties being flung far from Golarion. Multiple new orc gods arose as they challenged and replaced the old ones, including Uirch Reaversbane, who is seeking to ally with Torag and end the enmity between dwarf and orc.

Oh, and one of the other orc gods, Verex, got too close to Rovagug’s prison and was warped into a new spawn.

AND the death of Gorum caused a bunch of different strange phenomena from the aftershocks throughout the world (are you seeing the parallel of how both the death of a god in Pathfinder and the birth of one in Starfinder both caused major upheavals?)

And this is hardly a comprehensive list of all the stuff that went down.

Now, the Watsonian explanation for why all this happened has been summarized in brief in the past few paragraphs, but the Doylist reason for why the War of Immortals happened is that in the wake of the Remaster and the design philosophy that came with it, the deity list was in need of some pruning. Gorum was easily the least interesting and pointless of the deities in the core 20 (sorry Gorum fans), so getting rid of him was a good catalyst. Meanwhile, most but not all of the other gods that are dead or missing were either superfluous (seriously, three divinities devoted to being a bitter woman that does black magic is too many), belonged to real-world cultures that have small but still living followings (the Osirian/Egyptian pantheon), or were otherwise not interesting, or were just interesting enough that removing them from the picture makes for good storytelling from their absence.

Meanwhile, all of this gives a good framing device for bringing in the mythic rules, the animist and exemplar classes, and so on. The animist because there was a decent focus on minor divinities and spirits, and the mythic stuff and the exemplar because the Godsrain itself elevated them.

And all of this is… fine. It’s a good framing device for bringing all this together in terms of rules and lore updates… but it also feels a little overwhelming. Much like what I said in the Tuesday entry, a lot of fighting and rising conflict and tension is going on right now, and some are either struggling to cool the flames while others seek to escalate.

Now, I realize that even previously, the heroes of the world of Golarion are saving the planet from threats minor and catastrophic constantly (with some published adventures literally leading into and interacting with each other in tangential ways), but it feels like the current Paizo thought process seems to be all conflict all the time, and I wonder if we might see some fatigue from it soon. But maybe that’s just me.

So, overall, I do appreciate the Godsrain. As far as world-shaking events goes, I think I like it a lot more than I did the Drift Crisis in late Starfinder 1e, though I’m not sure I’m able to put words as to why at the moment.

(art by Baraayas on DeviantArt)

So, the fun thing about being a biology nerd is that one can apply that interest to worlds of fantasy quite easily. Many is the rpg sourcebook that has either has bestiary in the title, or has the framing device of being an actual bestiary.

Such fantastical books of critters might have been written as a passion project by one who legitimately can see the beauty and wonder of monsters, and others might have been written by those trying to help others survive encounters (usually a bit of both), but one thing that usually remains true is classification, that monsters that are similar are grouped into categories. It’s a human thing: We like sorting things.

But of course, just like in real life, as our understanding grows, we start to see flaws in our categorization. We realize that all fish are not as related as we would like to think, that hyenas are not canids, that barnacles and limpets are not related at all, and so on.

Of course, while any fantasy setting can also share this sort of mistake, rpgs like Pathfinder also have the mechanical aspect of creature classifications sometimes reaching into the mechanics of the game, which does allow savvy players to have at least a baseline of assumptions about what to expect. To use Pathfinder 1e as an example, you might expect a dragon to have good saves all around and at least one breath-based area attack, while you might expect a construct to have high DR and even protection from magic.

But then, something happened when 2e came out that changed a lot of those assumptions. Suddenly creature types didn’t come with a lot of rules anymore aside from being tags applied to them that determine whether they could be affected by or referenced by certain spells or effects or other rules. Heck, some of them could have multiple tags associated with the old creature types, such as a skeletal dragon having both the undead and dragon tags.

Now, this admittedly tapped into the new paradigm that the final stats and rules for a monster were more important than the biology/necrology/anatomy of these creatures following some sort of internal logic the way 1e monsters do. Nowadays a monster can be by all rights a melee powerhouse, but roll with a tiny bonus when using physical stats for anything other than combat.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, of course. In the end the only thing that matters is how those stat blocks interact with the players. Indeed, having monster stats and the creature types be mostly not restrained by things like “base attack progression” and hit dice does not just allow for more flexibility in concepts but also can be used to preserve some form of mystique to them.

But sometimes, I do miss the “gears within gears” approach.

It’s also notable that the idea of what a creature type can be has changed over the years too. Consider that in 3.5, elementals were separate from outsiders, only to merge in PF1, and then outsider split up entirely into elementals, fiends, monitors, and celestials (and a few others). Conversely, ask yourself what about plant and fungi are different enough to warrant them being their own separate tags in Second Edition, and why giant arthropods no longer are given their own separate creature type of “vermin” compared to “animal”. When you think about it, whether such distinctions are arbitrary or not depends entirely on the perspective you bring to the game design space.

(art by ChrisOstrowski on DeviantArt)

Only a few years ago, Starfinder Second Edition picked up where 1e left off with a system that was more in line with the ruleset of Pathfinder 2e, finally freeing new Paizo material from the shadow of the OGL and making way for the ORC in earnest.

Now the system has it’s GM book, it’s first monster book, and even a big book of ancestries to expand the playing options, among others, and it’s all very exciting stuff.

Much like my initial thoughts on Pathfinder 2e, my opinions on the decisions made in both the rules and the lore are mixed, so today I’m just going to commit some of these to writing and get them off my chest.

So let’s start with the things I do like so far!

One thing I was wondering about for the new edition is how they were going to translate the robust multi-level weapons of 1e into 2e, and I do appreciate the simple system they have set up for that, with the higher-level weaponry and armor and such going off simple tables to determine how many more damage dice and other benefits they have, alongside a new set of critical specialization effects based on weapon category.

Additionally, the system wisely has merged precog and witchwarper, as well as solarian and vanguard into one class apiece, because let’s face it, for all their useful different abilities, we had two sets of classes in 1e that were basically the same thing conceptually but with slightly different flavors (being “warrior that taps into fundamental forces of the cosmos to fight” and “spellcaster that taps into the theoretical alternate futures, pasts, presents and multiverse stuff to cast spells”. While the merged classes will likely never be quite as diverse in options as they would separately (at least not without homebrew!), it does free up design space for some more unique class designs, like the Luminary which is now currently being playtested!

They also changed up spellcasting, too. While in 1e the official statement was that spellcasting had reached a “unified theory”, where casting was only divided by class, not by things like divine and arcane, this was ultimately something of a nothingburger lore-wise, so splitting back to the PF2 paradigm of four traditions is honestly fine. What is more helpful to me is that they dropped some of the “modern” names for familiar spells. No more “Is arcing surge or jolting surge the lightning bolt equivalent?”

Naturally, like Pathfinder before it, Starfinder had to make some lore changes to remove traces of old D&D names from the registry, though these were much less deep than what Pathfinder had to go through, since a lot of the monsters and whatnot were original anyway. The only big one being that the sinister elves ruling over Apostae are no longer called Drow, but rather the azrinaran elves. Still ruthless, but stripping away any direct connections to the dark elves of old.

That being said, those compliance-based changes were only the beginning, and we have entered a new era in the setting along with a new edition. The planet Aucturn finally hatched into a newborn outer god, Shelyn and Zon-Kuthon merged to share their pain and rehabilitate as a new deity, The Azlanti Star Empire is now actually relevant with a war with the Vesk, and new planets and worlds join the Pact Worlds in the wake of the Drift Crisis, just to name a few. It certainly is a time of upheaval in the galaxy, especially with new systems and quirks being discovered at the time.

Of course, there are some things I dislike as well.

For example, while I praised the weapon system before, the fact it borrows a lot from the Pathfinder 2e rules, no weapon has mixed weapon damage, meaning that certain weapon designs from 1e might not make a return, or will take some time for them to figure them out. This also goes for a lot of weapons in 1e having unique general or crit effects that might be flattened by the weapon category-based crit bonuses. It’s still early though. I hope they expand the options.

Like Pathfinder, the second edition of Starfinder has taken some liberties with the art direction, and not all of it seems necessary. The prime example that comes to my mind is the Kalo ancestry, which most of the art seems to diverge heavily from what kalo were in 1e, or indeed from the very description in the Galaxy Guide book, which DOES reflect their old design. It honestly feels like the artist did not read the notes or look at the old art at all.

While I praised the lore developments earlier, it feels like this new period of the setting is just one cavalcade of things escalating after the other without giving anyone a rest. We have the aftermath of the Drift Crisis, the Azlanti/Vesk War, the Szandite Collective discovering one of their former member planets was eaten by the Swarm under their nose (said Szandite Collective STILL having no official art beyond spaceships), everything revolving around Zon-Shelyn and the Newborn… I get that the hectic times lead to plenty of roots for adventures, and it also kinda reflects the mess of the real-world times, but man… it feels a little like there’s no room to breathe in any of the canon “big” deal events.

Also, small aside? Retconning technomancers to be relatively rare in 2e when they were a class option in the CORE RULE BOOK in 1e rubs me the wrong way. I get that they needed more time to cook on the class, but that was completely unnecessary. Also, why are soldiers just the Heavy Weapons Guy class now? There are certainly many ways to be a military-trained character without wielding the biggest gun and/or melee weapon you can find, and not every build with a more standard rifle or lighter melee weapon calls for an operative or envoy!

Finally, and this is less a system gripe and more a complaint about the attitude about the interconnection between Pathfinder and Starfinder. I get that saying that they are actually different timelines is purely for future-proofing any further future accidental divergences from timeline (like that time that Starfinder 1e mentioned Nocticula still being a demon lord because the writers of that bit didn’t know she’d get her redemption near the end of PF1’s life.) But it still just feels like a cop-out to me, like the fact that a version of Pathfinder is the ancient history of Starfinder doesn’t matter not because it’s too ancient and distant to be relevant, but because writers just can’t be bothered. Also, has anyone else noticed that since Lost Golarion only ever gets referenced in regards to that quasi-medieval period in which Pathfinder takes place, and never with any theoretical time of technological advancement between Pathfinder’s tech level and… you know, spaceships and rayguns? It honestly feels sometimes like the explanation of The Gap is just “Something happened that made the gods reset the universe to a science fantasy universe with a fake theoretical history of scientific advancement between that never actually happened.” Which, honestly, feels like the worst possible explanation.