(art by thomastapir on DeviantArt)

It’s time for another dip into Starfinder Second Edition, and this time it’s with an archetype that shares a name with the setting, being an agent of the very organization that plays such a prominent role in the lore.

As a small aside, isn’t great that despite both the Pathfinder and Starfinder games can have such a central organization, and yet the majority of published adventures don’t assume the characters are a part of them outside of organized play? It makes the world feel so much bigger.

In any case, the Starfinder Society is the successor to the original Pathfinder Society, dedicated to finding the truth in history. Yes, most of their members are adventurers, but when they explore ancient sites and tombs, and confront the hazards within and those that would use those secrets for nefarious purposes, it is with the stated purpose of making the world a better place, be it one planet or a wide galaxy to explore. Even when not doing that they often volunteer themselves to causes they happen across when they know they can help.

Sure, both organizations have been accused of being responsible for releasing ancient evils, but more often than not they also stop those evil forces as well, and the Starfinder Society are knowledgeable enough to understand that just because a great evil goes undisturbed doesn’t mean they aren’t a problem, and they’re some of the best-equipped to notice, respond to, and handle such things.

Now obviously individual agents have their own motives, but the Society has plenty of training they offer to their members, which in part forms the basis of this archetype and it’s skillset, so let’s get right into that!

The base dedication for this archetype grants greater knowledge of cultures as well as more specialized lore. In addition to that, this archetype can be taken alongside the xenoarchaeologist archetype without the normal archetype restrictions.

Given that many delving hazards lie out of sight, many field agents are trained to pick up subtle clues that reveal the presence of such trickery.

Many agents learn as much as they can about a mission before embarking, not just for the briefing but also for work in the field. Even when they don’t have information, they can still hazard a few good guesses.

Danger can be around any corner, so even when travelling, these agents are always keeping an eye out for signs of danger, and are often the first to react to it when it rears it’s ugly head.

Those with some pull are able to requisition deliveries of useful consumable items when in a settlement where the Society has a presence, though the Society has a policy that prevents agents from stockpiling too many items this way, limiting how many they can receive.

Many agents include what is known about the style of defenses used by cultures and figures in the upcoming mission sight in their research, allowing them to use that knowledge to hack and manually disable such hazards.

Lastly, those agents with a gadgeteer’s love of tinkering modify their equipment regularly, and often prepare modular parts that can be swapped out on the fly, allowing them to alter the upgrades of weapons and armor as needed to answer the challenges ahead.

This archetype basically has two aspects you can dip into or do both. The first is having a special lore they can focus on improving that can be used for anything mission-related, making even non-skill specialist builds able to know what’s going on, along with buffs against being ambushed. The other aspect is the gadgeteering, able to get free consumables like serums and grenades each day, and letting them swap out upgrades on the fly to add to their options. If you want your character to have nonmagical solutions to various challenges, this archetype can certainly provide that, and it can also be combined at early level with xenoarchaeologist too!

The Starfinder Society recruits from all walks of life and vocations, so the possible characters you can play with here are quite diverse indeed, from the plucky scholar to the serious professional to the most arrogant upstart. What remains true for them all is that they all share the passion for knowledge and discovery.

Clever and analytical, Inner Ocean is a veteran field agent at the university and an expert in oceanography. The barathu earned her stripes when she rescued fellow divers by transforming into a temporary organic submersible after engulfing them. However, she is getting on in years, and rumor has it that she is thinking of settling down and joining as part of a larger collective of her kind.

While on an expedition, the party is suddenly awakened one night by Fritter, the empathinid pet of the expedition leader, Dr. Klivost. Investigation reveals the good doctor’s tent has been slashed open and there is no sign of her anywhere. Investigating this abduction becomes top priority, with the hope that the good doctor can be rescued.